Barry Forshaw
ON THE BEACH
Stanley Kramer, director/BFI
While writing a booklet essay for this impeccable BFI Release for Stanley Kramer’s groundbreaking Armageddon epic, the first thing that struck me was the cyclical nature of such genre entries. In 1959, the prospect of the end of the world brought about by the bomb and international conflict was fresh in people’s minds, a situation that receded with the end of the Cold War. But with a slew of newly aggressive nations across the planet, Kramer’s warning about the possible destruction of the human race seems ever more timely. And the film has worn well, with its heavyweight star cast including Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire (in a remarkable non-musical performance) and Anthony Perkins guaranteeing comprehensive audience involvement. Based on Nevil Shute’s novel, On the Beach r posits that almost all human life has been doomed by the radioactive fallout of a nuclear war, with only those in Australia temporarily spared. At the time of its release in 1959, the film’s realistic mien contrasted strikingly with other visions of Armageddon (those, for instance, brought about by alien invasion), and it’s sobering to see how Kramer’s fatalistic vision still has notable resonance. Of course, one of the reasons that the film still works so well today is the immediacy created by this pristine transfer, well up to the customary BFI standard. The BFI release sports copious extras including two audio commentaries and rare 8mm footage showing the making of the film. An Illustrated booklet sports new essays by Dr Christina Brennan and this writer, along with a biography of Stanley Kramer by Jennifer Frost. and writing by the BFI’s Vic Pratt, notes on the special features and film credits.
COLD PREY TRILOGY, Roar Uthaug, director/Second Sight
I wear my reputation as a specialist in Scandinavian film with a dash of pride, although a lot of homework is required to keep that reputation in place. While I’m more used to the arthouse aspects of Nordic cinema (mostly in the shadow of the definitive Scandinavian filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman), it’s always a pleasure to see just how good genre cinema from the colder regions can be. That’s very much the case with the Cold Prey trilogy from talented director Roar Uthaug, Now presented in a truly collectible limited edition Blu-ray box set, this is certainly the equal of cinematic bloodletting from America. Although we’ve seen the practically unbeatable Serial Killer theme ad infinitum, there are some intriguing new wrinkles added to the formula here, not least frigid setting which is strikingly evoked. The collector’s set sports spectacular special features including new interviews and commentaries with cast and filmmakers, plus a 120-page book full of new essays.
LA TRAVESTIE
Yves Boisset, etc., director/INDICATOR
This is a world premieres Blu-Ray from Indicator showcase a highly unusual film from Director Yves Boisset which addresses issues of gender and sexuality in a serious fashion while also paying tribute to earlier ventures into this territory, notably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (The final scene here involving personality takeover is, it has to be said, more than a homage to Hitchcock’s film; it’s more like a re-creation). As for whether or not the film has any ideological axe to grind, that would be hard to say — and that is precisely one of its particular virtues: the fact that it would be hard to discern anything tendentious in what Yves Boisset is trying to convey. We are left to make our own minds up. A departure from his other films, Boisset’s La Travestie examines Lawyer Nicole (Zabou Breitman) is dealing with multiple crises in her life by reinvent herself as a man. The. 4K restoration from the original negative also includes Girls and Boys Come Out to Play (2026): a fascinating video essay by key film critic and historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas exploring the film’s themes of gender and power.
THE SEARCHERS 4K, John Ford, director/Warner
Blu-ray collectors will remember when this John Ford Classic first appeared on silver disc — and was an absolute revelation. The crisp and defined image and eye-popping colours made the film appear that it was made in the modern era rather than the 1950s, and it would have been difficult to imagine it looking any better. But that particular miracle has been achieved with this 4K issue which even manages to improve on that splendid Blu-ray Iteration. As for the film itself – well, anyone with an iota of knowledge of classic cinema will know that it is one of the greatest westerns ever made, with its complex picture of the driven, near-psychotic character played by John Wayne (in a career defining performance) in pursuit of his kidnapped relative (played by a youthful Natalie Wood. The film’s modern attitude to racism may be slightly undercut by the treatment of the Indian woman who fixes onto the Jeffrey Hunter character, but it’s the slightest of caveats in a film that really belongs on every collector’s shelves.
OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR, Richard Attenborough, director/Eureka
The great era of the musical was over by the time that the actor Richard Attenborough made his directing debut with this remarkable record of Joan Littlewood’s Anti-war theatrical project; however, like Cabaret, the film was not seen as a standard musical and had a much wider reach than most films in the genre. With a cornucopia of British stars, this is a film that looks even better with the years, and is particularly enhanced in Eureka’s new transfer.
INTO THE FOREST: FOLKTALES AT DEFA, various directors/Eureka
Largely unknown to modern non-German audiences, these charming live action films are an illuminating vision of the kind of inventiveness that was standard at the celebrated German DEFA studios, and make for fascinating viewing. The one film familiar to non-German audiences, The Singing Ringing Tree, looks particularly lustrous in this new transfer.
HUSH, Mike Flanagan, director/Arrow
Real cineastes always take note of promising directors and follow their careers assiduously. Accordingly, many of us have paid keen attention to the work of Mike Flanagan previously responsible for TV’s The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, and who now delivers a genuinely flesh-creeping cinema experience. Co-written with and starring Kate Siegel, this home invasion drama is a pulse-raising exercis in suspense. The two-disc release includes the Shush Cut of Hush – a black and white version with an alternative audio mix – as well as a feature length Q&A with Flanagan, a new visual essay, and interviews with cast and crew.
PAINTED FACES, Alex Law, director/88 films
Apart from the nicely observed playing here (particularly from Sammo Hung as the director of a group of children training for theatrical experience), one of the pleasures of the film is the rather beautiful cinematography which presents a world which will be unfamiliar to most viewers. For those seeking something off the beaten track, Painted Faces can be confidently recommended — although it should be pointed out that those expecting the usual acrobatic violence from the rotund Sammo Hung should perhaps look elsewhere – this is another side of his personality. The kung fu legend takes a rare dramatic role as the tough master Yu, a teacher training young kids for a life on the stage. Based on the real-life childhoods of Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and, yes, Sammo himself (he’s playing his own, real-life master), Painted Faces is a nostalgic tribute to a man who turned children into superstars