Short Night of Glass Dolls 4K (Celluloid Dreams)

Writer/director Aldo Lado made an auspicious debut with his offbeat, effectually stylized giallo, La corta notte delle bambole di vetro (a.k.a. La corta notte delle farfalle or The Short Night of the Butterflies). A psychological thriller in the truest sense, it follows a paralyzed American journalist in Cold War-era Prague, mistakenly thought dead, retracing recent events in his mind and unraveling a sinister conspiracy involving the disappearance of his girlfriend (a pre-Bond Barbara Bach) and a secret society lurking in the shadows. As good as Celluloid Dreams’ 4K of The Case of the Bloody Iris was last year, the four-disc Glass Dolls ups the ante. Disc One presents the movie (and four trailers) newly scanned in 4K, the main feature extensively restored from the two-perf Techniscope camera negative, with clean English and original Italian mono soundtracks.

Here and on Disc Two—an HD Blu-ray—the extras are an abbondanza: audio commentary by Lado joined by filmmaker Federico Caddeo, an expert companion track from critic and Celluloid Dreams co-founder Guido Henkel, and even the isolated score by the incomparable Ennio Morricone. Disc Three collects half-a-dozen talent interviews plus a featurette, Disc Four serves up alternate grindhouse and VHS versions, and it all arrives in a rigid slipcase with a deeply researched 64-page book.

Ordering direct from Celluloid Dreams will get you a nice discount as well as a strip of ten film frames specially printed off the original negative of the trailer–an ideal illustration of exactly what “two-perf Techniscope” means–plus a set of repro lobby cards on heavy stock.

High Society 4K (Warner Archive Collection)

Bing, Frank, Grace, Celeste and even Louis Armstorng appear to be having the time of their lives charting a course through all of the romantic nonsense of High Society, singing and dancing to the timeless tunes of Cole Porter. (My mom, a huge fan, would have adored this disc.) Like The Searchers before it, this second-ever 4K from the Warner Archive Collection is a VistaVision and Technicolor treat. The restoration results and implementation of Dolby Vision are simply spectacular, at times tricking me on a visceral level into thinking I was watching optimally projected film in a legit cinema.

Production and costume design were painstakingly crafted and are authentically maintained here, with fine details everywhere. Atmos might seem an excessive upgrade (the original mono is here too, in a 2.0 configuration), but it is employed thoughtfully, most notably when the songs open up the soundstage. The handful of legacy extras is fun, sometimes corny, but certainly welcome.

Get Carter 4K (Warner Archive Collection)

Before he would become better known as an endearing sidekick, a rom-com staple or a good-hearted fill-in-the-blank, Michael Caine exploded onto the scene not as just another yobbo but as the archetypal British tough guy in the movie that–with no small help from director/co-writer Mike Hodges–would set the standard for contemporary crime dramas. (Somewhere, Guy Ritchie says, “Thank you.”) He takes no crap off anyone as gangster Jack Carter, cutting a bloody path through the Newcastle underworld in search of his brother’s killer, looking cool all the while.

Here then is the U.S. premiere of the BFI’s pristine 2022 Dolby Vision-enhanced restoration of the 1971 classic that’s somehow both gorgeous and gritty at the same time. The true, heavily accented original U.K. audio is reinstated here (finally), in mono. The fine complement of bonus content is mostly ported from that release across the pond three years ago, starting with an introduction by Caine, plus his vintage commentary alongside Hodges and cinematographer Wolfgang Suschinsky, and a fresher track with a pair of insightful critics. There’s also an hour-long on-camera sit-down with the late Mr. Hodges, who sadly passed later that year; a featurette about Roy Budd’s musical score, another key ingredient in Carter’s success; an interview with co-star Petra Markham and another with the son of producer Michael Klinger.

City on Fire 4K (Shout! Studios)

Did filmmaker Ringo Lam’s 1987 tale of a conflicted undercover cop mortally wounded during a jewelry heist gone wrong form the basis of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs? I say, watch it and decide for yourself. At the very least, you’ll witness a star-making performance by Chow Yun-Fat in the Tim Roth role (oops!) amid all the blood, bullets and brooding we would expect from a Hong Kong police thriller.

This was a difficult movie to locate in past formats, even harder to find in respectable A/V quality, so this new 4K scan from the original negative—clean and highly nuanced with Dolby Vision and boasting a high bitrate on this 100GB disc—is a top recommendation. Sonically, we can choose between the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio dual-mono or English dub (always go with the native language!) with newly translated subtitles, too. There’s a new expert audio commentary on the 4K, and the HD Blu-ray adds a new featurette and three new interviews, the best one with screenwriter Tommy Sham.

