The Restored "The Searchers" Blu-ray

The Blu-ray of the newly-restored The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, Jeffrey Hunter and Vera Miles arrived two days earlier than expected. John Ford directed.

I have an older DVD version of The Searchers, but the new restored Blu-ray tops it by leaps and bounds. It is absolutely gorgeous!

The Blu-ray source was the original camera negative. Monument Valley, unless you're there, has never looked so good. I was able to see details in scenes I was unable to see before. 

Included are featurettes of the making of The Searchers in and around Monument Valley and the premiere in Chicago. There's also more to enjoy.

It was well worth the wait since the restored movie was premiered in Hollywood early last year.

Interestingly, I've met three of the actors of The Searchers: Patrick Wayne, Hank Worden and Henry Brandon.

If you are a fan of John Wayne or westerns in general, do yourself a favor and get this Blu-ray!

My grade: A+.

"Godzilla Minus One" Blu-ray Arrived

The Blu-ray of Godzilla Minus One arrived in today's mail. I didn't expect it until Friday, but I'm not complaining.

It is a two-disc set with the movie in one disc and special features in the other.

I have watched some of the special features. The first one was the behind-the-scenes making of the movie. It was interesting to watch thanks to the director (our old friend Yoshikazu Ishii). Other features include: Commemorative Special Feature: Godzilla Minus One - No. 30, VFX Behind The Scenes, Event Video Collection, Tokyo International Film Festival Opening Red Carpet, Event Video Collection, Academy Awards Winner Additional Screening Trailer and Takashi Yamazaki Selection Talk Shows. Definitely lots of interesting stuff!

Above, Jonathan Bellés, Yoshikazu Ishii and yours truly in Tokyo
 in 2014. Ishii-san directed the Behind the Scenes special feature.

I will watch the movie over dinner tonight.

Ordered "Godzilla Minus One" Blu-ray

After nearly a year since Godzilla Minus One opened in theaters, the DVD and Blu-ray editions are now finally available.

I just placed my order for the Blu-ray edition. It should arrive by November 29.

 

Restored "The Searchers" Coming December 17

John Ford's/John Wayne's The Searchers (1956) has been in my movie library for years in DVD. I was pleased to hear that the movie underwent 4K restoration and was premiered in Hollywood last April. 

At the time, I was hoping that the restored version would be available on Blu-ray.

Well, there's some good news! It will be available next month! Just in time for Christmas!

According to Blu-ray.com:

Perhaps the greatest collaboration between the legendary director John Ford and his famed leading man John Wayne, the 1956 Warner Bros. classic The Searchers will be arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray disc, meticulously restored and newly remastered from its original VistaVision camera negative.

The film will be available as either a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc combo pack, including a newly remastered Blu-ray disc, or as a stand-alone Blu-ray disc. SRP for the 4K/Blu-ray combo pack will be $29.99, and the remastered Blu-ray will have an SRP of $21.99. Both iterations will contain over an hour of special features in HD on the Blu-ray disc, with the feature itself having an archival commentary from the late Peter Bogdanovich. The Searchers will release on December 17, and is available for pre-order at leading online media retailers.

The new 4K UHD Blu-ray presentation of the feature will be available with Dolby Vision and HDR10. Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs will contain the feature's original monaural audio track which was restored from the best available source materials to provide a clean and dynamic audio presentation.

The film underwent an extensive restoration earlier this year, at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and Warner Bros. Archival Mastering (for audio). This restoration was undertaken by Warner Bros. Discovery in collaboration with The Film Foundation and made its public premiere on April 21st of this year at the 15th annual TCM Film Festival.

It will be nice to see Monument Valley in 4K Blu-ray!

To read more, go here. 

"Godzilla Minus One" Pre-Orders Available

While I was on vacation in the Bahamas, it was announced that Godzilla Minus One will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray sometime in September. The actual release date is unclear 

Retailers are now taking pre-orders for the movie.

It is funny, Delta Airlines had Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in their in-flight movie offerings. I wasn't interested enough to watch it.

"Adventures of Superman" On Blu-ray Coming?

Above, George Reeves as Superman. 

A little while ago, I spotted this post over on Facebook:

 

If this is true, this is certainly great news!

All episodes of Adventures of Superman and Superman and the Mole Men were released on DVD by Warner Bros. some years ago. They were from the "best available sources" at the time. Some episodes were very lacking ("The Stolen Costume" episode is a prime example) in quality. But  since "beggars can't be choosers", we resigned ourselves that this was better than nothing.

 

But if the show is released on Blu-ray after restoration, this would be a godsend to fans.

Keep your fingers crossed!

"Godzilla x Kong" Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray May 14

Within the past six months, Godzilla fans were treated to two Godzilla movies.

First, came Godzilla Minus One from Toho Studios last December. It was a critical success and it garnered the King of the Monsters his first Academy Award for Best Special Effects.

Then came Godzilla x Kong from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. To me, and many others, it was entertaining but it lacked interesting characters and plot. 

It has been announced that Godzilla x Kong will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 14. No word has been given by Toho on when Godzilla Minus One will see a similar release even though it is already out in these formats in Japan. 

The Japanese discs have no English subtitles.

"Invaders From Mars" (1953) Blu-Ray Home At Last

Above, after opening the package. 

Finally, I was able to get my Blue-ray of Invaders From Mars (1953) from the post office.

Either it snowed too much to risk the drive to the post office or the post office clerk didn't show up for work. 

The clerk has been terminated for too many "no shows".

Today, I was able to pick up the package and will watch the movie tonight during dinnertime. I think the last time I saw the movie was back in the early 1990s while I was working the graveyard shift at Indian Springs (formerly where the Iverson Movie Ranch was located). 

The movie scared the bejeezus me when I was a kid. When I saw it 30-something years ago, I laughed as the Martian costumes had visible back zippers showing. Now, with this Blu-ray and the new restoration, we can see the zippers a lot better.

"Invaders From Mars" (1953) Blu-ray

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the restored Invaders From Mars (1953) using the original film negatives.

After posting, I looked around to see where I could get a copy. That was a daunting task, it seemed that neither eBay nor Amazon had it.

But last evening, I saw an ad for it on Facebook from Ignite Films. 

Here it is (screen capture):

$55.00?! That's pretty pricey for an old movie! 

Then, I used the ad's drop-down widget and found that the Blu-ray is $45.00. That's a little better. But considering the extras that come along with it, I decided to buy it.

If $45.00 doesn't scare you away, you can order it by going here.

"Elvis" (2022) Blu-ray

My Christmas present from my ex-roommate Jessica arrived today and I just finished watching it.

It was a Blu-ray of Elvis (2022), a biographical movie on Elvis Presley, but it mainly focused on Col. Tom Parker.

From Wikipedia:

Elvis is a 2022 biographical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, written by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner. It follows the life of the rock and roll singer and actor Elvis Presley, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, whose financial abuse of him is a major focus. It stars Austin Butler as Elvis with Tom Hanks as Parker, while Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, and Kodi Smit-McPhee co-star.

I wasn't going to buy this movie as I generally dislike docudramas. Invariably, they get things wrong or just make stuff up. Such is the case with this film. But since it was a gift, I watched it during dinner.

As a movie, it was too disjointed for me to enjoy. It mixed up time periods and events. Songs that didn't come along until later in Elvis's career were used in earlier time periods. The acting was good, I have to admit. Tom Hanks's make-up as Tom Parker was great and the set designs were superb. Hanks, though did not capture Parker's actual accent. 

Sorry, this movie did not do it for me.

My grade: C.

"No Time To Die" Blu-ray

Above, the No Time To Die Blu-ray set. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A surprise package arrived in yesterday's mail. I was expecting it, but not as soon as it did.

It was the Blu-ray of the 25th James Bond movie, No Time To Die. It is also Daniel Craig's swan song to the series.

I ordered it through Walmart and it came with the movie disc, a bonus features disc, digital code and a DVD. I guess it could be called "the Walmart special" as it also came with a keyring. Now I have two No Time To Die keyrings (they're different from one another).

Above, the No Time To Die key ring I got last year. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

So far, Eon Productions hasn't selected a new Bond to replace Craig. There's some speculation that the series will get a re-boot. I hope not. It can continue as is and would be true to Ian Fleming. In one of the novels (I think it was You Only Live Twice), Bond is thought dead but he returns with a mission: to kill his boss M. This would be a satisfying start for the next round of films. 

I do quibble about the death of Felix Leiter, though. His fate in Licence To Kill follows Fleming. 

Anyway, No Time To Die is very much now being debated by fans and it will be interesting to see what happens next. 

New Roy Rogers Blu-ray Set

Above, the Roy Rogers Blu-ray set that arrived today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On November 23, a Blu-ray set of Roy Rogers's first starring feature movie and last movie was released.

It contains Mackintosh and T.J (1975), his last movie and Under Western Stars (1938), his first starring feature movie.

From InsidePulse:

Roy Rogers was the King of the Cowboys having appeared in over 100 westerns. He even had his own chain of fast food chicken restaurants. He ruled the range with his songs. Now his first and last movies are getting upgraded to Blu-ray. Under Western Stars and Mackintosh and T.J. are coming out as part of a boxset from Verdugo Entertainment. You’ll see what Roy Rogers became a legend and how he rode off into the sunset.

My copy arrived in today's mail, so I have something new to watch this evening.

To read more about the set, go here.

UPDATE (12/3/21):

Watched both movies last evening.

Under Western Stars involves Roy getting elected to congress (becoming a singing cowboy congressman) to get a dam in his district federalized as the owner is not releasing enough water to the community it's in. Lots of Alabama Hills (near Lone Pine, CA) locations. When an important scene comes up, Roy breaks out into song. Reminds me of the silly Elvis Presley movies. A bit silly, but the movie was entertaining and the songs were decent. A Republic Pictures production from 1938.

Mackintosh and T. J has Roy as drifter ranch hand who befriends a teen boy and they both get hired as ranch hands. Roy is later accused of a murder that he didn't commit. Dirty Harry actor Andrew Robinson was the actual culprit. Well done final movie bow for Roy Rogers. Soundtrack by Waylon Jennings and one song by Willie Nelson. 

Under Western Stars has an interesting documentary extra of movie locations used in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine.

"A Lady Takes A Chance" (1943) On Blu-ray

This week, my ordered Blu-ray of A Lady Takes A Chance (1943) arrived in the mail.

The movie, a romantic comedy, stars Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Charles Winninger and a young (with hair, probably a toupee) Phil Silvers.

From Blu-ray.com:

A city girl on a bus tour of the West encounters a handsome rodeo cowboy who helps her forget her simpy city suitors.

It had been a long while (likely since the 1970s) since I've seen this movie. I decided to order it and it was as I remembered it.

The Blu-ray is quite good as the transfer is from a 4k scan of a black & white nitrate negative from the Paramount Pictures film archives (even though the movie was produced by RKO Radio Pictures). The distributor of the Blu-ray is Kino Lorber.

According to a review in Home Theater Forum:

According to the package’s liner notes, this scan was taken from a combination of elements including the original negative as well as nitrate fine grains. Perhaps as a result of being sourced from multiple elements, the presentation here is inconsistent. At its best, the film can appear incredibly sharp, with excellent detail, great contrast, and a nearly pristine image showing almost no evidence of age or wear. At its worst, sections can appear indistinct, lacking sharpness and clarity, and showing some speckling and other age-related wear and tear.

Although the movie was made four years after Stagecoach, Wayne carried off well his comedic end of the movie. 

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Maui

Above, the front of the set's package front (top) and the booklet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A package arrived at my post office box today. It was the Blu-ray/CD set, Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Maui. 

Back in the summer of 1970, a movie was in "production" in Maui, Hawaii that was called Rainbow Bridge. It was a hippie counter-culture flick "directed" by Chuck Wein. It was a mess production-wise. No script. No pre-production. It was basically a mess captured on film.

Hendrix had been working on a new studio in New York, Electric Lady Studios, at the time, but work on it stopped and started, depending upon there was any money to work on it to completion. Much of Hendrix's concert fees that year went to the building of the studio. Manager Michael Jeffrey saw the Maui flick as a means to bring in some cash to complete the studio. Hendrix really didn't want to have any part of the movie, but was eventually talked into it.

