ATLRetro

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE– 1974
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman
Director: Joseph Sargent
Rated: R
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Region: Region Free 4K Ultra HD disc, Region A Blu-ray Disc
Release Date: December 20, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit); English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Run Time: 104 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

There’s a remarkable efficiency to the traditional hijack film; everyday people going about their everyday business, suddenly find themselves at the mercy of a few greedy, entitled, weaponized maniacs. This scenario presents a most basic and human conflict that requires little backstory or explanation of motives. It’s a thrill of disruption we can all relate to and hopefully only ever view from a vicarious stance. Joseph Sargent’s 1974 feature THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is textbook hijacking that tasks one of the world’s largest transportation authorities with the simple job of coughing up a million bucks for eighteen lives.

Based on the novel by John Godey (aka Morton Freedgood), the plot is as basic as a hijacking plot needs to be: Robert Shaw’s Mr. Blue and his three blandly color-coded partners descend upon a New York City subway train, dressed alike and armed with machine guns, ready to bill the City a million in cash for an hour of their time at the cost of a handful of voters lest the money be delivered one minute past the time allotted; then it’s one body per minute until the bounty arrives. The MTA savvy Mr. Green (Balsam) is essential in helping facilitate communications and mechanics while hot-headed Mr. Gray (Elizondo) and quiet Mr. Brown (Hindman) run crowd control on the single car of eighteen people the men have separated from the rest of the train. Between telling people to “shyaaad-up” back at NYC Transit Police Headquarters, Lieutenant Zachary Garber (Matthau) does his damnedest to negotiate with the inflexible Mr. Blue and his very specific demands.

What plays out is not only the rescue of eighteen innocent people but evidence of the power a handful of thugs can have over one of the biggest cities in the world. The math doesn’t add up. The problem isn’t gun-toting ruffians with dollar signs in their eyes (those types are forever ubiquitous); the problem is a city on the brink with major money troubles and a crumbling infrastructure. All it takes is four armed men to bring the entire town to its knees.

New York City is its own worst enemy in this film. City authorities are complacent, lazy, and in the case of the mayor (Lee Wallace) who is sick in bed, downright fearful. Mr. Blue and Mr. Green are pulling the city’s strings, while Mayor “Mr. Yellow”—wrapped in yellow blankets and pajamas—frets over a paltry million dollars (a little over six million in 2023 dollars) as he watches game shows from his bedroom in Gracie Mansion. Meanwhile the Transit Police remain nonplussed by the subterranean standoff, and lest we forget the undercover officer on the train who only reveals himself at the last minute, even then of little help. It’s the bureaucratic stranglehold of civic duty that results in the singular heroic act of the film from motorman Caz Dolowicz (Tom Pedi) who charges headlong into the fray, and pays the ultimate price for a city who can’t get its act together. Its gross mismanagement demands a different set of priorities from its servants making Dolowicz indifferent to the hijacking. “I’m warnin’ you, mister, that’s city property you’re fooling around with!” Dolowicz shouts to Mr. Gray. “Why didn’t you go grab a goddamn airplane like everybody else?”

Heroics aside, it’s the fear of a teeming, displeased public at large that scares the mayor into finally handing over the ransom money. Desperate more for acceptance than a solution, the mayor’s wife eloquently puts things in perspective for him by noting that paying the ransom ultimately means “18 sure votes.” And as the mayor agonizes over marginal votes and petty cash, Police are gathered at subway entrances to not only aid in apprehending the hijackers, but to control the angry crowds for when the mayor finally arrives on scene.

Cooler heads prevail… sort of. While Misters Blue, Green, Grey, and Brown cripple the entire city, Lieutenant Garber is literally all colors as indicated by his multicolored plaid shirt. And while also a byproduct of poor city management—note the obnoxious yellow tie around his neck—he eventually casts his bureaucratic nature asunder and realizes a few simple lies to the hijackers will buy everyone a little more time.

New York City administration fumbles its way through the entire movie. Even as the cash is being delivered, police are subject to the city’s natural disorder and must contend with traffic issues and car accidents. They get no dispensation for being the authority. The police are as much at the mercy of the city as the city is at the mercy of Mr. Blue and his cohorts.

You won’t find a cast of such grizzled performers anywhere else so perfect for 1970s New York. Shaw, Matthau and company have been through the wars and are the brutal sages from the days when old men still ran barber shops. They don’t make ‘em like those guys anymore.

And how can we forget that pounding, iconic David Shire score that is New York itself transformed into sound. Shire evokes structure amongst chaos with a jazzy funk that echoes the turbulent city we see on film. The singular riff that bangs out the credits almost sings to us, “ONE, TWO, THREE.”

Kino Lorber presents THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE on 4K UHD disc. The 4K features a brand new commentary from film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. This single new supplement is also included on the Blu-ray Disc in the set which contains the original bonus features from Kino’s 2016 home video release.

The film bets big on the entertainment value of regular people in trouble who are counting on an unreliable system to bail them out. It’s a visceral conceit that transcends crazy people, loaded weapons, and irresponsible civics, and appeals to the simple desire of going about our business and the power that authorities have to ensure that freedom. An amazing film, a great presentation. Recommended!

 

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

FRENCH NOIR COLLECTION – 1957-1959
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Jean Gabin, Marcel Bozzuffi, Annie Giradot, Gérard Oury, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Nicaud, Lino Ventura, Franco Fabrizi, Sandra Milo
Directors: Gilles Grangier, Édouard Molinaro
Rated: Not rated
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: A
BRD Release Date: November 29, 2022
Audio Formats: French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratios: 1.66:1, 1.37:1, 1.33:1
Run Time:  300 minutes total
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

Noir flicks are usually good for scratching a moody itch. Style is the name of the game, typically supplemented by some oozy shadows, a girl in trouble, and a private detective who says stuff like, “dame” and “broad.” Take all that and put a French spin on it, and you’ll be surprised at how unsettling the combo can be. The folks at Kino Lorber put this mix to the test with their new FRENCH NOIR COLLECTION featuring three parables of unsavory deeds that’ll exploit your emotions and reveal your own darkest allegiances in the face of infidelity.

Gilles Grangier’s LE ROUGE EST MIS (1957) (a.k.a. SPEAKING OF MURDER) is a pretty standard caper at the outset. It’s got the usual set of heavies, their hideouts, stashes of guns, and getaway cars. Louis Bertain (Jean Gabin) and his crew know their business to a T: get in, get the money, get out, change the plates on the car, hide the guns, etc. Louis even has a garage business that works as a great cover and gives him access to any number of vehicles. And while Louis may be a hulking, middle-aged grumpy gut, he still lives with his mother (who may or may not be around the same age), and he’s incensed to learn that his cuckold brother Pierre (Marcel Bozzuffi) is still fooling around with two-timing floozy Hélène (Annie Girardot) the hairdresser who is only interested in him for his promise of fur coats and all that entails.

Sure there’s another caper to be had in this film, but the story is Louis’ intervening in his brother’s relationship. Louis goes out of his way to woo Hélène away from work to not only vet her gold-digging tendencies, but to also threaten her to keep away from his baby brother. But should Pierre find out that Louis is spooking his girl, Pierre may turn out to be the authorities’ best informant regarding a string of robberies happening in and around Paris.

