Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Young lovers Karen (Browning) and Jack (Grimes) declare a personal war on an adult world they do not believe understands them. Embarking on a killing spree they head off across America, with their twisted goal being the murder of one Elvis Presley.

This may all sound wearily familiar, and that’s because it is exactly that. From Terence Malick’s Badlands to Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, with the Elvis obsessions of Tony Scott’s True Romance thrown in for texture, no ‘killer lovers on the run’ motifs are ignored. Little in Kill the King is particularly original, or interesting for that matter, as the pair lurch from one random situation to the next. They visit Jack’s abusive father, hook up with his childhood friend and generally mooch around on their haphazard journey towards Los Angeles. An opening montage reveals details of the couple’s past and upbringing but serves only to give their personalities a sense of cliché rather than depth. If you were going to write a few lines making up the background of some serial killers, this is likely what you’d come up with.

The best moments in the film come from Ron Livingston’s Elvis. Ignoring the affectations so common in many caricatured performances, Livingston instils a rare vulnerability into the character. These scenes are sadly few and far between, but provide the only real pockets of interest and often feel lifted from an entirely different film altogether.

The real issue with Kill the King is the distinct lack of charisma from the leads. Kit and Holly, Mickey and Mallory, Clarence and Alabama; there was a dangerous attraction, at times a reprehensible coolness to these characters regardless, or because of, their actions that reluctantly engaged you. Here, despite the best efforts of the leads, Jack and Karen fail to rise above being routinely ordinary.

In his debut feature, writer and director Eddie O’Keefe has ambitiously strived for, yet struggled to develop or demonstrate any real individuality. He has attracted a strong cast – including Burt Reynolds who provides a detached voiceover that offers little – but seems undecided between making a faux-exploitation road movie or an out-and-out crime thriller. What remains is a confused narrative that is too disjointed in nature to provide a way in for audiences. And in the final act there is a scene so contrived as to make you groan out loud. Disappointing.

KILL THE KING / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: EDDIE O’KEEFE / SCREENPLAY: CHRIS HUTTON, EDDIE O’KEEFE / STARRING: ALYVIA ALYN LIND, EMILY BROWNING, ASHLEY GREENE, BURT REYNOLDS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Fabulous Films is giving cult ‘80s television the treatment it deserves. Having already restored the complete series of The A-Team, Airwolf, and Knight Rider, with Miami Vice and The Incredible Hulk set for release soon, there are hours of television on the horizon for all ardent fans and newcomers alike seeking to immerse themselves in the most beloved shows of a bygone era. However, for now, we’re going to focus on Magnum P.I., which is undoubtedly one of the most incredible and quintessentially ‘80s thing you’re likely to see.

But rest assured we’re not exaggerating when we say there is hours of television time in your future should you purchase this set – an impressive 130 of them for that matter, spanning 157 episodes over the course of 8 seasons. That’s 7813 minutes of television of explosive action, frantic chases and basking in the glory of one of the greatest characters to ever grace popular television. Are you ready to handle it?

The series follows Tom Sullivan Magnum IV (Tom Selleck), a retired soldier and private investigator who oscillates between bringing criminals to justice and living a life of hedonism in Hawaii. After accepting a job to work as a security advisor to a famous author, he soon realises that the island isn’t a sand-coated paradise after all, as there is a dirty criminal underworld in need of a clear out – the kind only a man of his skills and unbridled quest for justice can provide. He also has one mighty moustache. All in all, this is like the typical male fantasy personified in the form of an icon we can all root for.

Unfortunately, there are no features on the set. That said, the restoration looks absolutely stunning here; if you’re familiar with the show then you’ll be pleased to know that it’s never looked this good.  If you’re going to relive the experience, you certainly won’t be disappointed with this transfer.  However, if you’re a newcomer then this is the perfect introduction to the iconic series that will show you just why most of us fell in love with it in the first place.

Overall, this set is highly recommended. There aren’t many better shows out there for providing this level of quality when it comes to pure entertainment. It’s an easy show to watch, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself hooked on its charms. Revisiting this set is like spending time with an old friend – a friend who has never looked so good after all these years.

MAGNUM P.I. – THE COMPLETE COLLECTION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: TOM SELLECK, JOHN HILLERMAN, ROGER E. MOSLEY / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 12TH

 

In The Perfect Insider a programming genius is murdered in a locked room in her research base. Visiting architecture professor, Souhei Saikawa takes it upon himself to solve the case, and learn what it has to do with the death of the victim’s own parents, which occurred fifteen years prior.

The Perfect Insider is a rather sombre affair. It is a detective story, and much like a detective it handles its subject in a slow, and methodical manner. There is some humour but the focus is mostly on reflection, and a tense atmosphere that highlights the danger that the main characters are in. Unlike many mystery shows there is only one mystery across the eleven episodes. This gives the characters space to breathe and allows for more contemplative moments that might not have happened had the show been in a rush to wrap up the mystery. Professor Saikawa’s assistant, Moe Nishinosono is an example of this.

In murder mysteries in which the crime is solved by a duo, the junior partner has often by made to appear dim, or ineffectual to make the genius of the main hero all the more apparent. This was a fate that briefly befell Sherlock Holmes character John Watson before it was reversed by more recent adaptations. Luckily for Nishinosono this is a fate that she avoids. The character is clearly junior to the professor but she is a maths genius and has her own skills. The fact that the murder is solved by her professor is shown as being down to his advantages in experience rather than any ineptitude on her part.

The character of Shiki Magata is already dead for most of the show, so most of what the audience learns about her is relayed through flashbacks. This includes the death of her own parents. Shiki Magata was suspected of killing them and it is through these flashbacks we see if that was true, and why they died. These flashbacks are integrated well with the main plot and give the viewers an understanding they wouldn’t have had without them.

The Perfect Insider is a tense murder mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the intrigue going over the eleven episodes. The motivations of the killer and their victim could have been dwelled on a bit more for some extra clarity but this feels like an anime that wants to contemplate the actions of the characters rather than merely explain them to you. For the most part the show uses its time well. This is an anime for someone looking for a slow, reflective show that takes its time in explaining its message.

Special Features: Clean opening and closing animations

THE PERFECT INSIDER – COMPLETE SEASON COLLECTION / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: MAMORU KANBE / SCREENPLAY: OONO TOSHIYA / STARRING: ATSUMI TANEZAK, IBUKI KIDO, YASUYUKI KASE/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Jamil Dehlavi’s Jinnah documents the trials and tribulations of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the man who fought British imperialism and his own countrymen for the formation of the sovereign Muslim state of Pakistan. The film is a sweeping yet intimate examination of Jinnah’s legacy, mulled over by the man himself.

Jinnah (Lee) wakes up in the afterlife and is led through his own personal history by a questioning celestial entity who attempts to weigh up Jinnah’s intentions with the realities of his bloody revolution. It’s an odd choice of structure considering the subject matter. On one hand, the fantastical element seems ill-fitted to a story as important as this one, and yet the irregular approach gives the film a flare and directness that can easily be lost in this kind of politically charged hero-worship.

As the guide himself says, “We’ve had a lot of problems with your century…” and Jinnah isn’t just about the man, Pakistan, and British colonialism, it’s about the horrors of the 20th century and the men who led or fought those horrors. It’s about the complexity of issues and people which seem alien from the outside. The ’90s brought a few massive biopics to the table, but Jinnah isn’t the Pakistani reply to Braveheart, it’s more studied and curious about its leader in the vein of Schindler’s List.

In a film exploring the multi-faceted political, social, and religious issues spurned by colonialism, it’s odd to cast a white man as a Pakistani leader. Even stranger, and irritatingly void of self-awareness, to let Christopher Lee make impassioned pleas against British control and do it all in black face. Dated racism aside, Lee is actually tremendous and given an uncharacteristic opportunity to show his full potential as a screen actor. The film feels particularly important since the legend’s passing away last year. The rest of the cast are just as dedicated and there are some great turns from talents like James Fox, Indira Varma, Robert Ashby, and Shashi Kapoor.

Overall it’s a poignant glimpse at the India/Pakistan divide and the man who led it, hoisted up by a great lead performance and a near-aggressively questioning format. Dehlavi’s is the underdog ’90s biopic and an interesting companion piece to Richard Attenborough’s much-lauded 1982 film Gandhi; not only that, it’s a posthumous reminder that Christopher Lee was an incredible performer too often hedged in by type-casting.

JINNAH (1998) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JAMIL DEHLAVI / SCREENPLAY: AKBAR AHMED, JAMIL DEHLAVI / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER LEE, JAMES FOX, MARIA AITKEN, SHASHI KAPOIR / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

With a tagline reading ‘Lies eventually catch up’, Malcolm Deegan’s sole feature outing as writer and director is finally getting a UK release after debuting in Ireland five years ago. Advertising itself as a horror flick, and with the name Peter O’Toole emblazoned across its promotional materials, the truth is somewhat different. But for some very occasional bloody torture porn, Fractional is really more of a psychological thriller with a twist – and it’s not that Peter O’Toole.

Psychiatrist John Hatchett (Daly) wakes up in an abandoned warehouse, tied to a chair next to a table arrayed with a variety of knives and other tools. After failing to escape, Hatchett is joined by David Crowe (the other O’Toole) and the torment begins.

Made for less than £10,000, you might be forgiven for expecting Fractional to stick to its single location and its two actors, presuming the psychological aspect to be an unravelling of plot told in dialogue; basically, a stage play committed to HD VT. But as Crowe teases out the details of Hatchett’s background – including the lies that have brought him to his ex-patient’s attention – we begin seeing the story unfold through flashbacks involving Sarah (Bradley), the woman at the heart of Hatchett’s current circumstances both in life and in the warehouse.

Given that it’s on videotape rather than a lovely grainy film stock, Deegan does well to create an atmosphere in his primary location. The contrast between foreground and backdrop isn’t as defined as he might have liked, but generally Fractional looks a lot better than you’d expect – and Deegan has shot plenty of coverage so the back and forth between the two characters never gets visually boring. And the exterior shooting is gorgeous, offsetting the interior drama and increasing in frequency and length as the story progresses. It’s a clever script, self-aware enough to realise how quickly it might have become tedious rather than transfixing and taking appropriate measures to ensure that doesn’t happen.

The acting from the three principals is tremendous, Daly, in particular, impressing as the frustrated and rather surly psychiatrist. O’Toole and Bradley are less experienced, but Bradley provides a suitably emotional reality, while O’Toole (after ironing some early tics out of his performance) underplays the psychotic ex-patient with a subdued menace and not a little-concealed delight.

Fractional isn’t the most accomplished film you will ever see, the intermittent brutality actually distracting rather than helping to facilitate terror – and unfortunately the twist at the end is neither as logical nor as surprising as it needed to be. But it’s a more than reasonable effort especially given the meagre resources, making far more of itself than any number of similarly budgeted features. Worth a look.

Extras: trailer, commentary

FRACTIONAL / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: MALCOLM DEEGAN / SCREENPLAY: MALCOLM DEEGAN / STARRING: DESMOND DALY, PETER O’TOOLE, DONNA BRADLEY / RELEASE DATE: VOD OUT NOW

The success of Easy Rider in 1969 took everyone by surprise and after it, the big studios scrambled to make a spiritual follow up to bring the same new ‘counter culture’ audience back to theatres.  Director and star Dennis Hopper went and made 1971’s disastrous The Last Movie, and that same year his Rider co-star Peter Fonda chose The Hired Hand for his directorial debut.

The Hired Hand is the story of Harry Collings (Fonda), a man who some 7 years earlier abandoned his wife to be a saddle tramp, roaming the south-west, never really settling anywhere. He’s been doing this with friend Arch Harris (Warren Oates). Collings has been mulling over the idea of returning home and when circumstances force both men to move on again, he does just that. But his wife Hannah (Verna Bloom) understandably isn’t welcoming and Harris doesn’t feel the need to put down roots like Harry.

Although The Hired Hand on the surface displays the trappings of a classic western (including a violent past coming a-lookin’ for Collings) it wasn’t made to be one. Those seeking the hippie-dream-gone-sour of the biking classic were to be disappointed as well. The movie disappeared quickly from theatres and a couple of years later showed up on TV with extra scenes in it. Fonda himself never let it go, and with the later trend for revisionist westerns like Unforgiven it seems time for a proper reappraisal.

Fonda doesn’t like the TV version with the 20 extra minutes (though those scenes do come as part of the bountiful extras included here) so we get his original, less structured vision on this new release.

Anyone expecting the rush of Easy Rider was likely to be perplexed. For us though this is a considered, thoughtful film about a man’s place in his own world and the lifelong uneasiness that comes from never feeling truly tethered to anything until it might be too late. It’s beautifully shot and has an evocative score by folk artist Bruce Langhorne.

Elements of The Hired Hand are ahead of their time. Having something in common with Terrence Malick’s ‘70s movies, there’s a contemplative, autumnal feel to events. A word that’s often used in relation to later period westerns is ‘elegiac’ and it certainly fits here.

A lot of highly regarded films haven’t been understood properly at the time of release and only end up as universally appreciated ‘classics’ many years down the line after re-evaluation grants them that status. Fonda might be hoping for that with a film he clearly obviously cares very deeply about. We happen to agree.

It’s arguable that some people will still find it patience-testing, navel gazing noodling masquerading as a film. Others will appreciate the artistry of the filmmaking, the performances (Oates was never bad in anything, Bloom is excellent) and the poetry that comes from it.

We were in the latter camp and loved it, but it’s very much personal preference.

THE HIRED HAND (1971) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: PETER FONDA / SCREENPLAY: ALAN SHARP / STARRING: PETER FONDA, WARREN OATES, VERNA BLOOM, ROBERT PRATT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Raymond Burr’s Ironside is back for more network crime solving in another 26 episodes for the fourth season. On occasion, Ironside could be innovative stuff and though this season dips slightly in quality overall from the previous three, it remains consistently entertaining stuff.

Kicking off with Burr’s no-nonsense chief matching wits with a caller who has predicted murder, there’s no real upping of stakes, more a continuation of what people like about the show. As with the earlier seasons, we get a mix of crime show standards and some attempt to reflect the world the series was actually made in. A plus point for Ironside was (like the daddy of all these shows, Dragnet) that is wasn’t afraid to present on primetime some pretty grim scenarios (like in Love, Peace, Brotherhood and Murder, when an actress dies of heroin use). Of course, like any good procedural, people could sleep safe in the knowledge that by episode’s end an equilibrium had been established again.

Like other popular contemporary series, it’s packed with jobbing famous faces of the time (Bill Shatner was on his post-Trek 1970s guest star marathon and this season has his second of four total appearances from the run). Mixing in some location shooting with studio filming and de rigueur television stock footage, Ironside has at least a little local flavour of the city it was set in which adds to the time capsule flavour.

Part of what helped Ironside with keeping up quality was the regular pool of writers that allowed them to, here and there at least, play with knowing the characters. There’s also a bit more for Ironside himself to do this go around and time spent with Burr is a good thing. Overall, the limitations of a weekly crime series are creeping in more by this season, but for fans of the show part of the appeal is arguably just such familiarity.

For modern viewers, this will probably all come across as a relic of a bygone TV age. If you hanker for series long arcs as a reason to tune in this is not for you, following as it does an ain’t-broke-we-ain’t-fixing-it template. It’s rarely spectacular stuff, and arguably Burr was more magnetic as Mason when taking apart a lying murderer on the witness stand. But take an episode like The People Against Judge McIntire and it’s still able to twist the formula enough to keep things interesting.

Ironside hits that sweet spot somewhere between being surprisingly more innovative than its reputation would suggest and televisual comfort food often enough. For fans of the show or its genre rather than those with a casual interest, it still comes recommended.

IRONSIDE SEASON 4 / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: RAYMOND BURR, DON GALLOWAY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Most actors dream of playing an iconic character at some point in their careers. To be instantly recognised by an audience and associated with a classic show or film is to achieve a little slice of immortality. Raymond Burr managed this twice in his career, first as lawyer Perry Mason and then a second time around as Ironside. Even if you’ve never caught an episode, you’re still likely to recognise Quincy Jones’ theme tune when it kicks in. Although never quite as popular as Mason this character would still run for eight seasons.

As the series began, after being paralysed by a sniper’s bullet, Detective Ironside was forced to retire, only to return as a ‘consultant’ to the San Francisco police force. Heading up his own special team, the gruff but thoroughly decent Ironside fights crime from his special office at police headquarters

The ’60s and ’70s were tumultuous decades of change in different ways. At the same time, archaic attitudes about race and sex still dominated. Ironside appropriately reflects both of these contradictions.

In amongst a number of generic episodes that find the team hunting down standard TV criminals came episodes that touched (albeit usually only lightly) on the hot issues of the day like racism and sexism. It’s the type of show that can be progressive and retrograde on the same issue within the same scene and so represents its time period more than might be at first thought.

This third season does touch occasionally on more personal stories for the team. Opening with a tale of con men that prey on people to strip them of their savings (in this case Mark’s aunt) it kicks the season off with a fairly implausible Hustle-light battle of wits.

Much better and representative of the show is the season closer Tom Dayton is Loose Among Us.  We find out how Ed joined Ironside’s team after the death of his fiancé. The man he holds responsible is out of prison but Ed’s convinced this barely-hinged misogynist won’t be able to go long before his rage against women explodes again. It’s in this more creatively adventurous episode, as the team push and cajole Dayton that we can find admittedly cruder antecedents of things to come in later series like Homicide: Life on the Street‘s Three Men and Adena. It also shows off how guest stars could really elevate the material. Here it’s the performance of the much missed and underrated Bill Bixby, a very fine actor.

In between these two, there’s episodes of varying quality. It plays with form frequently enough which keeps them more often than not fresh, especially in episodes like Five Miles High. Also, by not having Ironside tethered to one city area but able to get involved with pretty much anything he likes there’s more variety to the cases.

A relatively strong showing from Burr, his team and a fairly small revolving stable of writers makes this a confident purchase for fans of the show.

IRONSIDE SEASON 3 / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: RAYMOND BURR, DON GALLOWAY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Comprising a dozen classic episodes and, more importantly, copious amounts of never-before-seen footage, the Roddenberry Vault will be for many fans – with apologies to Star Trek Beyond – the highlight of the 50th anniversary.

The result of a nearly decade-long collaboration between the Roddenberry family, CBS and Trek gurus Mike and Denise Okuda, the project painstakingly went through every surviving bit of footage from the series. Much of this was in the form of low-quality dailies made for Gene Roddenberry and kept by his family since his death in 1991.

Now it’s been examined, restored and presented here for the first time ever; what little behind the scenes footage of the series we’ve seen before has been in the form of blooper reels or home movies. What’s special about the Roddenberry Vault, however, is that we get actual unused footage from the series.

Chief amongst these are several deleted scenes. Unlike today, where every second of a series’ production is catalogued for posterity, in the ‘60s it was very different. In many cases, fans didn’t know if extra scenes that appeared in novelizations or scripts ever existed. Many of those legendary scenes are here. We won’t spoil which ones, as half the joy of the set is discovering for yourself, but expect more from characters such as Khan, Edith Keeler, and possibly Sulu’s biggest dialogue scene of the entire series.

There’s also a number of alternate takes of existing scenes, as well as altered or omitted dialogue, occasional snippets from before or after scenes, raw effects footage and yes, even the occasional blooper. Much of this is pure gold. It’s amazing watching the relaxed, smiling Leonard Nimoy change into Spock as the cameras start rolling, or to hear additional lines from one of Kirk’s most famous speeches.

A small note of caution, however: all the footage here is from low-quality prints, not the original negative, so don’t expect a pristine restoration. The picture quality isn’t always great, there’s missing dialogue, and one famous deleted scene only exists from Spock’s reaction shot, with McCoy’s lines read off-camera by the script supervisor.

There are approximately 45 minutes of recovered footage here, expanded to near three hours through fairly standard making-of material, featuring an impressive collection of interviewees. All the surviving main cast members feature, as do behind the scenes personnel and guest stars including Leslie Parrish and Clint Howard.

Rounding off the set is 12 episodes, including The Corbomite Maneuver, Devil in the Dark and Return to Tomorrow. There’s a few new commentaries and, for the first time, isolated music tracks. If you’re not overly familiar with the Original Series, the episodes here are amongst the finest.

For most, though, it’s the newly-discovered footage that’s the main selling point. We’ve been kept waiting half a century for it, and for many, this is the Holy Grail.

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – THE RODDENBERRY VAULT / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / STARRING: WILLIAM SHATNER, LEONARD NIMOY, DEFOREST KELLEY / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 5TH

 

You have to laugh. In 1973, hotshot British director Peter Medak was on a roll with an Oscar nomination under his belt and an offer from Paramount to direct Charles Bronson in Death Wish on the table. But Medak passed up that opportunity when Peter Sellers asked him to try and revive a Goon’s ailing career with a script called Ghost in the Noonday Sun. It was one of those genuine ‘what if?’ moments – a point at which Medak could have single-handedly prevented the rise of Michael Winner and the great cloud of terror he brought down upon cinemas and restaurants in the last decades of the 20th century.

Instead he went to Cyprus to make one of the most notorious cinematic car-crashes of the 1970s. Blighted by Sellers’ deeply mercurial behaviour on and off-set, it was shelved for a decade before finally seeing the light of day three years after Sellers untimely death as an apology of a VHS release in 1983. Now it’s finally made it to DVD, what’s Ghost in the Noonday Sun actually like?

The story is essentially a proto Monty Python and the Holy Grail-style run-around with Sellers as a mad ‘Orish’ chancer by the name Dick Scratcher who falls into becoming a sea captain because of his knowledge of a priceless buried treasure trove. This can only be located with the help of a boy who may or may not be able to see the ghostly clues that will lead Scratcher and his motley clutch to the loot. Along the way there is some mild child snatching, a lot of speeded-up sword-fighting, some really nice cinematography and plot holes so big they jump up and wave at you like demented royalists at a hospice opening. And goonery, much goonery.

Indeed, although it’s based on a novel by children’s author Sid Fleischman, this feels like a Goon movie that’s in need of, but clearly didn’t get, substantial re-shoots to insert some scripted laughs in place of Seller’s mumbled improvisations. You can certainly see why it was shelved; this is no lost classic. But with ‘technical advisor’ Spike Milligan turning up at Sellers’ request halfway through to ignite some spark into proceedings, there’s some funny stuff here, particularly if you buy into that Mad Dogs and Englishman ‘70s strain of UK comedy. Dick Scratcher living up his name and shooting the resultant insect through the ship’s deck and a cameo from his ghostly old Mum will definitely have you giggling if you stay the course. Moreover, as disenchanted as he was with the experience of making the film, Peter Sellers can’t help but imbue Scratcher with that oddly haunting mix of idiocy of vulnerability that made him such an affecting screen presence.

With all the stories about what went down behind the scenes, it seems a strange decision to put this out as a bare-bones DVD with no supporting material. If any film is crying out for a tell-all documentary, it’s this one. The stories of Sellers’ antics are legion – from firing the producers, to hi-jacking the crew to film a cigarette advert, to faking another heart attack so he could bunk off back to England to have tea with Princess Margaret, it’s a subject ripe for exploration

Luckily, Peter Medak (whose directorial career recovered from the experience) agrees and is working on The Ghost of Peter Sellers, a feature-length reminiscence due for release in 2017. It should make for an essential companion piece to the movie itself.

GHOST IN THE NOONDAY SUN / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: PETER MEDAK, SPIKE MILLIGAN / SCREENPLAY: EVAN JONES, SPIKE MILLIGAN, ERNEST TIDYMAN / STARRING: PETER SELLERS, ANTHONY FRANCIOSA, SPIKE MILLIGAN, CLIVE REVILL, PETER BOYLE / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 12TH