DVD Spin Doctor

Top horror DVDs, Blu-rays of 2009

The year's best horror movies on Blu-ray and DVD, straight from the digital dungeons deep beneath L.A. This being DVD Spin Doctor, artistic merit counts: Every decapitation a thing of beauty; every zombie lost in thoughts of Dante and Bosch ...

The William Castle Film Collection (Sony): Night and fog. The Thames River. A shadowy and portly figure greets viewers: "Hello, my homicidal friends." Hitchcock? Nah, it's just William Castle, that P.T. Barnum of American horror films. Sony's slick box set rounds up the director's essential fright flicks, including "The Tingler," "13 Ghosts," "Straightjacket" and "Dr. Sardonicus." Three of the eight films are making their DVD debuts, while the others have been remastered to the studio's high standards. Castle was known for making fright fun, so be prepared to scream and laugh along with these killer Bs from a half century ago. Start with the ace documentary "Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story" and then go directly to "The Tingler," starring Vincent Price and the world's lamest -- but plenty scary -- movie monster.

Audition (Shout!): Japanese director Takashi Miike's masterpiece, renowned for its mixture of mind-bending horror and lonely-hearts drama. Shout! Factory just updated the title, adding an intro and a new feature-length commentary from the bemused director and his screenwriter. "You may regret watching it," Miike humbly warns viewers. Devotees no doubt wanted to go kiri-kiri-kiri (deeper-deeper-deeper) with a definitive 10th anniversary edition, but Shout's DVD and Blu-ray editions are the best to date. (They include more than an hour's worth of cast interviews and a booklet essay.) The tale is of a lonely widower who uses a movie audition as a ruse for meeting women. He's soon obsessed with a long-haired beauty who comes with plenty of baggage -- stuffed full of instruments of torture. Essential, compelling, sick, heartbreaking ... a modern classic of horror. 

An American Werewolf in London (Universal): The studio that first brought us the werewolf does a makeover on Jon Landis' horror-comedy gem from 1981. This was among the last of the makeup horror movies, done by effects wiz  Rick Baker -- the transformation scene is his Oscar-winning masterpiece. "American Werewolf" hasn't aged a bit: the rotting corpse guy is still a hoot, the violence has plenty of kick and Jenny Agutter was never more luminous. Plenty of extras, including a new feature-length documentary. The Blu-ray images look quite good considering the original's softness and grain. The super-crisp soundtrack -- filled with all those lunar songs like "Bad Moon Rising" -- will have you howling along. "Moondance" has never sounded better.

Deadgirl (Dark Sky): Ever wonder what it would be like to have sex with a zombie? Me neither, but you'll get an eyeful in this sick piece of business. In a mostly lame year for new horror films, "Deadgirl" returns us to the days when viewers could be equally repulsed and fascinated by a low-budget shocker. A vaguely hot zombie is turned into a sex slave after a couple of high school guys find her chained up in an abandoned mental institution. Jenny Spain turns in some fierce work as the titular dead girl. Those who are offended by, well, pretty much anything that could be shown in a mainstream movie should steer clear. Directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel belong on any horror fan's watch list.

Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection (Sony): "Mothra" returns, in glorious Tohoscope. This genre trilogy from Japanese director Ishiro Honda stretches from 1958-1961, prime time for radiation meltdowns, alien invasions and giant monsters from the far East. The rarely seen "Mothra" is the big deal here, finally getting a U.S. release that lives up to its reputation. Sure, Mothra the monster looks like a tube sock (see the Tingler), but the film boasts many fine miniatures and effects. The story concerns a gangster who steals singing fairies from a mysterious island. Mothra comes to their rescue, winning hearts as it levels what's left of Japan. The other movies are "The H-Man" and "Battle From Outer Space," both pretty good. Sour note: Sony went all cheap with the packaging, sticking three discs on the same spindle.

Repulsion (Criterion): Madness, murder and a breathtakingly young Catherine Deneuve drive this psychological horror movie from Roman Polanski. Criterion's Blu-ray version delivers exquisite black-and-white images, all the better to capture the awful goings-on in the apartment of a young French woman living in London. "Repulsion" characterizes the anti-heroine's response to men, but get a load of the famous rotting rabbit on a dinner plate that mirrors her deterioration into madness. Another fine Criterion chiller from this year is "Empire of Passion" (1978), an erotic ghost story from Nagisa Oshima.

Timecrimes (Magnet): Slasher meets sci-fi. Spain's "Timecrimes" deals with time travel on a micro scale -- not even a day passes by. The film's budget wasn't much. There are no special effects or splashy concepts. Director Nacho Vigalondo doesn't need them. A well-off suburbanite, Hector, witnesses some odd events in the woods. He rushes off to investigate and finds a naked woman, dead. Hector's soon been stabbed by a frantic man with ghastly pink bandages covering his head. Hector seeks help in a rural lab, where a slacker mad scientist is doing temporal experiments on the cheap. Hector is convinced to hide in a clunky time machine, which transports him back an hour. Thus begins a comically sinister loop that plays like a "Memento"-style puzzle.

Drag Me to Hell (Universal): Life is full of choices, some fateful, some fatal. Your choice here is between the uncut version of Sam Rami's roller coaster of a horror movie and the theatrical. Either will do for the Blu-ray hell-ride to come, fueled by a hyperactive sound mix and sparkling digital images. Bank officer Christine made her choice by evicting a strange old lady from her home, bringing on a curse that's good for 90 minutes of horrific action. Universal's killer presentation includes a lengthy collection of production "diaries," in which we meet the true lady with the evil eye ... and she's a sweetheart. Director Rami was long overdue in returning to his icky roots in horror. Universal also just broke out a Blu-ray of Rami's "Army of Darkness," the fun, dumb and furious follow-up to the two "Evil Deads."  

Underworld Trilogy (Sony): The "Underworld" franchise -- so obsessed with time, lineage and the great ghostly events of the past -- undergoes a resurrection of sorts with this complete Blu-ray box set. Those revisiting the vampire vs. werewolf series can tear into fresh meat by rearranging the three films into a linear chronology. In other words, start with the prequel, "Rise of the Lycans," proceed through the original "Underworld," and wrap with the sequel "Evolution." No one will confuse this series with the "Matrix" trilogy, but "Underworld" has been a satisfying modern series in the Hammer spirit. All three movies look terrific on Blu-ray. Audio is solid, sometimes remarkable. 

Let The Right One In (Magnolia): Hip Hollywood vampires have become a plague this year -- here is the antidote. Yes, it appears this DVD release was botched with the use of substandard subtitles (compared with the U.S. theatrical release). But "Let the Right One In" can't be missed, and there's no point in waiting for the proper DVD (to be marked "theatrical version"). Director Tomas Alfredson turns his cameras on two 12-year-olds, one a sad boy, the other a sad girlish vampire. They live in a crappy part of Stockholm, where life sucks and locals are starting to turn up drained of blood. Among the best horror movies of the decade -- if not the best.

Top 10 horror movie DVDs of 2008

Blu-ray review: 'The Complete Monterey Pop'

Monterey the rock festival still stands in the shadows of the bigger and gaudier Woodstock, but "Monterey Pop" the film has no rival as a time capsule of late-'60s rock."

D.A. Pennebaker's documentary was smarter, hipper and more musical than other rock films of the era. Yes, that includes the endlessly celebrated "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music," recently tricked out on video for the fest's 40th anniversary.

The Criterion Collection gave "Monterey Pop" its due back in 2006 with a carefully crafted DVD box set. Now, the label is back with the movie in high definition video and lossless sound.

Disc 1 of Criterion's Blu-ray box brings together a fully restored version of the original film and several hours of bonus performances. Disc 2 has the two spinoff films starring Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding.

"The Complete Monterey Pop Festival" Blu-ray set retails for $70, $10 less than the DVD version, which had three discs. The packaging is smaller but almost identical to the 2006 edition. The beautiful booklet loses some visual impact, as it's reduced by an inch or so all around.

Audio and video easily pass the acid test. An A-B comparison of the Janis Joplin showstopper "Ball and Chain" was fairly dramatic, with the Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA) boasting a much more musical audio experience than the DVD.

The separation in original engineer Eddie Kramer's 5.1 mix felt even more vivid yet better balanced, while the instrumental shrillness that runs throughout the soundtrack was mitigated. Joplin's voice had better presence and came across as much warmer.

I actually preferred the DVD audio on the Who's "My Generation," which had more balls and power than the Blu-ray rendition -- distortion and blunt force being good things here.

Rear channels give off stadium ambiance, instrument echoes and audience cheers, making for an open, you-are-there vibe. Likewise, the HD video taken from the original 16mm negatives looks flower-child fresh, with almost none of the deterioration that plagued pre-2006 "Monterey Pop" videos.

The upgrade to high definition seemed to tame the grain a bit, but the 16mm stock clearly limits what could be done. (Audio and video on the outtakes have significantly rougher edges, including a lot of hair on the lenses.)

"Monterey" was, remarkably, the work of a filmmaker without a clue. New Yorker D.A. Pennebaker knew nothing of the bands he was filming or of the world-changing events unfolding before his cameras in 196

"I was the most ignorant person there," Pennebaker recalls in his commentary. "It was a strange kind of Martian adventure for me."

"Monterey Pop" captured the hippie music scene at a time closer to the Newport of Dylan than the chaos of the big Eastern rock fests. Many acts were folkies making the transition to rock, accomplished performers right at home on Monterey's small, traditional stage. The mixed bag of performers included hitmakers the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, Canned Heat, the Who and Buffalo Springfield.

Festival and film producer Lou Adler says Monterey provided the tipping point between the gentler "old guard" and the new wave of guitar-fueled psychedelia.

"The film had a lot of the energy of what was coming," he say

Several of the era's biggest acts -- notably the Beatles and Stones -- failed to make the scene in Northern California, leaving the glory to a pair of mostly unknown performers: Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The Blu-ray's revved-up audio echoes the shock of new from Joplin's "Ball and Chain" and Hendrix's "Wild Thing."

Time has been kind to many of Pennebaker's creative decisions. The inclusion of international acts Hugh Masekela and Ravi Shankar gives the film a contemporary musical tone. Otis Redding makes the cut, not Lou Rawls. Editing avoids the frantic cuts of rock clich

Pennebaker ("Don't Look Back") speaks at length about Indian musician Shankar's raga that is the thrilling but challenging finale. The plan that day was to focus on the audience reacting to the exotic Indian music, so Shankar's stage cinematography was left to two inexperienced cameramen.

"It turned out to be the most extraordinarily dramatic piece of music we ever ran across," the director recalls. During editing, Pennebaker says, he resisted pressure from Mama Cass Elliot to cut the lengthy instrumental, saying nothing could possibly follow it. Writer Truman Capote, of all people, encouraged Pennebaker to retain the number and the ensuing ovation that provides the film's touching final moments.

The cinema verite enhances many of the film's charms: When Eric Burdon sings "Paint It, Black," Brian Jones walks among the crowd, unheralded. You either get it or you don't -- the camera moves on either way.

Adler, who partnered with Mamas and Papas frontman John Phillips to produce the festival, tells how a peace broke out between the rival rock factions of L.A. and San Francisco to facilitate the event.

Monterey was financed by network TV, with young ABC exec Barry Diller envisioning a musical special. Once fest organizers realized what they had, they deliberately screened Hendrix's R-rated performance for the ABC suits -- and were allowed to go elsewhere.

Outstanding outtakes on the set include Paul Butterfield, the Electric Flag, the Byrds and Laura Nyro. A bonus three-song segment from the Who features drummer Keith Moon at the peak of his crazed powers. The Mamas and the Papas close the show, and the bonus section, with what would be their next-to-last concert.

