Wow, this is one of these weeks. Even if there’s nothing here you want to buy, there may be a number of items below to put on your Netflix list. And don’t forget your local libraries, either:
TV this week
Nostalgia fans might want to check out three sets of random Saturday Morning Cartoons, one each for
The ’60s (TOP CAT, ATOM ANT SHOW with PRECIOUS PUP & HILLBILLY BEARS, THE PETER POTAMUS SHOW with BREEZLY and SNEEZLY & YIPPEE, YAPPEE and YAHOOEY, SECRET SQUIRREL SHOW with SQUIDDLEY DIDDLY & WINSOME WITCH, THE FLINTSTONES, THE PORKY PIG SHOW, THE QUICK DRAW McGRAW SHOW with SNOOPER AND BLABBER & AUGIE DOGIE, THE JETSONS, MARINE BOY, SPACE GHOST/DINO BOY SHOW, HERCULOIDS, FRANKENSTEIN JR. AND THE IMPOSSIBLES, THE MAGILLA GORILLA SHOW with PUNKIN PUSS & RICOCHET RABBIT.)
and ’70s (THE JETSONS, THE BATMAN TARZAN ADVENTURE HOUR, HONG KONG PHOONEY, GOOBER AND THE GHOST CHASERS, SPEED BUGGY, WHEELIE AND THE CHOPPER BUNCH, YOGI’S GANG, AMAZING CHAN AND THE CHAN CLAN, ROMAN HOLIDAYS, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, THE NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES, FUNKY PHANTOM)
I’d go with the ’60s, but then, that’s my era. However, you can’t argue with the set that offers a couple of Herculoids episodes.
Meanwhile, vampire and HBO fans will want to check out True Blood S1.
Other TV: 24 S7; Friday Night Lights S3.
Movies:
PICK OF THE WEEK:
C’mon, like there’s any question?
It’s the #664 DVD at Amazon right now, which is pretty great for this sort of flick. Here’s to many more.
Bollywood Horror Collection 3 Another pair of zany sounding Indian horror flicks, including an obvious Nightmare on Elm Street knock-off.
Speaking of foreign awesomeness, it’s delightful news that arthouse label Kino is branching out into Japanese exploitation.
I don’t know much about Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! from 1963, but that poster art alone warrants a look.
Three Seconds Before the Explosion is a ’60s Japanese crime meller, also from Kino.
Meanwhile, Synapse continues to mine this field, offering this week two presumably bloody Japanese Woman revenge flicks, Wandering Ginza Butterfly and Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler. The latter co-stars Sonny Chiba.
The foreign goods continue to come:
Muscle Madness brings together 5 Peplums, i.e., Italian sword and sandal titles, including GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963)/COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (1960)/THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959)/WAR OF THE TROJANS (1962)/HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964).
Girl on a Motorcycle aka Naked Under Leather 1968 An arthouse hit from back in the days when such fare was about the only place you could see nudity and racy material at the cinema. This is one of the better known such titles, starring Marianne Faithfull as the girl in the Emma Peal catsuit (and nothing else) and Alain Delon. This is supposedly quite ’60s-ish, if you take my meaning. Let’s just say I’m sure Austen Powers saw it several times and thought it quite groovy.
The Legend of Blood Castle 1972 Spanish flick that is another one centering on Countess Elizabeth Bathory.
Nightmare Castle This Barbara Steele mini-classic has been available via several discs, but this is supposedly the one with the really good presentation of it.
What, nothing for the fan of American films? Well, look here:
Paramount issues a couple of two-disc special editions this week, one for the essential The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, one of the greatest of all Westerns. Stars Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and Lee Marvin, with appearances by John Carradine and Woody Strode. Just a classic movie. If you don’t own it yet, this is a good time to buy it. The set offers a supposedly gorgeous presentation of the film, along with two commentaries and an hour long making of documentary.
Not as good, but fun, is El Dorado, Howard Hawks’ admittedly lessor redo of his own Rio Bravo, starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, with a young Jimmy Caan in there too. Hawks would go to the well with Wayne a third time with Rio Lobo, but that’s another story. As with Valance, this offers both commentaries and a making of documentary.
Speaking of the great Robert Mitchum, Criterion brings us a nicely cynical tale of dishonor among thieves in The Friends of Eddie Coyle. One of Mitchum’s better performances there. The disc also offers a director’s commentary.
Driven to Kill Wow, it’s the first new DTV Steven Segal movie in well over a week!
The Last Horror Film. Prime ’80s slasher sleaze, starring Joe “Maniac” Spinell and the beauteous Caroline Munro.
Man Hunt is a nifty old suspense flick. Big game hunter Walter Pigeon visits Germany and as a lark pretends to hunt Hitler, but finds himself in a bit of a bind when the Nazis think he’s serious. Directed by the great Fritz Lange, and what a cast! George Sanders, John Carradine, the young Roddy McDowall. This is the sort of obscure gem you hope for every time you go to see what’s on Turner Classic Movies.
My Bloody Valentine, 3-D with 3-D glasses or flat; regular DVD or Blu-Ray, take your pick. Hell, you can even buy the unedited original if you want.
Outlander A space traveler following the monster who killed his family crash lands in ancient Norway and everything goes Beowulf. I saw this in Tennessee when I was visiting Joe “Opposable Thumbs Films” Robin and it was pretty nifty stuff. I have no reason why it didn’t draw more attention, but you should really give it a look.
Pufinstuff The pilot movie. Somebody at Sid & Marty Krofft’s was doing some serious drugs back then.
Riot on 42nd Street An ’80s call-back to ’70s drive-in sleaze. Review here.
Regular movies:
Paul Blart Mall Cop
Valkerie
New Horrors
Bane
The Devil’s Ground with Daryl Hannah.
Eden Log
Infected It’s got a monster and stars Judd Nelson and the really should have better work Isabella Rossellini. Well, I shouldn’t necessarily say ‘stars’; they’re featured on the box art, but who knows if they have decent sized roles or just make a three minute appearance at some juncture.
