New to View: Nov. 23
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Nov. 23, unless otherwise noted:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence, disturbing images
The lowdown: While the classic 1956 adaptation of Jack Finney’s novel, “The Body Snatchers,” makes more of a political statement about the Cold War and McCarthy-era paranoia of the time. Under the direction of Don Siegel, it has become a timeless and acclaimed science fiction-horror feature.
The 1978 remake, directed by Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff,” “The Wanderers”) with a screenplay by W.D. Richter (“Big Trouble in Little China,” “Brubaker”), looks at then-contemporary problems of urban paranoia and loss of individuality.
The story basically remains the same — spores from space take over the body of humans as they sleep, but those whose identities are stolen lose their emotions, souls and the uniqueness that separate them from everyone else.
The cast is headed by Donald Sutherland and also features Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright.
The movie also features a very chilling finale.
The film received an impressive 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Siegel’s original garnered a 98 fresh rating, but it lacks some of the subtlety of the remake.
And be on the lookout for a cameo by Kevin McCarthy, the star of the 1956 film.
Technical aspects: 4K UHD: 2160p Ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A bevy of bonus offerings are offered, including two commentary tracks — one by Kaufman and the other by film historian Steven Haberman; interviews with Adams, Richter, composer Denny Zeitlin, actor Art Hindle and Finney expert Jack Seabrook; and featurettes on the making of the movie, the special effects, the memorable sound effects and the cinematography.
Night Gallery: Season One (Blu-ray)
Details: 1969-71, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This two-disc set features the pilot episode and the complete first season of this series hosted by Rod Serling, who also wrote some of the featured stories.
Unlike Serling’s “Twilight Zone,” “Night Gallery” offered two or three short stories per episode.
The problem with the series — through no fault of its own — was that it was constantly being compared to “Twilight Zone” with “Night Gallery” often getting the short end of the stick.
But that is unfair, as some of these stories were scary, suspenseful and ironic.
And some solid performers were showcased in the series, including Joan Crawford, Burgess Meredith, Richard Kiley, Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond Massey, Jack Cassidy, William Windom and Phyllis Diller.
Among directors who were featured was a very young Steven Spielberg.
Some of the titles that are in this set is the highly acclaimed “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar” with Windom, “Eyes” with Crawford, directed by Spielberg and “The Escape Route” with Kiley and Sam Jaffe.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Commentaries on more than a dozen episodes plus a featurette about the show’s troubled second life in reruns and syndication.
“Two From Sergei Eisenstein: ‘October’ & ‘Alexander Nevsky’ ” (DVD)
Details: 1928, 1938, Corinth Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Sergei Eisenstein was one of the greatest and most innovative filmmakers in cinematic history.
If this Soviet director had only made “Battleship Potemkin” (1925), his place in narrative film would have been solidified.
Eisenstein is credited as the father of film montage and his techniques influenced moviemakers around the world.
This set presents two of his films — “October” (1928) and “Alexander Nevsky” (1938).
“October” celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, focusing on events in St. Petersburg during the months leading up to the Bolshevik revolt.
In the United States, the film was known as “Ten Days That Shook the World.”
“Alexander Nevsky” chronicles Russia thwarting Germany’s invasion in the 13th century, and was intended as a warming about the Nazis geopolitical advancement of that time.
Most of the movie is set in the Novgorod, the last free city in Russia. At the time, the nation was invaded from the Orient by the Mongols and from Europe by German Teutonic Knights of the Holy Roman Empire.
Prince Alexander Nevsky, who had defeated the Swedish army in a previous battle to defend the city, is once again called upon to help.
Both movies are technically interesting and compelling to view.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 full-screen picture; “October” silent with a 2.0 Dolby digital musical track; English subtitles; “Alexander Nevsky”: 1.33:1 full-screen picture; Russian 1.0 Dolby digital monaural; English subtitles.
The Dogs of War (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Scorpion Releasing-Ronin Flix
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Christopher Walken stars as a mercenary in this action-thriller hired to overthrow the corrupt dictator of Zangaro, an African nation, and give control of the country to the puppet of a powerful British corporation.
But soon after his arrival in the country, Walken’s Jamie Shannon is captured, arrested, beaten and tortured. In prison, he meets one of the country’s leading intellectuals, Dr. Okoye, also imprisoned by the megalomaniac dictator.