If it wasn’t written by French crime novelist Auguste Le Breton (Rififi), Le Rouge Est Mis — which translates directly as The Red Light is On — could easily be a bedroom farce or an episode of Frasier. This film is wildly entertaining from start to finish, and the rate at which the narrative unfolds is atypical of what most would consider “film noir.” Cinematographer Louis Page doesn’t go all-in for the noir look, but presents the film the only way the story will allow — quick and to-the-point, never exhibiting any of the usual noir flair involving deep shadows, dark alleyways, and convenient window treatments.

Beyond lacking the usual noir tropes, the heart of this movie is less interested in thrilling with swashbuckling robberies and daring-do, but is rather more compelled to appeal to audiences’ frustrations regarding family business — as in not minding one’s own. Louis’ inevitable downfall doesn’t necessarily occur by way of mouthy informant, but by his need to protect his brother from the dangers of a bloodsucking Jezebel. The thieving and murdering and evading the cops suddenly doesn’t seem so bad and it’s the business with Hélène that sticks in your craw. The opportunistic hussy is where the noir lives in this film, and it’s the distraction included that throws Louis off his game that causes him to miss the rat right under his nose.

Louis Bertain may be good at what he does, but even the best crooks are susceptible to complications beyond simply being chased by the cops. Any expectations for a moody noir thriller are swept away with Italian-esque expediency to reveal a narratively infuriating denouement where the only score to be had is made of astrakhan.

Few things are as satisfying as witnessing a man execute an elaborate blackmailing scheme on his cheating spouse. In Édouard Molinaro’s 1958 film LE DOS AU MUR (BACK TO THE WALL), Jacques Decrey (Gérard Oury) plays a vengeful long game against his wife Gloria (Jeanne Moreau) and her lover Yves (Philippe Nicaud) after quietly busting them being more than friends upon his early arrival home from a hunting trip. Jacques proceeds to squeeze the bedswerving pair for money (some of it his own) posing as one of his former employees, and does it all while keeping a straight face at home. He may come across as a cuckold to some, but Jacques has balls of steel, and his endgame isn’t what you think.

Jacques’ resolve appears obvious at the beginning of the film as he is seen silently and meticulously disposing of a man’s body by encasing it inside a concrete wall being constructed at the factory he runs. What proceeds is the events leading up to this macabre scenario told in flashback.

What LE ROUGE EST MIS lacked in noir stylings, LE DOS AU MUR more than makes up for, at times leaning into the gothic with thick inky shadows, dense fog, and an unexplained, but strikingly poetic, voice-over narration. Based on his novel, co-writer Frédéric Dard’s blackmailing plot gets pretty confusing later in the film, but at that point, it’s less about the journey and more about the destination. And with a story so well-executed, viewers can trust that a satisfying (though tragic) resolution is on the way.

There are secrets and then there’s confidentiality, and it’s important to know the difference. Jacques goes the distance when it comes to confidentiality — he never has to explain what he’s up to, and it’s what keeps his covert deeds somewhat redeemable. He’s simply not talking. But as far as adulterous lovers go, secrets are essential, especially when you’re hawking your own jewelry to keep your blackmailer’s mouth shut. Ultimately, silence is where it’s at, and it’s imbedded into this film right from the start as the opening credits roll over a hushed car ride to the apartment where Jacques has located Gloria’s classified companion. Ironically, even silence has devastating consequences as eventually confidentiality and secrets are revealed without anyone ever uttering a word.

Director Édouard Molinaro’s noir stylings return in this set’s final film, UN TEMOIN DANS LA VILLE (1959) (WITNESS IN THE CITY), and infidelity is the catalyst for murder yet again, except this time the situation is exacerbated by a rejected cab ride.

The film begins with a woman being thrown from a train. We soon learn she was ejected from the speeding locomotive by her lover Pierre (Jacques Berthier) who is acquitted of the murder minutes into the film. Authorities are led to believe the woman committed suicide and Pierre walks home a free man; waiting for him there to settle the score is his lover’s husband Ancelin (Lino Ventura) who is all set to exact the perfect murder when the cab Pierre called moments before, arrives to find no Pierre. From this point on a relentless blood hunt ensues as Ancelin prowls the streets of Paris tracking down the cabbie Lambert (Franco Fabrizi) who may suspect his foul play.

The film goes big on the usual noir tropes, exchanging voice-over narrative for a cool jazzy score. And much of the story takes place at night and on many a wild car chase through dim-lit Parisian streets. The camaraderie amongst the cab crew is infectious exposition. The hardscrabble gang of chauffeurs becomes a lovable union of pals we’re all rooting for by the end as they rally to stop the maniacal Ancelin. At that point Ancelin has shown his true colors and we care less about his getting away with a revenge killing and more about seeing Lambert and his girl Lilliane (Sandra Milo) run off and get married.

Molinaro’s film successfully manipulates the viewer’s emotions, at first convincing the audience of a satisfying revenge killing that eventually shifts our allegiance from the murderer to a pair of lovebirds who dominate the tale. And as Ancelin reveals his bloodthirsty ways, some may even begin to question how sordid the film’s opening really was, becoming unsure of what they truly witnessed, and dubious of any feelings about the vindictive murder that Ancelin was set to get away with.

Kino Lorber presents these three films in its FRENCH NOIR COLLECTION on high-definition Blu-ray Disc. Trailers for each of the films are the only special features. It’s a crime that the extras are so scant in this set; these films are rich enough in style and theme to at least be worthy of a few commentaries if only for insightful observation.

The prospect of French film noir may summon some snoozy reactions, but these movies are anything but. From bombastic robberies and their daring getaways to cuckolded husbands and their nefarious labyrinthine schemes of revenge, Kino’s collection is a surprise trio of refreshingly twisted and thoughtful tales of crimes of the heart.

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

 

 

 

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI – 1920
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover
Director: Robert Wiene
Rated: Not rated
Studio: Eureka Entertainment
Region: Region Free
BRD Release Date: December 5, 2022
Audio Formats: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Run Time: 78 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

In the last decade, it seems like anything in film that’s a little weird or unsettling gets slapped with the label of being “Lynchian,” as in David Lynch–ian. But if you do your homework, you’ll find out that what those people really mean to say is “expressionistic,” which not only sounds less like someone trying to be the coolest person in the room, but is also closer to the actual truth.

While German Expressionism only has a short tenure in the timeline of art history (lasting from around 1910 until the mid-1920s), filmmakers continue to refer to it today, constantly finding new and exciting ways to disturb us. The reality is that anything in film that’s given us the wim-wams in the past century or so most likely has the psychological frustration of a socio-economically battered war-torn country to thank. And those films that so adequately evoke troubling nightmarish moods are particularly indebted to Robert Wiene’s 1920 expressionist masterpiece, named by Roger Ebert as the first horror film, DAS CABINET DES DR. CALIGARI (THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI).

What Caligari (Werner Krauss) is a doctor of, we don’t really know at first. His title suggests a level of expertise beyond the common man that permits him to do things like set up at the local fair with his somnambulist sideshow partner Cesare (Conrad Veidt) and solicit people to ask the sleepwalker spooky questions like “How long will I live?” only to receive frightening answers like, “Till the break of dawn.” According to Caligari, Cesare is twenty-three years old and has been asleep for his entire life, awakened only in short spells to exhibit his clairvoyant proclivities to the morbidly curious masses. Oddly enough, Caligari and Cesare’s arrival in the German town of Holstenwall, where our story takes place, conveniently coincides with a string of mysterious murders that include one victim who had been particularly inquisitive about his own fate.

