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The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.The Last Winter (2006).What I am suggesting is that the imagery of disaster…is above all the emblem of an inadequate response. I do not mean to bear down on the films for this. They themselves are only a sampling, stripped of sophistication, of the inadequacy of most people's response to the unassimilable terrors that infect their consciousness.—Susan Sontag, The Imagination of DisasterOn 15 March 2022, an eastern Antarctic ice shelf the size of New York City collapsed into the ocean. Climate change is accelerating faster than anticipated, and the window in which to correct centuries of carbon dumping before setting off a sixth mass extinction event is minuscule, if not already slammed shut. Humanity has had decades to take action, but like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming SUV,...

It’s a spooky, snowy train ride across thousands of miles of Siberian rails — trapped on board with a victim-possessing creature from outer space, with eyes that kill! Actually, ‘Pánico en el transiberiano’ is a fine show for Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, a Spanish-made chiller with a smart script and some effective shocks.

Horror Express

Blu-ray

Arrow Video

1972 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date February 12, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video

Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Tortosa, Julio Peña, Ángel del Pozo, Helga Liné.

Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa

Original Music: John Cacavas

Written by Arnaud d’Usseau, Julian Zimet

Produced by Bernard Gordon

Directed by Eugenio Martín

Dedicated horror fans look to the past to uncover forgotten chillers, or just to complete their lists of rare items unseen. For instance, although no release date has been given, we’re told that Kino Lorber will be giving...

‘Things Blowing Up Good’ has been surefire entertainment since the beginning of cinema, but this ill-fated Cinerama extravaganza about the biggest explosion in recorded human history limps along despite some pretty darned impressive volcanic effects. It’s quite an entertaining spectacle, with various good performers in three soap opera plots, either overacting or loitering about with nothing to do. And don’t forget the from-left-field musical striptease.

Krakatoa East of Java

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.

Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer

Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes

Production Design: Eugèné Lourié

Costumes: Laure Lourié

Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper

Original Music: Frank De Vol

Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...

One of the best international thrillers ever has almost become an obscurity, for reasons unknown – this Blu-ray comes from Australia. Edward Fox’s wily assassin for hire goes up against the combined police and security establishments of three nations as he sets up the killing of a head of state – France’s president Charles de Gaulle. The terrific cast features Michel Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig and Cyril Cusack; director Fred Zinnemann’s excellent direction reaches a high pitch of tension – even though the outcome is known from the start.

The Day of the Jackal

Region B+A Blu-ray

Shock Entertainment / Universal

1973 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 143 min. / Street Date ? / Available from Amazon UK / Pounds 19.99

Starring: Edward Fox, Michel Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig, Cyril Cusack, Eric Porter, Tony Britton, Alan Badel, Michel Auclair, Tony Britton, Maurice Denham, Vernon Dobtcheff, Olga Georges-Picot, Timothy West, Derek Jacobi, Jean Martin, Ronald Pickup, Jean Sorel, Philippe Léotard, Jean Champion,...

No Highway in the Sky

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 99 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring : James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins, Janette Scott, Niall MacGinnis, Kenneth More, Ronald Squire, Elizabeth Allan, Jill Clifford, Felix Aylmer, Dora Bryan, Maurice Denham, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bessie Love, Karel Stepanek.

Cinematography: Georges Périnal

Film Editor: Manuel del Campo

Original Music: Malcolm Arnold

Written by: R.C. Sherriff, Oscar Millard, Alec Coppel from the novel by Nevil Shute

Produced by: Louis D. Lighton

Directed by Henry Koster

A few years back, whenever a desired title came up on list for a Fox, Columbia or Warners’ Mod (made-on-demand) DVD, my first reaction was disappointment: we really want to see our favorites released in the better disc format, Blu-ray. But things have changed. As Mod announcements thin out, we have seen an explosion of library titles remastered in HD.