Eventually released, Shannon returns to London, where is he offered the chance to secretly invade Zangaro’s capital and lead a military coup. His conscience is torn, so he must wrestle within himself on his true beliefs.
The film, which costars Tom Berenger, Colin Blakely and JoBeth Williams, received a 67 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The Blu-ray features the 104-minute U.S. theatrical release and a 118-minute international release.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with supporting cast members and filmmakers.
Raging Fire (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Donnie Yen stars in this cop thriller as Bong, a tough, veteran police officer with a long history of successful cases.
But his past comes back to haunt him when a sting operation in which he is involved is attacked by a group of criminals, led by Ngo, Bong’s former protégé. Ngo was a former officer who, years earlier, made a terrible mistake that landed him in prison.
Now, the angered Ngo has a score to settle and is out to destroy everyone who had wronged him, including his former mentor.
The movie, which scored a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, has an old-time, good cop vs. bad cop vibe with very satisfying action sequences.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Cantonese, English and Mandarin Dolby Atmos; English and Chinese subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette is the major extra.
La Cage aux Folles II (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Code Red-Kino Lorber
Rated: R, sexual situations, language
The lowdown: Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault reprise their roles in this madcap comedy in which Albin (Serrault), to make Renato (Tognazzi) jealous, dresses as a woman and waits at a local café hoping to be picked up.
Albin gets more than he bargained for when a spy uses him as an unwitting courier of secret microfilm.
Albin and Renato must take it on the lamb from ruthless agents out to retrieve the microfilm at any cost.
The pair escape to Italy, where they hide out on a farm, with Albin posing at Renato’s wife.
The film is an upbeat, delightful laugh fest in which everyone lives happily ever after.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; French and English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
The Mystery of Picasso (Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 16
Details: 1956, Milestone Film & Video-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Writer-director Henri-Georges Clouzot (the classic “The Wages of Fear”) teamed with his friend Pablo Picasso to make a new kind of documentary — one that captured the moment and mystery of creativity.
Picasso created 20 works of art for the movie, ranging from playful black-and-white sketches to widescreen color paintings.
The artist used inks that bled through the paper, allowing Clouzot to film from the reverse side, thus capturing their creation in real time.
When Picasso began painting in oils, Clouzot switched to color film and employed stop-motion animation to capture the artist.
Unfortunately, by contract, all the works were destroyed when the movie was completed — which is a shame.
The film, which earned an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, is one of the best documentaries about art to reach cinemas.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen and 2.35:1 widescreen picture; French 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks and an interview with Picasso’s daughter, Maya.
I Spit on Your Grave (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 5
Details: 1978, Ronin Flix
Rated: Not rated, graphic violence, rape, language, sexual content, nudity
The lowdown: This low-budget, poorly acted feature created a firestorm upon its release.
Because of its depiction of extreme violence, including a long sequence of gang rape, the movie was widely condemned and was the subject of much debate.
The story centers on Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton), a young writer who rents an isolated cabin so she can write. But four local men attack and gang rape Jennifer and leave her for dead.
She survives and exacts terrible revenge on all four.
To say the least, the movie is deeply disturbing and leaves you sick to your stomach.
Forty-plus years later, the movie has gained a few supporters who argue that the movie is pro-feminist and pro-woman because Jennifer survives and gains her own kind of justice.
I guess you will have to decide what you think of the movie — if you dare.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, one with writer-director Meir Zarchi and the other with film critic Joe Bob Briggs, an interview with Zarchi, a featurette with Zarchi sharing his memories about the movie and an alternate main title.
I Spit on Your Grave Déjà Vu (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 5
Details: 2019, Ronin Flix
Rated: Not rated, graphic violence, sexual content, rape, language
The lowdown: Writer-director Meir Zarchi’s sequel to his 1978 movie is an exploitive and cruel movie with no redeeming qualities.
It stars Camille Keaton, reprising her role as Jennifer Hills. Set 40 years after the events of the first movie, the story centers on Hill and her daughter, Christy (Jamie Bernadette), who are kidnapped by members of the families killed by Hills in the original.
