Bob
Hope Entertaining The Troops
(1989/MVD Visual DVD)/I Am
Evel Knievel (2014/Virgil
Films Blu-ray)/That Show
with Joan Rivers (1968 -
69/Film Chest/Topics DVD Set)/The
Sunshine Boys
(1975/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray)
Picture:
C/B-/C+/B Sound: C+/B-/C+/B- Extras: C/C/C-/C+ Main
Programs: B-/B/B+/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Sunshine Boys
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Here's
a group of new releases that show show business at its best...
Robert
Mugge's Bob
Hope Entertaining The Troops
(1989) is the home video name that they have come up with for a
pretty good program that is actually a series of interviews with
starts including Hope and (in various clips old and/or new) Carole
Lombard, Bing Crosby, James Cagney, Dorothy Lamour, Danny Kaye and
with particularly strong memory latter on, Mel Blanc, on how
entertainers banded together during WWII to help the troops and those
back home win the war. They did!
It
also becomes a look behind the scenes of the industry in general and
those who might not be Hope fans should not pass this up if they are
expecting this to be all about him. This deserves a DVD and is very
welcome release.
The
only extra is 25 minutes of Bonus Footage from the 1988 reunion of
Hope & company in the main program, though I wish a new extra or
two had been made.
David
Ray's I
Am Evel Knievel
(2014) is a long-overdue look at the legendary stunt driver who
helped make the 1970s so great and has been a huge influence on world
culture, sports and pop, ever since. Think of X-Games, X-treme
sports and action films, then see this and you'll see how so much of
it goes back to what Knievel did in his groundbreaking motorcycle
jumps that were major cultural events each time they happened. A fun
part of the counterculture of the time, it led to endless imitators,
millions of fans and a massively successful licensing of clothes,
collectibles and toys that people still love.
This
is part biography of him, part an expose of the times with great rare
footage and interviews with his ex-wife, widow, both sons, Matthew
McConaughey, Michele Rodriguez, Guy Fieri, Kid Rock and many more
who knew and loved him, including his biggest fans and scholars on
his work. If anything, I could have seen this go on a little longer
because there is more to say and show, but this will do and is
definitely recommended.
Two
featurettes on the Knievel
are the extras, though a featurette on the Ideal Toys would have been
a good idea.
That
Show with Joan Rivers
(1968 - 69)
has the Film
Chest/Topics company expanding a solid set issued by Synergy of the
late, great comedienne's first TV show that we covered a while ago at
this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11455/That+Show+with+Joan+Rivers,+Volume+1+-+3
Some
of the prints still have a clear 'Synergy' in the lower right corner,
but we get more episodes this time.
Episodes
featuring Johnny Carson, Joel Grey, Carol Lawrence, Soupy Sales (on
two different episodes), Jerry Lewis, Steve Lawrence, Dick Cavett,
Florence Henderson, Phyllis Newman, Kitty Carlisle, David Susskind,
Nancy Walker, Orson Bean and Shecky Green are joined by two great
shows with Vivian Vance (who never got to work with Rivers in what
should have been a surefire comedy project), Renee Taylor, Ed
Sullivan, Rita Moreno, Joan Fontaine, two with Barbara Walters, James
Earl Jones, Tessie O'Shea with fashion designer/critic Mr. Blackwell,
Arthur Godfrey, Lily Tomlin, Roberta Peters, Larry Blyden and two
with Rocky Graziano, one of which is about how to exercise where he &
Joan are joined by Marty Allen.
The
show got better as did Joan and it is amazing the talent she got.
These episodes are great and more than a few have some real howlers
that are so funny, it is worth watching each show to see them. She
is also holding back in her opening monologues, but was even funny
then. Sometimes, the crowd does not know how to deal with her
boldness, but a star was born. Among some fine releases here, this
is the best!
An
brief
essay on Rivers can be seen in the front cover of the case you open
up via a velcro button.
Last
but not least is Herbert Ross' film of Neil Simon's The
Sunshine Boys
(1975), with Walter Matthau and George Burns as long-time vaudeville
partners who have not talked for decades, but were a big hit in there
day. A national network wants them to reunite, but it will not be
easy. Richard Benjamin plays Matthau's son, trying to help him get
work and just function properly without getting into any trouble.
There are a few giggles here and there, with the shots of New York
City of the time a real plus, but I always thought some of this was a
little obvious and as good as it can get, it plays a bit long at 111
minutes despite all the great talent involved.
Still,
it is more than worthy of the Blu-ray release it is getting here and
Warner Archive has done a top rate job, so fans and the curious will
be pleased.
Extras
include a feature length audio commentary track by co-star Richard
Benjamin, an excerpt on the film from the documentary mini-series
When
The Lions Roars
(issued in its entirety elsewhere on this site), an Theatrical
Trailer and two silent screen tests: one with Matthau joined by Jack
Benny, the other with Phil Silvers before health issues forced both
to drop out of the film and be succeeded by Burns.
The
1.33 X 1 image on the Hope
and Rivers
sets originated on analog NTSC color video and show their age, but
the Hope
set has more aliasing errors and staircasing, so the Rivers
shows (with their better color) and comparatively better look
playback better. Both also have some haloing and color bleeding, but
that is to be expected from the format. The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital
High Definition image on Evel has its share of old such analog video
and some film sadly from old analog video sources, but it looks
better than the DVDs and has some good HD moments, but the 1080p 1.85
X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Boys
may show the age of the materials used, but this is far superior a
transfer to all previous releases of the film, has fine color, might
be thick in the way the grain lays, yet is consistent in this. That
represents the way the film is supposed to look and that makes it the
best picture playback performer here.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on
the Hope
and Rivers
sets
sound as good as TV sonic standards of their time will allow and are
as clean ands clear as they are ever likely to be, with any lossless
version likely to show more flaws unless someone spends a million
dollars or so fixing them up. They are fine in playback despite
minor hiss or distortion.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Evel
is a mix of mono, simple stereo and a few surround moments spread out
the best the makers could for such a documentary and that is fine,
but it is a bit inconsistent soundfield wise, so the DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on Boys
is able to compete, especially since it sounds pretty good for its
age.
To
order The
Sunshine Boys
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo