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March 29, 2016

Why is this picture here? CLICK on it.

Savant's new reviews today are:

The Purple Plain
KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

 A fighter pilot with a death wish jeopardizes his crewmen by taking crazy chances, and only an unexpected relationship can bring him back from the brink. Fans of this show know it as the It's a Wonderful Life of war movies, an intensely moving tale that restores feeling and tenderness to people crippled by loss and despair. The stellar pairing of top star Gregory Peck and Burmese unknown Win Min Than is unique in movies and not to be missed. With Bernard Lee and Brenda de Banzie. Filmed on location in Sri Lanka. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
3/29/16



Anastasia
Twilight Time
Blu-ray

 That scarlet woman Ingrid Bergman is back from exile, and hypocritical Hollywood is not complaining -- Anatole Litvak and Arthur Laurents make an intriguing romantic-psychological mystery of a bogus Romanoff Duchess who surfaces in 1928 Paris to claim the crown fortune. Good roles for Yul Brynner and Helen Hayes as well. It's a strange intersection of scandal, history and swindlers that may have found the real item... and maybe not. Also with Akim Tamiroff; filmed in Paris and Copenhagen. On Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
3/29/16



Brooklyn
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Blu-ray + Digital HD

 It's the Oscar-season favorite that I'll bet many viewers will be catching up with only now. The old story of the plucky, innocent immigrant gets a glorious re-telling. Never fear, for this emotional but unsentimental tale of an Irish lass making big decisions features a breakout performance by Saoirse Ronan, an actress who melts hearts with one flash of her blue eyes. With Domhnall Gleason, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters. The Blu-ray has deleted scenes as well. On Blu-ray + Digital HD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
3/29/16



and

Susan Slept Here
The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

  All hail Tashlin! Forty-ish screenwriter Dick Powell takes 17 year-old delinquent Debbie Reynolds home for the holidays, and nobody raises an eyebrow, not even the cops. America's subversive secret weapon of the 1950s Frank Tashlin made incredible adult live-action cartoon movies that satirized all the sex and vulgarity denied by the mainstream. In Technicolor! Political incorrectness meets lollypop-sweet sentimentality in a farce that transcends good taste. With Anne Francis, Alvy Moore and Glenda Farrell. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
3/29/16




Hello!

I guess I'm a couple of days late this time -- both reviewed films Anastasia and The Purple Plain have Easter references.

How to ask Stanley Kubrick
for a Raise...

Gary Teetzel sends in this nice link to Bruce Logan's memories of Working with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey. It reminds me a bit of Future General, where Doug Trumbull did the effects for Close Encounters.

The Blood of Bunnies

More Easter references. correspondent Ian Whittle has an amusing news blurb from the U.K. about an ill-advised TV airing of the adult animated movie Watership Down on an Easter Sunday afternoon. Ian suggested an alternate, but I doubt they'd be amused. Of course, they could always broadcast everyone's favorite animated kid film, Fritz the Cat.

Discs on Tap

After wondering what's wrong with my mailbox, everything came in last Friday and Saturday -- the latest Kinos and Twilight Times and Criterions. So I think I'll be in good shape for the next few weeks. I've checked out great commentaries on Journey to the Seventh Planet and Panic in Year Zero, and am looking forward to what looks like super transfers of Alexander the Great and Exodus.

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 26, 2016

Why is this picture here? CLICK on it.

Savant's new reviews today are:

Dreams Rewired
Icarus Films
DVD

 Looking for a visionary, poetic, absolutely spot-on inter-media film that has something relevant to say about the world we live in? Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode and Muku Patel examine the history behind the on-going personal tech revolution that's ushering us into the future. It's all done with film clips from 1900 to the late 1930s, as telephones, telegraphy, tele-radio and television feed our desire for 'connectivity' -- which has finally reached critical mass. With brilliant editing, evocative music and a stirring narration read by Tilda Swinton, this show anchors a century of science fiction as inseparable from our daily existence. And it even has a sense of humor... On DVD from Icarus Films.
3/26/16



