Starting with a quartet of Blu-ray sets for which I provided either booklet essay or commentaries: The Scarface Mob, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Philo Vance Collection and The Nico Mastorakis Collection…
THE SCARFACE MOB, Phil Karlson, director/Arrow (available from Amazon.com)
As I wrote: Famous for its uncompromising violence and channelling of moody film noir techniques – notably its eye-catching black-and-white cinematography – The Untouchables was one of the most impressive television series of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The show did not make a concerted effort to recapture the jazz-era feel of the days of Prohibition, and it notoriously played fast and loose with the exploits of its real-life protagonist, the crime-busting Federal man Eliot Ness. In fact, the deliberately underplayed and undramatic narration by the influential journalist Walter Winchell layered over the show was one of its most inspired elements, giving a sense of documentary realism and journalistic accuracy. This was not a carefully considered, historically sourced evocation of gangland crime in the days of illegal liquor but a kinetic and fast-moving series of clashes between the good guys (the Federal Agents taking on organised crime in a period when gangsters extended their corruption and ruthlessness into both the police service and the judiciary) and the bad guys – initially represented by the most famous gangster of them all, ‘Scarface’ Al Capone. Ultimately, over the course of the series, Eliot Ness and his squad took on many other famous criminals – most of whom actually had no encounters with Ness in the real world. And the spirit of these utterly watchable, fast-moving episodes was more in line with the great crime films of the Warner Brothers studio, which, in their day, brought down fuming censorship wrath on the makers, much as was to happen subsequently with television’s The Untouchables. One of the reasons for the great success of The Scarface Mob is undoubtedly the director chosen to helm this outing, Phil Karlson (1908–85). The Chicago-born director was the perfect choice, not so much for his own attachment to the city but for his expertise gained when helming a series of tough and uncompromising film noirs such as Scandal Sheet (1952), The Phoenix City Story (1955) and The Brothers Rico (1957). It’s Karlson’s work as much as the excellent cast that makes this crime drama as watchable today as when it was first made. The high-definition Arrow Blu-ray release is absolutely eye-popping.
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., Guy Ritchie, director/Arrow
For the booklet of this Guy Ritchie reboot, I noted: The massively popular TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., began as a relatively straightforward spin on James Bond with a strain of humour (parodying the excesses of the 007 film series – even though that series itself quickly moved into self-parody), but it allowed the two protagonists – the American Napoleon Solo and the Russian Illya Kuryakin – to function (just about) as credible secret agents within their glossy context. For the retooled film iteration, the British director Guy Ritchie was signed – not least on the basis that, although the U.N.C.L.E. franchise was some considerable distance away from his highly successful Cockney crime debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), the filmmaker had a knack for delivering projects that functioned successfully on the action level while still providing affectionate and humorous badinage between his lead characters (take, for example, his Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr adopting an English accent alongside Jude Law as an exasperated Watson). Producer John Davis agreed with Ritchie that the notion of feuding ‘frenemies’ would be the hallmark of the new Solo and Kuryakin partnership – something that Ritchie could handle with ease. The finished film premiered in Barcelona in August 2015, and audiences could finally decide whether they would take on board British actor Henry Cavill (then ensconced as cinema’s Man of Steel in Zack Snyder’s new take on Superman) and the actor Armie Hammer (who had made a mark in The Social Network (2010).
PHILO VANCE COLLECTION, Various directors/ Kino Lorber
Back to commentary duty (with Kim Newman) for this set based on S.S. Van Dine’s bestselling novels. These classic Pre-Code murder-mysteries showcase the sardonic and debonair detective Philo Vance, incarnated by the suave William Powell (famous for another sleuth, Nick Charles –The Thin Man). THE CANARY MURDER CASE (1929) has a scheming showgirl known as The Canary murdered, as is a lone witness to the killing; Philo Vance is swiftly on the case. The film co-stars screen great Jean Arthur along with legendary and iconic Louise Brooks as the conniving Canary. THE GREENE MURDER CASE (1929) has Members of the wealthy, but unpleasant Greene family gather at a gloomy old castle to establish the terms of a will. THE BENSON MURDER CASE (1930) has a ruthless, crooked stockbroker killed at his luxurious country estate, and Philo Vance happens to be there to investigate. With brand New 4K and 2K Restorations of the films, this set is surely tempting for aficionados of vintage filmic detection.
