Legendary director Tod Browning is one of the all-time unsung heroes of film history. He was willing to go deep into the margins of society that most filmmakers would not even dare. I don’t think he wanted to be associated with Hollywood; I think he was more comfortable with being part of the underground and the cinematic misfits, which is all over Criterion’s new Sideshow Shockers set.
Through three pre-Code classics: Freaks (1932, Browning’s most notorious film), The Unknown (1927, the sinister Lon Chaney vehicle), and The Mystic (1925, the rarely seen but subversive con drama), Browning exposes the morbid but sympathetic curiosity with antiheroes and the most exploited of people.
The new set (available in both 2-disc Blu & 2-disc DVD editions) is abundant with vintage and new supplements, especially if you want to know a little more about Browning’s underappreciated genius and his bold, often controversial filmmaking. They include audio commentaries on Freaks and The Unknown and an introduction to The Mystic by film scholar David J. Skal; a new interview with author Megan Abbott about director Browning and pre-Code horror; a prologue to Freaks, which was added to the film in 1947; a program on the alternate endings to Freaks; and more.
I don’t have to tell you how excited I am for this new set (which I was since it was first announced), and I’m definitely not the only one. Tod Browning deserves a new appreciation because he was really one very original and ahead-of-his-time cinematic groundbreaker. So, this set is 100% recommended!
Other releases:
EO (Janus Contemporaries): Jerzy Skolimowski’s newest triumph centering on the trials and tribulations of a donkey who encounters both the good and evils of society and exposes modern Europe through his eyes.
No Bears (Janus Contemporaries): Jafar Panahi crafts an indelible portrait of two parallel love stories: one about a couple trying to flee to Europe, the other about a filmmaker (Panahi playing a fictionalized version of himself) trying to make a film about the couple, which goes completely awry. Read my review.
The Blob 4K UHD (Scream Factory): Chuck Russell’s superior, grisly remake of the 1958 cult original about a very sadistic and expanding blob terrorizing a small town and the teenagers who try to stop it.
The Edge of the World (Milestone): Legendary director Michael Powell’s first personal film about people living on an Outer Hebridean island fishing port who resist the urge to leave it when things start getting rough.
Passion (Film Movement): Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s stunning debut about a couple who are going to get married, but their plans are thwarted when the prospective groom’s past affair is accidentally revealed.