Extras include audio interviews with the late Phillips and other key performers, Pete Townshend discussing his famous backstage flap with Hendrix, and Tiny Tim performing in the green room, a piece of theater as trippy as anything ever cooked up in Haight Ashbury.

Massive Kurosawa set due from Criterion

Criterion will cheer fans of Japanese cinema with its December release of "AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa." 

The $400 set includes a swarm of previously released Criterion Kurosawa releases, bolstered by four new-to-region 1 titles, all made during WWII: "The Most Beautiful" (1944), "The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail" (1945), and the two "Sanshiro Sugata" movies (1943, 1945).

"Sanshiro Sugata" aka "Judo Saga" tells the story of a martial arts student who fights his way to maturity. The "Sugata"sequel (poster below) sends the hero up against American boxers. "Sanshiro Sugata" was Kurosawa's first film as a primary director. Its release on DVD was long overdue on these shores. These are clearly the best new titles.

 "Tiger's Tail" tracks a fugitive lord and his entourage as they travel in disguise through a dangerous forest. It's an hourlong film, lightly regarded. "Tiger's Tail" was banned by occupying U.S. forces.

 "The Most Beautiful" is a propaganda-like effort that profiles young women who work in an optical plant in the waning days of WWII.

"AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" includes many classics -- such as "The Lower Depths," "Throne of Blood," "Rashomon" and "Seven Samurai" -- as well as the obscure. There is "Kagemusha," but not "Ran." 

Among the other early titles are "One Wonderful Sunday" (1947) and "Scandal" (1950) two terrific entertainments from last year's "Post-War Kurosawa" box. (View the list of the new Kurosawa box set's titles.)

Note that the versions of these films in the box set are not necessarily the latest and greatest from Criterion, which has done multiple releases of many Kurosawa works.

Criterion's Kurosawa regulars Stephen Price and Donald Richie contribute to an illustrated book that comes with the linen-bound set. 

The Kurosawa box set from Criterion streets Dec. 8. 

"Throne of Blood," also included, has just been rereleased as an Essential Art House title, going for about $14 on Amazon. This is the master at his best. Also, "Kagemusha" hit Blu-ray last month with stunning visuals.

Other upcoming Criterion issues of note are "Wings of Desire" (Nov. 3), "Z" (Oct. 27) and the recent "A Christmas Tale," with Catherine Deneuve (Dec. 1). 

Buy "AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" at Amazon for only $299.

'The Prisoner' captured in Blu-ray format

"The Prisoner" is making a break for Blu-ray, after several years of rumor and speculation about the cult British TV show going high-def. 

A&E Home Video has just confirmed it will release "The Prisoner: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]" on Oct. 27. 

Patrick McGoohan created and starred in the series, which has been fully restored from the original film elements. There's newly remixed 5.1 audio as well as the old-school mono.

"The Prisoner" seems to have survived in good shape, based on previous DVD releases. Expectations for the transfer to Blu-ray will be high, given the show's imaginative, odd and colorful sets and costumes, as well as its gorgeous seaside locations. 

I'm good with any excuse to revisit "The Prisoner" (even at its 15-hour running time) -- the occasion of an HD release works just fine.

Here are some of the bonus features, either new or not previously released in the U.S.:

• Two new featurettes, "The Pink Prisoner" and "You Make Sure It Fits!"
• Feature length documentary "Don't Knock Yourself Out," featuring most of the key players in the production. (McGoohan died early this year.)
• A newly restored original edit of the first episode, "Arrival," with an optional music-only track featuring "Wilfred Josephs' complete and abandoned score."
• The original edit of "The Chimes of Big Ben" (The previous box set had a "rare alternate" version of the episode.)
• Commentaries from production veterans on seven episodes.
• Image archive with more than 1,200 stills.

"The Prisoner" is contained on five discs. Full-boat retail is $100. 

The British series, which first confused and delighted viewers in 1967 and '68, enjoys a "Star Trek"-like following of those dedicated to its rat's nest of mysteries and intrigues.

All 17 episodes of "The Prisoner" have been out there for most of the DVD era, with five volumes unleashed in 2000/2001 and "vThe Prisoner: 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition" coming in 2006.

New DVDs: 'Adventureland,' 'Duplicity'

A trio of good smart movies hit the DVD shelves in recent weeks, competing for best in show in these dog days: "Adventureland," "Duplicity" and "Tyson."

"Adventureland" comes from the same guy who busted out with "Superbad," but don't hold it against this dandy coming-of-age movie, set in a low-rent amusement park. 

The movie drew great reviews but failed to find much of an audience, ticketing only $15 million at the domestic boxoffice (compared with $121 million for "Superbad"). Here's hoping the midway movie finds its audience on home video.

The movie pinballs from comedy to drama to romance, propped up by familiar story elements -- basically, a lost young man finds himself with the help of friends wise and foolish, and falls in love along the way. 

The star is Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale") and the leading young lady is current hot property Kristen Stewart ("Twilight"). The film comes packed with good performances.

Director-writer Greg Mottola based the story on his "ridiculous job" working in a Long Island park during the "fateful summer" of 1984. While the movie embraces the decade, especially in its hair and music, Mottola says he guarded against "Adventureland" "becoming a long cheap joke on the '80s."

The music certainly makes a case for the era. 

Mottola says in the DVD extra features that his script specified songs for each scene -- mostly atmospheric rock songs that haven't been overplayed. And so we have the Replacements, Big Star, Husker Du and the Cure -- with Lou Reed imported from the '60s and '70s to provide a few songs and a plot element. It's as if Madonna never existed. Yo La Tengo does the "Adventureland" score. 

The movie sounds solid, especially on the Blu-ray. The video looks good enough, although the production's low budget becomes apparent at times.

Extras on the Miramax DVD and Blu-ray of "Adventureland" include a few (weak) deleted scenes, a hilarious piece on the nads-busting kid, a fashion skit with park vixen Lisa P, and some more dumb ads and videos from the pretend park. (Hint: Watchers of the credits are rewarded.) 

Mottola does the commentary track with star Eisenberg, although it's mostly the director's talk.

"The last thing I'd ever recommend is looking back on your youth and trying to figure it out and make a movie about it," he says, mostly joking.

"Duplicity" writer-director Tony Gilroy has a few good war stories on his commentary track, such as what it's like to shoot superstar actress Julia Roberts on the streets of midtown Manhattan (immediate chaos).

Gilroy's movie repaired Roberts with Clive Owen ("Closer"), in a tale of corporate spies turning on their handlers. "Duplicity" certainly looks all high-tech modern, but its roots are in the caper films of the 1960s, such as "Charade." Some critics found the darkly funny film too smart for its own good, but I had a great time.

Universal Studios' Blu-ray of "Duplicity" is super sharp and dimensional, a showcase presentation. In a show of class, the disc opens immediately with the menu for the film (unlike "Adventureland," which has Disney's usual parade of promos and trailers).

Gilroy's commentary (done with editor and co-producer John Gilroy) serves as the only extra feature.

The brothers talk at length about the film's opening flashback scene, set in Dubai, which resulted from studio execs' notes. Placing the "throwaway scene" at the film's beginning changed the film dramatically, they say, making the story less confusing. Regardless, viewers need to remain engaged to hang with the fast-moving, time-shifting plot.

Director Gilroy talks about his great relief upon discovering that Roberts wasn't too cool for school -- the actress was "so cool, so sweet" and so helpful in finishing the movie.

"Tyson" director James Toback has mostly good things to say about the subject of his in-your-face film about the combustible former heavyweight champ. 

Viewers, though, are left to make up their own minds about the uber-boxer and his elaborate spin on his past. In a way, "Tyson" is as much a self-portrait as a documentary. 

