Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

CERT: 15 / FORMAT: BLU-RAY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Film versions of stage plays are generally divisive: how far from the original to stray? How beyond the playwright’s intention is the filmmaker’s? All that jazz. But Sidney Lumet’s 1977 version of Peter Shaffer’s hit 1973 National Theatre production is one of the most effective and powerful stage-to-screen translations because it takes confident risks and lands them. Stridently literalising a highly stylised stage production, with real horses instead of giant puppets, it’s a full-tilt psychodrama of a very English persuasion, despite the rather conspicuous Canadian location filming.

Teenage loner Alan Strang (Peter Firth) is committed to the care of psychologist Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) following an incident where the curly-haired lad blinds six horses with a sickle at a stable where he’s been working at weekends and getting the eye from Jenny Agutter. Alan isn’t the full shilling, of course, being the product of a fractured homelife in the ‘care’ of a religious zealot mum and a pussywhipped dad (Joan Plowright and Colin Blakely – utterly brilliant both). His self-created mode of ‘escape’ from all this is a bizarre worship of horses – which is how he ends up starkers above a stable with Jenny. But – drat it! – this most-‘70s of teenage sexual opportunities has him flapping like a wind-sock, so it’s time to take his abject failure out on those innocent nags downstairs in the most medieval way imaginable.

Lumet casts this to perfection. Firth, who created the role of Alan on stage, is astonishing, but this is all about Richard Burton in his last truly towering performance. Delving into Alan’s psyche and seeing a profound pattern to the boy’s outwardly crazed behaviour has a converse effect on Dysart’s fragile academic assumptions about ‘sanity’. Deep into late-phase alcoholism, the actor rages and broods with a controlled power you know is taking him over the top to a place few performers could, or perhaps should ever inhabit. It’s not a movie you’ll want to go back to very often, but because of Burton’s harrowing conviction, entreating us to come with him into the mouth of madness, you won’t need to: it’ll be under your skin and in your dreams.

This comprehensive 2-disc BFI re-release majors on director Sidney Lumet, with an 89-minute interview from 1981. Peter Firth is the subject of an excellent new 45-minute chinwag on his career and there’s a host of other equine goodies including some tangential but still-interesting short films although not (Firth fans rise up now and fight back!) any episodes of his breakout series, Here Come the Double Deckers. Best of all here is In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton, Tony Palmer’s sprawling 1988 feature-length documentary profiling the great man. To call it an ‘extra’ doesn’t do it justice.

CERT: PG | PLATFORM: BLU-RAY | RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 17TH

Though best remembered for inspiring the face of DC’s Joker, The Man Who Laughs, a 1928 silent movie directed by Paul Leni for Universal, is an important part of horror history. It now gets its first ever UK home release courtesy of Eureka.

Based on a Victor Hugo novel, it’s an eighteenth century-set tale. Conrad Veidt stars as Gwynplaine, who as a child had his face mutilated into a disturbing grin. He scrapes a living as a carnival performer, amusing audiences with his permanent ‘laugh’, but when Queen Anne’s court learns of his existence and true aristocratic heritage, the subsequent scheming throws this life into turmoil.

The movie packs a lot in – romance, political intrigue, swashbuckling action, and an enjoyably anti-authoritarian energy – but at the centre is Veidt’s incredible performance. You can see how he inspired the Joker, but Gwynplaine is a different character entirely, much more sympathetic, unable to believe that his blind companion could truly love him were she able to see his face; this heart-rending take on living with a deformity puts the film ahead of its time.

Yet it also had a massive influence on horror cinema; Leni’s eerie gothic visuals strongly informed the later Universal classics, and two of his main collaborators here – art director Charles Hall and make-up virtuoso Jack Pierce – would help define that series.

The 1080p presentation comes from Universal’s 4K restoration, and there’s a choice of soundtrack – a recently recorded score by the Berklee School of Music, or the (much tinnier) original movietone. Behind the scenes interviews and featurettes explore the film’s place in cinema history, plus there’s a booklet of essays.

CERT: 12 / FORMAT: BLU-RAY

Broadcast in November 1966, Power of the Daleks is one of the ‘Holy Grail’ Doctor Who serials in that it introduced both Patrick Troughton as the second on-screen incarnation of the Doctor and the concept of ‘regeneration’ (referred to here as ‘renewal’) that gave the series a handy get-out clause when its lead actor decided that it was time to move on from the show, paving the way for the dozen or so actors who have followed in Troughton’s wake. Frustratingly, the original episodes were purged by the BBC back in the 1970s and the entire serial was animated in 2016, in time for the story’s 50th anniversary.

Power of the Daleks reappears now in 2020 to celebrate… err… its 54th anniversary and the animators, having admitted that the ‘rush job’ nature of the original meant that the animation wasn’t quite all it could have been, have made some tweaks and adjustments that make for a smoother and more naturalistic viewing experience, albeit within the inevitable limitations of an animated version of an original live action production. This is really the best we can expect from what is actually a fairly mundane story – the newly-renewed Doctor and his friends Ben and Polly arrive on the planet Vulcan where Earth colonists are foolishly experimenting on a recovered space capsule containing a group of apparently inanimate Daleks – but even improved animation can’t properly fill in odd gaps in the high quality audio and we don’t really get a decent sense of the little tics and quirks the expressive Troughton would have brought to his performance.

Still, this new 3-disc edition boasts a raft of interesting new special features (especially an archive Alan Whicker documentary from 1968 exploring the phenomenon of horror fiction on film and TV, which is a hoot) that alone make the double-dip purchase worthwhile.

CERT: 18 | PLATFORM: BLU-RAY | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It’s 2008 and global warming has caused London to flood, meaning the use of leather jackets, weird John Lennon sunglasses and very big guns are now compulsory for the police. Well, at least for the renegade, loose cannon type. Fulfilling this iconic stereotype is Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer), who is on a mission to stop the serial killer who murdered his partner. Joining him on this gun-toting, blood-soaked ride is green pencil-pusher Dick Durkin (Alastair Duncan) and Stone’s ex-partner’s wife, Michelle (Kim Cattrall), who do their best to add some comedy and sex appeal to the proceedings. Oh, and the creature doing the killing is as baffling as it is cool.

The appeal of this low-budget indie favourite is that it wears its meagre budget, cliché-ridden script and general cinematic inadequacies on its sleeve. Clearly visually inspired by Japanese manga and 2000AD, the stereotypes and banality of the dialogue are masked deftly by a wonderful sense of daft escapism. And, above all, it’s Hauer that makes this infinitely watchable as he lives out every fanboy’s fantasy of becoming a cigar-chomping, quip-spitting action man on the edge, all beautifully “haused” in his enigmatic screen presence. Honestly, any film is worth watching for Hauer’s performance and this film is no different.

The film looks great in this new high-definition transfer and comes complete with an audio commentary. But, as is often the way with these releases, it is fulfilled by fans of the film rather than cast or crew talent. Not that this is always an issue, but here it certainly is. The facts are plentiful, but while filmmaker Arne Venema does his best to stay on track, film historian Mike Leeder loves the sound of his voice far too much and constantly talks over Venema with jokes only he laughs at. It’s also out of sync with the movie by a good few minutes, which is frustrating.

A second disc gives you a great selection of interviews with the producer, actor Alastair Duncan, music composer, line producer, effects designer and cinematographer. All of which help to fill in the blanks left by the audio commentary and make for much more interesting viewing. Original material is also included, including a making of, featurette and promotional TV clips.

Best of all, though, is the inclusion of the Japanese cut, featuring a flurry of additional scenes that are great to see, even if they are presented in 4:3 with burnt-in Japanese subtitles. Finally, the set comes with a gorgeous little booklet on the making of the film that sits in a box with really nicely-produced new artwork.

CERT: PG | FORMAT: 4K BLU-RAY | RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 10TH

Flash Gordon’s reputation has grown over the years and, watching this glorious 40th anniversary 4k restoration, you can see why.

The things it was criticised for back then are now its crowning achievements. Its comic book nature translates perfectly to the screen, acting and script strike the right balance of fun and gravity and the whole thing speeds along like an Ajax rocket.

The ropey effects are now filled with loving nostalgia. They are breathtakingly beautiful, especially the stunning cloudscapes. And the production design is out of this world – rarely has a film looked so good. Queen’s score is the best thing they ever did, although most of it is the work of Howard Blake.

Max Von Sydow as Ming gets it just right with a menacing balance of charm and sadism. Topol’s bonkers turn as Zarkov matches the film perfectly, not knowing whether it’s high camp or serious SF, and the rest of the cast go along with it – Timothy Dalton coming across all Errol Flynn, Peter Wyngarde stealing scenes with just his voice and, of course, Brian Blessed.

A host of extras includes a commentary from Blessed and one from director Mike Hodges. Both Sam Jones and Melody Anderson appear in the 90 minute “Life After Flash” documentary which provides a fascinating insight into what happens when you don’t become a big film star, but it all gets a bit ‘praise Jesus.’ More interesting is a documentary about the year Nic Roeg spent working on the film before Dino de Laurentiis abandoned his serious dystopian version for something more fun. If only both versions had been made…

CERT: 15 | PLATFORM: DVD, BLU-RAY (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 4TH

Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke is one of the greatest villains in the DC Universe, with a fascinating backstory, complex goals and motivations and having gone head-to-head with the likes of Batman, Nightwing, Green Arrow, the Justice League and the Teen Titans. He was so popular that the character began transitioning from comics to other forms of media, including the Teen Titans animated show, CW’s Arrow and Batman’s Arkham videogame series. Oh, and he also had an extremely brief cameo in Justice League (that’s including both versions). This new animated film dives deeper into Deathstroke’s backstory, touching upon Slade’s life as a military man, becoming a test subject that gave him his heightened abilities, his complicated family life with two children (Rose and Joseph Wilson) spawned out of two different love affairs, and his battle against H.I.V.E..

For a near 90-minute movie, this does a very solid job at analysing Deathstroke’s character, showing what drives him as a person, revealing his more compassionate side as opposed to his more ruthlessly violent one, and how being a mercenary for hire leads to devastating consequences for him and his family. This is largely because this story was written by expert comic book writer J. M. DeMatteis who, for the most part, hasn’t put a foot wrong when it comes to writing exciting yet layered stories. The animation style is really impressive, allowing for more fluid character movements and is leagues better than most of the recent DC animated movies that were modelled in the style of the New 52. Michael Chiklis does an impressive job at capturing Deathstroke’s war-weariness, nailing both the humanity and the ruthless sides of Slade’s character.

While the ending feels too abrupt and could’ve been resolved better, Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is an impressive animated film that shows why DC’s Greatest Assassin is one of the best characters in that universe. The writing, voice-acting and animation are all solid, resulting in this being of the better DC animated movies in recent years.

PLATFORM: 4K BLU-RAY | RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 17TH

In the year 2000, David Tuohy’s low budget sci-fi horror Pitch Black introduced the world, for better or worse, to the charms of the bullet-headed Vin Diesel. It’s the role he was born to play but we can’t help wishing he hadn’t felt the need to play it again in two underwhelming sequels that failed to capitalise on the character’s interesting USP.

The spaceship Hunter-Gratzner and its complement of mismatched passengers held in cryostasis is damaged by ‘micrometeoroids’ and crashlands on a nearby desolate planet. Three suns keep the planet in perpetual daylight, but the crash survivors – including Vin’s Richard B. Riddick, a vicious criminal with surgically modified eyes that allow him to see in the dark –soon attract the attention of carnivorous underground-dwelling bat-like predators who are themselves sensitive to light. An eclipse is imminent and the creatures will soon be free to roam and hunt above ground…

Pitch Black is superior B-movie fare and the DNA of Alien courses through nearly every frame, albeit with less engaging characters which makes the first forty minutes or so a chore. But when the creatures arrive and the killings start, the film finds its feet and the group’s battle for survival becomes thrilling and visceral. This new 4K transfer sharply contrasts the bleached brutalism of the daylight sequences and the vivid obsidian dark of the night scenes, and some new featurettes combined with material carried over from earlier releases deliver a satisfyingly definitive presentation of an underrated sci-fi potboiler never likely to attain classic status but always guaranteed to entertain.