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“If you hear a fire alarm, take it seriously,” the woman at the podium announced. “Proceed calmly, but exit swiftly.

This was a step beyond the standard “put away your cell phones” introduction, but this was no ordinary movie––we were seated to watch an original nitrate print of George Sidney’s rousing 1950 musical Annie Get Your Gun. Thankfully, Netflix––in their three-year, gorgeous renovation of the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood––retained its ability to screen nitrate, but if Inglourious Basterds taught us anything, it’s that you can trap and kill a hell of a lot of people with ultra-flammable nitrate stock if things go wrong.

It was the most danger I’ve ever been in while watching Howard Keel romance a woman under disreputable circumstances, and he did that often enough. The risk was plenty worthwhile to see the colors of this ostentatious, gaudy, not-a-little-bit-wacky musical really pop...

Crafted as a love letter to underground comics and the pursuit of art-making, Owen Kline’s Funny Pages is a fantastically fucked-up coming-of-age story about Robert, a young cartoonist who will go to any lengths to reach success. Ever the dark comedy, Funny Pages was produced by Josh and Benny Safdie, esteemed masters of gonzo discomfort. It should be noted, however, that for all of the laugh-out-loud shocks the film delivers, Kline has created a story that still manages to be genuinely touching and earnest at its core. Infusing central New Jersey with Robert Crumb’s strange overtones, Funny Pages is ultimately about finding one’s artistic voice—and what it takes to be true to that voice. While this is his debut feature, Owen Kline is no stranger to show business. The son of actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates, he broke out as the younger brother in Noah Baumbach...

There’s nothing so good as being able to consult people who know more than we do, who deal in facts and can back up their assertions with proof. The excellent new Blu-ray for Monster from Green Hell has a nifty color sequence at the end which raised a lot of questions and wrong guesses. Thanks to prime source evidence, we can show you how the original looked … uh, after a little Eastmancolor fading. It’s what passes for an Article of Importance at CineSavant, the usual display of breathtaking journalistic originality.

What Color is Green Hell?

CineSavant Article

The Proof is in.

This article is an addendum to the March 8 Blu-ray review of The Film Detective’s Monster from Green Hell, a fun creature feature released in 1958 but likely filmed more than a year earlier. It’s a rather good disc despite not being mastered from pre-print material — a few scratches,...

It’s a guest article by author and long-time associate Stuart Galbraith IV, an interview with Arnold Leibovit, the man behind an impressive, on-going restoration of the animation legacy of George Pal. The beloved producer-director persists as a fan favorite. All know his famous sci-fi pictures but the revival of interest in his fantasy replacement-animation ‘Puppetoons’ is well underway.

CineSavant Guest Article by Stuart Galbraith IV

Sometimes it takes a one-man army to preserve and resurrect movies the big conglomerates have forsaken. Think Dave Strohmeier and his efforts to preserve and give new life to the original Cinerama films, or Bob Furmanek’s 3-D Film Archive. While they’d be first to insist they were fronting a team of restoration experts and myriad financial backers, without them would the films they champion ever have seen the light of day, or would they still be languishing in warehouses, slowly deteriorating into nothingness?...

3-D Blu-ray isn’t going away, even as the equipment to show it becomes hard to find — and the 3-D Film Archive keeps reviving vintage features and getting them shown in special venues and on Blu-ray. This second Rarities disc gives us some interesting odd items, including a pleasing gallery of vintage 3-D ‘Realist’ stills, and an entire feature starring Cesar Romero and Katy Jurado, the first película de tercera dimensión filmed in Mexico.

3-D Rarities II

3-D Blu-ray

Flicker Alley

1941-1983 / B&w + Color / 1:37 Academy / 153 min. / Restored by 3-D Film Archive / Street Date April 7, 2020 / 39.95

Voices: Hillary Hess, Suzanne Lloyd Hayes, Mike Ballew.

Digital Image Restoration: Thad Komorowski

3-D Restoration Greg Kintz

Associate Producer Jack Theakston

Produced by Bob Furmanek

The excellent Blu-ray 3-D video format is going strong despite the fact that new domestic hardware no longer supports it. Europe is the place to go for newer 3-D Hollywood features,...

