It must be Christmas if there are new Blu-rays of many of my all-time favorite films. From the brutal and amazing Lady in a Cage, to Nicholas Ray’s fascinating Party Girl, to a restoration of Robert Altman’s brilliant neo-noir The Last Goodbye, the “naughty cut” of a great Christmas cult classic- Krampus, to a 4K presentation of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressbuger‘s unforgettable The Red Shoes and the wonderful mystery The Last of Sheila. A stunning restoration of a great sleaze classic starring musclebound Mickey Hargitay– The Bloody Pit of Horror. A 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray of one of the sickest Hong Kong Category III films- Ebola Syndrome. But for me it’s eclipsed by Joan Crawford’s jaw-dropping final film- Trog. Deck the Halls!
Trog (Shout! Factory) The last feature film in the incredible career of movie star Joan Crawford is, I reluctantly admit, pretty damn awful. But it always me crazy and I love it dearly. Crawford is laughably sincere as a scientist studying a prehistoric man found in a cave. When she is displaying colors to “Trog” in the lab and says things like, “green, Trog, green…” I fall off the couch, roaring with laughter. No matter how many times I see this mess I am left giddy with joy at its preposterous, wonderful awfulness.
Lady in A Cage (Shout! Factory) Olivia de Havilland plays a wealthy widow who gets trapped midair in her home elevator during a sweltering 4th of July only to have her house invaded by a gang of degenerates led by a sexy, scary James Caan. Jeff Corey plays a wino who alerts a prostitute (Ann Sothern) to the treasure trove of house goodies to be stolen, only to have their turf invaded by Caan and his seedy posse. This 1964 film was incredibly controversial at the time because of the violence, but de Havilland defended the film in the press and she was right. It’s really a brutal, incredibly well-made, film by Walter Grauman.
Krampus: The Naughty Cut (Shout! Factory) Director Michael Dougherty made one of the best Halloween movies- Trick ‘R Treat– and in this he decimates Christmas with this dark tale of a highly dysfunctional family during the holidays. Adam Scott and Toni Collette plays the harried parents of two children who are dreading the arrival of the monstrous cousins on Christmas. They bring along the acerbic Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell) who takes one look at the décor and says, “It looks like Martha Stewart threw up in here.” As a blizzard rages outside a giant fearsome creature with horns and hoofs appears on the roof with some frightening killer elves and it doesn’t care who is naughty or nice. Right from the hilarious opening credits with Bing Crosby singing a Christmas song while stampeding shoppers invade a store on Black Friday we are off and running. This 2-disc set includes the 4K UHD and regular Blu-ray and has all the racy dialogue returned that they were forced to cut to get a PG-13, and it gives the film even more bite. A sardonic delight from beginning to end.
The Vampire Lovers (Shout! Factory) Britain’s Hammer film’s lurid retelling of the Sheridan le Fanu book starring beautiful Ingrid Pitt as the bosomy, predatory, noblewoman who lusts after her female relatives and drains them dry in 18th Century Germany. This was Hammer’s last-ditch attempt to breathe life in their brand with lots of heaving breasts and blood and it is great fun. This 4K restored “Collector’s Edition” comes with many audio commentaries, extras and an even a deleted opening beheading.
The Last of Sheila (Warner Archive) Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, big fans of games, wrote the screenplay for this deliciously twisty, darkly comic thriller about a wealthy producer (James Coburn) who invites several friends on his yacht for nightly fun & games. There’s the struggling screenwriter (Richard Benjamin) and his wife (Joan Hackett), the has-been director (James Mason), the super-agent (a sublimely raucous Dyan Cannon channeling Sue Mengers) and the movie star (Raquel Welch) and her husband (Ian McShane). These guests also attended an ill-fated party years before where the producer’s wife Sheila was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run. The games, as expected, take a deadly turn. Witty, great fun, smoothly directed by Herbert Ross.
Lullaby of Broadway (Warner Archive) Early, tuneful, enjoyable Warner Brothers musical starring Doris Day as Melinda, who shows up in Manhattan to find her big Broadway star of a mother (Gladys George). But mom had fallen on hard times and is singing in a seedy Greenwich Village clip joint. Everyone tries to hide this from Melinda and to distract her she is hired to star in a Broadway musical alongside handsome Gene Nelson. Doris is, as always, lovely and gets to sing Somebody Loves Me, Just One of Those Things, Getting to Be a Habit With Me and the title tune. But it’s Gene Nelson’s inventive dancing that’s the real star. Nelson, who also starred in Oklahoma! and originated the part of Buddy in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies is a joy to behold on screen, his dancing mixing athleticism with ballet moves to create something fresh and exciting. Check out his amazing “dance on the stairs” sequence in another Doris Day vehicle Tea for Two to be forever wowed.
