The Window is a recent Warner Archive Blu-ray release. As usual for the Archive, the video quality is great. The film is a fine film noir about a boy who tells lies but can’t convince his parents that he really saw a murder. I couldn’t find a trailer online.
Category: Film
Miklos Jancso films coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber
This is great news. Jancso’s films have been hard to find here. UK company Second Run has Blu-rays of Silence and Cry and Electra, My Love. It appears that the version of Electra coming from Kino will be a 4K upgrade. Of the six films to be released, I think only The Red and the White was ever in a US edition (Kino Lorber DVD).
The listing on the Kino Lorber site. I ordered mine today.
Kino: New 4K Restorations of Six Miklós Jancso Films Coming Soon to Blu-ray
The French Dispatch
I liked The French Dispatch but it is clever more than it is deep. It has an all-star cast and Wes Anderson uses a wide variety of styles and color schemes. It’s like his The Great Budapest Hotel – style over substance. In that way, it reminds me of late von Sternberg/Dietrich films like The Scarlet Empress.
Here’s a link to Letterboxd
Blobfest 2022 will be in person
I hope the COVID situation has improved enough that they can do this. I also hope they continue to offer an online version including getting merchandise by mail. It’s a great event and I look forward to going again.
Stage Fright (Hitchcock film)
I was pleasantly surprised by Stage Fright (1950) which is not considered one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films. The recent Warner Archive+ Blu-ray looks great. The film is not that suspenseful and begins with a controversial fake flashback.
The strengths of the film are the acting and dialogue. Marlene Dietrich plays an actress and captures your full attention whenever she’s on the screen. I read that she also told the crew how to light her scenes and they are reminiscent of her von Sternberg films. The mostly English cast is fine especially supporting actors Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike. Jane Wyman is understated as the lead and Richard Todd does not make a strong villain. Michael Wilding exudes competence as the detective.
One of my favorite lines: Dietrich asks Wyman how she is but says ” You needn’t go into detail, darling. I hope you’re not going to turn into one of those explicit people who always tell you exactly how they feel when you ask them.”
Jules and Jim – 60th Anniversary
Great article on Peter Bogdanovich
Film director Peter Bogdanovich died on January 6, 2022.
Here’s a great article from a man who found a better version of one of Bogdanovich’s films on eBay.
Federico Fellini born 1/20/20
Warning from Space
Warning from Space is a 1956 Japanese science fiction film featuring ridiculous starfish-shaped aliens. It’s still fun to watch and Arrow Video has released a fine Blu-ray version. It’s the first color Japanese science fiction film.
Quai des Orfèvres
I just watched the Blu-ray version of the French film Quai des Orfèvres (1947) and was very impressed. I knew nothing about it before I saw it but it’s an excellent crime film. The main characters are a cynical police detective and three potential murder suspects who are all liars. It is genuinely suspenseful and we don’t know who the murderer was until the end. It was shot in beautiful dark and shadowy black and white and is well-preserved on the disc.
It was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot who is better remembered for Diabolique and The Wages of Fear. I haven’t seen them yet but I will watch them now.
Actress Suzy Delair had real charisma in this film both in the musical number and dramatic scenes.
Sad! 