Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Little Rascals – The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 3 (ClassicFlix)
For the release week of October 19th:
Garv’s Pick of the Week: The Little Rascals – The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 3 [Blu-ray / ClassicFlix]: ClassicFlix has undertaken an ambitious multi-volume project to scan and restore all of the sound-era Our Gang comedies produced at Hal Roach Studios between 1929 to 1938. I reviewed the previous two volumes (Volume 1 Review, Volume 2 Review), and they were fantastic. The image quality is much improved over DVD releases and television screenings, and some shorts that have been censored for years are presented in their complete, original form. The third chronological volume covers the next eleven shorts, Readin’ and Writin’ (1932) through Forgotten Babies (1933), and it introduces an intriguing toddler, named George ‘Spanky’ McFarland.
Additional Titles of Interest —
In The Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights From Poverty Row [Blu-ray / Flicker Alley]: A group of low-budget 1930s films made outside of the major studios are grouped together in this Blu-ray box set. The included films are Midnight aka Call It Murder (1934, directed by Chester Erskine and starring Sidney Fox, O.P. Heggie, and Humphrey Bogart), Back Page (1934, directed by Anton Lorenze and starring Peggy Shannon), Woman in the Dark (1934, directed by Phil Rosen and starring Fay Wray and Ralph Bellamy), The Crime of Dr. Crespi (1935, directed by John H. Auer and starring Erich von Stroheim).
The Sheik [Blu-ray / Paramount Presents]: Rudolph Valentino’s 1921 silent gets the prestige “Paramount Presents” treatment.
Mad Love [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: Peter Lorre stars in this wackadoodle 1935 horror about obsession. If you’re looking for a fun flick for the Halloween season, this one definitely fits the bill.
The Incredible Shrinking Man [Blu-ray / Criterion]: The Criterion Collection asks the question, “Does size really matter?”
Corridor of Mirrors [Blu-ray / Cohen Film Collection]: This British noir was the directorial debut of Terence Young (From Russia With Love) and the movie debut of Christopher “Dracula” Lee.
The Silence of the Lambs [4K UHD / Kino Lorber]: Enjoy with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Scream [4K UHD / Paramount]: “Please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!”
){kind=link}