{"id":1832,"date":"2023-01-16T19:58:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T19:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/?p=1832"},"modified":"2023-01-16T19:58:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T19:58:14","slug":"new-blu-rays-from-radiance-arrow-eureka-indicator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/?p=1832","title":{"rendered":"New Blu-rays from Radiance, Arrow, Eureka, Indicator"},"content":{"rendered":"

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MIAMI BLUES<\/strong>, George Armitage, director\/Radiance Films\u00a0 <\/strong>If you\u2019re lucky, you might be one of the people who can claim they knew all about the crime writer Charles Willeford before he was really discovered \u2013 there are more and more people making that claim. Although familiar to the cognoscenti, ex-boxer, painter, actor and journalist Willeford remains unknown to the great mass of crime readers \u2013 and that\u2019s undoubtedly their loss. Certainly namechecked by Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen and James Hall as a key influence, it was only with George Armitage\u2019s top-notch 1990 film of Miami Blues<\/em> (1984) that he really came to public attention \u2013 but too late. Hardened cineastes might also recognise his credit as the author behind Monte Hellman\u2019s controversial 1974 movie Cockfighter.<\/em> Always one of the most individual of stylists \u2013 and one of the first crime writers, like James Hall, to run a university creative writing course \u2013 he combines a cockeyed view of the world with an inimitable prose style and wonderfully drawn characters, such as Miami Blues\u2019<\/em> beleaguered Hoke Moseley (excellently incarnated by Fred Ward). Willeford\u2019s influence on later writers (and even filmmakers) will be evident to anyone who makes an acquaintance with his work, even via Armitage\u2019s film. In some ways, it would be nice for Charles Willeford to remain a hidden pleasure for the chosen few \u2013 but that would be selfish, wouldn\u2019t it? Radiance\u2019s impressive limited edition special features include interviews with Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh from 2015, David Jenkins examining Jonathan Demme\u2019s role in the film and Maxim Jakubowski talking about protagonist Hoke Moseley and Willeford\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

ROGUE COPS AND RACKETEERS: TWO CRIME THRILLERS FROM ENZO G. CASTELLARI<\/strong> – Enzo G. Castellari, director\/Arrow\u00a0 <\/strong>Here\u2019s a set to which I\u2019m proud to have contributed a booklet essay for producer Michael Mackenzie. In 1976’s The Big Racket<\/em>, Inspector Nico Palmieri (Fabio Testi) is after a gang of violent racketeers, with the aid of Interpol agent Mike Hamilton (David Hemmings), while The Heroin Busters<\/em>, equally tough and kinetic, sports a new video interview with co-writer\/director Castellari. Memorable for their energy, gusto and frequent crudeness of execution, the Italian crime films of the 1970s, the violent and vivid ‘poliziotteschi’, began as a series of rough-and-ready simulacra of American models (as so often in the trend-following culture of Italian popular cinema), but parlayed the elements borrowed from such US models as Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry<\/em> and William Friedkin’s The French Connection<\/em> into something different, but powerfully involving.<\/p>\n

CUTTER\u2019S WAY, Ivan Passer, director\/Fun City Editions\u00a0 <\/strong>For students of cinema phenomena, it\u2019s both instructive and entertaining to see how certain films that initially meet with a mixed response steadily establish themselves as cult favourites. A classic case of this syndrome might be Ivan Passer\u2019s unusual Cutter\u2019s Way<\/em>, which is now appreciated as a bizarre blend of contemporary Film Noir (both beginning and ending with a murder) and an arthouse sensibility. The film is a rigorous examination of the legacy of the Vietnam war with its irritating but mesmerising casualties. John Heard steals the acting honours as \u2013 along with a reluctant Jeff Bridges \u2013 he attempts to right a wrong arising as much from societal prejudice and class distinction as from corrupt sexuality. This spruced-up new edition from Fun City is remarkable not just for the film but for its copious and generous extras which cover every possible aspect of the film — and which include contributions from several key participants.<\/p>\n

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, Irving Pichel & Ernst B. Schoedsack, director\/Eureka \u00a0<\/strong>Sourced from the imperishable short story by Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game<\/em> still exerts a considerable grip nine decades after its release. Hunter Bob Rainsford (played by Joel McCrea) escapes a shipwreck and sharks to wash up on the secluded private island of Count Zaroff (played with relish by British actor Leslie Banks). But Zaroff\u2019s quarry of choice is man\u2026. Creatively utilising the impressive jungle sets built by the same team as King Kong<\/em> (that film\u2019s heroine Fay Wray is on hand here), The Most Dangerous Game<\/em> was shot at night after the day\u2019s Kong<\/em> shooting. The film remains as tense and involving as ever, and Eureka\u2019s Blu-ray comes from a 2K restored scan.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

FORTHCOMING <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

THE MAN ON THE ROOF, Bo Widerberg, director\/Radiance<\/strong> \u00a0It\u2019s particularly heartening to see this finely honed crime drama making its Blu-ray debut this year from the Radiance label. The director Bo Widerberg is, of course, best known for the period drama Elvira Madigan<\/em>, but this is a very different kettle of fish, a sharp and perfectly constructed crime drama based on the novels by Maj Sj\u00f6wall and Per Wahl\u00f6\u00f6. These two writers \u2013 a crime-writing team \u2013 might be said to have started it all in terms of the Nordic Noir genre. The critical stock of Sj\u00f6wall\/Wahl\u00f6\u00f6 could not be higher: they are celebrated as the very best exponents of the police procedural. Martin Beck is the ultimate Scandinavian copper, and if you prefer to ignore the subtle Marxist perspective of the books, it is easy to do so. As you can in Widerberg\u2019s film of the duo\u2019s The Man on the Roof.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And a reminder of some intriguing discs for early 2023\u2026.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

YES, MADAM!, Corey Yuen, director\/Eureka Entertainment\u00a0 <\/strong>There was a time when the genre which is popularly known as girls with guns simply did not exist \u2013 and it\u2019s safe to say that it was inaugurated with this high-octane entry sporting two memorable women. Of the two, Michelle Yeoh has had the more durable career, as her skills clearly extend to acting as well as sporting top martial arts expertise, but that\u2019s not to deny that Cynthia Rothrock is able to hold her own in this lively company. Yes, Madam!<\/em> is a key action film of its era, now appearing on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK as part of the Eureka Classics range, brandishing a new 2K restoration. Originally released as Police Assassins <\/em>in Britain<\/em>, the film provided the first leading roles for both Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock, playing two police inspectors investigating the murder of a British agent and interacting with two thieves (Mang Hoi and John Shum) who require protection from a crime boss (played by James Tien). It\u2019s lively fun.<\/p>\n

ENTER SANTO: THE FIRST ADVENTURES OF THE MASKED MAN,<\/strong> various directors\/Indicator\u00a0 <\/strong>It\u2019s perhaps not surprising that the Mexican crime fighter Santo (also known as Silver Mask) is largely known only to aficionados in the UK. The films starring the spandex-wearing Mexican wrestling hero don\u2019t have the sophistication of similar entries for Batman and Superman, with Santo remaining a relatively one-dimensional figure. But there\u2019s no denying the fact that Santo films are a lot of fun for all their na\u00efvet\u00e9, as we are reminded by this release.<\/p>\n

BARRY FORSHAW<\/strong><\/p>\n

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MIAMI BLUES, George Armitage, director\/Radiance Films\u00a0 If you\u2019re lucky, you might be one of the people who can claim they knew all about the crime writer Charles Willeford before he was really discovered \u2013 there are more and more people … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1834,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dvdchoices.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}