‘Close Encounters’ awareness is up this week, what with a national mini-release of the 1977 Steven Spielberg hit, so I reached into the bottomless Savant archives for something to show-and-tell. This might be educational for fans of old-school visual effects, in this case, the miniature-making genius of Gregory Jein.
The miniature shop at the Marina Del Rey effects facility for Close Encounters of the Third Kind was full of surprises. Miniature specialist propmaker Gregory Jein had help at times from several modelmakers, mainly Ken Swenson and Michael McMillen. But a great many of the tabletop miniatures for the flying saucer epic were built primarily by Greg alone. He carved the Devil’s Tower mountain and constructed several other landscapes on plywood tables about ten feet in length.
The most complex miniature was not a full model, but a ‘reflections’ model of an auto toll booth, in which Director of Photography of...
The miniature shop at the Marina Del Rey effects facility for Close Encounters of the Third Kind was full of surprises. Miniature specialist propmaker Gregory Jein had help at times from several modelmakers, mainly Ken Swenson and Michael McMillen. But a great many of the tabletop miniatures for the flying saucer epic were built primarily by Greg alone. He carved the Devil’s Tower mountain and constructed several other landscapes on plywood tables about ten feet in length.
The most complex miniature was not a full model, but a ‘reflections’ model of an auto toll booth, in which Director of Photography of...
- 9/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sergio Leone’s Civil War gunslinger epic is everybody’s favorite western, and most everybody has a bone to pick regarding problems with the previous DVDs and Blu-rays. The good news is that Kino’s 50th Anniversary Special Edition takes giant leaps in correcting older audio issues . . . but the bad news . . .
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Blu-ray
2-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Techniscope) / 187 161, 148 min. / Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il cattivo/ Street Date August 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer: Carlo Simi
Film Editor: Eugenio Alabiso, Nino Baragli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, story by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone.
Produced by Alberto Grimaldi
Directed by Sergio Leone
I’d like to report...
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Blu-ray
2-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Techniscope) / 187 161, 148 min. / Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il cattivo/ Street Date August 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer: Carlo Simi
Film Editor: Eugenio Alabiso, Nino Baragli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, story by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone.
Produced by Alberto Grimaldi
Directed by Sergio Leone
I’d like to report...
- 8/12/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
For the discerning science fiction fan, this is the best of the Eastern-bloc Cold War Sci-fi epics, a genuinely brilliant and warmly human ‘Voyage to the End of the Universe,’ restored in 4k resolution. It’s from before 2001: A Space Odyssey, and has an equally wondrous but totally different vision of the future.
Ikarie Xb 1
Blu-ray
Nfa (Czechoslovak National Film Archive)
1963 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March, 2017
Starring: Radovan Lukavský, Zdenek Stepánek, Frantisek Smolík, Otto Lackovic, Irena Kacírková Dana Medrická
Cinematography: Jan Kalis, Sasa Rasilov
Production Designer: Jan Zázvorka
Special Effects: Jan Kalis
Film Editor: Josef Dobrichovský
Original Music: Zdenek Liska
Written by Jindrich Polák and Pavel Jurácek, adapted from the novel The Magellanic Cloud by Stanislaus Lem.
Produced by Filmové Studio Barrandov
Directed by Jindrich Polák
The trailer for the new restoration of Ikarie Xb 1 (no hyphen) pretty much tells the story. A shot...
Ikarie Xb 1
Blu-ray
Nfa (Czechoslovak National Film Archive)
1963 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March, 2017
Starring: Radovan Lukavský, Zdenek Stepánek, Frantisek Smolík, Otto Lackovic, Irena Kacírková Dana Medrická
Cinematography: Jan Kalis, Sasa Rasilov
Production Designer: Jan Zázvorka
Special Effects: Jan Kalis
Film Editor: Josef Dobrichovský
Original Music: Zdenek Liska
Written by Jindrich Polák and Pavel Jurácek, adapted from the novel The Magellanic Cloud by Stanislaus Lem.
Produced by Filmové Studio Barrandov
Directed by Jindrich Polák
The trailer for the new restoration of Ikarie Xb 1 (no hyphen) pretty much tells the story. A shot...
- 7/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This French disc release of the Jacques Tourneur classic gets everything right — including both versions in picture perfect transfers. Devil debunker Dana Andrews locks horns with Niall MacGinnis, a necromancer “who has decoded the Old Book” and can summon a fire & brimstone monster from Hell, no election fraud necessary. Even fans that hate ghost stories love this one — it’s a truly creepy, intelligent highlight of the horror genre.
Night of the Demon
Region A + B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Wild Side (Fr)
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 95 & 82 min. / Street Date November 27, 2013 / Curse of the Demon, Rendez-vous avec la peur / Available from Amazon UK or Foreign Exchange Blu-ray
Starring: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham,
Athene Seyler
Cinematography: Ted Scaife
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Special Effects: George Blackwell, S.D. Onions, Wally Veevers
Film Editor Michael Gordon
Original Music: Clifton Parker
Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester
from the...
Night of the Demon
Region A + B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Wild Side (Fr)
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 95 & 82 min. / Street Date November 27, 2013 / Curse of the Demon, Rendez-vous avec la peur / Available from Amazon UK or Foreign Exchange Blu-ray
Starring: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham,
Athene Seyler
Cinematography: Ted Scaife
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Special Effects: George Blackwell, S.D. Onions, Wally Veevers
Film Editor Michael Gordon
Original Music: Clifton Parker
Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester
from the...
- 5/20/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If anybody’s dreams are interesting, Akira Kurosawa’s should be, and this late career fantasy is a consistently rewarding string of morality tales and visual essays that pop off the screen. Some of the imagery has input from the famed Ishiro Honda.
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 842
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 15, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Mieko Harada, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Chosuke, Chishu Ryu, Martin Scorsese, Masayuki Yui.
Cinematography Takao Saito, Shoji Ueda
Film Editor Tome Minami
Original Music Sinichiro Ikebe
Creative Consultant ishiro Honda
Visual Effects Supervisors Ken Ralston, Mark Sullivan
Produced by Hisao Kurosawa, Mike Y. Inoue
Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
At the twilight of his career, after some episodes of career frustration and instability, Akira Kurosawa hit a high note with the epic costume dramas Kagemusha and Ran.
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 842
1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 15, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Mieko Harada, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Chosuke, Chishu Ryu, Martin Scorsese, Masayuki Yui.
Cinematography Takao Saito, Shoji Ueda
Film Editor Tome Minami
Original Music Sinichiro Ikebe
Creative Consultant ishiro Honda
Visual Effects Supervisors Ken Ralston, Mark Sullivan
Produced by Hisao Kurosawa, Mike Y. Inoue
Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
At the twilight of his career, after some episodes of career frustration and instability, Akira Kurosawa hit a high note with the epic costume dramas Kagemusha and Ran.
- 11/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of the best-remembered dramas of the '70s gives us controversial actresses, a lavish production and a story by the even more controversial Lillian Hellman. Director Fred Zinnemann makes it into a suspenseful, deeply affecting experience. Julia Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1977 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Ship Date April 12, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Maximilian Schell, Hal Holbrook, Meryl Streep, Rosemary Murphy, Dora Doll, Elisabeth Mortensen, John Glover, Lisa Pelikan, Susan Jones, Cathleen Nesbitt, Maurice Denham. Cinematography Douglas Slocombe Film Editor Walter Murch Original Music Georges Delerue Written by Alvin Sargent based on the story by Lillian Hellman Produced by Richard Roth Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fred Zinnemann was a cinema activist from way back, a filmmaker of uncompromising convictions. His most frequent theme is anti-fascism, although he began with a very Soviet-styled pro-union film in Mexico, Redes.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fred Zinnemann was a cinema activist from way back, a filmmaker of uncompromising convictions. His most frequent theme is anti-fascism, although he began with a very Soviet-styled pro-union film in Mexico, Redes.
- 4/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Is this not the most brilliant screenplay from 2015? Alex Garland assembles a perfect fable about robots, artificial intelligence and the hubris of a software genius who thinks he's a God. Garland's direction is tops as well, as is the acting of Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. When did I realize I was seeing a killer diller Sci-fi winner? He had me as soon as I saw that house. This is the movie with the sexy see-through robot. The question not asked but that every male viewer is thinking is, 'could I have sex with that?' Ex Machina Blu-ray + Digital HD Lionsgate 2015 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date July 14, 2016 / 24.99 Starring Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno. Cinematography Rob Hardy Film Editor Mark Day Original Music Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury Produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The smartest,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The smartest,...
- 1/24/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I have the full rundown on the notorious spacey alternate ending to this sci-fi winner by design specialist Saul Bass. The ants are taking over, and they mean business. World conquest begins at a research lab in Arizona, where Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy and Lynne Frederick try to hold out against super-intelligent hormigas that cut them off, build sophisticated weapons and instantly adapt to any chemical attempt to stop them. Phase IV Blu-ray Olive Films 1974 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford Cinematography Dick Bush Insect sequences Ken Middleham Art Direction John Barry Film Editor Willy Kemplen Original Music Brian Gascoigne Written by Mayo Simon Produced by Paul B. Radin Directed by Saul Bass
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Olive Films Blu-ray of the intriguing Sci-Fi curiosity Phase IV appears to be a newer, cleaner transfer than the older DVD.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Olive Films Blu-ray of the intriguing Sci-Fi curiosity Phase IV appears to be a newer, cleaner transfer than the older DVD.
- 11/17/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A must-have reader!
Glenn Erickson’s masterful and insightful criticism over at DVD Savant is a regular stop for many of us here at Trailers From Hell, so it excites us to no end that he’s finally released another compendium of reviews in book form. This time focusing on a genre near-and-dear to our hearts: sci-fi films. Erickson’ aptly titled Sci-Fi Savant features over 100 bits of criticism spanning the history of science fiction on film.
From the publicist:
Sci-fi Savant‘s 116 separate title entries are in chronological order starting with Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and ending with James Cameron’s Avatar. Many are exclusive to this book. In addition to representing all of the key classics of the 1950s, the selection gives full coverage to more arcane but equally significant titles.
A brief list of notable rarities:
La fin du monde (The End of the World), Abel Gance’s weird apocalyptic epic,...
Glenn Erickson’s masterful and insightful criticism over at DVD Savant is a regular stop for many of us here at Trailers From Hell, so it excites us to no end that he’s finally released another compendium of reviews in book form. This time focusing on a genre near-and-dear to our hearts: sci-fi films. Erickson’ aptly titled Sci-Fi Savant features over 100 bits of criticism spanning the history of science fiction on film.
From the publicist:
Sci-fi Savant‘s 116 separate title entries are in chronological order starting with Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and ending with James Cameron’s Avatar. Many are exclusive to this book. In addition to representing all of the key classics of the 1950s, the selection gives full coverage to more arcane but equally significant titles.
A brief list of notable rarities:
La fin du monde (The End of the World), Abel Gance’s weird apocalyptic epic,...
- 11/2/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
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