Sunday, April 27, 2025

THE EPITAPH VOL. 95 - BRIEF REMEMBRANCES OF THE RECENTLY RELEASED

THE EPITAPH VOL. 95 
BRIEF REMEMBRANCES OF THE RECENTLY RELEASED

THE GOOD GERMAN (2006) - THE INFORMANT (2008)- HYSTERIA: SEASONE ONE (2025) - CHEYENNE: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1957-1962) - A KNIGHT'S WAR (2024)


THE GOOD GERMAN (2006) 
4K Ultra HD+ Blu-ray 

Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: R
Duration: 107 Minutes 38 Seconds 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Fullscreen (1.33:1), 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire

Steven Soderbergh's The Good German (2006) is a noir throwback to the shadowy mystery films of the 1940s; set in a post-war Berlin where everyone seems to have secret, and absolutely everyone is working an angle. Amidst the ruins of post-World War II Berlin, U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismer (George Clooney, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?) finds himself embroiled in a mystery  when his assigned driver Corporal Tully (Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man), black-market war profiteer is found dead in a river near the peace talks in Potsdam, with a large amount of cash on his person. Figuring into the mystery is Tully's lover Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth), who also happens to be a former lover of Geismer, whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian side, but what does the missing husband and the dead driver have to do with each other, if anything. it's solid noir-thriller with plenty of suspense and intrigue about it, and the way it slavishly recreates the deeply shadowed monochromatic mysteries of the '40s era noir is pretty dazzling, utilizing the 1.33;1 aspect ratio, using only incandescent lighting, and relying on boom mics to capture the sound, it's an intoxicating homage for sure. Clooney is solid here as the journalist who finds himself caught up in the intrigue but it's Blanchett as the femme that steals every scene. i remember catching this at the theater and loving it, but apparently it is not well liked, which is perhaps why the film has only had a DVD release until now, finally available as a UHD/BD combo with Dolby Vision HDR and uncompressed DTS-HD MA audio, and it looks and sounds terrific, but sadly the only extras we get is a trailer,. i would have loved to hear a commentary with Soderbergh, but that was not to be, Anyway, if you're a neo-noir fan this is a terrific watch, and it's great to see it finally get the HD/UHD upgrade with this latest wave of Soderbergh flicks to land in 4K UHD. 

Special Features: 
- Theatrical Trailer

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THE INFORMANT (2008) 
4K Ultra HD 

Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: R
Duration: 108 Minutes 11 Seconds 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.78:1)  
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey

Another Soderbergh flick gets the 4K upgrade, this time it's the based on  true vents black comedy The Informant (2008) starring Matt Damon (The Ocean's Trilogy) as Mark Whitacre, an exec at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Decatur, Illinois, who turns whistleblower on the agro-business giant, accusing them of a price-fixing scheme involving the animal feed additive lysine, a by-product of corn. At the urging of his wife Ginger (Melanie Lynskey, TVs Yellowjackets) contacts the F.B.I. agents Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula, Lord of Illusions) and Robert Herndon (Joel McHale, Becky), and starts rolling tape at meetings recording those who are illegally fixing the price of food additives. While he sees himself as the hero in this situations the sad truth is that Whitaker is a self aggrandizing, bi-polar compulsive liar who only ever tells half the truth, and it turns out that there's quite a bit more to the story behind-the-scenes than mere price-fixing, and he himself is absolutely untethered from reality. The black comic tone of this one has always reminded me more of the Coen Brothers than anything by Soderbergh, it coming off as The Insider by way of Fargo. I must admit that when I caught this at the cinema in 2008 I actively disliked it, which I think I would attribute to just thinking that Damon was poorly cast at the time, but rewatching it now nearly twenty years later I think this quirky whistleblower comedy has aged pretty well, and I am more at ease with the casting, but the film would still score very low on a ranking of my personal favorite Soderbergh flicks. The 4K UHD carries over the slim extras from the 2010 Blu-ray, and offers an appreciable uptick with the Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grade that should prove quite pleasing for those looking to upgrade. 

