Hey folks, Harry here - Sorry I didn't get this finished yesterday afternoon - but the Doctor stuff took longer - but it's all good - I'm cleared for surgery and thindom is just some hard work away. Anyway - here's the rest of this last Tuesday's releases. As you can tell... it was a ton of great stuff. Like always - if you click on the box art or titles you'll be taken to AMAZON - where you can learn more on the title or purchase it - thus giving a small percentage to help support this column. Thanks a ton. Here ya go...
Second Half of Tuesday, May 13th, 2008’s DVD COLUMN!
MAN OF THE WEST
If you’re a fan of Anthony Mann’s epics like EL CID… then welcome this opportunity to discover what he was one of the best at… his Westerns. MAN OF THE WEST isn’t HIGH NOON Gary Cooper, but a very different type – maybe not so much the hero you’re used to. Joining Cooper in this outstanding film is Lee J Cobb (you remember him from 12 ANGRY MEN where he was a fucking GOD!) and he is great here as the gang leader that holds up a train and kinda kick starts the story that follows. Wonderful film!
THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW
Burl Ives – nice guy right? You remember him hosting that Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer – how lovable… how animated… how much like a happy fat jolly relative… Well forget that – he’s the thing of nightmares in THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW. This is another film in the realm of the sub-genre, Western Noir – and as directed by Andre De Toth (another great director) – The lead “hero” in the film is Robert Ryan, who puts in another outstanding performance! We’re so lucky to get this level of quality Westerns out and on the market!
Frank Sinatra – The Golden Years Collection ( SOME CAME RUNNING / THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM / THE TENDER TRAP / NONE BUT THE BRAVE / MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS )
I know a lot of people feel the best Sinatra film ever made was THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE… but in my opinion – his best performance and best film is THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM – all about a soldier who has his amputated arm replaced with the golden arm of a magical asian statue – giving him superhuman… Just fucking with ya. It’s an incredible film about heroin addiction and jazz. Fucking great! Directed by Otto Preminger with one of the coolest scores ever scored. Also great in this set is SOME CAME RUNNING – literally one of the most amazing endings ever. GREAT. I haven’t seen THE TENDER TRAP or MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS yet, but NONE BUT THE BRAVE is fucking amazing. This was directed by Frank Sinatra and is one of the great anti-war films… that isn’t recognized critically as being great. But it is! About a plane of US men that wreck on an island and work out a truce with the “left behind” Japanese soldiers on the island. No stereotypes – just complex and brilliantly drawn characters. Rediscover this overlooked classic!
THE SECRET OF SANTA VITTORIA
This is Anthony Quinn in his Zorba mode… and the film is wonderful for it. Anthony Quinn plays a mayor with the largest alcohol engorged liver in the history of mankind. Basically – he’s always drunk – and when the people of his small mountain Italian town learn that the leaders of their country have been overthrown – and that the Nazis are on the march to capture their wine – they hatch a plan to hide 1 Million Bottles of fine Italian Vino. Quinn is sad, hilarious and easily one of the greatest buffoons in film history. Great one!
THE LOVERS – Criterion Collection
This is the film that cemented Jeanne Moreau as the goddess of cinema that Louis Malle made her. One of the great erotic and sensual works from Malle – and Criterion has done a fantastic job presenting it here with tons of interviews and materials. If you love Louis’ films – you’ve already bought it. If you don’t know his works – or why I’m nuts about Jeanne Moreau… check this sucker out!
THE MAN WITH THE GUN
Robert Mitchum was amazing in a number of Westerns – but this is… without a doubt… his absolute best Western. In the sub-genre of WESTERN NOIR – this is one of the best. The violence comes suddenly and quickly – and Mitchum hits a town run entirely by a rat bastard and his private army. Mitchum is a gunfighter that is hired to kill off elements ruining a town – and he happens into town on a personal note – and ends up having to do a whole lot more. This film is very much a Man With No Name – western, but done in a film noir style, instead of a Spaghetti Western. You owe it to yourself to check it out!
AUTISM THE MUSICAL
For Real. This is amazing. Really. It’s a documentary. Amazing.
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FRANK SINATRA – The Early Years Collection ( IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN / STEP LIVELY / THE KISSING BANDIT / DOUBLE DYNAMITE / HIGHER AND HIGHER )
THE KISSING BANDIT is one of the most embarrassingly awful films with an incredibly miscast and flat out laughingly awful performance by Frank Sinatra – of all time. Just watching the film – you just laugh trying to think of what they were fucking thinking – cuz it’s like somebody hated Frank Sinatra – and Sinatra and slept with their teenage daughter – and then was forced to make this film… or go to jail. Because I can’t fucking imagine why or how he would find himself in this rancid turd. That said… you can’t take your eyes off the screen. It’s a trainwreck of ridiculous levels – and gorgeous Technicolor. That said – the other 4 films are all solid examples of Sinatra’s earliest beginnings in the film realm. Co-starring folks like Groucho Marx and Jimmy Durante… and the Tin Man! With the exception of THE KISSING BANDIT… lol… This set is rock solid!
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH
Here’s the great Coppola’s return to cinema – and it was undersold, came and went without much notice by the world… curious then… how the film is fucking brilliant. One of the absolute highlights of 2007. Add to that – that it’s a science fiction film about a brilliant man that gains remarkable powers – not the least of which is his ability to age backwards – as well as his ability to literally absorb information with perfect recollection. And the Nazis want him – The Americans want him… but he just wants to pursue his life’s work. A brilliant brilliant film. Welcome back Francis!!!
