Acorn's new five-disc retelling of "I, Claudius" opens with an ominous warning about the condition of the 1976 miniseries. "Occasional flaws ... that were beyond our ability to correct." "I, Claudius" fans could be excused a shudder of paranoia upon reading the disclaimer, especially given the treatment the BBC presentation received on home … [Read more...]
‘Spellbound’ on Blu-ray: a nightmare revived
A man takes scissors to a surrealistic curtain, cutting an eyeball in half. Another man runs across a terrible angular landscape, stalked by a gigantic bird. A faceless tyrant lets slip a warped wheel as the camera slithers into the void of its center hole. Just another day at the office for Salvador Dali, mad genius and painter of the unreal. … [Read more...]
‘X: The Unheard Music,’ ‘Sid and Nancy’
"Being under the radar is a good thing," says Exene Cervenka, the singer-poet of the L.A. rock band X. "Celebrity-hood is not a good thing. … Being able to live your life as an artist and matter is a good thing. … I'm happy with the way things turned out. She pauses. "Other people in the band, maybe not so much …" X holds the title of … [Read more...]
Ghostly images: ‘Carriage,’ ‘Kuroneko’
Death can't catch a break in Hollywood. That's Death with a capital "D," the entity in black wielding a scythe. Aside from the "Final Destination" series (no screen time), "Meet Joe Black" (ugh) and "Harry Potter" (cameo), Death has been passed over in favor of the flesh-eating zombies, stylish vampires and demented serial killers of … [Read more...]
‘Carlos’ blasts way onto Blu-ray
Film directors have lionized killers as long as there has been film. With time comes absolution and insulation for directors who discover the misunderstood romantic heroes inside serial murderers. No better example than "Bonnie and Clyde." In the past three years we've seen exhaustive -- and excellent -- works on revolutionary Che Guevara, … [Read more...]
