Region Free Blu Ray

I bought an HD DVD player a couple of years ago but the demise of the format and the relatively high price points of the competing Blu Ray players caused me to shy away from HiDef for a while...until recently.

I'd been doing some research -- see, I wanted to go "region free" AND I wanted to go Blu as well. Luckily there turned out to be a bargain-priced option in one box.

The Momitsu BDP 899 was touted on several video forums as being able to handle any disc -- all regions of DVD, PAL, NTSC, all regions of Blu Ray. The only problem was the price. The Momitsu was going for a cool $300 and change. Well, when sources confirmed that the new budget Sherwood BDP 5004 was nothing less than a clone of the Momistu -- at half the price -- I decided to jump.

Since I've only had the Sherwood a couple of weeks, my impressions aren't absolutely conclusive, but I can say so far that it's a great bargain for home theater fans who want to watch PAL DVDs and Region B locked Blu Ray discs from Europe but are willing to do without all the bells and whistles of streaming web, Netflix, etc (the Sherwood is capable of BD-Live via an ethernet cable, but by all accounts it's actually a liability to the player's performance). In addition to regular Region 1 DVDs and Blu Rays, my viewing options have opened up to include discs from all over the world -- a must for a fan of Eurocrime, giallos and art cinema like me.

There are a quite a few "Europe only" discs of note out there that I strongly recommend. First off Paramount's Blu Ray of ZULU can be had for around $16 on Amazon.co.uk and the picture is astounding, easily besting all previous DVD releases. It's also region free, so it'll play on any U.S. player. BFI put out Kenneth Anger's MAGICK LANTERN CYCLE on Blu and it's a revelation for fans of experiemental cinema. Highly recommended. Also available only as a Region B locked blu is Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS. Some fans have decried the rather rough print used for the digital transfer but the clarity and sharpness are top notch. Definitely an upgrade over previous DVDs. Michael Anderson's classic post WWII effort THE DAM BUSTERS is also available as a low-priced UK-only Blu. You'll probably never see this released in the U.S. -- thanks to the name of the Wing Commander Gibson's dog! (although there are still rumors out there that Peter Jackson is remaking this one).

The UK video label Masters of Cinema frequently duplicates Criterion's efforts here in the States but there are a few exclusive titles including Franju's JUDEX and the spooky Japanese cult-classic-in-waiting, HAUSU. Shameless offers region free PAL discs of slumming Eurotrash such as THE DESIGNATED VICTIM and THE FRIGHTENED WOMAN. And for the price of breakfast, you can get your mitts on the enhanced for 16:9 DVDs of Hammer's DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS or QUATERMASS AND THE PIT which have only been released here in the States as OOP non-enhanced discs from Anchor Bay.

The German branch of Amazon has it's own treasures, although the shipping, for some reason, is prohibitively expensive (usually more than the cost of the DVD itself). However, Sergio Corbucci's THE MERCENARY coming out on Koch DVD at the end of this month is nearly enough to make me sell my 16mm TV print. Maybe that'll cover the s/h cost. Now if only I could figure out how to read German...

THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR

Purchased and received my very first DVD from the "hand-made" Warners Archives Collection. They offer up professionally packaged DVD-Rs of obscure films for a pretty steep price ($20 plus shipping). I hadn't had the chance to check them out until I spotted Joseph Losey's THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR (1948) for sale. I'd been looking for a decent DVD copy of this film for several years.

On the surface, it's a rather gentle tale with a fantastic twist -- sorta like a Powell and Pressburger film from around the same era. Filmed in supernatural Technicolor (which really highlights 11-year-old Dean Stockwell's bizarre mane), there is never a reason offered for "the boy"'s hair turning emerald green. All we're told it's a sign to remind people that "war is bad for children." THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR is sad at times but ultimately uplifting. At one point, war orphans from posters come to life to inform the boy of his destiny. I wonder what folks made of this back in the late '40s? Future stars Dwayne Hickman and Russ Tamblyn make appearances as bullys who attempt to cut off the emerald locks.

And how's the picture? As I said before, I had never seen a Warners Archives disc but I can say that I was very satisfied with the presentation. There are some specs of dirt here and there on the film elements and a few shots that were a bit out of focus but generally it looked pretty good. Made before widescreen (which didn't come along until '53), the picture comes in around 1.33:1 aspect ratio so don't expect this to fill a widescreen TV. The mono audio was clear and quite loud. Since they didn't even bother to release a mass-produced DVD of this title, I doubt we'll ever see this looking better than it does which is a shame really. This would be a great Blu-Ray.

Kansas City Confidential

Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Directed: Phil Karlston
Written: Harry Essex, George Bruce
Starring: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster
MGM/ B&W / 1:33 / 99 m.

Let us now turn our attention to all things NOIR...Got my mitts on a brand-spanking new DVD of the recently released B-programmer Kansas City Confidential. Unfortunately, this rough little gem has been languishing in public domain hell for the past several years, available only in poor-quality DVDs from such dodgy distributors such as Alpha Video and Treeline. I already own two, unwatchable copies so I was really excited when I learned that MGM was gonna put out a re-mastered version. And what a difference that makes! I first caught KCC on a late-night UHF station about a decade ago. It was late, I was tired but the hard-boiled dialog, awesome cast of heavies (including Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef and Neville Brand) and atmospheric photography kept me watching until 4 AM. The MGM DVD is bare bones but the sharp picture makes you feel like you're at the very first screening. Totally implausible and unconnected with reality -- KCC is a fun film thanks to its pulpish unpretentiousness and second-hand style. Not the best of the noirs but definitely worth a look thanks to the new pristine DVD release.

Sweet!

Zero Hour!, the inspiration for the Zucker Brothers' Airplane!, is coming out for the first time on home video in June. Now it looks like two, hard-to-find classics from the twisted mind of Serbian director Dušan Makavejev are coming out on DVD the same month. 1971's "WR: Mysteries of the Organism" -- an international film studies staple -- will see it's first official North American DVD release as well as Makavejev's monumental "Sweet Movie" -- one movie that I thought I'd never see released through mainstream channels. Both Criterion DVDs will feature new, digital transfers, interviews with the director, critical essays and improved subtitles among other cool stuff. "Sweet Movie" is one of the most uncompromising films I've ever seen -- not for prudes or the faint of heart! But the classic score by Manos Hadjidakis is a must-hear. Look for John Vernon (Dean Wormer from "Animal House") in the role of "Mr. Dollars." Ground-breaking '70s cinema.

Zero Hour!

Finally, fans of the film Airplane! will be able to see the true origins of the '80s comedy classic when Zero Hour hits stores this June. The 1957 film, starring Dana Andrews as "Ted Stryker" has never been released on home video so this DVD, part of Warner Brother's "Camp Classics" collection, will be a real treat. My prediction: unintentional laughs galore as first time viewers hear Sterling Hayden say, "I guess I picked the wrong week to quit smoking." The Digital Bits reports that the film, along with a bunch of other b-movies, including Attack of the 50 Ft Woman and Colossus of Rhodes (Sergio Leone's directorial debut), will be released on June 26th.

Frightmare

Frightmare (1974)
Produced and Directed: Pete Walker
Written: Pete Walker, David McGillivray
Starring: Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax
Media Blasters/ Color / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 83 m.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but the allure of finding the ultimate "creepy horror movie" has led me down some pretty dodgy paths. Hearing that Pete Walker's "Frightmare" was a unique, English take on the grisly powertool murder films of the '70s, ala "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," well...I just had to check it out. After all, this movie was produced at the height of the creepiest part of the '70s...THE decade of creep. And yes, all of that era's polyester and shag is in full effect here. Bad haircuts, smoking everywhere -- you can almost smell the Pall Malls -- and a bucktooth British dollybird in the form of Ms Fairfax. But, alas, those are about the only good points in this rather pointless affair concerning a family of deranged cannibals (are there any other kind?) who mack out on any losers who happen to cross their path -- and being a relation doesn't give you immunity from ending up as part of the main course. The "shock" ending is pretty cool although the trailer totally gives it away! The scratchy print from Media Blasters is servicable. At least its anamorphic. But don't take my word for it, dig in for yourself if you're looking for a downer of an evening at home alone (nobody is gonna watch this moldy, old flick with you).