The Hateful Eight
Anchor Bay / The Weinstein Company
Blu-ray + DVD

  Was Quentin Tarantino too obsessed with large-format filmmaking this time out? His tale of bounty hunters and killers sharing a snowbound cabin builds up almost zero suspense. The predictable violent and verbal excess and grossness lack Tarantino's usual edge, being neither clever nor funny, saddling a fistful of good actors with overwrought, repetitive, ponderous dialogue. And did I say repetitive? And did I say repetitive? And how about that 70mm magnificence, cooped up in a single dim interior? It's A Long Day's Journey into Lincoln Logs. With Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who plays the film with her face covered in blood, brains, vomit and Minnie's home-cooked stew. On Blu-ray and DVD from Anchor Bay / The Weinstein Company.
3/26/16



and

A Brighter Summer Day
The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

 Superb filmmaking! Edward Yang's chronicle of the children of post-revolution Chinese exiles in Taiwan follows one teen's strange story of accidental delinquency, muted romance and pervasive violence in a closed society fed on American Rock 'n' Roll and Cold War militarism. Regimented into a high school working double shifts, young Xiao Si'r and his friends lead a double life in gangs that have uneasy contacts with adult criminals. Almost exactly as long as Gone With the Wind, Yang's intimate epic is one of those 'best movies ever' that few Americans have heard of. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
3/26/16




Hi all !

Some great Kino discs came in today. I understand that the hotly desired Twilight Time discs are just delayed a few days, although purchasers have already been served. See? TT looks out for the customers first. I'm really happy with today's reviews -- each show was illuminating in its own way, and I hope the reviews accurately convey what I felt about them. I didn't give Quentin Tarantino's epic a big recommendation, but I figure that readers that have waited for the Blu-ray are unlikely to be deterred by my review -- as I wasn't deterred by the negative remarks I heard earlier. I'll probably be seeing it again just to hear Ennio Morricone's music rumble and grumble, and to watch the amazing Jennifer Jason Leigh. You'd think she would have had enough with the directorial abuse dished out on her by Paul Verhoeven. Who knew such fearless actresses existed?

I did get a report from a reliable contact who bought the German disc of Universal's Revenge of the Creature 3-D (Die Rache des Ungeheuers). This is the same video transfer professional who helped me last Fall with the Round-Up evaluation of Hammer Blu-rays, a very popular article, I rush to add. His words about Der Deutsche Fischen-Mann aren't very encouraging. To begin with, it wasn't produced by Universal here in the states. The 3-D encoding is not even in HD, or Polaroid:

. . . . I got the German Blu-ray for Revenge of the Creature. The anaglyph 3D version is torturous (and Standard Def), while the HD flat version is full frame and very unimpressive. The only (sort of) interesting thing is the additional Jack Arnold interview specifically about the sequel, but as we saw on earlier German discs, he's not the most riveting storyteller. Most of his talk is stuff like Sea World's sea turtle snacking on the rubber Creature suit, which has been told many times. The disc also contains the silly Super 8 versions, which are sorta pointless. And the trailer. Definitely not a good purchase. Oh yes, I should mention that there's an audio commentary with Lori Nelson, Tom Weaver and Bob Burns. That might be good, I haven't listened to it. There's also a still montage.

I'd guess the audio commentary is the same one as is on the older domestic DVD; I think the lineup of talent is the same, with Lori talking about having to avoid her rather troublesome director.

What with this talk about scaling back 3-D for Blu-ray -- which may be just hot air -- I hope that somebody at Universal gets a celestial inspiration to put out more fantastic 3-D releases -- not just the Creature sequel, but It Came from Outer Space as well. And how about Douglas Sirk's Taza, Son of Cochise? If they were really on the ball they'd send The Creature Walks Among Us out for a quickie 3-D conversion, and clobber us with the whole trilogy. Okay, okay, I'm running amuck. But that's exactly what they pay me for.

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 22, 2016

Savant's new reviews today are:

Kill Me Again
Olive Films
Blu-ray

 Two guys, some guns, a suitcase full of cash and the open road: what could go wrong? Val Kilmer and Michael Madsen meet their match in Joanne Whalley Kilmer, a neo-noir bad news dame if there ever was one. The murderous melodrama stretches the length of Nevada. When the cops and the Mob join the chase the survivability factor in his annihilating cocktail sinks to nearly zero. Director John Dahl comes out swinging in this fine crime thriller of the late '80, when the simple things in life -- a slug from a .45, a shallow grave -- were still appreciated. On Blu-ray from Olive Films.
3/22/16



