Quick, name four Basil Dearden movies. Anyone? Congrats if you came up with one -- even if it was "Khartoum." British director Dearden made a swarm of films from 1940 to 1970, almost all forgotten outside his native land. The overdue DVD set Basil Dearden's London Underground shines the Criterion Collection spotlight on a quartet of the … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2011
‘Raging Bull’ back on Blu-ray
Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bill," an underdog in its day and a undisputed classic today, makes another comeback on Blu-ray, via MGM's 30th anniversary edition. "Raging Bull" fans still viewing the Robert De Niro-starrer on DVD should make the upgrade to high definition. This stunning black-and-white release is about as definitive as it's going to … [Read more...]
Netflix has that remote look
Netflix's familiar red logo soon will be showing up on remote controls. The streaming media pioneer said the direct route to its Watch Instantly service will be offered this spring on Blu-ray players made by companies such as Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba also will place the Netflix one-click button on … [Read more...]
‘Mad Max,’ prelude to a nightmare
George Miller's exploitation classic “Mad Max” hits the road again via a visually super-charged Blu-ray from MGM. Images are startling in their clarity, especially considering this was a low-budget Australian effort from the days before the Down Under film industry grew up. The audio, while nothing special, does deliver the original … [Read more...]