1953 was a year in which two rival formats duked it out in cinemas: 3D via Gun Fury, and ‘glasses free’ CinemaScope via Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, both on Blu via Twilight Time. Also covered is Night People (1954), another early ‘scope production, on Blu via KL Studio Classics / Unobstructed View.
Between 1953-1954, Columbia’s foray into 3D spanned 8 films, with some productions benefitting from a mix of strong direction, scripts, casts, and 3D cinematography, but Gun Fury demonstrates the pitfalls of working with variable elements, and a team unable to fully grasp the demands of 3D…
Three things in one jam-packed update: review of Twilight Time’s 3D Blu of the desert noir classic Inferno (1953), thoughts on 3D, and my short experimental doc BSV 1172 Premieres this Fri. June 23 at Eye Myth Cine-Gallery. Read on for more details!
The idea a producer would go to the trouble of filming a 3D movie with underwater gear and see it released flat by studio Fox, then disappear from distribution makes the creation of September Storm an absurdity, and yet in spite of these unintentional mishaps, this orphan film became a high-profile restoration project for the 3-D Film Archive…
Reviews of the Vincent Price 3D classic The Mad Magician (Twilight Time) + The Bat (Anchor Bay) and Chamber of Horrors (WHV) and Some Thoughts on 3D.
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)
Review of the romantic meanie, OVERBOARD (1987), new on Blu from Severin Films, plus some thoughts on the 2018 remake.
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.
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…
BR: Deep Blood / Sangue negli abissi (1990)
The lineage linking three specific Jaws rip-offs from Italy goes beyond merely riffing Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film about a beach community threatened by a great white shark…
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