This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (02-19-13)

 

 

 

 

While there are some randomly bizarre releases out this week, such as….

 

A Special Edition of Charles Chyer’s 1984’s “Irreconciable Differences” is being released for some reason (maybe because of Drew Barrymore’s birthday this Friday? I’m at a loss.) unbeknownst to me.  This was sandwiched between two horror flicks for the pouty young Barrymoore, after “Firestarter” and before “Cat’s Eye”, and has her playing the precocious daughter to Ryan O’Neal and Shelly Long, who is suing them for being obsessed with their careers and themselves. How very 80s. I never saw it. I was fourteen.  

 

Also for unknown reasons, there’s a version of 1991’s  “Highlander 2” being released. They’ve dropped “The Quickening” and replaced it with “Renegade Version” – at least, I think. I’m sure there’s “Highlander” geeks out there who know more than I do. It may be directed by Russell Mulcahy, who directed the first movie, but I mostly remember this being a nonsensical mess.

 

Other questionable releases include, “Lake Placid: The Final Chapter” and “just because” two Arnold Schwarzenegger releases “The Running Man” and “The Terminator“.

 

Two recent 3D releases, “Monsters, Inc” and “Top Gun” are now out on Blu-ray….if you have 3D home capability, that is. I didn’t see either fo those during their recent theatrical run, but I heard the 3D in “Top Gun” was kinda grainy.

 

What am I looking forward to? Well, I do want to catch up with “Sinister” the horror flick released this past fall starring Ethan Hawke, which was co-written by film critic Robert C. Cargill with director Scott Derrickson (who also wrote and directed “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” a solid courtroom procedural). I heard mostly good things about it. Since 2012 wasn’t a banner year for horror, it might be worth checking out.

 

The Big Deal  though, is the Criterion release of Best Picture winner, “On the Waterfront“, directed by Elia Kazan, who won the Oscar for Best Director. It’s not just one of my favorite Marlon Brando films (which he won an Oscar for), but also one of my favorite crime dramas of all time. Screenwriter Budd Schulberg (“The Harder They Fall” and “A Face in the Crowd”) won an Oscar for his wonderful work in a film that  also stars Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb and Rod Steiger. It was also the feature film debut of Eva Marie Saint (at age 30) who would go on to earn a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role. Including those 5 wins, the 1954 film went on to win 8 Oscars, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Editing, out of a total of 12 nominations.

 

As usual, the Criterion design and packaging is just as phenomenal as the bells and whitsles that the stuff their titles with. Take a look for yourself! The standout for me is the fantastic artwork by Sean Phillips, one of my favorite artists.

 

That’s enough for this week! Previous reviews will be highlighted below! Enjoy the Rundown….