New to View: Aug. 12
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Aug. 12, unless otherwise noted:
Finis Terrae (Blu-ray)
Details: 1929, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This new edition to Eureka’s “Masters of Cinema” series spotlights French filmmaker Jean Epstein, who also was a critic and leading figure in the French impressionist movement.
Epstein’s silent movie centers on four men who set out on a three-month expedition to the islet Bannec, where they intend to harvest seaweed, which will bring high prices if burned and processed properly.
Soon, however, cabin fever begins impacting the men. After two of them fight over a broken bottle of wine, one of the men cuts his thumb on a piece of glass, while the other comes to suspect that his knife was deliberately stolen.
As the situation escalates, sea conditions make it nearly impossible for the men to leave Bannec or for help from the mainland to reach them.
This atmospheric drama is a maritime forerunner to such films as Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse.” Epstein’s effective use of slow motion makes for a memorable viewing experience.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with film historian-critic Pamela Hutchinson on the life and works of Epstein, a video essay on the movie, an archival appreciation of the film and a collector’s booklet featuring an essay about the movie and archival writing by Epstein.
“Pre-Code Classics” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1931, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A disc featuring two pre-Code movies starring Sylvia Sidney as a young woman in trouble.
In “Confessions of a Co-ed,” Sidney portrays Patricia Harper who, through the pages of her diary, recalls her scandalous time at Stafford College.
There, she became pregnant by the man she loved, but when circumstances prevent them for getting married, she is forced to make a shattering decision.
Harper decides to marry a classmate she does not love as her true love has left the college.
Years later, the three meet with everything sorted out for a happy ending.
The cast also includes Phillips Holmes, Norman Foster and Claudia Dell. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the appearance of the musical trio, the Rhythm Boys, featuring Bing Crosby in one of his earliest movie appearances.
“Ladies of the Big House” features Sidney as young florist Kathleen Storm who tries to save her husband from the electric chair after both are sent to prison for a murder neither committed.
Kathleen Storm suffers vicious treatment from her fellow inmates. She quickly becomes desperate to escape and tell the world of her and her husband’s innocence.
She is aided by the former girlfriend of the crook who actually committed the killing.
The movie costars Gene Raymond, Wynn Gibson and Earle Foxe.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition,, 1.20:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks on both movies by film historian David Del Valle and film historian-archivist Stan Shaffer.
The Great Gatsby (Blu-ray)
Details: 1949, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Alan Ladd stars as Jay Gatsby in this first sound-film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic Roaring Twenties novel.
The movie, because of pressure from the then-powerful Production Code made several alterations to Fitzgerald’s story, including adding moralizing elements that were not in the novel.
Gatsby is a former bootlegger who purchases an estate off Long Island Sound so he can host wild parties. His goal is to reconnect with his lost love, Daisy, now married to Tom Buchanan.
Gatsby and Daisy had been in love, with Daisy pleading with Gatsby to marry her, but he refused until he made his fortune so he can support her in a lavish style befitting her station.
The movie ends tragically with Gatsby killed by the man who believes he killed his wife in a hit-and-run accident.
The 1949 version, directed by Elliott Nugent with a screenplay by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum, was influenced by the then-popular film noir genre.
“Gatsby” was remade four more times — two of the best known are the 1974 with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow and the 2013 adaptation with Leonardo Di Caprio and Carey Mulligan.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by author-film historian Paul Talbot and an interview with David Ladd, son of Alan Ladd, by author-film historian Alan K. Rode.
His Motorbike, Her Island (Blu-ray)
Details: 1986, Cult Epics-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Koh, a macho biker, leaves town and begins traveling on his beloved Kawasaki W3 650.
On his countryside journey, he meets the free-spirited Miyo, who quickly takes an interest in Koh as well as his motorbike.
Koh and Miyo fall in love even as her exceptional biking talent and thrill-seeking tendencies increase Koh’s fear that she may push her new-found abilities too far.
The movie, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, is a nostalgia-filled memory story that details the director’s playfully worshipping the biker culture of years ago that delivers a sentimental and liberating story about young love.
The film has some offbeat moments, but, overall, it is an appealing feature.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary track by Samm Deighan; a visual essay on the movie by Esther Rosenfield, a visual essay by Alex Pratt and an archival interview with Obayashi.
Poseidon: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 2006, Arrow Films
Rated: PG-13, intense sequences of danger and disaster
The lowdown: The one factor that has been improved in this inferior remake of “The Poseidon Adventure” — one of the granddaddies of the disaster film genre — is the special effects, which had greatly advanced in the 30-plus years since the original.
The problem is the special effects overwhelm the plot and skimpy characterizations of a decent cast that includes Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Andre Braugher and Emmy Rossum.
The story remains the same with a disparate group of individuals — all with their own personal challenges — forging an alliance so they can fight their way to the surface through a maze of twisted steel and wreckage.
The claustrophobic action sequences outweigh the cardboard characters uniting to survive.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include interviews with director of photography John Seale, production designer William Sandell, visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis, make-up effects supervisor Michael Deak; a new retrospective on the film by Heath Holland; a featurette looking at the film’s production featuring interviews with cast members and filmmakers; a featurette looking at the movie’s challenging design; a featurette following production assistant Malona Voight on the set; and a booklet with new writing about the movie.
The Medium (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Raro Video-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In this Italian supernatural thriller, a composer, mourning the death of his wife, moves to an old mansion in Rome with his young son.
They, along with a young woman he has hired to care for the boy, are soon haunted by a series of unexplained events, causing them to hire a medium to explain the true nature of their seemingly cursed existence.
“The Medium” involves ghosts, a haunted house and strange voices. It was not an impressive offering and seemed to have little or no impact in the United States.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Italian 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Adrian Smith and Rod Barnett, hosts of the “Wild, Wild Podcast” is the main extra.
Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer (DVD)
Details: 2024, Cleopatra Entertainment-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A horror feature in which six friends trek into the woods for one last summer weekend at a secluded cabin that they rented.
The six expect some carefree time swimming in a clear lake and sharing laughter-filled nights.
Instead, they stumble upon unsettling rituals that awaken evil forces hidden beneath the cabin’s creaking floorboards and lurking in moonlit shadows.
Their fun excursion is suddenly transformed into a desperate fight for survival in which demonic entities are determined to keep them in their grasp forever.
The film combines satanic rites, ghastly ghouls and some twisted humor.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
Don’t miss: Behind-the-scenes footage comprises the main extra.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Alien: Earth: Episodes 1 & 2 (Hulu)
Die’ced: Reloaded (Dread-Epic Pictures)
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (Kino Lorber)
No Tears in Hell (Scatena & Rosner)
Star People (Blue Harbor Entertainment)
AUG. 13
Acapulco: Season 4, Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Platonic: Season 2, Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
AUG. 14
Diabolik (Kino Film Collection)
It Could Have Been Us (Viaplay)
Let’s Get Lost (Kino Film Collection)
AUG. 15
Chief of War: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Descendent (RLJE Films)
The Final Run (Level 33 Entertainment)
Foundation: Season 3, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Love Nonetheless (Film Movement Plus)
Smoke: Episode 9 (Apple TV+)
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical (Apple TV+)
AUG. 18
Are You My First? (Hulu)
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 X @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.