For those keeping score, City on Fire is Spine #6 in Shout!’s Hong Kong Cinema Classics line, following their five-film Jet Li Collection.

The Blood of Fu Manchu 4K

The Castle of Fu Manchu 4K (sold separately, both Blue Underground)

These last two entries in the five-film Fu Manchu series starring Chritopher Lee also marked the first two (also of five) collaborations between him and director Jesús “Jess” Franco. Yes, that’s Lee under a heavy “Yellowface” makeup job, and yes he later publicly expressed regret for taking the role. In his defense, he speaks his lines in a deliberate cadence rather than with a stereotypical “Asian” accent. Taken from the work of author Sax Rohmer, Dr. Fu Manchu is a nefarious mastermind bent on world domination, whether his plans involve unleashing a handful of venomous beauties upon the world’s leaders (1968’s delightfully cheesy Blood) or freezing the world’s oceans (the even stranger 1969 follow-up, Castle).

The movies are not direct sequels per se, rather standalone adventures, sort of like the James Bonds but with a lot less money and a lot more weirdness, of the sort that has given them a cult following. As is their way, Blue Underground has spared no expense for these 4K/Dolby Vision restorations, giving new lushness to the leafy Brazilian jungles, while the DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 soundtracks do their best with the limited sources. Packaging is a cut above, slipcased and with reversible cover art. Some vintage talent interviews are combined with new expert commentary and on-camera musings, but best of all might be the slightly truncated RiffTrax versions, with Mike, Bill and Kevin giving each of the films the wicked lampooning it deserves.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K (Universal)

The first feature directed by Judd Apatow immediately put him on the Hollywood map. From a script co-written by star Steve Carell, Virgin can be simultaneously sweet and crass as we follow a middle-aged mensch facing some hard truths and making some big life changes, and the stacked cast helps guarantee that it remains funny as hell. The R-rated and significantly longer unrated cuts are much-improved in Dolby Vision and Atmos (I forgot what a well-curated soundtrack this movie has: call it “Top 40”?) together on a BD-100 platter.

This has been a big title for Universal since the DVD days, and so has amassed a wealth of bonus content that extends to this 4K premiere: deleted/alternate scenes and dialogue, a gag reel, auditions, rehearsals, featurettes galore and a commentary with Apatow, Carell and many of the supporting cast. New for the 20th anniversary is a 48-minute Q&A with half a dozen key figures.

Sunset Boulevard 4K (Paramount)

Filmmaker Billy Wilder was at the top of his game with this dark fable about Hollywood’s less glamorous side, as a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) and a washed-up screen siren (Gloria Swanson) become an unorthodox show biz couple. A masterpiece of cinematic storytelling, Sunset Boulevard was a critical darling and award-winner when first released, now quoted, exalted and copied for 75 years. This is the only black-and-white movie in this roundup but Paramount’s 4K restoration, from a 35mm dupe negative and referenced against the Library of Congress’ archival print, stands as a reminder of how good an Ultra HD disc with Dolby Vision HDR can look, even without color.

Golden age or modern, we can choose between restored mono and a 5.1 remix created using Park Road Post’s proprietary audio technology to isolate the dialogue for squeaky clean reproduction. As befits one of the greatest treasures in Paramount’s library, the studio gives us hours of bonus content, the same assemblage as found on the past few Blu-ray editions.

Barry Lyndon 4K (Criterion)

Stanley Kubrick’s unhurried tale of a roguish opportunist in 18th-century Europe is fascinating upon first watch, but only reveals the full depth of its guile now, these five decades later, and with repeat viewings. It’s easy to get lost in the trappings; the art direction, the costumes; but there’s great character drama and social commentary at the heart of it all. If ever an Oscar for achievement in cinematography was deserved, it’s John Alcott’s here, inspired by masterpieces of art and executed with the daring use of candles to light his scenes for a naturalistic appearance, requiring the use of special lenses including some borrowed from NASA. This summer’s 4K disc uses the same restoration that Criterion released on HD Blu-ray in 2017, now unleashed in its native 4K glory with a high bitrate and Dolby Vision.

In short, this film a visual masterclass and even the Kubrick haters should consider adding this Criterion to their library. The digi-package also supplies the movie in 1080p, and a third disc ports over the wide-ranging 2017 audio/video extras in their entirety.

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K (Shout! Studios)

A once-in-a-lifetime team-up of indie filmmaker John Sayles on script, “Jim” Cameron on special effects design, music by James Horner and even a member of The Magnificent Seven (thrown in to remove any doubt where the “inspiration” came from); all under the command of beloved schlockmeister Roger Corman; yielded Battle Beyond the Stars.

Aiming to piggyback onto the popularity of Star Wars, this sci-fi adventure about a plucky band of resistance fighters never takes itself too-too seriously, so pop a big bowl of Orville Redenbacher and just have fun with it. Shout! makes it easy with their new 4K scan from the original camera negative (their 2011 disc used a humble 2K scan of the internegative), in Dolby Vision, and this collector’s edition’s bundled HD Blu-ray benefits from that new restoration as well.

A great new featurette explores Horner’s early works, another breaks down the sound effects, and the legacy goodies include a commentary with Corman and Sayles, another with production manager Gale Anne Hurd, and an on-camera interview with star Richard Thomas.

Shane 4K (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

Shane is a terrific bit of western entertainment, but so much more. After his experiences in World War II, director Geroge Stevens eschewed he lighter fare he was known for: escapist adventures, comedies and musicals; gravitating instead toward stories that explored themes of moral ambiguity and social justice.

Audiences since 1953 have been taken with the slick, handsome gunslinger who just wants to leave his checkered past behind, but trouble and violence seemingly follow him wherever he goes. (Younger viewers might not know that this is the movie that Charles and Laura are watching in Logan.) George Jr.–a P.A. on Shane–provides one of the two commentaries on KLSC’s remastered release, the other being a new track from expert Alan Rode, supplementing a beautiful new 4K/Dolby Vision restoration.

Warfare 4K (A24)

Alex Garland has become a real creative force in Hollywood, as author of the novel The Beach and the screenplay for 28 Days Later (what ever happened to that franchise…?), later as director of eye-openers like Ex Machina and Civil War. Most recently he’s teamed with former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza to bring us Warfare, based on Mendoza’s first-hand experiences in the Iraq War, when he and his team were ambushed by insurgents.

Told in real time with chest-tightening intensity, it’s a story that anyone curious about the modern military should watch, aided greatly by flawless native 4K/Dolby Vision video and a powerhouse Atmos track as we’ve come to expect for such subject matter. An audio commentary with those two gents plus the technical consultant and a half-hour “making of” sweeten the deal.

Convoy 4K (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

Who better than the director of The Wild Bunch, The Getaway and Straw Dogs to helm the movie adaptation of one-hit wonder C.W. McCall’s pop tune about a long line of trucks? (The ’70s were a strange but halcyon time, kids.)

Sam Peckinpah’s penultimate film reunites him with Kris Kistoferson, Ali MacGraw and Ernest Borgnine, and to be fair, this diesel-fueled tale of hard-working haulers defying a crooked lawman would become the fabled filmmaker’s highest grosser. Apparently utilizing StudioCanal’s 4K restoration in Dolby Vision on a 100GB disc, KLSC’s Convoy is a vast improvement over all prior editions, paired with its original stereo and a 5.1 remix. There’s a truckload of extras (‘c’mon), some spilling onto a third (HD) platter, among them one new and two legacy historian/scholar commentaries, recent documentaries, featurettes, a marketing archive and a vast still photo section.

Xanadu 4K (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

If you want to experience what an hallucinogenic drug trip feels like but still need to provide a clean sample in the morning, lace up for Xanadu’s climactic eleven-minute non-stop skating/singing/dancing/costume-changing extravaganza, starting at the 1:21:18 mark. Olivia Newton-John’s big follow-up to the blockbuster Grease is a strange concoction of music and “story,” filling the void that would be addressed a year later by MTV by giving us fun visuals to go with pop songs from Olivia, ELO… and Gene Kelly? The Warriors star and Andy Gibb lookalike Michael Beck is here too, as the main character in fact, although you’d never know it from the poster. (In all seriousness, this movie reminds us that Ms. Newton-John was an extremely talented performer and quite a good sport, RIP.) KLSC’s new Dolby Vision disc is bright and cheerily colorful, defaulting to the vintage 4.0 stereo (yep), with two-channel and 5.1 at the ready.

A whopping four brand-new audio commentaries, one with director Robert Greenwald, attempt to decode what we’re seeing, along with a 2009 cast-and-crew featurette plus remastered tidbits from back in the day.