Blu-Ray’s
Once again, Disney has opened the vault for a re-release of the 1992 film, Aladdin on Blu-ray as the tenth title in their ‘Signature’ line. Video has been remastered and is now Presented in a different aspect ratio than the Diamond Edition, 1.66:1, versus 1.85:1, while audio appears unchanged. As is often the case, this …
Blu-ray Review: Aladdin (Signature Collection) (1992) Read More »
Credited with bringing reggae to the world, and lauded for its soundtrack, The Harder They Come stars Jimmy Cliff as Ivan Martin, a small-town Jamaican who travels to Kingston in hopes of making it as a reggae singer. It turns out that breaking into the music industry is next to impossible and finding regular work …
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Released in 1954, Magnificent Obsession was directed by Douglas Sirk. While not the German émigré’s first Hollywood film, it would later be recognized as the first to demonstrate what could be called the “Sirkian” style. By the end of the decade, Sirk would release a series of films–All That Heaven Allows (1955), Written on the …
Blu-ray Review: Magnificent Obsession (Criterion Collection) Read More »
Created by Kenneth Johnson (The Bionic Woman) V, inspired by Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 anti-fascist novel It Can’t Happen Here, first aired over two nights in 1983, proved to be a huge hit with viewers. With over sixty speaking characters, V was truly an epic event. Flying saucers appear in the sky over Earth’s Fifty major …
It’s been widely reported that Bette Davis (All About Eve) wanted to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. When the role went to Vivian Leigh, she was very disappointed. Sometimes described as a consolation prize, Davis played Julie Marsden in Jezebel, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress. Directed by William Wyler (Mrs. …
Nearing the end of a career that included such films as Walkabout, Don’t Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth, English director Nicholas Roeg teamed with Jim Henson Productions for The Witches. The 1990 film is based on the eponymous 1983 children’s novel by Roald Dahl. Wickedly fun, the unabashedly dark tale, may …
Released in February 1980, William Friedkin’s (The Exorcist, The French Connection) dark thriller Cruising stars Al Pacino (The Godfather) as Steve Burns, a, The twenty-something New York City cop offered the chance to earn his detective shield by going undercover in the leather bars and S&M clubs to catch a serial killer targeting homosexuals. Burns …
For Alice Spages (Paula Sheppard), being the the older sister is awful. She can’t do anything right and her single mother Catherine (Linda Miller), pays little attention to her. Instead, Catherine showers her younger sister Karen (Brooke Shields, Wanda Nevada), with praise and attention. Alice, a decidedly odd girl, stalks the neighborhood in a strange …
Directed by Michael Crichton, Pursuit, a 1972 made-for-TV thriller, was based on his novel Binary. A highly atmospheric story, it’s just a few days before the President of the United States is set to address the Republican national convention in San Diego. Federal agent Steven Graves (Ben Gazzara, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie) must …
The Thin Man is based on mystery writer Dashiell Hammett’s celebrated novel, but the mystery isn’t all that important, nor is it the reason for the film’s enduring appeal. Instead, it’s the relationship between Nick (William Powell, To Be Or Not to Be) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy, Midnight Lace) which depicted a new kind …
