As the dog days of summer approach, what better way to celebrate than in an air-conditioned room and a nice cool drink with one of these deranged Blu-rays. This month has some digitally improved discs of The War Of The Worlds and two Maria Montez Technicolor camp wonders; to a perverse, under-rated Roman Polanski chiller; a rare film noir with Alan Ladd; a mind-blowing, gun-blazing new Brazilian film; a ground-breaking lesbian classic; not to mention Doris Day’s glorious first film for Warner Brothers.
The War Of The Worlds (Criterion) A sensational 1953 film version of the H.G. Wells sci-fi novel about an attack from an alien race. Produced by George Pal and directed by Byron Haskin, it stars Gene Barry as a scientist on a fishing trip when a strange meteor strikes nearby. He meets a library science teacher (Ann Robinson) and her pastor uncle while investigating the site. Later in the night Martian space ships rise up from the meteor disintegrating everything in sight. Barry and Robinson go on the run as the entire world comes under attack. Sir Cedrick Hardwicke does the voice-over throughout the film. Taut, suspenseful, gorgeously filmed, it’s a thrill that Criterion gets to do a 4K restoration on this. You cannot imagine how gorgeous it looks. The disc comes with great commentary by Joe Dante, Bob Burns and Bill Warren, and plenty of extras. What the hell are you waiting for?
Bacurau (Kino Lorber) An absolute first-rate film set deep in the Brazilian jungles in a town not easily found on any map. The death of the village matriarch brings everyone together, with the exception of the town physician (Sonia Braga), who had a complicated relationship with the woman. But suddenly a strange saucer-shape drone appears in the sky, followed by two mountain bikers in outlandish garb and a horrifying discovery at a horse ranch, which make everyone realize they are suddenly under siege. Their enemy- some American mercenaries led by a German/American (Udo Kier) who are killing people in town for sport. Only the tables are quickly turned and the hunters soon become the hunted. One does not fuck with the people of Bacurau. Written and directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles, everything about the film is so evocative, suspenseful and consistently unexpected. An exceptional genre mash-up of social commentary with John Carpenter-like action.
The Tenant (Shout! Factory) A great Roman Polanski psychological thriller set in France. Polanski plays a man who rents an apartment where the last tenant attempted suicide by jumping out of a window. He slowly slides into paranoia and madness himself. Shelley Winters plays the nasty concierge and the other ominous neighbors include Melvyn Douglas, Lila Kedrova and Jo Van Fleet. There are such perverse and dark-humored turns as Polanski’s character starts transforming into the former tenant in his mind. I have watched this film countless times and it gets better and creepier.
Mondo Balordo (Severin) Boris Karloff is our host in this loony “Mondo” movie chronicling all the weird practices and strange things to be seen around the globe in pseudo-documentary style. “Our world- what a crazy place we dwell in…” cries the theme song. We see a midget rocker on stage stripping out of a Zoot Suit. We head to a transvestite bar in Barcelona. We watch a photographer in Hong Kong shooting bondage photos. Whee, we’re now at a Hamburg lesbian bar. Learning about polygamy in Jamaica. At an exorcism in India. We see Ecuador Indians chewing on coca leaves. Chinese opium dens. Travel to the heart of Arabia where camel urine is used by hairdressers to make the Arab girls hair turn blonde. We learn all about gigolos in Capri. Mixed in are also nature shots of a lion tearing apart a zebra just to show it’s a dog-eat-dog world. There’s a bonus film- The Orientals– a sort-of “Mondo” movie mixed in with several narrative films- like one about a hooker, one about a pearl diver and a kickboxer who gets hooked on opium.
Million Dollar Mermaid (Warner Archive) One of the best of the Esther Williams movies. This one is based on real-life swimmer Annette Kellerman, an Australian girl in the late 19th century who contracted polio and swam as a way to rehabilitate herself. She meets two American promotors (Victor Mature and Jesse White) who help advertise her long-distance swims and make her a star attraction at the Hippodrome. The swimming spectacles are choreographed by Busby Berkeley and are outrageous- Esther rises out of the water with a lit sparkler headdress and men glide down perilous slides into the water tank. As always, these Warner Archive Blu-rays are visually flawless.
Madchen In Uniform (Kino Lorber) A landmark in queer cinema, this 1931 German film was directed by a woman (Leontine Sagan) and based on an anti-authoritarian play by Christa Winsloe about a sensitive, motherless girl- Manuela (Hertha Thiele), sent to a rigid all-girl boarding school. There she falls madly in love for her sympathetic teacher Fraulein von Bernboug (Dorothea Wieck), but a drunken outburst after a school play is her downfall. Sensitively done, it was heavily censored and outright banned in America at the time of its release.
The Flesh And The Fiends (Kino Lorber) Peter Cushing plays a ruthless surgeon in 1828 Edinburgh, who is also respected college professor. He pays for pilfered cadavers from an odious twosome- Burke (George Rose) and Hare (Donald Pleasence)- who begin murdering people to save them from the bother of digging up fresh graves. This is the full, uncut European version of the film, so scenes in the tavern and whorehouse is sprinkled with nudity that were never in prints released in the States in 1960. The Blu-ray includes the American version called Mania- which just cuts the movie off before the last reel, so here’s your opportunity to see what happens to Peter Cushing in this nasty little shocker.
Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves (Kino Lorber) When I was in Paris a few years ago I made a pilgrimage to Maria Montez’s grave in Montmartre Cemetery. Montez was Universal Studio’s queen of Technicolor in the 1940s and two of her best costume epics are now available on Blu-ray where the color makes your eyes bleed it’s so beautiful. In this film Montez plays a beauty engaged to the Mongol leader who has invaded her country. Jon Hall plays a Robin Hood-like thief who rides with a band of thieves hiding out in a cave. There’s romance, action, Montez’s marble-in-the-mouth delivery- everything to make a night of camp heaven.
Arabian Nights (Kino Lorber) Maria Montez plays Sherazade, a bewitching dancer with a traveling circus in Persia. The evil brother Kamar (Leif Erickson) of the true King Haroun (Jon Hall) has captured the throne and plans to wed Sherazade. Sabu plays an acrobat with the circus that saves the king, disguises him and they all flee into the desert, where Haroun falls for Montez and plots to regain the throne. It’s fast-paced, beautifully art-directed and Montez, Hall & Sabu are a joy to watch in this enjoyably campy adventure yarn.
The Paleface (Kino Lorber) I used to hate the hawkish, rabidly right-wing Bob Hope when I was a young rabble rouser. But years later I caught up with his comedies at a revival movie theater and I fell in love. His character remained the same- the funny, wise-cracking, smart-aleck. Kind of a coward, yet really a good-natured-goofball. I love when he breaks the fourth wall and flings a comic zinger at the movie audience, occasionally referencing his popular “Road” movies with Bing Crosby. The Paleface is one of the really great ones, along with Son Of Paleface (also available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber). Jane Russell plays Calamity Jane, promised a pardon by the government if she can ferret out who’s been selling guns to the “Indians.” She railroads a hapless dentist- Painless Peter Potter (Bob Hope)- to marry her and they head out in a wagon train journey. Russell has just the right dead-pan delivery, sexiness and comic timing for these movies and her chemistry with Hope is dynamite. The song “Buttons & Bows” was written for this film.
Calcutta (Kino Lorber) I had never heard of this 1946 film starring Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and William Bendix and directed by John Farrow (The Big Clock), so it was a real treat to discover how much fun it is. Ladd and Bendix play two fly boys transporting goods by plane back and forth from Chungking to Calcutta. When one of their pilots is murdered, Ladd makes it his mission to find the killer, even romancing the dead man’s fiancé (the alluring Gail Russell). There’s great Casablanca-lite atmosphere, dangerous smugglers at every bend, and twisted romance too. Don’t miss this!
Romance On The High Seas (Warner Archive) Thank God Betty Hutton got pregnant. Because Warner Brothers was in a panic over filling the starring role for this breezy, tuneful comedy. Mercifully a studio executive saw Doris Day singing at a Hollywood party and she was rushed into the lead. Director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) was so wowed by Day’s talent he warned her never to go to acting school- that she was a true natural. In the film, Doris gets to fulfill her dream by traveling free on a luxury liner under the name of Mrs. Elvira Kent. The real Mrs. Kent (Janis Paige) wanted to spy on her executive husband (Don DeFore) to see if he is fooling around with his secretary. But the husband hires a detective (Jack Carter) to spy on his wife on the boat and you can imagine the mix-ups and comic shenanigans. Doris really does shine here, and that voice! When she sings “It’s Magic,” you just want to die. This new Blu-ray looks amazing. The colors just pop on the screen. Busby Berkeley even choreographs a final number on the ship that is a hoot.
The Lady Eve (Criterion) “I need him like the ax needs the turkey,” says the scheming Barbara Stanwyck about poor wealthy schnook Henry Fonda in this sublime comedy by the great Preston Sturges. Stanwyck plays Jean, traveling with her card shark father (Charles Coburn) on an ocean liner who sets as her target the nerdy brewery billionaire son Charles Pike (Henry Fonda). She surprisingly falls for him and when Charles discovers what she and her father actually are, he dumps her. So, eager for revenge, Jean pretends to be her twin sister and infiltrates the wealthy set to royally mess with Charles. Sturges’ mastery of witty dialogue mixed with hilarious pratfalls (especially by Henry Fonda) and then compounded by Stanwyck’s inimitable charm make this a screwball delight from beginning to end.
Kiss Of the Vampire (Shout! Factory) Another high point in Hammer horror films. Unwary travelers Gerald (Edward de Souza) and Marianne (Jennifer Daniel) get stranded in a small village and befriended by some sinister aristocrats, who are secretly devil-worshiping vampires. Stylishly directed by Don Sharp, this includes a sensational bat-attack-on-vampires ending that has to be seen to be believed. This a 2K scan of the interpositive and includes tons of great extras and audio commentary with the two leads.
Deadwater Fell (Acorn) (DVD) A stunning British mini-series about a tragic fire one night that results in the death a mother and her daughters. The husband/father survives (David Tennant), but an investigation by his cop friend (Matthew McNulty) uncovers some disturbing evidence that suggests the wife deliberately set the fire and purchased a lock to trap her children in after drugging the whole family. As this four-part series continues, many secrets and lies are revealed, but the performance by David Tennant is just chillingly unforgettable.