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Savant's new reviews today are
Hello, and a happy Independence Day to all and sundry! I'm now informed that The African Queen is again be on a release schedule for the Fall, along with It's a Wonderful Life (November 3, Paramount, Blu-ray) and Deep Impact (September 15, Paramount, Blu-ray), A Walk in the Sun (August 25, Kit Parker) and Husbands (August 18, Sony).
Forced to make a choice, the Blu-rays I'm most excited about are Coraline (July 21 Universal Blu-ray), Watchmen (July 21, Warners), Repulsion (July 28, Criterion), Playtime (August 18, Criterion), Duplicity (August 25, Universal), M*A*S*H (September 1, Fox), Gojira (September 22, Genius Products) and Stop Making Sense (Oct 13, Palm Pictures).
Sony takes the lead on the most desirable standard def releases: Icons of Sci Fi Toho: The H-Man, Battle in Outer Space, Mothra (August 18, Sony); Sam Fuller: The Crimson Kimono, Underworld U.S.A, Scandal Sheet (September 29, Sony), Karloff and Lugosi Horror Classics: Frankenstein 1970, The Walking Dead, You'll Find Out, Zombies on Broadway (October 6, Warners); Film Noir 1: The Sniper, The Big Heat, Five Against the House, The Lineup, Murder by Contract and Film Noir 2: In a Lonely Place, Pushover, Nightfall, The Brothers Rico, City of Fear (both November 3 Sony) and Esther Williams 2: Thrill of a Romance, This Time For Keeps, Fiesta, Pagan Love Song, Million Dollar Mermaid, Easy to Love (October 6, Warners). So there's plenty to look forward to this year, my previous whining aside.
Finally, friend and writer Jeremy Arnold saw a new restoration of G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box in downtown L.A. last Friday at a Last Remaining Seats screening, and offers this report:
"I've never seen it look that good. Looked like it was shot yesterday. They did a complex digital restoration using three prints from three different archives, which were all struck decades apart, and used computer technology to make the shading and grading match. It looked fluid and clean. No negative or original material exists, so many imperfections that were photographically embedded in the images had to be digitally removed and cleaned up. This was the first U.S. screening. Hugh Hefner funded the entire restoration and got a big credit. And was there."
That sounds like good news - Criterion's excellent DVD looked good, but with that wonderful film there's always room for improvement.
Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson
Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are
Great slow start to the summer. Forget looking for real news on TV, which for days has been exclusively about Michael Jackson. Finally caught up with UP, which makes me the 3 billionth person to say, with a bright face, "Gee, that's the best show I've seen this year!" Great 3D, too! What, you already know?
Here's what I'm working on for reviews: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Lookin' to Get Out, Last Year at Marienbad, The Seventh Seal and For All Mankind. The last three are fine in Blu-ray. Several reviews are already written but are committed for a release window to TCM Online and Film.com before I can reprint them here. It's not a perfect system, but it puts cornflakes on the table, as they say.
I'm also experiencing a kind of Disc-itis. Relatively few deep library titles are being released, and they're not being pushed by the publicists. I get offers for plenty of recent comedies, kid shows and action films that simply don't appeal. Universal is releasing several desirable DVDs on July 7, like the great Lonely are the Brave, but I doubt that I'll be able to secure screeners. The trick is for me to be grateful for what is being released -- later this year Sony is promising a string of impressive genre collections, including most of Columbia's best films noir. Take a look at the 2009 Savant Wish List, if you haven't lately ... the DVD release landscape is definitely changing.
Thanks for reading as always! Glenn Erickson
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