Independent distributors Olive Films have announced that they will add two new titles to their Blu-ray catalog in December: Joseph Santley's
Brazil (1944), starring Tito Guízar, Virginia Bruce, and Edward Everett Horton, and Tay Garnett's
Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), starring Martha Scott, William Gargan, and Edmund Gwenn.
Brazil
The beautiful Virginia Bruce (Born to Dance) and Latin singing sensation Tito Guízar (Tropic Holiday) star in Brazil, a musical comedy confection in the tradition of Top Hat and Flying Down to Rio.
Set in exotic South America, the film's light-as-air plot revolves around a fish-out-of-water authoress (Bruce) struck by Cupid's arrow, dual identities (in the form of romantic lead Guízar) and, of course, those dancing fools – Veloz & Yolanda, the King & Queen of the tango who perform a show-stopping number set to the film's title tune.
Edward Everett Horton, a screwball comedy stalwart (Top Hat, Arsenic and Old Lace), lends support as Guízar's confidant. Featuring supporting roles by Robert Livingston (Don't Fence Me In), Henry Da Silva (Flying Down to Rio) along with a special appearance by Roy Rogers (Son of Paleface), Brazil is lovingly shot in black & white by Jack Marta (Flying Tigers, Cat Ballou and Steven Spielberg's Duel).
STREET DATE: DECEMBER 6.
Cheers for Miss Bishop
Cheers for Miss Bishop, starring Academy Award nominee Martha Scott (Best Actress, Our Town – 1940), is a film in the fine tradition of Goodbye, Mr. Chips; To Sir, with Love; and Mr. Holland's Opus.
Cheers for Miss Bishop, the story of kindly Midwestern school teacher Ella Bishop (portrayed with beguiling charm by Martha Scott, Ben-Hur), is told through flashbacks as Ella recalls her early student years through her retirement and a life still unfulfilled.
Throughout her life she's supported by Sam Peters (William Gargan, The Bells of St. Mary's), friend and confidant, who is also secretly in love with Ella, though it is clearly a case of unrequited love.
Cheers for Miss Bishop features supporting turns by Mary Anderson (Gone with the Wind) as Amy, Ella's deceitful cousin; Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street) as Ella's mentor, Professor Corcoran; Sidney Blackmer (How to Murder Your Wife) as John Stevens, the true love of Ella's life; Dorothy Peterson (Dark Victory) as Mrs. Bishop; and Rosemary DeCamp (Strategic Air Command) as Minna, a former student of Ella's.
STREET DATE: DECEMBER 6.
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DVD ONLY ANNOUNCEMENT
Borderless
Borderless, the winner of five film festival awards, including the Asian Future Best Film Award at the 2014 Tokyo International Film Festival and Best Premiere at the 2015 Heartland Film Festival, is the debut feature of writer & director Amirhossein Asgari.
Borderless is an engaging and emotional rumination on the effects of war as seen through the eyes of a child. The child of the story, a young boy, lives alone on an abandoned ship harbored along the stretch of an unnamed war-torn border. The boy's solitary existence is torn apart when a young refugee appears in search of shelter, carrying an infant.
In the words of its director, Borderless presents a heartbreaking philosophical message "… this is the philosophy of war. War wants everyone to be alone like itself."
Written and directed by Amirhossein Asgari, Borderless stars Alireza Baledi, Zeynab Naserpour, Arash Mehraban and Arsalan Alipourian, and is photographed by Ashkan Ashkani with a score by Amiryal Arjmand.
STREET DATE: DECEMBER 6.