John Sturges’ orbital jeopardy thriller does everything right: the story is taken seriously, the actors seem committed and the special effects aren’t bad. Yet it’s more interesting for what doesn’t work than what does. As one of the first Sci-fi pictures in the wake of 2001 it wasn’t well received despite being technically astute. Did NASA’s race to the Moon put an end to fanciful space Sci-fi? Gregory Peck, Gene Hackman, Lee Grant and some ex- TV actors do their best, but producer Mike Frankovich’s space saga just sits there. It looks great in its first Blu-ray release: images of the actual Apollo 11 launch are breathtaking.
Marooned
Region-free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 113
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date March 30, 2022 (Au.) April 8, 2022 (U.S.) / Available from Amazon US / 47.99
Starring: Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James Franciscus, Gene Hackman, Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, Mariette Hartley, Scott Brady,...
Marooned
Region-free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 113
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date March 30, 2022 (Au.) April 8, 2022 (U.S.) / Available from Amazon US / 47.99
Starring: Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James Franciscus, Gene Hackman, Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, Mariette Hartley, Scott Brady,...
- 4/26/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I must have at least 7 home video releases of John Sturges’ classic, starting from VHS, but they’ve come up with a good reason to return: a 4K transfer with color and contrast grading that to me better represents the movie. The thrilling, not-too-violent escapades of Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, David McCallum, James Coburn, Charles Bronson & James Donald are no longer timed so that everything looks like a washed-out high noon: both the 4th of July and much of the mad-dash escape scramble are meant to take place near the crack of dawn. In this case ‘Much darker’ is much richer; faces don’t get blown out. And I do see more detail in the enhanced image. So here we go again, happily.
The Great Escape 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / Street Date January 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner,...
The Great Escape 4K
4K Ultra HD
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / Street Date January 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner,...
- 12/27/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This mid-‘sixties black comedy from the mischievous George Axelrod defines and dissects ‘crazy California culture’ just as West Coasters were being slandered as godless weird-oh hedonists. It’s partly a sarcastic put-down, citing anecdotal extremes like drive-in churches (how 2020 can you get?), perverse youth encounter groups and mindless beach party movies. But Axelrod’s paints indelible images of maladjusted women of three age groups: Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright and Ruth Gordon. Where Roddy McDowall fits in is anybody’s guess — he’s meant to glue the satire together and instead turns it into a big Question Mark.
Lord Love a Duck
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date September 22, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Roddy McDowall, Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright, Martin West, Ruth Gordon, Harvey Korman, Sarah Marshall, Lynn Carey, Donald Murphy, Max Showalter, Joseph Mell, Dan Frazer, Martine Bartlett, Jo Collins, Judith Loomis, Gay Gordon,...
Lord Love a Duck
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date September 22, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Roddy McDowall, Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright, Martin West, Ruth Gordon, Harvey Korman, Sarah Marshall, Lynn Carey, Donald Murphy, Max Showalter, Joseph Mell, Dan Frazer, Martine Bartlett, Jo Collins, Judith Loomis, Gay Gordon,...
- 9/22/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Images from this picture were burned into our Boomer childhood brains … we actually sat still for almost three hours to watch it. John Sturges’ epic show is like a fine-tuned watch — its unbreakable story is populated by ideal characters that become instant heroes, just for acting like normal men that want free of confinement. It’s really about freedom — after two hours in the Pow compound, the fugitives set loose in the wide, green beauty of Germany might as well be escaping into a wonderland of light and space. In its own way this show made our parents’ wartime experience come alive — it’s The picture to interest kids in events of the past.
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
- 5/2/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Clever plotting goes into overdrive for this light-comedy proto-paranoid film noir about a magazine publishing empire so organized that it seems a sci-fi invention from the future. Ray Milland’s charismatic fall guy finds himself embroiled in a murder plot filled with false identities, and a manhunt that he must supervise… to catch himself. Maybe Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale watched this from their cribs, and applied its chaotic symmetry to their pretzel-plotted comedies!
The Big Clock
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 95 min. / Street Date May 14, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, George Macready, Rita Johnson, Elsa Lanchester, Harry (Henry) Morgan.
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp, John Seitz
Film Editor: LeRoy Stone
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Jonathan Latimer from a novel by Kenneth Fearing
Produced by John Farrow, Richard Maibaum
Directed by John Farrow
The thriller The Big Clock...
The Big Clock
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 95 min. / Street Date May 14, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, George Macready, Rita Johnson, Elsa Lanchester, Harry (Henry) Morgan.
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp, John Seitz
Film Editor: LeRoy Stone
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Jonathan Latimer from a novel by Kenneth Fearing
Produced by John Farrow, Richard Maibaum
Directed by John Farrow
The thriller The Big Clock...
- 5/11/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Some like their comedy hot and some like it cold. Billy Wilder opted to step on the joke accelerator to see what top speed looked like. One of the most finely tuned comedies ever made, this political satire crams five hours’ worth of wit and sight gags into 115 minutes. The retirement-age James Cagney practically blows a fuse rattling through Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s high-pressure speeches, without slurring so much as a single syllable.
One, Two, Three
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis,
Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Lilo Pulver
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Production Designers Robert Stratil, Heinrich Weidemann
Art Direction Alexander Trauner
Film Editor Daniel Mandell
Original Music André Previn
Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Ferenc Molnar
Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder
How...
One, Two, Three
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1961 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis,
Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Lilo Pulver
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Production Designers Robert Stratil, Heinrich Weidemann
Art Direction Alexander Trauner
Film Editor Daniel Mandell
Original Music André Previn
Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from the play by Ferenc Molnar
Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder
How...
- 5/27/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
1955′s Artists and Models, directed by Frank Tashlin, neatly satirizes the cold-war paranoia of the fifties (and the McCarthy hearings in particular) by focusing on a similar witch hunt, the war against comic books.
Tashlin’s film, starring Dean Martin as a failed “fine” artist reduced to drawing for comic books and Jerry Lewis as the fella who reads them, has its basis in fact (more or less): future Mad publisher William Gaines actually appeared before a 1954 Senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency where he defended his comics line including the politico’s favorite easy target, Tales from the Crypt.
Tashlin cut his teeth directing some of the more transgressive cartoons for Columbia and Warner Bros. so it’s no surprise he’s on the side of the angels (in this case Gaines), blasting anything in sight with a pretentious bone in its body. In Artists and Models, fine art...
Tashlin’s film, starring Dean Martin as a failed “fine” artist reduced to drawing for comic books and Jerry Lewis as the fella who reads them, has its basis in fact (more or less): future Mad publisher William Gaines actually appeared before a 1954 Senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency where he defended his comics line including the politico’s favorite easy target, Tales from the Crypt.
Tashlin cut his teeth directing some of the more transgressive cartoons for Columbia and Warner Bros. so it’s no surprise he’s on the side of the angels (in this case Gaines), blasting anything in sight with a pretentious bone in its body. In Artists and Models, fine art...
- 3/22/2014
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
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