The Man from Hong Kong Bluray

On my recent review of The Man from Hong Kong dvd I commented that it's a shame that the great Aussie movie remains unavailable to buy apart from a German dvd (which I reviewed). 
I can now say that an Australian DVD/Bluray release is planned by Umbrella Entertainment for 5th October 2016 which is great news.  Just like the recent release of the Aussie film Road Games (great release apart from the mediocre audio choice), The Man From Hong Kong will be from a new 4k master so we can expect excellent image quality.

You can get more info about the Bluray here and my review of the German dvd is here

Needless to say, my pre-order is in 😀

Operation Crossbow (1965)

[talking about reports from intelligence)
Professor Lindemann:  Well these are wrong.
Duncan Sandys: What makes you think that?
Professor Lindemann:  If you were a scientist you’d know you cannot get reliable results without solid propellants, such as cordite.  With a cordite propelled rocket carrying a worthwhile warhead you would need no less than 50 tonnes of it, 50 tonnes.  Our biggest rocket has only 50 pounds.  Now I ask you a question gentleman.  If we here admitted, which we do not, the possibility of a rocket project in Germany, what would you do?

You may be surprised to know that during WW2 Germany was somewhat further advanced when it came to the quality of some of their equipment (Tiger and Panther tanks for example were superior to the American and British offerings, only the Russian T34 came close) and technology.  They were the first in the world to have Jet Fighter plane (though thankfully they could only make just over 1400 of them in mid/late 1944) which were more heavily armed and faster than any allied plane meaning the only real way for the allies to destroy the plane was when it was on the ground, taking off or landing.  But what they also had was the world’s first ballistic missile.  

In June 1944 the first V-1 was fired at London and during their peak up to about 100 a day were being fired toward south-east England, a total of over 9000.   The V-2 rocket was also the world’s first long range missile and was first fired at London in September 1944.  Interestingly, in the 1950 American film Destination Moon they talk of a V2 type rocket being used to go to the moon (now I wonder…who got Germany’s rocket technology after the war?? ☺).  Crossbow was the name given to the operation to intercept these long range missiles (V-1 and V-2) before they hit London and also to conduct strategic bombing to disrupt and hopefully destroy the manufacturing plants.  

What we have a very interesting film here that should be seen by everyone interested in WW2 history and/or movies.  Naturally we need to keep in mind that the movies, especially Hollywood, can twist the truth a little from time to time and this is no exception.  Whilst the movie does portray some of the real-life characters quite well and the facts surrounding the film are accurate (the bombs, where they experimented and where they hit), liberty taken in regard to how the story is told.  

Characters like Prof. Lindemann (played by Trevor Howard) who doubted the German’s V weapon program is realistic as is Duncan Sandys (Richard Johnson) who had a limp in real life from an earlier war injury, was in charge of a war committee for defence against these bombs and was Winston Churchill’s son in law.  Hanna Reitsch (Barbara Rütting) was also a well-known aviator and test pilot so her involvement here is not too far from her role in real life, and finally Constance Babington Smith (Sylvia Syms) also interpreted aerial photographs of Peenemünde in north Germany.  

On top of all this we have the Germans speaking German!  When the spies enter Germany they also speak German.  Its things like this that gives the movie a realistic feel even though the story of the spies in this case is fictional.  I have to confess it does bug me a bit when foreign characters speak English when in reality they never spoke English.  Take the 2001 film Enemy at the Gates which starred Jude Law, Ed Harris and Rachel Weisz for example.  Jude and Rachel play Russian characters but they have a very prominent British accent!  At least Ed had a German accent.  It was a really good film, but it lost some of its authentic feel due to the accents.  Anyway, rant over ☺

The movie begins with Winston Churchill giving Duncan Sandys a mission to investigate the reports that the Germans are developing long-range rockets to bombard Britain.  We are then taken to Germany where one of the V-1 rockets, also named in real life as the “Buzz Bomb” due to the sound the rocket made whilst flying, are being tested.  Hanna Reitsch comes on board to help diagnose the outstanding problem being experienced with the V1.  In the meantime, England starts looking for engineers who can speak German or Dutch in order to send them into Germany as spies.  They find three characters, Lt. John Curtis (George Peppard), Robert Henshaw (Tom Courtenay) and Phil Bradley (Jeremy Kemp) who are parachuted into the heart of Germany with alternate identities that are required by the Germans (Germany was desperately seeking engineers and scientists from countries they had taken over) to work on the missiles.  However, things do not all go as planned.

This is one of those war movies that rarely get a mention yet it dealt with a critical time of the war that threatened to end Britain as we know it.  It is well acted both on both sides, the story is compelling though the final act seems a bit rushed.  The use of the V1 and V2 rockets are not common at all in the movies so this is one of the very few that show them and for that reason alone it’s well worth watching.  

The only physical media at the moment is the DVD which is quite good, though the Digital HD copy reviewed here was purchased through Google Play (iTunes are likely to have the same available) and clearly shows better image quality than the DVD and both are in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  The audio is quite standard 2 channel stereo on the digital copy and Dolby 5.1 on the DVD, though don’t expect a modern surround mix as it was recorded in mono. The DVD contains no extras and naturally no form of extras come with the digital copy

Overall the movie is a little known gem and contains some great images of the rockets along with the unusual sound of V-1’s that give you a sense of how fearful they would have been back during the war.  The film comes highly recommended for WW2 film buffs.  

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Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Buford T. Justice: [to his son] There's no way, *no* way that you came from *my* loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I'm gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!

The 70’s brought us quite a few movies with great car action such as Steven Spielberg’s Duel (1971), The French Connection (1971), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Vanishing Point (1971), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), The Getaway (1972), American Graffiti (1973), James Bond’s Live and Let Die (1973), The Seven-Ups (1973), Freebie and the Bean (1974), Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) and we are barely halfway through the decade!  Even Australia brought out some movies with classic car action such as The Cars that Ate Paris (1974), The Man from Hong Kong (1975), The FJ Holden (1977) and of course who could forget Mad Max (1979).  Whilst they all had various amounts of car action, few probably had as much rubber burning, tyre-smokin action than Smokey and the Bandit.  So, if you’re in the mood for a growling V8, tyre smoking comedy, this just might be what you’re looking for.

The story is quite simple.  Big Enos (Pat McCormick) and his son Little Enos (Paul Williams) challenge the Bandit (Burt Reynolds) to bring a truck load of Coors beer from Texas to Georgia, which is illegal and called bootlegging (the beer could not be transported east of the Mississippi).  The Bandit takes up the challenge and Big & Little Enos fork out the cash to get the ball rolling and one of those requirements is a fast car to act as a block and watch-out for the Police/Smokey/Kojak’s.  The Bandit then enlists close friend Cledus (Jerry Reed) to drive the truck and they head to Texas to pick up the beer. As they start back the Bandit picks up hitch-hiker Carrie (Sally Field) dressing in a wedding gown and continues the trip.  What the Bandit does not realise is that Carrie was about to marry the son (Mike Henry) of Sherriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) of Texas police and he is not too pleased that Carrie stood her son up at the church.  Buford starts chasing the Bandit to get Carrie back but the Bandit is unaware of the connection and cannot understand why a Texas Sherriff is going out of his jurisdiction to catch him.  This then starts an all-out war chase between the police and the Bandit.  At the same time the Bandit needs to ensure the truck is not pulled over and inspected by the police.

As you can imagine there is a lot of chasing and rubber smoking action that is really what the movie is all about and to be honest, it’s a blast.  The film contains some great stunts and high speed driving (though some is just sped up) along with that sweet V8 exhaust.  Coming out at the cinema just two days after Star Wars the film had tough competition but ended up becoming the second highest grossing movie of the year in the U.S. with the first being, you guessed it, Star Wars.  So it was certainly popular then and has remained popular.  I saw this film on TV and Video several times in my younger years and it still gets some of the adrenalin pumping.

As with many movies there are always interesting bits of info and this is no exception.  If you interested in doing jumps in your car, keep this in mind.  After the jump shown in the above image, the car was totalled so don’t do this thinking you can simply drive home afterward!  As for grassy fields, there is a scene on a football field where the players (extras) were almost struck by the car due to the grass (unknown by the crew) being watered down before filming.

Burt Reynolds is in his usual self-confident state and suits the roll to a T.  Jackie Gleason however is just a real funny character and in fact the majority of his lines are improvised.  As he does swear a reasonable amount (it is not overly coarse language like many modern movies) his lines got re-dubbed for the television release.  His comments and mannerisms are simply brilliant and his need to put up with his “a-sandwich-short-of-a-picnic” son causes him to come to the realisation that his son could not come from his loins which gives context to the quote above.  

Overall this is a very funny movie with great characters that really add the second great ingredient of the film, the first being car action, and is well worth watching.

The Bluray reviewed is the Australian release that can be picked up for a very reasonable price. The image is in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is in great shape with a consistently sharp image.  The sound is clear and detailed in its DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 format.  There are no extras.

Overall this is a classic film that will no doubt stick around for many years to come mostly due to its solid car action, comedy and great characters.  Put this one on the list for those times you feel like some car action along with a laugh.  Highly recommended.

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D.O.A. (1950) [aka Dead on Arrival]

Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder.
Homicide Captain: Sit down. Where was this murder committed?
Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night.
Homicide Captain: Who was murdered?
Frank Bigelow: I was.

Some movies start out slow with a gradual build up in suspense or story but there are some which throw you in the deep end right at the start.  D.O.A. is just one of those movies.  The quote above is in the first talking scene of the movie and from then Frank Bigalow (Edmond O’Brien) tells the story of his own murder.  It’s a start that reminds me very much of “Kiss Me Deadly”, another Film Noir from the 50’s which starts out in a dramatic sort of way.  Anyway, what follows is the story of how he was killed and who did it and why.  For a “B” movie with B actors and B budget, the film stands today as one of the better examples of film noir.

The movie starts out with a bang and ends just as abruptly as it started, but as he tells the story of his own murder to the police we see him as a normal everyday person at the office who is about to go on a holiday that will change his life forever.  He goes to a bar with some people he met at a hotel and ends up getting a drink and meeting up with a girl and poisoned all in one night.  He goes back to the hotel to sleep it off and the following day feels ill so he goes to the doctors where they give him the news everyone fears.  You’re going to die.  In shock and unbelief, he runs out of the office and down the street in a fantastically shot scene.  Why fantastic?  They film the actor running down a street full of people who have no idea a movie is being made and he is pushing his way through the crowd to get to a safe place where he can get a breather and think things through.  These shots are often the best cause you get real honest reactions that help set the scene.  Shame it can’t be done these days but I suppose if they tried some turkey would probably give the actor a darn good beating for bumping in to them.  Sad isn’t it.  Anyway, Frank continues the story of finding out who killed him and why.

As the film has fallen into “public domain” you can find it on youtube and also in the public domain archives and even buy cheap copies of the DVD on ebay.  In 2004 the movie was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in USA as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  Hopefully one day one of these boutique companies will restore the film and release a high quality DVD or Bluray cause it’s one of those classics that helped form and is a prime example of what we now call “film noir”.  

The acting is well done by the leads especially Edmond O’Brien who is quite convincing and the others do a fine job as well.  Some parts feel a bit messy and to be honest as there is a lot to take in you really need to watch it more than once to get a handle on who is who and how they tie in, which is either a sign of unclear screenwriting/directing or indications of a movie that will last time by surviving multiple viewings.  Seeing it is rated quite high in the ranks I suspect it’s one of those films that will remain with us for quite some time.

The DVD is an Australian release brought out by Flashback Entertainment and just has the movie only with chapter/scene selection as an extra ☺  The image quality varies quite a bit but it’s better than the offerings in youtube and up there with some of the better DVD’s available worldwide. There are scratches, and marks over the film at the start but it does get better at times with some sections really quite good.  I have certainly seen worse (hello “Cowra Breakout” miniseries).  The audio is ok, at times a little unclear but good considering it hasn’t been restored.  There is one better release by memory from USA but it’s also a lot more expensive, so at $5 shipped brand new from ebay, this was a downright bargain.  

The movie is certainly worth viewing even if just for interest sake, though if you’re a film noir fan like me it's in the Essential Film Noir list so it was a given to buy a copy.  Personally I really enjoyed the movie and I’m sure it will get repeated viewings though I’m still hoping that it will get a proper high quality release with a few extras (Masters of Cinema, Criterion and Arrow – are you listening???)

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Tarantula (1955)

Andy Andersen: [viewing what's left of his dead cattle] I never saw anything like it! No footprints! No blood! No sign of a struggle! The bones just stripped clean like peeling a banana!

You won’t need many guesses to know what this movie is about and it’s probably not a good movie for those suffering from Arachnophobia, just like one of the modern spider movies like Arachnophobia or Eight Legged Freaks.  Unlike many modern creature movies, this 1955 film takes itself seriously and is really quite a good movie and well deserving of its 92% approval rating in Rotten Tomatoes.  It’s directed by Jack Arnold who brought out other well respected 50’s classics like It Came from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  It’s also interesting to note that the real spider used in this film was also used in The Incredible Shrinking Man a few years later.  Also of interest, is a young Clink Eastwood who makes a cameo appearance as a pilot.

Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar), a local town doctor, is asked to give his opinion on a disfigured body found by the highway just outside of town and it is initially attributed to a rare disease that “supposed” to take years to reveal itself but the man affected was only seen days before in perfect health.  About 20 miles out of town a few scientists led by Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has been trying to make a super nutrient that would allow humans to survive if/when the population outgrew the world’s food supply.  In the initial stages they test the solution on animals which has alarming results but when an accident occours in the laboratory, one of the creatures escapes.

Whilst I do enjoy the odd comedic view of monster movies such as “Eight Legged Freaks”, I really appreciate those that take themselves seriously.  The image posted above showing the overgrown guinea pig told me that this was not going to be a cheesy movie, and it wasn’t going to be some chemical waste that somehow caused spiders to grow to an extraordinary size but rather due to serious lab work.  The acting is also very convincing as is the overall script and the directing is very well done.  Sure some special effects are not as good as the top CGI done these days but this is 1954 and as can be seen below, it’s certainly not cheap cheesy effects but really quite good.

The DVD used in the review was imported from the UK and just includes only the movie only.  The image quality is really good in the vast majority of scenes with the worst scenes not as sharp but still quite good nevertheless.  There is a Bluray available from Germany that is basically from the same source (or so it seems) as the DVD and, naturally, looks better but it also comes at a somewhat higher price seeing it has to be imported from Germany.  Whilst the Bluray looks better, the DVD goes for a good price on ebay imported from the UK.  By memory mine was about AUD10 shipped which is a bargain for a great movie.  

Overall I highly recommend the movie for those who like monster movies, 50’s sci-fi or just something different from the norm of today’s offerings.  Its intelligent and well directed and the effects are really good for a movie of this age.  

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