The story unravels in a bit of a cat-and-mouse fashion that culminates in the lead character Franzis (Friedrich Feher) following Caligari to an insane asylum where it is revealed that the doctor is a madman executing a grand experiment in murder. Or is he? The narrative is made all the more refreshingly grim by the framing story that sets up Franzis as the narrator, subsequently suggesting that the account of Dr. Caligari is Franzis’ own mad ravings. This insinuation is fortified by the wild, dreamlike sets and makeup that form the world Franzis speaks of, tying the film up with a big expressionistic bow.

Franzis may be the one telling the story, but it’s Caligari who is in charge of what happens. Whether Caligari is the maniacal mad scientist experimenting with the extremely pliable will of a somnambulist, or the seemingly benevolent asylum director, the film’s conclusion belongs to the doctor either way. And whatever audiences choose to believe about the movie’s final seconds, the doctor — and in this case, the authority — is never held accountable for the actions of which he is accused. Although film scholars throughout history theorize that THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is a reflection and a comment on the authoritarianism that ran rampant in Germany through World War I, screenwriters Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz claimed no conscious parallel was made to the context of the sociopolitical state of Germany at that time.

Whatever the contextual case may be, a kind of statement on the abuse of authority is apparent, imparting upon audiences the dire consequences inflicted upon those in its wake — in this case, a state of unbalance and disorder as reflected in the movie’s expressionistic style. The people are at the mercy of their leadership, and some are “Cesares” that are manipulated into enacting the questionable will of those in charge, and some are “Alans” and “Franzises” who wind up dead or insane as a result of unhinged corruption and desire for control.

When Franzis is first seen telling his account of Dr. Caligari, his audience is an elderly man who appears half awake as his eyelids droop and his eyes roll back in his head. A case can be made that the story we see unfold in the expressionistic realm isn’t from inside Franzis’ head but rather the dreams of the man to which he’s telling the story. The thematic implications are the same, but the idea that the story seen could be from either man’s mind provides the audience with a maddened experience shared with the characters in the film. We are as baffled by how the story is told as by the story itself. The entire narrative becomes fluid by the end of the movie, as multiple resolutions from multiple perspectives become possible. It is pure subjectivity, and the experience is as unsettling as the imagery of the film itself. And of all art movements, expressionism arguably relies the most on the subjectivity of its participants.

The film’s striking imagery and unnerving narrative combine in a moment of ghastly perfection when Cesare eerily creeps into the home of Jane Olsen (Lil Dagover) — Franzis’ love interest — as she sleeps. Cesare, in a strange bit of action with his gaunt, ghostlike performance, removes part of Jane’s windowpane and stalks through her bedroom with a knife in his hand, intent on murdering her as she sleeps. The sequence plays out at an ominous and lengthy pace, and is the most haunting and immediately threatening moment in the film. The scene is a sublime instance of the beauty and beast dynamic that will drive the motivations of monsters for decades to come.

Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema imprint presents THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI on 4K UHD. This presentation is the same as the Blu-ray release from 2014, with a few notable new features. Eureka’s limited-edition set includes a 100-page booklet, exclusive box art, a new commentary by film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons, and a new score by composer Uwe Dierksen and Hermann Kretzschmar. And for anyone needing a crash course in Weimar Era art history, look no further than the 52-minute documentary “Caligari: The Birth of Horror in the First World War” included in this set. Other features include a video essay by film critic David Cairns and an interview with film critic and author Kim Newman.

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is so influential, and continues to be, that to see it for the first time now presents nothing “new.” It’s tropes and imagery have been referenced for over a century in films. And whether filmmakers realize they’re cribbing this movie or borrowing from some other influence, the truth is that all roads lead to CALIGARI. Expressionism, Impressionism, post punk, goth, Lynchian, whatever you want to call it, this film is more than the result of an art movement, it is a movement in and of itself inspiring multiple genres across generations. It is ground zero for filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and David Lynch, and punk rock would be remiss to not acknowledge appropriating elements of its disjointed, gloomy aesthetic.

CALIGARI’s timeless effect is the result of our response to it. It burrows into our brains and knows right where to hit us. It knows how to trick us in the ways we want to be tricked without ever cannibalizing its narrative. CALIGARI, rather grows its narrative with the questions it conjures within us. It knows unanimously what gives us the willies, suggesting its moral superiority, and alleging our own proclivities for depravity. It never tells us what to think, but rather infers what we might. Through its audience, the film perpetuates its own existence, and over a hundred years later, we remain astounded by its purity and perplexed by its moral accuracy.

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

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by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

 

INVADERS FROM MARS – 1953
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Helena Carter , Arthur Franz , Jimmy Hunt , Leif Erickson , Morris Ankrum
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Ignite Films
Region: A
BRD Release Date: December 16, 2022 – Also available on 4K UHD
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Run Time: 78 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

In 1953, the “Red Scare” was in full swing and Hollywood got busy processing the zeitgeist through filters of monster attacks, giant bug infestations, and alien invasions on film. Anti-communist sentiment was seeping into every aspect of life, and the cold war mentality became de rigeur for Americans of all ages. One thing we could all depend on was that the government, police, military, and especially our parents had our best interests in mind and stood ready to protect us from all comers, right? Right?

Not in INVADERS FROM MARS. Director William Cameron Menzies’ take on mid-century anti-commie allegory scared the bejesus out of every kid that sat through a film house matinee on a Saturday, saw it on television years later, and even – I have to admit – watched a high definition restored Blu-ray of it as an adult.

Little David (Jimmy Hunt) MacLean wakes up during a storm at night to see an eerie green flying saucer land behind a hill in a field beyond his backyard. Father Leif Erickson goes to investigate and disappears. When he returns, it’s clear he has been… turned. He swats David for back-talking, stares sternly into the middle distance just beyond the camera, and can hardly wait to take his wife out to the field so that she can be turned as well. As David tries to warn his neighbors, the buried saucer, and its alien crew, suck more and more of them under the sand, including the Chief of Police and other authority figures.

Menzie’s dreamy production design (which the film comes by honestly) is a wonder unto itself. Supersaturated colors cast the impressionist sets into a chiaroscuro landscape right out of a Gustave Doré etching. Infinity ceilings and impossibly long hallways accentuate the clutching panic that grows for David as everyone he turns to for help has already become “the enemy.” Eventually, he is believed by social worker Carter and astronomer Franz who rally the troops to assault the alien invaders.

It’s not hard to see the kind of impact this film had on young viewers, many of whom grew into young adults in the mid-1960s and changed the world by questioning authority and speaking truth to power here in America. It may as well have been the seed planted for many members of the counterculture, and if so, Menzies’ powers of suggestion were greater than he ever knew. An illustrator and designer who worked on many classic films with his name above the credits, INVADERS FROM MARS is his master work as a director.

