Arrow Video Targets Sept. 28 For The Release Of A Double-Disc Blu-ray Edition Of Director Ridley Scott's Legend

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has new double-disc Blu-ray edition of director Ridley Scott’s 1985 fantasy adventure, Legend, slated for release on Sept. 28.

Starring Tom Cruise, Tim Curry and Mia Sara, Arrow Video has assembled for this release both the theatrical cut and the director’s cut of Legend, which clocks in at 114 minutes.    

This was a troubled period for filmmaker Ridley Scott.   He had become a brand name with the 1979 release of Alien, but the Dune project blew-up (eventually taken over by David Lynch) and so he turned to Blade Runner and more or less got stuck for a couple of years.  

Reports are that he had wanted to do a fairytale adventure and kept coming back to it, eventually hooking up with writer William Hjortsberg, whose books caught Scott’s attention and so he asked him to craft a screenplay based on Scott’s ideas.  

Numerous revisions took place, but finally Ridley Scott was back in the director’s chair in March of 1984 at the Pinewood Studios just outside of London.  It is here that elaborate sets had been constructed on several soundstages and by late June most of the filming had been completed.   However, during a meal break, the “forest” set caught fire and was destroyed … sections had to be rebuilt at another studio to complete the sequences.

The troubles continued when then head of Universal Pictures, Sidney J. Sheinberg, ordered Scott’s version of the film trimmed to just 94 minutes and all of composer Jerry Goldsmith’s musical score was dumped in favor of more “commercial” material from, are you ready, Tangerine Dream.

Jerry Goldsmith, during his long and distinguished career, was nominated 18-times for Oscars, which is exactly 18 more than Edgar Froese and his Tangerine Dream.  

When the film opened theatrically in April of 1986, roughly two years after production began, critics did not quite know what to make of it.   Alien and Blade Runner and now this, a fairytale adventure with The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Tim Curry, as the Lord of Darkness and a not-quite-established star, Tom Cruise, as Jack o’ the Green, an unlikely hero who must save Princess Lili (Mia Sara in her film debut) from the Lord of Darkness and his evil minions.

Rob Bottin, of The Howling and The Thing, did receive an Oscar-nomination for his Lord of Darkness makeup … and, ironically, Tom Cruise would become a Hollywood star the following month, May of 1986, with the opening of Top Gun, which was directed by Ridley Scott’s brother, Tony Scott.  

As to bonus features, first, as mentioned, there are two cuts of the film.  The theatrical cut and the Director’s Cut (which features the music of Jerry Goldsmith).

The theatrical cut on disc one has commentary from Paul M. Sammon, author of “Ridley Scott: The Making of His Movies,” the new featurette titled “A Fairytale in Pinewood,” the vintage featurette titled “Incarnations of a Legend” and the 2003 documentary, The Directors: Ridley Scott.

The director’s cut disc includes commentary from Ridley Scott, documentary filmmaker J.M. Kenny’s 2002 film, Creating A Myth: Memories of Legend, an alternate opening, a deleted scene and two drafts of William Hjortsberg's screenplay.

 

 

 

AGFA Preps New 4K Film Restoration Of Director Byron Mabe's She Freak For A Blu-ray Debut On Aug. 31

The American Genre Film Archive will be teaming up with Something Weird for the Aug. 31 Blu-ray debut of director Byron Mabe’s 1967 carnival horror tale, She Freak.  This is a new 4K film restoration from the original 35mm camera negative.

As an homage to Tod Browning’s Depression-era classic, Freaks, we meet the busty blonde waitress by the name of Jade Cochran (Claire Brennen — The Domino Principle, Mystic Mountain Massacre), who becomes enamored with the thought of joining a traveling circus when it passes near town (filmed in and around Bakersfield, California) … and impulsively does so.

With her ample talents she quickly hooks up with Steve (Bill McKinney — Deliverance, Cleopatra Jones, Breakheart Pass), who is the money-man of this traveling roadshow and they end up married.   But being a natural-born hustler, Jade can’t pass up the opportunity to sleep with, Blackie, the “muscleman” (played by Lee Raymond), which leads to a death-duel with Jade’s husband Steve … Steve loses, Jade is in charge by default, but the “freaks” will have the final say!!

Bonus features include a vintage commentary with producer David F. Friendman and Mike Vraney from Something Weird, the inserts that were used in the latter “padded” version of the re-released film, which was titled Asylum of the Insane, are included here, there are also vintage carnival midway short films and a collection of Something Weird trailers.

 

VCI Entertainment's New 4K Film Restoration Of Director Archie Mayo's Angel On My Shoulder Will Be Available On Oct. 5 As A Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

VCI Entertainment revealed this past week that a new 4K film restoration, from a collection of prime source materials, has been assembled to yield the best result possible for director Archie Mayo’s 1946 gangster fantasy tale, Angel on My Shoulder.   It will be released as a newly-minted Blu-ray edition on Oct. 5.

Paul Muni, who had gone on the record after his stunning performance as Tony in Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangland masterpiece, Scarface, stating that he didn’t want to be typecast as a member of the criminal element.   He would end up with six Best Actor nominations with wonderful performances in such biopics as The Story of Louis Pasteur, The Life of Emile Zola and Juarez, but this script from playwright Harry Segall and screenwriter Roland Kibbee was just too juicy a “gangster” part to pass up.

Here, Muni is career thug Eddie Kagle, who has just served another prison term, his pals decided that he had out-lived his usefulness and so his good buddy Smiley Williams (Hardie Albright) murders him.   And sure enough, the vicious Kagle wakes to find himself in hell!!

Now the Devil, aka “Nick” (Claude Raines), decides to have some fun with Kagle since he is the spitting image of Judge Parker, a reformer who has been thwarting various schemes.   The plan is simple, Kagle will take over the judge’s body and ruin his reputation.

However, the unruly Kagle, now in the judge’s body, upturns the applecart, falls in love with Parker’s fiancée, Barbara (Anne Baxter — The Razor’s Edge, All About Eve, The Ten Commandments) and despite his knee-jerk tendency to revert to his gangster ways ends up doing the right thing — even forgiving Smiley — in a bittersweet return to hell with Nick, but with conditions.

Bonus features include the 1946 Noveltoon, “Cheese Burglar” and a 1946 newsreel.   The entire package — movie and bonus materials — can be played in “Movie Matinee” mode, which mimics the theatrical experience of the period.

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment Will Release On Blu-ray The Audrey Hepburn 7 Movie Collection On Oct. 05

Paramount Home Entertainment was busy this past week with a series of Blu-ray announcements … so let’s get right to it.

First on the list of new promotions is the Oct. 5 Blu-ray collection titled Audrey Hepburn 7 Movie Collection, which features My Fair Lady, Funny Face, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, Paris When It Sizzles, War and Peace and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Six of the seven films have been released on Blu-ray previously, with director Richard Quine’s 1964 romantic comedy, Paris When it Sizzles, teaming Audrey Hepburn with William Holden (who also co-starred with Hepburn in Sabrina) making its debut here.

All of the bonus features for the previously released Blu-ray selections are included in this package … and all seven films include Digital Copy. 

Also heading home on Oct. 5 is the nine-part mini-series remake of  Stephen King’s The Stand, with James Marsden (X-Men, The Notebook, Hairspray, Into the Grizzly Maze) taking up the Gary Sinise role of Stu Redman from the 1994 original series, Henry Zaga (The New Mutants) as Nick (Rob Lowe), Alexander Skarsgård (Godzilla vs. Kong) as Flagg (Jamey Sheridan), Odessa Young (Looking for Grace, The Daughter) as Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald) and Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail (Ruby Dee).

This new version of The Stand can be purchased in three different ways.   There will be a Blu-ray collection (three disc set), a DVD version (also a three-disc set) or The Stand: The Definitive 2-Series Collection on Blu-ray, which includes both the 2020/21 version and director Mick Garris’ original Emmy-nominated 1994 presentation.

Bonus features include a gag reel and the featurette titled “An Apocalyptic Epic: Adapting The Stand.”

And, on Oct. 12 look for both DVD and Blu-ray editions of the nine-part mini-series, The Haunting of Bly Manor.   Each SKU is a three-disc set, with bonus features include episode commentary options and a pair of featurettes — “Home for the Haunted: The Ghosts of Bly Manor” and “Welcome to Bly Manor.”

 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sets Aug. 24 As The Street Date For Writer/Director Will Gluck's Peter Rabbit 2

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has tabbed Aug. 24 as the street date for a three-SKU helping of writer/director Will Gluck’s live action and CGI tale, Peter Rabbit 2, starring Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and the voice of James Corden as the rabbit named Peter … with the voice of Margot Robbie as Flopsy, the narrator.

The ARR is a swift-to-market 74 days and domestic box office receipts currently stand at $39.3.

Planned for release are a stand-alone DVD edition, plus Combo Packs for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats.

Bonus goodies include two featurettes — “Bunnies, Baddies, and the Big City: The Making of Peter Rabbit 2” and “Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Wee Little Kitchen” — plus how-to videos titled “Bea's Crafting Corner: DIY Bunny Bookmarks” and “Bea's Crafting Corner: Create Your Own Woodland Terrariu.” 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment also added to the release calendar this past week a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack collection of all five movies from the vampire versus werewolf Underworld film franchise.

We begin with director Len Wiseman’s 2003 launch, Underworld, starring Kate Beckinsale as Selene, a “Death Dealer” out to destroy all werewolves, but discovers some nasty secrets when she teams up with a “human” by the name of Michael (Scott Speedman).   The 4K Ultra HD edition includes both the theatrical cut and the extended presentation of the film.

We pick up their story in 2006 with the direct-sequel, Underworld: Evolution, which is followed in 2009 with a “prequel” to the first film and is titled Underworld: Rise of the Lycan … Kate Beckinsale is only seen in cameo performance, with the real focus of the film on Lucian (Michael Sheen) and Viktor (Bill Nighly).

In 2012 we return to the storyline established with Underworld: Evolution and the return of Kate Beckinsale as Selene with the release of Underworld: Awakening, which turned out to be a box office hit despite being the fourth film in the series (usually you begin to see decay in the revenue returns).   The new character of Eve (India Eisley), the daughter of Selene and Michael, is introduced.

Rounding out the five-film collection is the 2016 release of Underworld: Blood Wars.

The Blu-ray companion discs include all of the previously released bonus features.         

 

 

 

Undercrank Productions Targets Aug. 10 For The DVD Rollout Of Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies

Undercrank Productions announced this past week that a double-disc collection of rare silent comedy shorts starring Edward Everett Horton will be heading home on Aug. 10.

One year ago Undercrank’s Ben Model launched a film-fan Kickstarter project to bring all eight of Horton’s comedy shorts to the home entertainment marketplace.   All of the 35mm negatives were stored in the vaults at the Library of Congress … the project was successful and the necessary funding was raised.

Titled Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies, the collection kicks off with Director N. T. Barrows’ August of 1927 silent short film, No Publicity, which teams Horton with Ruth Dwyer (The Brown Derby, The Reckless Age) and Josephine Crowell (The Man Who Laughs).

In October of 1927 we find the next entry, director J.A. Howe’s Find the King, an odd Western comedy that sees Horton as an Eastern dude suddenly in charge of a saloon and involved in a high-stakes poker game with Dynamite Dawson (Jack Curtis) with the hand of the local beauty as part of the pot (played by Violet Bird — Jazzland, The Cyclone Cowboy).

Filmmaker J.A. Howe and Horton will team for the next three short films in the series, all released in early 1928 … these are Dad’s Choice (with Sharon Lynn — Sunny Side Up, Way Out West), Behind the Counter (co-starring Dorothy Dwan — The Fighting Legion) and Horse Shy (with Nita Cavalier).

Director N. T. Barrows rejoins the parade for Horton’s next two silent short films, Scrambled Weddings (Ruth Dwyer is back as Horton’s love interest) and Vacation Waves (Duane Thompson co-stars as Horton’s wife — Her Summer Hero, Wizard of the Saddle).

This ultra-rare collection of silent short films concludes with Call Again, which re-teams him with Duane Thompson under the direction of J.A. Howe.

A couple of things of note.   Horton would go on to be one of the great character actors in Hollywood during the 1930s and 40s, working right up until his death in 1970 (his last screen appearance in director Norman Lear’s Cold Turkey was released theatrically after his passing) … some of his films include Alice in Wonderland (as the Mad Hatter, W.C. Fields was Humpty-Dumpty), The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Lost Horizon, Arsenic and Old Lace and more.

And, many of Horton’s female co-stars in these silent short comedies did not transition into the sound era … the reason for that is a discussion for another time, but it was interesting to note during the research for this DVD release announcement.

 

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selects Aug. 10 For The Release Of DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Profile

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced this past week that writer/director Timur Bekmambetov’s timely media propaganda thriller, Profile, will finally be heading home after an extended journey on Aug. 10 as both DVD and Blu-ray editions.

The ARR comes in at 88 days with box office receipts from the film’s limited domestic theatrical run currently standing at $1.7 million.

Based on Anne Erelle’s tell-all 2015 book “In the Skin of a Jihadist,” the film opened on the festival circuit in 2018 with its debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and then worked the international circuit for the balance of the year before dropping out of sight.  

Universal’s Focus Features acquired the rights in March of this year and moved it into theatres domestically in mid-May.

Valene Kane (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) stars as Amy, a journalist working out of the U.K. who has gone undercover as a recruiter for ISIS to expose their shadowy social media propaganda network, but ends up going over to the dark side.   Based on Anna Erelle’s (a fictitious name … she now lives off the grid under a sentence of death by ISIS) own experiences, the film got lost in the Covid-shuffle and had a domestic theatrical launch before a number of states fully opened back up and thus arrives in the home entertainment marketplace on Aug. 10 after a three-and-a-half-year journey almost unseen.