From
Hell It Came (1957/Allied
Artists)/Joe Versus The
Volcano (1990)/The
Loved One (1965/MGM/all
Warner Archive Blu-rays)/The
Man In The Moon
(1991/MGM)/Year Of The
Comet (1999/Castle
Rock/New Line/Columbia/MGM/both Twilight Time Limited Edition
Blu-rays)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B/B+/B/B+/B+ Extras: C-/C+/C+/C+/B Films: B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Man In The Moon
and Year
Of The Comet
Blu-rays are now only available from our friends at Twilight Time,
are limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies
last, while From
Hell It Came,
Joe
Versus The Volcano
and The
Loved One
are now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the links below.
Along
with new and classic releases and Blu-ray and the boom of new 4K
releases, the number of online-only and limited edition exclusive
Blu-rays continues to flow. Here's five more for you to know about
that are all pleasant surprises....
Dan
Milner's From
Hell It Came
(1957)
Groot
this is not! From Hell It Came (1957) is B-Movie gold and
features a giant tree monster that attacks people. Obviously shot on
a shoe string budget, the film was intended originally to play on an
Allied Artists double feature bill at the drive-in. While the
monster itself isn't very impressive and the plot not too innovative
in its slasher-style formula, there's a lot to like about this film
including its great production design and fun score.
Directed
by Dan Miner, From Hell It Came stars Tod Andrews, Tina
Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, and Gregg Palmer.
Wrongfully
sentenced to death and brought back to life as a killer tree
creature, Tabonga, comes back to life and kills a bunch of natives of
a South Seas island savagely. It's up to a team of scientists on the
island to find a way to stop this supernatural creature before
they're next!
The
black & white film looks incredible for its age on Blu-ray disc
in crisp black and white with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a
fine-sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless (48kHz,
24-bit) track that brings the film to life like never before. Warner
Archive is one of the leaders in restoring older and obscure films
like this and much like either other recent release, The Valley of
Gwangi (reviewed elsewhere on this site), they've done an
impressive job of making a film shot six decades ago look like it was
shot last week.
Special
Feature...
Original
Trailer (in HD)
While
light on extras, this is a nice release for classic monster movies
fans, myself included.
John
Patrick Shanley's Joe
Versus The Volcano (1990)
On
screen romantic duo Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's first outing (later
films included Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail)
is the Spielberg/Kennedy/Marshall-produced Joe Versus The Volcano
(1990) which was directed by John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck)
and was a big-budget bomb at the time. Romantic and heartwarming,
this romantic comedy has lots of laughs and grand cinematic scope to
go along with it. While some elements a bit dated (it was shot all
in-studio at a time when that was uncommon), this new presentation
from Warner Archive is an improvement over previous releases and is
only available in this online release on disc this time around.
Joe
Versus The Volcano stars Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda,
and Dan Hedaya to name a few. The most notable bit of acting in the
film, however, is from the young and charming Meg Ryan, who steals
the show as three very different characters, all of which easy for
Tom Hanks to fall in love with.
Joe
(Hanks) has a dead end job and a less than stellar life. When he
hears from a doctor that he only has a few months left to live, a
billionaire (Bridges) tracks him down and presents to him an unusual
proposition: to throw himself into a volcano in exchange for getting
a taste of what it's like to be rich. Along the way, he meets some
incredible people, falls in love, and sails on an unforgettable
adventure across the sea.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and
a lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
lossless track, the film looks and sounds fine for the Blu-ray
format. The cinematography by Stephan Goldblatt (Lethal Weapon)
looks fine of disc with a wide variety of colors and sets spreading
across the film.
Special
Features...
Behind
the Scenes
Trailer
Music
Video
Reminding
me in some ways of Romancing The Stone, this is a film that I
hadn't seen in a while and didn't mind revisiting.
Tony
Richardson's The Loved One
(1965)
Director
Tony Richardson's The Loved One (1965) gets a remastered
Blu-ray edition exclusively available from the good people at Warner
Archive. A picture that ''aims to offend everyone'', this odd-ball
comedy takes aim at the funeral business and, though a bit dated,
offers a funny take on the booming Hollywood studio system of the
time.
The
Loved One stars Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer,
Rod Steiger, Dana Andrews, Milton Berle, James Coburn, John Gielgud,
and Roddy McDowall to name a few.