Admittedly, when Rainbow Bridge first came out in theaters, I was, admittedly, entertained by it even though it was obviously flawed. I have a copy of the movie on VHS. One shot in the movie I got a kick out of seeing (nearly 40 years later) was of La Cienega Blvd. in West Los Angeles with the White Front department store very prominent.

Above, the set has interesting packaging for the booklet, 2 CDs and Blu-ray. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Blu-ray in this set contains a documentary, Music, Money, Madness...Jimi Hendrix in Maui on how Rainbow Bridge came about and how Hendrix and sidemen Mitch Mitchell (drums) and Billy Cox (bass) participated. Since Billy Cox is the sole remaining member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience still with us, he adds his own memories to the documentary.

The Blu-ray also has the two shows the Jimi Hendrix Experience put on at the Haleakala Crater on Maui on July 30, 1970. These shows also comprise the two CDs of the set.

The concerts were flawed as the wind was blowing towards the band causing sound issues. For the footage used in Rainbow Bridge, Mitch Mitchell dubbed new drumming sound while watching footage through a movie editor's moviola screen.

Also included in the set is a 31-page booklet.

The set is an interesting piece of music history and Hendrix fans will enjoy it. 

"Godzilla vs. Kong" Arrives, Etc.

Today wasn't one of those days where I felt my best.

Starting yesterday, a nagging backache started, but it felt a little better today. Also, today my sinuses have been acting up. It is probably pollen in the air here. 

This morning started out as an enjoyable one as former neighbor Bo was in town, so we met up at Denny's at the Flying J. We must have been there for about an hour and a half. Bo moved to Daytona, Florida last year. 

After getting home, I flopped myself on the sofa and slept for about 3 hours, during which time my Godzilla vs. Kong Blu-ray was delivered to my front porch. So I ended up watching that during dinner.

A little while ago, we had a brief downpour and I had to get the Jeep into the garage. 

Hopefully, I'll be feeling better tomorrow. 

"Depraved" (2019)

Above, about to head to the post office. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Finally, after being shut in since Saturday, I finally left the house to pick up my mail down at the Flying J.

Good thing I did, my former roommate sent me a birthday present, a Bly-ray of the movie Depraved (2019), so I had something new to watch. It is a modern day Frankenstein story.

Rotten Tomatoes summary:

A disillusioned field surgeon who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder makes a man out of body parts and brings him to life in a Brooklyn loft.

It was an interesting movie. I give it a B+.

"Logan's Run" (1976)

Above, Jenny Agutter and Michael York in Logan's Run. MGM Photo.

During the same week that Elvis Presley died, I went with my parents to the Studio Drive-In Theater in Culver City to see a double-feature: The Spy Who Loved Me and Logan's Run.

On Logan's Run, the following is from Wikipedia:

Logan's Run is a 1976 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett, and Peter Ustinov. The screenplay by David Zelag Goodman is based on the 1967 novel Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. It depicts a utopian future society on the surface, revealed as a dystopia where the population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty. The story follows the actions of Logan 5, a "Sandman" who has terminated others who have attempted to escape death and is now faced with termination himself.

Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film uses only the novel's two basic premises: that everyone must die at a set age, and that Logan and companion Jessica attempt to escape while being chased by another Sandman named Francis. After aborted attempts to adapt the novel, story changes were made including raising the age of "last day" from 21 to 30 and introducing the idea of "Carrousel" [sic] for eliminating 30-year-olds. Its filming was marked by special-effects challenges in depicting Carrousel and innovative use of holograms and wide-angle lenses.

Since that viewing, I have only seen bits of it here and there on television. Until now. 

A Blu-ray copy of Logan's Run arrived in the mail today and I watched it this evening. It was as enjoyable today as when I first saw it. Jenny Agutter was alluring as always. Farrah Fawcett-Majors had a small role, but it was good to see her in her prime again.

I was struck by the premise that this "utopia", as with all so-called utopias, provided pleasures and anything else the population of the city wanted. But with a catch (naturally). Everyone must die at age 30. The utopian police-state government (it is hard to say who, except maybe the computers) knows what's best for everyone, while at the same time has to lie in order to stay in power. It it only after Logan comes back from "the outside" and reports what he found, the computers go haywire and destructs. It reminds me of the "utopia" the Democrats have been pushing these past few years. The change from age 21 (the book) to age 30 (the movie) actually makes more sense to me. 

