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To Sleep So as to Dream Blu-ray Review: Ode to Silent Japanese Cinema

What an odd film. To Sleep So as to Dream (1986), the directorial debut of Kaizo Hayashi is many things. ...
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Blue Skies Blu-ray Review: Holiday Inn Revisited

While most musicals would be lucky to have one of the three powerhouses featured in Blue Skies, this film suffers ...
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Ordinary People Blu-ray Review: The Puzzle of Life Isn’t Always Complete

Whether Ordinary People deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture over Raging Bull or whether you think it's better ...
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Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Review: The Bloody Ballad of Golden Swallow

Director King Hu’s Come Drink with Me (1966; 95 min) remains fresh after all these years. Produced by Run Run ...
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Cinema Sentries

Night Shift (1982) Blu-ray Review: Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy but Comedy Is for This Cast

Night Shift is a notable comedy because of the folks involved. Owing a great deal to their meeting through Happy ...
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Monkey Kung Fu & Shaolin Mantis Blu-rays Review: For Those Who Like Animals with Their Kung Fu

88 Films continues their monthly tradition of releasing excellent versions of classic (and not so classic) Shaw Brothers kung fu ...
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All My Sons (1948) Blu-ray Review: Greed Is Not Good

Based on Arthur Miller's 1947 play of the same name, which was inspired by a true story, All My Sons ...
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Nightmare (1964) Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: A Hidden Gem

When you think of Hammer Films, their versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and even Van Helsing automatically come to ...
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Hester Street Blu-ray Review: Joan Micklin Silver’s Beguiling 1975 Masterpiece

There have been so many films about immigrants trying to make a new life in America. Some of them immediately ...
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Evil Eye plus The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) Blu-ray Review: Slick in Italian, Murky in American

Nora has a very bad first night in Italy. The relative she is visiting dies of a heart attack right ...
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Village of the Giants Blu-ray Review: Brain Candy

Could there actually be a film out there that combines the Beach Blanket films and sci-fi films of the '60s ...
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The Three Musketeers (1948) Blu-ray Review: Night of 100 Stars

MGM’s 1948 version of this classic tale is full of stars but short on clear direction. The first act plays ...
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House of Gucci Blu-ray Review: A Tale of Greed, Ego, and Betrayal

For more than a century, the Gucci name has been synonymous with high-end fashion, luxury, and wealth. Founded by Guccio ...
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C.H.O.M.P.S. Blu-ray Review: It’s a Dog!

A movie from the '70s (1979) about a robot dog starring Valerie Bertinelli, Wesley Eure, Conrad Bain, Red Buttons, Jim ...
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Cinema Sentries

Repeat Performance Blu-ray Review: A Curiosity More Than Anything

All film noirs are not created equal. This means that a lot of them completely miss the boat. For every ...
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The Flag of Iron & Legendary Weapons of China Blu-ray Review: Two Classics from Shaw Brothers Studios

Last month in my review of Disciples of Shaolin, I noted how much I loved old kung fu movies as ...
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Cinema Sentries

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful and Highly Gorgeous Work of Art

Life can be merciless, full of unpredictable twist and turns, as well as tragedy and sudden events that can turn ...
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DVD Cover of the movie La Dolce Vita

La Dolce Vita Blu-ray Review: The High Cost of Fancy Living

Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita clocks in at nearly three hours, the usual length of some big-budgeted epics that would ...
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Cinema Sentries

Gold Diggers of 1933 Blu-ray Review: It’s Perfect

The Depression was and still remains one of the most devastating events in American history. So many people were unemployed, ...
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The Capture (1950) Blu-ray Review: Complex Modern Western Crime Narrative

Lin Vanner (Lew Ayres), the protagonist of The Capture (1950), accidentally shoots an unarmed man. He believes the man is ...
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Cinema Sentries

Journey to Shiloh Blu-ray Review: Too Many Questions and Questionable Motivations

Clearly trying to ride on the success of The Magnificent Seven and The Return of the Seven, Journey to Shiloh, ...
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The DVD Cover of the movie 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men (1997) Blu-ray Review: One Terrific Movie

While Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of Reginald Rose’s 12 Angry Men is a film that is 100 percent perfect and doesn’t ...
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Cinema Sentries

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Review: Marriage in Crisis

Alfred Hitchcock is known as primarily a director of thrillers, and after he came to the U.S. in 1939 it ...
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Fritz the Cat / The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Blu-rays Review: Sex, Drugs, and Counterculture

Scorpion Releasing by way of Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released the cinematic adventures of Robert Crumb's Fritz the Cat. ...
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Cinema Sentries

Red Angel (1966) Blu-ray Review: Disturbing War Hospital Drama

Red Angel is about a war-time nurse, and it lives up to themes implicit in the name. Nurse Sakura Nishi ...
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Invasion of the Body Snatchers DVD Cover

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Blu-ray Review:  An Instant Sci-Fi Classic

At one point, Hollywood gave Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers the same treatment it did to other popular literature such ...
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Cinema Sentries

