Against the backdrop of the Cold War and a nuclear
arms race came the 1958 novel from two former World War II Navy veterans, Eugene
Burdick and William Lederer. It was
well-received, caused waves of discussion and even, reports say, caused
president Eisenhower to order a review of the country’s Southeast Asia
policies.
The book in question, The Ugly
American, was adapted for the screen by
director George Englund (from a script by Stewart Stern — twice Oscar-nominated
for his screenwriting, Rachel, Rachel and Teresa; he
won the Emmy for Sybil) and
released theatrically in the spring of 1963.
Instead of the book’s vignette approach, Stern simplified the storyline
and focused on the arrival of the American ambassador, played by Marlon Brando,
to the fictional country of Sarkhan (a stand-in for South Vietnam). His slow-to-realize how little U.S. foreign
policy understood about the region and culture plays out against a backdrop of
violence, betrayal and eventual revolution.
Word arrived this past week that Mill Creek
Entertainment will be debuting a Blu-ray edition of The Ugly
American as part of its August mix of
priced-to-collect DVD and Blu-ray product offerings.
The street date will be Aug. 13 … of note, already
in place on that date for release are four new additions to the company’s Retro
VHS Packaging line of priced-to-collect Blu-ray releases (Roxanne, The
New Kids, White Line Fever and True
Believer).
Marlon Brando and The Ugly American, that’s just the
warm-up for Mill Creek Entertainment on Aug. 13. The company also has four-priced-to-collect
DVD releases.
Leading the parade is the four-disc, eight-movie set
titled Hart to Hart: Movies are Murder Collection. Included is this mystery collection, starring
Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as amateur detectives Jonathan and Jennifer
Hart, are all eight of the made-for-TV movies that followed the series
five-year, 110-episode run.
These are (with the original air dates): Hart to
Hart Returns (November 5, 1993), Home is
Where the Hart Is (February 18, 1994), Crimes of
the Hart (March 25, 1994), Old
Friends Never Die (May 6, 1994), Secrets
of the Hart (March 6, 1995), Two Harts
in 3/4 Time (November 26, 1995), Harts in
High Season (March 24, 1996) and Till
Death Do Us Hart (August 25, 1996).
Next up is the double-disc set of Pan Am:
The Complete Series, starring Christina Ricci, Margot
Robbie (who plays Sharon Tate in Tarantino’s Once Upon
a Time … in Hollywood, which opens theatrically on
July 26), Michael Mosley, Kelli Garner, Karine Vanasse and Mike Vogel as crew
members of Pan American World Airways during its heyday in the early
1960s. All 14 episodes are included
here.
Director Marvin J. Chomsk’s 1986 epic two-part
mini-series adaptation of Peter Kurth’s 1985 best-selling novel “Anastasia: The
Mystery of Anna” — retitled for broadcast as Anastasia:
The Mystery of Anna — is also heading home on DVD on
Aug. 13 … and complete with Digital Copy.
Starring Amy Irving as Anna Anderson — the 1920s
mental patient in Berlin who claims to be the surviving daughter of Czar
Nicholas II — and Olivia de Havilland (Dowager Empress Maria), Anastasia:
The Mystery of Anna was nominated for four Emmy
Awards (winning two) and four Golden Globes, winning the Emmy for Best
Supporting Actress for Olivia de Havilland.
Rounding out the Aug. 13 list is Jungle
Book and Friends Collection, which features
full-length animated movies — The Jungle Book, Cinderella, The
Legend of Snow White and Simba
The King Lion: The Last Battle —
plus a Digital Copy bonus that unlocks six additional animated adventures — Welcome
Back Pinocchio, Pocahontas I: Princess of American Indians, The Thief of
Baghdad, The Three Musketeers, Hercules and Robin
Hood. All
for just $9.98 … that’s a deal!!!
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