The Honeymoon Killers

The Honeymoon Killers (1969)
Directed and written: Leonard Kastle
Produced: Warren Steibel
Starring: Tony LoBianco, Shirley Stoler, Doris Roberts
Criterion Collection/ B&W / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 115 m.

I must've seen The Honeymoon Killers about 15 times. It became one of my favorite films back in the early 90s. Some of my friends still quote lines from the movie. All I can say is, if you haven't seen this gritty, ultra-low budget, true crime drama, then go out and get it this weekend. And there's really no excuse not to since none other than the Criterion Collection released it on DVD a few years back, enhanced for widescreen TVs no less. Back in my day, we had to walk 16 miles -- both ways...in the SNOW -- to see this film and it was only available in a fuzzy, pan and scan VHS version. AND WE LIKED IT. The Criterion DVD is absolutely breathtaking, looking better than I've ever seen it. I doubt that it would look much better on the big screen to be honest. The only problem is the tinny and distorted mono soundtrack which underlines the film's no dollar production origins. Unfortunately it also makes it hard to understand some of the dialog. Famous Frenchie director Francois Truffaut apparently used to tell people that this was one of his favorite films. Whether that's true or not, I'm sure John Waters got a chunk of inspiration for Pink Flamingos from this.

Hollywood is mounting a "sort of" remake to this movie...at least it's based on the same true story. Lonely Hearts will star John Travolta, James Gandolfini and SELMA HAYEK in the role of Martha Beck!!!! Unbelievable. I'll probably wait and rent it.

The Man from Planet X

This year, I plan on documenting my viewing habits with a bit more disipline than usual. With this in mind, I give you a little review of the very first film I've watched in the year 2007:

The Man from Planet X (1951)
Director: Edgar Ulmer
Produced and written: Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, William Schallert
MGM DVD/ B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 71 m.

Hungarian director Ulmer has long been a fan favorite thanks to his down and dirty work in such genre pictures as the Karloff-Lugosi vehicle The Black Cat (1934) and the cartoonish noir, Detour (1945). 1951's The Man from Planet X, regarded by many as the first film to deal with an alien invasion of Earth, is one of those movies that I'd been hearing about since I was a kid but had never seen. Thanks to a trip to the local used CD/DVD shop, I picked up a copy of MGM's out of print, full-frame DVD for $5. The film itself is a rather hokey melodrama starring B-grade actor Robert Clarke and Margaret (mother of Sally) Field as his underage love interest. The much ballyhooed alien is nothing more than a midget in a papier mache mask with a diving helmet who speaks in musical tones and may or may not be a bad guy. Actually, he looks a little like the banjo player from Deliverance. The downbeat, ambiguous ending is pretty cool and Ulmer actually makes good use of the low budget, painted sets and miniatures. Most people would find this 50s sci fi completely useless but I enjoyed its atmosphere and the B&W MGM presentation is as crisp as can be. Now if only Detour could receive the same attention!

Interestingly, Ulmer has Dallas roots. His 1960 films, Beyond the Time Barrier and The Amazing Transparent Man were both filmed right here in town.

Aspect Ratio and the Necessity of Enhanced DVDs

The 16:9 widescreen TV revolution has forced me to come to terms with the often misunderstood topic of DVD aspect ratios. It turns out some of the disks in my collection -- including "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- are now almost unwatchable, thanks to obsolete video technology that is still being practiced by some manufacturers and studios. Knowing the difference between an anamorphically enhanced DVD and a DVD presented in a simple widescreen format could be the difference between watching a movie and experiencing it -- especially on a flat-paneled TV.

First, a little primer: One of the first things to understand is the actual concept of aspect ratio itself. Aspect ratio refers to the ratio of the screen's width to its height. So a common cathode ray (CRT) tube television set, with its squarish screen, actually has an aspect ratio of 4 wide to 3 high, or 4:3. Since television screens are various sizes, the 4 and the 3 don't necessarily represent any one number of measurement. Most films made before 1953 were meant to be seen in the 4:3 format (also known as 1.33:1). With the advent of TV, Hollywood sought to lure viewers with something CRTs couldn't deliver -- a panoramic picture. Thus, the birth of widescreen in all its many flavors -- Cinerama, Cinemascope, Todd-AO, SuperPanavision, et al. The new format expanded the image ratio from 1.33 to 1 to up to 2.58 to 1 (in the case of classic Cinerama). Thanks to an anamorphic optical process utilizing special lenses, the photographed image was squeezed onto frames of 35mm and 70mm celluloid, resulting in a distorted, elongated image that was "decompressed" by another lens when projected, which actually distorted the image yet again, stretching the picture to fill the new, wider screens in movie theaters. With the anamorphic system, filmmakers could use up the entire frame of film, preserving much more detail than if black bars or letterboxing had been used in the frame. Viewers might remember seeing old movies on television where the actors and buildings appeared elongated and distorted during the opening credits -- this was the uncompressed anamorphic image, usually broadcast to display the full credits without cropping.

Which brings us to the new flat screen televisions. These high definition-capable screens are formated in what is termed 16:9 -- in other words 16 wide by 9 high. The ratio is also sometimes expressed as 1.78:1. Quite a change from the old 4:3 television screen. Note that most modern films are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but thanks to the capabilities of digital technology, an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 can be "stretched" out to fill a widescreen TV panel with no black "letterbox" bars.

A lot of the widescreen DVDs manufactured before 2000 look like complete doo doo on new LCD and plasma screens. Why? Before digitally, anamorphically enhanced 16:9 DVD transfers, most companies manufactured their disks for use on 4:3 television screens -- along with those harsh black bars on the top and bottom of the screen built in to the picture -- much in the way that older moviemakers did to create a widescreen picture before the introduction of anamorphic photography. While this looks perfectly acceptable on older sets, there is simply no way to stretch the picture to a 16:9 aspect ratio without creating severe distortion which some people apparently don't mind, judging from the "HD" broadcast quality of several local television stations here in Dallas which pull a 4:3 picture all the way across a widescreen, resulting in short, fat actors and squished sets.

Thankfully, many older DVDs, such as "2001" have been remastered in "enhanced for widescreen television" editions. And while the studios could be accused of double-dipping (they wouldn't ever do anything like that, would they??), it's hard to find too much fault since they've been rather forward looking on this issue for the past six years, producing anamorphic DVDs for a market that is only now being tapped into. Remember, always check the aspect ratio on the back of any DVD you're interested in and always look for "enhanced for 16:9 TVs", keep in mind that that cheap "bargain" you may find on eBay could be an old non-enhanced version of disk that will never play properly on your new LCD TV and finally, don't be alarmed if you still see black bars on certain films like "Star Wars," which features an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. There's no way of fitting the entire frame onto your screen without some cropping on the sides.

For (lots) more information on the history of widescreen cineman, check out the excellent Widescreen Museum website.
And this guy does a much better job at explaining the technical side of widescreen DVDs than I ever could.
Here's a really good site with pictures.

"Idiocracy" DVD Street Date Released

With all the hype surrounding Borat, it's easy to forget about the best satire to (barely) hit the big screen this year -- Mike Judge's Idiocracy. For the curious outside of Texas and LA, Amazon.com has announced that the DVD will be released on January 9th. And it's available for pre-order. I officially declare this a must-see.