Ignite Films pulled out all the stops for their presentation of the film on Blu-ray (and 4K UHD), starting with a truly impressive restoration from the surviving original film elements and even a few scenes from dupe prints for a new 4K scan. The picture has never looked so good, with saturation and film grain balanced well, and black levels well stabilized. The Master Audio mono sound mix is robust and translates both music, dialog, and sound effects nicely. Supplemental materials are abundant with featurettes on the restoration, interviews with Hunt and others, a round table style discussion with film directors John Landis, Joe Dante, editor Mark Goldblatt , special visual effects artist and two time Oscar Winner Robert Skotak (foremost expert on the film), and enthusiast and film preservationist Scott MacQueen, and much more including a twenty page booklet written by MacQueen. My copy even came with a pin-back button of the head (literally) Martian!

This package elevates Ignite Films to a new level in the pantheon of media distributors. Here’s hoping its success spurs them on to other such projects. INVADERS FROM MARS is my choice for restoration of the year for 2022.

 

 

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

 

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

 

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME – 1923
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Branson Hurst, Ernest Torrence
Director: Wallace Worsley
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Eureka Entertainment
Region: 2K Blu-Ray: Region B – UK & Ireland
BRD Release Date: October 17, 2022
Audio Formats: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA. Silent with musical score
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Run Time: 100 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? And what’s a good underdog story without a little bullying? In most cases, the misfit with the outlying idiosyncrasy is picked on by some equivalent of the captain of the football team, and by the end of the film, the narrative takes a turn, and the hardscrabble hero emerges victorious. You can see it coming a mile a way, but the comeback story is always entertaining because we love to see “losers” win. What does that say about us? Whether they’re a weirdo, an eccentric, a screwball, or a maverick, we somehow relate to the struggles of the odd person out.

The thrill of the underdog narrative has been a staple of storytelling since the beginning of time — see also, the Gospels. It’s hard to pin down when and where this brand of entertainment began at large, but it’d be easy to assume Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris was one of the earliest. Better known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo’s novel originally focused on an array of characters around the famous church, but over time became the more specific story of the deformed cathedral bellringer and his rise to tragic heroism.

Universal Picture’s 1923 film wasn’t the first motion picture adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but it was the first time a film featured Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) as the main character. Despite actor Lon Chaney’s passion and involvement in the making of the feature, the character of the Hunchback still seems to have to fight for top billing amongst a long list of cast members. At its heart, this version The Hunchback of Notre Dame is Esmeralda’s story.

With more plot than you can shake a stick at, Universal’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is the outrageous story of a Romani woman being kidnapped several times by various scheming and incompetent men. The basic premise is along the lines of a really juicy soap opera, falling just short of shocking resurrection (though this film nearly contains a parallel for it when a man thought dead, isn’t).

The story bobs and weaves across a variety of kidnapping attempts behind motives that, aside from the good old fashioned cheating suitor, are never clearly explained. In the end, the only male in the film who performs as anything resembling a hero, is the hunchback bellringer Quasimodo when he rescues Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and offers her sanctuary inside Notre Dame as a legion of vagrants mount an attack on the massive cathedral.

The motivation for Quasimodo’s compassion emerges from Esmeralda’s respect for him. She’s the one person who treats him with sympathy and kindness after he’s bullied and lashed before a crowd of people as he’s crowned King of the Fools. Quasimodo’s heroism comes as a refreshing take on the traditional rescue. His motives aren’t steeped in love, lust, or romance, much less any sort of bravado, but rather grounded in kindness.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME premiered in the height of the silent film era. It’s excessive plot requires an amount of patience and attention. The prospect of watching a silent film these days is usually met with a degree of respectful apprehension. One must prepare for the event of watching a silent film. The idea that only music will be present to guide viewers through actually paying attention to the action as the occasional narrative insert moves the story along is an embarrassingly relatable assertion. That said, audiences will be relieved to know that the film clips along at a cracking pace. In fact, its convoluted narrative is almost too much for the mildly toilsome process of watching a silent film. So much happens in such a short amount of time that the story becomes a little confusing to follow, but the execution is a testament to the film’s efficiency.

Audiences will find any other silent film apprehensions swiftly abated upon the appearance of Lon Chaney’s Quasimodo and the enormous, lavish set pieces that dress the film. The Hunchback was a passion project of Chaney’s that he’d sought to get off the ground for several years. His performance as the cathedral chimera evokes a tangible grotesqueness that is as visually off-putting to the audience as it is to the people who seek to abuse him for his deformities. Chaney additionally applied his own makeup and likely acted as director for much of the film. Wallace Worsley is credited as director but only after Chaney’s original choice, Erich von Stroheim, was fired by Universal chief Irving Thalberg before production even started. Some have suggested that Worsley was merely a craftsman who managed production while Chaney directed the performances.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is presented in high-definition on Blu-ray Disc from Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema imprint. The disc boasts a 4K restoration of a 16mm print, a haunting score by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Laura Karpman, and a new audio commentary by author and critic Kim Newman and author Stephen Jones. Two new featurettes with Newman and film historian Jonathan Rigby provide a wealth of insight into the history of The Hunchback on film as well as Universal’s 1923 production.

The role of the underdog is a thankless one. In the case of Quasimodo, it’s quite tragic. And in what is otherwise a pretty kooky plot, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME not only appeals to our need to see the bullies get what’s coming to them, but doubly satisfies with terrific spectacle and charismatic performances.

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith. 

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

EYES OF LAURA MARS – 1978
2 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Faye Dunaway , Tommy Lee Jones , Brad Dourif , Rene Auberjonois , Raul Julia
Director: Irvin Kershner
Rated: R
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: Free
BRD Release Date: October 18, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 103 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

With a screenplay by John Carpenter and David Zelag Goodman  and a cast featuring one recent and one future Academy Award™ winner as well as several multiple-time nominees, EYES OF LAURA MARS should be a classic of the thriller genre, a notable pin on the map of suspense films. So why isn’t it? Producer Jon Peters and director Irvin Kershner. This is a film made by a hairdresser with a big-shot girlfriend and his yes man, and it shows.

Which is not to say that either of them never improved or did better work; on the contrary. Peters went on to produce many great films, and Kershner went on to direct better films. Eyes was Peters’ second film as producer, after mega-hit A STAR IS BORN (1976), so he might be forgiven a bit of brash egotism after being given carte blanche by the studio for his next effort. As he matured into the role of executive producer, his work improved and includes AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981), RAIN MAN (1988), and BATMAN (1989). Kershner was at the beginning of a string of films for which he was hired specifically for his reputation for pliability and his willingness to let strong-willed producers take the reins. His follow-ups for this picture were STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for George Lucas and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN for Kevin McClory. He spent the final years of his career directing television and the lackluster ROBOCOP 2 (1990).

The duo’s faults are evident in self-indulgent story choices, stilted performances from a stellar cast, ham-fisted attempts at creating suspense, endless exposition scenes, and a hand-wave of a plot device – Mars “sees” murders of her friends and colleagues through the eyes of the killer, psychically – that’s never questioned nor explained. I’m certain the screenplay was a taut thriller and it might have been done justice by a more experienced producer and a director like Brian De Palma, at the height of his powers in 1978. As it stands, what we get is a soggy mess of a disco era mystery that mystifies the viewer, with protagonists who are far less interesting than the supporting characters. The most watchable and entertaining people in the film are Rene Auberjonois as Mars’ manager Donald, and Darlanne Fluegel  as doomed model Lulu. The photographic tableaus by Helmut Newton are dazzling as well.

