The public library in Bloomington, Indiana is an amazing place. I lived near there for a time and I always loved visiting. It was larger than any public library I’d ever been to before and it was well stacked with all sorts of books. Even more impressive was their collection of movies and music. Rumor had it that they had purchased all the movies some local video rental store had when that store went out of business. That must have been some cool rental store as the movies the library had were awesome.

They had foreign films, arthouse films, lots of cool British TV, and a solid collection from Criterion before I even knew what the Criterion Collection was. I became a true cinephile in that library and I’m forever grateful for it.

One of the movies I borrowed from there was Wages of Fear. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not finish it the first time I borrowed it. The film is one of the tensest films ever made and I have to admit I found it boring. In my defense, it does take a while to get going. There is a long section in the beginning that introduces our characters and the setting and it is intentionally paced slow.

But once it gets going oh man does it ever get going. In some backwater South American town, four desperate men drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerin across treacherous mountain roads. It is a suicide mission but the men have no other choice. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot fills every second of their journey with fear and tension.

It is a fantastic film and the Criterion is releasing it on 4K UHD. I can’t wait to see it.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Akira 4K UHD: One of the greatest animated movies ever made is getting the Ultra High-Def treatment from Crunchyroll.

Gladiator II 4K UHD: The original Gladiator film is a terrific bit of sword and sandal fun with some great action sequences and a fantastic performance from Russell Crowe. The sequel is a big fat dud. At least Denzel Washington appears to have had fun making it.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXIV: Everytime Kino Lorber puts out one of these sets I always think that they must surely be getting close to running out of films they can release and then they put out another one. This one has three films – Union Station / Jennifer / The Crooked Circle.

Play it Cool: Arrow Video is releasing this Japanese melodrama about the exploits of a Geisha.