Dune: Part Two Is the Pick of the Week

I very rarely go to the cinema anymore. I used to go every weekend. Then I got married, and had a kid, and suddenly, I was making it maybe once a month (if I was lucky). Then came Covid and the lockdowns (self-enforced around here) and suddenly my desire to sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers for a few hours nearly completely dissipated. I think I’ve seen three movies in the theater since Covid.

Most days, I don’t mind. I like watching movies at home. I have a big TV and a decent sound system. I can pause it whenever I like and come back when I’m ready. I can make my own popcorn and not pay an arm and a leg for it. But sometimes I do miss it. Sometimes a movie comes along and it really feels like it ought to be watched in the theater.

Dune: Part Two felt like that. Sadly, I did not get to see it in a theater. My Dad and I talked about going but then he got sick, and we had family come to visit. Then we took a little trip out west and suddenly it was gone. Happily, it is now available on 4K UHD and if you can’t see it in a theater then that’s got to be the next best thing. Like most big blockbuster movies, it is coming out in a wide variety of formats in various boxes with different artwork and special features so check your local listings for details. Me, I just can’t wait to see it at all.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Peeping Tom: Michael Powell’s career was nearly derailed by this controversial film about a serial killer who films his murders. Extremely controversial at the time, it is now considered a classic, and one of the earliest slashers ever made. Criterion has the release.

Once Upon a Time in the West: Sergio Leone’s epic western stars Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, and Claudia Cardinale. It is widely considered to be one of the best westerns ever made and now Paramount Pictures is presenting it on 4K UHD with loads of new special features.

Vitagraph Comedies: Some of the earliest comedies ever put to celluloid have been collected by the Library of Congress and are now being released by Kino Lorber in this three-disc set.

Thunder in the East: Alan Ladd, Deborah Kerr, and Charles Boyer star in this wartime drama about an arms dealer hoping to get rich quick in the first years of India’s independence, but he must convince a peace-loving Prime Minister to buy his weapons first.

Submarine Command: William Holden, Nancy Olsen, and William Bendrix star in this wartime drama about a submarine captain who is forced to submerge, leaving several people up top to drown suddenly and the guilt that nearly overcomes him in the aftermath.

The Nun’s Story: Audrey Hepburn stars as a woman who gives up everything to become a nun and then must struggle with that choice during wartime.

Friendly Persuasion: William Wyler directs Gary Cooper in this wartime drama about a Quaker trying to promise peace during the Civil War.