Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

La Belle et la Bête, for those who don’t speak French, is a literal translation of Beauty and the Beast, the title of the well-known fairy tale adapted in 1946 by poet, artist and avant-garde filmmaker Jean Cocteau.

Beautiful, humble Belle (Day) rejects the advances of the scoundrel Avenant (Marais), as she is busy fretting over her father (André), who is losing his grip on the family fortunes. Then the father gets lost in the woods and meets a lion-faced chap (also Marais) with a spooky as hell castle. There’s a bit of a hoo-hah over an attempt to steal a rose, resulting in either Dad having to die or Belle having to go live with the Beast. By bye, Belle.

You probably know the story from here – Beast wants to marry Belle, Belle starts to question whether he’s all that beastly, love and turmoil ensue. It is, as Howard Ashman wrote, a tale as old as time, and one that Cocteau adapts pretty faithfully from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s classic story.

But it’s the style with which Cocteau brings his fairy tale realm to life that makes this film stand the test of time. Far from the cheery musical world of Disney’s version, Cocteau makes the best use of the black and white format and renders the Beast’s castle at once grounded and Gothic. This is most strikingly manifested when the terrified father first finds himself lost in the castle; arms holding up candelabra turn out, on second glance, to be real human arms, and busts on the mantel open their eyes. The best modern comparison to the magical creepiness on show here is the work of Guillermo del Toro, and so it’s no surprise that del Toro has described Cocteau as a major influence. If there is anything to criticise, it’s that the scenes in the woods surrounding the castle don’t conjure the same spirit as those inside it, with the exterior locations feeling a bit too restricted by studio set-ups. Nevertheless, that’s a small part of the film, and the sumptuous castle sequences are countered effectively by the realism of the scenes set in Belle’s town, with her selfish sisters and scheming brother adding to the mix the kind of family drama that makes it all too believable our heroine would fall for the magic lion-face man.

This 2018 Blu-ray release is as well packaged as we’ve come to expect from the BFI, with the central feature being a superb new 4K restoration. There’s an array of extras: the highlights are a commentary from Sir Christopher Frayling, two fascinating documentaries, and a short 1938 animated adaptation of Perrault’s Bluebeard; plus, there’s the usual trailers, stills, and deleted scenes.

LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE  (1946) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JEAN COCTEAU / STARRING: JEAN MARAIS, JOSETTE DAY, MARCEL ANDRÉ / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 6TH

Produced in Europe with American money, Paul Verhoeven himself described his first English language film as the most difficult of his career, and to date, it was also his biggest flop financially. Flesh+Blood is rather an atypical work for the director, ostensibly eschewing the social and psychological explorations of most of his other work, and created under an environment of compromise, with the US studio that was backing it interfering with the script’s major themes. Ultimately, it’s something of a failure, but a fascinating – and typically for Verhoeven, never less than thoroughly entertaining – one that the terrific value-added-material included on this Blu-ray release from Eureka addresses head-on.

Long-time collaborator Rutger Hauer – who came to the film with his own compromises in mind and ended up never working with Verhoeven again – plays Martin, part of a band of mercenaries engaged in 1501 by real-life English soldier-for-hire Hawkwood (Thompson) to liberate a city owned by Italian ruler Arnolfini (Hilbeck); once the stronghold is won Arnolfini betrays the outfit, robbing them of their spoils and banishing them from the town. When, during an ambush, Martin and his team unwittingly kidnap Agnes (Leigh), Arnolfini’s son Steven’s (Burlinson) intended bride, a struggle arises between the wealthy landowner and the soldiers of fortune, destroying any wishes they might have had to retire on their plunder.

Widely regarded as the most grim and ‘realistic’ depiction of Europe during the Late Middle Ages ever committed to screen, Flesh+Blood hasn’t lost any of its gruesome power; the violence and bloodletting might seem a touch tame by today’s standards, but the portrayal of plague and the brutality and brevity of life have never been repeated quite so graphically nor so casually; the infamous rape sequence is still just as disturbing – and just as important for the characters – as it ever was. This is Verhoeven being just as cynical about humanity, politics and particularly in this case religion, as he would go on to be in RoboCop or Starship Troopers.

Many of the director’s other predilections come to the fore, despite the studio’s suggestion that Verhoeven concentrate on the love triangle between Martin, Steven and Agnes, and it’s interesting to note his gender-liberal politics – common throughout his work – hidden beneath the brusquely masculine exterior; Agnes is no fool for anyone, and ultimately it is she who resolves the narrative.

Bringing together the director’s commentary and Basil Poledouris interview from the previous DVD issue, as well as a variety of interviews with Hauer, Verhoeven and co-writer Gerard Souteman alongside an excellent career-spanning French documentary on Verhoeven, and marred only by some grain and low contrast issues early in the film, this is an essential purchase both for Verhoeven fans and students of cinema in general.

Extras: trailer, director’s commentary, Paul Verhoeven in the Flesh documentary, interviews with the director, writer, composer and star.

FLESH+BLOOD (1985) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: PAUL VERHOEVEN / SCREENPLAY: GERARD SOETEMAN, PAUL VERHOEVEN / STARRING: RUTGER HAUER, JENNIFER JASON LEIGH, TOM BURLINSON, RONALD LACEY, SUSAN TYRRELL, JACK THOMPSON, FERNANDO HILBECK, BRION JAMES, BRUNO KIRBY / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 6TH

This release contains Episodes 40 – 52 of Dragon Ball Super; while previous collections focused on one story arc (with one leftover episode from another arc also present), this bucks this trend by containing episodes from the Universe 6 Saga, the Copy-Vegeta Saga, and the ‘Future’ Trunks Saga.

The collection contains a little bit of everything that makes this show work when it’s at its best. Some great action (the fights are consistently good), some genuinely funny humour (especially when the Pilaf gang are around), and some strong character moments. Some scenes manage to combine all three, such as when Goku fights against the Copy-Vegeta.

Crucially, Dragon Ball Super succeeds in one area that its predecessor was infamous for – its filler. Make no mistake, there are filler episodes here, such as the after party for the tournament between universes 6 and 7, or the episode in which Goku has to babysit Pan. To the show’s credit, while they are filler, they never feel like they are getting in the way of the show telling its story. Even if they don’t progress the main plot of Dragon Ball Super, they stay true to the spirit of the show, offer further insight to the nature of its characters, and at the end of the day, they are just flat out entertaining. They don’t come across as the result of animators desperately stalling for time, but as a welcome breather between big moments in the show.

The special features in this collection are the usual mixture of trailers and textless opening/closing animation that fans have come to expect. The standout item is an interview with Sean Schemmel, the voice of Goku. It’s brief, but the actor gives his thoughts on what it is like to play the character, and how he has found working on the show.

The collection showcases what Dragon Ball Super became capable of once the creative team were able to get out from under the shadows of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. The result is a show that perfectly combines the staple ingredients of a Dragon Ball anime to create something full of action and humour. This release takes all those elements and gives the viewer the chance to enjoy them as they please with the choice to watch individual episodes or play them in a marathon. This release would be a strong addition to any collection.

Extras: Dragon Ball Super: An Interview with Sean Schemmel / Textless songs / Trailers.

DRAGON BALL SUPER PART 4 / CERT: PG / CREATOR:  AKIRA TORIYAMA / STARRING: SEAN SCHEMMEL, CHRISTOPHER R. SABAT, JASON DOUGLAS, IAN SINCLAIR, MONICA RIAL, ERIC VALE/ RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 6TH

The Game of Thrones cast have done a successful job of taking over cinema in recent years. The likes of Star Wars, Marvel, X-Men, DC, and Fast & Furious are stacked with the show’s alumni. Hell, even the Angry Birds Movie managed to squeeze in Peter Dinklage.

Natalie Dormer – whose Margery Tyrell was last seen having an unfortunate encounter with several hundred barrels of Wildfire – has been less prolific than some. Supporting roles in the last couple of Hunger Games movies aside, she’s continued to concentrate on smaller projects.

In Darkness is one of the primary reasons for this. A passion project for the actress, she wrote the movie alongside her partner (and director) Anthony Bryne and the pair have spent years developing it.

One side effect of actors writing their own scripts: they tend to write themselves good parts, and Dormer’s role Sofia is a gift for an actor: she’s blind, she’s a pianist, she’s got a troubled past and lots of unpleasant things happen to her. It’s the kind of role that has ‘awards bait’ written all over it. Or at least, it would in a better film.

That’s not to say In Darkness is a bad film. It’s isn’t, it’s just not a great one.

It starts out promisingly enough. Sofia’s a London-based musician, making her living performing soundtracks for lurid horror movies. One night, her neighbour Veronique (supermodel Emily Ratajkowski) falls to her death from the apartment upstairs, and may or may not have been killed by the mysterious Marc (Ed Skrein – another Thrones alumni) and his shady sister Alex (Joley Richardson). As the only potential witness, Sofia’s a risk to the couple.

It turns out that Veronique was the daughter of a Serbian war criminal (Jan Bijvoet), who’s controversially being given asylum in the UK, and her death may be linked to her father.

It’s a fun Hitchcockian premise (there’s even a completely pointless MacGuffin thrown in for good measure) with potential to be a good thriller. However, around the halfway mark, there’s a neat twist around Sofia’s character that sends it off in another direction. On the plus side, this twist sees the all-too-brief introduction of James Cosmo (who played Jeor Mormont in, yes, Game of Thrones); on the negative, it sends the film on a less confident path and one that’s not entirely successful.

Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say Sofia’s not quite the innocent victim she originally appears, and that the Serbian connection is important. It’s a potentially interesting direction, leading to some very dark, possibly questionable places. It has gratuitous violence and nudity aplenty, but the plot becomes increasingly muddled, and a final twist that seems almost perfunctory, undermining much of what happens previously.

That said, Dormer’s impressive, London looks gorgeous, and Ratajkowski’s accent has to be heard to believed. In Darkness is an interesting if overly-ambitious film, and one that shows potential for the team behind it. There are a lot of great moments here, unfortunately, they just don’t mesh into a cohesive whole.

IN DARKNESS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ANTHONY BYRNE / STARRING: NATALIE DORMER, ED SKREIN, EMILY RATAJKOWSKI, JOELY RICHARDSON, JAN BIJVOET, NEIL MASKELL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Over the course of its lifespan, Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers studio released hundreds of high-quality action films performed by some of the most accomplished martial artists of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Among its many talented stars, none perhaps shined as brightly as Liu Chia Liang, the veteran martial artist, choreographer, and cinematographer who made films like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, some of Shaw’s finest. The Spiritual Boxer, released in HD from 88 Films, is Liang’s debut feature film as director, thus a bit of a treasure in the Shaw Brothers’ repertoire.

Opening with a guest appearance from Shaw regulars, Chen Kuan-Tai and Ti Lung, The Spiritual Boxer reveals the roots of its title in a period flashback. The pair are possessed by ancient spirits then subjected to a stream of brutal bladed attacks, which they miraculously survive. Finally, a firing squad turns up and proves equally useless at keeping them down. It’s a jubilant sequence with its tongue in its cheek, the exuberance of the fighting ring and costumes is a nice bit of flashback flare for the opening act. After that, the film is a lot more naturalistic because it focuses on the impact of the ‘spiritual boxer’ legend years later.

Cue the introduction of Hsiao Chien (Yue Wong), a mischievous anti-hero who seemingly channels the spirits of gods to teach special kung fu and is rewarded handsomely for doing so. Of course, it’s a sham exploiting the legend of the spiritual boxer, and Chien is never too far ahead of trouble.

There’s a farcical quality to The Spiritual Boxer often seen in Shaw releases. It’s light, comic and a far cry from the grim gritty approach of Shaw royalty Chang Cheh, and no doubt one of the reasons Liu Chia Liang would go on to become the star director of Shaw’s Golden Age. Comedy, slapstick, and absolutely pitch-perfect kung fu can be found abundantly on Liang’s CV, but they all found their first iterations here. Granted, the story isn’t as interesting or consistent as the revenge-fuelled trips which made him famous, but The Spiritual Boxer‘s episodic nature isn’t a turn off either. If anything, it matches the slice-of-life approach.

As with all Shaw films, the production values are superb. Like the best of their releases, it has the off-hand ability to capture perfect one-on-one duels or pull out the stops for a huge gang fight. The locations are beautiful too, fully exploiting the natural beauty of the Chinese countryside whilst bobbing from village to village. In that way, Shaw films often double-up as historic slice of life flicks, casually but succinctly encapsulating multiple ways of rural and village life. Even though the action is great, there’s surprisingly little if you come to this film after having checked out Liang’s more famous works. But that’s OK, because it’s not an action film per say, at least not in the same way it’s a comedy-drama.

A film like The Spiritual Boxer, though not as instantly recognisable as Five Deadly Venoms or Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, is still well worth checking out. It’s a film about faith and the construction of legends, but also how those legends factor into modern everyday life. On a wider level, it’s a film about misdirection and action cinema itself: Liang appears to be starting out his career with a reality check for the audience. Strip away the myth or the filmmaking, and what you’re left with is a collection of incredibly focused martial artists working to build a light-hearted fantasy. And what a charming fantasy.

THE SPIRITUAL BOXER (1975) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: CHAI-LAING LIU / SCREENPLAY: KUANG NI / STARRING: YUE WONG, CHEN CHI LIN, LUNG TI, KUAN TAI CHAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Richard Rowntree’s debut feature film Dogged adds fuel to the recent revival of folk horror. Films like Ritual, Kill List and, most recently, Hereditary all revel in unleashing ancient pre-Christian cultures on unassuming, modern audiences. Dogged, a Kickstarter-funded movie, doesn’t quite have the budget of those other films but manages to hold its own in a surging subgenre.

Sam (Sam Saunders) is a twenty-something student heading home for the funeral of a local girl. When he arrives, the isolated island town is stranger and more secretive than ever. Along with his childhood crush, Sam begins to unravel the mysteries of the island, creeping closer and closer to danger as he does so.

If The Wicker Man feeds off class (Rich Lord Summerisle keeps the working people in check via paganism) then Dogged goes for gender. Patriarchy through a prism of folk horror; it’s a nicely updated take on the trope, with the prodigal son returning from the modernising influence of University to the ritualistic confines of small-town life. It’s a culture shock that students the world over have dealt with for years now; the subtle feeling that home is never the same once you leave. Granted, for Sam, there’s more at work than simple gentrification and coming of age, but you get the point, it’s a fresh contemporary approach to a stuffy genre.

Saunders is a decent newcomer, easily able to hold our attention, but, as with many of the film’s issues, the longer it goes on, the more cracks appear. Toby Wynn-Davies overacting threatens some of the film’s most intense sequences with uninvited comedy, but there are some superb scenes where his flamboyancy totally works. Especially when his role in the film’s mystery is revealed. That seems to happen to most of the film’s inconsistently over-dramatic talents. Actors like Debra Leigh-Taylor, Tony Manders, and Philip Ridout are not bad at all, but the inconsistent direction seems to leave their performance mismatched with the tone.

At a run time of 116 minutes, Rowntree goes for the slow-burn but can’t quite hold the tension. Nor does he try. Dogged rarely feels like a traditional horror film: it’s a wrought drama with some great momentary chills, but it’s rarely really terrifying.  Which probably doesn’t help with the feeling that the runtime is a bit indulgent. There’s so much fluff; long silent shots of nature, reactions, or surplus footage that just could have been edited a bit tighter. It’s a shame because the film, though not outrageously stylish, is well filmed and atmospheric.

The bottom line is that Dogged is a decent enough story that could use an edit and a bit more focus. Rowntree has crafted a fresh-feeling folk horror script, but it’s too long-winded to summon the impact it could have had.

DOGGED / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RICHARD ROWNTREE / SCREENPLAY: MATTHEW DAVIES, RICHARD ROWNTREE / STARRING: DEBRA LEIGH-TAYLOR, NADIA LAMIN, PHILIP RIDOUT, TONY MANDERS, AIYSHA JEBALI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Next time your life places a difficult choice in front of you, and you’re minded to turn your back on the more difficult – but ultimately more fulfilling – path, and take the easy route out instead, then maybe set aside a couple of hours to sit down and watch South Korean director Yim Pil-Sung’s 2007 film of Hansel and Gretel first; you might find yourself reconsidering which direction you want to travel in.

This is, at first appearance, a version of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale in name only; a copy of the book is revealed to have played an important part in the main characters’ development, and beyond some superficial resemblances the film seems to diverge from the original text quite considerably. Scratch a little deeper beneath its surface, though, and Yim’s story takes rather more from the Grimms’ tale than it might seem.

Eun-soo (Chun) crashes his car on Highway 69 while phoning his on-off girlfriend (Kim Eun-joo) who is about to become the mother to his child. He wakes after dark and soon becomes lost in the woods – until eleven-year-old Young-hee (Shim) finds him and returns him to her home, the House of Happy Children. There, Eun-soo partakes of a meal of buns and cakes, having been introduced to Young-hee’s siblings – Man-Bok (Eun), a twelve-year-old boy, six-year-old sister Jung-soon (Jin) – and their parents, who disappear the following day, leaving the three children in the forced care of Eun-soo.

Following this initial set-up, a sort of reverse symmetrical take on the original story, we’re quickly plunged into the realm of the adult fairy tale, in a particularly Asian way that will be familiar from other Oriental horror films. This is very slow-burning stuff, with Eun-soo initially given to try and escape his new home, until Deacon Byun Ji-wan (Park Hee-soon) and his wife Kyeong-suk (Lydia Park) arrive with rather more ulterior motives, at which point, Eun-soo’s fear of the three children evolves into curiosity and he begins an investigation into how their circumstances came about.

Some of the directions that inquiry takes are rather well-worn, but this is a moral tale with a thoughtful, occasionally insightful edge, and it’s distinguished by Yim’s reluctance to tread the more clichéd path that a more obvious horror film might follow. Rather, this leans considerably more towards dark fantasy, with a handful of digital effects sequences and a reliance on unhurried, intricately composed tableaux. It’s a very slow film, with a third act that might have benefitted from a little pruning, but it’s worth the journey to understand the destination.

This new Blu-ray from 88 Films is loaded with worthwhile extras, but the clarity of the print – despite the breathtaking beauty of the imagery – betrays some low-light filming issues that might prove a little distracting.

Extras: trailers, commentary, introduction, three production interviews

HANSEL AND GRETEL (2007) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: YIM PIL-SUNG / SCREENPLAY: KIM MIN-SOOK, YIM PIL-SUNG / STARRING: CHUN YUNG-MYUNG, EUN WON-JAE, SHIM EUN-KYUNG, JIN JI-HEE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW