Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

In his second feature film, director John Frankenheimer attacks the social problem movie with 1961's "The Young Savages," a potent but overlong look at the woes of racism, poverty, and the complex nature of crime. Although it's based on a book by author Evan Hunter, the picture is pure Frankenheimer, taking a stylish, challenging look at the erosion of society and the politics of justice. Strikingly crafted, "The Young Savages" manages to overcome its fatiguing length to isolate raw emotions, led by strong work from star Burt Lancaster. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1977's "Short Eyes" is an ambitious film that puts the viewer in a troubling position of judgment. An adaptation of the Miguel Pinero play, the movie brings a collection of uneasy characters and impossible situations to the screen in a theatrical manner, contrasting the imposing prison location with broad but penetrative performances, while still preserving Pinero's sting. It's a heroic directorial effort from Robert M. Young, who manages to capture character idiosyncrasies while sustaining an atmosphere of doom as Clark, a young child molester (Bruce Davidson), receives the full force of inmate intimidation as he begins his sentence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Unable to do much with star Michael Keaton's fading marquee value, Universal Pictures took a different direction when it came to the promotion of their 2005 release, "White Noise." While a traditional ghost story about loss and the mystery of the afterlife, the screenplay was rooted in the world of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena), giving the effort a uniqueness to help separate it from the competition. The theatrical trailer downplayed the actual feature, favoring a push to sell EVP as an authentic exploration into the lingering demands of death. The approach worked, duping moviegoers into the multiplex, with many hoping to learn more about EVP and its genuineness. Instead of science, "White Noise" delivered cheap thrills and a sluggish pace. While Keaton survives on his natural charisma, the rest of the endeavor is a lazy, muddled snooze that happily tenders pure fantasy to those with an endless curiosity about the hereafter and the potential for the deceased to remain in contact with the living. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's the storytelling economy of 1958's "Run Silent, Run Deep" that's most impressive. Taking the audience into the depths of the ocean with a WWII submarine crew experiencing a crisis of leadership between haunted Commander Richardson (Clark Gable) and Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), the feature explores the price of obsession and the choreographed procedures of war. It's exceptionally tight work from director Robert Wise and screenwriter John Gay, who pays attention to fiery dramatics, but remains true to naval encounters and tense relationships, allowing the audience to feel the pressure of the mission and comprehend the claustrophobia of the setting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are pictures that claim to offer a blistering level of screen insanity to entice fans of schlock cinema into the theater, and there are films that carry on, business as usual, but happen to be pure madness without even thinking about it. 1982's "Raw Force" is the type of movie that doesn't appear to realize how bizarre it genuinely is, embarking on a screwy mission of martial arts entertainment that's all about dangerous encounters , mysterious happenings, and mild comedy. And yet, few features match the sheer oddity of "Raw Force," which casually submits cannibalism, kung fu, bare breasts, and broken bones, whipping up a cinematic adventure that's plagued with creative problems but remains undeniably amusing for those who appreciate bottom-shelf extravaganzas. It's big, dumb, and loud, but remarkably enchanting during its pursuit of escapism, winning over viewers one sluggish crescent kick and blouse removal at a time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1970's "Bloody Mama" is a difficult picture. While the plot concerns the life and times of outlaw Kate "Ma" Barker (Shelley Winters) and her gang of troublemaking sons (including Robert De Niro) as they murder, rape, and kill, director Roger Corman seems to think he's making comedic romp at times, with the first half of the movie cleared to celebrate the destructive antics of these angry characters. It's a bizarre choice, and one that confuses the tone of the feature, which submits itself as "fun," only to detail horrific, lurid acts of dehumanization, sold with customary Corman frugality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"The Almighty Johnsons" is a low-wattage take on Norse mythology from New Zealand, which does away with extraordinary powers and godly might to focus on the daily bouts of melodrama facing a band of four brothers and their grandfather as they learn to cope with their secret lives. The program is an acquired taste, with the first season (the show was recently canceled after its third year) devoted to convincing the viewer that names such as Odin, Thor, and Loki could embrace a different interpretation in the Marvel Comics world we live in. Instead of power and brawn, "The Almighty Johnsons" takes on the foibles of relationships as it pays vague attention to the magical forces that run the universe, submitting weak jokes and feeble conflicts as it works to define its creative mission in ten episodes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For Burt Shavitz, a simple idea to make a little money selling honey near his home in Maine snowballed into decades of fame and near-fortune, and it's difficult to tell if he cares at all about the bizarre turn in his life. Directed by Jody Shapiro, "Burt's Buzz" details the life and times of the creator of Burt's Bees, a major brand name in the personal care product industry, concentrating on Burt's current position as the face of the corporation, while his life remains committed to country living and aging, creating an interesting contrast of money and comfort that's ideal fodder for a cinematic exploration. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2002, director Aleksandr Sokurov masterminded "Russian Ark." A sweeping exploration of the Hermitage Museum, the picture was a technical and artistic marvel, following through on an ambitious filmmaking design while securing his name as a creative daredevil to watch. Following up such an achievement hasn't been a priority for the veteran Russian helmer, who's most comfortable examining fogged psychological spaces in broken characters, finding an apt challenge in "Faust," an adaptation of the famous German legend. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Watching the competition storm the box office with disaster pictures during the 1970s, producer Roger Corman decided he had to have one too. 1978's "Avalanche" is a low-budget take on catastrophe, this time heading to a mountain resort in Colorado experiencing the worst opening weekend in the history of the industry, with Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, and Robert Forster playing the panicked and heroic as tons of snow descend on a collection of vacationers and athletes, each with their own domestic problems. It's a paint-by-numbers effort from Corman, who wants a big screen emergency, but doesn't want to pay for quality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two years before he delivered "RoboCop" to the masses, director Paul Verhoeven attempted his first connection to Hollywood-style filmmaking with 1985's "Flesh + Blood." Remaining true to his European sensibility, Verhoeven didn't simply deliver a big screen adventure with swinging swords, damsels in distress, and castle battles, but a picture with distinct elusiveness, eschewing heroes and villains to create a war movie with a sophisticated morality. And rape. Lots of rape. "Flesh + Blood" doesn't display the helmer firing on all cylinders, but it's an interesting chapter in his gore-stained career, unleashing his signature cinematic roar on an industry that often had no clue what to do with him. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before Oliver Stone was OLIVER STONE, he was oliver stone: aspiring film director. 1974's "Seizure" was his grand debut, storming the industry with a bizarre chiller inspired by nightmare imagery and the poisonous depths of the subconscious mind. It's also a fittingly nutty grindhouse offering that favors suffering, shock value, and unusual sights, including an appearance by Herve Villechaize as a knife-wielding ghoul wearing tights and a bone necklace. For that alone, "Seizure" deserves a look. It's just a shame the rest of the movie isn't nearly as captivatingly bonkers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

At the tail end of the disaster movie craze of the 1970s, "Meteor" landed with a thud. The 1979 picture boasts an incredible cast led by Sean Connery (also including Natalie Wood, Brian Keith, Karl Malden, Martin Landau, Richard Dysart, and Henry Fonda), and a dependable premise of Earth-threatening doom that permits panic on a global scale, yet "Meteor," for all its bluster and smorgasbord of iffy special effects (okay, they're awful), is merely entertaining, rarely hitting the nail-biting highs the subgenre is known for. The all-star cast can only do so much to liven up the proceedings, with director Ronald Neame gradually losing tension as the film drags out the obvious for far too long. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Ossie Davis (who passed away in 2005) was a respected actor, but little is shared about his brief career as a film director. 