PRINCE OF THE CITY (1981) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review)

PRINCE OF THE CITY (1981)

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: R

Duration: 167 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Sidney Lumet

Cast: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino

The sprawling Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon) directed cop-drama Prince of the City stars Treat Williams (Hair, Deep Rising) as Danny Ciello, a detective on the NYPD's Special Investigations Unit, a criminal unit with a high success rate and history of big busts, including The French Connection, but it's also lousy with rampant crime and corruption within the ranks. Danny joined the force to make a difference but through the years he has leaned into the corruption, taking cash from drug busts, indulging in bribes, and suppling his junkie informants with heroin straight from the department's seized drugs cache. 

He lives a flamboyant lifestyle with a too-nice-for-a-cop house, expensive wrist watches and fancy duds, which draws the attention of both his junkie brother and his unimpressed father, both of whom take note of lifestyle and disapprove. This family shame combined with the remorse he feels after he beats the snot out of one informant junkie to steal drugs for another junkie informant causes him to have a change of heart, he now feels that he needs to come clean. The opportunity to just that occurs when he is courted by the assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Cappalino (Norman Parker, Death By Invitation), who is out to bust corruption among the ranks of the SIU. With his own guilt chipping away at his conscious Danny agrees to work undercover for the Feds, but steadfastly refuses to turn on his partners; Gus (Jerry Orbach, The Sentinel), Dom (Kenny Marino, Death Wish 3), Joe (Richard Foronjy, Repo Man), and Bill (Don Billett, Ordinary People),

This is a cop flick gets into the cracked-psyche of a cop and his oath and loyalty to his brothers in blue; how they are almost lovers in how close they are to each other, and the idea of betraying your partners is an idea way beyond the pale. Danny works undercover for the feds wearing a wire over the course of several years, exposing the dozens of instances of illegal police activity and corruption among cops outside the SUI, politicians and businessmen, and he seems to get a thrill from it initially. However, when the higher-ups with the feds keep pushing him to turn on his partners he begins to crumble and is increasingly tormented by his choices, and things quickly begin to spiral out of control. I do like Treat Williams in this, from a cocksure crooked cop to a fidgety informant, at times I thought he was a bit too over-the-top, but it still works for me. 

Despite his initial demand that he not turn on his partners  his undercover actions eventually cause injury to those around him. His mob-connected cousin who saves his ass at one point, eventually gets thrown out with the trash, and more than one cop associate chooses to eat a bullet instead of turning into an informant and turning on his friends or facing an federal indictment for corruption. It's a film that was way ahead of it's time, things like this are still being explored on TV and on the big screen today, so I think this has probably aged quite well in that respect. 

I thought that I'd never seen Prince of the City before, but as I watched it certain scenes early on were familiar to me, so I am thinking that I caught this on TV when I was a younger and just never finished it, in the 80's I was not watching three-hours movies, it was more quantity over quality back then, haha. Which is not too surprising, at nearly three-hours long this is a true commitment to sit down and watch, but I am glad I finally did give it a watch, it's probably one of my favorite cop drama now. Treat Williams is terrific as the cop-turned-informant, the various stages of his moral collapse while he free falls down a rabbit hole of his own creation is absolutely fascinating, and well-acted. Again, the length of this cop-drama epic might be a bit of a put-off, so I won't blame you for splitting this up into two separate viewings, but definitely check it. If you're into cop dramas like TV's The Shield or films like Serpico and Donnie Brasco, I think you're gonna love this flick. 

Audio/Video: Prince of the City (1981) arrives on Region-free Blu-ray from warner Archive in 1080p HD and framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The images of NYC are shot by cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak (Death Trap) are grim, claustrophobic and depressing, the Blu-ray offers gritty visuals with a nice layer of film grain throughout. Colors are on the muted side but are well saturated and skin tones look natural, the urban landscapes look scummy and decayed, particularly a scene of Danny chasing a junkie through a crumbling neighborhood in the rain at night. Black levels are solid throughout as well, and the source is in great shape without dirt and debris. Also quite pleasing is the amount of fine detail in the close-ups of vintage period clothing and fabrics, the various well-groomed 70's era moustaches.

Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is crisp and clean and the two-channel sound design has some atmospheric moments like the sound of heavy downpour and a few of the more violent scenes. The score from Paul Chihara (Death Race 2000) has nice placement in the mix as well. 

No new extras on this release but WAC carry-over the 29-minute archival featurette Prince of the City: The Real Story with contributions from director Sidney Lumet, screenwriter Jay Presson Allen, author Robert Daley, production designer Tony Walton, actors Treat Williams, Bob Balaban, and Lance Henriksen, plus we get the 2-minute Theatrical Trailer for the film.  The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster artwork, which is also excerpted on the Blu-ray disc. .  

Special Features:

- Prince of the City: The Real Story (29 min) 

- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 

Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City (1981) is a terrific cop drama, a fascinating character study of a crooked cop turned informant who is broken down by the process and anguishes over his betrayal of his beloved partners. At nearly three hours long it's an epic-length watch, but it's an epic story that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good cop drama. 

Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray: 

THE EPITAPH VOL. 36 - THE LITTLE THINGS (2020) - JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS IN OUTER SPACE (1972-1973) - DAVID GULPILIL: WALKABOUT TO HOLLYWOOD (1980) - AWOKEN (2019) - MORGUE (2019)

THE EPITAPH VOL. 36

THE LITTLE THINGS (2020) - JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS IN OUTER SPACE (1972-1973) - DAVID GULPILIL: WALKABOUT TO HOLLYWOOD (1980) - AWOKEN (2019) - MORGUE (2019) 

Another week brings another installment of The Epitaph. No theme this week, a fairly random grouping of bite-sized capsule reviews of physical media releases from the U.S. and Australia. We get a star-studded crime thriller, a kitschy 70's cartoon rebranding, a documentary about a fascinating Australian aboriginal actor, a sleepy slice of insomnia infused exorcism, and a Paraguayan haunter. 

THE LITTLE THINGS (2020) 

Label: Warner Bros Home Entertainment

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 127 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen

Director: John Lee Hancock 

Cast:  Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Chris Bauer, Michael Hyatt

When Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon (Denzel Washington, Man On Fire) is sent to Los Angeles for a quickie evidence pick-up assignment he becomes entrenched in the search for a serial killer who is stalking the city. L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter (Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhasphodie) is a hot-shit cop who comes to trust Deke’s instincts, unofficially bringing him onto the case, inadvertently dredging up a case from Deke’s secretive past that will threaten to unravel both men. I loved this Se7en-ish noir thriller right up till the final leg when it swerved into subtlety instead of stepping on the gas, it didn't ruin it for me but it befuddled me. Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream) as the intensely creepy suspect has several unnerving engagements with the detectives that got under my skin in a good way, but  the finale does not have the impact I think writer/director thought it would. The movie is building to a fever-pitch, but it never boils properly over. I will concede that I can see liking this more when I re-watch it, but for right now I'm lukewarm. 

Special Features:

- Four Shade of Blue (Blu-ray only) 

- A Contrast In Styles

- Digital Copy

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS IN OUTER SPACE (1972-1973) 

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 352 Minutes

Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitlez

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Cast: Janet Waldo, Barbara Pariot, Jackie Joseph, Jerry Dexter, Casey Kasem, Sherry Alberoni, Don Messick 

 

In the early 70s I was still in the lower half if the single digits but I still have memories of sitting at my mother's feet watching the original Josie and the Pussycats and this sequel series set in outerspace. It wasn't my favorite but back in the day we had four channels tops so you watched whatever took arrived over the boob-tube, you couldn't be picky about these things! However, I was and will always be more a fan of Thundarr the Barbarian and Scooby-Doo, and this series definitely smacked up a Scooby-Doo riff. Josie and the gang get into plenty of alien adventures, along the way meeting a race of cat people, robot monsters, evil dictators, space pirates and plenty of other space-based screatures, including their new companion Bleep, voiced by Hanna-Barbera legend Don Messick. I am still not over keen on the kitschy girl-band show, but the 2-disc Blu-ray from Warner Archive contains all 16-episode of Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space with fresh 2021 HD scans and uncompressed audio with optional English subtitles. Its a fantastic looking set, on par with their other recent Hannah-Barberra restorations. If your a fan of vintage 70s kid friendly animation along the lines of The Monkees by way of Scooby, this is good stuff. No extras on this release, but the Warner Archive animation restoration is top-notch. 