Vessel
Kino Lorber
DVD

 Dutch doctor Rebecca Gomperts built a reproductive clinic on a ship and took it to countries where abortion is outlawed -- Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain... and got responses from thousands of women in need. It's an advocacy docu about an activist experiment that's moving around the world, promoting positive change. Director Diana Whitten assembles an inspiring show complete with animations explaining the new abortion pills. On DVD from Kino Lorber.
3/22/16



and

The Manchurian Candidate
The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

 It's yet another release of John Frankenheimer's essential paranoid conspiracy thriller, but Criterion pours on some excellent extras, including a thorough video essay on the truth behind the 'brainwashing' scare of the 1950s. There's no denying that this is THE show that somehow distills all the political weirdness of its time into one frightening story, that now seems more plausible than ever. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
3/22/16




Hello!

A quick stop-off today... family business to attend to, or if that's not good enough I'll think of some other excuses. I sort of have my eye on the mailbox, awaiting some fresh material to review... and DVDtalk is forwarding me a nice screener of Brooklyn, one of the most pleasurable of last year's award winners.

For those of you interested in the subject of Michael Collins, correspondent Michael Cummins forwards this 1966 TV production Insurrection about the events of the 1916 Easter Uprising, filmed in the fake docu style of Culloden. Oops, people have reported to me that it might be blocked in certain locations. I'm told that there is an add-on called 'Hola' for Chrome, that defeats these region issues on the web ... sounds interesting.

And finally, correspondent Mark Throop responded to the call for opening prologues or title sequences that are better than the movies that follow. It's not like I agree with all of his choices, but I'd be a dope to think that everybody agrees with mine...

"Hi there, first time I've had the nerve to write to my favorite reviewer, but here goes...

If Mars Attacks had only measured up to the credits and Danny Elfman's music...

How about the rousing title credits, backed by Jerry Goldsmith's surging music for The Chairman -- followed by not much.

Max Steiner's blasting kickoff for A Distant Trumpet (that, and the battle and not much more), and Elmer Bernstein's for The Young Doctors; Bernstein again with the neat credits and snappy song for Gold.

The Bravados is too glum for me to enjoy, but Alfred Newman & Hugo Friedhofer start it out like gangbusters.

Goldsmith's music over the nice intro for Caboblanco. Then came the rest of the movie...

After the credits, Barry's band and the song for Diamonds Are Forever, what have you got?

Ron Goodwin launches 633 Squadron and then it nosedives into the fjord. Others that don't live up to the music that graces their start: The Hallelujah Trail, White Witch Doctor, The Rat Race. Cheers, Mark"

--- And from Savant central, Thanks for reading. --- Glenn Erickson



March 19, 2016

Left -- frame blow-up used as publicity still 1955. Right -- detail film poster 1963.

Savant's new reviews today are:

Losing Ground
The Milestone Cinematheque
Blu-ray

 Director Kathleen Collins' fame recently rebounded with a single review in The New Yorker -- of an independent movie she wrote and directed in 1982. It's a confluence of important black theater and filmmaking talent -- Collins, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones, Billie Allen and, in the background, William Greaves and the entire history of film generated by African-Americans. An inquisitive academic and her free-spirit artist husband spend a summer 'discovering themselves,' which brings out the inequality in their modern marriage arrangement. A two-disc set with Ms. Collins' first feature, The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy. On Blu-ray from The Milestone Cinematheque.
3/18/16



Spies (Spione)
Kino Classics
Blu-ray

 Guns! Bombs! Assassinations! Hara-kiri! Not content to kick-start several other genres, Fritz Lang invents the escapist super-spy thriller. To seize a set of political documents the evil espionage mastermind Haghi dispatches the seductive agents Kitty and Sonya to neutralize a Japanese security man and our own top spy No. 236. Do you like spy-film intrigues and plot twists? Many of the tricks of 007 can be seen here: our hero even falls for an agent from Russia, with love. It's a top-rank silent winner from the maker of Metropolis. On Blu-ray from Kino Classics.
3/18/16



and

Michael Collins
The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

 On the centennial of the Easter Uprising and just a few days past St. Patrick's Day, WHV present's Neil Jordan's epic biopic of Ireland's most beloved patriotic hero -- a militant who stood up to the English occupiers. Michael Collins' raw guerilla methods make Dublin a battle zone against the Black and Tans -- who retaliate with terror of their own. It's the role that should have cemented Liam Neeson's stardom. With Aidan Quinn, Alan Rickman, Stephen Rea and an oddly cast Julia Roberts -- she's not misused, but her fans surely didn't want to see her in this kind of picture. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
3/18/16




Hello!

