Videophiled Halloween: ‘The Brood,’ John Carpenter’s ‘Vampires,’ ‘Kwaidan,’ and ‘Rocky Horror’ at 40

by Sean Axmaker | Oct 27, 2015 | Home Viewing, Reviews, What's Hot

The Brood (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD) – I’d seen David Cronenberg’s The Brood before watching the terrific new Criterion edition but it never really registered the way it did this time. Perhaps the quality of the presentation (newly remastered from a 2K...

Videophiled: Twilight Time’s ‘House of Bamboo,’ ‘Summer Lovers,’ ‘The Best of Everything,’ ‘Fat City’ and more

by Sean Axmaker | Oct 4, 2015 | Home Viewing, What's Hot

I’ve been remiss in my Twilight Time coverage. I have a great affection for this specialty outfit, which puts out five or six Blu-ray releases a month. It’s a different kind of model, most releases limited to 3000 copies, most (but not all) with commentary...

Twilight Time: The cult of ‘Zardoz,’ Oscar winner ‘A Man for All Seasons’ and nominee ‘The Remains of the Day,’ a new ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ and more

by Sean Axmaker | May 15, 2015 | Home Viewing, What's Hot

Zardoz (Twilight Time, Blu-ray) is one of the most fascinatingly misguided sci-fantasies of the seventies, a truly strange social satire with counterculture echoes: think of Brave New World by way of The Wizard of Oz (which is where the film gets its title). Sean...

Videophiled: Twilight Time’s bloody ‘Valentine,’ ‘Lenny,’ ‘Stormy Weather,’ and more

by Sean Axmaker | Feb 20, 2015 | Home Viewing, What's Hot

Twilight Time’s February slate is out and it’s another fine line-up of interesting films and high-quality Blu-ray transfers. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (Twilight Time, Blu-ray) gave Roger Corman the biggest budget of his career to date. After...

Videophiled: Scarlett Johansson is ‘Lucy,’ Preston Sturges’ ‘The Palm Beach Story,’ and an anniversary for ‘Fright Night’

by Sean Axmaker | Jan 20, 2015 | Home Viewing, What's Hot

The Palm Beach Story (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD) – Leave it to Preston Sturges to create the sexiest and most grown-up romantic comedy of his day. Claudette Colbert has never been more desirable as Gerry Jeffers, the flirtatious pragmatist with a clear-eyed take on the...