Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.
It’s a big week for 4K collectors, with sparkling new releases of new blockbusters, old genre films, and a rightfully beloved erotic thriller. All that plus new Criterions, a must-see set of forgotten British flicks, and a pair of favorites we’ve been waiting way too long to watch on Blu-ray:
PICK OF THE WEEK:
“Double Indemnity”: Billy Wilder‘s exquisite 1944 thriller, rightfully placed among the finest of all films noir, gets the deluxe 4K treatment from the Criterion Collection, and it’s a beaut – the restoration is top-notch, and John Seitz‘ dark, moody compositions look terrific. Most importantly, the film still holds water; after decades of homage and imitation (particularly in Kasdan’s “Body Heat”), “Double Indemnity” is still simultaneously thrilling, funny, suspenseful, and sexy. Fred MacMurray, miles away from the mild-mannered dad of “My Three Sons,” beautifully conveys the turn from average, horny schmuck to paranoid killer, while Barbara Stanwyck is the quintessential bewitching femme fatale. The standout, however, is Edward G. Robinson, smoothly transitioning from leading man to character actor as grouchy, fast-talking, quick-witted claims investigator Barton Keyes; his hard-boiled monologues (from James M. Cain‘s novel by way of Wilder and Raymond Chandler‘s smart screenplay) are a joy to watch. (Includes audio commentary, new and archival interviews, making-of documentary, radio adaptations, and essay by Angelica Jade Bastien.)
ON BLU-RAY / DVD / VOD:
“The Batman”: The look and feel of Matt Reeves’ take on the Dark Knight isn’t exactly fresh, and you can play “spot the influence” pretty easily. But the aesthetic is new to the (now dominant) superhero genre, and the contrast makes for a sharp reminder of how staid and formulaic these movies have become. Reeves is doing some genuinely inventive things with his camera (both in terms of framing and focus), and he’s willing to engage with the character specifically as a vigilante; particularly in his early scenes, we have a real sense of how he’s using violence (brutal violence, often) to work out his issues. Robert Pattinson’s emo take is surprisingly effective, Paul Dano’s Riddler is properly creepy, and Zoe Kravitz hits all the right notes as Catwoman – it’s a (gasp) sexy superhero movie, if you can imagine such a thing. (Also streaming on HBO Max.) (Includes deleted scenes with audio commentary and featurettes.)
ON 4K:
“A Fistful of Dollars”: The facts of Sergio Leone’s 1964 (though not released in America until 1967) smash are well known: how he fused Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” and the tropes of the American Western to create a whole new subgenre, the Spaghetti Western, and made an international movie star out of Clint Eastwood in the process. Those are the reasons “Dollars” is important – what makes it great is its frisky energy and low-budget ingenuity (Leone made it for a paltry $200K), and the offhand cool with which Eastwood does his thing. It’s been on Blu-ray multiple times, but as with KL Studio Classics’ recent and essential 4K release of “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly,” it looks so good that you’re just gonna have to splurge again. (Includes audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, outtakes, radio spots, and trailers.)
“For a Few Dollars More”: “A Fistful of Dollars” gets love as the groundbreaker, and “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” as the epic, but this viewer has always had a soft spot for the middle picture in Leone and Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” trilogy, which finds the filmmaker and the actor stretching their legs a bit and really starting to explore the kind of places a Spaghetti Western could go. And they found a secret weapon in Lee Van Cleef, magnificent as Eastwood’s rival bounty hunter, a man so amoral that he (and perhaps only he) can make Eastwood seem a saint in comparison. It’s dark and grimy, yet wickedly entertaining (and not without its fair share of deadpan humor); the action sequences maintain their considerable kick, and KL’s 4K restoration is a knockout. (Includes audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, radio spots, and trailers.)
“The Untouchables”: Brian De Palma isn’t as immediately associated with gangster pictures as his “film brat” contemporaries Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, but he’s given us his fair share of organized crime stories: “Scarface” and “Carlito’s Way” are cult faves, and in between came one of his biggest commercial successes, this 1987 take on the classic television series. David Mamet’s razor-sharp screenplay is mostly concerned with Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) and his team of agents, who find they have to work outside the local police and other corrupt authorities to end bootlegging in Al Capone’s Chicago; that tight team is played by Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith, all of whom get a chance to shine. But the occasional set pieces with the object of their pursuit, played to the hilt by Robert De Niro, are chillingly effective as well. (Includes featurettes.)
“Wild Things”: The ‘90s reign of the erotic thriller was drawing to a close in 1998, when director John McNaughton – then known primarily for the horrifyingly brutal “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” – crafted this frisky, swampy tale of a high-school guidance counselor (Matt Dillon) and the two students (Neve Campbell and Denise Richards) who take him down in a sex scandal. Or do they? The result is a memorable example of having one’s cake and eating it too; McNaughton cranks up plot twists and sweaty atmosphere to levels that border on satire, and winks at the audience broadly via the shoot-the-works supporting turns of Bill Murray and Theresa Russell. But he doesn’t scrimp on the sex, either, and (unsurprisingly), it’s mostly remembered these days for a couple of encounters that still gets the pulse racing, even after twenty years of Internet screencaps. Arrow’s new 4K restorations (of both the original theatrical and unrated extended editions) provide the, um, clarity the film’s fans are presumably clamoring for. (Includes audio commentaries, new interviews, making-of documentary, and essays by Anne Bilson and Sean Hogan.)