What have we got in the Savant mailbox? Hmm, the buzz this week is mostly political, and we all know that Savant shies away from expressing those sorts of opinions (cough). The operative theory here is that Savant readers come to escape from all that.... maybe.

Here's a discussion topic for you... when I wrote last Tuesday about the title sequences for Otto Preminger's "Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon," long-time correspondent "B" wrote back with a note about other great, memorable opening scenes or title sequences that are far much better than the movies that follow. Of Junie Moon "B" said,

"This is one of the most indelible examples of a film's opening sequence being far superior to everything that follows in the picture. It really goes downhill after the credits. That's not something to be proud of or to aspire to, but like you, I've never forgotten the titles for this thing. The Seeger song itself was a relatively late addition. Preminger negotiated unsuccessfully for a Bob Dylan original theme song. Peter Allen, then married to Liza Minnelli, composed a song for the actress to sing over the credits, but Otto apparently disliked it."

Just the kind of feedback I like -- everything "B" said was news to me. His comments moved on to the James L. Brooks musical that Joe Baltake had written about, and then brought up a couple of musicals that reportedly dropped dynamite openings, that also sound too good for the movies they were meant to decorate:

"The long prologue for Doctor Doolittle -- cut immediately after the film's first preview -- featured the good doctor treating various animals in an "Equatorial African" jungle. Since we don't actually see Dolittle performing many veterinary services in the movie, this would be worth a look. In the Lofting books, the doctor is constantly ministering such aid. Doolittle, admittedly a terrible picture, was apparently further shortened after its flop road show run; I don't believe the trims have ever surfaced."

"[Though the studio decided to eliminate the prologue, its excision quickly caused a major problem. The prologue's scene of Dolittle riding a giraffe was the source of an image already incorporated into the key-art for the film's road show promotion. Fox agonized over this for a while before finally spotting a place (rather late in the movie) in which one shot of the doctor and the giraffe could be awkwardly interpolated. Dolittle is suddenly seen wearing a different suit, but few noticed.] "

"I've always wanted to see the numbers that were cut from On A Clear Day You Can See Forever -- good Lerner/Lane tunes -- after Paramount thought better of road-showing the picture. Getting back to opening scenes, the never-publicly-screened early scenes of Orson Welles' The Stranger, featuring Konstantin Shayne's trek over several continents searching for his Nazi comrade Welles, are almost surely lost, but I sometimes dream about these."

"There are various other examples, of course. I was lucky (and smart) enough to see The Shining the day it opened in New York, so at least I don't have to include the movie's famously quickly deleted penultimate scene on my list. You must have some ideas on this matter... Major Dundee is a given, and doesn't count."

So my question for Savant readers shifts back to "B"'a original query -- opening scenes or title sequences that are much better than the rest of the movie. In my experience I'll often return to a movie just to hear the title tune; re-watching a show like Town Without Pity or Blowin' Wild can be a slog, but the opening song title sequences by Gene Pitney and Frankie Laine are sublime.

Of the Saul Bass movies, perhaps Walk on the Wild Side qualifies as an incredibly good title sequence followed by a movie so bad, I'm not sure I want to see it again. As for title scenes or 'prologue' scenes that are better than the rest of the movie, the only one that comes to mind is the 'two underwater graveyards' prologue to John Frankenheimer's otherwise lead-footed 99 and 44/100% Dead! I can watch that crazy opening at any time, and I every time that I do, I immediately wish that the movie that followed maintained some of its satirical edge.

So help me out -- I'm looking for more examples of fantastic title sequences or opening prologue scenes, which are far too good for the features that follow.

