I have to admit I’m an April fool for many of the Blu-ray releases this month which include (finally) a stunning restoration of the startling Pre-Code movie- Safe in Hell. Then there’s the blistering dark satire- Triangle of Sadness; a great Peter Greenaway film- Drowning by Numbers; the third season of the terrific BBC series Maigret; the outrageous and bizarre Japanese shocker Suicide Club; an underrated ghost classic The Haunting of Julia; finally a Blu-ray of The Big Easy; a disturbing and great Lodge Kerrigan film- Keane; the terrific new film by Brandon Cronenberg– Infinity Pool; a Film Noir box set which include movies directed by William Castle and Hugo Haas; and a color-corrected Blu-ray of Mario Bava’s moody, gothic S & M chiller- The Whip and the Body.
Safe in Hell (Warner Archive) Stunning remastered edition of a racy 1931 Pre-Code shocker directed by prolific William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill as a New Orleans prostitute who accidentally kills a john and then goes on the lam with her sailor boyfriend (Donald Cook) to a Caribbean island with no extradition filled with criminals and miscreants. In a weird way, not dissimilar from John Waters’ Desperate Living. The fabulous Nina Mae McKinney plays the hotel manager and sings a bluesy version of “Sleepy Time Down South.” For years we’ve only seen this in blurry, washed-out copies from 16mm prints- this is a 4K scan from a newly discovered 35mm print. It is just a revelation. It’s also still pretty shocking and the ending is amazingly downbeat and really packs a punch.
Triangle of Sadness (Criterion) Ruben Ostlund’s (Force Majeure) latest is a sardonically funny take on the dynamics of power- in relationships and in society. It begins with a couple- Carl (Harris Dickinson), a handsome male model, and Yaya (Cahribi Dean), a gorgeous model and influencer, squabbling over the payment of the check at a restaurant. Then it escalates aboard a yacht (a trip they have scored for free), when Yaya’s harmless “hello” to a shirtless crewman causes Carl to complain and gets the man fired. The boat is filled with all sorts of parodies of wealth and power- including a garrulous Russian (Zlatko Buric) who has made his millions from “shit” (fertilizer), and a sprightly, elderly British couple who’ve made money maufacturing land mines and explosives. The Russian’s wife (Sunnyi Melles) demands that the crew all take a swim with her, crying out “we are all equal!” and they all have to comply, causing the Captain’s dinner to be pushed back later during an incredible stormy night. After that things turn grotesquely Monty Python-like wrong. Woody Harrelson is hilarious as the drunken, Marxist Captain getting in a long, liquored harangue with the Russian over the loudspeakers of the boat as people are retching into their toilets. It ends up on an island where the toilet lady of the boat- Abigail (Dolly De Leon) flips the dynamics of power, and because she can fish and cook and start a fire, Abigail becomes the alpha of the group of survivors. It’s a wild ride. It’s also shooting fish in a barrel too, but that didn’t make The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie any less delicious either.
Maigret: Season 3 (Kino Lorber) This terrific BBC series is based on the mysteries by Georges Simenon stars Rupert Davies as the pipe-smoking French detective Inspector Maigret, who at the opening of each episode strikes a match on a stone wall. Unseen for years, these have been remastered from the original film elements. This third season includes such twisty mysteries like the murder of an aristocrat and the discovery of steamy unrequited love letters to a married Princess. Charles Gray (Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever) plays an affected antique dealer). Maigret on a fishing holiday gets off at the railway station and a stroll through the woods gets him shot and mistaken for the “Madman of Veroc” who has been assaulting and killing woman. Maigret returns to his village home and finds himself embroiled in the mysterious death of a Countess. Philip Stone (who played in three Stanley Kubrick films) plays the priest in this one.
Moment to Moment (Kino Lorber) Alright, I admit a great love of actress Jean Seberg. She was beautiful, talented and doomed in many ways. Her life was a tragic rollercoaster, and her suicide at age 40 was heartbreaking. I even made a pilgrimage to her grave at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris which moved me deeply. But I also have a fondness for the offbeat films she made like The Corruption of Chris Miller, Birds in Peru, and glossy studio melodramas like the 1966 Moment to Moment (not to be confused with the Lily Tomlin/John Travolta stinkbomb). Seberg (decked out in Yves Saint Laurent) stars as Kay, living on the French Riviera with her husband and son. She begins a torrid affair with Mark (Sean Garrison), a naval ensign, while her husband is away, and after an argument when she tries to end things accidentally shoots him. She gets her good friend Daphne (Honor Blackman) to help dispose of the body. But is he really dead? Arthur Hill plays Seberg’s devoted husband in this deliriously enjoyable soapy thriller. The theme song is by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
Suicide Club (Discotek) 50 Japanese schoolgirls jump to their death in front of a speeding train and it’s all tied to a female pop band who sends subliminal signals to your brain. The opening scene alone will leave you slack-jawed. Director Sion Sono’s 2001 deliriously deranged early feature hinted at the wildly transgressive films he would make in the future like Love Exposure, Exte: Hair Extensions, Tokyo Tribe and Why Don’t You Play in Hell? I am thrilled this is finally coming out in Blu-ray- it’s long overdue.
Infinity Pool (Decal Releasing) If you think you’ve seen how horrible the wealthy can be at ritzy resorts by watching The White Lotus you still will be unprepared when you experience Brandon Cronenberg’s bizarre, twisted, hallucinatory- Infinity Pool. Alexander Skarsgard plays James Foster, an author of one book that wasn’t critically well received or sold well. He is married to the wealthy and beautiful Em (Cleopatra Coleman), the daughter of his publisher, and they are booked into a fabulous, exclusive resort in the poor and violent country of Lil Tolqa. They meet the seductive Gabi (Mia Goth) and her sleazy architect husband Alban (Jalil Lespert) and a joyride and picnic at a gorgeous, deserted beach outside the gated resort ends in tragedy and arrest. But they discover from the police chief (Thomas Ketschmann) that the country has a unique punishment system for the wealthy tourists. They can create a clone of themselves (for a price) and that clone can be meted out justice by members of the victim’s families. Em is horrified by the experience and flees from the resort but James’s passport goes missing and he stays, drawn into the decadent world of Gabi, her husband, and their sick friends who have also experienced this clone justice and gleefully refer to themselves as “zombies.” Before long they are all wildly drinking, doing native aphrodisiac drugs and committing wild bursts of lawlessness, sucking James deeper and deeper into their nightmare. Mia Goth (who blew my mind with her performances in Ti West’s X and Pearl) brilliantly plays a real vicious little vixen and Skarsgard is sensational as the gloomy writer who came on vacation for inspiration for a new book and gets more than he bargained for in this trippy, terrific shocker. This is the R-rated version so you’re missing the explicit reach-around masturbation scene with Skarsgard.
The Haunting of Julia (Shout! Factory) (AKA Full Circle) A terrific 4K UHD restoration of lesser known, exceptional 1977 ghost story with a superb performance by Mia Farrow. Based on a Peter Straub novel, Farrow stars as Julia, traumatized by the death of her daughter, who splits from her overbearing husband (Keir Dullea) and buys a fully furnished house in London. She begins to see and hear things and is convinced it is the spirit of her dead child, but as she investigates the backstory of the house discovers something more malevolent is going on. Elegantly directed by Richard Loncraine (who does an introduction on the disc), with beautiful cinematography by Peter Hannan and a great score by Colin Towns. Tom Conti is quite affable as Julia’s good friend in the film (and appears on an extra talking about the making of the film). Look for a young Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) as a library assistant. This is definitely a slow-burn supernatural thriller, but Mia Farrow is just sensational and the film has a memorably creepy ending.
Keane (Grasshopper Film) A new 4K restoration of a brilliant 2005 film by one of my favorite directors- Lodge Kerrigan. If you’ve never seen it you are really missing something unforgettable, haunting and great. A disturbed father William Keane (Damian Lewis) haunts the bowls of Port Authority in New York City, stopping travelers and frantically asking if they’ve seen his daughter, who, tragically, was abducted over a year ago. Lodge Kerrigan’s devastating, feverishly intense, film is similar in spirit to his harrowing Clean, Shaven– burrowing into a disordered mind and letting the audience see through the man’s tortured, manic, eyes. A chance encounter with a down-on-her-luck mom (glorious Amy Ryan) and her daughter (Abigail Breslin) at the flophouse hotel he’s holed up in only amplifies Keane’s desperation and loss. My nerves were totally fried by the end, but Lewis’s performance is so raw and compelling you can’t avert your eyes for a moment.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XII (Kino Lorber) Undertow (1949) Before William Castle became the king of gimmick horror movies like The House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler and Homicidal he directed this crackling mystery starring Scott Brady as an ex-serviceman who is framed for a murder. Lovely Peggy Dow plays a woman he meets at a casino who helps him clear himself of the crime before he is captured by the police. Look for a young Rock Hudson as a detective. (“Roc” is how is name is spelled in the credits). Hold Back Tomorrow (1955) is a bizarre Hugo Haas film and stars Cleo Moore in one of her finest roles. A death row inmate’s (John Agar) last wish is to spend his final night on earth with a suicidal prostitute (Moore). Often Cleo Moore is a sexy log onscreen, but her wooden delivery is eerily effective here- she seems deadened and weary of life. Outside the Wall (1950) stars Richard Basehart as an ex-con who takes a job at a county sanitarium and comes under the spell of a devious nurse (Marilyn Maxwell) and gets mistaken for being involved an armored car heist.
