Five Classic Blu-Rays Set for Release This Summer
Updated: Nov 18
This quintet of stylish, often sultry movies will take your mind off the steamy temps outside.
It's summer and it's crazy-hot outside, so why not experience some stylish escapism in the cool confines of your home? Long ago, movie houses used to lure in audiences by advertising air conditioning as a highly desired amenity — the now-closed Astor Theatre in Dallas is one of many examples that once tempted moviegoers with "COOL ICED AIR" as an oversized sign on its marquee.
These days no one will judge you harshly for preferring to stay home and watch a movie in an environment you can completely control — and that includes the night's programming. For fans of great fashion films, that could mean any of the five movies enjoying new Blu-ray releases this summer. From Norma Shearer in Adrian gowns to Rita Hayworth in Jean Louis or Faye Dunaway in 1930's-inspired ensembles by Anthea Sylbert, any of these choices allow viewers to comfortably kick back and feast on stories that are as chic as they are entertaining.
Kino Lorber
Starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and William Holden
Directed by George Seaton
Costumes by Edith Head
Available 7/09/24
List price: $24.95 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Grace Kelly fans will immediately look at the cover of this Blu-ray's poly-box and know it's a bit of a cheat; she's wearing a famous dress designed by Edith Head for Rear Window, a far cry from the decidedly dowdy wardrobe, also designed by Head, for Kelly's performance in The Country Girl. Then again, that dowdy wardrobe, coupled with Kelly's dour personality as the wife of Crosby's former musical star, an alcoholic actor who can't catch a break, won the actress her sole Academy Award a year before she departed for Monaco to become a real-life princess. So while without a doubt The Country Girl is the least stylish of Kelly's films, her performance makes it essential viewing.
Special Features: The print in this 70th-anniversary edition is taken from 2023 masters by Paramount Pictures, which have been taken from 4K scans, while viewers also can enjoy an audio track featuring commentary by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney. The original theatrical trailer and English subtitles are also included.
Sony Pictures
Starring Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles
Directed by Orson Welles
Costumes by Jean Louis
Available 7/23/24
List price: $33.42 on 4K Blu-ray, at Amazon
Hayworth's cropped blonde hair gets all the attention when looking back on this film — famously a disastrous decision dictated by then-husband Welles, who wanted to create a character that didn't include her iconic auburn tresses — and over the years that's gotten in the way of two critical aspects: her steely, compelling performance and the fantastic wardrobe designed by Hayworth's go-to designer, Jean Louis (yes, the same man who crafted her legendary Gilda gown).
This essential and twisty film noir includes multiple close-ups of the stunning Hayworth, and 77 years after its release, what once seemed like the radical change of her hair has become a non-issue, which also allows the viewer to concentrate on the mental maneuvers her character employs from start to finish.
Special Features: This print was crafted from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision and, of equal excitement to film fans, this Blu-ray includes both a commentary with the late Peter Bogdanovich and a separate conversation with the director and passionate movie lover. The original theatrical trailer is also included.
Warner Archive Collection
Starring Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery and Gene Raymond
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Costumes by Irene
Available 6/25/24
List price: $21.98 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
Mr. & Mrs. Smith undeniably feels like the unicorn amid Hitchcock's oeuvre, a comedy that's equal parts romantic and screwball and which offers nothing in the way of thrills or suspense, unless you count wondering whether Lombard's Ann and Montgomery's David will be together by the film's end. (Given this is golden-era Hollywood, a happy-ending assumption is a safe bet.) Hitchcock reportedly made this film because he wanted to work with Lombard, who may have been the first of the famed "Hitchcock blondes" the director favored throughout his career. Ultimately this is an incredible showcase of Lombard's comedic skills, while for fashion fans, Irene Lentz creates a plethora of looks that work beautifully for the actress long celebrated as one of classic film's most stylish stars.
Special Features: The print is a new 4K restoration from the film's best-preserved elements, while a featurette, "Mr. Hitchcock Meets the Smiths," is also included. For fans of golden-era radio programs, a pair of broadcasts — one starring Lombard with Bob Hope and another with Errol Flynn and Lana Turner as the Smiths — also have been added.
Paramount Pictures
Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston
Directed by Roman Polanski
Costumes by Anthea Sylbert
Available 6/28/24
List price: $68.99 on Blu-ray, at Amazon
"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." It's one of the most famous lines in cinema (it's actually No. 75 on the American Film Institute's list compiling "The 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time"). But Robert Towne's iconic last line from Roman Polanski's 1974 neo-noir also beautifully encapsulates the sense of despair and tragedy that has unspooled in the previous 129 minutes.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film's release, Paramount Pictures has put together a two-disc set that's chock-filled with special features, but it's the story that remains the star. Dunaway, meanwhile, is simply stunning in the 1930s-inspired costumes by Anthea Sylbert, who like Dunaway — and Nicholson, and Polanski — was nominated for an Academy Award (Towne ended up taking home the trophy for best originally screenplay). Dunaway's chic ensembles are perfect for her character, a sophisticated woman who's harboring more than one secret.
Special Features: The print is a 4K restoration from Chinatown's original camera negative (Blu-ray.com calls it "a sparkling 4K Blu-ray presentation), while the add-on featurettes are plentiful. But it's the audio commentary from Towne and writer/director David Fincher that should seal the deal for many film fans.
Warner Archive Collection
Starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable
Directed by Clarence Brown
Costumes by Adrian
Available 7/30/24
List price TBD, at Amazon
In discussing Clark Gable's films of 1939, Idiot's Delight gets understandably shunted aside in favor of another movie released the same year: Gone With the Wind, which seems to forever be associated with the man who already had been nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" for all of his pre-1939 work. But there's another reason to love Idiot's Delight, a moment that couldn't happen with Gable as Rhett Butler: In this Clarence Brown comedy, Gable's Harry Van sings and dances a thoroughly engaging version of Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz." It's the only time we experience Gable's musical chops onscreen.
Shearer, meanwhile, plays Irene, a woman from Harry's past. When they counter each other two decades later in Switzerland, she is finding success impersonating a fictional Russian socialite and pretends to have never met Harry before — and for anyone who appreciates 1930s comedies, this is never questioned as any stretch of the imagination. Irene's new personal also requires Shearer to wear a series of fabulous gowns by Adrian, in itself a reason for any fashion fan to add this film to their collection.
Special Features: The print is a new 1080p HD Master from a 4K scan of the best-preserved elements. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a pair of cartoons in HD: The Good Egg and It's an Ill Wind.
Comments