Blogs
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Indie Suppliers a ‘Blessing’
If you really want to get an idea of how fast the home entertainment industry is changing, talk to any of the independent suppliers who are still going at it, competing with the big studios and their theatrical blockbusters. As Ringo Starr would say, it don’t come easy. Studios generally release their films on all … Continue reading “Indie Suppliers a ‘Blessing’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘No Down Payment’ and ‘Moonrise’
No Down Payment Available via ScreenArchives.com Twilight Time, Drama, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Joanne Woodward, Tony Randall, Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, Barbara Rush, Cameron Mitchell, Pat Hingle, Patricia Owens. 1957. A time-capsule movie that also captures the members of its large cast at interesting career junctures, No Down Payment, based on a John McPartland novel, … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘No Down Payment’ and ‘Moonrise’”
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MoviePass Running Out of Money. Who Knew?
NEWS ANALYSIS — The rollercoaster existence of movie ticket subscription service MoviePass took another precipitous plunge May 8, with shares of parent Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY) closing down more than 31% at $1.45 per share. To the absolute shock of no one paying attention. The company, in a regulatory filing, disclosed it had $15.5 … Continue reading “MoviePass Running Out of Money. Who Knew?”
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Eric Doctorow: Search and Discovery and the Independent Film
More than 40 years after the home video business was launched, distribution is becoming more and more centered around digital distribution. This is a good thing and a not-so-good-thing. And it all has to do with the problem of “search” vs. “discovery”. Think about it this way: Search is people looking for content, and discovery is content looking for … Continue reading “Eric Doctorow: Search and Discovery and the Independent Film”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Awful Truth’ and ‘Singing Guns’
The Awful Truth Criterion, Comedy, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy. 1937. If anything, it’s Irene Dunne who owns the greatest of all screwball comedies — playing off a perfect supporting cast and displaying a no-holds-barred wacky streak, but the likely selling point these days for director Leo McCarey’s … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Awful Truth’ and ‘Singing Guns’”
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Home Entertainment Seeks VR Lifeline – at the Mall?
Apparently alternate reality has come to the home entertainment industry. Stephanie Prange’s insightful report from the recent DEG event about Virtual Reality (VR), Alternate Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) infusing new hope for home entertainment studios underscores the fact that this alphabet soup of hype is definitely not reality. Industry experts contend that VR … Continue reading “Home Entertainment Seeks VR Lifeline – at the Mall?”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Ruby Gentry’ and ‘Madigan’
Ruby Gentry Street 4/24/18 Kino Lorber, Drama, $19.95 DVD, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden, Tom Tully. 1952. It’s been suggested that King Vidor was a greater director of individual scenes than sustained movies, and there are redeeming bits here and there that transcend what is at heart an amusingly trashy … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Ruby Gentry’ and ‘Madigan’”
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One Thing Leads to Another
Getting people to buy movies and TV shows continues to be a hard sell. Physical disc sales continue to decline, a problem partially of our own making. If we’re not excited about new releases, how can we expect consumers to be? One studio executive recently stated, in public, that no one should be spending more … Continue reading “One Thing Leads to Another”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘King of Jazz’ and ‘Underworld U.S.A.’
King of Jazz Criterion, Musical, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante, The Rhythm Boys (with Bing Crosby). 1930. King of Jazz isn’t anywhere near perfect, but it is perfectly amazing, and so, again, is one of those discs that justify the invention of Blu-rays. Extras: Authors James Layton … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘King of Jazz’ and ‘Underworld U.S.A.’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘While the City Sleeps’ and ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’
While the City Sleeps Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Ida Lupino, George Sanders, Vincent Price, John Barrymore Jr. 1956. Even at a reasonable 99 minutes, Fritz Lang’s newspaper crime drama While the City Sleeps gets ground down by a clunky boilerplate romance between Pulitzer-winning print newshound/TV … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘While the City Sleeps’ and ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’”