Kino Lorber’s presentation of the movie on Blu-ray seems a bit of shovel-ware, to be honest. Sourced from an existing master that’s been released twice already by competitors, the picture has some issues with color and contrast balance, especially in darker scenes. Film grain bloom is distractingly evident. The single audio track is quite good, and in fact seems better than the one included on the disc released by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2019. Though listed as a “Special Edition” on the Kino website, the only special features on this single disc are a legacy commentary by Kershner (natch, as he passed away in 2010), a making-of featurette from 1978, a featurette with commentary on the photographs in the film, and trailers. Not a very special edition at all.

EYES OF LAURA MARS has a pedigree that should have delivered a better viewing experience, and Kino Lorber has a reputation for releasing better product than this. It’s hard not to be disappointed on all levels by this presentation. Give it a pass.

 

 

 

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

 

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

Review by Randi Tucker
Contributing Writer

For adults who loved the Harry Potter books in the 1990s and were spellbound by the movies in the 2000s (and for their kids who are getting to know them now), HARRY POTTER: THE EXHIBITION is a must-see-and-do experience in Atlanta. But hurry, the magic only happens through February 28, and starting January 17, take advantage of buy-one, get-one-free tickets on Tuesdays.

Billed as “a groundbreaking touring exhibition that celebrates the iconic moments, characters, settings, and beasts as seen in the Harry Potter™ film series and the Wizarding World,” HARRY POTTER THE EXHIBITION was even more magical than this reviewer imagined. Equal parts museum (original costumes and props from the Harry Potter and FANTASTIC BEASTS movies, as well as the HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD play, are on display behind glass cases) and interactive technological experience, the exhibition offers fun for both longtime Harry Potter fans and newer generation guests.

Upon entry, choose your favorite house, wand, and patronus, and enter your identification information to go with it. This will all be important later, so don’t skip this step! A guide takes you into the exhibit and begins the experience with a brief quiz. Here you get a chance to see your name on the Marauder’s Map. Mischief Managed!

Next, take a self-guided tour of the remainder of the exhibit. There are rooms and rooms and more rooms (did I mention many rooms?) of artifacts, information and interactive activities to see and do. Just when you think you’ve come to an end, you turn a corner and the exhibit keeps on going. Conservatively, I’d say you need a few hours to really experience everything. As a huge Harry Potter fan myself, I seriously could have used a half-day here, but my family had other ideas.

For an extra fee, an audio tour is available as a complement to signs posted throughout the exhibit, and I recommend it for people who have time to linger in each room as it plays. For those who are time-crunched, much of the info can be read quickly on the posted signs.

The exhibit is filled with interesting details in every nook and cranny, so keep your eyes peeled for these details. Holes labeled “Look Here” are not to be looked over. Pro tip: look up and down, not just around (i.e. take note of the floors and ceilings). In addition to marveling at the movie memorabilia, you get a chance to earn points for your house when you practice spells, brew a potion, plant a mandrake, read your future in a crystal ball and hone your quidditch skills. Don’t miss any of these interactive experiences! They are hands-on fun for all ages.

Also, there are so many Instagram-able areas of the exhibition. Sit in Hagrid’s massive chair in his hut, perch behind Professor Umbridge’s desk in her puke-inducing pink office, pop out of Newt Scamander’s case of fantastic beasts, place a call in the Ministry of Magic telephone booth entrance and even lie back in Harry’s cramped cupboard under the stairs, for the picture-perfect pose. Take time to also make the magic happen with the elder wand and see yourself in the pensieve. You’ll need someone to capture these extra moments for you, as a selfie won’t do.

Definitely take a look at your professional photos that the staff took of your group at the entrance. Though you might not want to shell out extra dough for the photos on the spot, you will be instructed on how to view the photos later online, and you can also purchase them at that time. Remember that identification information I said would be important later? This is when you’ll need it.

Don’t miss the gift shop and café! In addition to limited-edition, exhibition-specific merchandise, the gift shop offers loads of fan-favorite merch and even bottled butter beer. The café is a great spot to sit a spell and sip on a signature drink (mocktails and cocktails available) and enjoy a meal or snack. There are fun things to read and see in the café as well, so don’t skip it, even if you aren’t hungry or thirsty.

Suffice it to say, visiting HARRY POTTER THE EXHIBITION made this muggle’s day!

HARRY POTTER: THE EXHIBITION is located in the 200 Peachtree Building at 155 Carnegie Way NW. More information and tickets are available here. Choose general admission, VIP or flextime tickets for adults, children and groups, based on the day and time of your visit. Prices will vary; and starting January 17, take advantage of buy-one, get-one-free tickets on Tuesdays.

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

 

MANIACAL MAYHEM: THE INVISIBLE RAY, BLACK FRIDAY, and THE STRANGE DOOR — 1936, 1940, 1951
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake, Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel, Charles Laughton, Richard Stapley, Sally Forrest
Director: Lambert Hillyer, Arthur Lubin, Joseph Pevney
Rated: PG
Studio: Eureka Entertainment
Region: B
BRD Release Date: October 17, 2022
Audio Formats: English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Run Time: 230 minutes total
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

 

Anytime the name Karloff is blasted across a film’s title card in big, scary letters, audiences can pretty much count on a degree of the macabre to grace their forthcoming entertainment.

“Karloff” is such a fitting name to correlate with horror, it seems strange that it was devised before the fame of Universal’s FRANKENSTEIN came to Boris Karloff. If it weren’t for the name belonging to the actor, “Karloff” could very well be its own title for a horror film; in fact, it is sometimes seen before or bigger than the titles of the films it’s featured in. The name evokes the exotic and mysterious, and is strange enough to warn viewers that they’re not in Kansas anymore. The name so easily rolls off the tongue that it seems a miracle of marketing; a perfect conceit designed to transmit its associations exactly.

William Henry Pratt chose the Boris Karloff pseudonym at the beginning of his acting career with the very intent to assert an exotic sensibility. The name Karloff is said to be derived from the Pratt family’s Slavic roots; however, this is just one of many theories regarding the moniker. At any rate, “Karloff” was good enough for Universal to bill the actor for several years so garishly. The final instance of Karloff’s singular label occurred in 1936 with the movie THE INVISIBLE RAY, which is the first of three Boris Karloff films in Eureka Entertainment’s new MANIACAL MAYHEM collection.

THE INVISIBLE RAY is the textbook mad scientist tale of Dr. Janos Rukh who is intent on harnessing the power of an ancient element known as Radium X. Rukh invites a group of colleagues to his gothic laboratory, and using a powerful telescope and the ancient light rays of the Andromeda galaxy, demonstrates that Radium X exists in the form of a meteorite that crashed in southern Africa millions of years ago. There are probably less convoluted ways to go about discovering an ancient radioactive element, but where’s the fun in that?

Once Rukh is able to exploit the power of Radium X, he’s not only melting rocks and scaring the local natives, but he’s also glowing in the dark and losing his temper. Rukh’s precarious condition becomes compounded by a little IP infringement and good-natured infidelity, sending him into a murderous mindset. Upon pursuing his colleagues to a conference in Paris, the maddened doctor becomes hellbent to use his rock-melting ray gun to dispatch the expedition team that did him so wrong.

As if “Karloff” alone wasn’t enough to get asses into seats, Universal doubles down in THE INVISIBLE RAY and casts Bela Lugosi as Rukh’s contemporary, Dr. Benet. Playing against type, Lugosi’s Benet is cool and collected and only wants to help his comrade. Benet is one of Lugosi’s most reserved and mature performance, demonstrating what he could be capable of aside from the usual demented heavies and crazed monsters. And despite being equipped with the kitschy traits of a Batman villain, Karloff never takes his performance over the top, but does convey an elevated sense of the maniacal. He’s frantic and harried, but never as nutty as rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the next step of his scheme. Rukh comes across more troubled than downright evil.

With more plot than the story needs, THE INVISIBLE RAY is a brisk account of too much science in the hands of an emotionally driven individual, which is usually bad for characters but great for entertaining. And showcasing just the right amount of weirdness with impressive special effects, this Karloff vehicle is a thrilling entry in Eureka’s MANIACAL MAYHEM collection.

The title BLACK FRIDAY may evoke some sort of interstitial holiday-themed horror about a bloodthirsty mob of Christmas shoppers. Instead, the 1940 film is a switcheroo tale that has little to do with the penultimate weekday aside from an unfortunate accident involving a carload of gangsters and a literature professor occurring on a Friday the 13th.

Karloff is Dr. Ernest Sovac, seen at the very beginning of the movie being escorted to his execution. On his way to the chair, Sovac shares his final notes with a newspaper reporter, retrospectively permitting the audience to learn how the good doctor arrived at this mortal predicament.

Essentially told in flashback, BLACK FRIDAY is more a story about Sovac’s colleague than Sovac himself. The doctor’s journal reveals the tale of how his friend, literature professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges) suffers severe brain injuries after being on the business end of a carload of gangsters

in hot pursuit of rival thug Red Cannon (also Stanley Ridges). Cannon and Kingsley are both injured in the accident, and Sovac being the doctor on scene, tends to the two men.

Once Sovac learns that Cannon is privy to a hidden pile of cash to the tune of five-hundred thousand bucks, the doctor starts daydreaming about the kind of laboratory that amount of money could buy. This, of course, steers Sovac into concocting a little surgery, transplanting the good parts of Cannon’s brain into the dying parts of his friend Kingsley’s in hopes that the mixing of minds will reveal the location of the gangster’s secret stash.

Sovac’s procedure saves Kingsley’s life, but before long, the dweeby, good-natured professor begins to exhibit unsavory proclivities. Sovac gets more than he bargained for as Cannon’s personality sporadically takes over Kingsley and sets about exacting revenge on the group of gangsters that ran him down. From this point on, Sovac is not only desperate to achieve his original motives, but he’s at the mercy of a gangster gone wild. And much like Dr. Frankenstein, Sovac has created a monster.

Karloff basically plays second fiddle to Ridges for the rest of the film, which unfolds like a Jekyll and Hyde story. There’s hardly any redeemable characters, especially since Karloff’s motives are so misguided to begin with. He doesn’t perform crazy experimental brain surgery to save his friend, he does it in hopes to uncover a gangster’s ill-gotten gains. What’s more, is Sovac had to anticipate some degree of identity crisis in order to learn where Cannon hid his money. This puts Sovac in an even more diabolical role for risking his friend’s mental state. Yet, somehow, the film seems to want to audience to sympathize with Sovac. Sure, he’s in a mess, but it’s a mess of his own making under the guise of a really troubling rationale.

BLACK FRIDAY pairs Karloff with Bela Lugosi in the credits once again. This time, Lugosi is one of Cannon’s adversaries and never really engages Karloff in the sense audiences might expect. The role of Sovac was originally written for Lugosi, but Karloff showed interest, so the part went to him instead. Lugosi, however, may have been better suited as Sovac considering the scheming nature of the part. Lugosi’s Marnay is a pretty stale character, and doesn’t demonstrate the actor’s strengths. Lugosi is fine in the role, but any actor would have been just as suited for it.

BLACK FRIDAY is another example of science gone mad; however, the film doesn’t know quite know what it wants from its audience. It’s easy to sympathize with poor professor Kingsley who never asks for anything that happens to him. Meanwhile, Karloff’s reserved disposition doesn’t villainize him, yet his dubious motives are the driving force of conflict in the film. And while Karloff and Lugosi may be enough to get the audience’s attention, it’s Stanley Ridges’ cracking performance as he darts between the mild-mannered Kingsley and the disreputable Cannon that viewers won’t want to miss.

The third and final film in Eureka’s collection is the 1951 gothic period thriller THE STRANGE DOOR. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story “The Sire de Maletroit’s Door,” Universal’s adaptation stars Karloff in a supporting role next to the scene-devouring Charles Laughton who portrays the film’s heavy.

In yet another story of elaborate revenge, Sire Alain de Maletroit (Laughton) entraps local high-born scoundrel Denis de Beaulieu (Richard Stapley) in a barroom brawl that stages him as a murderer. Beaulieu makes a break for it, and in his escape from the pursuant mob, he happens across the de Maletroit estate secured by its “strange door.” Beaulieu finds more than the refuge he bargained for inside, falling right into de Maletroit’s trap.

In the spirit of big gestures, it’s revealed that Alain’s snare is part of a much larger, longer grudge against his brother Edmond (Paul Cavanaugh) who he’s secretly locked up in a dungeon for the past 20 years. The duplicitous Alain intends to force his niece Blanche (Sally Forrest) into marrying de Beaulieu as an insult to her father Edmond, with the underhanded arrangement of holding the couple prisoner on the de Maletroit estate. This is all part of Alain’s over-baked revenge directed at Edmond for marrying his unrequited love who died giving birth to Blanche. It’s a lot to process.

Karloff plays the family servant Voltan, who spends most of his time tending to Edmond and sneaking around the mansion peeping through holes in the walls. At one point, Edmond asks Voltan to kill de Beaulieu, but de Beaulieu isn’t quite the scum everyone thinks he is, and he and Blanche eventually fall in love causing big problems for Alain’s once air-tight plans for vengeance.

THE STRANGE DOOR is a wonderful show of excess on several fronts, with a scene-chewing Charles Laughton leading the way. Laughton picks this film up and runs away with it; it’s a shame he didn’t have a mustache to twirl to make him all the more devious. From sets and costumes to Laughton and his band of bloused bullies and their meticulous scheming, this movie is a delightful cartoony extravagance that will give viewers a heart-racing case of the wim-wams in its final anxiety-inducing moments.

Eureka Entertainment presents these three Universal horrors in high-definition as an exciting two-disc, Blu-ray set, packaged in a limited-edition slipcase. Special features include three chatty and insightful commentaries from film historians Stephen Jones, Kevin Lyons, Kim Newman, and Jonathan Rigby, along with three radio adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Sire de Maletroit’s Door.” A limited-edition booklet with new essays from film writers Andrew Graves, Rich Johnson, and Craig Ian Mann is also included in the first 2000 copies.

Invisible rays, a gangster with two brains, and a ruthless patriarch, MANIACAL MAYHEM never falls short of deranged individuals making everyone’s life a living hell, yet Karloff’s performances throughout evoke a quieter madness: something more troubling that greed or revenge. These films boast Karloff’s subtle abilities as a performer, oddly with roles that are seemingly more fit for an over-the-top talent. This Eureka collection offers a revelation of Karloff as he taps into the internal, tortured aspects of these disturbed characters, and conveys the unspoken human elements of maniacal movie monsters.

