DOOM PATROL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON -- Blu-ray/Digital Review by Porfle

(Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.)

Originally posted on 9.30.2019

 

It's binge-watching time again with another entertaining superhero-centric season set, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's 3-disc Blu-ray DOOM PATROL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. 

I never read the classic DC comic book (which inspired Marvel's "The X-Men") as a kid, but these 15 episodes proved, for the most part anyway, to be some of the most fun, engaging, and utterly surreal superhero stuff I've seen on any screen.

The pilot/origin story tells how the seemingly benign but unfathomably eccentric wheelchair-bound scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton) rescues various people from horrific physical injuries, mental and/or biological catastrophes (such as suddenly turning into a monster, etc.), rehabilitates them in some way, and assembles them into a motley gang of super-powered misfits who are expected to save the earth from all manner of extreme evil and paranormal calamity.



Thus, much of the action is as mental as it is physical, leading to some real "Twilight Zone"/"X-Files" type plots with the same dark, mind-expanding "sense of wonder" as a good Clive Barker novel but with a rich vein of often lowbrow humor running through all the deeply weird, sometimes downright bizarre character drama.

It's good to see Brendan Fraser (BLAST FROM THE PAST, THE MUMMY) with such a meaty role again even if he does resemble a robot version of Ron Perlman as former race car star Cliff Steele, whose horrific auto accident turns him--with Dr. Caulder's help--into the group's version of the Tin Man. Cliff's tragic loss of his wife and daughter add to the complexity of his character even though he provides most of the show's comic relief.

Joivan Wade plays Cyborg, the closest thing to a real "superhero" on the team (I couldn't figure out where I'd seen the character before until it finally hit me that he'd been one of the Teen Titans) but subject to his own problems due to technical malfunctions in his semi-robotic body in addition to doubts as to the motives of his own father (Phil Morris), a brilliant scientist who saved his life by making him less than human.

April Bowlby plays the former movie star who, through a weird on-set mishap, frequently turns into a pulsating blob against her will. Matt Bomer is Larry "Negative Man" Trainor, an aspiring Mercury astronaut who, during a high altitude test flight, picked up a strange alien hitchhiker now residing in his body and giving him unpredictable powers.

But most unpredictable of all is the volatile Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), an incredibly disturbed young woman with 64 different personalities, each with its own unbridled superpower. 

The result is a fascinating and mostly likable bunch of anti-heroes (with special emphasis on the "anti") who spend much of their time getting into each other heads (in one episode Cliff literally gets into Crazy Jane's head and almost doesn't make it back out) or trying to fathom the deep, dense mysteries of Dr. Caulder himself.

What looks at first as though it's going to be mostly comedic eventually becomes deeply moody and introspective, subjecting the characters to episodes of heavy soul-searching that often result in their acting out in reckless superhero style. 

Still, some of the episodes are heavy on the action, such as when an evil government organization bent on wiping out anything or anyone who's too "abnormal" captures our heroes in their underground bunker, which becomes the site of a battle royale.  During it all the team members are still learning how to use and control their own powers, often resulting in chaos.

Direction and photography are endlessly kinetic and eye-pleasing (especially in this pristine Blu-ray edition) and performances are uniformly fine, with Fraser, Dalton, and the versatile Guerrero as the standouts. Alan Tudyk (A KNIGHT'S TALE) tries his best as the team's arch-enemy, Mr. Nobody, but despite the show's intention to make him a strongly engaging (and funny) villain I never really found the character all that effective.

This is especially true in the season finale, a poorly-conceived episode that I prefer to consider apocryphal in relation to the mostly excellent fourteen episodes which precede it. When the team's final adventure of the season ultimately features a giant kaiju cockroach and a giant kaiju rat locked in a passionate French kiss in the middle of town with various members of the Doom Patrol crawling around in their stomachs, I found myself hoping that the writers would calm down, go back to the drawing board, and get a fresh start for season two. 

Be that as it may, the majority of episodes in DOOM PATROL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON are first-rate fantasy/sci-fi/superhero entertainment that's just brimming with fun. Rather than giving us one "origin story" episode followed by various adventures, the entire season is an ongoing origin tale where everything that happens is yet another step in the evolution of these reluctant heroes and their bumbling yet earnest efforts to save the universe.


DIGITAL FEATURES

    Gag Reel 

BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES

    Gag Reel
    Deleted Scenes
    Featurette: "Come Visit Georgia"

15 ONE-HOUR EPISODES

    Pilot
    Donkey Patrol
    Puppet Patrol
    Cult Patrol
    Paw Patrol
    Doom Patrol Patrol
    Therapy Patrol
    Danny Patrol
    Jane Patrol
    Hair Patrol
    Frances Patrol
    Cyborg Patrol
    Flex Patrol
    Penultimate Patrol
    Ezekiel Patrol

Read our original coverage HERE

DOOM PATROL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON -- Blu-ray/Digital Review by Porfle

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray/DVD Review by Porfle

  Originally posted June 12, 2014

 

(THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, perhaps Jerry Lewis' most celebrated comedy, is now available on Blu-ray [as of June 3rd] in a brand-new 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION. The set also includes DVDs of THE ERRAND BOY and CINDERFELLA, along with the CD "Phoney Phone Calls 1959-1972.")