One of the all-time classic 1950s sci-fi movies comes to blu-ray on July 9, when Scream Factory launches This Island Earth into orbit. Extras are plentiful, and include new audio commentary with author Robert Skotak, a new audio interview with film historian David Schecter, a new interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi, a new text-based gallery of information titled Facts about Perspecta Stereophonic Sound by Bob Furmanek, and much, much more.

Prepare to blast off from planet Earth with one of the most popular classic sci-fi films of all time! When atomic scientist Dr. Meacham is chosen to take part in a top-secret research experiment in a remote lab, he quickly discovers that he is really involved in an evil scheme by alien Metalunans to take over Earth. After he and the gorgeous Dr. Adams make their escape shortly before the lab explodes, they are whisked away in a flying saucer to Metaluna,...

Iconic Universal monsters from beyond the stars, the alien Metalunans seek global domination in This Island Earth, and with the 1955 sci-fi film is coming to Blu-ray on July 9th from Scream Factory, we've been provided with the full list of special features.

From the Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA – One of the all-time classic sci-fi films comes to Blu-ray on July 9, when Scream Factory launches This Island Earth into orbit. Extras are plentiful, and include new audio commentary with author Robert Skotak, a new audio interview with film historian David Schecter, a new interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi, a new text-based gallery of information titled Facts about Perspecta Stereophonic Sound by Bob Furmanek, and much, much more.

When atomic scientist Dr. Meacham is chosen to take part in a top-secret research experiment in a remote lab, he quickly discovers that he is really involved in an evil scheme by alien Metalunans to take over Earth.

‘Things Blowing Up Good’ has been surefire entertainment since the beginning of cinema, but this ill-fated Cinerama extravaganza about the biggest explosion in recorded human history limps along despite some pretty darned impressive volcanic effects. It’s quite an entertaining spectacle, with various good performers in three soap opera plots, either overacting or loitering about with nothing to do. And don’t forget the from-left-field musical striptease.

Krakatoa East of Java

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.

Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer

Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes

Production Design: Eugèné Lourié

Costumes: Laure Lourié

Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper

Original Music: Frank De Vol

Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...

Another 3-D breakthrough, this time for a Paramount musical rescued from oblivion and remastered by the 3-D Archive. Rhonda Fleming and Gene Barry star in a blend of songs and Alaskan adventure filmed in downtown Hollywood. The depth effects are great, but the big surprise is Teresa Brewer, the radio star turned one-shot movie musical wonder. Her voice resurrects memories of pop vocals just prior to the arrival of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Those Redheads from Seattle

3-D Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1953 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date May 23, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.95

Starring: Rhonda Fleming, Gene Barry, Agnes Moorehead, Teresa Brewer, The Bell Sisters, Guy Mitchell, Jean Parker, Roscoe Ates, John Kellogg, Sheila James Kuehl, Dub Taylor, Max Wagner.

Cinematography: Lionel Lindon

Film Editor: Archie Marshek

Original Music: Sidney Cutner, Leo Shuken

Written by Lewis R. Foster, Geoffrey Holmes (Daniel Mainwearing) and George Worthing Yates

Produced by William H. Pine,...

It’s awful, it’s terrible, it’s difficult to watch — but it’s finally available in its original 3-D, in the improved Space-Vision process. A giant monkey attacks Seoul, trashing cardboard buildings, toy boats and a dead shark (and it’s not shamming). Keep a good movie on hand to rinse this one away immediately afterwards. Not recommended for people taking prescription medication. If simians persist, consult your doctor.

A*P*E

3-D Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 3-D / 87 min. / ‘Attacking Primate monstEr’ / Street Date February 28, 2017 / 29.95

Starring Joanna Kerns, Alex Nicol, Rod Arrants, Nak-hun Lee.

Cinematography Tony Francis, Daniel L. Symmes

Editor Paul Leder

Original Music Bruce McRae

Written byPaul Leder, Reuben Leder

Produced by Paul Leder, K.M. Leung

Directed by Paul Leder

They say home video 3-D is in trouble, but viewers properly equipped are presently experiencing a renaissance in retrofitted and refurbished 3-D features.

Inferno

3-D Region B (+A ) Blu-ray

Panamint Cinema (UK)

1953 / Color / 1:33 flat / 83 min. / Street Date August 10, 2014 / Available from Amazon UK / £19.99

Starring: Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Henry Hull, Carl Betz, Larry Keating, Robert Burton.

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard

Editor: Robert L. Simpson

Original Music: Paul Sawtell

Written by: Francis M. Cockrell, from his story The Waterhole :

Produced by: William Bloom

Directed by Roy (Ward) Baker

(Note, 1.18.17: Twilight Time will be releasing a domestic disc of

this title on May 16, licensed for U.S. distribution.)

A fine 20th Fox entry for the 3-D craze of 1953, the adventure thriller Inferno is often labeled a film noir in the desert. Despite the presence of a scheming, murderous wife, the noir quotient here is minimal — it’s just a straight survival tale with a homicidal twist. An odd UK-only release licensed by a small independent company, the Blu-ray 3-D is well encoded...

In Japan Leonard Schrader's docu about real-life American horrors was called Violent America. The decidedly unflattering picture couldn't find a U.S. distributor when new but accrued a reputation as the ultimate compilation of violent historical images. It's now filed with cannibal and zombie pictures in exploitation movie catalogs, yet it has more in common with Schrader's Taxi Driver. The Killing of America Blu-ray Severin Films 1981 / Color / 2:35 1:85 widescreen 1:37 flat full frame / 95, 115 min. / Street Date October 25, 2016 / 29.98 Starring Chuck Riley (narrator, English version), Ed Dorris, Thomas Noguchi, Sirhan Sirhan, Wayne Henley, Ed Kemper. Cinematography Robert Charlton, Tom Hurwitz, Willy Kurant, Peter Smokler Film Editor Lee Percy Original Music W. Michael Lewis, Mark Lindsay Written by Leonard Schrader, Chieko Schrader Produced by Mataichiro Yamamoto, Leonard Schrader Directed by Sheldon Renan

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

1980s censorship in Japan strongly limited violent images on TV. They didn't see the steady...

Are you 3-D capable? This classic-era Sci-fi is one of the better '50s films ever designed for 3-D, and the restoration on this much-coveted new release is excellent. Meteors explode in your face! A rockslide in your lap! Bizarre superimpositions! Ray gun blasts! And don't forget Ray Bradbury's feel-good sense of wonder speeches, from wide-eyed Richard Carlson. It Came from Outer Space 3-D 3-D Blu-ray Universal Home Video 1953 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 82 min. / Street Date October 4, 2016 / at present a Best Buy exclusive Starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes Cinematography Clifford Stine Art Direction Robert Boyle Makeup and Special effects Jack Kevan, Bud Westmore, David S. Horsley, Milicent Patrick. Film Editor Paul Weatherwax Original Music Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini, Herman Stein Written by Harry Essex from a story by Ray Bradbury Produced by William Alland Directed by Jack Arnold

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...

Political terror scenarios were a bit simpler in the 1950s, and movies about them fairly rare. Frank Sinatra gives a strong performance as the villain John Baron, in a tense tale of presidential assassination by high-powered rifle. Suddenly Blu-ray The Film Detective 1954 / B&W / 1.75 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date October 25, 2016 / 14.99 Starring Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates, Willis Bouchey, Cinematography Charles G. Clarke Art Direction Frank Sylos Film Editor John F. Schreyer Original Music David Raksin Written by Richard Sale Produced by Robert Bassler Directed by Lewis Allen

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Some disc companies do well by refurbishing movies in the Public Domain, using various methods to bring what were once bargain-bin eyesores nearer the level of releases made from prime source material in studio vaults. As I've reported with efforts by HD Cinema Classics and Vci, the results vary dramatically -- did the company do a professional job,...

Olive's new branded line reissues the Nicholas Ray classic with a full set of authoritative extras -- plus a never-before-seen widescreen transfer, in all of its Trucolor glory. Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden never looked better -- we can all compare theories about la Crawford's color-coded costumes. Just how masculine is Vienna supposed to be? Johnny Guitar (Olive Signature widescreen edition) Blu-ray Olive Films 1954 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 39.95 but heavily discounted Starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Scott Brady, Ward Bond, Ben Cooper, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, Royal Dano, Frank Ferguson, Paul Fix, Rhys Williams. Cinematography Harry Stradling Film Editor Richard Van Enger Original Music Victor Young Written by Philip Yordan from the novel by Roy Chanslor Produced by Herbert J. Yates Directed by Nicholas Ray

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Wow, it's already been four years since Olive released a...

Do you like your noir heroes bitter and bruised, and your noir dames daring and resourceful? Phil Karlson's gem of a thriller pits two-fisted John Payne against murderous hood Brad Dexter, with Peggie Castle the unfaithful, unlucky wife who decides to run off with the wrong guy. And star Evelyn Keys is a pulp noir adventuress to admire, with a roving eye of her own. 99 River Street Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date June 21, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Peggie Castle, Jay Adler, Jack Lambert, Glenn Langan. Cinematography Franz Planer Film Editor Buddy Small Original Music Arthur Lange, Emil Newman Written by Robert Smith, George Zuckerman Produced by Edward Small Directed by Phil Karlson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

99 River Street is a top noir title in all respects -- a great cast, a literally hard-hitting...

An Encore Edition brings back Fritz Lang's searing police corruption tale, with the great performances of Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvinaided by several pots of fresh, hot coffee. As is usual, Fritz Lang leads the way in modernizing a genre -- this one is a keeper. The Big Heat Blu-ray Encore Edition Twilight Time Limited Edition 1953 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell, Dorothy Green, Carolyn Jones, Dan Seymour, Edith Evanson, John Crawford, John Doucette. Cinematography Charles Lang Film Editor Charles Nelson Original Music Henry Vars Written by Sydney Boehm from the book by William P. McGivern Produced by Robert Arthur Directed by Fritz Lang

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Four years after Twilight Time's initial release, this Encore Edition...

Happy March, everyone! This month’s home entertainment offerings are starting off with the proverbial bang as there seems to be a little something for every genre fan arriving on Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday. Scream Factory is releasing both The Boy and Narcopolis on both formats this week, and Kino Lorber is resurrecting a pair of cult classics in HD as well: Gog (3D) and Transformations. Grindhouse Releasing has assembled an incredible Blu set for their release of Pieces, and the recent home invasion thriller, Intruders, makes its way onto DVD on March 1st.

For those of you who have made the leap to 4K, both The Last Witch Hunter and Mad Max: Fury Road are getting a special 4K release on Tuesday and other notable titles making their way home this first week of March include Zoombies, The Sinful Dwarf, The Fear of Darkness, Scream at the Devil,...

Now, after 62 years, viewable again in beautiful 3-D! Scientists are being murdered in a secret underground laboratory overseen by a super-computer and two robots, Gog and Magog. The restoration is a stunning achievement, covered thoroughly on the disc extras. The year is young, but this is an early favorite. Gog 3-D 3-D Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1954 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date March 1, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.95 Starring Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall, John Wengraf, Philip Van Zandt, Michael Fox, William Schallert. Cinematography Lothrop B. Worth Film Editor Herbert L. Strock Original Music Harry Sukman Written by Tom Taggart, Richard G. Taylor, Ivan Tors Produced by Ivan Tors Directed by Herbert L. Strock

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Once viewable only at isolated special film festivals, vintage films on 3-D are enjoying a comeback thanks to a busy independent company. The 3-D Film Archive has done work for various studios and disc distributors,...

Julian Roffman’s "The Mask," Canada’s first horror film, alternates a routine 2-D horror story with trippy psychedelic fantasy sequences centering on a haunted Aztec artifact. Viewers were given Magic Mystic Masks to see the dreams in anaglyphic 3-D—and no, they didn’t look anything like the clunky mask seen in this odd trailer. Reissued repeatedly over the years as "Eyes of Hell," it’s now been restored by Bob Furmanek’s 3-D Archive and is due to be booked in theaters once more, this time in proper Polaroid 3-D. A 3-D Blu-ray is available from Kino.