THE FIRE WITHIN – Criterion Collection
Louis Malle’s most sobering and haunting film – it tells the story of a man, who has decided to commit suicide – and the 24 hours leading up to that suicide as he tries to reconnect with everyone that he’s lost contact with. It’s a brilliant brilliant film – and morose as hell. That said – Criterion has done a great job of putting this film out with outstanding interviews and some great features.
LA CHINOISE
Ok all you fellow commie loving pinko liberals… Here’s a great film by Jean Luc Godard about a youthful group of students – enthralled by the teachings of Mao – and decide to “begin the revolution” and they plan to do it at all costs – including terrorism. An incredibly poignant study of the mentality and motivation behind radical actions for radical change. Fantastic film.
THE RAT PACK ULTIMATE COLLECTORS EDITION ( OCEANS 11 / ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS / 4 FOR TEXAS / SERGEANTS 3 )
Ok – you just ain’t cool – if you don’t have this box set. You can see the physical extras above – but these films are basically instructional manuals on being cool. In fact – I have to say you couldn’t really be cool without the intense study of at least Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. That’s just for starters. You can learn a lot from Peter Lawford & Joey Bishop… but man… Sinatra, Davis and Martin are where its at. Now OCEAN’S ELEVEN is the best known of the set – but for my tastes – the two best are SERGEANTS 3 and ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS (which I dearly dearly love!) ROBIN stars – in addition to the Rat Pack… Peter Falk, Victor Buono, Barbara Rush and Bing Crosby (who is cooler than anyone else.) Buying this set – guarantees owning a wet bar and a poker table – shortly thereafter. You’ll dress in suits and you’ll be a fucking pimp for the rest of your life – you sex god you!
THE WAY WEST
The films isn’t quite worthy of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel upon which it was based… that said – Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark save the film from being a disaster… and make the film really something worth checking out. They’re simply too charismatic to not be great.
THE SECRET INVASION
You ever seen a WWII film directed by Roger Corman – with a great cast? This was made in 1964 and is basically THE DIRTY DOZEN – but made 3 years prior with an inferior cast. Stewart Granger is the Lee Marvin of the film – with Henry Silva, Mickey Rooney, Raf Vallone, Ed Byrnes and William Campbell as the criminally talented soldiers given the mission or else choice. That said – it’s actually a pretty damn great film. Which isn’t a surprise really – Corman constantly made superior works with less.
TOBOR THE GREAT
After Robby the Robot, Gort and YM-3… TOBOR THE GREAT is the 4th best robot of the fifties. And the evil fucking commies wanted him! Those bastards. When’s the last time you saw ROBOT vs COMMIES? Right? RIGHT! This is totally a B movie – but if you love old fashioned robot tales as much as me… it’s TOBOR THE GREAT for you!
NAVAJO JOE
Now – I know… We’ve all had dreams – fevered dreams where Burt Reynolds played a badass Indian kicking ass in the Old West – and we wake up disappointed because we’re not living in that reality… but fuck that – it’s true. Burt Reynolds did play a badass Indian tired of the White Man’s shit – and Sergio Corbucci directed it! Ennio Morricone’s score is fantastic – and the resulting film is extremely violent, extremely badass… and some of the worst makeup ever… but that’s ok… its ok… cuz the movie kicks so much ass you forget the makeup. And it just happens to be great. Saw Tarantino’s print of this one awesome fucking night. I thought it would suck… but I was wrong!
TWELFTH NIGHT
This was broadcast on the UK’s ITV in 1969 – basically a televised version of a stage production that had the legendary Alec Guinness, Sir Ralph Richardson and Joan Plowrite bringing this Shakespearean farce to life. Any time you can see those three act – is worth the opportunity and this performance is classic!
CAN I DO IT… TILL I NEED GLASSES
Raunchy 70s comedies rule… as does this sequel to IF YOU DON’T STOP IT… YOU’LL GO BLIND – it won’t all work for you- but there’s more than enough that will. Nudity, crudity and much more! And it features the first film appearance of Robin Williams… It may even predate his LAUGH-IN performance and his EIGHT IS ENOUGH… and oddly… is not listed on IMDB as such. Fucking IMDB.
That’s it for this rather extended week of releases. I’m actually working right now on next week’s releases – including NATIONAL TREASURE 2, 3rd Season of THE MUPPET SHOW, SHORT CIRCUIT (BluRay), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (BluRay), CLOVERFIELD (BluRay), V FOR VENDETTA (BluRay), James Stewart Western Collection, BEE MOVIE (BluRay), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY’S, MAN IN THE WILDERNESS, THE DEADLY TRACKERS, ECLIPSE SERIES 9, SHOOTER (BluRay), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (BluRay), THE RICHIE RICH / SCOOBY DOO HOUR: THE COMPLETE SERIES, COMING TO AMERICA (BluRay), DREAMGIRLS (BluRay), SLEEPY HOLLOW (BluRay), BABEL (BluRay), THE UNTOUCHABLES (BluRay), REDS (BluRay), SAHARA (BluRay), SKY CAPTAIN (BluRay), NACHO LIBRE (BluRay), EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE, BLACK RAIN (BluRay), THE WARRIORS (BluRay), BOHACHI BUSHIDO: CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT and much much more!
