New to View: Oct. 28
A politically safe adaptation of a classic Hemingway story and a nice selection of Halloween-season horror and supernatural films headline the variety of titles in this week's New to View at ReelBob.
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 28, unless otherwise noted:
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Blu-ray)
Details: 1943, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s best-selling novel, set during the Spanish Civil War, has its champions and detractors.
Critics of the movie claim it is too long and its politics are vague, while other suggest you simply read the book.
Proponents of the movie point to the appeal of Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman as a reason to view it.
The well-known story centers on Cooper’s Robert Jordan, an expatriate American demolition expert who aids anti-fascist freedom fighters in Spain.
He is assisted by a group of guerrillas, including the strong-willed Pilar (Katina Paxinou, who won an Academy Award for her performance), the undependable Pablo (Akim Tamiroff) and the lovely and innocent Maria (Bergman), who becomes romantically involved with Jordan.
The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, but Paxinou was the only winner. The Blu-ray features the roadshow edition of the film with an overture and intermission.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track with film historian David Del Valle and film historian-producer Dan Marino.
“Dan Curtis’ Classic Monsters” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1968-74, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #39
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Producer Dan Curtis, who brought “Dark Shadows” and “The Night Stalker” to television created this trio of made-for-TV versions of classic horror stories — “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
Richard Matheson penned the adaptation of “Dracul,” (1974), starring Jack Palance as the Transylvanian vampire. The movie was filmed in Eastern Europe and was the first production to make a connection between Bram Stoker’s creation and the historical Vlad the Impaler.
The cast also includes Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport and Pamela Brown.
Bo Svenson plays the Creature in “Frankenstein” (1973), which also features Robert Foxworth and Susan Strasberg.
Palance returns as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in this 1968 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s story. Denholm Elliott, Tessie O’Shea and Torin Thatcher co-star.
These are solid retellings of this oft-told stories that do not disappoint.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include introductions to the films by Jeff Thompson, author of “The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis”; commentary tracks on the movies, including two on “Frankenstein”; interviews with Palance and Curtis about “Dracula”; alternate footage and scenes on “Dracula”; a Spanish language soundtrack on “Dracula”; and an interview with makeup effects artist Dick Smith about “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
The Cat and the Canary: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu‑ray)
Details: 1927, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This 1927 Universal Pictures release is considered by some cineastes as the studio’s first classic horror film and its initial horror‑classic release.
The movie, based on a 1922 play by John Willard, is one of the first of the “old dark house” features in which secret rooms and corridors abound and people either disappear and/or are murdered.
“The Cat and the Canary” itself was remade many more times, one of the most popular remakes, released in 1939, starred Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.
Th original version, directed by famed German director Paul Leni (“Waxworks,” “The Man Who Laughs”), stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West who, 20 years after her the death of her uncle, Cyrus West, gathers with other relatives to hear the reading of his will.
Annabelle is declared the heir to West’s fortune under the condition that she is declared sane by Dr. Lazar (Lucien Littlefield).
Later that evening, the family is warned that an insane man known as “The Cat” is on the loose in the area. Soon after, lawyer Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall) is found dead and Annabelle fears she will be the next victim.
The cast also includes Creighton Hale as the bumbling hero, the role reprised by Hope in the remake, as well as Gertrude Astor, Forrest Stanley, Arthur Edmund Carewe and George Siegmann.
Leni’s use of innovative use of the camera, adds to the suspense and spooky proceedings.
And at 79 minutes, the movie, which garnered a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, moves at a nice clip.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English intertitles with 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD musical track; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full‑screen picture; English intertitles with a 5.1 and 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio musical score.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, one with film historian David Del Valle and silent film expert Randy Haberkamp, the other with film historian Anthony Slide on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc, a 1925 short film by Leni.
The Curse of Frankenstein (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 14
Details: 1957, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This is the movie that brought worldwide attention to Hammer Films and helped revive the horror genre.
It also introduced the world to two very fine actors — Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee — who would share the screen 24 times in the upcoming decades.
The Hammer Frankenstein films differed from the earlier Universal classic horror features in that the focus of each movie was Victor Frankenstein’s many futile attempts to create life, instead of being on a creature that was endlessly resurrected.
And, unlike the 1930s monster movies, the Hammer films were in color and included buckets of blood and sex.
In “The Curse of Frankenstein,” the young scientist is obsessed with using science to create life — and he will go to any lengths to achieve his goal.
Lee plays the misshapen creature he unleashes.
This initial Hammer horror feature can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture and 1.37:1 open matte full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, German, Italian and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French, German, Italian and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: This three-disc set is loaded with extras including on the 4K UHD disc, a commentary track with author-film critic Kim Newman, author Barry Forshaw and author Stephen Jones; a 2012 commentary track with authors Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby; a featurette-tribute to Cushing; a look at restoring the movie; and an alternative eyeball scene. Extras on the two Blu-rays include a 2020 commentary track with filmmaker-film historian Constantine Nasr and screenwriter-film historian Steve Haberman; a new commentary with film historians Heidi Honeycutt and Toby Roan; a featurette with makeup artists recreating the creature; a featurette on the film’s sumptuous costumes; a look at Mary Shelley’s original novel and its various adaptations; a 2012 making of featurette; a 2012 tribute to Cushing; a featurette on the movie’s impact on resurrecting the stagnant horror genre; a featurette on the movie and its links to England’s gothic horror traditions; tributes to cinematographer Jack Asher and composer James Bernard; and an 8mm cutdown of the movie.
In the Mouth of Madness: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1995, Arrow Films
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: John Carpenter directed this feature about insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) probing the disappearance horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), which is causing violence among the crowds awaiting copies of his new book.
Trent, along with Cane’s editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), begins a search for the author. Trent soon finds himself trapped in Hobb’s End, a town that should only exist within Cane’s books.
Soon fiction and reality begin to blur, with Trent beginning to realize that between the lines and beyond the page, somewhere in the darkness, something is waiting to break through.
The movie is an examination of the psychological power of horror and that our connections to the natural world can be altered through a powerful, infectious idea.
The cast also includes Charlton Heston, David Warner and John Glover.
The feature is one of Carpenter’s scariest movies, earning a 60 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Featured extras include archival commentaries with Carpenter and producer Sandy King Carpenter as well as one with Carpenter and director of photography Gary B. Kibbe; a new commentary with filmmakers Rebekah McKendry & Elric Kane, co-hosts of “Colors of the Dark” podcast; new interviews with Sandy King Carpenter and Prochnow; archival interviews with Carmen and special effects artist Greg Nicotero; a featurette praising Carpenter and the movie; an appreciation of the movie by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; an archival featurette on the use of locations; behind-the-scenes home movie footage; a vintage making of featurette; and a collector’s book.
“Dan Curtis’ Dead of Night” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1969-77, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Three stories of the supernatural comprise this feature from producer Dan Curtis.
In “Second Chance,” Ed Begley Jr. stars as Frank, who buys an antique automobile that he restores to its original condition. Along with the car, Frank is transported back to 1926. The tale is an adaptation of story by Jack Finney (“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”).
“No Such Thing as a Vampire” features Anjanette Comer as Alexis, the mistress of an old mansion, who is terrified of vampires. When her husband, played by Patrick Macnee, calls in a friend, played by Horst Buchholz, to examine her, a ghastly and bloody scheme unfolds.
“Bobby” is the story of a boy, played by Lee H. Montgomery, thought to be dead, who surprises his very unhappy mother (Joan Hackett) at the family beach house, causing her much joy and overwhelming terror.
Curtis directed the movie from a script by Richard Matheson.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include the 1969 TV pilot “A Darkness at Blaisedon”; an introduction by Jeff Thompson, author of “The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis”; deleted and extended scenes and sequences; and a featurette of Robert Cobert’s music score highlights.
Angst by August: Zappa & Twist and Shout (Blu-ray)
Details: 1983, 1984, Altered Innocence
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A pair of coming-of-age dramas directed by Danish filmmaker Bille August that offer tender, but unflinching looks at adolescent passion, cruelty and discovery, all set to the sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll.
“Zappa” (1983) focuses on three young boys, Bjørn, Steen and Mulle, navigating the transition from boyhood to adolescence.
Steen and Bjørn have created their own gang and invite Mulle to join. Soon humiliation, cruelty and violence follow as Steen leads Bjørn into his loveless, frustrated and sadistic world.
Bjørn is at the center of “Twist and Shout” (1984). During the cultural explosion of Beatlemania in Europe, Bjørn plays drums in a rock band while his friend, Erik, must care for his mentally ill mother.
Amid the excitement of music, romance and sex, the young men must confront the harsh realities of the adult world.
Both movies are textured, stark and beautiful.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, widescreen picture; Danish 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a new interview with August and a video essay on the director’s coming-of-age films.
Dust Devil (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1992, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, strong violence, sexual situations, language
The lowdown: This bloody, supernatural-horror outing centers on a nameless serial killer, played by Robert John Burke, who wanders the deserts in Namibia and may be a supernatural entity that can change its form.
The killer, called Hitch, kills a woman who had picked him up for sex, burns her house and leaves her corpse in her car. Sgt. Ben Mukurob and Captain Beyman, find strange pictographs on the walls of the dead woman’s burned home.
Joe Niemand, a Sangoma — a traditional healer and spiritual leader — tells the officers that the pictographs are magic symbols. The sergeant is skeptical.
Hitch soon encounters Wendy (Chelsea Field), who is running away from her husband who has accused her of cheating.
Beyman gives Mukurob documents about similar murders dating back to 1908. Niemand explains that the Dust Devil is a shape-shifter who gains power over the world through ritual murders.
The movie also looks at the folklore methods to stop and kill the Dust Devil. It is a different kind of horror movie laden with South African-based cultural attributes. The Blu-ray features two cuts of the movie.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track on both discs by writer-director Richard Stanley on the director’s cut of the film. The Blu-ray features a 2006 interview with Stanley with contributions by composer Simon Boswell as well as original storyboards and Polaroids.
Malpertuis (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jan is a young sailor newly arrived on shore. He is not certain about returning to land but makes the trip to visit his childhood home only to find that it is no longer there.
He goes to bar where he and his friends get into an altercation in which Jan is knocked out.
He awakens to find himself in Malpertuis, a gothic mansion ruled by his uncle, Cassavius (Orson Welles).
All the inhabitants in the mansion are waiting for Cassavius to die for the opportunity to inherit his immense fortune.
Cassavius, however, wishes for anyone who inherits to stay in Malpertuis forever. Jan investigates as those who leave meet mysterious deaths.
The movie is a curio with an impertinent sense of humor. The cast includes Mathieu Carrière as Jan, as well as Susan Hampshire, Michel Bouquet and Jean-Pierre Cassel.
The Blu-ray includes two cuts of the movie, the released version and the rejected version of the film that premiered at Cannes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Dutch LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with director Harry Kümel and gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby; a making of featurette; featurettes on Welles and Hampshire; a commentary track with Kümel and assistant director Françoise Levie; an archival documentary on the making of the movie; an interview with movie’s source novelist; short film by Kümel; a visit to the filming locations by Kümel; and an 80-page booklet.
Samurai Fury (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the 15th century, the people of Japan are suffering as famine and plague ravage the country.
The shogun knows and watches but does nothing to help his subjects. A rebellious wanderer, Hasuda Hyoe, has seen enough of this misery and plots to overthrow the shogun and save the nation and its people.
The conflict pits the samurai against his one-time friend, Honekawa Doken, in a fight for survival.
The movie features some impressive action and battle sequences.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Japanese and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and French subtitles.
Death Wish 3 (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1985, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, graphic violence, language
The lowdown: With each sequel, the “Death Wish” movies grew lamer and more exploitive — leaving behind the social undercurrent that was the basis of the original movie.
Charles Bronson returns as vigilante Paul Kersey, who has relocated to New York. When a friend of his is murdered, the police bring him in for questioning. Instead, he receives a tempting offer from the chief of police (Ed Lauter) — he can have free rein to eliminate gangsters as long as the police receive the credit.
Kersey agrees and goes after gang boss Manny Fraker (Gavan O’Herlihy) and his vicious thugs.
Kersey has a vast arsenal at his disposal to do away with crime in his usual deadly way.
The cast also includes Deborah Raffin and Martin Balsam.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track by Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, a second by film historian Paul Talbot, author of the “Bronson’s Loose!” books; and a newly restored alternate ending on both discs. The Blu-ray also features an interview with actor Kirk Taylor.
The Judge (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 14
Details: 1949, Film Masters-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Milburn Stone, best known for his role of Doc Adams on “Gunsmoke” stars in this B-movie as Martin Strang, a famous defense lawyer, who takes on the case of William Jackson (Paul Guilfoyle), a cop killer, pro bono.
Strang, though, has an ulterior motive. He tells Jackson that if he gets him off, he will ask for a favor in return.
It seems Strang has discovered that his wife, Lucille (Katherine DeMille), has been cheating on him. Strang’s favor involves Jackson, Lucille and Dr. James Anderson (Stanley Waxman), with whom Lucille is involved.
The movie was directed by veteran Elmer Clifton. The supporting cast includes such lower-bill players as Jonathan Hale, John Hamilton, Joseph Forte and Herb Vigran.
The release can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD monaural; English closed-captioned.
Ms .45 (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1981, Arrow Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Abel Ferrara directed this New York-based revenge-thriller in the vein of “Death Wish.”
Set in 1980, the story focuses on Thana, a mute seamstress, raped at gunpoint on her way home from work. Returning to the safety of her apartment, she is assaulted a second time by a burglar. Only this time, she fights back.
She bludgeons her assailant with an iron, takes his gun and begins to dispose of the body piece by piece.
Thana, fueled by her trauma, sees that sexual threats are everywhere in the city and decides to use a .45-caliber to help solve the problem.
Ferrara’s movie is a shocking depiction of sexual violence and female rage. It earned an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental offerings include a commentary track by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of “Rape Revenge Films: A Critical Study and Cultographies: Ms .45”; “The Voice of Violence,” a new featurette with film critic BJ Colangelo; “Where Dreams Go to Die,” a new featurette with film critic Kat Ellinger; archival interviews with Ferrara, composer Joe Della and creative consultant Jack McIntyre; two short films by Paul Rachman; and a collector’s book.
The Island: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1985, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This entry in Eureka’s Master of Cinema series is a horror-drama about class conflict pitting educated urbanites against the violent members of an isolated rural community.
During the summer, teacher Mr. Cheung takes a small group of his students on a trip to explore a rustic island he assumes is uninhabited.
Upon their arrival, though, Cheung and his charges discover they are not alone. The island is home to three deranged brothers and their equally crazy mother.
Events turn ugly when one of Cheung’s students refuses a marriage proposal from the youngest — and perhaps most disturbed — member of this very strange family.
Soon, Cheung and his students begin to wish they never had left home.
“The Island,” though bloody, also offers moments of humor.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks — one with East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng, and the other with genre cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema —an interview with “The Island’s” director Po-Chih Leong and a booklet about the movie.
Deadman’s Barstool (Blu-ray)
Details: 2018, Anchor Bay Entertainment-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Betrayal, greed and the intricacies of human relationships are at the center of this story about Mary (Leticia Castillo), the wife of a famed televangelist known as John the Preacher (Brad Calcaterra).
Mary and her husband are on the verge of divorcing, which, under a settlement, will leave her almost penniless. Mary devises a plan to improve her future. She partners with Ginny (Jasmine Poulton), her husband’s mistress, to rob him of his fortune.
As the women navigate their alliance, the movie proceeds with a mixture of dark humor and suspense, exploring the lengths people will delve into to regain control over their lives.
Director Dean Dempsey’s 78-minute movie was influenced by the works of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a Plank Podcast interview with Dempsey.
Other titles being released next week beginning Tuesday include:
Familiar Touch (Blu-ray & DVD) (Music Box Films)
House of David: Season 1 (DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Chad Powers: Episode 6 (Hulu)
The French Italian (Mirmade)
Only Murders in the Building: Season 5, Episode 10 (Hulu)
The Salem Chronicles (Lionsgate)
Seclusion (Indican Pictures)
OCT. 29
Ballad of a Small Player (Netflix)
Down Cemetery Road: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
Loot: Season 3, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
The Morning Show: Season 4, Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Murdaugh: Death in the Family: Episode 5 (Hulu)
Slow Horses: Season 5, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Star Wars: Visions: Volume 3, Episodes 1-9 (Disney+)
OCT. 30
A Life’s Worth: Episodes 1 & 2 (Viaplay)
The Haunting of Rosalind (Kino Film Collection)
House of Ashes (Amazon-DirecTV-Fandango)
Reasonable Doubt: Season 3, Episode 8 (Hulu)
The Witcher: Season 4 (Netflix)
OCT. 31
The Darkside (Film Movement Plus)
Indera (Omnibus Entertainment)
The Last Frontier: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
NOV. 1
Hi. (Apple TV-Prime Video)
One Hand Don’t Clap (Kino Film Collection)
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on X @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.