The Big Easy (Kino Lorber) Director Jim McBride’s 1986 sexy thriller, set in New Orleans stars Dennis Quaid (with a dubious Cajun accent) as police lieutenant Remy McSwain, investigating a local gangster’s murder. A sensational and sizzling Ellen Barkin plays a State District Attorney investigating police corruption. She suspects Remy McSwain is a cop on the take but ends up having a hot romance with him. With great character actors like Ned Beatty, John Goodman and David Lynch favorite- Grace Zabriskie, it also has a wonderful performance by the late, great Charles Ludlam (founder, actor and playwright of the Ridiculous Theater Company) as a colorful lawyer. With great music and New Orleans atmosphere and steamy chemistry between Quaid and Barkin.
One Way Passage (Warner Archive) This 1932 doomed shipboard romance between a criminal headed for death row being transported to the mainland- William Powell, and a woman who knows she has only a short time to live- Kay Francis. Powell is allowed to spend time freely aboard ship during the trip by authorities and he meets the lovely Kay Francis and they fall deeply in love. Both are concealing a dark secret but are swept up in their passionate romance- they agree to meet on New Year’s Eve in the near future. The ending is truly sublime and heartbreaking. This was remade with George Brent and Merle Oberon as ‘Til We Meet Again in 1940 but, while I like that version a lot, the dynamite chemistry between Powell and Francis here is palpable.
The Whip and the Body (88 Films) (this is a Region B disc so you will need a multi-region player). This is also one of my favorites by the Italian master of the macabre Mario Bava, but the Blu-ray released in the States really screwed up the color, and Bava was such a perfectionist with mood, lighting and composition. Finally, 88 Films fixed that problem with a beautiful 4K Scan and 2K restoration Blu-ray edition of this 1963 chiller. The colors finally pop. Christopher Lee stars as Kurt, the sadistic brute who returns home to the family castle and finds out his brother has married Nevenka (Daliah Lavi), who he has had an intense sadomasochistic relationship with. Everyone in the castle despises him including his own father. The maid keeps on display the dagger her daughter used to kill herself (because of Kurt). Kurt immediately begins to torment Nevenka, whipping her savagely any chance he gets. But even death can’t keep Kurt from haunting the castle and everyone in it. The art direction is amazing, with eerily lit halls, cobwebbed stairs to the basement crypt. Shadowy figures roam the castle at night, always accompanied by the screaming wind from the sea battering the stone walls. The film is in full gothic overload- dreamy, creepily atmospheric and perversely beautiful. The extras include an interview with Mario’s son- Lamberto Bava and also with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. Plus, great audio commentary by Italian genre film experts Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.
Drowning by Numbers (Severin) A 1987 film by Peter Greenaway (The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover). It’s a bizarre and gorgeous account of three generations of women who murder their husbands. Joan Plowright is stunning as the matriarchal murderess, and the movie is littered with numbers- they appear on trees, swim suits, fish and even dead cows. As usual, a heady brew for those unfamiliar with Greenaway, but a sumptuous visual banquet for his fans- with wild compositions of half-eaten fruit, twitching beetles and dead birds. It’s a mordantly funny black comedy of game playing between the sexes where the men don’t stand a chance of winning. This welcome Severin Blu-ray is a 4K UHD disc and looks staggeringly good. It includes audio commentary with writer/director Peter Greenaway, an archival featurette and an interview with actor Bernard Hill. (2 Good 2 B 4 Got 10)