Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers (Flicker Alley)
For the release week of July 9th:
Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers [Blu-ray / Flicker Alley]: Seventeen short comedies, ranging from 1918 to 1941, from forgotten film pioneer Charley Bowers, have been digitally restored by Lobster Films for this Flicker Alley Blu-ray set. Bowers was a comedian and stop-motion animation pioneer. His films combine live action and animation in a wonderful brew of cinematic weirdness. If you are a fan of silent comedy, animation, or the bizarre, this set is highly recommended.
Additional Titles of Interest —
The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 2 (Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator) [Blu-ray / Cohen Film Collection]: I debated whether to put Charley Bowers or Buster Keaton in the top spot this week. What an embarrassment of riches! Cohen Film Collection’s new series of improved digital restorations of Buster Keaton’s silent features continues with two of Keaton’s very best films. In other words, this disc holds two of the greatest comedies ever made. The restorations on Volume 1 were breathtaking (The General looked like it was made yesterday), so I can’t wait to see how Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator look.
Peter Pan (The 1924 Silent Classic) [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Before Disney took on the J.M. Barrie play, there was the 1924 silent version. I’ve seen it projected, and it’s quite good.
This Island Earth [Blu-ray / Scream Factory]: Watch one of the best sci-fi films of the 50s without the riffs from Mike and the ‘bots.
Alphaville (aka Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution) [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Eddie Constantine‘s Bogart-like secret agent character is transported to a futuristic dystopia in Jean Luc-Godard’s weirdo noirish cult sci-fi flick.
Mothra - SteelBook Edition [Blu-ray / Mill Creek]: Mill Creek houses Mothra in a steelbook. Foolish humans, steel cannot contain the might of Mothra.
Dead of Night [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Watch out for Hugo.
The Tough Ones [Blu-ray / Grindhouse Releasing]: Rule-bending cop versus hunchbacked psychotic killer — what’s not to like?
Thunder Bay [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Anthony Mann re-teams with James Stewart, but without the usual Western setting.
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid [Blu-ray / Shout Select]: This was The Long Riders before The Long Riders was The Long Riders.
Bronco Billy [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: “They’re barroom buddies, and that’s the best kind…”
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