Party Girl (Warner Archive) Leggy, gorgeous Cyd Charisse plays a hardened showgirl in 1930s Chicago who falls for a suave, crippled lawyer for the mob (Robert Taylor) in director Nicholas Ray’s fascinating gangster drama. Ray’s use of vibrant colors underscores the psychological aspects of the story- just check out the blood red of Charisse’s gown in the beginning at a mobster’s (a fun L.J. Cobb) party. What I love about Ray’s films is that even the most seemingly mainstream melodramas are rife with neurotic tension. Charisse and Taylor play hard-bitten cynics at heart but are surprised to realize the love they feel for each other. “Whenever you need me just turn around and I’ll be there,“ states Charisse to Taylor in this underrated gem. Corey Allen is memorable as a psychotic hood. This looks absolutely sensational on Blu-ray.
The Thin Man Goes Home (Warner Archive) The second to last of the popular mystery/comedy series based on characters by Dashiell Hammett. William Powell plays the suave detective Nick Charles, traveling to his home town with his beautiful wife Nora (Myrna Loy) and their dog Asta. Nora innocently buys a painting of a windmill for Nick’s birthday and sets into motion murder and mayhem. Harry Davenport plays Nick’s disapproving doctor dad and Lucile Watson plays his doting mother. Anne Revere is fun as the local loon Crazy Mary in this enjoyable romp. These Warner Archive Blu-rays of The Thin Man series look amazing.
Angels with Dirty Faces (Warner Archive) Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) directed this crackling drama of two boys raised in New York’s gritty Hell’s Kitchen. Rocky (James Cagney) goes from delinquent to full-blown criminal, the other- Jerry (Pat O’Brien) a priest, whose flock is the street kids and he desperately tries to keep them on the straight and narrow. The Dead End Kids play the urban pack and while they are an acquired taste, you can’t take your eyes (or ears) off Cagney whose machine-gun delivery and cocky, electrifying presence commands the film. The selfless act he performs at the end might strike you as hokey, but still feels like a punch in the gut. Cagney was nominated for an Oscar for this film.
Mansion of the Doomed (Full Moon Features) The arrival of this stunning Blu-ray, restored from the negative, was a real surprise. This grisly 1976 shocker stars Richard Basehart as Doctor Chaney, whose pretty daughter Nancy (Trish Stewart) is blinded during a car accident. The crazed surgeon kidnaps unwitting victims and removes their eyes to try to regain his daughter’s sight but each operation fails and the poor sightless souls are imprisoned in the basement and attended to by the loony doctor’s devoted assistant (Gloria Grahame). A young, hot Lance Henriksen plays Nancy’s boyfriend who becomes one of the first ocular casualties. The disturbing eyeless make-up design is by Stan Winston. Even when I saw this in a movie theater on Times Square, it never looked as great as it does here.
Ebola Syndrome (Vinegar Syndrome) A 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray (scanned from the 35mm original negative) of a 1996 sick, offensive and unbelievably hilarious Category III Hong Kong shocker. This toxic gem stars Anthony Wong (in a genuinely unhinged performance) as a killer so loathsome he slits a woman’s throat, kills her husband with a mah-jongg table, and douses their little girl with gasoline- all before the opening credits. The killer flees to South Africa, where he works in a Chinese restaurant cutting up frogs and masturbating into the meat. While buying pigs for the restaurant from a Zulu tribe, he rapes a dying woman who infects him with Ebola. He becomes an infectious carrier, spreading the disease through numerous bodily fluids. He hacks up his employers, serves them as hamburgers and then flees to Hong Kong as the health epidemic rages. In a jaw-dropping finale, he races through the streets with a child under one arm, waving a meat cleaver, spitting gobs of infected phlegm at passerby while shouting triumphantly: “Ebola!” The copious extras include an introduction and interview with the film’s director Herman Yau and a commentary track Yau and star Anthony Wong.
Trauma (Vinegar Syndrome) A 1993 thriller by Italian maestro of the macabre Dario Argento shot in Minneapolis and starring his daughter Asia Argento as Aura, a suicidal, anorexic girl on the run from child services who is rescued by a recovering addict (Christopher Rydell). All the while a mysterious black-gloved killer is beheading victims with a portable killing machine with a retractable wire noose. With an exceptional offbeat cast- Frederic Forrest, Brad Dorif and James Russo. And the great Piper Laure as a loony medium. Special effects are by Tom Savini and the evocative score by Pino Donaggio. I have a great fondness for this fascinating “giallo,” especially the haunting, incredibly strange ending. This is a 4K restoration for the interpositive negative and comes with interviews with Dario Argento, actors Piper Laurie and James Russo, not to mention scores of other great extras.
