Savant's new reviews today are

Hello again! I think I'm keeping up. A lot of discs have come in at once and I'm not sure the volume will be dropping off for a while. Reviewed and coming here soon will be Man Hunt, The King and Four Queens and Pigs Pimps and Prostitutes: Shohei Imamura, plus Blu-rays of Valkyrie and Terminator 2 Skynet. In hand but not written up yet are An American Experience: A Class Apart, Nova: The Spy Factory, Moody Blues Isle of Wight 1970, and a Jack Lemmon Film Collection. Just received is an early German talkie rarity, Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?; I'm very curious to see what it's all about.

I've been sent a DVD set of Warners' Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, the Director's Cut but am holding out for the Blu-ray edition. We'll see what happens.

Reader & correspondent Jordan Benedict tells me that he's getting the German e-m-s disc of Fritz Lang's incomparable anti-Nazi film Hangmen Also Die!, reported by reader Christoph Michel back in 2006. The disc reportedly contains the full uncut version. If it's really available it will go directly to my must-have list. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

Half the websites have been back-pedaling and now it's Savant's turn: apparently The African Queen will not come out on October 3. Don't know what to report around here any more ....

But I do have a confirmed date from Warners on John Ford's Wagonmaster ... the "Chuckawalla Swing" will arrive on September 15.

Saw Edgar G. Ulmer's previously rare Ruthless at the Cinematheque Aero on Wednesday, and the restored print looked brand new. Surprisingly, it's an "A" level production told in Citizen Kane - style flashbacks and starring an interesting array of talent: Zachary Scott, Diana Lynn, Louis Hayward, Sydney Greenstreet, Lucille Bremer, Martha Vickers, Edith Barrett, Raymond Burr ... The screenplay by unbilled Alvah Bessie is the most blatant anti-capitalist screed I've seen yet -- all the evils of Wall Street money grubbing are attributed to the greedy Zachary Scott, but the movie is really criticizing "the system". I hope someone finds a way to bring this to DVD or cable, as the acting is good and the characters are, to the say the least, completely uncompromised.

Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Greetings! Savant advisor Gary Teetzel attended a screening of Gremlins movies at the Cinematheque last week; host Joe Dante told the crowd that plans are in place to screen the notorious, hilarious Movie Orgy once again at the New Bevery later this year. It's the kind of event worth scheduling a trip to Los Angeles around ....

Finally, a reminder about tomorrow night's book signing event at Every Picture Tells a Story, the noted Santa Monica (California) bookstore. At 6PM on Wednesday, May 27, author-editor Bernd Herzogenrath will have a signing of his new book The Films of Edgar G. Ulmer Also present to sign copies of the book will be Arianné Ulmer Cipes, the daughter of the famous director. THEN, at 7:30, a newly-restored print (by UCLA and Paramount) of Edgar G. Ulmer's rarely-shown Ruthless will be screened across the street at the American Cinematheque. I'm definitely going to be there, angling for a photo op with Arianné. In the last few years her Edgar G. Ulmer Preservation Corporation has recovered, restored and resurrected more than a few of her father's most interesting pictures. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson.

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

Hello! Some quick notes: Other sites are reporting the contents of a second Sony Noir Set reportedly set to arrive on November 3: In a Lonely Place, Pushover, Nightfall, The Brothers Rico, and City of Fear. The first title is the only one already out; I heartily recommend the first four only because I haven't seen the fifth. The anticipated Noir Set 1 titles are still The Sniper, The Big Heat, Five Against the House, The Lineup and Murder by Contract. Terrific, core noir pix -- I hope these reports are correct!

I have new reviews up at Film.com that I'd like to report here: Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy at the Gates and the Criterion Shohei Imamura box Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes.

Finally, helpful correspondent Keith West forwards a link to Edition Filmmuseum's bizarre trailer for the silent German documentary Wunder der Schöpfung (picture above). Once you're on the page, choose the large or the small representation of the trailer. I'm not sure I've seen any trailer as old as this, looking as perfect! Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

Hello! All seems to be okay now with Savant's computer situation, and this new iMac is faster than anything I've worked on. I was shocked at how simple it was to "reconstitute" my entire hard drive on the new computer -- it literally only took one 40-minute upload. "¡Viva Time Machine!"

