Eight New Blu-ray Releases Perfect for Holiday Gifting
Updated: Dec 5
You're sure to inspire glee and gratitude in your favorite classic-film fan with any of these November titles.
How do you define a classic-film fan? Ask them how many times they've seen their favorite film. Chances are the answer will range somewhere in the high double or low triple digits (for the record, I know I've watched my absolute favorite more than 200 times over the years — and possibly more).
That's an essential question only to assuage any concerns you might have about purchasing a legendary title as a holiday gift for the friend or family member who loves classic films. Whether they rank the films of Alfred Hitchcock, Joan Crawford, William Powell and Myrna Loy, or any other A-lister of Hollywood's golden age among their favorites — and perhaps already may own that preferred title — chances are they'll love the latest release, especially one offered in an updated resolution and accompanied by a feast of extras.
It's vital to remember that thought when perusing November and December releases, many of which are likely already ensconced in the libraries of most classic-film fans. That's why many of these new releases indeed tout 4K resolutions and never-before-seen extras. Take a moment to peruse these debuts, and while doing so you're likely to recall the film fan who would love to add one (or more) to their collection.
Warner Home Video
Starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger
Directed by Victor Fleming
Costumes by Adrian
Available 11/05/24
List price: $54.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
This beloved trip over the rainbow has been released in a variety of versions over the years, but for the legendary film's 85th anniversary, Warner Bros. has created a limited-edition gift set that blends a 4K edition of the film — already featured in an 80th anniversary edition — with elements sure to please a die-hard fan. That includes reproductions of promotional materials, including lobby cards and a commemorative program, as well as a ticket stub from the film's one-night release at Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. (Fun fact: The ticket stub includes its price, $2.20, which equates to more than $50 today.) Other elements on the two-disc set likewise include extras featured in previous releases, such as a making-of featurette and sing-along tracks, but all that means is that this 85th-anniversary edition indeed strives to offer the best in one commemorative set.
Cohen Media Group
Starring Martin Scorsese, Michael Powell and William Pressburger
Directed by David Hinton
Available 11/05/24
List price: $29.95 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Chief in the did-you-know department: Martin Scorsese owns a pair of the red shoes worn by Moira Shearer in the iconic 1948 film about a ballet dancer who must choose between love for her art and love for a man. That factoid is among the reasons Scorsese, also an executive producer, is perfect to guide viewers on this documentary journey through the artful films from the legendary duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the visionaries behind The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and other titles celebrated for blending obsessive love with visuals that are as haunting as they are stunning.
The Powell-Pressburger oeuvre played a huge role in influencing Scorsese's love of cinema in his formative years, and here he generously credits their imagery for informing some of his later and most significant work, from Taxi Driver to The Age of Innocence. Made in England also includes terrific archival interviews with Powell and Pressburger, as well as Francis Ford Coppola, Brian DePalma and many others — and perhaps most delightfully, Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese's longtime editor and Powell's wife between 1984 and his death in 1990. Premiering on Turner Classic Movies over Thanksgiving weekend, this is a must-have documentary not only for fans of British cinema's most inventive duo, but also anyone who believes the blend of story and visuals is an elusive combination — but in the right hands, masterpieces are created.
Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren
Directed by Stanley Donen
Loren's costumes by Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan for Christian Dior
Available 11/12/24
List price: $39.95 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Fashion fans in the know often bring up Arabesque as a terrific example of 1960s cinema style. That's because Sophia Loren was dressed by two of the most talented men of the decade: Marc Bohan, who was at the height of his work for the House of Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent who likewise served as head designer for the house between 1958 and 1960, but by 1966 had already been running his eponymous label for five years. The opening credits list simply "Miss Sophia Loren's Wardrobe specially created by Christian Dior," which has only fostered confusion over the years among fashion and film fans alike. But one thing is clear: Loren's style is almost another character in the film, especially a scene in which she wears a lush gown of pink organza ruffles (reportedly a Saint Laurent piece) as she tries on an abundance of shoes, all of them in Dior boxes.
Released three years after another Stanley Donen favorite, Charade, Arabesque is often compared to that pairing of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant (Peck's role originally was written with Grant in mind). Comparisons can be made beyond Donen's involvement in the two films, from the pairing of a gorgeous woman and a handsome man trying to solve a murder to the cast of eccentric characters who surround them, as well as a glamorous city, with London the chosen locale in Arabesque vs. the Paris seen in Charade. Yet while Hepburn is all about quiet elegance in Charade, Loren's sex appeal almost bursts off the screen in Arabesque, particularly a titillating shower scene early in the film.
Extras with this 4K release include a recent audio commentary from film critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson, as well as a feature highlighting Henry Mancini's work on Arabesque, and vintage promotional material.
Warner Home Video
Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Wardrobe by Harry Kress
Available 11/19/24
List price: $33.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Speaking of a handsome man and a glamorous woman embarking on a frantic chase, this latest version of North by Northwest is offered in a new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray that showcases a beautiful update of both the print and sound. From the early scene when Grant's Roger Thornill is abducted from The Plaza's Oak Room to the cramped train compartment of Eva Marie Saint's Eve Kendall and the vast (reproduction of) Mount Rushmore scenery, this is a Blu-ray you'll want to view on the largest high-def screen you have available.
The new print is accompanied by an abundance of extras, many of which can be found within previous releases, such as an audio commentary from screenwriter Ernest Lehman and a making-of featurette. But fans of Hitchcock in general or NxNW specifically are sure to enjoy North By Northwest: Cinematography, Score, and the Art of the Edit, a new 23-minute featurette that delves into the technical aspects of the film. Between the immense popularity of North by Northwest and the quality of this print, this is a sure bet as the gift every classic-film fan is sure to love.
Sony Pictures
Available 11/19/24
List price: $230.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Every fan of 1930s films is well-versed in the romantic, funny, heart-bursting films Frank Capra directed for Columbia Pictures during that decade, legendary titles that include Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It Happened One Night, the latter the first film to capture "the big five" of Academy Awards: best picture, best actor (Clark Gable), best actress (Claudette Colbert, best screenplay (Robert Riskin), and Capra as best director. (Only two other films would accomplish that sweep: 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and 1991's The Silence of the Lambs.)
Capra and his films are synonymous with the 1930s, stories that capture both the desperate circumstances anyone might find themselves in during the Great Depression to the overt idealism that, amazingly, Americans could embrace even in those tough times. Fold in the love that could blossom between a man and woman seemingly different in every possible way, as well as supporting characters who make the most of their limited screen time, and many of Capra's films are quite simply jewels to be treasured.
Indeed, among the best elements of this boxed set of 20 films is that includes the high-wattage favorites already mentioned, as well as others a fan may not have yet discovered. All films are on Blu-ray, some for the very first time, while nine titles are offered in full 4K resolution. Several films come with individual extras — Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, for example, includes a new commentary from film historian Julie Kirgo — while the boxed set is capped with a new documentary, Frank Capra: Mr. America, which explores both his life since emigrating from Sicily in 1903 and how his early years shaped his career of telling uniquely American stories. Ultimately this is a film class in a box and is highly entertaining.
Allied Vaughn
Starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke
Costumes by Dolly Tree, Robert Kalloch and Irene Lentz
Available 11/12/24
List price: $49.98 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
William Powell and Myrna Loy made 13 movies together between the 1930s and 1940s, but their pairing is best known for the half-dozen films that centered on the characters of Nick and Nora Charles, the husband-and-wife crime solvers at the heart of The Thin Man, the 1934 novel and two subsequent novellas by Dashiell Hammett. All three books were used as the source materials for the same number of films, starting with The Thin Man, also in 1934; three additional films were crafted of original screenplays, with Hammett receiving a "characters based upon" credit in each.
The Complete Thin Man Collection brings together all six films, each remastered and restored for Blu-ray using 4K scans of the best surviving elements. Each title has been packaged to include its theatrical trailer, as well as cartoons and short subjects designed to create an experience similar to one moviegoers of the day would enjoy. For costume-design fans, the collection is also delightful in witnessing the style evolution of Nora Charles over the years, with Dolly Tree designing the costumes for the first three films, before Robert Kalloch and Irene Lentz took over for the final three.
Warner Archive
Starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield
Directed by Jean Negulesco
Crawford's costumes by Adrian
Available 11/26/24
List price: $9.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
A wealthy older woman who becomes first the patroness and then the love interest of a younger, talented musician — it's rarely discussed that, given the dynamic of the older woman/younger man relationship, Humoresque was ahead of its time. It's also a favorite among most Joan Crawford fans, released a year after she won her Oscar for Mildred Pierce and among the better films during this middle period of her life and career. (Indeed, that Oscar win resulted in Warner Bros. boosting Crawford's part to capitalize on the attendant publicity.)
John Garfield plays violinist Paul Boray, who finds success in the realm of classical music, even as he's the opposite of the silver-spoon set that typically inhabits that world. Crawford's Helen Wright is the New York sophisticate who wants to help him achieve his dream of becoming a concert violinist, happy to set him up with a lifestyle his mother starts to question, knowing it's a married woman who's older than her son who is paying for it. (Fun fact: Ruth Nelson, who played Esther Boray, Paul's mother, was the same age as Crawford at the time of filming.)
Humoresque features a supremely soapy ending we won't spoil here, but the story, the performances, Jean Negulesco's direction and Adrian's costumes for Crawford easily vault this title into must-have territory. This release features a 4K restoration from the original camera negative, while extras include a featurette on the film's music, the original theatrical trailer, and a pair of cartoons.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Available 11/26/24
List price: $179.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Buy this boxed set sooner rather than later, as it's limited to only 5,150 copies. And while it's tough to narrow down any "Best of Hitchcock" list to only six films, this collection aims to do just that: Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, To Catch A Thief, and North By Northwest, with the latter two offered on 4K Blu-ray for the first time, and each accompanied by a host of extras.
Hardcore Hitchcock fans will find delicious elements to enjoy with each title, from watching the Psycho shower scene with and without music to understand the impact of that film's iconic score to a feature commentary of Vertigo with director William Friedkin. And that's just for starters; it will take days for the owner of this boxed set to absorb the copious details offered. The packaging also has been designed as a commemorative book that highlights trivia, photos and other details from each film. Ultimately, if anything's missing from this collection, it's the argument that is sure to ensue as you're debating with a fellow Hitchcock fan whether, say, Suspicion, Notorious or any other classic should have been included.
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