1970's "Cotton Comes to Harlem" was his second movie, but it's an important feature when it comes to the growth of blacksploitation cinema, helping to define what the decade would eventually offer in defiant, gritty entertainment. It's also something of a supercop picture, always a delightful subgenre, bringing the exploits of Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) to the big screen, with the pair of no-nonsense cops scouring NYC to locate a missing bale of cotton containing a small fortune and nail a crooked preacher for his considerable crimes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1980's "Prom Night" holds a peculiar place in the slasher film spectrum. Created to cash in on the wild success of 1978's "Halloween," the movie arrived just before standards for this type of horror dipped into pure financial calculation. It's a tad slower than its brethren, offers limited violence, and submits a noticeable effort with editing and performances, making it quite interesting if not entirely triumphant. It's a mixed bag of delights, but "Prom Night" retains appeal through its unusual tone and care with motivation, adding just a hint of real-world torment to ground the masked killer shenanigans. Also adding to the picture's appeal is its era-specific setting, eschewing timelessness to whip up a disco inferno, gifting the feature a bewitching time capsule-style allure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In American politics, there have been many dynasties, but few have represented the nation's spirit of determination and authority quite like the Roosevelts. Enter celebrated documentarian Ken Burns, who undertakes an exhaustive exploration of the family with "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History," spotlighting the trials and triumphs of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt. In typical Burns fashion, historical fixation results in television gold, devoting 14 hours to the understanding of motivation, hubris, and compassion, while reinforcing a criminally outdated concept of near-selfless public service that helped to secure the longevity of the family name. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1972's "Across 110th Street" is often labeled a blacksploitation picture, and while parts of the movie fit into such a classification, this cops-and-criminals saga appears to have more in common with "The French Connection." Gritty and mindful of perspective, the feature is a bruising examination of power and desperation, filled with energetic chases and fiery confrontations. And while the picture deals with race and prejudice, it's more interested in dissecting character, creating a community of hotheads after one another for numerous reasons. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the mid-2000s, Hollywood picked up on the monster success of "Jackass," trying to turn its bruised and battered lead, Johnny Knoxville, into the next big thing. He was offered prominent supporting parts and a few leads, and audiences responded to this development by largely refusing to buy tickets. Perhaps the most potentially disastrous project to emerge during this dark period was 2005's "The Ringer," a film that attempted to poke good-natured fun at the Special Olympics, shepherded by the Farrelly Brothers. Pre-release press wasn't favorable and audiences were clearly uncomfortable with the idea, yet, in the midst of all the suspicion, "The Ringer" proved itself to a refreshingly mild comedy that made good use of whatever Knoxville actually does in front of a camera ("acting" just isn't the right description). It takes some serious unclenching to get used to the plot of the movie, but once comfort is established, it's clear that director Barry W. Blaustein ("Beyond the Mat") and screenwriter Ricky Blitt aren't out to offend with this effort, working to celebrate Special Olympics participants with a liberal helping of silliness. "The Ringer" isn't a classic comedy by any means, but that it's approachable at all is an achievement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

During a decade of terrorist thrillers and paranoia cinema, 1974's "Juggernaut" emerges as a crisp, efficient chapter in the era's examination of global mayhem. Director Richard Lester submits some of the tightest work of his career in this engrossing suspense effort, trading theatrics to take on a coldly procedural event that's teeming with A-list actors, working with a script that's paced wonderfully, always paying close attention to the nail-biting aspects of the story. "Juggernaut" is deceptively casual, yet there's hardly moment when it's not extracting near-perfect details of character and setting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Space Raiders" was Roger Corman's attempt to piggyback on the release of 1983's "Return of the Jedi," hoping to steal a few gold bars from George Lucas's vault before anyone noticed. Instead of putting in a heroic cinematic effort, Corman instead recycled footage, music, and design achievements from such movies as "Battle Beyond the Stars" and "Galaxy of Terror" to construct another space opera, creating a kiddie adventure with the bare minimum of budget. This is why the film, while determined to entertain, is shoddy, incomprehensible at times, and shameless. All the space battles and rogue banter in the world can't scrape away the crummy penny-pinching vibe of this excessively noisy feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com