Out on 4K UHD and Blu Ray May 21st, 2024, from Blue Underground
Andy’s parents have received the worst possible news about their son who is away at war in Vietnam. Soon, he returns home, however, something that may not be as joyous as his mother would have liked.
BOOTLEG FILES 866: “Carnival Story” (1954 drama starring Anne Baxter and Steve Cochran).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube and other online video sites.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright enabled endless duping.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: The likelihood of a Criterion-style restoration and release is unlikely.
For many years, I avoided the 1954 “Carnival Story,” even though there were endless opportunities to view it. Back in the pre-cable television days, the film was a staple of very-late-night programming on local stations that needed to fill space between commercials during their twilight hours. With the dawn of VHS videos, the film’s public domain status ensured there were too many copies available from rival cheapo labels in bargain basement bins. And with the dawn of online video, “Carnival Story” is all over the Internet – but, then again, too many public domain films are all over the Internet, so why seek out this title?
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Now in Select Theaters and on VOD.
If you’re looking for a tightly packed and well-constructed classic siege action thriller than “Jericho Ridge” might be the cure that ails you. I was frankly very surprised with how well Will Gilbey was able to compose such a tense and well-crafted picture on what looks like a pretty small budget. The flaws reveal themselves in small increments, but they thankfully never hinder what is a movie so worthy of experiencing. “Jericho Ridge” owes a lot to “Assault on Precinct 13” where Gilbey pits one lone Sheriff against a skilled group of criminals, all of whom are trying to infiltrate her only strong hold.
Long-Haired Hare (1949)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris
Music by Carl Stalling
“Long Haired Hare” is one of the many examples of the wonderful marriage of music and comedy with the Looney Tunes. The way the animators manage to merge the medium of music as a means of helping to land comedy is brilliant and it amounts to one of my top ten Bugs Bunny shorts of all time. What’s even more outstanding is that “Long Haired Hare” feels like two shorts merged in to one without a single flaw. One portion of the narrative for this short involves Bugs trying to play music while he’s outwitting opera singer Giovanni Jones. The second portion involves Bugs basically wreaking all out havoc by sabotaging Jones’ opera and putting him through pure hell.
Now Available to Rent on TVOD.
Prop collecting has always been a facet of move fandom that I don’t particularly read a lot about. That’s mainly because a lot of collectors deal in replicas and that, well, collecting actual props for movies can be really expensive. You pretty much have to be very wealthy in order to buy even the cheapest prop for a classic film. “Mad Props” is a very good documentary that deals in exploring the market for collecting props as well as the passion that comes with it.
Now Available from Scream! Factory
Another sign that horror is always ahead of its time, the mainstream has finally caught up with the horror community and realize what a loyal but small fan base has known for a very long time. That “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” is a demented horror masterpiece, and there’s never really been anything like it since. You can kind of, maybe consider “Mars Attacks!” its successor, but “Killer Klowns” is so much more concerned with turning its villains in to genuine horror foes, rather than trotting out all sorts of guest stars and fancy special effects. Even today, “Killer Klowns from Out Space” is a bag of mixed treats filled with gore, grue, silliness, and a fun group of fearsome alien klowns that seem almost unstoppable in their rampage.
Now In Expanded Release in Theaters.
I think most of the reason why Jill Schoenbrun’s horror drama has clicked with so many people is that many audiences can relate to the horrors of getting older. The whole idea of getting older means that you bid farewell to what was, and remain on course what what’s ahead. Some of us are stuck in a position where we can’t say goodbye and this has caused many to re-think their whole lives in general. This is essentially the premise for “I Saw the TV Glow” which is a movie that begins primarily like a Creepypasta but takes on a whole other meaning by the time it comes to a twisted close.