New to View: Feb. 20
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Feb. 20, unless otherwise noted:
King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis (Blu-ray)
Details: 1970, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary comprised of archival footage of that follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1955 to 1968 as he rises from regional activist to world famous leader of the Civil Rights movement.
The movie contains looks at King’s speeches, protests and arrests, all interspersed with scenes of other supporters and opponents to the cause of equal rights.
The movie includes tributes by some of the movie industry’s biggest stars, including Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Clarence Williams III, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster,, Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn and Joanne Woodward.
The film, which selected to the Library of Congress National Film Registry, in 1999, was conceived and produced by Ely Landau, and was directed by Sidney Lumet and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English monaural.
“Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 4” (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Feb. 13
Details: 1940-2002, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, PG, R
The lowdown: Sony continues its celebration of the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures with this newest box set that features six of the studio’s well-known releases.
The set begins with a true classic, the comedy “His Girl Friday” (1940, not rated), starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. This screwball comedy, an adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s “The Front Page,” features Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson and Grant as Walter Burns, her ex-husband editor,, who, on the eve of Hildy’s remarriage, talks her into one last assignment — interviewing a condemned man set to be hanged.
Jumping to 1967, the next movie is Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967, not rated), starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier and Hepburn’s niece, Katharine Houghton.
The movie is a social drama about an impending mixed marriage and the reactions to it by members of both families. By today’s standards, the movie is tame and noncontroversial, but it did create a story more than 50 years ago.
Hepburn won the second of her four best actress Academy Awards for her performance. The film itself received 10 nominations.
“Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979, PG) received five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Robert Benton,, best actor for Dustin Hoffman, best supporting actress for Meryl Streep and best adapted screenplay by Benton.
The movie is a drama about the heartbreak of divorce and the struggle to balance work and family and the 6-year-old son caught in the middle of his parents’ conflict. Hoffman’s Ted Kramer, now a single parent, must learn how to be a father while also dealing with the pressures of his career.
John Carpenter directed Jeff Bridges in the delightful romantic science fiction feature “Starman” (1984, PG). Bridges plays an alien whose spacecraft is shot down over Wisconsin. He soon arrives at the remote cabin of Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), a distraught young widow and clones the form of her dead husband.
The alien convinces Jenny to drive him to Arizona, telling her that if he is not picked up by his mothership in three days, he will die. Complicating matters are government agents who are intent on capturing the alien dead or alive.
The movie features one of Bridges’ most quirky and memorable performances.
“Sleepless in Seattle” (1993, PG) has become a modern classic — an iconic romance with winning performances by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Nora Ephron directed and cowrote the story of a widowed father, Sam Baldwin who, through the machinations of his smart young son, becomes a reluctant guest on a call-in radio show.
He is an instant success with thousands of female listeners who deluge his Seattle home with letters of comfort.
Meanwhile inspired by Sam’s story and classic Hollywood romance, Ryan’s Annie Reed becomes convinced that it is her destiny to meet Sam.
The set concludes with the misfit love story, “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002, R), starring Adam Sandler as Barry Egan, a socially impaired owner of a small novelty business, who is dominated by his seven sisters and is unlikely to find love unless it comes knocking at his door.
When a mysterious woman comes into Egan’s life, his emotions go haywire, fluctuating between uncontrollable rage, lust and self-doubt.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is dark, but lovely with heart and soul.
This 14-disc set is one that film fans who enjoy Columbia Pictures and good movies in general will appreciate.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p, ultra-high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture (“His Girl Friday), 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Sleepless in Seattle”), 2.39:1 widescreen picture (“Starman”) and 2.35:1 widescreen picture (“Punch-Drunk Love”); English and Spanish 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural (“His Girl Friday”), English Dolby Atmos (7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible), 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Kramer vs. Kramer, “Starman,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Punch-Drunk Love”); English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles on all films; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture (“His Girl Friday), 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Sleepless in Seattle”), 2.39:1 widescreen picture (“Starman”) and 2.35:1 widescreen picture (“Punch-Drunk Love”); English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural (“His Girl Friday), English 5.1 and 3.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and English French and Spanish DTS-HD monaural (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), English and French 5.1 TrueHD and English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital (“Kramer vs. Kramer”), English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish Dolby digital monaural (“Starman”), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English and French 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish Dolby digital surround (“Sleepless in Seattle”) and English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital (“Punch-Drunk Love”); English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include commentary tracks on all films but “Punch-Drunk Love”; more than 30 hours of behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and music videos; and an 80-page hardbound book on the history and impact of the movies.
Harriet (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Feb. 13
Details: 2019, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, thematic content, violence, language including racial epithets
The lowdown: The movie focuses on the crucial few years in the life of Harriet Tubman in which she not only escaped slavery but, as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, made several dangerous journeys back to the South to bring other slaves to freedom.
She was so successful that she was given the title of Moses.
The movie rests on the solid, determined and confident performance of Cynthia Ervio as Harriet. Throughout, Harriet overcomes many obstacles believing that slavery is an abomination and that she is doing God’s work.
The movie, directed by Kasi Lemmons, garnered a 74 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. “Harriet” can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitle; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 Dolby digital DVS, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD high resolution; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include deleted scenes, a commentary track with Lemmons and a “Her Story” and “Becoming Harriet” featurettes.
The Last Castle (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 2001, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Robert Redford and James Gandolfini face off in this drama about a disgraced general, Eugene Irwin (Redford), is sentenced to a military prison for a costly mistake.
Gandolfini is Col. Winter, the warden of the maximum-security facility.
All Irwin wants to do is serve out his time, but when he discovers the corruption and murder of some of the inmates around him, he decides to take action.
