Haunted Honeymoon (Blu-ray)
Since his death this past August at age 83, I’ve found myself revisiting the filmography of actor/writer/director Gene Wilder. I grew up adoring him for his signature role, that of of Willy Wonka in the first film adaption of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). Wilder was […]
The Remains of the Day (Blu-ray)
Based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day is a true high point in the career of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory that resulted in several memorable literary adaptions over four decades. Released in 1993, Anthony Hopkins gives a nuanced performance as Mr. Stevens, head butler who […]
Blu-ray Review: Straw Dogs
Straw Dogs, one of Sam Peckinpah’s best films, was released in 1971 as American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam and citizens at home were protesting United States involvement in the conflict. Shocking at the time because of its explicit gore, and its analysis of the hidden bestiality of civilized human beings, the film manipulates viewers’ […]
Straw Dogs 40th Anniversary Blu-ray on September 16
Los Angeles, CA (August 11, 2011) – How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and controversial thrillers of all-time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, STRAW DOGS debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in […]
Blu-ray Review: Death at a Funeral (2007)
Frank Oz, better known as the voice of Yoda, Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy, has taken over the director’s chair regularly in his career. Understandably, his first experience as a director was with Jim Henson on The Dark Crystal. Usually helming comedies, Oz went on to direct Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1986), and What About Bob? […]