The movie features all manner of excessive violence as the families exact their long-simmering vengeance against Hills and her daughter.
This sick and twisted feature will probably turn the stomachs of a few viewers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with movie critic Joe Bob Briggs, a making of featurette, cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with Zarchi and cast members.
The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Scorpion Releasing-Ronin Flix
Rated: R, language, sexual content
The lowdown: Martine Beswick, who was featured in two James Bond movies, “From Russia with Love” and Thunderball,” as well as a few Hammer films, including “One Million Years B.C.” and “Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde,” takes on the role of Xaviera Hollander in this raunchy comedy from Cannon Group producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
In this outing, Xaviera, now a best-selling author, comes to Hollywood after she receives an unsatisfying offer for her book. She then decides to film a movie based on the book herself.
The movie does feature an impressive cast including Adam West, Phil Silvers, Richard Deacon, Chris Lemmon, Edie Adams, the always-welcome Dick Miller and columnist Army Archerd.
The movie features a bevy of young beauties and some tame sexual shenanigans.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: The major extras are interviews with Beswick and Lemmon.
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated, graphic violence
The lowdown: This reimagining of “The Phantom of the Opera” shifts the locale from Paris to a shopping mall in the United States.
As the title suggests, the phantom in this case is named Eric, whose house was destroyed in a fire — supposedly set by developers who wanted the land for a mall — and is presumed dead after rescuing his girlfriend, Melody, from the blaze.
Of course, Eric survived. He now lives in the bowels of the mall, keeping an eye on Melody, who has taken a job in the mall.
You can guess the rest. The movie is filled with some graphic killings.
The two-disc set offers three versions of the film — the theatrical, a TV cut and a “Phan cut” that combines footage from both versions.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include three commentary tracks, a making of featurette, an interview with Joe Escalante of the punk band The Vandals, which provided the movie’s theme song and alternate and deleted scenes.
Maniac Cop 2 (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 16
Details: 1990, Blue Underground
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Maniac Cop Matt Cordell (Robert Z’dar) is again stalking the streets of New York in this sequel.
Once more he seeks to punish those who framed him and put him in prison, where he was brutally assaulted and disfigured.
He teams up with a serial killer who enjoys murdering strippers. On the case is detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi), who suspects Cordell has returned and has some idea of what or who he is after.
The cast also includes Bruce Campbell, Leo Rossi, Claudia Christian and Charlies Napier. The movie was written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p, Ultra HD, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080 high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs; an isolated music track; a making of featurette; a deleted scene and a question-and-answer session with Lustig on the Blu-ray disc.
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 16
Details: 1993, Blue Underground
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In this sequel, police officer Kate Sullivan is wounded and in a coma after a hostage situation in which a news crew edited to footage to make it appear Sullivan killed a helpless victim.
Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi, reprising his role from “Maniac Cop 2”), works hard to clear Sullivan’s name.
Unbeknownst to him, “Maniac Cop” Matt Cordell (Robert Z’Dar again) also has taken an interest in the case and decides to exact revenge on those smearing Sullivan’s name.
The movie kind of goes off the rails with a character, played by Julius Harris, who uses black magic. The film also has some supernatural-like elements that did not exist in the first two.
The movie was written by Larry Cohen and the direction is credited to Alan Smithee, a pseudonym for director’s who want their names removed from a project, in this case it was William Lustig, director of “Maniac Cop 2.”
The cast also includes Paul Gleason, Jackie Earle Haley, Doug Savant and Robert Forster.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p Ultra HD, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and Russian subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and Russian subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks on both discs with director Alan Smithee; a making of featurette and deleted and extended scenes on the Blu-ray disc.
Deep Blues (Blu-ray)
Details: 1991, Film Movement Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In 1990 music film director Robert Mugge and music scholar Robert Palmer, both commissioned by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, traveled deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to find the best working rural blues acts.
They visited juke joints, lounges, front porches and parlors in various towns. They visited historical landmarks and documented talented musicians who were cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry.
Their film is a celebration and tribute to the region’s rich musical history, spotlighting local performers who will soon gain acclaim because of the movie.
They also demonstrate how the blues continue to thrive to a new generation of musicians.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a commentary track.