The Long Goodbye (Kino Lorber) One of my favorite Robert Altman film, although that’s part of a long list. It definitely is one of Elliott Gould’s best roles as a modern-day Philip Marlowe in a seedy Hollywood filled with gangsters (Mark Rydell), alcoholic writers (Sterling Hayden) and their beautiful wives (Nina van Pallandt), sinister doctors (Henry Gibson) and a finicky cat that will only eat Coury’s brand cat food. With creamy cinematography by Vilmos Szigmond and a witty score by John Williams where the theme song keeps repeating in all sorts of hilarious ways. There’s something funky and sardonic about all of this with several outrageous moments that will have you laughing and gasping at the same time. And the ending still packs a punch (originally it was completely cut out when the film debuted on TV for the first time). Spottily released, as Pauline Kael eloquently said in her rave review of the film, “It’s probably the best American movie ever made that almost didn’t open in New York.” This is a new 4k master.
Revenge of the Shogun Women (Kino Lorber) A fun 3D movie set in 18th century China where bandit hordes roamed the provinces raping women and plundering villages. The defiled females were exiled to Buddhist monasteries where their hair was shorn off and they learned techniques of the martial arts. Now they were called in this film “Shogun Women” which is a Japanese term- programmers figured action audiences wouldn’t care. But the 3D is spectacular- spears, flaming arrows, axes are flung at the screen- even the long hair braid of the villain shoots right into your face at the end. This includes the 3D version if you have the right TV but also the red and green Anaglyphic version (a pair of red & green glasses are provided).
Broken Lullaby (Kino Lorber) Years ago I saw an exquisite Francois Ozon film named Frantz and it was based on a 1932 Ernst Lubitsch film called Broken Lullaby which I could never track down. Well, here it is and it’s just as exquisite. The opening montage of celebrations after the end of World War I is powerful, ironic and sets the stage for the heartbreaking anti-war film to follow. Paul Renard (Phillips Holmes), once a talented violinist, is haunted by the war, particularly causing the death of a German soldier in a foxhole. Consumed with guilt he heads to Germany to seek forgiveness from the dead man’s family but his arrival is misconstrued and the grieving doctor father (Lionel Barrymore) and his wife (Louise Carter) wrongly assume he was a friend of their son’s. Even Elsa (Nancy Carroll), the dead soldier’s fiancé is charmed and smitten with him. But what will happen when they find out he is the man who killed their loved one? Beautiful cinematic touches throughout, it’s a masterful film by a true film master. Audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride, author of How Did Lubitsch Do It?
The Red Shoes (Criterion) 4K UHD Blu-ray of one of the most beautiful, artful and stunning films ever made. Directed with peerless perfection by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and based on the Hans Christian Andersen dark fable, it stars the luminous beauty Moira Shearer as the doomed ballerina and the unforgettable Anton Walbrook as the imperious, arrogant head of the ballet company. Master cinematographer Jack Cardiff dazzles the heart and brain with sumptuous imagery. It includes a restoration demonstration by Martin Scorsese, a documentary about the making of the film and an interview with Powell’s widow, famed editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Warriors of the Year 2072 (Severin) In the 80s Italian genre directors made futuristic sci-fi action fables mixing American actors like Jared Martin (Dallas) and Fred Williamson (Black Caesar) and Italian favorites like Al Cliver (Zombie), Howard Ross (The New York Ripper) and Donald O’Brien (Dr. Butcher M.D.). This is set in a future where television ratings guide everything and only violence captivates viewers. Racing car hero Drake (Jared Martin) is framed for the murder of his wife’s killers and forced to participate in a last-man-standing gladiator race in Rome (they race around in tricked-out motorcycles). There’s lots of bad miniature sets and strobe lights but it’s still by director Lucio Fulci (The Beyond) so I need it in my collection. Extras include archival interviews with Fulci and new ones with Howard Ross and Al Cliver.
Raiders of Atlantis (Severin) Joyfully bonkers 1983 action movie directed by Reggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust) starring Christopher Connelly (TV’s Peyton Place) and Tony King (Cannibal Apocalypse) as two mercenaries taking a boat vacation to Trinidad. After a huge storm they rescue scientists fleeing from an oil rig and discover that a nuclear submarine caused the rising of Atlantis- whose inhabitants look like they are from a bad Mad Max movie- face-painted, mohawks, riding in old cars and futuristic motorcycles killing everyone in sight. It’s very Assault on Precinct 13 with a high body count. Director Deodado, on an extra, talks about how he was summoned to the Philippines by Imelda Marcos who was keen to establish film production in her country. Ivan Rassimov (Jungle Holocaust), George Hilton (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) and future director Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man) plays a radio operator in this crackpot classic.
Bloody Pit of Horror (Severin) A staggering Italian sleaze classic is restored and ready to astound new viewers. Musclebound Mickey Hargitay plays the owner of a castle with a haunted history who invites a crew to photograph sexy models in the torture dungeon. But Mickey gets taken over by the vengeful spirit of a 16th century sadist “The Crimson Executioner” (complete with red hood and cape, the bare-chested Hargitay terrorizes his guests and gives a performance so go-for-broke and bonkers it merrily unhinges the jaw of the viewer. This is from the uncut negative recently found in a Rome lab and looks sensational. With typically witty and informative commentary by filmmaker David DeCoteau and film historian David Del Valle.
