New Blu-ray Reviews

Three Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations Starring Bela Lugosi Blu-ray Movie    

Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven | Masters of Cinema | Limited Edition

Eureka Entertainment | 1932-1935 | 3 Movies, 4 Cuts | 189 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Jul 20, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

See individual titles for their synopses.

Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller

Murders in the Rue Morgue Blu-ray Movie    

Masters of Cinema

Eureka Entertainment | 1932 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 61 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Jul 20, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

In 19th Century Paris, the maniacal Dr. Mirakle abducts young women and injects them with ape blood in an attempt to prove ape-human kinship. He constantly meets failure as the abducted women die. Medical student Pierre Dupin discovers what Mirakle is doing too late to prevent the abduction of his girlfriend Camille. Now he desperately tries to enlist the help of the police to get her back...

Crime / Horror / Mystery

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie    

The Vanishing Body / Masters of Cinema

Eureka Entertainment | 1934 | 65 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travellers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life...

Crime / Horror / Thriller

The Raven Blu-ray Movie    

Masters of Cinema

Eureka Entertainment | 1935 | 61 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

A wealthy judge coaxes the brilliant but eccentric neurological surgeon Dr. Vollin, who also has an obsessive penchant for Edgar Allen Poe, out of retirement to save the life of his daughter, a dancer crippled and brain damaged in an auto wreck. Vollin restores her completely, but also envisions her as his "Lenore," and cooks up a scheme to kidnap the woman and torture and kill her fiance' and father in his Poe-inspired dungeon. To do his dirty work, Vollin recruits a wanted criminal, and turns him into a hideous monster to guarantee his subservience...

Horror / Thriller

The Opening Act Blu-ray Movie  

RLJ Entertainment | 2020 | 90 min | Not rated | Dec 15, 2020 | Randy Miller III

The film follows Will O'Brien whose true life passion is to become a stand-up comedian. He is given the opportunity to emcee a comedy show, opening for his hero, Billy G. O'Brien has to decide if he wants to continue the life he has set up or to pursue his dream, the life of a comedian.

Comedy

Attack! Blu-ray Movie  

Fragile Fox

Kino Lorber | 1956 | 107 min | Not rated | Dec 01, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

When Lieutenant Joe Costa learns that his men died because the commander, Captain Cooney, was too much of a coward to join the fight, Costa issues a serious warning: Don't let it happen again! But Cooney's cowardice forces Costa into a fateful choice: continue to risk the lives of his men...or take the life of the captain!

Action / Drama / War

Tremors Blu-ray Movie  

Limited Edition

Arrow | 1990 | 96 min | Rated PG-13 | Dec 15, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Just as Val McKee and Earl Basset decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student, they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground. The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground.

Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi

Tremors 4K Blu-ray Movie  

Limited Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Arrow | 1990 | 96 min | Rated PG-13 | Dec 15, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Just as Val McKee and Earl Basset decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student, they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground. The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground.

Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi

Mister Roberts Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Archive Collection

Warner Bros. | 1955 | 121 min | Not rated | Dec 15, 2020 | Randy Miller III

Based on the 1946 novel and 1948 Broadway of the same name, the film follows life on board the USS Reluctant, an unimportant cargo ship in the US Navy during World War II, and its beloved XO, Lieutenant J.G. Douglas Roberts.

Comedy / Drama / War

The Valdez Horses Blu-ray Movie    

Chino | Indicator Series | Limited Edition

Powerhouse Films | 1973 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 97 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Jan 25, 2021 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Chino Valdez is a loner horse breeder living in the old west. Partly a loner by choice, and partly because, being a 'half-breed', he finds himself unwelcome almost everywhere he goes. One day, a young runaway named Jimmy shows up at his door looking for work and a roof over his head. Reluctantly, Chino agrees to take him in and teach him the art of raising, breaking and breeding horses, until the pair finally begin to accept each other.

Action / Drama / Western

The Night Porter Blu-ray Movie    

Il portiere di notte

Cult Films | 1974 | 119 min | Rated BBFC: 18 | Nov 30, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A concentration camp survivor discovers her former torturer and lover working as a porter at a hotel in postwar Vienna. When the couple attempt to re-create their sadomasochistic relationship, his former SS comrades begin to stalk them.

Drama

The Baker's Wife Blu-ray Movie  

La femme du boulanger

Criterion | 1938 | 134 min | Not rated | Jul 16, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Shortly after middle-aged baker Aimable settles down in a new village in Provence, his young and beautiful wife, Aurélie, runs away with an attractive young shepherd. The combination of his wife's desertion and the townspeople's initial mockery of his predicament causes the baker to close his shop in despair. Faced with the dire possibility of life without Aimable's breads, the townspeople attempt to persuade his unfaithful wife to come back.

Comedy / Drama / Foreign

Payback Time: Triple Feature Blu-ray Movie  

Blind Fury / Silent Rage / White Line Fever

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1975-1989 | 3 Movies | 276 min | Rated R | May 16, 2017 | Martin Liebman

No synopsis for this title.

Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Horror / Romance / Thriller / Martial arts

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie  

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1989 | 86 min | Rated R | No Release Date | Martin Liebman

Blinded and left to die in Vietnam, Nick Parker has been missing in action for more than two decades. Finally home, he sets out to find and forgive his old Army buddy.

Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Martial arts

Silent Rage Blu-ray Movie  

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1982 | 100 min | Rated R | No Release Date | Martin Liebman

Dan Stevens is the sheriff of a small Texas town who checks out a disturbance which turns to murder. The killer is still in the house and he tries to kill Dan, but Dan stops him and arrests him. The killer attempts to flee, but is shot and killed and is taken to a medical institute. Three doctors, led by Dr. Philip Spires, operates on the killer and brings him back to life using a formula that the three doctors made and the killer is made indestructable. Dr. Tom Halman tries to terminate the killer, but he and his wife are killed. After the two remaining doctors are killed, the killer goes after Dr. Halman's sister Alison, and it's up to Sheriff Dan Stevens to stop him.

Action / Horror / Thriller

White Line Fever Blu-ray Movie  

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1975 | 90 min | Rated PG | No Release Date | Martin Liebman

Returning from a stint in the Air Force, Carrol Jo Hummer borrows money to buy a truck, hoping to make enough money hauling produce to marry Jerri Kane and set up housekeeping. He discovers that the long-haul business is run by racketeers and decides to fight the corrupt forces that control the trucking business.

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance

Love and Monsters Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Paramount Pictures | 2020 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Jan 05, 2021 | Martin Liebman

A young man learns how to survive a monster apocalypse with the help of an expert hunter.

Action / Adventure / Horror / Sci-Fi

Love and Monsters 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Paramount Pictures | 2020 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Jan 05, 2021 | Martin Liebman

A young man learns how to survive a monster apocalypse with the help of an expert hunter.

Action / Adventure / Horror / Sci-Fi

Operation Mad Ball Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 1957 | 105 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A group of bored-to-tears American GI's stationed at a medical facility in France would like nothing more than to have a big party to let off steam -- except for the possibility of having a big party with some of the nurses they work with. However, it seems that the nurses are officers and the GI's are enlisted men, which means the Army forbids them to socialize, and Capt. Locke, the camp's Commanding Officer, is not a man to bend the rules. But Private Hogan is not the sort of guy to let the rules get in the way of a good time, enlisting the help of Yancy Skibo, a sergeant with a talent for scaring up needed supplies, and Mme. LaFour, a local hotel manager with a soft spot for making money off American servicemen.

Comedy / War

Dragnet Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 1954 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 88 min | Not rated | Nov 17, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Dragnet, one of TV's most famous and innovative series from the 1950's, comes to colorful life in a classic full-length feature. As Sgt. Joe Friday, Jack Webb recreates his memorable portrayal of a Los Angeles cop - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - in this action-packed tale. A mysterious gangland slaying has taken place and it is up to Joe Friday and the Los Angeles Police Department to put together the pieces. With the help of his partner, Officer Frank Smith, they enlist the services of a pretty and daring police woman to trap the devious mobsters and bring them to justice.

Crime / Drama / Film-Noir