Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Lady Eve (Criterion)
For the release week of July 14th:
Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Lady Eve [Blu-ray / Criterion]: As I’ve stated many times before, Preston Sturges is my favorite filmmaker, and The Lady Eve is one of his funniest comedies. Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda (neither known for the comedy genre) are hilarious in this screwball farce, and they are supported by Sturges’ stock company of amazing character actors (led by the immortal William Demarest). If you like to laugh, you need to own this disc.
Additional Titles of Interest —
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: It has to be a great release week when a W.C. Fields Blu-ray lands in the #2 spot. “The Great Man,” as he liked to be called, is my favorite movie comedian, and this is another essential disc for fans of classic comedy. You can find my full review here.
The Paleface [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: This 1948 Western comedy was one of Bob Hope’s biggest hits, and it also landed the song “Buttons and Bows” on the charts. Hope is Painless Potter, a hapless dentist who gets involved with Calamity Jane (Jane Russell). I’ll post a full review before long.
Shooting Straight [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: John Ford’s first feature film as a director was also his first Western. This 1917 oater stars silent cowboy superstar Harry Carey (not to be confused with soused Baseball broadcaster Harry Caray).
Kiss of the Vampire [Blu-ray / Scream Factory]: It’s a Hammer Vampire film, but Christopher Lee isn’t anywhere to be seen. Of course, you may not notice, because Christopher Lee hardly showed up for his Dracula films.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IV [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Another month means another Kino Lorber 3-disc Blu-ray box set. This one includes Calcutta (1946), An Act of Murder (1948), and Six Bridges to Cross (1955).
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: This luridly titled 1948 noir with Burt Lancaster and Joan Fontaine gets a 2K remaster and standalone Blu-ray release.
Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits [Blu-ray / Criterion]: Criterion gives you just about all of the feature film work of Bruce Lee in a single box set. Included are The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon (two versions), Game of Death, and Game of Death II. Now, if we could only get a Blu-ray set of the television series The Green Hornet.
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