New on Disc: 'I Knew Her Well' and more …

29 Feb, 2016 By: Mike Clark

I Knew Her Well

Criterion, Drama, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Stefania Sandrelli, Mario Adorf, Jean-Claude Brialy.
1965. This vastly underseen Italian import, about someone without too much ammo at her disposal trying to exploit the one commodity she has (looks) to survive in a pool of male sharks, is enough of a discovery to make one wonder how many other submerged treasures there are out there from the ’60s. The 4K spiff-up is so easy on the eye that we’re again reminded of Criterion’s consistent prowess at rendering black-and-white.
Extras: There’s a good backgrounding essay by journalist/author Alexander Stille about the societal changes in ’60s Italy that led to a cinematic re-emphasis from the rural to the metropolitan; a Stefania Sandrelli interview plus her original screen test; and an interview with scholar Luca Barattoni on the career of writer/director Antonio Pietrangeli.
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These Three

Available via Warner Archive
Warner, Drama, $21.99 DVD
Stars Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Bonita Granville.
1936. Long cited as one of the more artful end runs around the Hollywood Production Code, this first of eight pictures in the fruitful Samuel Goldwyn-William Wyler association is an unacknowledged (at least in the credits) first screen version of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour.
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New on Disc: 'I Knew Her Well' and more …

I Knew Her Well

These Three

About the Author: Mike Clark