Jeff Heinrich

A masterful exploration of age-old themes: family, patriotism, childhood, community, motherhood, survival, love. As the Criterion blurb puts it: "Secrets swirl beneath the surface of a remote Italian community in Maura Delpero’s exquisite wartime drama, winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. In a majestic Alpine village touched only faintly by the upheavals of modern life, a strict schoolteacher’s family undergoes a profound shift when a relative returns home with a mysterious Sicilian soldier, both fleeing the front lines of World War II. As the seasons change across a single year, three very different daughters of the sprawling Graziadei clan will find their lives transformed. Blending historically grounded realism with painterly grace, Delpero draws from her own ancestral history for Vermiglio, an at once intimate and momentous vision of a world suspended between the patriarchal past and the stirrings of a new future." Yes, "painterly grace" – that quite describes it, and that's largely a tribute to the work of the film's cinematographer, Mikhail Krichman, the Russian behind the camera of such beautifully shot dramas as The Return and Leviathan. On my first of two viewings, as the closing credits rolled to a mother's hushed lullaby to her baby, I started thinking of all the other period pictures Vermiglio reminded me of: Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli, of course, and Ermanno Olmi's The Tree of Wooden Clogs (both depicting Italian peasant life), but also Victor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive (secrets in a small town), Edgar Reitz's Home from Home (the 'Heimat' TV series prequel), René Féret's Nannerl: la soeur de Mozart (with its subtle sibling rivalry), Renoir's La grande illusion (the closing scene in the snowy mountains), and maybe even a bit of Robert Wise's The Sound of Music and TV's 'The Waltons'. Beautifully composed, understated, deliberately paced and wonderfully acted (by a mix of professional and amateur players), Vermiglio is also lovely to listen to, with its soundtrack of Chopin and Vivaldi played on the pater familias's gramophone. Extras on the "Criterion Premieres" Blu-ray are limited to a trailer and a 12-minute interview with the young director that includes shots of paintings by Giovanni Segantini and Caspar David Friedrich that inspired the look of the film. English subtitles are optional, but even if you understand Italian, you might want them: much of the movie's dialogue is in Ladin, the Trentino-South Tyrolean mountain dialect. A leaflet (single sheet, double-sided, folded) accompanies the disc and has an essay by New York critic Michael Joshua Rowin and a mosaic of stills.

Of all the Central and Eastern European peoples, the Czechs comes across as the funniest, or at least the ones with the best sense of humour. In theatre and film, absurdist comedies have traditionally been their forte, and Václav Vorlíček’s 1966 movie Who Wants to Kill Jessie? is no exception. The titular heroine, a comic-strip character played by Olga Schoberová, comes to life after a scientist invents a serum to banish bad dreams, prompting Jessie and her fellow superheroes to let out a rallying cry, in speech-bubbles: “Freedom for dreams!” Anticipating other '60s hits modeled on the aesthetics of comics strips, such as Joseph Losey’s Modesty Blaise and Roger Vadim’s Barbarella and the ABC-TV's series 'Batman', in its 83 minutes Who Wants to Kill Jessie? strikes just the right absurdist tone while also skewering the conformist politics of the time. Newly restored in high-definition by the Czech National Film Archive, the movie now makes its Blu-ray premiere with optional English-language subtitles on a region-free disc that includes the Vorlíček's 1955 short 'Directive', a new video essay by Michael Brooke on Czech comedies, and a 'Projection Booth' audio commentary. The accompanying 24-page booklet has a new essay by Czech cinema expert Jonathan Owen, who writes that while, in the mid-60s, "comics were not too well-known or officially favoured in Czechoslovakia ... Vorlíček trusted that domestic viewers would have enough general awareness of comics for the film’s jokes to land." And they still do today, marvelously.

In the words of the distributor:

"Zoltán Huszárik is one of the great unsung masters of international cinema. With an output that comprised just two features and a handful of remarkable short films, his unique and beautifully realised works set him apart from all other contemporary filmmakers, creating an intoxicating body of work unlike any other in modern cinema.

"This special edition 3-disc Blu-ray boxset contains his two features Szindbád (1971) and Csontváry (1979), plus five of his acclaimed, rarely seen short works — including his most renowned film poem, 'Elégia' (1965) — presented from new 4K restorations and released for the first time ever on (region-free) Blu-ray (with new English subtitles). Considered a great lost masterpiece of international cinema, based on the stories of surrealist writer Gyula Krúdy, (the) erotic elegy Szindbád (96 minutes) is a lush and sensuous depiction of the life, loves and memories of hedonist and serial seducer Szindbád. Huszárik's second and final feature, Csontváry (112 mins) is a dazzlingly inventive portrait of artist Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka, (...) driven to madness by his passion to express the fullness of God's creation,whilst battling his own very human frailties." The additional "five short films include Huszárik's graduation film 'Groteszk' (1963) and his professional directing debut 'Elégia', a veneration of horses and their service to mankind: this experimental film poem introduced a distinctive new language into Hungarian cinema, an approach Huszárik continued to develop with his lyrical short works and sublimely poetic feature films (including) 'Capriccio' (1969), 'Homage to Old Women' (1971) and 'A piacere' (As You Like It) (1976)."

Accompanying the discs is a booklet with an essay by Michael Brooke, who compares and contrasts Huszárik and his Russian counterpart Andrei Tarkovsky. "Almost exact contemporaries," Brooke writes, "they were born less than a year apart and died prematurely in their early fifties. Both consciously sought to elevate the potential of film as a serious art form, in the process developing unique, instantly recognisable approaches to their chosen medium. Both were ranked high among their country’s greatest filmmakers from the moment their debut features premiered. And, perhaps most intriguingly, both chose to make their second features about one of their culture’s major visual artists ... (men with) substantial holes in their biographies." Also in the booklet are a number of contemporary reviews of Huszárik's work that compare the director to, among others, luminaries such as France's Alain Renais.

Additional video extras include an appreciation by filmmaker Peter Strickland, a short documentary on Huszárik, a discussion of Krúdy’s work and Huszárik's adaptations, and an archival newsreel on the special photographic techniques used in Szindbád.

Two titans of the English stage and screen, Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, star in this backstage drama of a Shakespeare touring company working through the Blitz of the Second World War. Based on the real-life experiences of screenwriter Ronald Harwood, directed by Peter Yates and with a superb supporting cast led by Edward Fox, The Dresser comes re-mastered to region-B Blu-ray with a good supply of extras: a new interview with Courtenay (8 minutes), a 2017 interview with actress Cathryn Harrison (4 mins.), 14 minutes of various crew interviews from 2022, a trailer and an image gallery. The 32-page booklet included in the package has a new essay by film critic Thirza Wakefield, a selection of interviews with Yates and Finney and Courtenay, an overview of critical responses, and full film credits.

A neglected gem of British cinema of the 1970s, The Hireling is a kind of Driving Miss Daisy for the English class-struggle set. Sarah Miles and Robert Shaw star as a widowed noblewoman and her ex-military chauffeur forging a kind of friendship in the aftermath of the Great War. Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the movie was adapted from the L.P. Hartley novel and was beautifully shot by cinematographer Michael Reed. Remastered in high-def, on Indicator's region-B disc it comes with a number of informative extras: two 12-minute sets of cast-and-crew interviews from 2020, 105 minutes of audio from 2000 of costume designer Phyllis Dalton, a trailer with commentary, and an image gallery. The accompanying booklet runs 32 pages and features a new essay by Peter Cowie, one of Britain best-known film historians.

A German Western? Yes indeed, but with a twist: in the East German variety, "Indians" were the good guys and the whites wore black hats. That's because through the lens of the communist east, the American "Wild West" was only wild because the whites were colonialists, exploiters and murderers, and the native peoples were simply resisting. Well, the Reds kind of had a point, didn't they, as The Sons of Great Bear dramatically points out. Directed by Josef Mach and shot in the DDR and Romania, this mid-'60s 'Indianerfilme' from the DEFA state film studio stars Serbian actor Gojko Mitić, heading up an all-white cast. His character, Tokei-Ihto, leads his Dakota tribe in a drive to defend itself against the gold-seeking cuthroat Jim Fred Clark, alias “Red Fox” (played by Czech actor Jiří Vršťala). Released now in a 2K restoration as part of British distributor Eureka!'s Masters of Cinema series, the film arrives on region-B Blu-ray with new English subtitles and a wealth of extras: a new audio commentary by Western scholar Jenny Barrett, a new appreciation by film scholar Austin Fisher, a new video essay by Lee Broughton, author of 'The Euro-Western,' an archival German newsreel featuring a short report on the making of the movie, and two trailers. The accompanying booklet features new writing by DEFA film librarian Mariana Ivanova.

Another Western with a Communist twist, this time from early 1950s Hollywood: a parable of private courage in the face of public cowardice, High Noon was written by Carl Foreman, a Chicago-born Jew blacklisted by the Red-baiting House Un-American Activities Committee. Directed by the Austrian-Jewish exile Fred Zinnemann, the movie stars Gary Cooper as ageing small-town marshall Will Kane, newly married to beautiful young Amy (Grace Kelly) and itching to retire. But when news comes that an outlaw he once sent to jail, Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), is planning to return with his gang, Kane struggles against the fatalism of his pacifist bride and fear-stricken townsfolk and prepares for battle. The clock ticks down to the Miller gang's arrival, the marshall waits: will he have to go it alone? Controversial on release, High Noon wears its star proudly again now in Trump's divided America, and shines in a new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release from Eureka!'s Masters of Cinema. Besides a new video essay by Western scholar J. E. Smyth on the movie's feminist themes, extras are duplicated from MoC's 2019 BD: two audio commentary tracks, an interview with film historian Neil Sinyard, a 1969 audio interview with Foreman, two making-ofs, and a trailer. The booklet features John W. Cunningham's 1947 short story 'The Tin Star,' on which High Noon was based.

Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel star alongside Ann-Margaret, Candice Bergen, Rita Moreno and Carol Kane in director Mike Nichols' battle-of-the-sexes drama about two 1940s-era college roommates whose adventures and misfires with women carry on into marriage and the 1970s. Frank, profane, and yes, at times erotic, the movie famously led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it was not, in fact, obscene. The new Blu-ray – an Indicator release from British distributor Powerhouse – is also available in a UHD edition sporting the same 4K restoration. Both come with a new audio commentary by Atlanta film scholar Justin Bozung and a new appreciation by English comedian and actor Richard Ayoade. Also, from 2011, is a postscreening discussion in New York City between Nichols and Canadian-American filmmaker Jason Reitman (Juno). A trailer, radio spot and image gallery round out the extras. The accompanying full-colour book runs to 80 pages.

A crime drama from a 1950s British film company (Ealing Studios) and its marquee director (Basil Dearden) known for their box-office popularity, The Ship That Died of Shame stars Richard Attenborough, George Baker and Bill Owen as crew members of His Majesty’s WWII gunboat 1087. After the war, they repurpose their ship to smuggle illicit goods – first wine, then guns and counterfeit money – back and forth over the English Channel, until things go wrong and the end comes in a hail of bullets. Based on a short story by Nicholas Monsarrat (The Cruel Sea), the film also stars Virginia McKenna and Bernard Lee. The Indicator Blu-ray offers two presentations of the film: in its original 1.37:1 shooting ratio or matted to 1.66:1. Extras include a new introduction by Dearden's son, James, himself a filmmaker and screenwriter; a 2002 interview with Attenborough by former British Film Commissioner Sydney Samuelson; a 2023 look at Ealing Studios by film historian Neil Sinyard; and Now You’re Talking, a 1940 Ealing short that Dearden co-wrote for the wartime ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ campaign. An image gallery and full-colour booklet (including, unusually, a comic-strip adaptation of The Ship That Died of Shame) round out the package.

Roman Polanski wrote the screenplay, his Polish countryman (and fellow Shoah survivor) Gene Gutowski produced, and their buddy Simon Hesara made his debut as director of this father-daughter (or niece? no-one says) drama about alcoholism (the dad's, played by Mark Burns), all set in a rainy Danish seaside town. Look for a cameo appearence by Peter Sellers. In its first time on Blu-ray, on Powerhouse's Indicator label, the film's original, 82-minute cut has been restored from a 4K scan of the original negative; the disc also has a slightly longer version presented from a standard-definition master. Both extras are feature-length documentaries: a 2015 portrait of Gutkowski by his son, Adam Bardach, and a 1993 look at cinematographer Gil Taylor featuring interviews with Taylor, Polanski and British filmmaker Anthony Minghella. The accompanying booklet has a new essay, trade journal reports, interviews and more.

It's Basil Dearden again, this time from three years earlier and in the wartime thriller genre: John Mills and Dirk Bogarde star as two Irish brothers who go undercover for the IRA to carry out bombings in London during the Blitz. One gets cold feet, the other urges him to go into hiding, two of their comrades are captured by the British police and are put on trial in Belfast, and now it's up to the brothers to try to free them. Will they succeed? Roger MacDougall (The Man in the White Suit) wrote the script and Michael Relph (Out of the Clouds) produced. Restored in 4K, the film comes to Blu-ray with a new introduction by Dearden's son, James; a 1983 audio interview with Bogarde at London's National Film Theatre; a 2022 look at the film's production and themes by broadcaster Matthew Sweet and film critic Phuong Le; and a 1940 Ealing short called All Hands that stars Mills and was, again, made for the ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ campaign. There's also a gallery of images. The accompanying booklet has a new essay by Robert Murphy, archival production reports on the making of the film, extracts from the film’s pressbook, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on All Hands, and a fulllist of credits for the film.

Summer 2025 on Blu-ray

08.2025

07.2025

06.2025