Julian Roffman’s The Mask, Canada’s first horror film, alternates a routine 2-D horror story with trippy psychedelic fantasy sequences centering on a haunted Aztec artifact. Viewers were given Magic Mystic Masks to see the dreams in anaglyphic 3-D (no, they didn’t look anything like the clunky mask seen in this odd trailer). Reissued repeatedly over the years as Eyes of Hell, it’s now been restored by Bob Furmanek’s 3-D Archive and is due to be booked in theaters once more, this time in proper polaroid 3-D. A 3-D blu ray is available from Kino.

By Bill Duelly

A wonderful, eclectic hodgepodge collection of vintage 3-D, tests, shorts, animation and trailers has been released on Blu Ray recently by Flicker Alley. 3-D Rarities, released on the Flicker Alley label, is for film and nostalgia buffs, alike. This is a wonderful snapshot of 3-D motion picture photography from early tests in the 1920’s up through 1962, and arrives in time to honor the 100-year anniversary of the exhibition of 3D films.

3-D wasn’t just a brief fad in the 50’s but was found in sporadic use for specialized presentations up through then. Early surviving shorts show us wonderful glimpses of Washington DC and New York City, with wonderful perspective. Two company films follow, Thrills For You and New Dimensions. Thrills for You was produced by The Pennsylvania Railroad for exhibition at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940 in San Francisco. This B&W wonder gives a...

Mainstream studios may have written off home video, but specialty divisions and entrepreneurs are offering notable discoveries on Blu-ray and DVD. Olive Films has just released a restoration of Dragonfly Squadron (1954) in both disc formats, thanks to Bob Furmanek and the 3-D Film Archive. The Allied Artists production was shot—but never released—in 3-D, making this a historic event. The story behind the film (and its restoration) is more involving than the picture itself, a decent if undistinguished B movie starring John Hodiak, Barbara Britton, and Bruce Bennett that takes place on the eve of the Korean War in 1950. If you have a TV with 3-D capability, you’ll want to check out...

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Inventors experimented with 3-D in the earliest days of motion pictures, but experts agree that the medium came of age at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. That’s where Polarized 3-D made its public debut at the Chrysler Pavilion. A short subject called In Tune With Tomorrow was shown every day in dual-system 35mm. No print is known to have survived, but Chrysler presented a follow-up for the Fair’s 1940 season called New Dimensions (later released theatrically as Motor Rhythm)…and it’s going to make its home video debut this fall.Bob Furmanek, of the 3-D Film Archive has produced a collection called 3-D Rarities which Flicker Alley will be releasing on Blu-ray this fall, and it...

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John Wayne’s Hondo might have been the first major studio picture from the 3-D era of the 1950s to come to home video, but today’s welcome Blu-ray release from Paramount is in conventional 2-D. Too bad. Paramount trumpets the fact that it’s in widescreen for the first time, which is true. According to Bob Furmanek of the 3-D Film Archive, “Warner Bros., as a matter of studio policy, went 100% widescreen in May of 1953. When Hondo began shooting in Camargo, Mexico on June 11, director John Farrow and cinematographers Robert Burks and Archie Stout were composing for 1.85:1. It has not been seen in widescreen since the original theatrical release.” In any...

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As 3-D continues to amuse, bemuse, frustrate, and bilk the moviegoing public, little attention is paid to the sweeping events that dominated the year 1953, when the medium revolutionized Hollywood for a tantalizingly brief period of time. There is so much misinformation about the first great wave of 3-D that Bob Furmanek has recently re-launched his 3-D Film Archive website and packed it with fascinating, must-see material for 3-D buffs and neophytes alike. Perhaps the most important article on the site is called “Top Ten 3-D Myths,” which should (but probably won’t) put a number of rumors to rest. For instance, Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder was publicly...

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