 

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

By Contributing Writers
John Michlig and Anthony Taylor

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK (SPECIAL EDITION) – 1978
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus, Dana Andrews, Lloyd Haynes
Director: Ted Post
Rated: PG
Studio: Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Region: A (Locked)
BRD Release Date: August 20, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 95 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

There are a certain set of expectations when cueing up a Chuck Norris film that GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK does not live up to, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Norris’s role in GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK is the debut of the persona he would eventually make famous. His previous film and debut as star was 1977’s BREAKER! BREAKER!, which was not at all in the vein of the eventual stoic martial-arts-hero-doing-helicopter-kicks character he would portray for the balance of his career. However, one of the reasons this film is genuinely entertaining is the fact that Norris hasn’t yet latched onto the simpler “fighting fury” cartoon his subsequent roles encompassed.

After an intriguingly long and eerie opening credits sequence (the ’78 version of “hi-tech visuals”–and all that implies – accompanied by a soundtrack that still haunts me) the film opens in Vietnam, circa 1973, where we meet a wise-cracking dressed-in-black special ops crew – the Black Tigers – and get to know them well enough to be deeply disturbed when we witness a POW rescue attempt gone wrong (and, as made clear on the 2K Master, very obviously shot day for night ). Also disturbing is Chuck Norris, who portrays Major John T. Booker, parading around without his signature mustache or beard.

After that tragic sequence of events (the failed rescue, not the facially bald Chuck visage), we fast-forward to 1978, where we see Booker racing cars. From the track, he goes directly to a small classroom where he is a professor teaching a class on the Vietnam war.

See what they did there? Our guy is an intellectual, sure – but he also races cars, so we know he hasn’t shed his adventurous side and gone all egghead. That’s not all; Professor Booker is openly critical of the Vietnam war and America’s role in the conflict, which is pretty darn forward-looking for a late-seventies adventure flick.

He meets Margaret (Anne Archer), who stays behind after his lecture and says she is a reporter digging up information on his unit’s failed raid in ‘Nam and possible government complicity in the disaster. At the very same time, it appears that members of Booker’s Black Tigers team are being eliminated one by one. As per adventure film guidelines, Booker “gets with” Margaret, culminating in a truly rare – but entirely period-accurate – shot of Norris in “tighty whities.” Their coupling is not entirely arbitrary however, as it provides an opportunity to show Booker enduring night sweats as he relives wartime nightmares.

GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK is Norris’s breakout film, but it’s surprisingly – and refreshingly – free of the action-drenched, by-the-numbers formula that made up his subsequent films. This may be attributed to the direction by Ted Post, who helmed HANG ‘EM HIGH, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, MAGNUM FORCE, GO TELL THE SPARTANS, and NIGHTKILL.

After the opening Vietnam sequence, the film becomes more political thriller than the patented Norris martial arts blur of combat that became his trademark (James Franciscus is a perfect smarmy politician). Good Guys is a film that Norris constructed and pitched, not a vehicle he merely climbed aboard. We get a peek at some elements of the Norris-to-be, particularly when he watches a plane, in which newfound bedmate Margaret is a passenger, vaporize soon after takeoff, and we never hear her mentioned again in the film.

The KL Studio Classics Blu-ray presentation includes energetic and genuinely entertaining commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, a “making of” featurette, an interview (curiously unedited) with director Ted Post, radio and TV promotional material, and theatrical trailers.

Revisiting this film for the first time in many years was a real pleasure, and it’s highly recommended for both Norris fans and action/thriller lovers. Get to the chopper!

–John Michlig

 

 

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE – 1935
3 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Jean Hersholt, Carroll Borland
Director: Tod Browning
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Warner Brothers Archive Collection
Region: A
BRD Release Date: October 11, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Run Time: 60 minutes
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A remake of director Browning’s most infamous lost film LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, MARK OF THE VAMPIRE lands wide of the mark, missing the bullseye by a fairly wide margin while remaining a stimulating viewing experience.

Though Lionel Barrymore (IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, KEY LARGO) is ostensibly the star of the picture, the real attraction for modern viewers is the tantalizing glimpse of what LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT might have offered, as well as Lugosi’s first revisit of Dracula under the guise of Count Mora. Also of note is the introduction of Carroll Borland as Mora’s daughter Luna, who provides the original visual pattern for multiple generations of Goth girls – inspiring not only Charles Addams’s Morticia and Wednesday Addams, but Lily Munster and the likes of television horror hosts Vampira and Elvira as well.

In 1927’s silent LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, Lon Chaney played three different parts, as assayed in this film by Barrymore, Atwill, and Lugosi – much more a tour de force performance one would assume without being able to actually see the film, which was by many reports no more successful creatively than this talkie remake. Lugosi would go on to play similar vampire roles in THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE, and finally returned to the role that made him world famous as Dracula in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN in 1948. What sets this film apart is the feeling that Lugosi – having been a major horror film star for four years at this point – is letting it all hang out as Count Mora, playing the role of Dracula as he would like to have played him 1931. More toothy, less verbose (he has almost no dialog whatsoever), and really leaning into the campiness of the stereotype he provided in Dracula. This performance almost plays as a parody of Count Dracula, and it’s enjoyable because he was embracing his destiny to be the go-to visual for vampires in media for time immemorial. Likewise, amateur actor Borland is really only in the film as set dressing, but she is unforgettable and iconic as the vampire girl Luna. In two possible cinematic firsts, she provides a performance embracing female-on-female vampire activity as well as the first recoil and hostile hiss by a vampire – something that has become de rigueur for night walkers when faced by a cross or holy water in subsequent genre films.

Where MARK OF THE VAMPIRE fails is at a story level. The convoluted screenplay produced an original edit of the film that ran twenty minutes longer than the version released to theaters, which hints at a lot of subplots and scenes that were ultimately deemed superfluous by the studio. Whether they might have made the farfetched plot more palatable is hard to say – as it stands, the plot isn’t difficult to follow, but it’s not even remotely realistic – but should that matter in a film about “vampires” that looks this gorgeous? Art direction and set design far surpass that of Universal’s DRACULA, with MGM a latecomer to the horror film, throwing money at the latest box-office-darling genre. Cinematography by L. William O’Connell and John Stumar set the mood well, and acquit the story with appropriate gothic panache.

Warner Brothers Archive Collections presentation of the film was sourced from a new 4K scan from the original nitrate negative, and the results are impressive. Picture density, film grain, detail, and contrast are all the best I’ve ever seen for this title, and absolutely worth the purchase price. Supplemental features include a legacy commentary by author/critic Kim Newman (Anno Dracula) and writer/editor Stephen Jones is entertaining and informing, as it’s more of a conversation between two film loving friends than dry historical annotation. Also included are “A Thrill for Thelma” – a 1935 featurette unrelated to the film, as well as a Harmon-Ising cartoon, The Calico Dragon and the film’s original trailer. Only the feature is in HD.

Though the production history and performers and creators of this film are of more interest than the film itself, I still recommend grabbing a copy. For a film with this much historical significance to Lugosi/Browning completists as well as vampire lovers, this disc is worth picking up.

–Anthony Taylor

 

*Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

*When he’s not hanging around the top of the Empire State Building, John Michlig spends his time writing books like It Came from Bob’s Basement, KONG: King Of Skull Island, and GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action. Read more at The Fully Articulated Newsletter and The Denham Restoration Project.

 

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

By Lucas Hardwick
Contributing Writer

 

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

 

 

DRESSED TO KILL – 1980
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon
Director: Brian De Palma
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: 4K UHD Blu-Ray and 2K Blu-ray, Region Free
BRD Release Date: October 25, 2022
Audio Formats: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265 (70.00 Mbps)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Run Time: 104 minutes
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The lament of the sexually frustrated housewife gets everyone rooting for adultery. It’s never not a shame to see a beautiful woman carnally neglected or subject to something as mundane as “married sex,” or in the case of Angie Dickinson’s Kate Miller, obligatory sex. But where there’s smoke there’s fire and where there’s a sexually frustrated housewife, there’s a split diopter and a cross-dressing maniac with a straight razor, eventually making us all complicit to murder. Brian De Palma spells out the consequences of this particular instance of infidelity in his 1980 thriller DRESSED TO KILL.

Kate Miller has needs just like everyone else, the extent of which is luridly expressed in the film’s opening scene as her fantasy of being violently ravaged in the shower unfolds before revealing a two-pump chump reality. Kate is not a satisfied woman. That’s not to say her husband isn’t a good-looking man. He’s quite handsome, but he’s not a guy who’s really into “needs.”

It’s no surprise that Kate 1) sees a therapist who very openly, yet somehow very professionally, confesses that he’d like to sleep with her, and 2) that she’s willing to side-step a few Commandments when Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome takes a seat next to her at the art museum.

In what amounts to a horny game of cat-and-mouse, Kate and her handsome stranger pursue each other through the labyrinthine museum, culminating in a sultry cab ride that puts Kate in Mr. Handsome’s bed without her panties. Mr. Handsome’s name is Warren Lockman (Ken Baker), and at least part of Kate’s apprehensions are realized when she discovers Mr. Lockman has a venereal disease after pilfering the man’s desk drawer while he sleeps. This is only the beginning of a fatal exacting of Murphy’s Law for poor Kate.

Her walk of shame is interrupted when she goes back to retrieve her wedding ring from Lockman’s apartment. At this point Kate is feeling pretty low; she’s going to be late getting home, she’s cheated on her husband, and she may have a gnarly venereal disease pulsing through her veins. Things couldn’t get much worse—that is until she winds up on the business end of a straight razor at the hands of a strange blonde woman in sunglasses in a near verbatim remake of the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO.

Witness to Kate’s murder is hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold Liz Blake (Nancy Allen). Liz is mid-escort when the murder occurs, which sends her client running. During the fracas, Liz catches a glimpse of the killer, immediately conscripting herself into the role amateur detective and dramatically changing the film’s tone from sordid romance on the down-low to a bona fide murder mystery of the giallo variety. From this point forward it’s Liz’s movie as she teams up with Kate’s nerdy teenage son Peter (Keith Gordon) to track down the mysterious blond-haired butcher, and tries not to get herself killed or arrested in the process.

The problem with the traditional murder mystery is there’s only so many people who can be the killer. Anyone with half a brain and an astute sense of empathy and narrative can pin down whodunit with relatively little difficulty. This is one instance where the saying “Italians do it better” rings true. The typical Italian giallo film will have audiences guessing to the very end with any number of red herrings at varying degrees of coherency along the way. And usually, it’s not the person you least expect, rather, it’s the person you least, least expect, like the paraplegic who’s been laid up in a bed the entire movie.

Once it’s revealed that Kate is in danger as she leaves the museum, De Palma mostly ditches the Hitchcock vibe he was working with and leans more into the giallo aesthetic. All the right pieces are there: a black-gloved hand, a weird cutting tool, a pretty blonde, and a bad disguise. Narratively, however, the director plays it safe and sticks to a pretty standard murder thriller.

This movie in any other director’s hands would be dangerously close to coming across like a made-for-TV film (not that there’s anything wrong with that). DRESSED TO KILL isn’t really about being a murder mystery, though; it’s about the thrill of a murder mystery, the shock of revelation, and the vicarious event of watching other people endure terror. It is an experience, and conclusively, it’s an opportunity for De Palma to play around in that old Hitchcock sandbox and lay down some of the distinct visual style for which he’s known.

De Palma’s critics corner him as misogynistic for his treatment of women in his films. DRESSED TO KILL, in particular, is an example of implicating a woman in a dangerous situation where arguably her own decisions lead to her death. What’s really happening in this film is more along the lines of satire. At face value, sure, Kate Miller does bad things, and as a result, bad things happen to her; but what about the bad things Kate’s husband is guilty of? If only he were more attentive in the way Kate needed him to be, she wouldn’t be compelled to do the bad things that get her killed. The lack of attention from Kate’s husband empowers her to go find what she feels she deserves.

Furthermore, if there were any doubt about De Palma’s intentions, one needs to look no further than the occupation of Liz Blake, who could have been a schoolteacher or a bank teller, but in a story where a woman searching for sex is murdered, what better hero than a sex worker? How appropriate that Kate’s husband is exactly the type of man with which Liz so often works. And while Kate’s husband isn’t interested in the needs of his sexual partner, Liz reciprocates this particular theme as someone who is only interested in the needs of her sexual partners. Liz, the expert on the needs of others, becomes empowered to find Kate’s killer. Liz, the sex worker — not the schoolteacher or the bank teller — is a hero. Liz’s role is emphasized in the final moments of the film that finds her waking in terror in the very bed in which Kate was having all that unsatisfying sex. Kate’s marital bed — curiously missing Kate’s husband, but involving Peter as a comfort to Liz—represents the thematic stakes of the movie. The prostitute is the sacrificial lamb of chilly sex, making Liz not only the hero of the film, but the Patron Saint of passion.

The killer’s confused sexual identity certainly adds to the film’s sexually charged dynamic, but seems to be employed mostly as a red herring device. Kate’s murderer is driven by the male side of jealously, but acts as a female. It seems that a true case of sexual identity crisis would work better if the killer were a woman killing as a man. In the case of what occurs, the psychological implications lean more into a dual identity disorder. The killer’s motivation and identity crisis are particularly interesting because the script for this film was originally written for CRUISING (1980) until that project went to William Friedkin. De Palma repurposed the script into DRESSED TO KILL.

DRESSED TO KILL is presented in Ultra High Definition on 4K UHD disc by Kino Lorber. New and legacy supplementary features, including multiple interviews and documentaries, are featured on a bonus Blu-ray disc. The UHD disc also contains a new commentary by film critic and author Maitland McDonagh.

Brian De Palma is eager to let audiences know what a Hitchcock fan he is, almost to the point of overdoing it. DRESSED TO KILL is textbook De Palma and holds up as one of the director’s best films. Here, De Palma isn’t interested in satisfying anyone’s need to solve a murder so much as he’s looking to thrill with good old-fashioned sex and violence with a troubling twist that’ll have you hankerin’ for a stick of Doublemint gum.

 

 

When he’s not working as a Sasquatch stand-in for sleazy European films, Lucas Hardwick spends time writing film essays and reviews for We Belong Dead and Screem magazines. Lucas also enjoys writing horror shorts and has earned Quarterfinalist status in the Killer Shorts and HorrOrigins screenwriting contests. You can find Lucas’ shorts on Coverfly.

 Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.