Just uploaded is a soundtrack review of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, the latest film by Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola, which opens January 25. Also up: a podcast interview with Hansel and Gretel composer Atli Örvarsson, and an update on my current short-short film (er, editing exercise), Liquid Puppetry, filmed in Newvicon-o-vision-o-rama, with teasing frame grabs.
Soundtrack reviews of Orbital’s Pusher (Silva Screen) and Ramin Djawadi’s Red Dawn (Sony Classical), plus some thoughts on the recent sale of veteran soundtrack label Varese Sarabande to the Cutting Edge group for $100 million smackadoodles (which is about the same in Canadian smackadoodles).
In tandem with the release of Danny Elfman’s score to Hitchcock (Sony Classical) I’ve uploaded a release of a rarely seen Alfred Hitchcock film – Waltzes from Vienna (1934) – his only, er, musical. Also added: minor Editor’s Blog on best-of lists, and the need to acknowledge Dumb Moves and Missed Opportunities by labels large & small.
Quick Editor’s Blog and review links for Leith Stevens’ Destination Moon (1950), recently released on CD by Monstrous Movie Music, plus related material at KQEK.com Mobile. Also added: Chapter 2 of the Making of BSV 1172 at Big Head Amusements regarding burns, spots, and splotches on vintage tube video cameras.
Editor’s Blog & review of Fritz Lang’s Indian epic – Tiger of Eschnapur + The Indian Tomb (1959) – which screened this month at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as part of the Indian Expressionism series.
Now Where Were We? Right. Let’s go back to LAST NIGHT (1998)
Don McKellar’s LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause in activities at KQEK.com
Gothic Steele: An Angel for Satan (1966)
Review of AN ANGEL FOR SATAN / UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1966), Barbara Steele’s last Italian Gothic, on Blu-ray from Severin Films
Spanish Giallo I: When a Cannibal is not a Cannibal, but When a Scream is Indeed a Scream
Severin Films showcases the work of Eloy de la Iglesia via two fine Spanish gialli entries: NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973) + CANNIBAL MAN (1972)
ArtScopeTO 10: Interview with Abstract Painter Donna Wise
For my occasional podcast series ArtScope TO, Abstract Painter Donna Wise discusses her unique techniques, and working during the 2020-2021 pandemic.
Podcast: Jason Pichonsky on Restoring Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + PHOBIA (1980)
Alongside a podcast with CanCon film historian Jason Pichonsky are revised reviews of Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + John Huston’s PHOBIA (1980), both from KINO Lorber / Unobstructed View.
Podcast: ANNE WITH AN E composers Amin Bhatia & Ari Posner
Podcast interview with ANNE WITH AN E’s composing team Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner.
Assorted characters collide and interact in the lead-up to Earth’s demise at precisely midnight.
BR: Angel for Satan, An / Un angelo per Satana (1966)
Had Barbara Steele remained in Europe – especially Italy – during the early 1970s, she may well have appeared in giallo thrillers…
BR: Cannibal Man / La semana del asesino / Apartment on the 13th Floor, The (1972)
Cannibal Man has a palpable crime-drama feel – the events unfold after daily title cards – and one can sense Hitchcockian sensibilities…
BR: No One Heard the Scream / Nadie oyó gritar (1973)
After the grisly thriller Cannibal Man (1972), Spanish auteur Eloy de la Iglesia opted for a far less graphic thriller which is part giallo…
DVD: Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films, The (2014)
Produced and released around the same time as Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), the approach by director Hilla Medalia is a more authorized chronicle…
Connect