Comedy | Cagey Films

Karloff at Columbia on Eureka Blu-ray

Posted on July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 by Kenneth George Godwin

Dr. John Garth (Boris Karloff) is distracted by a murderer's impulses in Nick Grinde's Before I Hang (1940)

Eureka’s new two-disk Blu-ray release Karloff at Columbia is a real treat for fans of the iconic actor. Although it begins with Roy William Neill’s atmospheric period Gothic The Black Room (1935), the bulk of the set is devoted to what became known as the Mad Doctor Cycle, five extremely low-budget sci-fi tinged horrors in which Karloff plays scientists dabbling in research which the establishment frowns on; the authorities’ resistance tends to push him over into madness and murder and mayhem ensue. Long held in low esteem, these cheap movies are all entertaining and Karloff delivers sincere performances no matter how silly the trappings occasionally become.

John Ford at Columbia 1935-1958: Indicator Blu-ray

Posted on May 12, 2021March 22, 2024 by Kenneth George Godwin

Chief Inspector George Gideon (Jack Hawkins) knows that Joanna Delafield (Dianne Foster) is involved in a series of robberies in John Ford's Gideon's Day (1958)

Indicator’s four-disk John Ford at Columbia 1935-1958 box set raises some interesting questions about the nature of auteurism and how the ways in which a filmmaker comes to be defined influence how different films are viewed. Two of the movies in the set – The Whole Town’s Talking (1935) and Gideon’s Day (1958) – tend to be seen as minor and extraneous to Ford’s core body of work, yet both are among his most entertaining even if they don’t advance his familiar thematic preoccupations.

Recent Arrow viewing, Part Two

Posted on May 5, 2021November 11, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

Captain Seafield (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) and sonar expert Nedge Pepsi (Beulah Peters) are shocked by the Lake Michigan Monster (2018)

Yet another wide range of titles from Arrow Video from a restored silent classic to aliens over Tokyo, woods infested with zombies, food which consumes those who eat it, apocalypse in an alternate future Los Angeles, friendship destroyed by political conflicts, rich people facing the loss of their wealth and a naively admiring time capsule of the U.S. on the brink of the ’60s.

Frank Borzage’s History is Made at Night (1937):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on April 28, 2021April 27, 2021 by Kenneth George Godwin

Romance begins in menacing darkness in Frank Borzage’s History is Made at Night (1937)

Criterion have released a stunning restoration of History is Made at Night (1937), Frank Borzage’s startlingly unpredictable mixture of romantic comedy, melodrama, noir and horror, which climaxes as a full-blown disaster film. Production began with only half a script and much of the film was improvised on the fly, yet it emerged as a wonderfully entertaining, continuously surprising testament to Borzage’s belief in the redemptive power of love.

Jacques Rivette’s Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on March 17, 2021March 16, 2021 by Kenneth George Godwin

Celine (Juliet Berto) and Julie (Dominique Labourier) watch the unfolding melodrama like a movie which they can't take seriously in Jacques Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)

Criterion’s new release showcases Jacques Rivette’s most playful feature, Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974), with a terrific transfer and exhaustive (and exhausting!) supplements, including a an illuminating commentary by Adrian Martin and a second disk containing four-and-a-half hours of documentaries and interviews.

Ousmane Sembène’s Mandabi (1968): Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on February 13, 2021June 2, 2024 by Kenneth George Godwin

Ibrahim Dieng (Makhouredia Gueye) is at the mercy of a post-colonial society in Ousmane Sembene's Mandabi (1968)

Known as the “father of African cinema”, Ousmane Sembène’s films grapple with issues of identity in the complex social and political conditions of post-colonial Africa. His second feature (and first in colour) Mandabi (1968) is a tragi-comedy about a proud man clinging to an outmoded patriarchal role whose life is upended when a nephew working in France sends him a money order for 25,000 francs.

Three Films by Luis Buñuel: Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on January 6, 2021February 11, 2025 by Kenneth George Godwin

A nocturnal visitor passes through the bedroom in Luis Bunuel's The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

By the end of his career Luis Bunuel had perfected a style both allusive and precise in its details, giving his work a unique charm fully on display in Criterion’s new Blu-ray set of the final three features: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), The Phantom of Liberty (1974) and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977).

Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog (1999): Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on November 18, 2020August 6, 2022 by Kenneth George Godwin

A calm and efficient killer in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Jim Jarmusch explores the melding of multiple genres and disparate cultures in his meditative tragicomedy Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), given a fine restoration on Criterion’s new Blu-ray.

Two swansongs

Posted on September 2, 2020March 24, 2021 by Kenneth George Godwin

Nothing goes right on board Stan's inherited yacht in Leo Joannon's Atoll K (1960)

A pair of Blu-rays from England showcase the final works of major artists who were considered at the time to be in decline: Laurel and Hardy’s last feature, Atoll K (dir. Leo Joannon, 1951) is a bittersweet mess which captures the Boys’ enduring charm while making their mortality all too clear, while Fritz Lang’s The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) comes full circle by reviving his Weimar criminal mastermind in a Cold War context which paved the way for James Bond’s high-tech thrills.

Why do I do it?

Posted on June 6, 2020July 2, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

Roger Cobb (William Katt)'s dead Vietnam buddy Big Ben (Richard Moll) is pissed off in Steve Miner's House (1985)

It’s a puzzling personal aberration, but I continue to find myself drawn to bad movies because they become available on disk in attractive packages. This time out, Arrow’s substantial box set of the four features in the completely disposable House franchise.

Tag: Comedy