“1776”: Peter H. Hunt’s 1972 adaptation of the Broadway hit was a commercial failure upon its release, unsurprisingly – it’s the kind of big, broad, roadshow-style musical that seemed wildly out of step in the New Hollywood era, and its celebration of the Founding Fathers must’ve seemed particularly tone-deaf to younger audiences. Some of that material has continued to age like curdled milk (see: the big number about the great romance between Thomas Jefferson and his wife), but there’s a lot here to like: the songs are catchy, the dialogue is rowdy, the dramatization of the battles at the first Continental Congress is both informative and entertaining, and the cast of character actors is first rate – after all, it’s hard to slam any movie that gives William Daniels the leading role. (Includes director’s cut and extended cut, audio commentaries, deleted and alternate scenes with commentary, screen tests, teaser and trailers.)
ON BLU-RAY:
“Mississippi Masala”: Denzel Washington rarely got the opportunity to play the sexy romantic lead, particularly early in his career, when mainstream movies were still annoyingly uncomfortable with images of Black sexuality onscreen. But he got that shot in Mira Nair’s 1991 drama, starring as a working-class Mississippi man who falls hard for a young Indian woman (Sarita Choudhury). Their chemistry is both warm and sexy, and that goes for much of the movie as well. But Nair has more on her mind than romance; she embeds herself in their respective communities, comments slyly on how they survive and thrive in seemingly inhospitable surroundings, and shows how they can sadly turn on each other when norms are rocked. It’s a gorgeous and joyful movie, but a complicated one as well. (Includes audio commentary, new interviews, and essay by Bilal Qureshi.)
“Chan is Missing”: “This mystery is appropriately Chinese,” he explains. “What’s not there seems to have just as much meaning as what is there.” Wayne Wang’s 1982 micro-budget effort was one of the first true indie success stories of the era, assembled for a song but playing long runs for crossover, art-house audiences. It’s a playful piece of work, taking on the form of the classic detective yarn but turning it all upside down; the grainy black-and-white photography is far removed from the slick sheen of Bogart classics, and the voice-over narration is anything but hard-boiled. It’s a low-key picture with a hangout vibe, and Criterion’s new edition preserves its many charms. (Includes interviews, making-of documentary, trailer, and essay by Oliver Wang.)
“Kinky Boots”: This 2005 feel-good comedy/drama, making its long-time-coming Blu-ray debut via Paramount, is mostly known for two things: inspiring the durable Broadway musical, and featuring early appearances by Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Nick Frost. But this is no mere act of archaeology; director Julian Jarrold tells his story wittily and breezily, with Edgerton as the son of a recently-deceased shoemaker who finds a specific niche to save the business: boots for drag queens and trans women. It’s formula beats all the way down the line, but it barely matters; it’s a joyful, kind-hearted film. The entire cast is on point, but Ejiofor is the standout, high-spirited and energetic – this was his breakthrough film, and it’s easy to see why. (Includes audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes with optional commentary.)
“Times Square”: This 1980 comedy/drama from director Allan Moyle (who would go on to make the similarly-styled “Pump Up the Volume”) has long been MIA from DVD and Blu-ray due to music licensing, and bravo to KL Studio Classics for splurging to keep that soundtrack intact. It’s a lovely if somewhat whiplash-inducing film, telling a throwback coming-of-age story in the decidedly seedy atmosphere of ‘80s-era midtown NYC, so punches are understandably pulled. But Trini Alvarado and Robin Johnson are delightful in the leading roles, and Tim Curry brings just the right dose of winking, worldly wisdom to his turn as their favorite DJ. (Includes audio commentaries and trailer.)
“The Pemini Organisation (1972-1974)”: Powerhouse Films, newly blessing us Yanks with their beautifully restored and presented Blu-ray released, shines a light on the three-man creative team (Peter Crane, Michael Sloan, and Nigel Hodgson) responsible for three mid-‘70s efforts that have all but disappeared from view. The 1972 film “Hunted” is a tough, tense 41-minute two-hander that unfolds with the intensity and focus of a good one-act play. “Assassin,” from 1973, is a feature-length crime picture that seems a major influence on “The Long Good Friday” and its ilk, notable for its eye-catching compositions and fractured, “Point Blank”-style structure. And 1974’s “Moments” is a complete 180 – a quieter, subtler, and more introspective film whose two-person through-line almost makes it a proto-“Before Sunrise.” All three feel like major discoveries, and kudos to Powerhouse for this welcome showcase. (Includes audio commentaries, deleted scenes, student film, new and archival interviews, video essay, and featurettes.)