DAVID GULPILIL: WALKABOUT TO HOLLYWOOD (1980)

Label: Umbrella Entertainment 

Region Code: Region-Free (NTSC) 

Rating: M

Duration: 49 Minutes 

Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual-Mono 

Video: Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Director: BIll Leimbach

Cast: Buffy Sainte-Marie, David Gulpilil. Peter Weir, Robert Powell

David Gulpilil: Walkabout to Hollywood (1980) is a 49-minute documentary produced for the BBC and directed by documenarian Bill Leimback. It's subject is the Australian Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, who at the age of sixteen starred in Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout, which is also the first film I saw him in. He's an actor with a lot of presence and an expressive face that is very compelling. He went into feature in many more films, including Mad Dog Morgan (1976), Storm Boy, (1976), The Last Wave (1977), Dark Age (1987), The Tracker (2002), and Cargo (2017), before retiring in 2019 after announcing he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Gulpilil has a style that is so naturalistic and sometimes otherworldly, but never feels a parody of the indigenous people  of Australia, he has a way of expressing deep emotion with minimal dialogue. The doc is mainly focused on Gulpilil himself as he spends time in the outback teaching his kids traditions and in the city where he teaches aboriginal dance, including a trip to the U.S. screenings of his films and Q&A with fans. We also see him in conversation with Native Americans, discussing their art and culture. Its a fascinating story and a well-done doc, highly recommended if your interested in learning more about Gulpilil.the DVD from Umbrella Entertainment is fullscreen 4x3 and has not been restored. Its a warts and all presentation but is watchable. The only extras is a David Gulpilil trailer reel. 

Special Features: 

- David Gulpilil Trailers: Walkabout (1971), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), Storm Boy, (1976), The Last Wave (1977), Dark Age (1987), The Tracker (2002), Cargo (2017

AWOKEN (2019)

Label: Umbrella Entertainment

Region Code: 4

Rating: MA 15+

Duration: 88 Minutes 

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with No Subtitle Options 

Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 

Director: Daniel J. Phillips

Cast: Benson Jack Anthony, Erik Thomson, Sara West

In the indie exorcism flick Awoken (2020) Karla, a young medical student, is at her wit's end trying to find a cure for a genetic, terminal sleep afflicting her brother Blake. With few options left ro explore she agrees to an experimental treatment at a clinic in the basement of an abandoned underground hospital, which should send up red flags right away.  While there she discovers long lost tapes that reveal sinister secrets about their mother’s death from the same genetic disorder, revealing that demonic possession is also at play. Ironically for a film about people afflicted with insomnia I found it hard to stay awake. This was a real snoozer and I say its a hard pass. The region 4 DVD from Umbrella Entertainment is anamorphic widescreen as has zero extras. Skip it. 

THE MARKSMAN (2020) 

Label: Warner Bros Home Entertainment

Region Code: A

Rating: PG-13

Duration: 108 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1) 

Director: Robert Lorenz

Cast: Liam Neeson, Katheryn Winnick, Juan Pablo Raba, Teresa Ruiz

Liam Neeson seems to be enjoying a late-career run as an old man vigilante along the lines of Charles Bronson and Clinton Eastwood. I've never seen any of the Taken franchise or post-Taken movies either, they're not high on my list to see either, but that's no slight against Neeson or the movies, they're just not my cup o' tea. Here Neeson plays a grisled ex-Marine, an Arizona rancher named Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) who is living a rugged life on the borderland with his trusty dog sidekick. Still grieving the death of his wife from cancer and the seemingly inevitable bank foreclosure on his property the fed-up vet gets a chance to vent his frustration on a drug cartel when he rescues an 11-year-old migrant named  Miguel and his mother who are fleeing the cartel and end up on his property. Its a decent flick with plenty of action, I didn't love it but appreciated Neeson's sturdy stubborn bad-assery, and its well-shot to boot, a decent popcorn muncher for sure. 

