Hannah and Her Sisters
from MGM (Video & DVD)
An intimate look at three sisters and the relationships they have with each other and the men in their lives.
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Media Type: DVD
Artist: HERSHEY/FISHER/CAINE/FARROW/WI
Title: HANNAH & HER SISTERS
Street Release Date: 09/21/2004
Genre: COMEDY VIDEO
Considered by many to be Woody Allen's best film, even over Annie Hall. Hannah and Her Sisters follows a multitude of characters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), who plays den mother to her extended family; her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), emotional and a bit of a flake, who's involved with a much older artist (Max Von Sydow), who treats her like a child; and Hannah's other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a neurotic who feels incapable of managing her life. Hannah's husband Elliot (Michael Caine) falls in love with Lee, which sets off a series of upheavals. Allen gives one of his best performances as Hannah's ex-husband Mickey, who--much like Allen himself--is obsessed with death and unhappiness. But a simple summary doesn't begin to capture the warmth and intimacy of this movie; though the story follows a capsizing family, the outcome is surprising, joyous, and richly human. --Bret Fetzer
Ice Station Zebra
by John Sturges
from Warner Home Video
Out of step with the public mood when it was released in 1968, Ice Station Zebra has held up decently as a Guy's Movie. Based on an Alistair MacLean novel, the film is half submarine picture and half spy puzzler, short on action but long on military chatter and espionage gamesmanship. Rock Hudson, looking seasoned and just a little miffed, gives one of his better performances as the captain of a nuclear sub, ordered to the Arctic to check out a disturbance at a research station on the floating ice. He doesn't know the mission, but he's stuck with mysterious passengers: haughty British agent Patrick McGoohan, back-slapping Russian operative Ernest Borgnine, and hostile Marine captain Jim Brown. McGoohan gets the film's best lines and finest fur jacket, but Brown is pretty cool in a smaller role.
John Sturges directs, with customary deliberateness; at times the movie seems to be suffering from iron-poor blood. Much of the dialogue is pretty sharp, especially in the submarine half, enough to keep you engrossed if you're in the mood for this kind of thing. When the action shifts to the ice, the studio-bound sets inevitably take their toll. It's not hard to see how this large, old-fashioned project misfired in the era of Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, but the more tantalizing question is: Why did this movie become an obsessive favorite of Howard Hughes? Maybe he liked how clean it all looks. --Robert Horton
Peyton Place
by Mark Robson
from 20th Century Fox
Nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1957, Peyton Place has become synonymous with torrid soap opera. Though the novel by Grace Metalious is even more sensational, the movie provides plenty of tantalizing story turns--secrets, adultery, rape, bitter parents, frustrated teenagers, suicide, and murder. Multiple storylines deftly interweave: Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi), an ambitious young girl struggling with the neurotic fears of her mother (Lana Turner, in a career-reviving performance) and the neurotic fears of the boy she loves (Russ Tamblyn), while her best friend Selena Cross (Hope Lange) fights off the brutal advances of her drunken stepfather. The movie had to sanitize the novel's New England town in order to get some of the more unsavory plot turns past the censors; ironically, the glossy "normal" surface makes these events all the more shocking, paving the way for David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. --Bret Fetzer
Peyton Place is the sensitive and poignant story of coming of age in a small New England village whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy.