Ma Belle, My Beauty (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Good Deed Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A romantic story about Bertie, Lane and Fred who once shared a polyamorous relationship in New Orleans.
The bond lasted until Lane disappeared. Two years later, Bertie and Fred are married and living in Fred’s country home in the south of France.
Unexpectedly, Lane appears, throwing a wrench of sorts in Bertie’s life. Bertie, whose jazz career in going nowhere and is still grieving the loss of her mother, finds Lane much different than she remembers.
Lane tries to rekindle Bertie’s carefree, dynamic old self, but it does not work. When Lane meets Noa, dormant jealousies are reignited.
The movie, which received a 77 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, could have used some more depth and complexity. But to its credit, it refuses to simplify complicated sexual and relationship issues.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2:1 widescreen picture; English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Keyboard Fantasies (DVD)
Details: 2019, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This documentary looks at the life and music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland who, in 1986, wrote and self-released “Keyboard Fantasies” in Huntsville, Ontario.
The music was recorded in an Atari-powered home studio. The cassette featured seven tracks of an unusual and unique folk-electronica hybrid, a sound that was realized far before its time.
Not unusual for a sci-fi obsessed woman who lived in near isolation.
Today, the musician, now Glenn Copeland, has become known around the world, receiving emails from people as far away as Japan who have discovered and appreciated Copeland’s music.
The attention and acclaim has led to the re-issue of “Keyboard Fantasies.”
The film is an intimate portrait of an individual’s commitment to music as well as a coming-of-age saga about a person being true to himself.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and closed-captioned subtitles.
The Village Detective: A Song Cycle (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the summer of 1916, a fishing boat off the coast of Iceland brought up four reels of 35mm film in its net.
The movie appeared to be of Soviet origin.
Filmmaker Bill Morrison, who had put together film reels found in Alaska in his “Dawson City: Frozen Time,” discovered the reels were not a lost work of major importance.
His research revealed the reels were an incomplete print of a 1969 Soviet comedy, starring a beloved Russian actor, Mihail Zarov.
The discovery sparked Morrison to create a cinematic meditation; a journey into Soviet history and film.
His movie is an interesting and entertaining thesis about how future generations will remember us.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English and Russian 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include three short films by Morrison.
The Show (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Shout! Studios
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Alan Moore wrote this fantasy about an enigmatic man of many talents and names who arrives at England’s broken heart — a haunted midlands town that has collapsed into a black hole of dreams.
He finds the area as strange and dangerous as himself.
The man is on a hunt for a certain person and artifact for a very insistent client. He finds himself trapped in a world of dead Lotharios, sleeping beauties, voodoo gangsters, masked adventurers, private eyes and very violent women.
His problem is that all this occurs in a Northampton that is still awake.
Once the townspeople sleep, another world — one of delirium and danger — is happening; one that is more menacing than the real world of social and economic turmoil.
The movie earned a 78 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A featurette on Moore and director Mitch Jenkins and a series of original short films are the main extras.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
American Night (Blu-ray + digital & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Apache Junction (Blu-ray + digital & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Little Fish (Blu-ray) (IFC Films-Shout! Factory)
Pups Alone (DVD & VOD) (Saban Films-Paramount)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Autumn Road (Gravitas Ventures)
Clerk (1091 Pictures)
Copshop (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Dear Evan Hansen (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Jonas Brothers Family Roast (Netflix)
The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses (Virgil Films)
Needtobreathe: Into the Mystery (Greenwich Entertainment)
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Bruised (www.netflix.com/Bruised) (Netflix, Nov. 24)
Hanna: Season Three (Amazon Prime, Nov. 24)
Keep Sweet (Discovery+, Nov. 24)
The Shuroo Process (Gravitas Ventures, Nov. 24)
True Story (www.netflix.com/truestory) (Netflix, Nov. 24)
Burning (Amazon Prime, Nov. 26)
A Castle for Christmas (www.netflix.com/ACastleforChristmas) (Netflix, Nov. 26)
Lady Buds (Gravitas Ventures, Nov. 26)
Twas the Fight Before Christmas (Apple TV+, Nov. 26)
The Hot Zone: Anthrax (National Geographic-Hulu, Nov. 28)
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (www.netflix.com/14peaks) (Netflix, Nov. 29)
Coming next week: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.