Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Based on Jaws author Peter Benchley’s book of the same name, The Deep finds David (Nick Nolte) and Gail (Jacqueline Bisset) taking in a spot of diving during a romantic getaway to Bermuda. After stumbling across an ampule of morphine on a sunken World War II freighter, they’re soon in the crosshairs of a Haitian drug gang headed up by Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.). Before they know it, David and Gail find themselves working with veteran treasure seeker Romer Treece (Robert Shaw) to nab this treasure before Cloche and his men can get their hands on it.

While the underwater sequences are often excellent and the musical beats of John Barry are phenomenal, The Deep sadly sinks more than it swims. Robert Shaw often steals the show whenever he’s on screen, and Louis Gossett Jr. is always great to watch, but the central story of The Deep is a sadly dull one that struggles to hold the attention – not helped out by the fact that the film clocks in at just over two hours in length.

Fleshing out this release, The Making of The Deep is a fun deep dive into the process of putting the picture together. An archived featurette from the time of the film’s original release, having Robert Shaw guide us through the ins and outs of The Deep was never going to disappoint. Elsewhere, film critic Kevin Lyons provides a solid chat crack and there are additional scenes pulled from the three-hour (yes, really!) cut of The Deep.

If you’re a fan of Shaw, this new release of The Deep could prove well worth your time. For everybody else, the film’s plodding narrative may find you biting off more than you can chew.

FORMAT: BLU-RAY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Ronny Yu’s slice of Asian phantasmagoria gets a fine Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka. The film, from 1993, holds up incredibly well; practical effects, dramatic lighting and a host of fantastic actors are enhanced by a great transfer and a plethora of special features (an archival ‘making of feature’ reminds you of the leap in digital quality).

Based on the wuxia novel Baifa Monü Zhuan, the film stars the late, great Leslie Cheung as Zhuo Yihang, an undisciplined member of the Wudang clan (the martial art sect not a rap group) who falls in love with mighty heroine Lian Nichang (Brigitte Lin), who was raised by wolves and then taken in by an evil cult. She is fantastic, never has anyone wielded a whip so skilfully, slicing people’s heads and bodies in half with ease. Naturally, Zhuo Yihang is smitten, they fall in love and vow to leave their respective sects for each other, but, of course, fate has other ideas. As is custom with films of this era, such as The Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy, the screen is often permeated with fog, bright blue lights and flowing costumes that create an ethereal look without the use of CGI.

The Bride with White Hair towers above the crowded wuxia genre with a concise run time, kinetic action, sensual love story and majestic moments of madness. To round the package off, we get two audio commentaries, one with Asian film expert Frank Djeng and one with Ronnie Yu, as well as interviews with the screenwriter, actor Joe Tay and Ronnie himself. It is great to see a classic film receive such loving treatment, something only physical media can provide.

CERT: 15 / PLATFORM: 4K UHD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Based on Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s comic book miniseries of the same, V for Vendetta first stomped to the silver screen in 2006. With Hugo Weaving as the mysterious, masked freedom fighter V, the film depicts a tale of revolution in which Natalie Portman’s Evey finds herself swept up in. Given its elements of social commentary and questions of governance – not to mention a virus starting to rise up – there are alarming elements of relevancy to V for Vendetta here in 2020. Not to linger too long on the plot, then, it’s time to see what’s under the hood of this new release of an old favourite.

From the moment that the opening V for Vendetta logo pops from the screen, you realise that this is a movie that will look glorious in 4K. And glorious, it most certainly does indeed look. The palette of director James McTeigue’s film lends itself beautifully and brilliantly to this 4K restoration of the original camera negative. Whether it’s the dark shadows of underground tunnels or the vibrant slashes and splatters of blood, V for Vendetta has never looked better. At times, it can feel a little like a redundant cash-grab when certain other movies are revisited and served up in 4K, but that is far from the case here. The film looks phenomenal, it sounds phenomenal (with a remixed soundtrack at play), and the movie hits just as hard now in 2020 as it did 14 years ago.