I should also probably make the announcement that I'm completely set up for 1080p full resolution HD viewing now. I've from time to time read a sniping diss or two on web boards that my technical assessments are limited by my equipment. That's not the issue, it's that I'm concerned about technical matters only to the degree that they affect my overall subjective opinion of a disc's quality (whew!). As it was, I made a weekly trek to a friend's house to sample Blu-rays that didn't seem all that good-looking in 1080i; now I won't have to do that any more.

I've also finally gotten an HD cable feed with the new movie channel MGM HD. This means that I'm enjoying DVR'ing immaculate HD cablecasts of irreplaceable classics like The Neanderthal Man and Curse of the Faceless Man (not be confused with the Mister Rogers biopic, Face of the Curseless Man). The HD is somewhat compressed but still looks great. I worked with the UA library for about eight years; I'm hoping to see my favorites in glorious detailed transfers.

An odd thing that happened last week is that MGM HD showed a great-looking transfer of the CinemaScope North West Frontier (Flame Over India), a flawed Indian adventure with Lauren Bacall. MGM just released the title on DVD last week and I was frustrated not to receive a screener. But after watching the superior HD version on cable, I'm not sure I still want to see the standard DVD. If cable or the web are able to deliver this kind of quality (and obscurity) this cheaply, deep library titles on DVD may become extinct sooner than later!

Well, back to reviewing ... I have a goodly stack of discuses, each of which I want to give a fair shake. Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

Disaster at Savant Central after a hard drive failure was pretty much averted here ... although my Mac 'Time Machine' backup system functioned correctly in switching to a new computer, I apparently carried across some corrupt files that I'll have to weed out. But I was in big trouble and my Mac consultant pulled me out of the fire. If anyone in Santa Monica or the West Side of Los Angeles has Mac issues of any description and needs a good, honest troubleshooter or system tech, ask me, as I think I've found The Guy.

Reviewer and web radio host Dick Dinman has an interesting new show up: Glorious Black And White. Let me just use his words: "Converting a color film (Nickelodeon) to black and white may seem a strange idea to some but this marvelous restoration proves conclusively that certain films benefit spectacularly when released in this process. Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures Entertainment senior vice president of asset management, film restoration and digital mastering, explains why and how this unusual task was accomplished -- and discusses the latest Sony Blu-ray releases."

Besides what you see reviewed today, I've received some discs I'll be getting to very shortly: Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, True Romance, Falling Down, Inside Man (all Blu-ray); The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Au Bonheur Des Dames, Nightmare Castle, Revolution (Revisited), Zabriskie Point. I've also gotten a selection of Warners Archives from a third party and will be writing an article about the status of that DVD delivery innovation. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Hello -- an atypical column post today. Savant central had a severe computer failure two nights ago. Glenn can't come out to play on the website right now, as he's busy buying a new computer (gotta help the economy) and praying that his automatic backup system has been doing its job. I can still receive email on another machine. Hopefully I'll not miss a day, and will be back up with new reviews on Saturday! Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

Late again this week, so no elaborate news. MGM hasn't come through with screeners for Time Limit, North West Frontier, The King and Four Queens or the Blu-ray for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly so those will be delayed. Paramount, Warner and Universal library titles are in for the rest of the month, so I'll be giving them my attention right away. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are

While people remain all abuzz about Warners' new Archives program, the company has an even better bargain going through TCM, a series of Greatest Classic Films Collection sets that's up to about ten releases now. Each two-disc, four-title set features the latest transfers and often a commentary, featurette and trailer. For quality and price, they make an excellent gift choice. The new batch of Greatest Classics includes Broadway Musicals (Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), American Musicals (The Bandwagon, Meet Me in St. Louis, Singin' in the Rain, Easter Parade), Western Adventures (The Wild Bunch, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Jeremiah Johnson, The Train Robbers), WWII Battlefront Europe (Kelly's Heroes, Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen, Battleground), War Collection Battlefront Asia (Bataan, Back to Bataan, The Green Berets, Destination Tokyo), and John Wayne Westerns (The Cowboys, Fort Apache, Rio Bravo, The Searchers).

Loyal Savant pal Gordon Thomas has a new column up at the Bright Lights web 'zine, and in his personal DVD column Bright Sights Gordon discusses Hobson's Choice, the F.W. Murnau Box, Divorce Iranian Style & Runaway, Poil de Carotte and Celia.

Several sites are reporting that Classic Media, which only a few months ago seemed to be getting out of the business of importing Toho fantasy films, has announced a Blu-ray edition of the original 1954 Godzilla. The latest word is that, unlike CM's previous DVD release, the Blu-ray won't have the American recut version, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, which seems a shame. Experts I've talked to also express doubt that the transfer will be new. Classic Media could make the Godzilla BD even more desirable with the addition of their documentary Bringing Godzilla Down to Size; the excellent story of Toho special effects was almost hidden on their release of Rodan & War of the Gargantuas.

FInally, at 6PM on Wednesday, May 27, author-editor Bernd Herzogenrath will have a signing of his new book The Films of Edgar G. Ulmer at Every Picture Tells a Story, the noted Santa Monica (California) bookstore. Also present to sign copies of the book will be Arianné Ulmer Cipes, the daughter of the famous director. THEN, at 7:30, a newly-restored print (by UCLA and Paramount) of Edgar G. Ulmer's rarely-shown Ruthless will be screened across the street at the American Cinematheque. I definitely plan to be there, angling for a photo op with Arianné. In the last few years her Edgar G. Ulmer Preservation Corporation has recovered, restored and resurrected more than a few of her father's most interesting pictures. Thanks for reading! Glenn Erickson.

Savant's new reviews today are

Hello! A rushed week so I'll make this quick!

It looks like we'll be seeing more horror and mystery films from Joe Dante in 3-D! Darren Gross sends this website notice for a special-venue Hong Kong attraction called Haunted Lighthouse with Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Michael McKean; the multilingual ad claims that it's in 4-D! Actually, the film was made a few years back and originally shown at U.S. Busch Gardens/Sea World theme parks. But Gary Teetzel forwards a web page about an upcoming Joe Dante thriller called The Hole 3D. It deals with a scary-looking iron door discovered by two teens in the basement of their new home. Sounds like fun to me -- !

My review of Paramount's big disc set of Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 is up (finally) at Film.com; I'm pretty enthusiastic about it -- more than I was back in 1966. I stopped watching after the first three episodes involved one mind-control or alien possession infiltrations of the Enterprise, one after another. I didn't look again for half a year, by which time I was hooked on other interests. Compared to the general hokeyness of TV back then, it's fairly adult in outlook -- those other shows could get pretty idiotic!

Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Greetings! Savant's new Blu-ray reviews today are

A funny thing happened the other night; I was re-viewing the science fiction favorite Quatermass 2 when I realized that I was seeing something remarkable. Before I finally caught up with Satellite in the Sky last summer, I had always been curious to know what its spaceship looked like. Well, the answer has been right in front of my eyes for at least twenty years. I've written about it in a new footnote to my Satellite in the Sky review. Read this and you'll no longer have doubts that Savant has led a misspent life.

Last week, watching the Criterion disc Science is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé, we were wondering what ever happened to the Oscar-winning 1950s undersea docu by Louis Malle & Jacques Cousteau, The Silent World. Gary Teetzel found it straight away; it's up on YouTube in 9 parts. Part One is here. The show advances some dated attitudes about the ecosystem and Cousteau's invasive methods have come in for criticism lately, but the copy on view is very attractive!

Reader Edward Holub sent me this brief comedy bit, "Reverend Runt's Dismissal" he edited from a scene in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. Eddie considers it a fun exercise but I think he's got a really clever characterization going; I asked him if he was a professional. Anyway, I think Ed's very amusing in it! Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson