What a month of deranged treats on Blu-ray. Included is Paul Morrissey’s sardonic, sublime vampire film Blood for Dracula; soapy, hilarious melodramas like Back Street and Moment by Moment; rare film noirs from the late 40s and a unique color sci-fi film from 1951; a romantic comedy from the 30s starring Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper; a rare, terrific Canadian action thriller called Siege; a glorious new film by Francois Ozon; some first-rate Italian mysteries by Sergio Martino, a 4k disc of a Dario Argento classic; Paramount Studio’s Blu-ray releases of A Place in the Sun and Robert Altman’s Nashville, and a surprisingly inventive new Saw film with a witty, wonderful performance by Chris Rock.
Blood for Dracula (Severin) From the first shot of the Count (Udo Kier) painting his white hair black in front of a mirror that doesn’t show his reflection, this 1974 Paul Morrissey take on the vampire movie is dark comic perfection. Kier is ideal as the sickly, age-old bloodsucker that searches to sink his fangs into virgins, or, as he says: “wurgins,” only to be left puking up gallons of blood after the “wurgins” he bites turn out to be anything but pure. Studly Joe Dallesandro is the sexy Communist handyman, and Roman Polanski shows up as a villager in this hilariously warped comedy. Severin has been rocking this year with extraordinary releases. This is a 4K struck from the uncensored negative. This 3-disc set includes interviews with director Paul Morrissey; actress Stefania Casini; actors Udo Kier & Joe Dallesandro; plus, the film soundtrack by Claudio Gizzi. For me, it’s one of the Blu-ray events of the year.
Back Street (Kino) Based on a Fannie Hurst novel (filmed in 1932 starring Irene Dunne and in 1942 starring Margaret Sullavan and Charles Boyer), this glossy Hollywood melodrama about a successful dress designer and her life-long affair with a married man is one of those gloriously trashy and enjoyable bad-but-great movies of the 1960s. Susan Hayward plays Rae Smith, an ambitious fashion designer who fights her way to the top with her stylish creations (Jean Louis designed the clothes for the film). Discussing her brand “rae,” she brags “all small letters- very chic.” A fateful missed opportunity with a soldier- Paul Saxon (John Gavin) has her run into him years later while he is married to a nasty drunk of a wife (Vera Miles). Paul sets up a little love nest for he and Rae, but unfortunately his young son gets wind of their illicit affair and screams at his father, “I’d like to kill her! She’s a no-good, dirty…” Vera Miles is a howl as the shrewish, monster wife, and Hayward is always wonderful. There’s a great moment when Rae cries, “Everybody’s laughing. Everyone knows. It’s become cheap and vulgar and dirty. Other people’s love affairs are always funny.” No kidding. It just doesn’t get any better. There’s witty and informative commentary by film historian David Del Valle.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Lionsgate) 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray combo of this sardonically satisfying new Saw film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. Chris Rock plays a cop who turned in a dirty officer and is hated by the other police at his station. He inherits a rookie partner (Max Minghella) just when a series of twisted murders of cops begin, all with the hallmarks of the infamous Jigsaw killer. Samuel L. Jackson plays Rock’s police chief dad who is unwittingly brought into the deranged “game” of death. What’s so wonderful is that Chris Rock is able to interject bitingly funny, dark humor in the midst of all the madness without turning this into a spoof or a meta-comic horror film. It’s such a fine line between the terror and the humor that I was surprised and delighted at every twist. Not to mention horrified by the many new hideous devices dreamed up by the copy-cat killer. There’s a cool, lengthy extra “The Consequences of Your Actions” about the making of Spiral and audio commentary with the director, co-screenwriter Josh Stolberg and composer Charlie Clouser.
Desire (Kino Lorber) Sparkling 1936 romantic comedy starring a glamourous jewel thief (Marlene Dietrich) who absconds with a two-million-dollar strand of pearls in Paris and while motoring to Spain crosses paths with a handsome American on vacation (Gary Cooper). Produced by the great Ernest Lubitsch and directed by Frank Borzage, there is a wonderful mix of lightness and drama and romance. Dietrich was finally out from under her mentor Josef von Sternberg, so this film was a really happy experience for her. Both Cooper and Dietrich are so incredibly beautiful and charming on screen it makes this movie a true delight. There is a wonderful audio commentary by David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell.
Siege (Severin) During a police strike, a Nova Scotia gay bar is invaded by a fascist gang calling themselves the New Order. They shoot and kill all but one lone gay man who escapes and hides in a nearby building. The gunmen follow, and the people who live in the tenement ingeniously fight back with whatever they have. While outside there’s a deadly arsenal waiting for them. This 1983 film has been impossible to see for some time- I have a rare VHS that I used to show friends because it was so good. But to see it on a dazzling, restored Blu-ray is a great gift for cult fans, and it holds up better than I ever remembered. Reminiscent of Assault on Precinct 13, it’s a scrappy, well-made thriller ripe for discovery.
A Place in the Sun (Paramount) Long-awaited Blu-ray release of the stunningly filmed version of Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. It’s about George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), a poor relative who gets a job in a family business and when he starts hobnobbing with socialites, especially the beautiful Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor), he starts to turn his back on his dowdy past, especially old lovers (Shelley Winters at her most pitiful). It all ends in murder and tragedy. Director George Stevens brilliantly films this with many superb, haunting, close-ups of the unbelievably photogenic Clift and Taylor. The amazing cinematography is by William C. Mellor and an uncredited John F. Seitz. It’s an unforgettable movie that you need to see on a big screen to appreciate its power and beauty.
Nashville (Paramount) Robert Altman’s bitterly funny epic, set around a political convention, that tells so much about this country with its dizzying set of multiple characters, dreamy visuals and trademark overlapping dialogue. The cast is phenomenal- Ronee Blakely is unforgettable as the mentally fragile country western legend Barbara Jean. Lily Tomlin has a memorable scene in a bar where crooner Keith Carradine is singing just to her, while around the room other love conquests are sure he is singing only to them. The camera wisely settles on Tomlin’s face and the result is extraordinary. Karen Black is a riot as the bitchy, ambitious country western singer Connie White. It just goes on and on. And let us not forget the incredible Barbara Harris as the scatter-brained singer hitching rides to the convention and on a collision course with destiny. Altman’s 1975 film was a critical hit (especially with his champion Pauline Kael), but it really holds up well (especially the political zingers). It’s dazzling, hilarious and heart-breaking.
Summer of 85 (Music Box Films) Heartbreaking and moving new film from French master Francois Ozon based on a searing young adult LGBT novel Dance on My Grave. Young David (Benjamin Voisin) capsizes in a boat on the coast of Normandy in 1985 and is rescued by the handsome, older Alexis (Felix Lefebvre). Alexis takes David under his wing, opens his eyes to new experiences, radical ideas and sexual experimentation. He even gets David a job working in his mother’s (the exquisite Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) seaside shop. But a girl (Philippine Velge) comes between the two boys and it ends tragically. The way the story is structured (in flashback) leaves the viewer aching for clues on how everything unraveled so spectacularly. A powerful, remarkable movie.
Born for Hell (Severin) The director’s cut of the disturbing, remarkably intense 1976 film by Denis Heroux about Cain, a Vietnam Vet (Mathieu Carriere) stranded in Belfast on his way home to America, without money and suffering from severe PTSD. This is Belfast at the height of the Troubles, with British police everywhere and bombs and gunfire in the streets. Loosely based on the Richard Speck murders, this version has Cain break into a house of nurses one night and senselessly murder them. The tattoo on Cain’s arm is “Born for Hell” instead of Speck’s “Born to Raise Hell.” This has much more going for it than just the sleaze factor. A lot of that is thanks to terrific performances by the cast, which includes Carole Laure and Eva Mattes (who worked with Fassbinder and Herzog). The extras on the disc are a blast- a conversation of Chicago directors James McNaughton (Henry) and Gary Sherman (Dead and Buried) about the Richard Speck nurse murders. Artist Joe Coleman on Speck. There’s also a great interview with Mathieu Carriere about his experience in his early film work and the making of this movie. Also included is the shortened US video release version of the film under the title Naked Massacre.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Arrow) Italian horror maestro Dario Argento’s influential thriller which ushered in a rich vein of “giallo” mysteries in cinema. Tony Musante plays an American author who stumbles on the scene of an attempted murder at an art gallery and saves a woman’s life. His passport is confiscated and he is unable to leave the city, so he turns amateur detective, putting himself and his beautiful girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) in jeopardy. Stylish, smart and scary, with stunning visuals from cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and a haunting Ennio Morricone score. This still seems thrillingly fresh. A 4k UHD Blu-ray disc with copious extras, a CD of the score, a poster and lobby cards. This 1970 suspense masterpiece has never looked better.
Moment by Moment (Kino) This camp classic, finally on Blu-ray, is a cause for celebration for bad-movie aficionados. Lily Tomlin plays a wealthy, unhappy Marin county matron who falls for a handsome beach boy drifter named “Strip” (John Travolta). Travolta’s career really took a nose dive after this, and it’s not his fault. He’s rather appealing in the film in a dumb, hunky way. Tomlin is always great on screen and this is written and directed by her partner Jane Wagner so you wish it was better. Unfortunately, the movie is so wrong headed it’s often as fascinating as it is inadvertently hilarious. Like when Tomlin encourages Travolta to disrobe and get into her hot tub. She calls out: “Oh Strip….” and I vividly recall the entire theater audience around me convulsed with laughter. This is the film’s debut on home media and includes film commentary by film historians Lee Gambin, Sergio Mims and Maya Montanez Smukler.
