There are Blu-ray valentine’s gifts for everyone this month, include Douglas Sirk’s dazzling melodrama- Written on the Wind, Busby Berkeley-choreographed surrealism in Gold Diggers of 1933, giant terrorizing teenagers in Village of the Giants, Margaux Hemingway as a model hellbent on revenge in Lipstick, a sexy, young Oliver Reed in the terrific British psycho-thriller- Paranoiac, and 4k Blu-rays of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and two cult favorites Alligator and Joe Dante’s excellent werewolf movie- The Howling. And if that’s not enough- Shout! Factory is putting out a rare 50s sci-fi great- The Brain Eaters.
Written on the Wind (Criterion) New 2k digital restoration of Douglas Sirk’s torrid melodrama about the children of a Texas oil tycoon- Kyle (Robert Stack), an alcoholic playboy and his nymphomaniac sister Marylee (Dorothy Malone, who won an Oscar for her fiery performance). Rock Hudson plays Kyle’s long-suffering best friend Mitch, a geologist for the oil company, and Lauren Bacall rounds out the cast as Kyle’s unhappy wife. The memorable opening sequence has the camera roving over a shooting incident at a mansion, replete with blowing autumnal leaves and the harmonious Four Aces singing the moody theme song. “A faithless lover’s kiss is written on the wind…” This Criterion blu-ray includes an annotated filmography of Douglas Sirk’s films and a 2008 documentary about Sirk.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (Warner Archive) Set during the Depression four showgirls compete for roles in a new Broadway musical. Right from the beginning with Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money” in Pig Latin you just lose your mind. Ruby Keeler plays the sweet ingénue, Dick Powell the talented composer next door (who secretly is from a wealthy family who disapprove of his career choice). Joan Blondell plays the wise-cracking torch singer, who ends the movie with an astonishing Busby Berkeley-choreographed “Forgotten Man.” Filled with snappy, racy dialogue this movie is just the best. Joins the other glorious Busby Berkeley restorations from Warner Archive like 42nd Street and Footlight Parade. Please let Dames be next!
Village of the Giants (Kino) Director Bert I. Gordon, known for his drive-in classics about giant grasshoppers (The Beginning of the End), large arachnids (The Spider), angry, big, radiated soldiers (War of the Colossal Beast), over-sized rats and chickens (Food of the Gods)- now unleashes the scariest giants of them all- teenagers! Vaguely based on a H. G. Wells book, cute little Ron Howard plays an egghead junior scientist who creates a “goo” which causes animals to get really, really big. A gang of rowdy teens (led by Beau Bridges) all take the weird substance and terrorize the town. Can teen hero Mike (Tommy Kirk) come to the rescue? Who cares? Especially when you get to see giant ducks and enormous frugging teens. This camp classic “special edition” is given a 4k restoration by StudioCanal and has audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas. A big blast from beginning to ironic end.
No Way to Treat a Lady (Shout! Factory) Rod Steiger plays a cunning serial killer of elderly women in NYC while playing a cat & mouse game with a detective (George Segal) in this wonderfully offbeat 1968 dark comedy directed by Jack Smight based on a William Goldman novel. Rod Steiger gets to really ham it up with his impersonations of priests, handymen and gays to worm his way into the women’s apartments. Eileen Heckhart has a field day as the ultimate Jewish mother of George Segal. And then there’s the sublime Lee Remick who is so captivating, funny, mercurial and beautiful you remember all over again why you love her. This unusual mix of suspense and sardonic humor works brilliantly. Above average in every way.
Paranoiac (Shout! Factory) A great 1963 psychological thriller from Hammer Studios well directed by Freddie Francis with a script by Jimmy Sangster about a man (Alexander Davion) who shows up at a mansion claiming to be the son, and heir, who committed suicide by drowning 8 years earlier (although his body was never found). He is embraced by the disturbed sister (Janette Scott) but not by the brandy-swilling brother (Oliver Reed), who treats the stranger with contempt and disbelief. And what’s with the masked, hook-wielding, choir-robe-wearing figure who plays the organ in the dead of night? This mask really creeped the shit out of me when I was a kid. This “Collector’s Edition” is a new 2k scan from the interpositive (which looks incredible) and comes with new audio commentary by film historian Bruce Hallenbeck plus several featurettes including: “Making of Paranoiac.”
Lipstick (Shout! Factory) Supermodel Margaux Hemingway (granddaughter of Ernest) is a riot in this 1976 camp classic, running through a parking lot in a red evening gown and carrying a rifle trying to blow away a loony rapist (played by Chris Sarandon). Margaux’s sister Mariel appeared and unfortunately got better notices, which ultimately led to Margaux’s next film venture, the dismal Killer Fish in 1978. Thrillingly now available on Blu-ray, this includes interviews with actors Chris Sarandon, Mariel Hemingway and Perry King and audio commentary by film critic Justin Kerswell and film historian Amanda Reyes.
Touch of Evil (Kino Lorber) 4K 3 disc set or a great Orson Welles film noir set in a corrupt Mexican border town with Charlton Heston as a Mexican prosecutor and Janet Leigh as his new bride whose investigation puts them in the crosshairs of a criminal family of killers. Welles plays the overweight, crooked police captain who may have planted evidence to get convictions. “You’ve been eating too much candy,” admonishes Marlene Dietrich, playing brothel-owner Tonya in this visually stunning film. Restorations have returned the jaw-dropping opening of a bomb placed in the trunk of a car at the Mexican border without the distracting credit sequence. Russell Metty’s shadowy cinematography is astounding. With new HDR restorations of both the theatrical and restored director’s cut with archival audio commentary by Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh and scores of featurettes.
Alligator (Collector’s Edition) (Shout! Factory) A witty, wildly entertaining sci-fi classic directed by Lewis Teague with a sardonic screenplay by John Sayles. It’s about a baby alligator flushed down the toilet that grows gigantic in the Chicago sewers. This urban-legend-come-to-life stars Robert Forster as a weathered cop (whose partners usually end up dead) investigating a series of disappearances of sewer workers. A tycoon who has sponsored the growth experiments responsible for the alligator’s size wants to keep a lid on the story. Henry Silva plays the big game hunter who is sent in to hunt down the beast (in a funny, blatant Jaws homage). The alligator’s rampage at a high-society wedding is a highlight. A 4K scan from the camera negative, this 3-disc set includes interviews with director Lewis Teague and screenwriter John Sayles plus the third disc includes the extended TV version.
The Brain Eaters (Shout! Factory) Great, fun 1958 take on Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters about a cone-shaped spaceship that burrows up from the bowels of the earth and releases creepy, hairy little parasites which attach themselves to the necks of civic leaders in a plot to take over. Ed Nelson plays the brave scientist fighting back and look for a young bearded Leonard Nimoy deep inside the ship like a crackpot oracle. While the special effects are low-rent (the creatures have little pipe cleaners sticking out of their heads) it’s still pretty imaginative and enjoyable. Cannot believe this is on Blu-ray! Kept waking up to recheck my order to see if I was just dreaming.
Slap Shot (Shout! Factory) Genuinely hilarious comedy starring a wonderful Paul Newman as the coach of a losing hockey team who hires a bizarre trio- the Hanson Brothers. Their crackpot, violent antics on the ice catapult the team to infamous success. With an unforgettable striptease on the rink by Michael Ontkean. Audio commentary is with the Hanson Brothers!
The Great Moment (Kino) Little-seen or appreciated Preston Sturges film about a real dentist- Dr. William Morton (Joel McCea) who discovered ether as a pain deterrent. Told in flashback and with a decidedly satiric tone this was initially so disliked by Paramount Studios executives they retitled and reedited it, not releasing the film for two years to little acclaim or audiences. This marked the beginning of the end of Sturges’ successful run of hits, but is deserving of re-examination. With many of Sturges’ stock company of great character actors like William Demerest, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton and Porter Hall.
Delirium (Severin) Weird and fascinating 1979 hybrid, mixing the story of a disturbed Vietnam vet on a killing spree with a paranoid thriller about a shadowy, nefarious, right-wing secret organization. The clandestine committee holds a kangaroo court about criminals who have avoided just punishment and then decides their fate- always the death penalty- sending out hit men to deliver justice. Debi Chaney plays the roommate of a woman killed with a spear in her apartment, and because she assists the police becomes a liability for the vigilantes, who try to silence her permanently. Directed by Peter Maris and shot in St. Louis I am grateful to Severin for rescuing this oddity from oblivion.
Privilege (Kino/Scorpion) Impossible to see for years, this sardonic political satire is set in London of the future (1970) and is about a popular rock singer (Paul Jones from the Manfred Mann group) whose violent stage act rails against the police. Government church and state officials decide to use him to control the youth of England by shifting him to evangelical rock. Gorgeous model Jean Shrimpton plays his artist girlfriend who begs him not to sell out to the State. Directed by Peter Watkins (whose pseudo-documentary The War Game, about the after-effects of an imagined nuclear war, was originally banned by the BBC in 1965 and finally aired on British TV in 1985.
The Howling (Shout Factory) In this great 1981 Joe Dante horror film, the always wonderful Dee Wallace plays a LA TV news anchor suffering PTSD from her encounter with a shape-shifting serial killer. She decides to get away to a seaside retreat with her hunky boyfriend (Christopher Stone) only to find it a secret enclave for werewolves. Dante’s love of the genre is evident with all the film references and witty touches, and the transformations by special effects wizard Rob Bottin (The Thing) are exceptional and pre-CGI. Filled with fabulous cult-favorite co-stars like John Carradine, Martine Beswick, Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller and Patrick Macnee, this just gets better every time you watch it. Unfortunately eclipsed at the time by the similar-themed An American Werewolf in London, I always preferred this film. A 4K restoration approved by the director, this 2-disc set includes audio commentary with director Joe Dante and stars Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone and Robert Picardo and countless great extras.
F/X & F/X2 (Kino) In the incredibly satisfying thriller- F/X, Bryan Brown plays Roland, a special effects man for low-budget horror movies who is hired by the Justice Department to fake the death of a mob informer. Things do not go as planned and Roland is pursued by snipers and is forced to utilize his special effects skills to avoid the bad guys. Brian Dennehy plays a NY detective who figures out that the assassination was faked and doggedly investigates. And that’s all I’m going to say- you need to experience the twists and turns yourself. A surprise hit at the box office this was followed by the enjoyable sequel F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion which is also included on the Blu-ray.