A wild mix of Blu-rays for January- from rare Brian De Palma, classic Hitchcock, creepy Hammer classics, oddball Mario Bavas and Joan Crawford chewing the scenery and Jeff Chandler’s face in a camp classic.
Female On The Beach (Kino Lorber) In this inadvertently hilarious 1955 melodrama beach bum/gigolo (Jeff Chandler) asks wealthy widow (Joan Crawford), “How do you like your coffee?” “Alone,” she curtly replies. Joan plays a tough cookie who moves into her late husband’s beach house and, at first, rejects the flirty advances of Chandler, who lives with his “aunt & uncle” (played with camp gusto by Cecil Kellaway & Natalie Schafer) who pimp him out to lonely rich women for cash. Directed by Joseph Pevney, it skirts film noir territory- concerning the mysterious death of a former tenant (Judith Evelyn)- but make no mistake, this is a Crawford vehicle all the way. A stunning looking transfer on Blu-ray and with insightful and funny commentary by David DeCoteau and David Del Valle, this is a must-have disc.
Obsession (Scream Factory) This haunting 1976 Brian De Palma film doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Cliff Robertson plays a land developer in New Orleans whose wife and daughter are kidnapped for ransom. Things go tragically wrong when the police try to rescue them and he is tormented with grief. Years later he takes a trip to Italy with his partner (John Lithgow) and he becomes obsessed with a beautiful young woman (sensational Genevieve Bujold) who resembles his late wife. With a screenplay by Paul Schrader, dreamy cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, and a lush, evocative score by Bernard Herrmann, this perverse mystery/romance is finally given the gorgeous 2K restoration it merits.
What Ever Happened To Aunt Alice? (Kino Lorber) Geraldine Page is glorious as Claire Marrable, a devious widow living in Arizona who hires a series of housekeepers who she eventually murders in order to drain their bank accounts. Ruth Gordon plays her new maid who is secretly trying to find out what happened to her own sister (Mildred Dunnock), a former employee of Mrs. Marrable who has gone missing. Based on Ursula Curtiss’s The Forbidden Garden, it’s a joy to watch these great actresses tangle in the desert in this enjoyable, little known, 1969 modern/gothic thriller.
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (Scream Factory) Christopher Lee returns to the role he made famous as the bloodthirsty Count, resurrected when some unwary travelers spend the night at Dracula’s castle and one of them is hung up and bled over the vampire’s ashes. With wonderful Barbara Shelley, slick direction by Terence Fisher this is one of my favorite of the series and looks stunning on Blu-ray, and comes with fascinating cast interviews and other great extras.
The House That Would Not Die (Kino Lorber) A 1970 TV film starring Barbara Stanwyck as a woman who inherits and moves into an old house with her niece (Kitty Winn– so memorable in The Panic In Needle Park). But they find the place infested with malevolent spirits. Richard Egan plays the kindly neighbor and Michael Anderson Jr. plays Winn’s love interest who attempts to unravel the secrets haunting the house. I’m thrilled that these oddball TV movies are getting so lovingly resurrected on Blu-ray.
8MM (Scream Factory) In this 1999 Joel Schumacher thriller Nicolas Cage plays Tom, a private investigator, who is hired by a wealthy widow (the divine Myra Carter) to investigate what appears to be an 8mm snuff movie she discovered in her husband’s safe after his death. This leads him down a rabbit hole into a sordid world of underground porn, and vicious amoral killers. Joaquin Phoenix is extraordinary as a musician who works in porn store who assists Tom by introducing him to the players in this netherworld. The screenplay is by the author of Seven. A lot more fun than I remembered- and that cast! James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald, Chris Bauer, Catherine Keener, even a young Norman Reedus.
Four Times That Night (Kino Classics) Italian horror maestro Mario Bava’s stylish sex comedy, set in swinging 60s Italy, about a wealthy playboy (Return Of The Fly’s Brett Halsey) driving a sports car who spies a beautiful girl (Daniela Giordano) walking a dog in the park. He invites her for a date that night and what happens after that depends on the perspective of four points of view (all tantalizingly shown). A riot of bright pop colors, thigh-high boots and provocative mini-skirts- it’s a randy Rashomon.
Knives Of The Avenger (Kino Classics) Director Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Blood And Black Lace) stepped in to direct a troubled production that plays like a Viking version of Shane. A disarmingly blonde Cameron Mitchell plays a wandering warrior who takes it on himself to protect a young woman (and Queen in hiding), and her son, from a murderous fiend (Fausto Tozzi) also responsible for his own family’s death. Considering the movie took 6 days to complete, visually the movie is moodily atmospheric.
Secret Of Dorian Gray (Raro Video) Italian director Massimo Dallamano’s enjoyably trashy take on the famed Oscar Wilde tale of a decadent young man who never ages, thanks to an oil painting of himself that keeps him young and reveals his every evil impulse on the canvas. Set in swinging London and starring Helmut Berger (The Damned), who is an inspired choice and attacks this role with fiendish gusto in this bizarre 1970 film.
The Glass Key (Shout Select) Great film noir based on a book by Dashiell Hammett with another perfect pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. (This was the second of four films they did together). Ladd plays a loyal underling of a crooked politician (Brian Donlevy), and when his boss is suspect of a murder he tries to find the real killer. Complicating matters is the charms of a Senator’s daughter (Veronica Lake). A gritty, great noir with smart, snappy dialogue. When Ladd end up in the hospital after getting roughed up even his nurse says, “No wonder people beat you up.”
The Plague Of The Zombies (Shout! Factory) An exceptional 1966 Hammer Studios horror film about a mysterious series of deaths in a Cornwall village and an army of undead creatures appearing around an old mine. Excellent direction by John Gilling, great atmosphere and a smart script by Peter Bryan make this a memorably creepy experience.
Notorious (Criterion) Suspenseful 1944 Hitchcock spy thriller about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who is forced to go undercover and infiltrate a group of Nazis in South America. Cary Grant is her American agent/former boyfriend who tries to keep her from getting exposed and killed. A sophisticated script by Ben Hecht with several memorable classic moments (the key!). Bergman is glorious, and her relationship with Grant is truly twisted love. Notorious has been lucky on home video, but Criterion always raises the bar. Their Blu-ray of Hitchcock’s Rebecca is perfection.
10 To Midnight (Shout! Factory) A fabulously demented Charles Bronson film, where he plays a tough, seasoned detective who plants evidence to put away a psycho serial killer (Gene Davis, brother of Brad Davis). This blows up in his face and sets the killer free to stalk Bronson’s daughter. The scene at the end where a nude Gene Davis shows up at an apartment to kill everyone there (reminiscent of Richard Speck’s infamous murderous spree) has to be seen to be believed.
10 to Midnight–honestly what is there not to like? A great slasher film, plenty of blood and Gene Davis nude and with his beautiful butt throughout the entire movie. That’s my kind of movie.