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 15, 2016

Savant's new reviews today are:

Paris Belongs to Us
The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

  Jacques Rivette's New Wave picture is an entirely different kettle of fish -- a complex mystery with a large cast of young Parisians that refuses to become an ordinary thriller organized into acts, or to simplify its characters into a few predictable behaviors. It's long, complicated and as challenging as real life. Even in the docu-real context, the brave heroine can't seem to establish a single fact, let alone determine how a Spanish guitarist died or whether some kind of larger conspiracy is involved. Rivette liberates film narrative into something much more like reality, and the result is maddeningly 'unknowable.' Filmed on the streets of Paris in 1957-'58, this is also a fascinating record of temps perdu. With Betty Schneider, Jean-Claude Brialy and Françoise Prévost. If you want something different, this is the ticket. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
3/15/16



Her Majesty, Love
The Warner Archive Collection
DVD

  This musical was supposed to be a third shot at Hollywood for Ziegfeld superstar Marilyn Miller, but it ended up being a springboard into talkie stardom for a supporting player: W.C. Fields. A silly romantic comedy makes for impressive entertainment through director William Dieterle's bouncy, creative camera gyrations, but Ms. Miller somehow gets lost in the shuffle. A famed dancer, she has no solo dances and sings only one solo song. She went back to Broadway, while Fields proceeded straight to his first run of classic comedies at Paramount. Unlike some Warners musicals pre- Busby Berkeley, this one is as innovative and sprightly as those by Rouben Mamoulian and Ernst Lubitsch. On DVD from The Warner Archive Collection.
3/15/16



and

I Knew Her Well
The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

  A poor Italian girl in Rome becomes first a model and then an actress -- but cannot find rewarding companions or friendship, let alone a satisfying place for herself in the new Italy of the 1960s. Stefania Sandrelli shines as a woman free to capitalize on her beauty, but not intuitive enough to realize how thoroughly she is being used, and to what degree her associates devalue her. Antonio Pietrangeli and Ettore Scola's blazingly incisive drama gives us the sweet life of clothes and pop songs, while Sandrelli's busy but lonely starlet attracts a sad series of lover-opportunists. The excellent production features Mario Adorf, Jean-Claude Brialy, Joachim Fuchsberger, Nino Manfredi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Ugo Tognazzi, Karin Dor and Franco Nero. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
3/15/16




Hello!

I got a big correspondent reaction to last Saturday's link to the Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood shows, the thanks for which should go to Joe Dante for spreading the good word around.

More interesting stuff: Joe Baltake has some amusing notes about a picture I've never heard of, I'll Do Anything (1994), a James L. Brooks musical that was whittled down to a non-musical before it came out.

And if you want a second opinion on early talkie musicals with W.C. Fields, see Stuart Galbraith's DVDtalk review of Her Majesty, Love... Stuart has different things to say about Fields and more information about some of the other cast members. If you're cruising the DVDtalk review logs and you see one with Galbraith's name attached, it's more often than not an entertaining opportunity to learn something new. And he also kept me from leaving out the comma after 'Majesty.'

And finally, Edward Sullivan sent along a nifty link to a long (65 minutes) string of Title Sequences by Saul Bass. Most of the big examples are there, complete with soundtracks -- it makes for a good background while one works. The list doesn't include Psycho, which is odd. Saul Bass did title sequences for many Otto Preminger films but apparently only the poster for Tell Me that You Love Me Junie Moon, which has main titles I've always liked. They're not animated; somebody instead directs a beautiful sequence in a winter forest. It's also a postcard keepsake of Pete Seeger singing a memorable tune, "Old Devil Time".

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 12, 2016

Why is this picture here? CLICK on it.

Savant's new reviews today are:

The Trip and Psych-Out
Olive Films
Blu-ray

 Separate Releases These new-to-disc restorations restore censor cuts to both movies, plus an added spicy chunk from an International Version. And The Trip has been returned, with Roger Corman's participation, to its original state pre-A.I.P.-meddling. See Peter Fonda trip out under the guidance of Bruce Dern, and then skip to a flaky Haight-Ashbury rip-off epic with Jack Nicholson, Susan Strasberg, and Dean Stockwell going dizzy with the music of The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Savant has the back story and details on the restored versions. On Blu-ray from Olive Films.
3/12/16



