Time for this week’s round-up of what’s new in MOD from the Warner Archive Collection. In addition, Sony last week quietly added some new titles to their own MOD program, the Sony Pictures Choice Collection. Don’t forget that the Warner Archive website offers one-stop shopping for Warner, Sony and MGM releases.

WARNER ARCHIVE – NEW THIS WEEK

Black Market Babies (1945) – Another ripped-from-today’s-headlines exploitation expose from Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures. Ralph Morgan stars as a disgraced, alcoholic doctor who teams up with lowlife Kane Richmond to create a “private maternity ward” for new mothers to dump off their unwanted brats.

All right, anyone out there got a bad case of the Mondays?  Well, coffee up ‘cause we’ve got a couple things here at the site this morning to help shape you right up...

First, we’re kicking things off this week with a new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder!  Ol’ Bud has plenty more great tales to tell from his years in and around the film business, this week featuring none other than a singing cowboy named Jimmy Wakely, another classic western star in the person of Lash LaRue and much more.  Don’t miss it!

Also this morning, Tim Salmons has turned in a new Blu-ray Disc review of Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn and now available on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay.

Seriously, is there anything more gloriously American than the singing cowboy?  A white hat-wearing, square-jawed male specimen equipped with a sharp aim, a stout heart and a dramatic tenor, the performance of which would cause even a tone deaf villain to tip his hat?

We seem to have the singing cowboy on our minds here in Oklahoma – Roy and Dale were actually married in Davis, and Ol’ Gene has an entire town that bears his moniker – the only such in America named for a movie star. 

But today it is not of the first team we speak – no, our long legged guitar pickin’ men also enjoyed “B” picture status and played for teams bearing names such as Monogram.  We speak today of Oklahoma born Jimmy Wakely, whose cinematic exploits have recently been released in wonderful box sets from Warner Archive.

Okay, we’re closing out the week with a couple of new Blu-ray Disc reviews…

First up today, Joe Marchese has turned in a review of Cohen Media Group’s Perfect Understanding on Blu-ray Disc.  This 1933 film, directed by Cyril Gardner, is now available on Blu-ray.  Also today, Dr. Adam Jahnke rounds things out this morning with a review of Scream Factory’s Ninja III: The Domination!  This 1984 oddball classic arrived in stores on Blu-ray this past Tuesday.  It’s not often you’ll see Jahnke use the word ‘jazzercise’ in a Blu-ray review, but here it is.  Enjoy!

We’ve got a couple more great new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you guys today.  First up, Joe Marchese has dropped in with his analysis of Jacques Audiard’s recent Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os), now available on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Classics.  Also this morning, Tim has given Paramount’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Cut) a spin.  The disc arrived in stores on Tuesday.

Not to be outdone, Mario Boucher has a new Inside Cinema column for you looking at the history of the Fast & Furious franchise.  Do give it a look.

All right, this is just a really quick update to bring you a couple new reviews, and let you all know that I’ll be back to full news, e-mail and Internet operations tomorrow.

As for those reviews… I’ve turned in my thoughts on Criterion’s excellent Blu-ray upgrade of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low – one of my favorite films from the director.  The disc is available in stores now.  And the good Doctor has checked in his musings on Universal’s Mama on Blu-ray, directed by Andy Muschietti, presented by Guillermo del Toro and staring Jessica Chastain (of Zero Dark Thirty fame).  It’s also now available.  Enjoy!

That’s it for now.  Back tomorrow with a announcement news update, the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update and more.

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

[Note: This piece includes spoilers for all six films in the Fast & Furious series – you’ve been warned!]

The Fast & Furious movies are a combination of fast cars, diverse casts and simple plotlines that add up to a guilty pleasure. 

None of the Fast & Furious movies are classic by any stretch but there’s something undeniable about the level of entertainment they provide to the audience.  When the original The Fast and The Furious came out in 2001, not much was expected of it.  The cast was largely unknown and the idea rather simple.  But the movie became a franchise, with some sputtering along the way.

All right, just a quick heads-up today.  I’ve got limited e-mail and Internet connection all week here so release news updates may be a little slim for the next few days.  Rest assured though, I’ll check back when contact is restored to update you all on any major announcement news.

In the meantime, Michael Coate returns again this morning with another new History, Legacy & Showmanship column detailing the roadshow engagement history of Fox’s Cleopatra, which is newly released on Blu-ray Disc and officially celebrates its 50th anniversary today.  Enjoy!

Also today, we’ve got Jeff Kleist’s new review of Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful on Blu-ray 3D for you – sounds like a great 3D experience but the lack of extras on the BD3D version is an epic fail.  FYI, the disc arrived in stores yesterday.

Cleopatra, 20th Century-Fox’s well-publicized epic starring Elizabeth Taylor, was the most popular movie of 1963/64… even though history informs us the movie was a failure.  Presented here in commemoration of the golden anniversary of it premiere, and its recent Blu-ray release, is a (work-in-progress) list of the film’s original theatrical roadshow engagements in the United States and Canada.  These engagements of Cleopatra were shown exclusively in major cities prior to the film being given a traditional nationwide release and included reserved seating with an advanced admission price with an average of ten scheduled showings per week.  Much like a Broadway production, these presentations included an overture, intermission, entr’acte and exit music.  The roadshow engagements were presented in 70-millimeter and six-track stereophonic sound. As well, souvenir programs were sold.

Morning, folks!  Hope you’re all enjoying your Tuesday so far.

The good Doctor has checked in with his weekly Burnt Offerings column updating you all on the latest Warner Archive MOD releases for this week.  He’s also included a review of Warner Archive’s A Guy Named Joe, now available on DVD-R from the company.  Enjoy!

Adam’s not done today though – he’s also turned in a review of Shout! and Scream Factory’s new Blu-ray release of The Howling: Collector’s Edition, which streets on 6/18.  Yet again, Scream has delivered another great title, so do check out Adam’s review.

Also here at the site today, Russell Hammond has posted the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amzon.com pre-order links.  As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon in the same session after clicking though to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

Now then, we wanted to let you Los Angeles area reader know about a couple of cool screening events coming up in Hollywood this weekend.  On Friday night (6/14 – 7:30 PM), The Egyptian Theatre is hosting a screening of the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica feature film!  The following evening (Saturday, 6/15 – 7:30 PM), they’re showing 1974’s Earthquake.  Both films are being shown with special speakers installed to recreate the original Sensurround experience!  Our good friends Joe Russo II and James A. Fino are programming the screenings, and I’m pleased to tell you that our very own Jeff Kleist and I have been working with them to arrange some pretty cool special guests for the Battlestar screening!  We can’t confirm who’s coming just yet, but the plan is for members of the cast and crew to participate in a Q&A after the screening, and there may be the chance to purchase autographs as well.  It’s going to be pretty cool, so be sure to visit the American Cinematheque website for all the details and to purchase tickets.

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt