Icarus FIlms' Master Of The Universe Arrives On DVD This Coming Nov. 18

Icarus Films, in association with KimStim, has tabbed Nov. 18 for the domestic DVD release of German documentary filmmaker Marc Bauder’s Master of the Universe, a systematic dissection of the international financial markets. 

If you want an insiders view of the world of finance, which is, quite frankly, a mystery to most, then there is none better than former German investment banker Rainer Voss.    Filmmaker Bauder set down with Voss — in a cavernous shell of a former financial house of power (it’s all a façade, get it) — to talk about the real “wolves of Wall Street.”   The culture, the greed … the manipulation are all fair game for discussion.   

It could be a dull viewing, but filmmaker Bauder captures the surroundings and trappings of power (stunning cinematography), which is counter-balanced against Voss’ almost mechanical detailing of his rise and fall.

Presented in German with English subtitles.

Cinema Libre's French Affairs Makes Its Domestic DVD Debut On Dec. 16

Actor, writer and now director, Pierre-Loup Rajot’s romantic comedy, French Affairs, will be making its domestic DVD debut courtesy of Cinema Libre on Dec. 16.

When does the therapist need therapy?   That’s the question at the forefront — with lots and lots of complications — in French Affairs.

Do you suppose that time comes when she, Astrid (Maria Caldera — My Stars), the therapist in this case, starts bedding the clientele (Eric Bonicatto)?   Does it come when her secret is unveiled to her son (Yoann Denaive — Opium), who, as luck wouldn’t have it, crosses path with the wife, Céline (Céline Rajot), and reveals what nasty things dear old mom has been up to?

If this little sexual intrigue seems complicated, we are only getting started.   Throw in Céline’s past (ooo la la la), mother-son issues and a man who needed therapy, but got a whole lot more … and will now likely need more professional help.  Oh those French!!!

Presented in French with English subtitles.

Olive Films Prepares Seven Blu-ray Titles For Release On Dec. 23

Olive Films has announced a crowd-pleasing selection of seven new Blu-ray SKUs that are primed for delivery to retail on Dec. 23 … just in time for Christmas!!!

To make the news even sweeter, four of the seven planned Hi-Def releases are film noir treasures, while the other three are from auteur filmmaker Otto Preminger!   So let’s get to the film noir first (in alphabetical order)!!!

Alan Ladd teams with Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling and the future Dragnet team of Jack Webb and Harry Morgan (who play the antithesis of their future selves here) in director Lewis Allen’s 1951 film noir thriller, Appointment with Danger.

Dark City, directed by William Dieterle and released in October of 1950, is next up and it teams Charlton Heston with Lizabeth Scott (and yes, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan are both included in the cast as “bad” apples again).   Heston runs a “sucker’s game” with a group of thugs and Scott spends her time trying to get him to go straight, but when one his marks (played by Don DeFore) kills himself things take a dark turn as his brother (played by Mike Mazurki) sets out to avenge his death.

Next in line we find another entry from director William Dieterle, his 1949 noirish adventure Rope of Sand, which toplines Burt Lancaster in one of his early screen roles (fresh from Criss Cross, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands and Sorry, Wrong Number).   Joining him are Casablanca veterans Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, and Peter Lorre … Corinne Calvet (On the Riviera, What Price Glory, etc.) is the femme fatale here.

The last of the film noir selections heading to Blu-ray on Dec. 23 is the crime thriller/film noir, Union Station.   Directed by Rudolph Maté, this gem opened theatrically two months after Sunset Blvd. and between the two films William Holden went from just being a leading man to the top of Hollywood’s A-list (he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for Sunset Blvd.) … Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Lyle Bettger (Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Greatest Show on Earth, etc.) and Jan Sterling join Holden as the key cast members.

The other three new Blu-ray releases are all from director Otto Preminger: Hurry Sundown (1967, starring Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, Diahann Carroll, Faye Dunaway, Burgess Meredith and John Phillip Law), which has been remastered from original 35mm source materials, the cult comedy Skidoo (1968, an all-star cast topped off by none other than Groucho Marx as God!!!) and Such Good Friends (1971, teaming Dyan Cannon with James Coco, Jennifer O'Neill, Ken Howard, Burgess Meredith and Louise Lasser).

VCI Entertainment Preps Three Mexican Cinema Classics For DVD In December

The month of December brings three additional DVD releases from VCI Entertainment showcasing the popular Mexican horror adventures from the 1950s that the company has been delivering to eager fans of late.

Streeting on Dec. 9 is director Rafael Portillo’s 1957 wrestling superhero thrillers, La Momia Azteca (aka: Attack of the Aztec Mummy) and La Maldicion de la Momia Azteca (aka: Curse of the Aztec Mummy), both starring Crox Alvarado as the masked El Ángel.   

He not only must battle “The Bat” (Luis Aceves Castañeda), who is also known as the evil Dr. Krupp, to save his fiancée Flor (Rosa Arenas) time and again from his evil clutches, but El Ángel also has avoid death from such things as snake pits and when not otherwise distracted he must also overcome a revived Aztec warrior (mummy) known as Popoca (Ángel Di Stefani) who guards a vast treasure.   

This is one busy superhero!

The following week, Dec. 16, VCI Entertainment returns with legendary Mexican filmmaker René Cardona’s 1965 film, Las Lobas del Ring (aka: She-Wolves of the Ring).   This is one of those guilty pleasures where one ignores the plot and just enjoys the various female wrestlers going at it non-stop for a winner-take-all prize of $1,000,000.

All three films are presented in Spanish with English subtitles.

Paramount Home Media Distribution Selects Jan. 6 For The DVD And Blu-ray Debut Of Writer/Director Richard Linklater's Boyhood

Paramount Home Media Distribution opens its 2015 home entertainment release campaign with one of the sure-to-be Best Picture candidates from writer/director Richard Linklater.   

Boyhood, which is certain to earn Linklater his third Oscar nomination for Best Writing (2004, Before Sunset; 2013 Before Midnight), will be available as both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (with UltraViolet) product offerings on Jan. 6, 2015.   The nominations will be announced on Jan. 16 … so the timing is absolutely spot-on.

The ARR is a leisurely 179 days, which makes absolutely no difference because the ultimate success of Boyhood (financially-speaking) will be driven by the Oscar nominations that it is likely to receive.   There was no reason to rush this film home.

The box office tally currently stands at $23.6 million, which has been driven largely driven by word of mouth.  This will change dramatically as we move into the Oscar season … even with the availability of DVD and Blu-ray editions for home viewing.

This indie — and it had to be an indie film production for obvious reasons — is one of the boldest attempts at a non-documentary dramatic film production that one can remember.   The story takes place over a 12-year period, with the same actors, but it is not a documentary like the Up film series begun by filmmaker Paul Almond (and joined by Michael Apted) back in 1964 … that series, produced every seven years, tracks the lives of a group of British school children as they’ve grown over the years to become adults (it is fascinating in its own right).

The protagonist here is Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane – aka: Ellar Salmon), whom we first meet at age six in 2002.   Seriously, 2002 is when the filming commenced … this is not some sort of a CGI-gimmick, the actor is actually a six-year old kid.   

We will follow him — through jumps in time periods — as he grows (and matures) from a child to a young man of 18.   It is through his eyes, and growth, that the story of his childhood unfolds.

Mason’s mother is played by Patricia Arquette (Olivia) … and she too ages like any adult would over a 12-year period.   During the course of the filming of Boyhood she appeared in six additional feature films and was active in not one, but two major television series — Medium and Broadwalk Empire.  

The same holds true for Mason’s father, also named Mason (played by Ethan Hawke — he has worked with Linklater on an on-going basis since 1995), and his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), while the other actors in the production came and went over the years depending on the roles they played … lovers, new friends, school mates, new husband, new wife, etc.   Much like life itself, people come and go.

 

Bonus features are limited to the Blu-ray SKU and these consist of a featurette titled “The 12 Year Project” and question and answer session with filmmaker Richard Linklater and members of the cast.

Also heading to the home entertainment market place during early January are two TV-on-DVD series that are getting full season updates.

Don Cheadele (as Marty Kaan) and his “consultants” are back for more deal-closings on Jan. 13 with the double-disc release of House of Lies: Season Three.

On same street-date Tuesday (Jan. 13), Episodes: The Third Season (also a double-disc set) — starring Matt LeBlanc — will be available at retail for fans to enjoy.

Cinema Libre Tabs Dec. 9 For The Domestic DVD Debut Of The Little Bedroom

What a sweet “little” film (and little in a very positive manner) Cinema Libre has lined up for a domestic DVD release on Dec. 9.  It is titled The Little Bedroom.

The filmmaking team of Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond teamed Michel Bouguet as Edmond (Renoir, Toto the Hero, etc.), an octogenarian with declining health who struggles on a daily basis to hold onto what little freedom he has left, with Florence Loiret Caille as Rose (Le Petite Chambre, Berlin Backstage, etc.), a caregiver who has a sudden life-crisis of her own … and the result is screen magic.

Rose makes the rounds, checking in on the “old” people to see how they are doing.  They are just patients, nothing special.   Edmond is one of those patients … he’s trying to keep one step ahead of being put in a home by his son (Joël Delsaut), who means well, but would like get on with his life.   It is just the nature of things.

When Rose loses her unborn child, she grows distant from her husband (Eric Caravaca), who also wants to get on with things … he has opportunities and now, suddenly, she is standing in the way.   That too is just the nature of a changing relationship.

When Edmond has an accident, it is Rose who comes to his aid, and instead of him being confined to a home she has him move in with her.   Two people connecting, both — as it turns out — needing each other.   Yes. Edmond’s time is short (this will pass), but for now; for this moment this is what it is … a story of tenderness, caring and love.

The Little Bedroom is indeed a sweet “little” film, but it packs one hell of an emotional wallop!

In French with English subtitles.

The Film Detective Announces It First Three Blu-ray Releases For Nov. 25

The Film Detective goes Hi-Def on Nov. 25 with a trio of newly restored classic film selections making their debut on the Blu-ray format.

First up is director Steve Sekely’s 1948 film noir adaptation of the Murray Forbes novel, Hollow Triumph.   Paul Henreid stars as a murderer on the run who hits upon the perfect hide-in-plain-sight identity … only to fall victim to his on cleverness.   Joan Bennett co-stars.

Humphrey Bogart joins Peter Lorre, Robert Morley, Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida in director John Huston’s conmen-conning-conmen comedy, Beat the Devil (the script was provided by none other than Truman Capote).

And lastly, Herbert J. Biberman’s 1954 historical drama, Salt of the Earth — starring Will Geer — will be available for the first time as a newly-restored Blu-ray product offering.