Flight to Mars (Film Detective) Made in 11 days at Monogram Studios this 1951 space-opera to Mars film was shot in “Cinecolor.” Cameron Mitchell plays a war correspondent accompanying a flight crew of egghead scientists to the angry red planet. They crash land to find an underground advanced race and plenty of pretty girls in miniskirts. But the outward friendliness of the Martian head council masks a dark secret plot against the astronauts. The production design is surprisingly terrific in this enjoyable sci-fi treat, lovingly restored by Film Detective. There’s a fun documentary about Monogram Studios and their eventual transition to United Artists.
Cannibal Man (Severin) Before Almodovar there was Eloy De La Iglesia, the controversial Spanish intellectual and openly gay director (The Deputy). This gory, fascinating, 1977 film is about a slaughterhouse worker (Vincente Parra) who in a fit of anger kills a cab driver and then has to kill and kill again to cover up the crime. While the bodies pile up in his house and he keeps spraying more air freshener to cover the smell, a wealthy homosexual in a nearby high-rise watches him through binoculars. This is the extended Spanish version, newly scanned from the original negative. It also includes two fascinating extras- one is about the career of Eloy de la Iglesia with excellent commentary by Stephen Thrower and Dr. Shelagh Rowan-Legg. The other is narrated by a man who wrote a book on Iglesias– Carlos Aguilar, who admits that the two lead actors and director were all gay; that Iglesias was a Marxist with a fondness for the lower classes who eventually acquired a bad heroin habit. There is also a deleted scene included of the two leads making out that they were forced to cut.
I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes (Warner Archive) A down-on-his-luck dancer (Don Castle) throws his tap shoes out the window of his NYC tenement apartment one night at some noisy cats and ends up on death row, convicted of a murder on very circumstantial evidence. His wife (Elyse Knox) tries to motivate a detective who is in love with her (Regis Toomey) to find clues to exonerate her husband, but the clock is ticking. A wonderful little-know gem of a film noir, this 1948 Monogram Studio cheapie may have been made on a shoestring budget (pardon the pun) but it’s based on a short story by the great Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window) and crackles with pathos and pathological behavior. Included on the gorgeous-looking Blu-ray (restored from nitrate elements) is The Symphony Murder Case, a fun 20-minute mystery short subject and an archival cartoon- Holiday for Shoestrings.
Step by Step (Warner Archive) Tough guy Lawrence Tierney plays Johnny, an ex-Marine who pursues a pretty girl- Evelyn Smith (Anne Jeffreys) taking a swim in the Pacific Ocean. But when he knocks on the door to the house where she went into, another blonde appears claiming to be Evelyn. Johnny sneaks in and rescues a tied-up Evelyn and after that it’s a fast-paced chase with ex-Nazis and cops chasing them. Directed by Phil Rosen, this rare 1946 RKO thriller is a lot of fun and reunites the two stars of Dillinger (Tierney and Jeffreys). Also included is The Trans-Atlantic Mystery, a 20-minute short and the cartoon The Great Piggy Bank Robbery.
Percy (Code Red/Kino Lorber) This 1971 comedy stars Edwin (Hywel Bennett), who loses his “manhood” in an accident (when a nude man falls out the window of a building onto him while he’s carrying a chandelier) and is the recipient of the first penis transplant by a noted surgeon (Denholm Elliott). Much like the movie The Statue, Edwin races around swinging London trying to find the identity of the donor. The staff at the hospital nickname the transplant “Percy.” Considering the subject matter, it’s exceptionally “short” on ribald humor. Elke Sommer and Britt Ekland make cameos in the film and the soundtrack is by Ray Davies and The Kinks.
The Sergio Martino Collection (Arrow) Three films of Italian genre director Sergio Martino from his rich “giallo” period. They include The Case of the Scorpion’s Tale (1972) 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 Martino (Torso), The movie is incredibly stylish and filled with plenty of red herrings and unexpected, murderous twists. Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) First-rate Italian thriller by Martino about a decadent writer, living in a villa in Verona with his abused wife (Anita Strindberg), who becomes a suspect when a series of women are found murdered. This even throws in some Edgar Allan Poe plot twists for good measure. The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) A detective (Claudio Cassinelli), investigating the murder of a young prostitute uncovers a teen trafficking sex ring. He also dangerously discovers that very powerful officials are involved who don’t want him digging around.