This week’s releases include an unlikely action hero; a spinoff that manages to thoroughly differentiate itself from its predecessor; a classic picture with a few heavyweights; and the ultimate adventure collection.
Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection (4K Ultra HD & Digital copy)
Only one name defines the ultimate hero… Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford).
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler’s Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: In 1935, Indiana Jones arrives in India, still part of the British Empire, and is asked to find a mystical stone. He then stumbles upon a secret cult committing enslavement and human sacrifices in the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: In 1938, after his father Professor Henry Jones, Sr. (Sean Connery) goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Professor Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. finds himself up against Adolf Hitler’s Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: In 1957, archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. is called back into action and becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.
Indiana Jones, or “Indy” as he’s affectionately referred to, is the archetypal, fictional hero. He’s courageous, bordering stupid or insane; charming, but not romantic; imperfect, but reliable; and handsome, but not concerned with his appearances. Consequently, even though there’s always a woman who plays a key role in the tale, it’s never the crux of the narrative. Any hint of a love story always takes a backseat to the adventure. The films combined action and mystery for the best possible results, whether our encumbered hero is racing against the clock and battling evil sorcerers or Nazis. Indy’s companions on his journeys have ranged from an indebted street urchin to women who hate him to his own father who can’t understand his career choices. He was one of the first to make archeology look like a much more exciting profession than it is, while also becoming a household name for decades to come.
Special features include: making-of featurettes; “The Stunts of Indiana Jones”; “The Sound of Indiana Jones”; “The Music of Indiana Jones”; “The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones”; “Raiders: The Melting Face!”; “Indiana Jones and the Creepy Crawlies (with optional pop-ups)”; “Travel with Indiana Jones: Locations (with optional pop-ups)”; “Indy’s Women: The American Film Institute Tribute”; “Indy’s Friends and Enemies”; “Iconic Props (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) (HD)”; “The Effects of Indy (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) (HD)”; “Adventures in Post Production (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)”; “From Jungle to Desert”; and “From Adventure to Legend.” (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Just a Gigolo (Blu-ray)
Paul von Przygodski (David Bowie), a young Prussian gentleman, arrives in the trenches in time to be caught in the final explosion of the Great War. After recuperating in a military hospital, where he is mistaken for a French hero, he returns to Berlin. His family home has been turned into a boarding house, his father (Rudolf Schündler) is paralyzed, and his mother (Maria Schell) is working in the Turkish baths. Attempting to find a new purpose, his childhood friend, Cilly (Sydne Rome), abandons him for fame and fortune; his former commanding officer, Captain Kraft (David Hemmings), tries to persuade him to join his right-wing movement and a widow, Helga von Kaiserling (Kim Novak), briefly seduces him with the finer things in life. In a society where the individual comes first and anyone can be bought, he is recruited by Baroness von Semering (Marlene Dietrich) as one in her regiment of gigolos.
Bowie didn’t shy away from unorthodox roles with this one following The Man Who Fell to Earth. Having satisfied his interest in science fiction and alienness, he moved onto pre-war Berlin. Portraying a male escort and, briefly, a kept man, Paul simply falls into these roles due to the post-war lack of employment. In addition, both the Nazis and Communists want his membership, though he does everything he can to avoid either party. The film is very tongue-in-cheek, but may be too abstract to reach mainstream viewers as it didn’t play well with audiences then or now. The humour is dark, but not lost in the narrative’s many eccentricities. Casting Novak and the elusive Dietrich were definite appeals and they play their roles exquisitely alongside Bowie.
Special features include: commentary with Rory MacLean; making-of featurette; original trailer; and 32-page booklet. (Shout Factory)
Nobody (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is a nobody. As an overlooked and underestimated father and husband, he takes life’s indignities on the chin and never rocks the boat. But when his daughter loses her beloved kitty-cat bracelet in a robbery, Hutch hits a boiling point no one knew he had. What happens when a pushover finally pushes back? Hutch flips from regular dad to fearless fighter by taking his enemies on a wild ride of explosive revenge.
This is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining action movies of the year. Odenkirk is not the first actor that comes to mind when one thinks “bada$$ action star,” but after this film, no one would object if he reprised the role a time or two more. The first act skews a little John Wick, but filmmakers infuse the entire picture with a deliciously dark sense of humour that quickly differentiates it. This is also somewhat of a family affair as Hutch’s family are surprisingly calm when their home is overwhelmed by a professional team of assassins. Though some believe he acted cowardly during the burglary, he turns that notion on its head when he resumes control of his life. It’s enjoyable from start to finish and the unexpected laughs make this a picture audiences can revel in more than once.
Special features include: commentary with actor/producer Bob Odenkirk and director Ilya Naishuller; commentary with director Ilya Naishuller; “Just a Nobody”; “Hutch Hits Hard”; and “Breaking Down the Action.”
Pickup on South Street (Blu-ray)
Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on the big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters), he finds a more spectacular haul than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. information. Tailed by manipulative Feds and the unwitting courier’s Communist puppeteers, Skip and Candy find themselves in a precarious gambit that pits greed against redemption, right against Red, and passion against self-preservation. With its dazzling cast and writer-director Samuel Fuller’s signature hard-boiled repartee and raw energy, Pickup on South Street is a true film noir classic by one of America’s most passionate cinematic craftspeople.
This is a classic film noir with Candy as the femme fatale, playing both sides of the operation, and Skip, a guy who finds himself in the middle of something much bigger than he imagined. However, their romantic relationship is less than ideal as most of their intimate encounters begin with some form of violence — a convention of films of the time that is difficult and frustrating to watch from a contemporary perspective. The microfiche with top secret information was also a common plot point that’s since been replaced with encrypted flash drives. Audiences are made immediately aware that Skip has the micro film and where he’s hidden it, increasing the stress of certain encounters, such as when the police and others search his hideaway. Writer/director Samuel Fuller crafts a hard-boiled, energetic picture that keeps everyone on their toes, receiving approval by the Production Code in spite of its scenes of violence and typically unacceptable happy ending.
Special features include: interview with critic Imogen Sara Smith, author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City; interview from 1989 with director Samuel Fuller, conducted by film critic Richard Schickel; “Cinéma cinémas: Fuller”; on-screen biographical essay on Fuller; and trailers. (Criterion Collection)
The Unholy (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
The film follows a young hearing-impaired girl (Cricket Brown) who is visited by the Virgin Mary and can suddenly hear, speak and heal the sick. As people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) hoping to revive his career visits a small New England town to investigate. As terrifying events begin to happen all around him, he starts questioning if these miracles are the works of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister.
When one thinks about movies with a miracle at its centre, it generally involves someone questioning the legitimacy of the event rather than its source. In the case of this picture, the journalist is desperate to find a story that’ll turn his career around — regardless of whether it’s real — but eventually discovers Heaven may not be pulling the young woman’s strings. It’s a bit drawn out as investigating the phenomenon leads to some repetition, but it’s tolerable. Filmmakers put most of their eggs in the big ending’s basket, which makes it very flashy but not necessarily what a lot of the audiences expected from the film.
There are no special features. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Visions of Eight (Blu-ray)
In Munich in 1972, eight renowned filmmakers each brought their singular artistry to the spectacle of the Olympic Games, capturing the joy and pain of competition and the kinetic thrill of bodies in motion for an aesthetically adventurous sports film unlike any other. Made to document the Olympic Summer Games — an event that was ultimately overshadowed by the tragedy of a terrorist attack — Visions of Eight features contributions from Miloš Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Juri Ozerov, Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, John Schlesinger, and Mai Zetterling, each given carte blanche to create a short film focusing on any aspect of the Games that captured his or her imagination. The resulting films—ranging from the arresting abstraction of Penn’s pure cinema study of pole-vaulters to the playful irreverence of Forman’s musical take on the decathlon to Schlesinger’s haunting portrait of the single-minded solitude of a marathon runner — are triumphs of personal, poetic vision applied to one of the pinnacles of human achievement.
When something so all-encompassing occurs, it’s difficult to not make that the central focus of any account. However, these filmmakers take it upon themselves to make a film about the Olympics rather than the terrorist event that overshadowed much of the event. Unavoidably, there is one segment that focuses on the attack, but from the perspective of outsiders with interesting vantage points that are discussed in the special features. There’s no singular approach to the portrayal of the athletes with one filmmaker even deciding to focus on the amount of food prepared to feed so many competitors. The short about the weightlifters is captivating, while the story behind “The Fastest” is a fascinating feat of cinema. One of the greatest disappointments may be the choice to not include Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène’s segment in the final cut with the status of the unused short now unknown.
Special features include: commentary by podcasters Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan of the website the Ringer; documentary; short promotional film; and trailer. (Criterion Collection)
The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Season 1 (Blu-ray)
Now a decade into the apocalypse, sisters Hope (Alexa Mansour) and Iris Bennett (Aliyah Royale) have grown up inside the walls of one of the few remaining first-world communities. Their home, the Campus Colony, is a satellite settlement with a population of just under ten-thousand, located a hundred miles outside surviving city of Omaha, Nebraska. The sisters’ scientist father conducts research over one-thousand miles away in a research facility run by the Civic Republic, an ally of Omaha, but one that does not reveal its location to outsiders. When the sisters receive a message that their father might be in a danger, they defy their own community’s rules and enlist their friends Elton (Nicolas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston) to embark on a cross-country quest to save him. Leaving their sheltered upbringing behind, these teenagers learn how to fight threats both living and dead as they travel through a beautiful but decaying and dangerous world.
This The Walking Dead spinoff begins after the undead already ravaged the world and survivors have found a way to safely resume a near-normal life. However, it’s not long before the protected living at the series’ centre find a reason they must abandon their shelter. The ragtag group doesn’t have an initial appeal, but their differences from each other are what make them so watchable. Their dynamic chemistry works surprisingly well, particularly when it becomes clear one (or more) of them is harbouring a dangerous secret. The season definitely does not end in a manner predictable from the beginning or even the middle. With everyone in a disarray, there’s a lot of potential for the second season to go even deeper into the unknown.
Special features include: making-of featurette; “A Look at the Series”; and “Meet the Characters.” (AMC Networks)