THE NICO MASTORAKIS COLLECTION/ARROW
Who is Nico Mastorakis? Is he the Greek filmmaker responsible for some striking and gruesome horror films? Or the director of some zany and ribald comedies? Or the journalist who interviewed seventeen arrested Greek students, who were later brutalised by the military regime? In fact, he is all of these and more – for instance, he was involved in the creation of a television channel in 1993, and when posing as a musician he inveigled his way onto the yacht owned by the millionaire Aristotle Onassis, whose guests included Jackie Kennedy. In fact, Mastorakis will probably be best remembered as an enthusiastic purveyor of lively pulp movies in a variety of genres, from the gruesome Island of Death in 1975 to the irreverent comedy Glitch! (1988), with its zany mix of comic gangsters and skimpily dressed wannabe film starlets. The fact that Mastorakis has been successful in a variety of fields (creative and otherwise) is testament to both his flexibility and his instinct for making the kind of films that audiences wanted to see. This generous collection from Arrow features a wide range of the director’s quirky movies in impressively restored prints.
SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, Barbet Schroeder, director/Indicator
It’s sometimes a slow process – the way in which certain actors and actresses find themselves plucked out from their colleagues and ensconced as cult performers who can always supply something different and off-kilter. The classic case in such syndromes is, of course, the highly individual Jennifer Jason Leigh, and this impressive reissue of one of her signature films is a reminder of how she attained her current status. It’s a well-structured character piece which moves inexorably towards a truly unsettling conclusion. Both actresses – Leigh as the flatmate from hell and Bridget Fonda as her hapless victim – deliver remarkable performances.
CASH OUT, Randall Emmett, director/101 Films
This highly professional heist movie is something of a discovery and deserves more attention than it has hitherto received. Professional thief Mason attempts his most ambitious heist with his brother, knocking over a bank. When things go kaput, they’re trapped inside surrounded by law officers. Mason negotiates with his ex-lover, the lead negotiator. On solid form, John Travolta teams up with Kristin Davis for an ingenious heist movie with its own identity,
WHO SAW HER DIE? Aldo Lado, director/Shameless
Once a despised genre (principally because of the crass dubbing they were invariably subjected to), Italian crime thrillers (or gialli) have undergone a major critical re-assessment, with their visual stylishness and imaginative plotting now celebrated. This is partly due to the availability of prints in Italian, and the effect is immeasurably more interesting – as with Aldo Lado’s Who Saw her Die? comprehensively proves. The actor George Lazenby famously jettisoned his chance at taking over from Sean Connery as James Bond, walking out on the role after On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Here, however, he gives a professional performance – looking very thin compared to his 007 stint – as Franco Serpieri, a sculptor separated from his wife (giallo regular Anita Strindberg). He takes their young daughter Roberta (perennial juvenile Nicoletta Elmi), to holiday with him in an unwelcoming Venice but Roberta is in the sights of child-killer lurking in la Serenissima. Intriguingly anticipating Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, the film also stars another Bond alumnus in Adolfo Celli, who played the villainous Largo in Thunderball. There’s a choir-based score by Ennio Morricone and atmospheric cinematography by Franco Di Giacomo’s in this 2K-restored version.
THE BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING, Corey Yuen, director/88 Films
The athletic Jet Li displays his superlative martial arts skill as Hui Ching-Yeung, a Chinese bodyguard commissioned to protect Michelle Yeung, the lover of a rich businessman when she is witness to a savage killing. As ruthless killers circle, Li‘s abilities are tested to the limit – and inevitably, the Li character comes closer to Michelle, Bodyguard from Beijing is a kinetic fast moving pulse raiser; sharply directed by Corey Yuen, with Jet Li watchable as ever.
A MAN CALLED TIGER, Lo Wei, director/ Eureka Entertainment
Eureka Entertainment continues its solid service to the martial arts genre with Lo Wei’s colourful outing, starring the charismatic (and formidable) Jimmy Wang Yu. This Blu-ray is sourced from a new 2K restoration, with the film making its debut in the UK, and North America, as part of the Eureka Classics range. It’s produced by Wang Yu (celebrated for The One-Armed Swordsman) and directed by the efficient Lo Wei, who helmed the Bruce Lee vehicles The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. A Man Called Tiger has Chin Fu (Wang Yu) finding that his father’s apparent suicide was – in fact – murder. Travelling to Japan, he is soon in violent conflict with the yakuza. Fans of the actor and director need not hesitate.
DANGER MAN: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, various directors/Via Vision
Many ‘classic’ British crime and thriller series were formulaic and uninspired: viewed today, such shows as The Saint and The Persuaders have little to offer beyond foggy memories. But there’s an exception to this rule: Patrick McGoohan’s proto-Bond series Danger Man, which enjoyed a healthy run as both half-hour and hour shows, before metamorphosing into the cult series The Prisoner. This set of the complete 30 minute and hour long shows is a real treat, and while no one could claim that these earlier episodes (in which McGoohan was forced to sport a mid-Atlantic accent for American sales, subsequently dropped) have the richness and sophistication of the hour-long shows that followed, these are all highly accomplished, fast-moving mini-dramas, with a wealth of British acting and directing talent making an early mark (Bond director John Glen, for instance, demonstrates his editing skills before his groundbreaking 007 stint). McGoohan is always impressive: stern, sexually attractive to women, but always maintaining a monk-like celibacy. Patrick McGoohan, a maverick talent and prickly man who never quite achieved the Hollywood stardom that appeared to be his due (possibly because of his unbending moral code – the very code that made him turn down the libertine role of 007) still appeared – with distinction – in such films as Time to Kill and Braveheart. And while the enigmatic The Prisoner remains his magnum opus (as co-creator and actor), this distinctive series wears very well. An irresistible package.
BRUISER, George Romero, director/Indicator
There are a variety of directors who are stars in the firmament of modern horror filmmakers, but few have the cachet that the late George Romero had after such films as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. The director’s reputation is such that aficionados seek out his lesser-known work, hoping for unfamiliar gems. Romero directs Jason Flemyng, Peter Stormare and Leslie Hope in the unsparing and eccentric Bruiser. As a man discontented with both his homelife and his career, Henry (Flemyng) is prey to grim reveries. When he awakens to discover that his face has been replaced by a featureless mask, he embarks upon a gruesome orgy of revenge. Very different from the director’s other work, this is still essential viewing for the Romero enthusiast. Bruiser was seen as a solid return to independent filmmaking for the director.
ISLAND OF FIRE Yen (Kevin) Ping-Chu, director/88 Films
Four implacable men try to survive inside a brutal Taiwanese prison. Steve (Jackie Chan) is a gambler dealing with his past while Andy (Tony Leung) is an undercover policeman. Lee (Andy Lau) is a criminal in search of vengeance and John (Sammo Hung) is a lifer hoping to reconcile with his son. Producer Wang Yu here assembles several key talents in Asian action cinema, cheerfully borrowing from a variety of sources and producing a very lively mix that ends – unsurprisingly – with an all-stops-out showdown.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Jonathan Demme, director/Arrow
Looking better than ever in stunning 4K UHD, Jonathan Demme’s take on Thomas Harris’ groundbreaking novel is as unmissable in its new livery as one might expect. As I wrote in my study of the film (published by Auteur): ‘History can repeat itself. Just as Thomas Harris’s novels Red Dragon (published 1981) and The Silence of the Lambs (1988) represented a double whammy that permanently reconfigured the crime fiction genre (and, as a byproduct, the entire field of horror fiction), so the subsequent successful films of the books performed a shift in popular crime/horror cinema. Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1981) in particular inaugurated changed the effects of which are being felt to this day (not least in the freighting in of extra layers of texture and resonance into the narrative structure).’ The film remains as impressive (and horrifying) as ever today, not least for the stunning performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.
NIKITA, Luc Besson, director/StudioCanal
As Nikita, a violent street punk turned sexy, sophisticated and lethal assassin, Anne Parillaud is hypnotic, as are Jean Hugues Anglade and Tcheky Karyo, as the two very different men in her life. And still with acting honours, there’s a memorable cameo by the great Jeanne Moreau. Besson’s powerful action thriller is now available for the first time in 4K, and this definitive limited edition 3-disc SteelBook sports an entire whole disc of new bonus material and interviews. The memorable score is by longtime Besson collaborator Éric Serra (The Big Blue), and the cinematography is by the reliable Thierry Arbogast.
ORGASMO, Umberto Lenzi, director/88 Films
While the names of directors such as Bava, Argento and Martino have acquired the patina of a certain respectability, Umberto Lenzi had more notoriety attached to his name, notably for such films as Eaten Alive and Cannibal Ferox, grisly entries in the cannibal stakes that so upset the censors back in the 1980s. But the recent re-emergence of such films as Orgasmo has reawakened interest in his immensely prolific career. Imported US star Carrol Baker Is a rich widow who returns to a luxurious home in Italy, finding she is in the sights of a mysterious but good-looking stranger and his sexy sibling. An erotic psychological thriller, presented here as the director intended.
