It’s hard to take serious that mantra “the disc is dead” when these amazing restored Blu-rays are still coming out offering fans sparkling newly digitalized versions of movies, most of which you will never find streaming. This month 2 of the Italian maestro of horror Dario Argento’s films are being released along with many other demented treats, The Silence Of The Lambs (Criterion) Jonathan Demme turned what could have been a pulp thriller into an Oscar-winning great with superb performances by Jodie Foster as FBI cadet Clarice Starling who is assigned to interview notorious incarcerated killer Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) in order to help find the unknown person responsible for a series of grisly crimes. If you bought an earlier Blu-ray, this exquisite Criterion restoration will have you using those old discs as drink coasters.
Auntie Mame (Warner Archive)
The colors finally pop in this sublime restoration of this beloved whacky 1958 comedy based on the Patrick Dennis novel about an orphaned boy who goes to live with his bohemian aunt in New York with an unforgettable Rosaland Russell as the eccentric and madcap Mame Dennis. Witty, wildly funny, and just the best. If you don’t buy this you’re a fool.
The Outlaw (Kino Lorber)
Howard Hughes helmed this infamous 1943 western catapulting Jane Russell to fame and causing the Hollywood Production Code a fit because of her ample bosom. The film is about Billy The Kid’s (Jack Buetel) friendship with Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) which erodes over the shared love of a woman- Rio (Jane Russell). But the script is so bizarrely homoerotic you have to see it to believe it. George S, Kaufman once wisecracked that the film should have been called: “A Tale Of Two Titties”.
Matinee (Shout Factory)
Sadly, this delightful 1993 Joe Dante film failed to connect with audiences. Set in Key West, Florida in 1962 during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis panic, it’s about a bigger-than-life horror showman (John Goodman) (obviously based on William Castle) who shows up in town to premiere his new sci-fi film “Mant”. Cathy Moriarty is great as Goodman’s girlfriend in this affectionate send-up of old monster movie ballyhoo.
The Sect (Scorpion Releasing)
A brand new 2K scan (from the negative) of this wildly ambitious Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man) film about a mysterious devil cult and an American schoolteacher in Germany (Kelly Curtis) who assists a mysterious stranger (Herbert Lom) only to open the gates of hell in her house. With wild surreal touches and plot twists this finally gets the release it deserves. Included is a fascinating interview with the wonderful Tomas Arana (who plays the Charles Manson-like messianic figure in the film).
Hide And Go Shriek (Code Red)
A brand new 2K scan of a fascinatingly perverse 1987 slasher film about some teens who spend a night alone in a furniture store only to be stalked by a creepy, cross-dressing, killer. Director Skip Schoolnik adds the expected nudity and gore but throws in many head-scratching oddball touches. Just bizarre.
The Blood-Spattered Bride (Mondo Macabro)
A young bride travels with her randy new husband to the family estate in Spain and comes under the spell of a mysterious woman who appears to her first in dreams. Her husband discovers a naked woman buried in the sand on the beach (in a really crackpot sequence) and brings her home with dire results. This gothic 1972 chiller by Vicente Aranda is one of the better versions of Sheridan Le Fenu’s Carmilla and is filled to the brim with sex and sleaze. It also never looked this beautiful on home video.
Lady And The Tramp (Disney)
I am always awestruck at the stunning animation in the 1955 cartoon great about a cocker spaniel and her love for a street mutt. This stellar Blu-ray has many outtakes, and heavenly extras. Peggy Lee provided many voices and songs (including one favorite involving Siamese Cats) and she later successfully sued Disney for breach of contract.
The Night Walker (Scream Factory)
A terrific William Castle thriller with a script by Robert Bloch (Psycho) and starring Barbara Stanwyck as a widow haunted by repeated nightmares of a mysterious stranger. Robert Taylor plays her late husband’s lawyer who she begs to help her from this living nightmare. This 1964 is lots of fun, and finally looks great on screen (the DVD release a while back was a disaster).
Cat O Nine Tails (Acorn)
Director Dario Argento’s 1971 follow up to his internationally successful Bird With The Crystal Plumage is this under-appreciated thriller about a blind man (Karl Malden) who over-hears a murder plot on the street and teams up with a journalist (James Franciscus) to catch the killer. With an excellent Ennio Morricone score this sensational restoration by Acorn may help bolster the film’s reputation. With scores of extras.
Leatherface (Lionsgate)
Directors Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury are criminally not as well known in the US. But their films like Inside, Livide, and Among The Living are unique chilling masterworks and they bring their splatter-punk sensibilities to this ferociously frightening “origins” film about the cannibalistic Sawyer family introduced by Tobe Hooper in his 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Set in 1965, several violent and dangerous misfits abduct a nurse (Vanessa Grasse) in their escape from the Gorman House Youth Reformatory, and hit the road in stolen cars cutting a bloody path across Texas. Bustillo & Maury bring their own twisted take and the results are a nightmarish wallow in demented hillbilly horror, one that I think the late Tobe Hooper would heartily approve of.
Opera (Scorpion Releasing)
Italian horror director Dario Argento’s chilling tale of a young singer thrust into the main role of the opera Macbeth while a maniac slays those around her, even tying her up and taping pins under her eyes forcing her to watch the kills. One of Argento’s darker tales but visually ravishing. You have to admire a film where a raven solves the mystery. One of my personal favorites.
Tom Of Finland (Kino Lorber)
Finnish director Dome Karukoski’s exceptional bio-pic on the life of famed erotic artist Tom Of Finland. Touko Laaksonen’s (Pekka Strang) drawings (under the pseudonym “Tom”) displayed cartoonishly muscled men having sex with each other. He smuggled his artwork out of the country which was printed and sold internationally, and a subsequent trip to Los Angeles revealed how his “dirty drawings” were revered and celebrated. It’s a fascinating and terrific film and a fitting tribute to a true subversive gay hero.
The Diabolical Dr. Z (Kino Lorber)
Prolific Spanish director Jess Franco’s fantastically macabre 1966 film, definitely one of his finest films. A beautiful blonde nightclub performer called “Miss Death” (with long, lethal, fingernails) is kidnapped by the daughter of the mad scientist Dr. Z. She is brought to a laboratory and transformed into a killing machine, targeting three scientists the daughter feels responsible for her father’s death. A stunning transfer which captures the shimmering black and white photography of this fantastic mix of gothic and modern horror.
Night Of The Living Dead (Criterion)
In 1968 George Romero made a low budget fright flick in Pittsburg and changed the landscape of horror films. Younger audiences will never understand the impact this had on audiences then who accidentally stumbled onto in at the bottom of a triple horror bill and were traumatized by how frightening it was (and how slyly political too). This 4K digital restoration was done by Moma and supervised by Romero and returns the movie to digital greatness. It also includes never before see 16mm daily reels and even a work print of this wildly influential film.
Cinemaniac was the ONLY reason to buy Paper magazine. I’ve been hooked on your column for years. So glad it’s back. The new website looks fantastic!
So glad to see you on here!