Garv’s Pick of the Week: Buster Keaton Rides Again / Helicopter Canada (Canadian International Pictures)
For the release week of May 31st:
Garv’s Pick of the Week: Buster Keaton Rides Again / Helicopter Canada [Blu-ray / Canadian International Pictures]: There are a lot of great releases this week, but this one is the most precious to me, because it features a record of one of my heroes at work. In 1965, Buster Keaton made a 25-minute short, The Railrodder, for the National Film Board of Canada. While that film was in production, a second film crew documented the making of the film, which resulted in the insightful 55-minute documentary, Buster Keaton Rides Again. These two films will be offered on Blu-ray, along with Helicopter Canada, 1966 a travelogue film (presented in both 2.76:1 and Smilebox), and a handful of additional Canadian shorts. This disc isn’t officially available on Amazon until June 28th, but you can get it now at VinegarSyndrome.com.
Additional Titles of Interest —
Double Indemnity [4K UHD / Criterion]: Billy Wilder teamed with novelist Raymond Chandler for the first and only time on the screenplay to this essential film noir. I don’t think anyone ever teamed with Raymond Chandler more than once. The shadows should look especially inky in this 4K UHD upgrade.
1776 [4K UHD / Sony]: Your all-singing, all-dancing founding fathers — now in 4K UHD!
A Fistful of Dollars [4K UHD / Kino Lorber]: Kino Lorber previously upgraded The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to 4K UHD. Now the first two films in Sergio Leone’s genre-busting “Dollars Trilogy” get the same treatment. The Spaghetti Western phenomena really began with this movie.
For a Few Dollars More [4K UHD / Kino Lorber]: Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood returned for this even better follow-up in the “Dollars Trilogy.” You’ll notice that I didn’t call it the “Man With No Name Trilogy,” as Eastwood has a name in each of the films. If you think that he’s playing the same character (and I don’t), he’s the man with three names.
The Untouchables [4K UHD / Paramount]: It’s not a good sign when you get a discourse on teamwork from Al Capone.
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