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary by director Steven Soderbergh and Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns
- Deleted Scenes (6:26) 
- Trailer (2:27) 
- Theatrical Trailer

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HYSTERIA: SEASONE ONE (2025) 2-Disc Blu-ray 

Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 
Region Code:
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 520 Minutes 
Audio:
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Directors:
Cast: Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis

In the Peacock streaming series Hysteria!, set during the late-80s 'satanic panic'. a popular varsity quarterback from the village of Happy Hollow, MI disappears and is found dead, looking like the victim of a satanic ritual. this spreads fear throughout the small community. This gives  struggling high school metal band Deathkrunch, comprised of Dylan (Emjay Anthony, Krampus), Jordy (Chiara Aurelia, Fear Street Part Two: 1978) and Spud (Kezii Curtis, Dolemite is My Name) capitalize on the town's tragedy by capitalizing on the murder, overnight fashioning themselves as a Satanic metal band, which makes them quite popular with the kids at school, even attracting attention from his popular-girl crush Judith (Jessica Treska, TV mini-series Sharp Objects), but proves problematic when a string of continuing murders, kidnappings and satanic activity leads right back to them, with local religious-nut Tracy (Anna Camp, HBO's True Blood) leading the charge on the satanic-panic hysteria. as a metal kid in the 80s this show hit me right in my leather-studded sweet spot, and it certainly did not hurt that Bruce Campbell shows up as the local sheriff either. Sadly the show was not renewed for a second season, but I still enjoyed my rewatch on Blu-ray, and even with a second season denied there's still enough here in the sole season to merit a watch. I also loved the soundtrack selections, we get choice cuts from Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Merciful Fate, Black Sabbath, Motorhead and a deep cut from Cirith Ungol which sort of floored me. Anyway, the show's satanic panic premise, late-80s setting, and metal soundtrack all appealed to me, as did the anti-religion sentiment that explores the hypocrisy of true believers, it's just a bummer there will be no season two. That said, still worth a watch, especially if your into heavy metal horrors like Deathgasm, Trick or Treat, or Uncle Peckerhead.

Special Features: 
- None 

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CHEYENNE: THE  COMPLETE SERIES (1957-1962)
30-Disc Blu-ray Set

Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 5560
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Richard L. Bare, Leslie H. Martinson, Lee Sholem
Cast: Clint Walker, Lane Chandler, Andrew Duggan, James Garner, Edd Byrnes, Alan Hale, Jr., Dan Blocker,Lee Van Cleef, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Angie Dickinson, Connie Stevens and Ellen Burstyn

Another vintage Warner Bros. Television western series finds it's way to Blu-ray via Warner Archive, following their terrific releases of restorations of Colt .45  and The Alaskans. It was a western series that lasted seven seasons, starring the brawny 6' 6" hunk Clint Walker (The White Buffalo, Snowbeast) as Cheyenne Bodie, a wandering cowboy who travels the post Civil War old west in search of adventure, often finding himself involved in local intrigue, bringing justice wherever he goes. Being very episodic in nature, with not many returning characters, the only characters I've seen show up more than once is L.Q. Jones (Brotherhood of Satan) as "Smitty" Smith as Cheyenne's trusty sidekick, but he only shows up for three episodes and is gone, so it's really the Clint Walker show. Thankfully 'The Big Man' Clint Walker proves to be charismatic and a paragon of integrity, and easy to watch, and pretty easy on the eyes, too, if you're so inclines. The show also features plenty of future stars making early appearances including James Garner, Alan Hale, Jr., Lee Van Cleef, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Angie Dickinson, Ellen Burstyn. Richard Crenna, James Hong, John Carradine, Dennis Hopper, George Kennedy, Adam West, and Stacy Keach, and plenty more. the show has plenty of gunplay and fisticuffs, cattle stampedes, encounters with Native Americans. The action plays across this great land of our, from arid western towns to the rugged mountains of the Northwest, its got some very solid production values for each of the 107 episodes. The massive 30-disc Blu-ray set arrives housed inside seven keepcases, one keepcase per season with flipper rays holding the discs. these are housed inside of a pretty standard slipbox. all seven seasons get a unique sleeve of artwork featuring seven different promotional images of Clint Walker, the color of the spines corresponding with the color of the logos for each season. The only extras is the 14-min archival The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legacy of Cheyenne - An Interview with Clint Walker. the transfers are immaculate, all 107 episodes remastered from 4K scans of the original camera negatives. once again, warner archive have gone above and beyond for this Warner Bros. Television Studio produced western, and it's sure to be a nostalgic thrill for those who grew up watching it, and a treat for newcomers who get to enjoy it in the best passible quality in HD. 

Special Features: 
- The Lonely Gunfighter: The Legacy of Cheyenne -An Interview with Clint Walker (13:44) 

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A KNIGHT'S WAR (2024) 
Blu-ray 

Label: Epic Pictures
Region Code: Region-Free  
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 103 Minutes 49 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Matthew Ninaber
Cast: Jeremy Ninaber, Matthew Ninaber, Kristen Kaster

in the indie fantasy horror-thriller A Knight's  War (2025) a fearless honor-boun knight Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber, Transference) is sent to a fallen underworld realm to reclaim the corrupted soul of Avalon (Kristen Kaster, Death Valley), a ginger-haired maiden who was burned at the stake by her father, because of a prophet that foretells of a chosen one. in the the dark realms he encounters it's strange denizens, including the Gatekeeper, as well as various with witches, demons, and savage armored barbarians. This lower-budget flick has a ton of heart and plenty of DIY spirit, crafting a enthralling dark fantasy with usurpingly well realized sets, as well as some terrific bloody violence and dazzling special effects work that sell the fantastical happenings. this reminded me strongly of stuff like Season of the Witch and The Last Witch Hunter, but on a budget, and the only real complaint i might level against it would be the acting and dialogue was a bit spotty in places, and the swordplay seems clumsy at times, but not enough to ruin it for me, because i think this is a pretty slick indie flick. the Blu-ray looks and sounds solid, plus we get some extras, including a revealing 25-min behind-the-scenes featurette that made me appreciate how well made this was considering the resources they had, i love the heart that went into this.

Special Features: 
- Director’s Audio Commentary 
- Behind the Scenes Featurette (25:00) 
- Bright Knight - Proof of Concept (1:26) 
- A Knight's War Official Trailer (1:58) 
- Dread Trailers: Bystanders (1:01), Ed Kemper (2:14), For Sale By Exorcist (1:31) 

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BABY IT'S YOU (1983) (Fun City Editions Blu-ray Review + Screenshots)

BABY IT'S YOU (1983) 

Label: Fun City Editions
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 105 Minutes 1 Second 
Audio: English 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: John Sayles 
Cast: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Tracy Pollan, 
Matthew Modine, Robert Downey Jr.

The John Sayles (Lone Star) directed Baby It's You (1983), his third film, centers on middle-class Jewish girl Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette, Pulp Fiction), a highschool student in Trenton, NJ, who is bound for  Sarah Lawrence College in the Fall, but first she has to finish up her senior year. She's popular, well-liked and has caught the acting-bug via her highschool drama class, landing the lead in a play, but a wrench is thrown into the works when she catches the attention of new, handsome transfer student named Albert, who goes by the handle "The Sheik" (Vincent Spano, Over the Edge), a cocksure Sinatra-obsessed greaser wrapped in a lounge-lizard sharkskin suit, with half-baked dreams of becoming a famous crooner. Initially she is none too interested in him, but he is so adamant about them being a couple he almost wills the relationship into existence through sheer dogged determination. It's quite a melodramatic courtship, and not without some major bumps in the road, not the least of which is Sheik sleeping with Jill's easy friend Jody (Liane Curtis, Critters 2; The Main Course), and is then later expelled after an altercation with a teacher (Sam McMurray, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation), which results in a frustrated and conflicted Jill going to the dance with someone else, angering Sheik, who along with his scuzzy pal Rat (Gary McCleery, TV movie The Killing of Randy Webster), commit an armed robbery on prom night, with Sheik having to flee to Miami to evade the cops. 

The story then moves to Jill's first year at college, where she finds her self-confidence shaken, she's no longer the self-assured popular girl she was in highschool, now a small fish in a big pond, and the experience is quite humbling and disappointing. Her acting aspirations are quickly dashed, but she befriends a girl named Leslie (Tracy Pollan, Bright lights, Big City) who introduces her nice-guy Steve (Mathew Modine, Full Metal Jacket), and they double-date from time to time. at a low point she looks to reconnect and maybe rekindle what she has with Sheik heads to Miami during Spring Break, but is embarrassed for him when she discovers he's no up and coming singer, but just lip-syncing to jukebox for a community of senior citizens. Nonetheless, she finally loses her virginity to him, but returns to college knowing that there's no future with for her with him. He meanwhile, still seems pretty delusional about his prospects of becoming a singer, believing that it's all about style over talent, that is until he is replaced by an actual lounge singer, (Frank Vincent, The Sopranos). It's then and only then that he seems to come down from the cloud he's on, realizing he has zero prospects in life, leading to him stealing a car off the street and hightailing it to Sarah Lawrence to make one last bittersweet play for Jill's affections. 

The period melodrama is set against a backdrop of  '60s iconic tunes from Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs, Dusty Springfield, Simon & Garfunkel and more, plus four songs by Bruce Springsteen, which are anachronistic, but fit the Jersey set proceedings rather perfectly. The film is also beautifully lensed by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (Goodfellas) who captures the 60's era gorgeously, but not over-sentimentally either. 

The film is wonderfully evocative of the era, the Jersey locations and period costuming and set decoration feels lived in and authentic. The drama and tension between our star-crossed teen lovers feels true as well, with both Spano and Arquette being absolute dynamite together as the star-crossed lovers. Those coming into it looking for a Porky's-esque sex-comedy might be disappointed, or they might discover a welcome surprise with what a wonderful film they've stumbled upon. I would assume that if you're a fan of stuff like The Lords of Flatbush, The Wanderers, or American Graffiti this is bound to satisfy you're craving for nostalgic coming-of-age films of yesteryear, and this gem does it with more emotional weight, depth and resonance any of those. 

Audio/Video: Baby, It's You (1983) arrives on Blu-ray from Fun City editions with a new 4K scan of its original 35mm camera negative, presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. the filmic presentation offers lush grain with pleasing detail and texture. depth and clarity also impress, with solid black levels and colors that look terrific.  Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue and atmospherics sound excellent, as does the soundtrack that is punctuated by terrific 60's tunes and of course the early era Bruce Springsteen songs. 

The film was previously issued on a barebones Blu-ray from the now defunct Olive Films, this new edition from Fun City Editions rectifies the lack of extras on that release with a terrific compliment of deep-diving interviews that really added a lot to my second viewing.  

We start of with brand new Audio Commentary by Bill Acker, which for time management reasons I only sampled briefly while sourcing screenshots, but i will come back to it, what i heard was enthusiastic, well-researched and very dense with information about the music, cast, locations. Then onto the 33-min This Is Very Familiar to Me - Video Interview with John Sayles, who is always so wonderful on his commentaries an interviews, never one to skimp on the details, her speaks of how the film came together, he being brought on as a director for hire by producers Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne, shopping it around to studios, and being turned down by 20th Century Fox before landing at Paramount. he also speaks about how working with a studio felt like the big time for him with a multi-million dollar production, shooting it as a negative pick-up for Paramount which allowed some autonomy, and getting into the ethnic and racial themes of the screenplay, the characters, drug use, the casting process, and the shooting locations in Hoboken NJ. he also speaks to his relationship and appreciation of DP Michael Ballhaus, and fun tales of shooting certain scenes, using the budget to buy songs for the soundtrack which he was not used to with his indie background, and some fun tales about songs they didn't get, and how they scored the ones they did get. this leads into how some sings were not cleared for the initial home video release, his style of editing to the music, cut scenes, and his collaboration with editor Sonya Polonsky. we also hear about studios reaction to the 1st cut, how they wanted a more mainstream teen sex-comedy, and fighting over the cut, test screenings, and  Sayles eventually getting his edit. 

Next up is the 30-min From Triple Play To Double Play - Video Interview with Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne - they discuss their production company, how they came together, the creativity between them, becoming producers with Chilly Scenes of Winter with Triple Play Productions, continuing as Double Play when their friend Metcalf returned to acting. How Amy's experience in high-school and Sarah Lawrence informed the story, going after Sayles after seeing the The Return of the Secaucus Seven, Sayles fast writing process, and specific moments from her life that ended-up in the film, and original story elements straight from Sayles own mind. they also discuss how important music was, the influence of Splendor in the Grass, and the themes of early feminism, the casting, and the work of Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and production designer Jeffrey Townsend, shooting locations around NJ, the period score with the exception of the Springsteen tune, and how they got the song, and others with Griffin helping a lot to wrangle the songs from Simon & Garfunkel, Springsteen and Sinatra., and the emotional ending, also touching on the contentious test screening and studio notes, and modest opening. Jerry Greenberg brought in to re-edit 

Then onto the 10-min A Little Magic - Video Interview with Rosanna Arquette, she gets into meeting Dunne while shooting The Wall tv mini-series and getting the role, how she loving the character and her struggle, throwing herself into the role, and how Sayles helped her through certain scenes, She describes Dunne and Robinson as a hands-on producing duo, her good chemistry with Spano and how it comes through on the screen, the gorgeous lighting style of DP Bauhaus, the killer soundtrack, and how Bruce Springsteen loves the movie, 

In the 20-min Like A Glove - Video Interview with Vincent Spano, the co-star gets into his big break in Black Stallion Returns, auditioning for Baby, It's You on audio cassette, and using a video screentest for The Outsiders, and having to turn down The Outsiders to take the role, but how he eventually worked with Coppola on Rumble Fish. He gets into what he loved about the script, Sayles directing style,  and a story about improvising with actor Frank Vincent which did not go over so well with Sayles. he also touches on the music rights issues which prevented a VHS release for couple of years, and meeting Springsteen backstage at a show, and noting how he loved the film. 

Matthew Modine shows up for the 8-min I Was in the Right Profession - Video Interview with Matthew Modine. he talks about how he was enrolled in acting school at the time he was cast, as well as working as a cook in a restaurant; filming the scenes out of order, and how his scenes with Arquette were slightly  expanded, what Sayles was like, and how intimate the set was. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 7-min Image Gallery with posters, stills and behind-the-scenes images, plus a 3-min Trailer. There is also a nifty easter egg tucked away on the menu worth seeking out. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap with a pair of legacy artworks, and inside there's a 20-Page Illustrated Booklet with wonderful new essays by Gavin Smith and Caroline Madden, as well as cast and crew information. 

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary by Bill Ackerman
- This Is Very Familiar to Me - Video Interview with John Sayles (33:02)
- From Triple Play To Double Play - Video Interview with Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne (29:57)
- A Little Magic - Video Interview with Rosanna Arquette (9:55) 
- Like A Glove - Video Interview with Vincent Spano (19:49) 
- I Was in the Right Profession - Video Interview with Matthew Modine (7:04) 
- Image gallery (7:19)
- Trailer (2;48)
- Double-sided wrap with legacy artwork
- 20-Page Booklet with new essays by Gavin Smith and Caroline Madden (first pressing only)

Sales Points
- New 4K Restoration from the original 35mm negative
- One of the first major films to use the music of Bruce Springsteen
- Early acting roles for Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew Modine, Tracy Pollan, Fisher Stevens

Screenshots from the Fun City Editions Blu-ray:





























































Extras: 
























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