Batshit Blu-rays- 13 For July

Dietrich & Von Sternberg In Hollywood (Criterion) A staggering box set of director Josef von Sternberg’s six films with his muse- Marlene Dietrich. There’s Morocco (1930), where the gorgeous Dietrich is singing in a Moroccan club in male drag and kisses a woman on the lips and throws a flower to a gorgeous Legionnaire (Gary Cooper). The Scarlet Empress (1934), with Dietrich playing the scandalous Catherine the Great amidst all those grotesque gothic sets. Handsome long-haired John Lodge plays a flirtatious soldier and Sam Jaffe memorably plays Catherine’s grinning half-wit husband- the Grand Duke. Shanghai Express (1932) with Dietrich as a shady lady and a perilous train journey through politically unstable countries. An alluring Anna Mae Wong co-stars. Dishonored (1934), with Marlene playing a provocative spy, and that heart-stopping ending. The Devil Is A Woman (1935), was one of von Sternberg’s most impressionistic films. Set during Carnival in Spain, Dietrich plays a devious femme fatale. This was one of the actress’s favorites. Who can forget Blonde Venus (1932) with cabaret singer Dietrich stripping sexily out of a gorilla costume to sing “Hot Voodoo?” Von Sternberg’s films were dream-like and cinematically visionary. And that face of Dietrich! Aside from Greta Garbo, few were more beautiful, mysterious and glorious on the silver screen. All these films are meticulously restored with great extras and a booklet with three excellent essays about their legendary collaboration. One of the truly great Blu-ray releases of the year.

Godmonster Of Indian Flats (AGFA & Something Weird) This indescribably weird 1973 film by Fredric Hobbs is set in an old mining town outside Reno, where the townspeople are ruled by a corrupt mayor (Stuart Lancaster from Russ Meyer’s films), and dress in period western drag. A toxic gas rises from the mines and creates a mutant sheep embryo which a scientist brings to his lab in Indian Flats. It grows into an 8-foot lumbering monster that escapes and attacks the town. Erica Gavin (Vixen!) even shows up as a girl at the bar. There’s also a whole side plot about an outside corporation trying to buy up the mines. Just the fact that this film exists at all is a wonder but that it is given an exclusive 4K scan from the only surviving 35mm print is not half Baaaa-d.

I Walk Alone (Kino Lorber) I have to admit not knowing this sensational 1947 film noir by director Byron Haskin (The War Of The Worlds). Burt Lancaster plays Frankie, who has spent 14 years in jail on a bootlegging/murder charge. He’s back to get his cut from his criminal partner Noll ‘Dink’ Turner (Kirk Douglas), who now owns a swanky nightclub. The sultry Lizabeth Scott plays the sympathetic lounge singer at the club who ‘Dink’ uses to soften Frankie up. There’s a dark romanticism to the film, and moody visuals too, but less cynical than others of this genre. This is a 4K scan from the 35mm negative, with nice audio commentary by Troy Howarth.

Missile To The Moon (Snappy Video) Gloriously junky 1958 sci-fi film by Richard H. Cunha about a scientist who blasts off to the moon (with two convicts, a colleague and his girlfriend to help guide the ship) only to find a hostile planet filled with rock monsters, giant spiders and ruled by sexy women (many of them played by beauty contest winners like “Miss Florida” and “Miss Yugoslavia” etc.). I adore this dumb movie- whenever I’m in a bad mood it always cheers me up. This looks incredible on Blu-ray. I salute Snappy Video for restoring this cult gem.

Rocco And His Brothers. (Milestone) An early masterpiece by Luchino Visconti. A mother (Katrina Paxinou) and her four sons arrive to Milan in order to celebrate her other son’s upcoming wedding (to the gorgeous Claudia Cardinale) only to angrily disrupt the engagement party. Mamma and her boys try to make a life for themselves in the big city but a rift between brothers over the love of a prostitute (Annie Giradot) ends in tragedy. A heart-breaking, almost operatic film with a stunning-looking Alain Delon as the kind-hearted “Rocco.” This restoration is a revelation- I have never ever seen this extraordinary movie look this beautiful.

The Last House On The Left (Arrow Video) A 1972 Wes Craven black & white roughie about a group of killers who brutally murder two girls and then ironically end up staying with the parents of one of their victims. When the mother and father realize who these vicious thugs really are, they seek violent retribution. Loosely based on Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, this film was a box office hit because of its surprising nastiness and the ad campaign that warned “Just remember- it’s only a movie…only a movie…” Arrow has gone all out with this restoration- it includes three cuts of this wildly influential film including the one under its original title Krug And Company. It also comes with a CD of the film score, and a reversible movie poster!

The Colossus Of Rhodes (Warner Archive) The first directorial credit for Sergio Leone (Once Upon A Time In The West). A 1961 swords & sandal epic filmed in “Supertotalscope” and starring Rory Calhoun as a toga-wearing Greek hero on vacation in Rhodes in 280 B.C., for the unveiling of the giant bronze statue ominously straddling the harbor. He gets swept up in a revolt of the slaves against the King, while another faction also nefariously plots against the throne. Leone’s next film, Fistful Of Dollars, would revolutionize the Western.

Who Can Kill A Child? (Mondo Macabro). A man and his pregnant wife take a boat trip to a remote island only to find it mysteriously empty except for scores of fiendish, murderous children. This controversial film by Narciso Ibanez Serrador was censored heavily around the globe. This exceptional Blu-ray includes the uncut 4-K restoration from the film negative which includes the nightmarish documentary-like prologue of horrible things done to children around the world, which gives the movie its moral core. The disc also includes the cut version Island Of The Damned. A powerful, great film.

A Matter Of Life And Death (Criterion) Glorious 1946 fantasy by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger about a wartime pilot (David Niven) who was supposed to die when his plane crashes. He washes ashore and falls in love with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter) and eventually there is a tribunal in heaven to decide if he can stay on earth. Heaven is envisioned in luxurious black & white. I remember an incredible screening of a restored print of this film with Michael Powell and Kim Hunter in attendance that was one of the great memories of my life. Criterion, naturally, does a great job with this masterpiece.

The Case Of The Scorpion’s Tail (Arrow) Great example of the “Giallo” Italian thriller that reigned in the 70s and 80s. George Hilton plays an insurance investigator following the widow of a businessman (who died in a suspicious plane explosion) as she travels to Greece to cash in the million dollar policy. Slickly directed by Sergio Martino (Torso), The movie is very stylish and filled with plenty of red herrings and unexpected murderous twists.

Designing Woman (Warner Archive) Can a sportswriter (Gregory Peck) find marital bliss with a fashion-designer (Lauren Bacall)? This breezy 1957 comedy is stylishly directed by Vincente Minelli, with sumptuous costumes by Helen Rose and the added comic genius of Dolores Gray as a sexy musical star. Lots of great visual gags which look terrific now on Blu-ray. The two leads have such appealing chemistry it makes this fluff a lot of fun.

In The Mouth Of Madness (Shout! Factory) A special edition of this under-rated John Carpenter take on H. P. Lovecraft. Sam Neill plays an investigator assigned to find a missing horror author named Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow). He discovers that Sutter’s books have a disorienting, hallucinatory effect on the reader, and his sleuthing leads him to Hobb’s End, a monstrous town from Cane’s novels. Not to mention a manuscript that may be ushering in the apocalypse.

The Revolt Of Mamie Stover (Twilight Time) Jane Russell plays the notorious prostitute Mamie Stover, run out of San Francisco by the cops who arrives in Honolulu right before Pearl Harbor. She makes a name for herself as a dance-hall hostess in a bar run by Agnes Moorehead. When World War II starts, Stover craftily makes a fortune buying up real estate on the cheap. Richard Egan plays her stalwart love interest in this trashy melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh, never before on home video. Boy, have I been waiting for this!