Mike Tyson had just emerged from rehab when filming began. The retired boxer agreed to let Toback make the final call on all content in the movie, which consists almost entirely of the boxer sifting though his past. (The movie was shot before his young daughter died.)

Tyson's voice has an odd, slightly hypnotic quality -- more mature and resonant now -- that stands up to the movie's running time. He sits for the camera (the tattooed face you get used to, honest), sometimes wandering around a swimming pool and an L.A. beach.

No one else appears in the live action scenes. When the film cuts away from Tyson, it's for fight footage, archival news clips and images. All of Tyson's highlights and lowlights are there -- this is no fan movie.

Toback says Tyson often sat in silence while the camera ran. At times, he's on the verge of tears. Otherwise, he's in control, offering explanations, rationalizations and a few general apologies. Toback has humanized Tyson, no small feat.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's Blu-ray of "Tyson" comes with a handful of decent extras, centered on Toback, not Tyson. The director also does a commentary track.

Other recent DVDs and Blu-rays of note include Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco" (Criterion), "thirtysomething" (Shout! Factory) and "Surveillance" (Magnolia Home Entertainment).

Blu-ray review: Kurosawa's 'Kagemusha'

Criterion's Blu-ray of Akira Kurosawa's late-period masterpiece "Kagemusha" merits a table-pounding call for owners of the previous DVD to upgrade. It's that work of alchemy we've been waiting for since the classics label got into the HD game.

Purists who hated Kurosawa's move from soulful black and white into color will find plenty of aggravation here. The colors are amazingly saturated -- almost to the point where you wonder about the authenticity. Compared with the standard definition DVD of 2005, it's like watching another movie. An even more exciting movie.

The Blu-ray's 4.0 audio adds to the myriad visual pleasures. Shinichiro Ikebe's score comes across strong, with vivid separation across the three front speakers. The taiko drums roll out just like thunder while the rush of hooves fills the listener's room.

All of this comes together in the opening scene, in which a messenger runs past the colorful banners and uniforms of various companies of soldiers on his way to headquarters. By the time he gets to the purple gang, you know you're in for something special with this Blu-ray presentation.

The Criterion Collection has rereleased "Kageusha" on Blu-ray in a single-disc version that includes the thick booklet that came with the DVD (missing about an inch of width). The aspect ratio remains 1.8:5 and the running time is three hours, the full Japanese version.

The 1970s film stock retained a fair amount of grain, but that texture feels naturalistic -- it comes to us honestly and is rendered harmless by the raging colors, anyway. Contrasts are remarkably strong and there is a good dimensional pop in spots. There is some softness throughout. Wear has been banished.

"Kagemusha" offers more of a curious tale of adventure than an emotional experience on the level of Kurosawa's greatest dramas. The director deliberately keeps his characters at a distance. The movie tells of a thief who is pressed into service as a double after a great warlord dies. He grows into the job, but not nearly enough to save the mountain clan. ("Kagemusha's" cool subtitle is "The Shadow Warrior.")

The film covers the chaotic years of 1573-75, in which clans battled for control of Japan. The samurai who once fought with swords picked up rifles, a sudden advance in the art of war that led to the infamous slaughter at Nagashima and eventually to the unification of Japan. This is the world of "Kagemusha."

Akira Kurosawa "always had a great story to tell," says director George Lucas, who along with Francis Ford Coppola executive produced the film after Kurosawa struggled with financing. They brought clout and money, essentially allowing the film to be made.

The master director had feared the film would never be made and had set about telling the story via his incredibly detailed storyboards. (Some of the more dramatic storyboards reappear on the Blu-ray in a split-screen comparison with finished scenes.)

Criterion's extras from the 2005 double-disc DVD have been ported over. You can read about them in this DVD blog's review of the previous Criterion "Kagemusha." There are no additional bonus features for this high definition edition, which is fine given the generous collection already assembled. There was backstage drama to burn on this production, and it's all there in the extras.

More Kurosawa DVD reviews
High and Low
Ran & Throne of Blood