Savant's new reviews today are

Saturday greetings. An alert for Science Fiction fans: Go outside and play if the weather's good, but when you get back check out the Savant review for Creation of the Humanoids. I barely remembered the film from a viewing on a neighbor's color TV (two colors, orange-brown and dull green) in about 1965. On this new disc it turns out to be a unique experience -- stultifyingly static -- but unique!

I've got to hand it to Warners' ... their Tennesee Williams boxed set proved to be a fascinating bunch of titles, several of which I've seen before but became much more interesting after learning their back stories from the DVD extras. I was probably too hard on some of the musicals in another box set, which probably hasn't endeared me to the Judy Garland crowd. Feel free to point out my errors if you see I'm completely snafu on any of these pictures.

And Warners have more interesting announcements for July. We'll be getting a restored 70mm transfer of John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, which has some potentially interesting extras. And there'll be a couple of boxloads of prime old action dramas: The Film Noir Classics Vol 3 box will include Border Incident, His Kind of Woman, Lady in the Lake, On Dangerous Ground and The Racket, whle the Warner Bros. Pictures Tough Guys Collection will carry Bullets or Ballots, City for Conquest, Each Dawn I Die, 'G' Men, San Quentin and A Slight Case of Murder. Almost all will have commentaries, and I've heard about a couple of titles that will have major restorations. One title has material dropped after its original release and not seen in sixty years! (Don't ask, as I've been told not to say any more about this ... the detailed scoops are apparently reserved for more dramatic announcement opportunities.)

For Stanley Kubrick fans, I've amended the review of, believe it or not, Dark Sky's Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster with a friendly letter from a filmmaker who relates the true nature of the working relationship between Kubrick and FMTSM director Robert Gaffey. Small world! Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Hello ... hoping for those May genre titles while going over the Warners musicals and Tennessee Williams movies. Of previous Savant reviews, these two also come out today: The Emilio Miraglia Killer Queen Box Set  (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave & The Red Queen Kills 7 Times) and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

We have a Warners' full house of musicals and Tennessee Williams adaptations this weekend, thanks to two generous box collections. I was expecting Guys and Dolls to come in but these shows are fine company.

In other news, I've read that the Lion's Gate Arkoff monster shows are being reviewed and Day the World Ended is letterboxed but not enhanced. I didn't get screeners of the first batch and am not sure I will for the second, either. Too bad, as they're amusing pictures and fun to write about: The She-Creature, The Saga of the Viking Women and their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent.

Criterion has announced the Powell-Pressburger wartime picture A Canterbury Tale for July, which is really good news ... it's quite a fascinating, magical movie and I can't wait to see it again. I thought it was coming last year but they gave us The Tales of Hoffmann instead. Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Hello, post-Easter readers. Two things to add today: Savant's review has been out for a couple of months, but tomorrow is when Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron hits the street. Also, Savant really fumbled a couple of weeks ago by not seeing an important extra on a disc that might have had a positive effect on my review. I've added an apology to the review of The Gardener. I'd ask that people who considered going after the disc take another look. Many regrets.

Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

A rainy Ides of April, as we take umbrellas and walk to the Post Office to send in our tax returns! Savant just received the Tennessee Williams boxed set and is taking his time with them, as well as consulting friends who know more about the plays behind the pictures than I do. It looks as though we're going to be getting some great genre titles in May, noirs from Paramount and action dramas from Fox, including Roger Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Masscre. It's one of the great gangster pictures and Roger's most successful studio directing assignment. And it will be in CinemaScope -- Savant's only seen it that way when he rented it for a UCLA dorm in 1972.

I have also been studying the interesting Antonioni movie The Passenger, and should have a review up for it on Tuesday. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

We're practically halfway through another month, but the reviews keep coming ... Not a heck of a lot happening here, except a few school break visits. Next time up I should have reviews for some Italian horror pictures and a scathing docu about Vietnam veterans, Winter Soldier. Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Not much news today beyond the reviews ... a lot of multi-title sets suddenly, but they're all winners so far. Next time up I'll have Mr. Arkadin, The Gardener (Seeds of Evil) and perhaps the Mae West movies. And the Dark Sky 60s science fiction discs will be here soon as well, for early review. Thanks for reading -- we're enjoying off and on rain days here in Los Angeles. Take care, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are