Kino Classics is releasing a 2-disc Blu-ray called Wonder Dogs! on 5/20 that features silent comedies from 1898 to 1928 featuring dog performers working with the likes of Charley Chase, Tom Mix, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, and Mabel Normand. Also coming to Blu-ray on 5/13 is Edwin Carewe’s Ramona (1928).
Meanwhile, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that they’re going to be releasing Andrew Marton’s Crack in the World (1965) on Blu-ray on 5/13.
Music Box Films is releasing Good Bad Things on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/8.
Powerhouse Films will release a pair of new Indicator Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles on 5/20, including Jean Rollin’s The Iron Rose (1973) and Girls Without Shame (aka Schoolgirl Hitchhikers) (1973).
And for you music fans, Legacy Recordings is releasing Adrian Maben’s 1972 concert film Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/2. The film has been “digitally re-mastered from the original 35mm footage, with enhanced audio newly mixed by Steven Wilson.” You’ll also be able to get it on remastered CD and Vinyl LP that same day. Here’s a look at the Blu-ray (with the Amazon link)...
Also while we’re on the topic of music, I had the chance to see Bernard MacMahon’s new documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin earlier this week, and man... if you’re a fan of the band, it’s terrific. The film is filled with rare performance footage, as well as interviews with the band members, including a never-before-heard interview with the late drummer John Bonham. The theatrical sound mix is magnificent! And you’re in luck, because the film returns to IMAX theaters starting tomorrow. Don’t miss it.
And finally today, we would be remiss of we didn’t take a moment this afternoon to acknowledge the passing of the great actor Gene Hackman, who was sadly found dead in his home in New Mexico, along with his wife and a dog, unfortunately under what are being reported as “suspicious” circumstances. (The possibility of a gas leak has been mentioned, but the investigation is ongoing.) You can read more here at The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Deadline, as well as The New York Times.
Hackman was an acting powerhouse and an extraordinary talent, who starred in such landmark films as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The French Connection (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Conversation (1974), Superman (1978), Hoosiers (1986), Mississippi Burning (1988), Unforgiven (1992), Crimson Tide (1995), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and many more. If there are any of those films that you haven’t experienced, be sure to seek them out on Blu-ray or 4K—every one of them is must-see. Hackman was 95. He will be dearly missed.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)