When I was in college, me and my buddies used to watch Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure at least once a week. This was back before streaming, you understand. I had a small but ever growing collection of VHS tapes, and Pee-Wee was one of them. We watched it all the time; we endlessly quoted it, and we’d often imitate our favorite gags. Heck, to this day I still sometimes say things like:
“Tell them Large Marge sent ya,” or “I remember the Alamo” (and then cheer like a loon).
It is a ridiculously funny movie, and a large part of that is down to the late, great Paul Reuben’s performance as Pee-Wee. He is such a singular, inventive, wonderful character, and the film is the perfect platform for it.
Buy Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Criterion Collection)I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched the movie. I don’t think it made the jump from VHS to DVD or Blu-ray in my collection. I think I watched it so many times back then that I didn’t feel the need to upgrade it, and then I just kind of forgot about it. Even so, I could probably sit down right now and write out the entirety of its plot and most of the gags without about 90 percent accuracy. But I’m super excited to see the Criterion Collection giving it a new UHD upgrade and loading it with extras.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Scars of Dracula 4K UHD: This was Hammer Studios sixth Dracula film and their fifth with Christopher Lee as the titular vampire (he did not appear in The Brides of Dracula, the second installment, because Dracula had been killed in the first, and I guess they figured he couldn’t come back for the sequel – they got over that idea pretty quickly, and he was in the subsequent films). Anyway, this is a back-to-basics installment with Dracula living in a castle, spooking the nearby village, and trying to make a pretty girl his slave. I’ll have a full review up shortly.
Boogie Nights 4K UHD Steelbook: Paul Thomas Anderson’s drama about the late ’80s/early ’90s porn industry is an epic portrait of a makeshift family that only he could make.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Someone smarter than me should do a deep dive into why these teenage ninjas who look like turtles, talk like surfers, and love pizza have remained a beloved cultural icon for three decades now. But while they are doing that, I’m gonna have to rewatch the original trilogy via this new Arrow Video release.
David Byrne’s American Utopia: Spike Lee’s recording of a David Byrne concert from 2019 is pure joy. The songs are great, of course, but Byrne got all of his musicians and singers to synchronize their clothes and added some wonderful choreography, and Lee manages to add his own artistry to it, creating something, like I said, that’s utter joy.
O.C. and Stiggs: Robert Altman’s take on the 1980s teen sex comedy confounded the studio so much they shelved it for several years. When they finally released it, audiences were just as confounded (when they bothered to show up at all). Radiance Films is releasing it on Blu-ray with a new transfer and lots of extras.
Hong Kong New Wave: Shout Factory is giving us a small little boxed set of three groundbreaking films from Hong Kong’s New Wave movement in the 1980s. The films include Alex Law’s Painted Faces, Johnnie To’s The Story of My Son, and Stanley Kwan’s Women.
Monk: The Complete Series and Movie: This series starring Tony Shalhoub as an obsessive-compulsive detective is one of my great comfort watches. It is something I can just put on anytime and sit back, relax, and enjoy. This will make a great Christmas present for my wife.