Not only has V for Vendetta been given a 4K upgrade here, but the release also has several new pieces of bonus material included. The V for Vendetta Unmasked and James McTeigue & Lana Wachowski in Conversation featurettes give a fun, fascinating and in-depth look back on putting the film together and the process of taking an iconic comic book of the same name. Then there’s a brilliant glimpse behind the curtain as we get to see Natalie Portman’s audition for the movie. Those special features are included on the 4K UHD disc, and then the accompanying Blu-ray disc includes all of the additional content that’s been featured on previous releases of V for Vendetta.

As a movie, V for Vendetta holds up amazingly well over a decade after its initial release. And as a release, this new, packed 4K UHD offering is the absolute perfect way to devour a film that almost seemed ahead of its time, yet simultaneously timeless.

CERT: 18 / PLATFORM: BLU-RAY, 4K UHD (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 16TH

Nobody has ever done zombies quite like George A. Romero. And in the pantheon of shuffling cinematic offerings served up by this iconic filmmaker, nothing quite touches the genius of 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. Now, 42 years after its initial release, Romero’s masterpiece is getting an absolutely crammed 4K release.

To brush over the plot, Dawn of the Dead – the second of Romero’s Dead franchise – finds a small group of survivors coming together to seek solace within a shopping mall as the zombie apocalypse unravels around them. It’s terrifying, it’s engaging, it’s humorous, it’s laced in social commentary, and it’s one of the all-time great horror movies. But chances are, you’re already well aware of this.

The big question here is what does this new release of an old favourite offer up to make it a worthy of spending your pennies on. Putting it out there, this release of Dawn of the Dead is one of the most impressive collections we’ve ever seen. Both the standard Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases of this set feature four discs of brilliance, with a further three audio CDs, a hardback book, and the Dawn of the Dead novelisation.

Across this glorious set, we have the original theatrical cut of Dawn of the Dead, the extended Cannes cut of the film, and Dario Argento’s cut of the picture. All three cuts are spruced up with 4K restorations, while there is a ludicrous amount of special features collected across all four discs – with one disc consisting solely of largely new bonus material. There are new documentaries, new production featurettes, new commentary tracks, and the always-welcome addition of new discussions with Tom Savaini.

To do justice to Second Sight’s new Dawn of the Dead boxset would take far, far more words than we’re afforded here. At around £75 for the 4K UHD set and £65 for the standard Blu-ray set, this is clearly an expensive addition to make to your collection. In terms of value for money though, this Dawn of the Dead release certainly offers up a ridiculous amount of bang for your buck.

Many will already have at least one version of Dawn of the Dead in their collection, meaning it may be hard to justify purchasing yet another release of Romero’s 1978 classic – especially given its price tag – but this beautiful boxed release of Dawn of the Dead is everything horror hounds could ask for and then some.

When Dalia (Saara Lamberg) was a child, she was rescued from an underground pagan cult. She was split from her two sisters, though, and vowed to never give up looking for them. Now older, she meets black metal fan Samoth (Dean Kirkright), who leads her to Moloch (Albert Goikhman), an enigmatic musician who lives the black metal lifestyle and lives deep in the woods. When she is faced with him, a world of malevolent forces and the fate of her siblings becomes clear.

Folk horror is making something of a resurgence and this Australian effort from director Mark Bakaitis takes a surreal, ethereal approach to the subject of paganism. Shooting some scenes in Lithuania adds a fantastic quality to the visuals – particularly in the in the drone shot over a packed graveyard. The nearest reference point would be Jean Rollin rather than Ari Aster, though. There’s nudity aplenty and dreamlike ceremonies pepper the action.

It’s ably acted – particularly by Lamberg and Jane Badler, who plays the High Priestess who presided over the cult in which she was incarcerated as a child – and the crossover with the black metal scene isn’t some hackneyed outsiders view of the subject. Care has been taken to treat the subject with respect rather than knee-jerk finger-pointing and scaremongering on the musical genre. It’s been made on a low budget, which may put off a casual viewer, but fans of ‘70s Euro horror may get a kick out of it.

Umbrella’s DVD has around 45 minutes of supplementary material, the best being a making-of featurette that also includes a separate section that focuses on the impressive sound design and music of the film. Likewise, the commentary from the director and executive producer Nathan Hill is enlightening and easy on the ear.

Breaking Bad was, and still, is, one of the most seminal crime dramas to have been shown on TV in recent years. It didn’t outstay its welcome by stretching it out over endless seasons, never ran out of new ideas, nor did it end in an unsatisfying manner. 2013’s series finale, Felina, provided the very best ending a show like this could get with the iconic Walter ‘Heisenberg’ White (played effortlessly by Bryan Cranston) receiving a fitting end. In that finale, we also saw White’s meth-dealing partner-in-crime Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) getting rescued by him, bidding farewell to each other, and driving off in an El Camino to freedom after being imprisoned by Todd Alquist and his gang for six months. Fans have often wondered what happened to Pinkman following those events, and now, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie answers those questions.

Jesse Pinkman was a standout character in the original series, but he was also a man that suffered a lot and lost a lot along the way since starting working for White. If Jesse’s journey in the show was evolving from a boy into a man, then this film solidifies him as becoming that man. This sees Pinkman still being haunted by all the trauma that he went through, and this film explores him trying to overcome that and achieving the quiet, peaceful freedom he’s been longing for so long, earning redemption and finally stepping out of White’s shadow. This allows Aaron Paul to give the best performance of his career, delivering the emotionally raw and distraught state Pinkman’s at, which brilliantly contrasts with the dumb yet spiky punk the character originally started out being. We also see plenty of characters from the show returning for a cameo each, and it’s a testament to Vince Gilligan that each appearance doesn’t feel tacked on but earned, and ties in brilliantly to Jesse’s swansong story. As well as returning to write this film, Gilligan has also taken up directing duties once again and manages to maintain the tense, confined, and claustrophobic atmosphere of the story, perfectly reflecting the nerve-wracking situation Jesse finds himself in as the walls are slowly closing in around him.

The Blu-ray disc contains some solid special features, including an insightful audio commentary with Gilligan and Paul, as well as a mega commentary that involves various cast and crew members detailing their experiences with the film. There’s also a half hour documentary about the making of the film (cast and crew interviews are peppered throughout), some deleted and extended scenes, plus an amusing gag reel. When it comes to features, there’s plenty here for fans to enjoy and will likely sit nicely when placed next to their Breaking Bad boxsets.

Overall, while some may view this as unnecessary, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is the fitting coda for a phenomenal five-season television show and gives Jesse Pinkman the ending he very much deserved. At two hours, the film runs exactly as long as it needs to and never feels like it is dragging or outstaying its welcome. Gilligan’s writing and directing is top-notch as ever, and Aaron Paul gives a career-defining performance. This film just further demonstrates why Breaking Bad, as well as its spin-off show Better Call Saul, is still cultural phenomenon to this day.

CERT: PG / BLU-RAY / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 2ND

A film based on a hit Broadway musical, itself based on a Fellini film, Nights of Cabiria, Sweet Charity is the story of, as the film’s subtitle tells us, The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved.

As played by Shirley MacLaine, Charity has a series of unsuccessful relationships and disastrous events as she works in a dance hall where she’s a woman for hire, and yet she keeps on smiling through the heartbreak until a chance of real love walks into her life.

The first film directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse, Sweet Charity display some of the hallmarks he’d go on to perfect a few years later in Cabaret. And whilst there’s no doubting the superiority of that film, Sweet Charity has plenty of spark and some truly cracking songs, ones you probably know but weren’t aware of which musical they were from, like Big Spender and If They Could See Me Now.

In the central role, MacLaine is just fantastic, she carries it. You believe her naive optimism whilst wanting to shake her out of it. And therein lies the problem. Despite the charm, Charity is a woman who is defined only by her relationship with men. Only at the film’s climax do we see a glimmer of hope that Charity could find out who she actually is without them.

Extras include an alternate ending (not a good one), a short documentary interview with Fosse, which is fascinating, a wonderful Super 8 version of the film plus trailer and a commentary. And the whole things looks shiny, colourful and bright in this Blu-ray edition.