New on Disc: 'The Innocents' and more …
29 Sep, 2014 By: Mike Clark
The Innocents (Blu-ray)
Criterion, Drama, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Deborah Kerr, Pamela Franklin, Martin Stephens, Megs Jenkins.
1961. Truman Capote was the driving force behind the screenplay for this film notable for its weird children and weird visual concepts, based on Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw.
Extras: The bonus material is juicy: an essay by critic Maitland McDonagh that’s heavy on the psychological themes plus lots with cultural historian Christopher Frayling (both a substantial on-screen intro, then voiceover commentary) that’s both substantial and accessible about a production where everything came together.
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South of St. Louis (Blu-ray Review)
Olive, Western, $24.95 DVD, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Joel McCrea, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone.
1949. Though it’s never more than a satisfying time-killer on the high side of routine, this release is a solid contender for the most dazzling print Olive Films has distributed to date. When it comes to showing what Technicolor really meant to the moviegoing experience most any old week at your ’40s and early ’50s neighborhood theater, this is the real deal. Joel McCrea plays a tough guy in covered-wagon territory who aims to hunt down a creep played by Victor Jory who burned down the Texas ranch McCrea had maintained with two partners.
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