Techno-thriller fans have been waiting a long time for a good disc of action ace John Sturges' sci-fi espionage suspenser. George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis and Dana Andrews must stop a madman who has snatched a full battery of deadly bio-warfare viruses from a super-secret government lab. Each flask can wipe out an entire city, and one of them will kill every living thing on the planet. The Satan Bug Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 114 min. / Street Date September 22, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, John Larkin, Richard Bull, Frank Sutton, Edward Asner, Simon Oakland, John Anderson, James Hong, Hari Rhodes, Henry Beckman, Harry Lauter, Tol Avery, Russ Bender, James Doohan, Harold Gould, Carey Loftin. Cinematography Robert Surtees Film Editor Ferris Webster Original Music Jerry Goldsmith Written by Edward Anhalt, James Clavell from the novel by Ian Stuart (Alistair MacLean...

Let’s face it, most of us have a soft spot for things blowing up in movies, and for a long time movies have been happy to feed our appetite for destruction. But it wasn’t always that way.

I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when explosions weren’t so common in movies. Back then, big-budget movies had dancing and singing, and everyone had a merry time. After WWII though, things started to change. In newspapers and magazines, Americans were being exposed to terrible images of war-torn Europe and Japan. This imagery was haunting, yet it sparked some imaginations. At first, Hollywood was careful not to glamorize it. They figured out a way to show massive destruction and violence while making it fun and moderately profitable instead of soul-crushing and distasteful. The 50’s became known for its low-budget cheese-fests; sci-fi B movies featuring such...

Power Rangers Super Samurai – Volume 2: Rise of the Bullzooka is the second volume of episodes from the follow-up series to Power Rangers Samurai. This generation of rangers is comprised of Red Ranger Jayden (Alex Heartman), Blue Ranger Kevin (Najee De-Tiege), Pink Ranger Mia (Erika Fong), Green Ranger Mike (Hector David Jr.), Yellow Ranger Emily (Brittany Anne Pirtle) and Gold Ranger Antonio (Steven Skyler). Together they are tasked with protecting innocent civilians from a variety of threats from evil Lord Serrator who unveils his mysterious master plan to enslave Earth with his Mooger and Spitfang army – battling against a duplicating Nighlok, Kevin and Mike getting stuck together with a sticky glue glob and overcoming an intense hunger toxin!

Unlike the previous PR Samurai releases, which typically combined a handful of episodes on each disc, this volume of Power Rangers Super Samurai Vol.2 features a whopping seven episodes from the series,...

The Mayans were right. They were just off by a couple of months! It’s Doomsday February 5th and Ground Zero is Way Out Club on when we present Super-8 End Of The World Movie Madness!

That’s right; we’ll be showing condensed (average length: 15 minutes) versions of several apocalyptic disasters on Super-8 sound film projected on a big screen. Here’s the judgment day lineup: War Of The Worlds (1953), When Worlds Collide, Crack In The World, Meteor, and Charlton Heston in Earthquake, and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Other (non-doomsday) films screening on February 5th are: Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson, Tom and Jerry in Million Dollar Cat, Jane Fonda in Barbarella, Woody Allen in Take The Money And Run, The Wasp Woman, The Deadly Mantis, a James Dean Clip Reel, and The Warriors.

Cover charge is a mere $3.00 and the show begins at 8pm. We’ll...

0:00 - Intro 3:00 - Review: Brave 34:35 - Headlines: Jurassic Park 4 Gets New Writers, Tmnt Reboot Put on Hold / Delayed, Charlie Sheen Cast in Machete Kills, Paul Verhoeven’s Jesus Movie is Happening, Ivan Reitman to Direct Buffalo Bills Comedy, Rob Zombie to Direct Broad Street Bullies, Monsters University Trailer, Dredd Trailer 55:30 - Other Stuff We Watched: The Faculty, Pitch Black, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Nightwatch, Daywatch, The Driver, Harold & Maude, The Girl on a Motorcycle, Crack in the World, Legend of the Guardians, Singin' in the Rain, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Nacho Libre, Dark Shadows, Adaptation, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Snow White and the Huntsman, Notorious, The Fp, Holy Rollers 2:04:10 - Junk Mail: Ivan Reitman vs. Judd Apatow, Movies Where the Title is Spoken in the Movie, Dumb Characters in Horror Movies, Life in Canada + Criterion Collection,...

The monster chomps and Joe Dante chats up Gorgo.

Ok. So it’s not an exclusive interview with The King of All Monsters, but it is the featured beast of John Landis’s sole commentary on our latest DVD. It’s Gorgo and he is gorgeous. Just look at him and then read Joe Dante’s thoughts. Just look!

Click to make Gorgo-sized.

Looks like dinnertime for Gorgo. He especially likes those diving bells because of their tangy metallic taste.

How acclaimed production designer Eugene Lourie ended up directing one movie three times (The Giant Behemoth waddled out in between this one and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) is anyone’s guess, but he certainly had an affinity for them.

He wasn’t a fan of the “suitmation” technique, preferring stop-motion, but he did enjoy shooting the panic-in-the-streets sequences. Nonetheless he quit directing after Gorgo, claiming the repetition was just too much.

Rank the week of July 5th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Hobo With A Shotgun

(DVD and Blu-Ray | Nr | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #3839

Times Ranked: 1526

Win Percentage: 47%

Top-20 Rankings: 7

Directed By: Jason Eisener

Starring: Rutger Hauer • Gregory Smith • Molly Dunsworth • Brian Downey • Nick Bateman

Genres: Action • Adventure • Crime • Crime Thriller • Thriller

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Wake Wood

(DVD and Blu-Ray | Nr | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #15374

Times Ranked: 35

Win Percentage: 32%

Top-20 Rankings: 0

Directed By: David Keating

Starring: Eva Birthistle • Ella Connolly • Amelia Crowley • Aidan Gillen • Timothy Spall

Genres: Drama • Horror

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13 Assassins

(DVD and Blu-Ray | Nr | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #2732

Times Ranked: 1084

Win Percentage: 59%

Top-20 Rankings: 8

Directed By: Takashi Miike

Starring: Koji Yakusho • Takayuki Yamada • Yusuke Iseya • Gorô Inagaki • Masachika Ichimura

Genres: Action • Ensemble Film • Period Film • Samurai Film

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Bloodrayne: The Third Reich

(DVD and Blu-ray | R | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #17903

Times Ranked: 30

Win Percentage: 42%

Top-...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases on Blu-Ray

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

13 Assassins (2010)

Synopsis: Cult director Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a wartorn future. (Courtesy of MagPictures.com)

Special Features: Deleted Scenes; Interview with Director Takashi Miike; Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for Hobo With A Shotgun, Rubber, Troll Hunter, and The Perfect Host.

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich – Unrated Director’s Cut (2010)

Synopsis: Rayne fights against the Nazis in Europe during World War II, encountering Ekart Brand, a Nazi leader whose target is to inject Adolf Hitler with Rayne’s blood in an attempt to transform him into a dhampir and attain immortality. (Courtesy of Blu-Ray.com)

Special...

Olive Films will move into the high-definition arena this summer with the release of two of their vintage catalog movies on Blu-ray on July 5: Crack in the World and Hannie Caulder. Both of the films were released on DVD by Olive earier this year, and their upcoming Blu-ray editions are the company’s first high-definition titles. (Read our DVD review of Crack in the World.)

Janette Scott sees the end of the planet in Dana Andrews' face in Crack in the World.

Crack in the World (1965), directed by Andrew Marton, is a science-fiction thriller concerning a scientist’s (Dana Andrews, The Best Years of Our Lives) plan to tap into the geothermal energy at the Earth’s core by detonating a thermonuclear bomb deep beneath the surface, resulting in the planet’s near-destruction.

The revenge movie Hannie Caulder (1971) stars Raquel Welch (Mother, Jugs & Speed) as a frontier women...

The 1965 cult action film Crack in the World has been released on DVD. Here is the synopsis:

Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Dr. Steven Sorenson (Dana Andrews) and his wife and fellow scientist Dr. Maggie Sorenson (Janette Scott) plan to utilize the geothermal energy of the Earth's interior by detonating a powerful thermonuclear device deep within the Earth’s core. Despite warnings by Maggie’s ex-flame and fellow scientist Dr. Ted Rampian (Kieron Moore), Dr. Sorenson proceeds with the experiment after he secretly learns that he is terminally ill. This experiment causes a crack within the earth's crust and threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.

Click here to read Cinema Retro columnist Steve Saragossi's tribute to the film.

Click here to order...

Adrienne Corri (Mrs. Alexander in A Clockwork Orange) in Jean Renoir’s The River The Art Directors Guild (Adg) Film Society and the American Cinematheque (AC) will honor Production Designer Eugène Lourié with a double feature: Andrew Marton’s Crack in the World (1965), starring Dana Andrews and Janette Scott, and Jean Renoir’s classic The River (1951), with Nora Swinburne and Esmond Knight. The screenings will be held on Sunday, June 27, at 5:30 pm. at the Egyptian Theatre. A panel discussion will be held between screenings with panelists Bernard Glasser, producer of Crack in the World as well as Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red [...]...

Twiggy in Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend (top); Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (middle); Andrew Marton’s Crack in the World, starring Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, and Alexander Knox (bottom) Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Gladiator, Jean Renoir’s The River, Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend, and Andrew Marton’s little-seen Crack in the World are some of the movies to be screened at the fourth Art Directors Guild (Adg) Film Society and the American Cinematheque series highlighting the works of renowned production designers. Those are Arthur Max (Gladiator), Eugène Lourié (Crack in the World, The River), Rudolph Sternad (The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T), Nitin Chandrakant Desai (Devdas), Eiko Ishioka (Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters), and Tony Walton (The [...]...

As far as wanted films of the 1960s & 1970s go, which aren't out on legit R1 DVD in the U.S., first and foremost there's:   Sands Of The Kalahari (1965) --to the best my knowledge, this crackerjack adventure film encore from the director & star of Zulu has never been given a legit release on any home video format, anywhere in the world!   --following closely on its heels, we also desperately need:   Alakazam The Great (1961-Japanese, animated) Blood And Roses (1961-French) House Of Mystery (1961-British) Shadow Of The Cat (1961-British) Thief Of Bagdad, The (1961-Italian) Burn, Witch, Burn (1962-British, a.k.a. Night Of The Eagle) Confessions Of An Opium Eater (1962, a.k.a. Souls For Sale) Hand Of Death (1962) Boy Ten Feet Tall, A (1963-British, a.k.a. Sammy Going South) Day Mars Invaded Earth, The (1963) Day Of The Triffids, The (1963-British) Johnny Cool (1963) List Of Adrian Messenger, The (1963) Little Prince & The Eight-headed Dragon,...

We have a brand new exclusive special feature clip from the upcoming DVD Megafault, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 24. Click below for our exclusive special feature clip, which takes us behind the scenes during Day 8 of filming.

In West Virginia, Charley "Boomer" Baxter (Eriq Lasalle) is supervising the placement of mountaintop-removal explosives. As he detonates the TNT, a massive earthquake liquefies the terrain. Within hours, Dr. Amy Lane (Brittany Murphy), a government seismologist, arrives at the epicenter. Amy determines that the initial quake has exposed a deep seismic fault that runs across the center of the North American continent and threatens to tear the world in half. Now, Amy and Boomer must race ahead of the massive crack in the earth while devising a plan to stop the devastation and warn everyone in its path.

Special Features:

- Cast and crew commentary

- A Crack in the World...