Blu-Ray Review: HAMMER FILMS DOUBLE FEATURE, VOLUME 4

SCREAM OF FEAR

Starring Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, Christopher Lee, John Serret. Directed by Seth Holt. (1961/82 min).

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER

Starring Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford, Janina Faye, Felix Aylmer, Niall MacGinnis, Michael Gwynn, Alison Leggatt. Directed by Cyril Frankel. (1960/82 min).

MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT

The latest in the Hammer Films Double Feature series is a mixed bag. While neither is a true horror film, one at-least contains elements of the the genre. The other, however, is not-only atypical Hammer fare, it's totally the wrong film to round out this double bill.

Scream of Fear is a moody, almost gothic tale in the vein of Diabolique. Susan Strasberg plays Penny, a wheelchair-bound young woman who returns home after ten years. She's told by stepmother Jane (Ann Todd) that her father is away on business. However, Penny keeps seeing Dad's corpse all around the property, only for it to disappear whenever she tells someone. The family doctor (Christopher Lee, in an early role) thinks Penny's hallucinating, but she's able to convince their chauffeur, Bob (Ronald Lewis), that something more sinister is going on.

"Yes, lady...I know the way to San Jose. Haven't heard that one before."

The film takes its time establishing the scenario and players. In fact, the story drags at times before coming to life at the end with a couple of surprising twists. Scream of Fear won't make anyone forget Diabolique, but it's atmospheric and the performances are decent.

Never Take Candy from a Stranger is unlike anything released under the Hammer Films banner. First off, it isn't even a horror film, nor does it resemble one. It is, however, a disturbing and depressing cautionary tale of an old pedophile who accosts two little girls. When one child's parents report it to the police, almost the entire community (including the other child's father!) would rather to brush the incident under the rug because the old man is part of the town's wealthiest family.

"Let's go to the hotel and mess with Danny Torrance."

Despite its age and how discreetly it handles the subject matter, Never Take Candy from a Stranger is tough viewing, and not just because the victims are children. Watching nearly every adult's apparent indifference is infuriating. For the most part, the film plays like a black & white Law & Order episode, complete with a lengthy courtroom scene. While there's nothing necessarily wrong with that and the film is tastefully made, I doubt this is what traditional Hammer horror fans have in mind.

Despite hailing from the same studio, these two films aren't really compatible co-features. Neither is bad, but as much as I enjoy Oreos and barbecue sauce, I wouldn't consider eating them together. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

None

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD...BUT WHO THOUGHT TO PAIR THESE TOGETHER?

News: Oscar Nominated THE POST on Digital 4/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 4/17

OSCAR winners Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks team up for the first time in this thrilling film based on a true story. Determined to uphold the nation’s civil liberties, Katharine Graham (Streep), publisher of The Washinton Post, and hard-nosed editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) join forces to expose a decades-long cover-up. But the two must risk their careers –– and their freedom –– to bring truth to light in this powerful film with a celebrated cast.

THE POST is “extraordinary…must-see” film according to Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and the home entertainment release features 90 minutes of bonus content, depicting the real life events behind the groundbreaking untold story and the journey to bring it to the big screen.

Blu-Ray Review: THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL

Starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Brian Keith, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau. Directed by John Sturges. (1965/165 min).

OLIVE FILMS

Considering the impressive cast and a director responsible for some of our greatest classic westerns, one would naturally assume The Hallelujah Trail (on Blu-Ray in its original "roadshow" version) would be a slam-dunk. But the film never takes flight, despite threatening to do so every 15 minutes or so.

Winter's coming and the mining town of Denver is running out of booze. The townsfolk arrange for the transport of 40 wagons loaded with whiskey, to be delivered by cantankerous company man Frank Wallingham (Brain Keith). Cavalry Colonel Gearhart (Burt Lancaster) assigns a troop led by Captain Slater (Jim Hutton) to escort the wagon train just in case it's targeted by Indians (which it is). Meanwhile, a zealous women's temperance movement, led by feisty Cora Templeton (Lee Remick) also plan to get their hands on the shipment in order to destroy it, thus saving the citizens of Denver from themselves. To Gearhart's chagrin, his daughter, Louise (Pamela Tiffin), is also part of this group, and now he feels compelled to lead a troop of his own to protect them.

Burt takes care of a scary bug.

Intended as an epic comedy, The Hallelujah Trail has some fun moments. The cast looks like they're having a good time and Elmer Bernstein's score helps maintain a light tone. But unlike similar madcap comedies of the era, the film seldom rises above mildly amusing. Many scenes take a looong time setting up  hilarious payoffs, but for a movie running nearly three hours, genuine laughs are few and far between.

"So, Captain...you refuse to scrub my back?"

I think part of the problem is that there's loads of talent on both sides of the camera, but few of them are really renowned for their comedic skills. The Hallelujah Trail looks, moves and sounds like a classic John Sturges western. No problem there; the film is suitably sprawling, picturesque and the action scenes are expertly choreographed. He doesn't demonstrate a keen eye for comedy, though, and writer John Gay (whose background was mostly in dramas & thrillers) doesn't provide a particularly clever screenplay to work with. Perhaps everyone was depending on the cast to find inherent humor in the basic premise. But while Burt Lancaster is one of the big screen's greatest icons, have you ever found him funny? Traditionally, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence and Martin Landau have never been a barrel of laughs, either. No one is bad in their roles, but there's something slightly amiss when a movie's narrator has all the funniest bits.

By the time we get to the bonkers climax - which is almost maddeningly nonsensical - the film has pretty-much exhausted its welcome. A shame, really. With its butt-numbing length and the amount of talent involved, The Hallelujah Trail shouldn't be a movie that only works in fits and starts. I'm sure, however, it has its share of fans, who'll be pleased to know the picture and sound quality of this disc is terrific.

EXTRA KIBBLES

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS: 

MEH...THERE ARE MUCH BETTER CLASSIC WESTERN COMEDIES OUT THERE

Blu-Ray Review: I, TONYA

Starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser, Bobby Cannavale, Caitlyn Carver, Ricky Russert. Directed by Craig Gillespie. (2017/119 min).

UNIVERSAL

In my neck of the woods (Portland, Oregon), former figure skater and Olympic washout Tonya Harding has become something of an urban legend. Being from our hometown, she was a constant media lightning rod even before the Nancy Kerrigan incident. Since then, reports of Tonya sightings still pop up from time to time...working as a stripper, living in a trailer by the Columbia River, etc. Like those who claim to have spotted Sasquatch, most are tall-tales. But the infrequent occasions when she does return to the local spotlight are usually under dubious circumstances.

I, Tonya, however, has everyone talking about Harding again, and not just in her hometown. Though it doesn't paint a flattering portrait, I imagine she's still grateful for the attention. After all, this woman once tried to prolong her fleeting fame by getting in the boxing ring with other has-beens. Harding may have been a public punchline for the past 25 years, but she's been a trainwreck her entire life. That's common knowledge, though, and if I, Tonya had gone the traditional bio route, we'd have gotten nothing we hadn't already seen & heard a million times.

But the fun of I, Tonya lies in its amusingly-unreliable narrators, of which Harding (Margot Robbie) is just one. Her estranged ex-husband, Jeff (Sebastian Stan) has a say, as does Tonya's vindictive mother, LaVona (Allison Janney), her dumbass "bodyguard," Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser), and even tabloid TV producer Martin Maddox (Bobby Cannavale). They are consistently contradicting each other's version of events leading up to and surrounding the infamous assault on Nancy Kerrigan (who's merely an incidental character here).

"Would you please stop calling me Bucky?"

I, Tonya makes no pretense of being an authentic biography, nor is anything presented as indisputable fact. The entire narrative intentionally keeps us questioning the validity of every scene, with its suspicious characters presented as amalgams of their real-life counterparts and exaggerated caricatures. Though Harding herself is the de-facto protagonist (an unfortunate product of her environment), none of these folks are particularly likable. But neither was anyone in Goodfellas, to which this film is often stylistically compared.

Tonya smells cookies.

Like Scorsese's classic, I, Tonya is a flamboyant, whirlwind tale of a life spiraling out of control, featuring characters who are as unpleasant as they are stupid, but morbidly fascinating nonetheless. Robbie is arguably too pretty to be completely convincing as the title character, especially with Harding being more instantly recognizable than Henry Hill ever was. But since the film makes no claims of historical accuracy, it remains a remarkable performance. Trumping even Robbie, though, is Janney, who makes LaVona one of the most hateful antagonists I've recently seen who doesn't actually kill anyone. These two ladies have garnered so much critical praise that Sebastian Stan's efforts have largely gone unheralded. However, he's effective as both an amusingly dimwitted rube and despicably abusive spouse (or is he?).

Punctuated by a killer soundtrack, I, Tonya is a fast-moving, darkly comic spin on one of the most notorious scandals in sports history. If you're looking for the straight story, forget about it. We've already had enough of that, anyway (especially here in Portland). What the film does do is creatively re-imagine the circus - and its clowns - that surrounded the incident in the first place. Watching a living trainwreck has seldom been this much fun.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES: "All Sixes: The Perfect Performances of I, Tonya"; "Irony Free, Totally True: The Story Behind I, Tonya"; "Working with Director Craig Gillespie"; "The Visual Effects of I, Tonya" (which are actually quite amazing); "VFX: Anatomy of a Triple Axel" (ditto)

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Craig Gillespie

DELETED SCENES

TRAILERS

DVD & DIGITAL COPIES

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Blu-Ray Review: FACES PLACES (Visages Villages)

Directed by and Starring Agnes Varda & JR. (2017/89 min).

COHEN MEDIA GROUP

Though nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Oscars, Faces Places doesn't seem like it would have much of a chance of winning. Not because it isn't worthy, but the film isn't about a dead musician, criminal injustice or a dark chapter in recent history.

Instead, Face Places is a cute, disarming and ultimately heartfelt chronicle of a road-trip taken by Agnes Varda & JR, who also directed the film. They embark on a journey through France, plastering their unique brand of photographic art on abandoned homes, railroad cars, barns, stone ruins...anywhere it can be appreciated - however temporarily - by the locals.

Varda is an 83-year-old filmmaker who first gained fame as part of the French New Wave movement and still revered for her visual style. JR is a young photographer/street artist who appears to specialize in mural-sized portraits. This veritable odd couple have a mutual respect for each other and the people they choose as subjects for their art. They visit a wide variety of locations, from inner cities to rural farms to coastal villages, shooting those who live or work there, then blowing up the photos to massive proportions and creatively pasting them in places which best represent the community.

This unfortunate gentleman is about to discover not everyone in the neighborhood enjoys the luxury of indoor plumbing.

The results are visually impressive, often haunting, but that's only part of this story. Faces Places is also about the people they encounter in their travels. We learn about their pasts, their families, how their chosen occupations have influenced or directed their lives. Especially interesting - occasionally quite moving - are their reactions to the art they've become part of. Episodically presented, we spend a short time with each individual or group before moving on to another location...and another story. My personal favorite segments are the amusing visit to some goat farms and a poignant story of an old woman who's the last resident of a tract neighborhood scheduled for demolition.

Agnes and JR search The Louvre for Dogs Playing Poker.

The one constant is the relationship between Agnes and JR, who don't have a master plan beyond hitting the road and seeing what happens. Though technically a documentary, Faces Places plays like a road movie with these two as the central characters, and we learn much about them during the trip (especially, Agnes, who seems somewhat melancholy, despite always appearing in good spirits). They are genuinely likable and appear to grow closer to each other during the course of the film. This culminates in a surprisingly emotional climax that's truly touching.

I'd love to see these two defy the odds and the stage on Oscar night to receive a statue. Faces Places tells a sweet, visually-arresting story that's as captivating as any fictional "personal journey" film that comes to mind. This is a small winner all-around.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE: "Chance is the Best Assistant: Agnes Varda and JR on Faces Places" (interview with the filmmakers); "Music" (a feature on composer Matthieu Chedid).

"LETTERS" and "CABIN" (essentially two deleted scenes)

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

News: THE SEVEN-UPS is Coming to Blu-Ray and All is Right with the World

Starring Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Larry Haines, Richard Lynch, Ken Kercheval, Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon. Directed by Philip D’Antoni. (1973/103 min).

TWILIGHT TIME

For us, there's Blu-Ray news and then there's great Blu-Ray news.

With all due respect to the late, great John Frankenheimer, I've always considered The Seven-Ups to be the real French Connection II. Much more similar in tone and execution to the William Friedkin film, original French Connection producer Philip D’Antoni takes the director's chair (the only time in his career) for this underappreciated classic. Roy Scheider also returns, this time as Buddy Manucci, who leads a crack team of renegade cops known for taking down some of New York's worst criminals.

No Antoni production would be complete without a jaw-dropping extended car chase, and The Seven-Ups features one just as gripping as those in Bullitt and The French Connection (and all three were orchestrated by legendary stunt coordinator Bill Hickman).

Now my wish list has been shortened by one title because The Seven-Ups is finally coming out of Blu-Ray. The good news is that the disc is also loaded with bonus features (listed below). The bad news...being a Twilight Time release, this is a Limited Edition of only 3,000 copies. So maybe I should shut up and stop telling you about it.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES: The Seven-Ups Connection / A Tony Lo Bianco Type / Real to Reel / Cut to the Chase / Anatomy of a Chase: Behind the Scenes of the Filming of The Seven-Ups

Isolated Music Track of the Don Ellis Film Score

Isolated Music Track of the Unused Johnny Mandel Score

Audio Commentary with Film Historian Richard Harland Smith

Introduction by Director-Producer Philip D’Antoni

Randy Jurgensen’s Scrapbook

Super 8 Version

Lobby Cards, Stills and Media Gallery

Original Theatrical Trailers

News: THE GREATEST SHOWMAN dancing into Digital 3/20 and Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD & DVD 4/10

The sleeper hit of 2017 is arriving on Digital 3/20 and Blu-Ray 4/10 from 20th Century Fox. Hugh Jackman leads and all-star cast that includes Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya. The release will have over two hours behind-the-scenes bonus features, a "sing-along" version and "jukebox" features.

CLICK ANYWHERE ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO CHECK OUT THE 360 DEGREE VIDEO.

Blu-Ray Review: BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ

Starring Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Neville Brand, Thelma Ritter, Betty Field, Telly Savalas, Edmond O'Brien, Whit Bissell, Hugh Marlowe. Directed by John Frankenheimer (1962/149 min).

OLIVE FILMS

Of the five films Burt Lancaster and director John Frankenheimer did together, this one is probably the most lauded (though Seven Days in May is my personal favorite).

For me, Frankenheimer's best work was during the early-to-mid sixties, when few directors made better use of black & white than he did. As for Lancaster...sure, he could play romantic leads and heroic figures in his sleep, but he was more interesting as a villain or extremely flawed protagonist (and not always playing with a full deck). One could say Birdman of Alcatraz was their first perfect union.

"What I wouldn't give for some dippin' sauce."

I've often read Birdman of Alcatraz isn't an accurate portrayal of Robert Stroud, the infamous  inmate sentenced to life in solitary confinement who found his calling in life by raising birds and becoming the world's foremost expert. The real Stroud, while quite brilliant, remained violently dangerous his whole life.

Frankly, I don't care about the real Stroud, and I doubt anyone involved in the film's production did either.

"Who loves ya, birdy?"

Besides, Lancaster doesn't portray the man as a saint. Stroud deserves to be incarcerated and knows it, but his transformation from anti-social egocentric to empathetic caregiver (to both friends & fowl) is the heart that gives this story life. But Lancaster & Frankenheimer aren't all that the film has going for it. The evolution of the adversarial relationship between Stroud and beleaguered prison warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden) is just as engaging - and important - as Stroud's aviary achievements. So are the few friendships he develops over the years, such as fellow inmate Feto Gomez (Telly Savalas, still with hair) and prison guard Bull Ranson (Neville Brand), the latter of which turns surprisingly poignant.

And that's what we care about. Stroud's life as a bird keeper is merely the catalyst for this inspirational journey. Like the best biographical films, Birdman of Alcatraz wisely picks and chooses facts in order to create a history that serves its own dramatic purposes. Featuring one of Lancaster's best, most-nuanced mid-career performances, the movie is a classic that belongs on every serious fan's shelf. It was released on Blu-Ray before in 2014 as a Twilight Time limited edition with a much steeper price tag. This new release (from Olive Films) is skimpier on bonus features, but the picture & sound quality remain terrific.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Kate Buford, author of Burt Lancaster: An American Life

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY

(OR BOB STROUD'S CELL)

News: THOR: RAGNAROK - Valkyrie and Hela Bonus Clips and Artwork

Digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD and Movies Anywhere on Feb. 20 and 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on March 6

In anticipation of next week’s Blu-ray & 4K release of Thor: Ragnarok, here are some great behind-the-scenes videos featuring Valkyrie & Hela, which are among the disc's many bonus features.

News: PROUD MARY on Digital 3/27 and Blu-ray & DVD 4/10

Fans will see Academy Award nominee (Best Supporting Actress, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008) and three-time Emmy Award nominee (“Empire”) Taraji P. Henson as she’s never been seen before in the action-packed gritty crime thriller PROUD MARY. Henson explodes in the title role, playing a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses during a professional hit. Billy Brown (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Jahi Di’Allo Winston (The Upside), Danny Glover (Shooter, Lethal Weapon) and Neal McDonough (“Legends of Tomorrow”) also star in the film that blasts onto digital March 27 and Blu-ray and DVD April 10 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The digital, Blu-ray and DVD releases of PROUD MARY include three behind-the-scene featurettes. “Mary’s World” unlocks some of the mystery behind all things “Mary,” with the cast and filmmakers weighing in on Taraji P. Henson’s kick-ass turn as the assassin nobody sees coming and shows some of the tools of her trade that let everyone know this is one woman you don’t want to accidentally cross. “The Beginning of The End” dives deep into the film’s final set piece with interviews on Mary's signature battle to sever her ties from her former life once and for all. Lastly, not only is Mary about the best there is in the world of hit people … she looks good doing it. “If Looks Could Kill” explores Mary’s signature look and killer style, from her Maserati to the clothes and wigs that become her metaphorical armor.