Special Features: 

- The Making of The Marksman

- Digital Copy

 THE MORGUE (2010)

Label: Well Go USA 

Region Code: A

Rating:

Duration: 81 Minutes 

Audio: Spanish and Guaran DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Director: Hugo Cardozo 

Cast: Francisco Ayala, Maria del Mar Fernandez, Abel Martinez, Pablo Martinez, Raul Rotela

The Paraguayan haunter Morgue (2019) follows a hard-luck security guard named Diego Martinez who is assigned nighty duty  at a creepy morgue, which he anticipates will ge an easy gig, but he's wrong. He ends up locked inside with what turns out to be the restless spirits of the dead. Unfortunately I couldn't get into this one, its slow-moving, predictable and not terribly well-excuted either, relying too heavily on cheap jump scares and not enough suspense magination to keep me interested.  

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DOCTOR X (1932) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review)

DOCTOR X (1932)        

     

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 76 Minutes

Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD 1.37:1 Full Frame

Director: Michael Curtiz

Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, John Wray, Harry Beresford, Arthur Edmund Carewe, George Rosener, Leila Bennett

Doctor X (1932) is a pre-code murder-mystery thriller filmed in rare two-strip Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz (The Mysteries of the Wax Museum) and starring the legendary Lionel Atwill (Murders in the Zoo), scream queen Fay Wray (King Kong), and comedic actor Lee Tracy (High Tide). In Tracy plays the wisecracking reporter Taylor who is working the "Moon Killer" story, a series of gruesome murders that have all occurred under the lunar light of the full moon. The victims have all been lacerated and mutilated with a surgical scalpel, and show signs of cannibalism, and eye witnesses report seeing a disfigured, ghoulish looking killer in the vicinity. The cops suspect that the murderer is a physician at the Academy of Surgical Research run by the esteemed Doctor Xavier (Atwill), as the type of scalpel used is in the murders is known to be exclusive to the academy. 

Dr. X is also convinced that culprit is one of his own doctors, all of whom have shady backgrounds and areas of study. For some strange reason the cops give Xavier a 48-hours deadline to suss out the culprit himself before they storm the clinic, with the doctor setting up a wild, pseudo-scientific experiment to reveal who the cannibal killer is. 

To that end he summons the doctors to his seaside mansion that atop a stone-faced cliff, we have Dr. Wells (Preston Foster, Kansas City Confidential), Dr. Haines (John Wray, The Cat and the Canary), the one-armed Dr. Duke (Harry Beresford, Murders in the Zoo) and Dr. Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe, Charlie Chan's Secret), all of whom are potential killers with bizarre perversions and/or peculiar specialties, including voyeurism, the study of the effects of the moon on the mind, and cannibal tribes. At his gizmo-filled lab bubbling with alchemy and art-deco quackery Dr. X stages an elaborate recreation of the heinous murders with the help of his creepy scare-happy butler Otto (George Rosener, The Case of the Black Cat) and a scaredy-cat maid named Mamie (Leila Bennett, Mark of the Vampire), as well as his attractive daughter Joanne (Wray) after a nerve-wracked Mamie backs out of a second performance. The  experiment ends up being crashed by the smart-talking newshound Taylor who ends up saving Joanne, who he has eyes for, when the light go out and the ghoulish "synthetic flesh" Moon Killer is revealed!

This was a fantastic watch, a pre-code terror with weird comic interludes courtesy of the scene-stealing Taylor that are reminiscent of The Bowery Boys comedies, but it still has plenty of atmosphere and pre-code dark elements like a blood-spattered surgical smock, and the sensational cannibalism element, which this prescient slice of horror was an early practitioner of. Even though the cannibalism is not overt the very thought of it must have jangled some movie-goer nerves back in '32!

Audio/Video: Doctor X (1932) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive in 1080p HD framed in the original full frame 1.37:1 aspect ratio. This is a brand new 2021 1080p HD master sourced from a new 4K restoration of the last-known surviving nitrate Technicolor print by UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment. The two-strip Technicolor process gives the film a nightmarish feel with gorgeous emerald greens and peachy looking skin hues. The shadows are wonderfully rich and deep, and those green hues are used to eerie and dramatic effect, with the art-deco architecture and mad science laboratories looking brilliant, bathed in expressionist shadow and eerie green light. There are some occasional missing frames but these pass by nearly unnoticed, and overall this is an epic restoration of a wonderfully entertaining pre-code horror flick. Be sure to check out the over 100 screenshots from the Blu-ray at the bottom of the review, including extras, color versus black white comparison, and before/after restoration comparison! 

Audio comes by way of a restored and uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. The audio clean-up and restoration is excellent, at nearly ninety-years old I didn't expect audio magic, but it nearly is just that. All significant crackle, pops and hiss have been painstakingly removed, though there is still some faint, just barely audible instances of hiss present, but its a remarkable restoration and perseveration. Dialogue is strong and sharp, including scream queen Fay Wray's first onscreen shriek! 

Warner Archive always knock it out of the park with their restorations, but are not known for their generous helpings of new extras, so when we do get some it is a cause for celebration, so put on your party hats! Extras kick-off with a pair of audio commentaries, the first is a new commentary with author/film historian Alan K. Rode, and the second with Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive.  Both commentaries are exclusive to the Technicolor version of the film, and are overstuffed with info about the film, Warner Bros, director Michael Curtiz, the two-strip Technicolor process and how influential this film is. 

We also get a 28-min featutette Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz with both Alan K. Rode and Scott MacQueen giving an appreciation for the director whom they argue should be re-evaluated as a true Master of Horror based on his three pre-code entries in the genre. They dig into each of the films and the director's later career.

Another fantastic inclusion is the 97-min black and white version of the film. Unique in that it is not merely a monochromatic version of the movie but a separately filmed version with the same cast and the same sets, not unlike the Spanish version of Universal's Dracula (1931). Its a terrific looking 1080p  HD presentation, with uncompressed mono audio, that is actually a bit sharper and more detailed than its two-strip Technicolor sibling, but doesn't have that awesome green glow! This too has been restored from its original nitrate camera negative, it originally having been intended for small U.S. markets and International distribution, and which has been out of distribution for over 30 years!

Another eye-opening extra is an 8-min UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette with commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive, detailing the extensive restoration process with before and after clips showcasing the raw scans of the nitrate print versus the restoration, and its nothing short of cinematic-magic. The disc is buttoned-up with a 2-min trailer for the black and white version of the film, which sells it as a romantic comedy for some off reason, apparently Warner Bros. were a bit nose-up about the whole horror thing, even though they were aiming to out-Frankenstein Universal's monster flicks. 

The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the outstanding, original movie poster illustration, the same artwork is excerpted on the Blu-ray disc. 

Special Features: 

- Alternate B&W version of DOCTOR (97 min) HD

- UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette (8 min) HD

- New documentary: "Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz (28 min) HD

- New Audio Commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode

- Archival Audio Commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive

- Original B&W Theatrical Trailer  (2 min) HD           

Doctor X (1932) is a very entertaining pre-code murder thriller with some fun comedic interludes, gorgeous two-strip Technicolor visuals, and it offers not one, but five, potential murderous mad scientists, a synthetic flesh ghoul, and a cool art-deco laboratory. To see this vintage pre-code horror gets such a lavish, loving and masterful restoration is a cinema lover's wet dream, making this this two-strip Technicolor terror easy to recommend to all and any lovers of vintage genre cinema. 

Screenshots from the Blu-ray:

Black & White Version:

Extras:

Restoration Demo:

Top: Raw Scan of Jack Warner Nitrate Print

Bottom: Restored Version 

Color V. Black & White Comparison: