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Category:    Home > Reviews > Comedy > Melodrama > Family > Animation > TV Sitcom > Science Fiction > Shin Ultraman (2022/Cleopatra/*both MVD Blu-rays)/Ultraman Battle Kaiju Series One: Ultraman Vs. Red King (2023 compilation/Mill Creek Blu-ray)

Courtship Of Eddie's Father (1962/MGM*)/Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964/*both Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Project ALF (1996/Liberation Hall*)/Renfield (2023 'Dracula Edition'/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)/Shin Ultraman (2022/Cleopatra/*both MVD Blu-rays)/Ultraman Battle Kaiju Series One: Ultraman Vs. Red King (2023 compilation/Mill Creek Blu-ray)



Picture: B/B-/B-/B+ & B-/B-/B- Sound: C+/B-/B-/B+ & B-/C+/C+ Extras: B-/C-/C/B/C-/C Main Programs: B-/C+/C/C+/C/B-



PLEASE NOTE: The Courtship Of Eddie's Father and Hey There, It's Yogi Bear are now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.



Now for familiar characters that you can find on the big and small screen over the years for the most part...



Vincente Minnelli's The Courtship Of Eddie's Father (1962) is one of the director's more broad and commercial films, but capable, a hit and later inspired a hit TV show. In this original version, Glenn Fiord is he widower and his son (a young Ron Howard when he was 'Ronny Howard' in a highly successful run as a child actor) is unhappy to see his dad so sad. Thus, he keeps trying to be a matchmaker and the great casting of Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill and Stella Stevens really stop this from just being a big screen TV sitcom.

The film has aged well enough, though it is also a time capsule that can be fun, sad, ironic and tends to hold up at about two hours. There are some off moments and some that are supposed to be funny, but are not as much as they might have been or perceived to be so. Its another film that also showed MGM could survive without musicals as that genre was in declien at this time. It is worth a look, but have patience if you take it on.


For more on the hit TV series version, try our links to the DVD sets issued by Warner Archive:


Season One + Two

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12362/China+Beach:+Season+One+(1988/Time+Life/Star


Season Three

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12557/Chuggington:+Brewster+Leads+The+Way+(w/Toy


The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in real anamorphic Panavision in 35mm color negative, processed and printed by the studio's own Metrocolor labs, so it looks really good and their superior labwork has once again paid off. The best film prints offered 4-track magnetic sound with traveling dialogue and sound effects, but that soundmaster is apparently missing, so we get a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixdown. It sounds good, but it has a few giveaway flaws too.


Extras include the Technicolor Tom & Jerry cartoon Penthouse Mouse, an Original Theatrical Trailer and a great feature-length audio commentary track by Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill and Stella Stevens.



Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964) was one of Hanna Barbera's first theatrical film outings, economically viable and possible in part because color TV was just arriving and you could not see the hit TV show in its native full color at home yet. We originally reviewed the movie on DV at this link:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7867/The+Man+Called+Flintstone+++Hey+There,+It


So much more has happened in animation since our older coverage, including how CGI digital computer animation has taken giant leaps in detail, depth and imitating real-life live camera work. This still remains fun, charming and holds up at least as well as the new Yogi 3D animated CGI feature film of a few years ago. If you like the characters, it remains very child-friendly and even charming, so the upgrade is worth it and the one to go to if you're going to revisigt it or especially get it for your children, should you have any.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little soft, in part because that is the way it was produced, but this is a nice improvement in color range (dubbed 'Yogi Color') and some depth over the old DVD version, while the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix is as much an improvement and that makes it the best-sounding of vintage Yogi productions.


The only extra is the Yogi's Birthday Party episode of the original TV series.



Hide your cats! The '80s TV alien, Alf, starring film, Project: ALF (1996), lands on Blu-ray disc. If you are a fan of the original series then you will likely enjoy this quirky film that is basic ALF humor and Hollywood veteran Martin Sheen doing his best to face off against the furry alien puppet. The film stars Miguel Ferrer, William O'Leary, Jensen Daggett, Scott Michael Campbell, and Beverly Archer. The original cast of the TV series doesn't make an appearance.


In an undisclosed military base similar to Area 51, ALF is being held by military and interrogated. His life is in limbo. Will he be terminated by the hands of Colonel Milfoil (Martin Sheen) or deemed innocent and not a national threat? As ALF makes friends and challenges his superiors, they soon learn to embrace the lovable furry lump.


The film feels a little dated at times and feels a bit stiff at times despite ALF’s bubbly personality. Project: ALF is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (centered in a 1.78 X 1 framing) and a lossless, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The image is pretty grainy throughout the presentation to a pretty noticeable degree, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think they could have scaled it back a bit. There is sharp detail on the characters and the colors look fine for Blu-ray.


Special Features: Feature-Length Audio Commentary, Trailers, Photo Gallery and Biographies.


I found Project: ALF a bit stiff at times and has a very low budget TV movie feel. I admit I'm not the hugest fan of the character, but if you are a fan then this will be a nice extension to the sitcom.


For more thoughts on the film, try our coverage of the DVD release:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5097/Project:+ALF+(Telefilm


And for more on the series, try our coverage of the original series' Season Three:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3757/ALF+-+Season+Three


Renfield (2023) lands on Blu-ray / DVD (and not 4K UHD) from Universal. The horror / comedy / action hybrid treads lightly on its reference to the Universal Monsters classic, even going as far as recreating a scene from the original 1931 Universal Dracula film (reviewed elsewhere on this site on multiple formats) with the new actors composited in. The film stars Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.


Nicholas Hoult stars as the title character of Renfield, who gains Dracula level powers where he swallows an insect, and of whom seeks a life where he doesn't have to kill and deliver human beings as food to his abusive Master, Dracula. Hoult can handle the physical demands of the role in mainly of the film's goofy action sequences (and cartoonishy bloody) and simultaneously captures Renfield's softer side as well. The character is definitely not as creepy and insane as he is depicted in the 1931 Dracula adaptation. And finally, Hollywood's hot for the moment star Awkwafina (The Legend of Shang Chi) is also thrown into the mix as the love interest / police officer on the case who is fine in the role and acts as comic relief and also the person who inspires some good inside the damaged soul of Renfield.


Nicolas Cage shines as a comic book style version of Dracula, in this being his first role as a Vampire. He was also in the film, Vampire's Kiss (1988), but in that film he plays the victim more than the blood sucking foe. In Renfield, Dracula is basically unstoppable at times, but his weakness is sunlight and the weak blood of drug users. The movie's main goal above being a Dracula film is to teach us (and often beats its audience over the head with) a lesson about getting out of toxic relationships with narcissists, relying too heavily on others, and of course being strong, independent, and true to ourselves. Directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The LEGO Batman movie), the film has nice effects and production design, but at times gets lost in its own life lessons whist still bound to its stereotypical Hollywood screenplay. The end result is a mixed bag. Renfield is at times triumphant and other times a bit slacking.


Renfield (Hoult) is trying to escape his toxic relationship as servant to Dracula (Cage.) As Renfield seeks counsel in a support group, he starts to target those close to the victims in the group in order to fulfill his job requirements to Dracula by finding him human food. When he gets mixed up with a feisty gang, and in the midst of a police investigation, Renfield and Dracula have to come out of the shadows and step into the modern world that doesn't understand them.


Renfield is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossless, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix (likely a mixdown from DTS: X and Dolby Atmos). The film has interesting colors throughout and the 1080p presentation does what it can and still could not touch a well-produced 4K UHD with HDR (hopefully a later release will remedy this), and the 1080p still obviously looks better than the also included standard definition DVD with the same aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.


Special Features (per the press release):


Feature Commentary with Producer Samantha Nisenboim, Screenwriter Ryan Ridley, and Crew


Hilarious Deleted and Extended Scenes


Alternate Takes


Dracula UnCaged: Go inside the mind of a vampire as Dracula himself, Nicolas Cage, reveals the secrets behind turning a classic character into a memorable monster.


Monsters & Men: Behind the Scenes of RENFIELD: An in-depth look at Renfield's cast, sets, costumes and more as the actors and filmmakers reveal how they modernized a famous terror tale with trailblazing comedy and over-the-top action.


Stages of Rejuvenation: See how special makeup effects bring the undead to life throughout the four stages of Dracula's incredible transformation.


Flesh & Blood: Exploding heads. Peeling faces. Severed limbs. They're all part of the macabre movie magic that fuels Renfield with inventive action and hilarious horror.


Fighting Dirty: Stunt coordinator Christopher Brewster leads a look at the training, choreography, and careful execution that goes into the film's spectacular stunts and fight scenes.


and The Making of a Deleted Scene: Renfield's Dance!: Nicholas Hoult and choreographer Kathryn Burns pull back the curtain on constructing an elaborate musical number for a fantasy dance sequence.


The overly R-rated and cartoonish Renfield isn't all bad, but let's be honest... that's mainly due to Nicolas Cage carrying the film as Dracula.



Shinji Higuchi's Shin Ultraman (2022) wants to recapture the first color TV series (the second-ever show and the one most U.S. viewers would know from the 1960s and 1970s) in look and fell, but update it to the current big-budget, giant monster films and in the framing and approach of the last few live-action shows. With its 2 hours of length, it tries to do that and more, maybe thinking of launching a big screen series, but it never exceeds its basic ambitions and is only a curio at best.


The actors and makers to try to get into it and make it happen, but the whole production also is just playing it safe and that stops it from being more than it could have been. Without ruining it, they do a few neat updates to the classic show that are not bad, but it ultimately did not stay with me. Still, there will be people who get a kick out of this, so the most curious or interested should give it a look.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is an HD production with a little more softness and small detail issues than expected and that gets in the way of it emulating the first color show, but it still imitates the recent look of Warner's Godzilla and King Kong films in interesting ways.


The sound is here in Japanese and English 5.1 mixes, plus 2.0 English, but once again, Cleopatra rejects any kind of lossless sound, so the soundtracks are sadly only lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.


Extras include an Original Theatrical Trailer and Slide Show.



Finally, a nice compilation in Ultraman Battle Kaiju Series One: Ultraman Vs. Red King which takes episodes from no less than a dozen different versions of the series, some animated, all part a long history only rivaled by the BBC's Doctor Who. A crash course for those who only know the English-dubbed version of the first color, filmed show, the set centers on the heroes' encounters with one creature and is a welcome release, likely issued to be timed with the release of Shin Ultraman (see above) on home video.


All the shows here are the original Japanese versions with subtitles and sourced about as well as can be expected, though that first color show might work in a 4K release, but who knows. The animated versions are a surprise, playing different from the early show, but still in keeping with the character. If you like Ultraman and want to see how successful he really is, seeing this set will deliver the how and why. He is a real, enduring Japanese institution!


Most of the episodes are in 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the age of the materials used, from analog black and white videotape, low definition video, HD video, analog color videotape and the second-ever series on color film. Non-filmed, low-def shows are upscaled, so quality varies, though the first color show looks as good as any of them and this will be the first time anyone has seen these shows in HD. The sound is lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 sound throughout, with the early series in mono, later shows in stereo, sounding about as good as they ever will.


The original full-color Ultraman with its classic English-dubbing by the original dub team for Speed Racer has yet to get HD treatment and hopefully, the 35mm versions have not been lost, destroyed or misplaced. In the meantime, they did get two releases on DVD including this earlier version with less compression:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7725/Iron+King/Super+Robot:+Red+Baron/Ultraman


Extras include a booklet and vintage early Ultraman show so rough, they include it as an extra.



To order The Courtship Of Eddie's Father and/or the Hey There, It's Yogi Bear Warner Archive Blu-rays, buy them while supplies last at this link:


https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20



- Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (ALF, Renfield)

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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