Gambit (1966) Blu-ray Review: A Larcenous Lark

In director Ronald Neame’s caper flick, Gambit (1966; 109 mins.), a British cat burglar, Harry Dean (Michael Caine), teams with ...
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The poster of the movie Stage Fright by Alfred Hitchcock

Stage Fright (1950) Blu-ray Review: Second-Tier Hitchcock Is Still Good Cinema

Stage Fright, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller from 1950 begins with a great curtain that opens to reveal a shot of, not ...
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Cinema Sentries

The Piano Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Jane Campion’s Sublime Masterpiece

Despite all the accolades and acclaim, director Jane Campion still seems to be continuously undervalued and taken for granted. That's ...
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The poster of the movie Prince of the City

Prince of the City Blu-ray Review: The NYPD Blues

In Prince of the City (1981; dir. Sidney Lumet), everything about drug enforcement is crooked—and that’s the way it’s supposed ...
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Cinema Sentries

Shock (1977) Blu-ray Review: Bava’s Final Film

Shock is the final film that Mario Bava directed and is commonly regarded as an underwhelming swan song. He was ...
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Cinema Sentries

Dune (2021) Blu-ray Review: Although Half the Story, Denis Villeneuve Delivers an Entertaining Science Fiction Spectacle

Director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve wisely chose to only adapt the first half of Frank Herbert's landmark novel Dune, even though the ...
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Cinema Sentries

Ragtime (1981) Blu-ray Review: The Movie Needed to be Shorter or Longer to Succeed

Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, Milos Forman's Ragtime (1981) is set in the turn of ...
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Disciples of Shaolin Blu-ray Review: Socially Conscious Kung Fu

When I was a kid one of the local television stations used to run what they called Kung Fu Theater ...
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Shadow of the Thin Man Blu-ray Review: Bask in the Laughs and Intrigue

Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth title in the six-film series featuring the detective team of Nick (William ...
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Cinema Sentries

High Sierra Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Raoul Walsh Tells a Story Twice

Based on W. R. Burnett's second novel, director Roaul Walsh's High Sierra (1941) is a captivating crime drama notable for ...
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Cinema Sentries

Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Masked Killers, Disrobed Victims

Arrow Video’s second box set collection of giallo classics is now available, arriving less than a month after the first ...
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Cinema Sentries

The Old Fashioned Way / It’s a Gift / The Bank Dick Blu-rays Review: A Trio of W. C. Fields Comedies from KL Studio Classics

W. C. Fields got his start in vaudeville as a juggler. He went on to create an iconic comic persona, ...
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Cinema Sentries

The Learning Tree Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Semi-Autobiographical Story from Gordon Parks

There have been so many films about growing up where characters (mostly youth) deal with first love, family issues, peer ...
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Cinema Sentries

Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Trilogy of Sleaze

As I mentioned in my review for the Red Edition of Arrow's Giallo Essentials, Giallo is a subdivision of Italian ...
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DVD Cover of Cry Macho featuring Clint Eastwood

Cry Macho Blu-ray Review: Back in the Saddle Again

It’s been some time since Clint Eastwood made a movie that is simply just enjoyable and doesn’t become something weighed ...
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Cinema Sentries

The Last of Sheila Blu-ray Review: A Stylish Whodunnit

Fans of games, puzzles, and mysteries will enjoy the 1973 film The Last of Sheila. Written by the dynamic duo ...
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Harold and Maude Blu-ray Review: Funeral Freak Flag

A cult comedy, Harold and Maude (1971; 91 minutes; dir. Hal Ashby) tries a mite too hard to be unusual. ...
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Cinema Sentries

Angels with Dirty Faces Blu-ray Review: A Seminal Gangster Classic

James Cagney was one of the great actors of his time, and for all-time. He had a scowl that would ...
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Cinema Sentries

It’s a Wonderful Life Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful Film with an Interesting 75th Anniversary Release

It's a Wonderful Life endures as a Christmas classic after 75 years, though it has taken a backseat to more ...
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Cinema Sentries

Giallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Mixed Bag, Solid Box

Just in time for the holiday gift giving season, Arrow Video has repackaged three individual Blu-ray releases from 2018/19 into ...
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Wife of a Spy Blu-ray Review: Understated Japanese Spy Thriller

Wife of a Spy is the latest film by Japanese craftsman Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He was one of several filmmakers, along ...
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Cinema Sentries

Night Gallery Season One Blu-ray Review: Rod Serling’s Other Series Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint

Rod Serling will always be most closely identified with The Twilight Zone, but his follow-up series is finally getting Blu-ray ...
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Party Girl (1958) Blu-ray Review: Neon Underworld

Fans of director Nicholas Ray (best known for the James Dean vehicle, Rebel Without a Cause) should enjoy Party Girl ...
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The Ghost Ship/Bedlam Double Feature Blu-ray Review: Two Val Lewton Suspense Thrillers

Val Lewton ran the horror film unit at RKO Picture from 1942 to 1946. The massive success of Cat People, ...
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