Logan's Run holds up quite well after 44 years.

Criterion's Peter Becker Discusses Godzilla Showa-Era Release

Above, Godzilla approaching Tokyo's Kachidoki Bridge in 1954.

Godzilla fans over the years have collected the King of the Monsters's movies ever since VHS tapes were made cheaply available.

Some were official releases and others were bootlegs (at one time, the only way to see the Heisei Series (second series) of Godzilla films was through the bootleg market.

Then came DVD and Blu-ray discs which offered the movies in high resolution. Some releases were better than others (a lot of it depended upon the original source material). Again, fans bought and re-bought the movies.

Now, Criterion Collection is releasing the Showa Series (first series) of Godzilla movies in a new box set. Here we go again!

Criterion Collection's Peter Becker discusses the Godzilla release in a Variety article.

Here's a snippet:

He added: “The idea basically is that it would be wrong to treat Bergman the same way as we treat Godzilla, but it would also in some ways be wrong to treat Godzilla with any less respect than we treat Bergman with.” 

Criterion last year released its “Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema” Blu-ray disc box featuring 39 films and a book featuring critical essays on each of the films. 

Its new “Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975” collection, which comprises 15 digitally restored films and a book featuring newly commissioned illustrations by high-profile artists, is scheduled for release Oct. 29. 

Becker stressed that publishing was not just about bringing products into the world but rather “about how you’re putting it into the world. What it looks like, what it feels like. Even just the finish on “Godzilla” feels a little bit like skin, it’s nice. It’s little details like that that you need to pay attention to – those are all part of publishing.”

The fanbase again will be shelling out hard-earned cash. Since Criterion puts out quality videos, it is likely to be worth it.

To read more, go here.

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" Blu-ray

Finally, today I bought the Blu-ray of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

I had to go into Gallup anyway to pick up a new television antenna as the one I had crapped out. The new one works great!

The package contained the Blu-ray, a DVD and the Digital Code.

While having dinner, watched the movie and was impressed with the picture and sound quality. One thing I found annoying was that not all of the extras are included in the Blu-ray disc. One extra was in the Blu-ray and the others were in the DVD.

This was my second viewing of the movie. The first was in 3D in Gallup at the Red Rock Theaters. I apparently missed a few things during my first viewing, but caught them this evening.

"My Darling Clementine"

Tonight I gave myself a break from watching more Laurel & Hardy films from the essential collection (of 10 discs) to watch the 1946 John Ford My Darling Clementine on Blu-ray that arrived a few days ago. This is the Criterion Collection Blu-ray that came out in late 2014.

The storyline:

Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan and Virgil ride into Tombstone and leave brother James in charge of their cattle herd. On their return they find their cattle stolen and James dead. Wyatt takes on the job of town marshal, making his brothers deputies, and vows to stay in Tombstone until James' killers are found. He soon runs into the brooding, coughing, hard-drinking Doc Holliday as well as the sullen and vicious Clanton clan. Wyatt discovers the owner of a trinket stolen from James' dead body and the stage is set for the Earps' long-awaited revenge.

The script is not historically accurate, but it is a good western anyway with Henry Fonda in the lead as Wyatt Earp. I had forgotten how beautiful Linda Darnell (Chihuahua) was, so it was an extra treat to see her in this movie. Walter Brennan played old man Clanton, in one of his rare villain roles and Ward Bond played Morgan Earp. Victor Mature played Doc Holliday

The extras alone are worth the price of the Blu-ray. For the real story of Tombstone and the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral, a discussion by a Tombstone historian and featurettes (one hosted by David Brinkley) will more than adequately set the record straight. There is also a feature on Monument Valley, a documentary on John Ford and an old silent western featuring John Ford and his older brother Francis are included (plus other goodies).

There is also the preview version of My Darling Clementine included. It is a longer version, not as restored as the release version.

I was a bit amused that the movie was shot in Monument Valley. The terrain of the real Tombstone (I've been there) doesn't look anything like Monument Valley.

It was an enjoyable movie and well worth buying. My grade: A.