Spring Takes Time
DEFA Film Library
DVD

  This is what it takes to get your movie banned in East Germany in 1965: Günter Stahnke makes a drama revealing bad judgment, forbidden capitalist-style competitiveness, and dastardly backstabbing in a state-run industry. But the Party censor ideologues nail him for offensive set designs and the wrong collectivist spirit. The disc makers provide a wealth of background documentation and extras, including another Stahnke TV show from 1962, a Christmas story that was also found wanting, and banned until 1990. And these are good shows, too; those poor East Berliners needed some decent entertainment. Get yer terrific long-suppressed film history right here, folks. On DVD from DEFA Film Library.
3/12/16



and

The Strangler
The Warner Archive Collection
DVD

 Hulking menace Victor Buono gets the full-on psycho treatment as Leo Kroll, lab technician by day and mad killer by night. Henpecked by a cruel mother, his self-image and self-confidence problem is so severe that he takes his sexual frustrations out on any woman unlucky enough to become attractive to him. Based roughly on early reports of The Boston Strangler, the 'baby doll' killer also prefigures the fiendish Richard Speck. Burt Topper's film is routine but ex- Baby Jane star Victor Buono's performance is decidedly not. Lock your doors!   On DVD from The Warner Archive Collection.
3/12/16




Hello!

Links Are Us:   From Joe Dante, here's news that the website Cinephilia Beyond has ready-to-view the entire 11-hour TV docu miniseries Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood, transferred from an old laserdisc. It's much desired, so take a look -- this is the show that initiated the idea of historical docus about silent movies, using hours of 16mm interviews that Brownlow had the brilliant idea to film while the silent stars were still alive. The narration by James Mason is impeccable.


More Links:   Craig Reardon forwards fun links to Vincent Price and Boris Karloff Singing a Duet (audio), and then to Vincent Price doing The Monster Mash, which has something to do with The Monster Club, I believe.


Disc news?   We're excited by Kino's upcoming After the Fox, Journey to the Seventh Planet, The Purple Plain, The Gallant Hours and Panic in Year Zero -- (Joe Dante will have an extended reminiscence on that disc ), Weinstein's The Hateful Eight, Twilight Time's Anastasia, Alexander the Great and Exodus, VCI's City of the Dead, and Arrow UK's Woman on the Run and Too Late for Tears. I'm hoping for a couple of other titles too, but we'll see if they get here.


Boys With Toys Department:   My links to those early- 1960s electric monster toys really brought out Savant readers with similar memories. William Lund sent a link to a demo of King Zor The Fighting Dinosaur. Bud Wright had this to say about a certain coveted robot toy:

"Ahh, Robot Commando. It was probably the most desired/anticipated Christmas toy of my entire childhood, sort of similar to Ralphie's Red Ryder BB gun. I was nine, and the commercials had me salivating from November forward. Robot Commando was so wildly popular that my parents had to travel all the way from Elizabeth City, which is in Northeastern NC, to a Sears in Richmond, VA. They later described the chaos in the store as being like a scene straight out of "Jingle All the Way." The commercials were indeed vastly misleading as to the true nature of Robot Commando. He wasn't actually remote controlled, and neither was he genuinely voice-activated. His weaponry was iffy and he broke down easily and often, causing my normally even-tempered father to swear more than his usual quotient. None of this mattered, however, as I loved my Robot Commando and for months afterward prized it above all other possessions. He eventually disappeared, like all of my battered toys in the occasional, mysterious purges that would inevitably take place during school hours. Gone, but never forgotten. A few years ago I searched online auction sites for a Robot Commando. I found several, too. Unfortunately, $500 seemed a bit much for nostalgia. But you know, just seeing it again transformed me one more time into a greedy, sweaty-palmed nine year-old. Then, of course, I snapped out of it. Now I'm back to wishing for new tires. As always, love the column and never miss it! Be well!" -- Bud

Craig Reardon added his thoughts as well (edited):

"King Zor The Fighting Dinosaur did not come with the twig forest or dry ice mist as seen in the TV spot, unfortunately! But 'he' was a kick, all right, and performed just as illustrated, going in the direction his big fantail was struck from (with the included dart gun.) I perversely preferred Odd Ogg, which my brother received. You rolled a ping-pong ball (or, something like it) into an aperture at the front of Odd Ogg, and he 'spit' it right back at you. And it had loft, that throw! The end of the Ogg TV spot jingle went, "He's the greatest toy of all... Odd Ogg plays ball!" Yeah, he did!

Of course, as you might rightly expect, these marvelous plastic golems rather quickly wore out their welcome. I was not immune to shame, even at that young age. I think it was the dawning of the concept of wretched excess, as it were. A relatively short while further into the '60s I found my true avocation in drawing, making things, and my Christmas or birthday requests took a hard right turn, away from overpriced animated "batteries not included" toys. My darling mother not only got us King Zor, but the year before something called Astro Base too! That, AND the marvelous, disassemble-able Mr. Machine, the ad for which is also online. Cheers !" -- Craig

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 08, 2016

Savant's new reviews today are:

When Eight Bells Toll
KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

  This forgotten action-espionage maritime mayhem thriller is a rare starring role for the young Anthony Hopkins -- and he's really good as secret agent Philip Calvert, battling gold thieves in the Scottish Isles. Great location work and smart dialogue help as well; it's too bad Sir Anthony didn't get to make more of these. With Robert Morley, Nathalie Delon and Jack Hawkins; it's a welcome discovery. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
3/08/16




Murders in the Rue Morgue
& The Dunwich Horror

Scream Factory
Blu-ray

  It's a double bill of two A.I.P. horror pix from the soggy end of the Poe cycle. The first has Jason Robards atop an impressive cast but a disorganized storyline; the second is an almost-good Lovecraft horror with commendable performances by Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee. Both features come with commentaries by Steve Haberman. On Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
3/08/16



and

The Big Heat
Twilight Time
Blu-ray

  An Encore Edition brings back Fritz Lang's searing tale of 'hate, murder and revenge' in a city run by a corrupt mob. Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin turn in great performances, aided by several pots of fresh, hot coffee. As is usual, Fritz Lang leads the way in modernizing a genre -- this one is a keeper. With new extras including a full commentary. On Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
3/08/16




Hello!

Turner Classic Movies cable-watchers, don't forget to set your DVRs on the 10th to nab Joseph Losey's 1951 "M", which was once one of the most difficult to see films noir of the classic era. I'm trying to lower my artificially elevated expectations, so as to be pleasantly surprised. It reportedly has a LOT of scenes set in the Bradbury Building and on L.A.'s Bunker Hill, a favorite lost Los Angeles cityscape. I heard about it on NPR last year; Columbia owns it and it was recently restored. Pictured left is star David Wayne, in a different interpretation of the old Peter Lorre role.

And Gary Teetzel relays some good news for Ray Harryhausen fans ... remember Ray Harryhausen Special Effects Titan, that documentary made several years ago, inspired by the cans of ultra-rare unused animation dailies found in Harryhausen's garage by Jim Danforth and Randall William Cook? It's finally getting a release here, from Arrow Films, in June. This is the show packed with deleted and alternate outtakes of Harryhausen's American pictures, from Beast of 20,000 Fathoms through Twenty Million Miles to Earth. It's said to be coming in both Blu-ray and DVD, so I'm glad I waited. I didn't order the English DVD, because I didn't want to see the animation sped up to 25fps.

I thank Steve Finkelstein for these YouTube links to something I thought I'd never see again -- three monster toys from 1962 that were advertised on TV for several months. They were also on display at our local toy store, and had my ten-year-old eyes popping out. The price for each was, if I remember, around $18, which is like $80 today, or maybe more. You have to see these TV commercials, as they play like monster movies. They're also the definition of misleading advertising -- note that all those cool accessories -- model cities, tanks, power lines, model trains, don't come with the toy. Ideal Toys' Robot Commando was like The Mysterians come to life. Marx Toys' The Great Garloo was weird. I'm not sure what he was supposed to be, but the first half of the commercial is very much like a Godzilla trailer. Ideal Toys' dinosaur King Zor was the one I most wanted to have. Actually, I just loved the commercial, in which the plastic toy is almost better looking than Reptilicus. The music score accompanying King Zor appears to be lifted straight from a '50s monster movie, but I can't place the exact title. Did any other '50s kids have rich parents that bought them these big globs of plastic joy? Batteries not included, but you do get a ray gun to shoot Zor's tail. Can't you just see Mad Men's Don Draper making the pitch to the toy company executives?

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson



March 05, 2016

Why is this picture here? CLICK on it.

Savant's new reviews today are:

Bad Boy
The Warner Archive Collection
DVD

  Celebrated WW2 warrior Audie Murphy's film career got off to a rocky start, but this proto- juvenile delinquent epic launched him on the road to Hollywood fame, fortune and more troubled personal problems. Director Kurt Neumann backs Audie with solid acting support from Lloyd Nolan, Jane Wyatt and James Gleason. The violent thug Audie commits every crime short of shooting dogs and nuns, and saying bad things about veterans. But those wacky liberal social workers still give him the benefit of the doubt. On DVD from The Warner Archive Collection.
3/05/16



The Decline of Western Civilization
and
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II The Metal Years

Shout Factory
Blu-ray

  Penelope Spheeris made the first (and only?) movie to penetrate the L.A. punk scene, going into places and connecting with surly punks that would greet a mainstream documentarian with flipped fingers and snarled four-letter words. The result is much more than a collection of rare music performances. A second docu skips ahead six years to glom the glam rock scene. Things are as loud, as profane and as twisted as ever. Hey, even I know who some of these '80s bands are. Terrific restorations with ear-numbing sound. Now available as separate purchases on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.
3/05/16



and

Contagion
Warner Home Video
Blu-ray
Savant Revival Screening Review

 Savant sometimes stops to catch up with an older disc he should have reviewed ... so let's go back five years to praise Steven Soderbergh's superb pandemic thriller, the one that warns us to never, ever shake hands with a gourmet chef. This nail-biter's got pretty much everything a realistic disaster epic needs, plus a responsible attitude toward a credible possible future event. Of course, I llke it because it registers as apocalyptic sci-fi. Don't worry, only between 25 and 40 million people die... in the first year. Now go wash your hands. On Blu-ray from Warner Home Video.
3/05/16




Hello!

This week we lost a friend. I thought I had first known Brad Arrington through Craig Reardon, and then found that I already had emails from him in the Savant hopper. Brad was exactly one day younger than me. He passed away a couple of days ago from a long illness. Although I never met him in person we kept up a steady email correspondence from 2006, when he wrote in with enthusiastic reports about the then-new DVD of Garden of Evil. He pointed out a deleted scene from the film, which can be sampled in the trailer. Brad's correspondence was equally well known and welcome at other sites like John McElwee's Greenbriar Picture Shows. I know that his great filmic passion was split between Bernard Herrmann and Ray Harryhausen, but he also was respected for his deep knowledge of film music. We conducted plenty of spirited discussions on things like Pete Kelly's Blues and Gorgo. Brad also clued me in to screenings he couldn't attend, because at the time he lived too far away, at the far end of Orange County. I would have liked to have seen some of his reportedly incredible poster collection. He often wrote that we'd have to meet in person, but I think we really stayed connected through Craig Reardon, who when he could, told me of Brad's health problems. Craig also made me appreciate Brad more, with stories of how good a friend he'd been for so many years. He impressed those he met with more than just shared interests -- which, face it, is often a big part of our interactions with other people. Craig assures me that the bright and warm personality I detected in Brad's writing was borne out in his relationships with his many friends and associates. I extend my thanks for having known Brad, and I wish the best for his family.


A shout out to film collectors: the Edinburgh International Film Festival is l having trouble locating a screenable 35mm Technicolor print of Mario Bava's Diabolik through normal archive channels. I've contacted every collector I know personally, but it's not like I'm film collector central or anything -- those guys keep much of their business under their hats. The Edinburgh contact read about my 16mm print, but I had to tell him what rocky condition it was in. Diabolik needs to be seen theatrically in primo 35 or not at all; let's hope he finds a copy. If you're sitting on one or know where one is buried, write me and I'll put you in contact with the man from the EIFF.


Trailers from Hell's Charlie Largent appended my review of Revolt of the Slaves with a link to an older trailer + commentary piece from the terrific Brian Trenchard-Smith. I recommend you go back, follow the link and see it for yourself -- Brian offers a sample of a dubbed scene that's really funny: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Finally, I took a peek at MGMHD's cablecast last night of John Wayne's The Alamo. Although not the extra-long Road Show version it is an all new scan that's an noticeable improvement, quality-wise, over anything I've seen on video -- there's very little grain and the colors don't bleed. I'm already getting emails asking about a Blu-ray release, and all I can say is that none has been announced or even indicated by my nefarious sources at the video labs. BUT -- I would venture a BLIND GUESS that so many vendors now license MGM's UA library for disc release, that one of them will take The Alama on fairly soon, maybe in the next year. And if I'm wrong, it must be because I'm as dead as a beaver hat, pilgrim! I watched about an hour of that show .... sheesh... apart from Richard Widmark and John Wayne, practically every line of dialogue I heard plays as if it's an editorial discard before the actor said it right.

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson


Don't forget to write Savant at [email protected].

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