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By Darren Allison

“Casablanca - Classic Film Scores for Humphrey Bogart” (CDLK4639 ) was originally recorded on September 6th & 7th, 1973 and released on vinyl (on both the RCA Gold and Red Seal label in 1974). It was also released on a Quadraphonic LP the same year. The album masters were remastered at BMG Studio D on August 18, 1989 and from that came the CD for which we are probably most familiar (a successful series which came in a dark blue coloured tray and recognised by the silver film strip across the top right of the cover of the 20 page booklet). The recordings by Charles Gerhardt and The National Philharmonic Orchestra are quite spectacular, from the opening Warner Bros logo and the superb suite from Casablanca (1942) to Passage to Marseille (1944) to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)… in fact, name just about any Bogart classic and it...

World War, a solemn vow, and a promise betrayed lead to a ‘night of the living war dead’ – all cooked up by the director of Napoleon, Abel Gance. The early, famed pacifist fantasy is back in near-perfect condition and restored to its full length. It’s a reworking, not a remake, of Gance’s 1919 silent classic.

J’accuse

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1938 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 120 min. / That They May Live; J’accuse: Fresque tragique des temps modernes vue et Réalisée par Abel Gance / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring Victor Francen, Line Noro, Marie Lou, Jean-Max, Paul Amiot, Jean-Louis Barrault, Marcel Delaitre, Renée Devillers, Romuald Joubé, André Nox, Georges Rollin, Georges Saillard.

Cinematography Roger Hubert

Film Editor Madeleine Crétoile

Original Music Henri Verdun

Written by Abel Gance, Steve Passeur

Produced & Directed by Abel Gance

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Around 1973, UCLA film school professor Bob Epstein...

Michael Curtiz's wartime tale of Devil's Island convict Humphrey Bogart fighting to get back and defend France has a still-controversial scene of violence. The convoluted storyline nests enough flashbacks-within-flashbacks to confuse any viewer, and packs the screen with every actor on the Warner lot who can handle a foreign accent. With Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, and Michèle Morgan. Passage to Marseille Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 109 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Michèle Morgan, Philip Dorn, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Helmut Dantine, John Loder, Victor Francen, Vladimir Sokoloff, Eduardo Ciannelli. Cinematography James Wong Howe Art Direction Carl Julius Weyl Film Editor Owen Marks Original Music Max Steiner Written by Casey Robinson, Jock Moffitt from a novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall Produced by Jack L. Warner Directed by Michael Curtiz...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of November 10th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Wireless Headphones / Bluetooth Transmitter Arrow Horror Box Set Twilight Time: Low Quantity Update Hardware Wars News Arrow’s February titles Disney Movie Club Exclusives: Treasure Island, Davy Crockett Moc titles MST3K Kickstarter New Releases Automan: The Complete Series Better Call Saul: Season 1 Broken Lance Code Unknown Deep in My Heart Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs Forbidden Zone Galtar and The Golden Lance: The Complete Series Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Complete Series Je t’aime je t’aime Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Mr. Holmes Passage to Marseille Queen of Blood Scorpio Selfless...

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

Code Unknown (Michael Haneke)

Along with very possibly being Michael Haneke’s greatest work, Code Unknown so impresses in combining the helmer’s typically “austere” dressings and grim worldview that even many of his vocal detractors are left stunned. (Not all, of course, but there’s just no getting to certain people.) A freer work than, say, The Piano Teacher or Amour, it uses the well-known hyperlink form (which he himself worked with in 71 Fragments) but elevates above...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of October 27th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.

Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Apple TV: Which version to buy? Kino Lorber Studio Classics Cartoons Update / Original post Kino: Jacques Rivette’s Out 1 delayed until January Latest Thunderbean update Twilight Time: November Pre-order News Warner Archive Collection: Passage To Marseille Blu-ray Kino Lorber Studio Classics: Gorp, The Purple Plain, Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie Kino: Fantomas Blu-ray Collection Criterion: More Almodovar rumored Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 Shout! Factory: Vincent Price Collection: Volume 3 Hammer Horror: The Warner Years Kickstarter Lobster Films / Buster Keaton Kickstarter New Releases Army Of Darkness The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Dark Blue Deadly Bees Dr Terror’s House of Horrors Edgar Allan Poe...

There are many actors who might get a 24-film set released which would make for a collection of great and/or important films, but few would be so filled with legendary efforts. This is not only true today, as The Humphrey Bogart Essential Collection makes its way to stores, but it will probably always be true. The combination of talent, charisma, and timing is unlikely to come together in such a way again, and no matter what actors come along, none of them will exist in the right decade.

Certain films may leap to mind, of course, like – Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, etc. – and these giants are wonderful to own, but the collection really gets its value from some of the films that aren’t on the short list of titles that everyone automatically thinks of when they hear his name.