There is very little left for June to come to an end, but before that happens I wanted to review 7 physical releases this month that deserve to be in the collections of many lovers of the seventh art.
For your selection I have tried to offer a selection as varied as possible, including both current titles and great classics for also try to have proposals for all tastesalso paying special attention to its extras, one of the great advantages of the physical format over streaming. Without further ado, let’s get to them:
‘Anatomy of a fall’ (‘Anatomie d’une chute’)
In Elastica Films They recently decided to start editing some of their films in physical format. It all started with ‘Past Lives’ in a very careful edition that, unfortunately, I let go. And I say unfortunately because it is already out of print and with ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ it is most likely that the same thing will happen soon, but there are still some units in the Elastica Films web store. Those of you who have not seen it yet, do not hesitate to solve it, because it is a very peculiar thriller that plays very well with the doubt of what really happened.
Furthermore, the Blu-ray edition has been carefully presented down to the last detail with a luxurious presentation in a beautiful digipack, a way of presenting films in physical format that I don’t understand why has fallen into disuse. It also has a wide selection of extras – all of them on the second disc – where I must confess that I miss the deleted and/or extended scenes that, for example, Criterion did include in the United States. Of those that are present, ‘Anatomy of a Screenplay’ stands out, a thorough interview with Justine Triet and Arthur Harari in which they review various aspects of the script, such as the fact that the discussion between the protagonist couple did not quite work in the first versions.
Review of ‘Anatomy of a Fall’
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’
The new adventure of this legendary science fiction saga suffered a small box office failure that complicates its future, so it never hurts to take a look at an entertainment that is not especially memorable, but that may be the last time we see some of its original protagonists reprising their roles.
Sony has also released a ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ steelbook, but, unfortunately, I have not had access to it. What I have been able to take a look at is its extras, where, for example, there is a compilation of nods to the original films. It is true that some are very obvious while you watch it, but others you may have overlooked. Of course, if what you want is to go a little deeper into the making of the film, don’t hesitate to watch the audio commentary provided by Gil Kenanco-director and screenwriter of the film that in my opinion was much more inspired by ‘Monster House’.
Review of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’
‘Chinatown’
This year marks the 50th anniversary of ‘Chinatown’, one of the great masterpieces of suspense cinema. A brilliant detective story masterfully directed by Roman Polanski and with one of the best performances of a Jack Nicholson more content than usual. A simply essential classic with a devastating ending.
The metal box editions have become so popular that the vast majority of limited editions opt for a presentation in a metal box, but Paramount seems to have opted for another formula, as in May they released ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ in a very special 4K edition very similar to that of ‘Chinatown’. In the image above you can see all the sweets what includes.
This 4K edition includes a generous amount of extras, which disappeared in the Spanish edition. In addition to including these additional contents legacy -beware of the luxury of having the participation of David Fincher In the audio commentary, three new ones are added. Two of them revolve around Sam Wesson, a film historian who on the one hand reviews the historical importance of ‘Chinatown’ and on the other talks about the plans for a third installment that never came. Yes, third, because in 1990 it was released ‘The two Jakes’a sequel directed by Nicholson himself that is included in the equivalent edition for the United States but is conspicuous by its absence in Spain.
Review of ‘Chinatown’
‘Death had a price’ (‘Per qualche dollaro in più’)
An emblematic western that far surpasses ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ -which has also been released this month in 4K by Divisa-, since it contains all the good things from that one, but multiplying it and adding more, with an excellent Lee Van Cleef. All this with Leone showing signs of greater maturity behind the cameras to shape what is personally my favorite of the dollar trilogy. Yes, above ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’.
This new edition in 4K and blu-ray is much more generous in extras than the one marketed by Divisa years ago. Among its additional contents I would like to highlight ‘With a thirst for more’, a fragment of an interview given in 2003 by Clint Eastwood to talk about cinema Sergio Leone focused on ‘Death Had a Price’, where he talks about things like how he was one of the first to want to make a second installment…
Review of ‘Death Had a Price’
‘Teacher’s Room’ (‘Das Lehrerzimmer’)
One of the best movies of the year and German representative at the last Oscars. It was rightly nominated for the award for best international film, but the prize ultimately went to ‘The Zone of Interest’. Here you will find a harrowing thriller that shows how the life of a new teacher becomes complicated to unsuspected limits by her attempt to locate a thief in the school.
The Blu-ray edition released by A Contracorriente Films comes with a generous amount of additional content, among which 6 deleted scenes stand out – I especially liked the one that shows how the students create the newspaper – and two portions of interviews. The first more focused on the cast and the second, much more stimulating, with Ilker Çatakdirector and co-writer, giving some keys to the film as the reason for choosing that image format.
Review of ‘Teachers’ Room’
‘Shin Ultraman’
In 2016 we received the notable ‘Shin Godzilla’ and now it has been the turn of ‘Shin Ultraman’, in which the same team from that one repeats. The result is somewhat inferior, but it does offer an unusual science fiction adventure within the framework of superhero cinema that works quite well in the most spectacular scenes and also when the comic has a greater presence.
In this case we can be thankful that A Contracorriente Films has released ‘Shin Ultraman’ in our country with quite a margin, since it has a large number of extras when, for example, these are conspicuous by their absence in the United States edition. Presented with an elegant and distinctive white cover, it includes several documentary pieces focused on how the film was made – let’s not forget that the budget here is much lower than that of any Hollywood blockbuster – but the star extra is the full inclusion of the webesrie Shin Ultra Fight, a spin-off of the 8-episode film that also has curious notes from Shinji Higuchi reviewing aspects of all of them.
‘Glory’
A war film mainly remembered because it served to Denzel Washington won the Oscar for best supporting actor. It is based on a very striking true story and has a luxury cast, although I personally feel that it could have made better use of both aspects. All in all, it is a highly esteemed example of war and epic cinema that also celebrates the 35th anniversary of its release this year.
I have doubted whether it was worth including it or not, because it had already been edited in UHD previously, but Sony has surprised by including Dolby Vision here, something that did not occur in the previous 4K version, as an additional incentive to its presentation in a metal boxof which you have photos above so that you can better evaluate whether you are convinced or not by buying it.
The extras are the same again, and in this case surely the most recommendable is ‘The True Story of Glory Continues’, a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman which goes deeper into the real story told in the film, although I would also recommend taking a look at the two deleted scenes included. If only because it is always interesting to be able to judge for yourself whether it was a good idea not to include them in the final cut – I still remember one of them ‘High Fidelity’ absolutely brilliant but right to leave it out of the movie.
Review of ‘Glory Days’
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