Here are our latest reviews of films on DVD.
Reviews of Classic Films
Around the World with Orson Welles
- Excerpt: Welles foregrounds the machinery of moviemaking, reminding us that he’s brought a crew with him, and he manipulates his documentary footage as aggressively as he does in his fictional storytelling.
The Bridge
Day of the Outlaw
- Excerpt: ne of the toughest, most tension-filled pictures from Andre de Toth, a studio filmmaker who could be counted on to bring a savage edge to his assignments.
The Fisher King
Killer Cop
- Excerpt: The northern capital of Milan, the symbol of modernity and progress in the Italian cinema of the 50s and 60s, is the epitome of official corruption and the urban mob in the crime cinema of the 70s.
Man, Pride and Vengeance
- Excerpt: Man, Pride and Vengeance (1967), from director Luigi Bazzoni and star Franco Nero, is a respectable find.
A Master Builder
The Premature Burial
- Excerpt: Like most of Corman’s Poe films, the script (this one by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell) borrows little more than the central idea and the title from Poe. This one owes a debt to Gaslight and Diabolique…
Le Silence de la Mer
- Excerpt: Melville called it an “anti-cinematic” film, and he creates the expressiveness in what remains unspoken, the glances and gestures that take on grand drama in the minimalist presentation.
Spider Baby
Stunning Debuts: Terrence Malick’s Badlabds
Emanuel Levy @ www.EmanuelLevy.com
- Excerpt: Terrene Malikc made a stunning debut in 1973 with Badlands, which world-premiered at the N.Y. Film Fest, announcing the arrival of a major artist
The Trial (1961)
- Excerpt: The legal system is a literal maze in Welles’ visualization and the disparate locations all lead back to one another.
Recent Home Video Releases
Cross
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
Der TodesKing
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
M. Enois Duarte @ High-Def Digest.com
Only this animated release could overshadow 2 Studio Ghibli films
Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: This week’s releases include concluding seasons to two engaging TV series; three charming animated films, one of which is an Oscar winner; a couple of sci-fi movies with widely differing budgets; and a teen comedy with the potential to become a classic.
The Story of Adele H
M. Enois Duarte @ High-Def Digest.com
Two comedies at opposite ends of their runs out this week
Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: This week’s releases include a not-so-scary double feature that shows the darker side of ‘80s horror movies; and a couple of TV series at the start and end of their runs.
Other Reviews from 2012 and earlier
The Apple
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: The Apple’ pulls you in many different directions: you’re never quite sure whether to tap your toes, roll your eyes, drop your jaw, or bring up your lunch.
Bruno & Earlene Go To Vegas
The Castle of Sand
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Humanoids from the Deep
James Jay Edwards @ FilmFracture
- Excerpt: Cinema Fearité Bids Farewell To James Horner With One Of His Earliest Works – ‘Humanoids from the Deep’
Innocence
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: …a rare blend of the allegorical and the inexplicable, satisfying both hemispheres of the brain. It doesn’t feel essential, but it is so verdant and lovely that it should be seen by more people than it has been.
Knives of the Avenger
Roderick Heath @ This Island Rod
- Excerpt: The pseudo-historical setting allows Bava this leeway; Knives represents an exact mediation between the classic peplum movie and the western which was supplanting it in popularity in Italian genre cinema…
Man in the Shadow
Roderick Heath @ This Island Rod
- Excerpt: Directed by Jack Arnold, Man in the Shadow blends modern-dress western with noir-soaked attitudes, but also follows Arnold’s string of sci-fi epics with telling overlaps.