Earthquake
by Mark Robson
from Universal Studios
This essential 1970s disaster epic with a script co-authored by Mario Puzo (THE GODFATHER) centers around a devastating earthquake in Los Angeles and the shocking aftermath it causes. The all-star cast is led by Charleton Heston as a construction engineer whose marital problems supply him with plentiful stress before the quake even hits. The film was presented theatrically with a sound process known as "Sensurround" which caused cinemas to physically vibrate during quake sequences.System Requirements:Running Time 123 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 025193046925 Manufacturer No: 30469
The disaster-movie trend of the early and mid-1970s was starting to wear out its welcome when Earthquake was released in 1974. It's another one of those enjoyably mindless all-star marathons, and the title tells you all you need to know about the plot. Charlton Heston offers his trademark brand of macho courage as the citizens of Los Angeles brace for the Big One--an earthquake that rattles the city to its crumbling foundation. It's got all the sophistication of a Love Boat episode, but the movie's momentum scores high marks (at least on the Richter scale), and the Oscar-winning sound design and special visual effects are still impressive, especially when you consider that advanced computer-graphics effects were still two decades in the future. Genevieve Bujold adds a touch of class to the all-star ensemble, and of course, what self-respecting disaster flick would be complete without a role for George Kennedy? In more ways than one, this cheesy movie rocks! (If you want to re-create the movie's original sound process known as "Sensurround," you'll just have to crank up the bass and subwoofer on your home theater system until plaster cracks and windows shatter!) --Jeff Shannon
Blues in the Night
from Warner Home Video
BLUES IN THE NIGHT (DVD MOVIE)
Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. 1 (Michael Shayne: Private Detective / The Man Who Wouldn't Die / Sleepers West / Blue, White, and Perfect)
by Eugene Forde
from 20th Century Fox
This very welcome box set turns up the heat on one of detective films' cold cases. Created by Brett Halliday, Michael Shayne appeared in 31 books between the 1940s and '70s. He is not as popularly known as other screen shamuses, but he's good company. As portrayed by Lloyd Nolan (best known as curmudgeonly Dr. Chegley on the groundbreaking sitcom Julia), Shayne is not as hard-boiled as Sam Spade or as sage as Charlie Chan. But, as one shady character observes to someone whom Shayne has just pasted, "You know better than to mix with Shayne." He's a working-class mug ("His office is in his hat, his home is in his car," he remarks), usually "down on his luck" and short on cash. As Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1940) opens, the furniture from his office is being repossessed. Still, Shayne has ethics enough to turn down $5,000 for a suspicious-sounding case. ("$5,000 will buy a lot of ethics," he's told). He's got some odd habits, from twirling his keychain to singing the odd Irish ditty. In each film, Shayne manages to get himself into some "screwy scrapes." In Private Detective, a "gag" backfires when an attempt to scare a gambling heiress straight results in a murder with Shayne's gun at the scene of the crime. In The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1942), Shayne pretends to be a wealthy woman's husband to get the lowdown on a body that won't stay buried. In Sleepers West (1941), he's on the right track when he accompanies a murder witness by train to San Francisco. Blue, White and Perfect (1942) is a real gem that finds Shayne embroiled in wartime espionage, smuggled diamonds and dodging his jealous, matrimonial-minded girlfriend.
These lively B-films each clock in at less than 80 minutes. What they lack in budget they more than make up for in shadow-drenched, dark, and stormy atmosphere, Shayne's moxie and inestimable support from some great character actors, such as Clarence Kolb (the crooked mayor in His Girl Friday) and Douglass Dumbrille (the nasty racetrack owner in A Day at the Races), who appear in Private Detective. For a collection of obscure films, this box set has all the trimmings, with three original featurettes that provide efficient primers on Halliday, Shayne, and Robert McGinnis, the artist who created luscious and lurid covers for the Shayne paperbacks. There is also an interactive trivia guide that makes the six-degrees connections between cast members and the film-noir world. This is volume 1, to which we can only say, "Come back, Shayne." --Donald Liebenson
Lloyd Nolan stars as private detective Michael Shayne solving the murder of the boyfriend of the woman he is guarding, investigating multiple murders on an estate, guarding a surprise witness in a murder trial, and fighting diamond smugglers during World
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 20-MAR-2007
Media Type: DVD
Flicka Family Classics Collection (My Friend Flicka / Thunderhead: Son of Flicka / The Green Grass of Wyoming)
by Harold D. Schuster
from 20th Century Fox
My Friend Flicka: This gorgeous 1943 family film stars Roddy McDowell as a Colorado rancher's son who takes a shine to a colt named Flicka and chooses to train her. The boy's father (Preston Foster) isn't happy about the idea: the horse is an offspring of a stormy mare who may not be right in the head. For a while, Flicka seems determined to prove the rancher's point, fiercely resisting young McDowell's efforts at domestication. But persistence and love win the day, and Flicka grows up to be a magnificent animal and friend. The film was shot by director Harold Schuster and cinematographer Dewey Wrigley as if for the ages, marrying such perfect elements as a Technicolor sweep of the beautiful Rocky Mountains setting with a wonderful story, plus McDowell's charismatic earnestness. Based on the Mary O'Hara novel, this film was popular enough in its time to inspire a couple of sequels, though the original best stands up as a perennially worthy adventure tale for kids ages 5 and up. --Tom Keogh
Thunderhead, Son of Flicka: A sequel to the wildly popular, heart-warming children's classic My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead stars the original winsome young Roddy McDowall as the horse-lover against all odds. The sequel is every bit as touching, involving, and misty-eye-inducing as the original film. Thunderhead, a headstrong albino colt, is the son of the mare Flicka, and McDowall's Ken McLaughlin sets out to find out what this wild thing can do. Thunderhead, when given his head, can fly as though winged, so Ken decides to enter Thunderhead in some horse races. But it becomes clear that Thunderhead can fly only if he's free. A tragedy threatens the sweet world that Thunderhead and Ken have created, and only that magical love between child and animal can overcome the stumbling blocks. Thunderhead, Son of Flicka is a worthy successor to the original film, and a touching family film for horse lovers of all ages. --A.T. Hurley
Green Grass of Wyoming: The final installment in Mary O'Hara's landmark horse saga that includes MY Friend Flicka, The Green Grass of Wyoming is a worthy valentine to the love of horses and the wild America they represented in the mid-20th century. Robert Arthur replaces Roddy McDowall as Ken McLaughlin, the boy horse whisperer who connects on a subliminal level with four-legged critters. The equine star is Crown Jewel, a harness-racing trotter for whom Ken has hopes of championships and financial windfalls. But Jewel has something else on her mind--love, for the stallion Thunderhead (star of O'Hara's second installment, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka. Arthur is a talented, charming successor to McDowall, and the breathtaking scenery and cinematography will charm even those film fans who aren't big horse lovers. (Charles G. Clark was nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography.) Burl Ives makes the most of his sidekick role as Gus, and Lloyd Nolan is sympathetic as Ken's financially struggling dad. Extras include a detailed featurette on the life of Mary O'Hara. --A.T. Hurley
Disc 1: MY FRI FLICKA Disc 2: THUNDERHEAD: SON OF FLICKA Disc 3: GREEN GRASS OF WYOMING
Guadalcanal Diary
by Lewis Seiler
from 20th Century Fox
This is a far cry from The Thin Red Line, but it's engaging and efficient World War II propaganda about the opening of the South Pacific campaign that would ultimately turn the tide of the war. Anxious and unsuspecting Marines land on the Solomon Islands and quickly learn how to engage the Japanese in foxhole warfare. It's full of archetypal characters (tough sergeant Lloyd Nolan, Brooklyn cabby William Bendix, lusty Mexican Anthony Quinn, and gravel-mouthed Lionel Stander) and well-staged battle scenes. There's even a battle-weary narration to provide authenticity and historical perspective. All around, a good grunt film. --Bill Desowitz
One of the greatest war movies of all time, combining action-packed, high-caliber battle sequences with quintessential foxhole-buddy camaraderie. Released in 1943, its authenticity and power remain undiminished.
The story follows one squad of Marines through the bloody assaults on the Solomon Islands during the opening stages of the war in the South Pacific. There's the tough sergeant (Lloyd Nolan), a cab driver from Brooklyn (William Bendix), a Mexican (Anthony Quinn) and a chaplain (Preston Foster). A battle-weary narrator reads from a diary, commenting on the typical grunt's everyday life, and death. Battles and dates of engagement are named, putting the explosive action into a solid historical context.
Based on Richard Tregaski's best-selling book, the script is by renowned screenwriter Lamar Trotti, who also wrote the screenplay for the wartime classic "To the Shore of Tripoli."
Island In The Sky (Special Collector's Edition)
by William A. Wellman
from Paramount
Out of circulation for a quarter-century following the death of producer-star John Wayne, Island in the Sky is a tale of survival focused on the pilot (Wayne) and crew of a DC-3 forced to crashland somewhere in the uncharted Canadian wilderness, and the fellow airmen (Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine, Paul Fix) determined to find them before hunger and the 70-below winter do them in. The movie, set in the post-WWII era when military and commercial aviation were still intertwined, was written by bestselling novelist Ernest K. Gann and directed by William A. Wellman, an aviation-movie veteran whose Wings won the first-ever Academy Award (1927-28).
Wellman resolutely downplays the histrionics and conventional heroics; Wayne indulges in none of the macho posturing that his detractors carelessly identify him with, and the crewman who breaks rank in a bid for salvation meets a grim, almost mythically absurd demise. But Wellman also condoned (and himself speaks) the ill-advised narration that aims to tell us what's going on inside the stoic characters. The director does better with throwaway details like the ice pick kept handily embedded in a barracks wall so that pilots can break the frozen skin on their morning wash water. And there's a distinctive war council among the search pilots when no one's quite sure what to do next--the wrong decision could doom the missing crew--and so no one looks anybody else in the face. The black-and-white cinematography by Archie Stout (dramatic scenes) and William H. Clothier (flying scenes) leaves nothing to be desired, and in this crisp restoration it sometimes literally glows.
DVD features
The extras include production reminiscences by William Wellman Jr., assistant director Andrew V. McLaglen, and supporting players Darryl Hickman and Harry Carey Jr.; a short essay on the art of aerial cinematography; and an intriguing profile of Ernest K. Gann, who in his teens directed and starred in a motion picture of sorts. Wayne, Wellman, and Gann reteamed to create The High and the Mighty, much nominated for 1954 Oscars. --Richard T. Jameson
Starring the legendary John Wayne, better known as "The Duke," "Island in the Sky," comes to DVD for the first time and is loaded with special features. This rare classic has been meticulously restored and remastered. A riveting tale of bravery, hope and survival of the human spirit, "Island in the Sky" finds former army pilot Dooley (Wayne) and his men stranded in uncharted sub-arctic terrain when he is forced to crash-land his plane.
The House on 92nd Street (Fox Film Noir)
by Henry Hathaway
from 20th Century Fox
The House on 92nd Street has solid claims to a place in film history, and not just as an engrossing true-life counter-espionage movie. Its working title was "Now It Can Be Told," and its story--about the F.B.I. smashing a Nazi spy ring in New York--involved the stealing of atomic secrets. That surely upped the topical ante for 1945 audiences (who, we may assume, had a lot less ambivalent feelings about the F.B.I. than latterday viewers).
Of more lasting significance, the movie pioneered a salutary postwar trend in American filmmaking: forsaking the Hollywood soundstages and back lot to tap the freshness and palpable authenticity of real-world locations. Shot mostly in New York City, House was a collaboration between 20th Century-Fox and Louis de Rochement, the documentary producer renowned for his "March of Time" newsreels. The working formula of House and its successors was to fully incorporate documentary techniques into the storytelling, and to "film where it actually happened." That included using some nonprofessional performers, sometimes people who had been involved in the case. Fox went on to embrace this aesthetic in not only the de Rochement-produced 13 Rue Madeleine and Boomerang! but also the gangster movie Kiss of Death, the journalistic detective story Call Northside 777, and another F.B.I. case history, Street With No Name. Even the storybook fantasy of the studio's 1947 Miracle on 34th Street was charmingly validated by setting Kris Kringle down amid real New Yorkers and real Gotham grittiness.
Noiristes should stand advised that House on 92nd Street, a key influence on film noir, is not quite a true noir itself (whereas Anthony Mann's T-Men is noir to the max). Even as a German-American double agent, hero William Eythe is unburdened by neurosis or doubt, and the stylistic keynote is documentary gray, not black--though a murder in a railroad yard and the final showdown are memorably stark and dark. --Richard T. Jameson
A stentorian narrator tells us that the USA was flooded with Nazi spies in 1939-41. One such tries to recruit college grad Bill Dietrich, who becomes a double agent for the FBI. While Bill trains in Hamburg, a street-accident victim proves to have been spying on atom-bomb secrets; conveniently, Dietrich is assigned to the New York spy ring stealing these secrets. Can he track down the mysterious "Christopher" before his ruthless associates unmask and kill him?
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