The
film centers around Whispering Glades - a funeral home in Los
Angeles. The staff there take their role in life - and death - very
seriously, wanting to make the funeral process as beautiful and
meaningful as possible as many such places do.
This
at least is the outward perception of the organization, and the life
goal of Whispering Glades make-up artist, Aimee Thanatogenous
(Comer), whose professional goal is to become the first female
embalmer. In her mind, beauty trumps all else. She catches the eye
of Dennis Barlow (Morse), who recently arrived in Los Angeles from
Britain, and who is at Whispering Glades to arrange the funeral of
his uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley (Gielgud). Dennis does whatever he
feels he needs to to gain the favor of Aimee, but he has three
problems: the strict rules of owner Reverend Glenworthy (Winters),
the rivalry of embalmer Mr. Joyboy (Steiger), and the shame of now
working himself at The Happy Hunting Ground pets' memorial home.
That's right, a funeral for celebrity animals and pets.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a black and white transfer that has a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono (96kHz, 24-bit) track, for a film of this age, really
looks great on Blu-ray disc in this remastered edition from Warner.
There are a few elements of grain but overall the image doesn't feel
compressed or compromised.
Special
Features...
Trying
to Offend Everyone
Theatrical
Trailer
A
funny film that holds up despite some dated elements, it might not be
for everyone, but those interested should check it out.
Robert
Mulligan's The Man In The
Moon (1991)
Reese
Witherspoon has in her daring debut film, The Man in The Moon
(1991), a coming of age drama directed by Robert Mulligan (To Kill
A Mockingbird). The film stars Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail
Strickland, Reese Witherspoon, Jason London, and Emily Warfield.
Similar to films like Stand By Me, I found this is a charming
and realistic story with an interesting setting in a unique time in
American history.
The
film takes place in Rural Louisiana in the summer of 1957 - a time
where Elvis was King. At 14, Dani (Witherspoon) is coming of age and
breaking out of her shell. Her older sister is beautiful, smart, and
off to Duke in the fall whilst her mom's pregnant with number four,
and an overprotective father. One day, Dani meets 17-year-old Court
Foster (London), his widowed mom, and two little brothers move into
the vacant farm next door. Court and Dani get along in more ways
than one and Dani ends up with the discovery that not everything in
life goes the way that you want it to.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
a lossless English 2.0 DTS-HD (Master Audio) MA Stereo track (with
Pro Logic surrounds (a latter-years use of Dolby old A-type analog
theatrical noise reduction system), the film looks and sounds great
on disc especially considering its age and budget. The new HD
transfer is definitely worth the upgrade and has few imperfections.
Special
Features...
Isolated
Score Track
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Collectible
insert booklet with Julie Kirgo essay
Another
great release from Twilight Time!
Peter
Yates' Year
Of The Comet
(1992)
Acclaimed
Director Peter (Bullitt, Breaking Away, Suspect)
Yates' 1992 romanic thrill-ride Year of the Comet gets the
deluxe Blu-ray treatment from Twilight Time in this limited edition
release. The film stars Penelope Ann Miller, Tim Daly, Louis
Jourdan, Art Malik, Ian Richardson, Ian McNeice, and Julia McCarthy.
Centering
around the discovery of a very old (and valuable) wine (bottled
during the appearance of the Great Comet of 1811), Margaret Harwood
(Miller) is sent to retrieve it so it can be sold at auction. Oliver
Plexico (Daly) is assigned as her travel guide/bodyguard for the
trip. However, other people desperately want the bottle and will
stop at nothing to get it no matter what it takes!
The
film has beautiful production design and some very cool sequences,
namely one where a helicopter crashes that is definitely impressive.
The pace is a little slow at times, and I'd definitely classify it as
''chick flick'', there's enough for both parties to get enjoyment out
of this film on a date night.
Presented
on Blu-ray disc with a 1080p high definition transfer and a
widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a lossless English 2.0 DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds (another
latter-years use of Dolby old A-type analog theatrical noise
reduction system), the presentation is up to disc standards and looks
and sounds better than previous releases on lesser formats.
Special
Features...
Isolated
Music Track with a score by Hummie Mann
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Collectible
insert booklet with Julie Kirgo essay
The
film has a sort of cult following and fans will be particularly happy
with this one.
To
order The
Man In The Moon
and Year
Of The Comet
limited edition Blu-rays, buy them and other great exclusives while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
… and
to order any of the Warner Archive Blu-rays, go to this link for them
and many more great web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