The crux of the movie is a test of wills between Irwin, a man who can inspire and lead, and Winter, who commands through fear and intimidation.
The film does contain some formulaic prison-film tropes — the sadistic guards, the stoolie inmate — but it is the interaction between Irwin and Winter that is the movie’s foundation.
The cast also includes Mark Ruffalo, Clifton Collins Jr. and Delroy Lindo. The film, directed by Rod Lurie, drew mixed reactions from critics, receiving a 52 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track with Lurie, a featurette about the movie with Lurie, an “HBO First Look: Inside the Walls of “The Last Castle,” a discussion on the alternate ending and deleted scenes with optional commentary by Lurie.
Leviathan (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: The movie is basically an “Aliens” variant set on the ocean floor.
The crew of a deep-sea mining rig discover a sunken freighter that harbors a deadly secret — a genetic experiment that went horribly wrong.
Because of a storm raging on the surface, the crew’s captain, portrayed by Peter Weller, must fight for survival against a creature that cannot die and lives only to kill.
The cast of the movie, directed by George P. Cosmatos (“Tombstone”), also features Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays, Daniel Stern, Ernie Hudson, Michael Carmine, Lisa Eilbacher, Hector Elizondo and Meg Foster. It also features a score by the reliable Jerry Goldsmith.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles. Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc,, a “Leviathan: Monster Melting Pot” featurette and interviews with Elizondo and Hudson.
Darkman: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, Scream Factory
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Liam Neeson stars in this action-packed thriller that is also part love story-horror film, all under the direction of Sam Raimi.
Neeson plays Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist whose laboratory is blown up by gangsters with him in it. Westlake survives and returns to his experiments in developing synthetic skin that will enable him to seek revenge against the crime boss who ordered his lab destroyed.
Westlake, using his synthetic skin, assumes the persona of Darkman whose malleable facial qualities, allows him to infiltrate and begin a reign of terror in the criminal community.
Future two-time Oscar-winner Frances McDormand costars as Julie Hastings, Westlake’s girlfriend, while Larry Drake is Durant, the head of the criminal organization.
Raimi’s visual style keeps the movie interesting and energetic, so much so that the film garnered an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 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 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include two commentary tracks; interviews with Neeson, McDormand, Drake, makeup designer Tony Gardner, actors Danny Hicks and Dan Bell, production designer Randy Ser and art director Phillip Dagon; a making of featurette and archival interviews with Neeson, McDormand and Raimi; and behind-the-scenes make-up effects and storyboards.
The Swiss Conspiracy (Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Film Masters
Rated: PG-13, violence
The lowdown: David Janssen stars in this tale of corruption and murder as a former U.S. Justice Department official hired by a Swiss bank president to find a group of blackmailers who have learned the identities of five anonymous account holders, including a Chicago mobster, who also is being hunted by American gangsters.
Janssen’s David Christopher identifies four potential suspects, including Rita, played by Elke Sommer, the mistress of the bank’s vice president. The involvement and suspicions of the Swiss Federal Police complicate Christopher’s investigation.
Everything comes to a head when the bank agrees to pay the chief blackmailer in uncut diamonds at a rendezvous in the snow-covered Alps.
The cast of the movie, which was shot in and around Zurich, also includes John Saxon, John Ireland, Senta Berger, Ray Milland and David Hess. The movie was directed by Jack Arnold, best known for his 1950s B-horror and science-fiction cult classics such as “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “It Came from Outer Space” and “The Incredible Shrinking Man.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and 2.0 Dolby digital monaural; English SDH and closed-captioned.
Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette on the late career years of Arnold, a visual essay about Arnold, a commentary track and liner notes about the movie.
Drifter (Blu-ray)
Details: 1974, Kino Cult
Rated: R, sexual situations, language
The lowdown: Filmmaker Pat Rocco was a well-known filmmaker of the queer culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s. His works were mostly ignored by the popular media.
“Drifter,” he hoped, would change that. The movie is sort of a West Coast response to “Midnight Cowboy.” It follows a bisexual hustler who travels to Hollywood where he wanders through a series of relationships with men and women.
All the while, Drifter (Joed Adair) — his name is never given — is seeking a sense of belonging in a Southern California characterized by impersonal pick-ups and sex for hire.
Because of its themes, Rocco’s film, though earnest and sensitive, failed to receive the commercial distribution he sought.
It has remained virtually unseen until now.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track and four short films by Rocco comprise the extras.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
FEB. 24
The Phantom Warrior (DVD & VOD) (Indican Pictures)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Death and Other Details: Episode 7 (Hulu)
Drifter (Kino Now-Amazon)
How I Learned to Fly (Film Movement)
I Didn’t See You There (Breezy Circle)
The Phantom Warrior (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
FEB. 21
Constellation: Episodes 1-3 (Apple TV+)
Criminal Record: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend (Apple TV+)
The New Look: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Pepe Serna: Life Is Art (Amazon-Apple TV+)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch: The Final Season (Disney+)
FEB. 22
All of Us Are Strangers (Hulu)
Lovely, Dark and Deep (XYZ Films)
Marquis de Sade’s Justine (Amazon-Kino Film Collection)
FEB. 23
578 Magnum (Film Movement Plus)
The Bad Shepherd (Saban Films)
Cold Meat (Level 33 Entertainment)
The Dynasty: New England Patriots: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
History of Evil (Shudder)
Masters of the Air: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Radiance (Film Movement Plus)
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Amazon Prime)
Still the Water (Film Movement Plus)
FEB. 26
The Freak Brothers: Season 2 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
COMING NEXT WEEK
Next Goal Wins
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.