The visual master Mario Bava virtually invented the Italian horror film, influencing generations of filmmakers who followed and built on his stylistic and thematic example. Arrow video has been releasing a series of impressive editions of Bava’s films on Blu-ray, offering alternative versions and a rich array of supplements to provide a critical and historical context for his work.
Criterion have released an impressive Blu-ray edition of Blind Chance, a key transitional film for Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski as he moved from documentary realism towards the more abstract and philosophical films he became best known for.
In two recent Blu-ray releases Twilight Time showcase different romantic fantasies; in The World of Henry Orient the world is seen through the eyes of a pair of adolescent girls infatuated with a concert pianist, while in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Stanley Kramer attempts to make an interracial relationship acceptable by using the familiar forms of a sit-com defuse the social implications which at the time would be seen as threatening by many in the audience.
A round-up of recently viewed disks from rediscovered classics to throwaway mainstream action; from horror and comedy to documentary.
David Gregory’s documentary Lost Soul tells the fascinating story of Richard Stanley’s failed attempt to adapt H.G. Wells’ Island of Dr. Moreau, a project which fell foul of the conflict between a quirky artist and a Hollywood corporation.
Kino Lorber have been offering a wide range of movies in generally fine transfers, from the work of Jean Rollin and Jess Franco to poverty row exploitation classics, ’70s Italian exploitation, foreign and arthouse titles, and recently a number of titles from some of the more obscure byways of the ’70s.
Brief comments on a selection of recently watched movies, ranging from classic science fiction to a Danish western, world war two tank combat and Aussie zombies.
A round-up of recent disk-watching ranges from comedy to horror, mock-umentary to documentary, a poverty row classic and major discovery from the late silent period.
Arrow Video has become my favourite source for high quality releases of both serious films and exploitation titles. Their special editions rank with the best offered by prestige companies like Criterion and Masters of Cinema.
Recent binging on Twilight Time Blu-rays ranges from politics to comedy to science fiction, absurd studio productions and idiosyncratic independents; from the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions to the overthrowing of a future society of privileged immortals to underhanded contemporary business wars, from dinosaurs deep inside the Earth to the destruction of an alien race on the moon.