Mention Jerry Lewis and you get some extreme reactions, and likely a few remarks along the lines of "Well, the French love him." This is mainly because some of the best French filmmakers, such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard , have recognized and appreciated Jerry's talent, even comparing him favorably with the great screen comedians of yore. But you don't have to be French to do that, as I and many millions of his fans worldwide have found out for ourselves over the years.

With his lavish Technicolor comedy THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963), writer-director-star Jerry Lewis made his bravest and most wildly imaginative statement as a film comic. This outlandish variation on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"--particularly the film adaptations starring Frederic March and Spencer Tracy--finds him abandoning his familiar child-friendly comic persona of "The Kid" to take on two totally different, and at times even unlikable, personalities.

As college chemistry professor Julius Kelp, he's a gawky, ineffectual uber-nerd bullied by his burly jock students and totally lacking in confidence. This prompts him to create a chemical formula to enhance his personality and physique, turning him (in a frightening transformation sequence) into the handsome, cool, and extremely debonair Buddy Love. In this guise he's able to become popular singing and playing piano for the young crowd at a local nightclub while wooing a gorgeous student, Stella Purdy (an incandescently beautiful Stella Stevens), with whom Kelp is smitten.

The trouble is, Kelp's a nice guy and Buddy Love is arrogant, vain, and insensitive. There's been much speculation over the years as to whom Lewis based the character on--is he former partner Dean Martin, or is he Lewis' own dark side? (Or, as some believe, Frank Sinatra?) Jerry himself says Buddy is simply a combination of bad traits he's seen in several showbiz types. The important thing is, however, that his performance as Buddy is so fascinating to watch, especially when brief flashes of Kelp show through whenever the formula begins to wear off.

While Lewis is definitely "saying something" about human nature here, what has always drawn me to THE NUTTY PROFESSOR are his hilarious antics as the supremely geeky Professor Julius Kelp. This, in my opinion, is his greatest comic creation, one which he would reprise in later films such as THE BIG MOUTH and THE FAMILY JEWELS.

He is most similar to the great silent comics when performing his imaginative sight gags (while working out in a gym, a heavy barbell stretches his arms all the way to the floor) but his use of sound is also brilliant. In one scene, while Kelp is sneaking into the university lab at night to continue his experiments, he removes his squeaky shoes only to discover that it is his feet which are squeaking. In another sequence, Kelp suffers the hangover from one of Buddy's drinking binges as every tiny sound in his classroom--chalk on a blackboard, gum-chewing, water dripping--is amplified to gargantuan proportions.

Besides Lewis and Stevens, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR is brimming with Lewis stock company members and other familiar faces such as Kathleen Freeman, Del Moore (hilarious as the harried college dean Dr. Warfield), the great Howard Morris (who, in a nightmarish flashback, plays Kelp's horribly henpecked father), Norm Alden, and Buddy Lester, whose performance as a bartender encountering the abrasive Buddy Love gives the film one of its most memorable comedy bits. (Lester would also score big laughs in Lewis' other truly great film THE LADIES' MAN.)

 If you look quick, you'll catch Gavin Gordon of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (in the p.o.v. introduction to Buddy Love which Lewis copped from the Frederic March version), Francine York, "Laugh-In" castmember Henry Gibson, and a young Richard "Jaws" Kiel.

The story comes to a head when Kelp is enlisted to serve as a chaperone at the senior prom where Buddy has been hired to perform. Here, Lewis stages his most daring and emotional scene yet (with some Oscar-worthy acting), skirting the boundaries of bathos without going over (which he has been known to do frequently). It's the perfect and ultimately quite cathartic capper for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, Lewis' greatest film. Others may cringe at the sound of his name, but I consider Jerry a national treasure--no matter what nation one might happen to live in.

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Also included in this collection are two more Lewis solo comedies on separate DVDs, THE ERRAND BOY and CINDERFELLA. THE ERRAND BOY (1961) recalls the previous year's THE BELLBOY in that we find writer-director-star Jerry shooting a low-budget black-and-white feature which is simply a plotless series of gags set in one location (in THE BELLBOY it was a busy Miami Beach hotel, while this takes place in and around a bustling movie studio).

There's a semblance of plot involving studio head Brian Donlevy and his obsequious toady, played with verve by Howard McNear (Floyd the barber from "The Andy Griffith Show") but it's just an excuse to give Lewis the run of the place once again, packing each scene with as many imaginative gags as he can devisewith a cast that also includes Stanley "Cyrano Jones" Adams, Kathleen Freeman, Doodles Weaver, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld, Iris Adrian, and some surprise guest stars.

Much of it is as laugh-out-loud funny as you'd expect, while the rest is rather hit-and-miss. Jerry, of course, disrupts the orderly filmmaking process at every turn, at one point dubbing his own ear-splitting vocals into a lovely young actress' song interlude and elsewhere attempting to eat a quiet sidewalk lunch on the set of a war film.

The usual bathos occurs when the errand boy befriends some cute little puppets which come to life for him in a dusty storeroom--it's in these moments that Lewis tries too hard to be charming when we really want him to keep making with the funny. This he does in one of his most celebrated sequences, in which he pretends to be the chairman of the board non-verbally chewing out his underlings while broadly pantomiming the instruments in a blaring big band tune. For this scene alone THE ERRAND BOY is well worth a look for Lewis fans, but it has much more to offer as well.

1960's CINDERFELLA, as you might guess, is a gender-reversed take on the famous fairytale "Cinderella" with Jerry as the gentle soul ("Fella") harrassed by a wicked stepmother out to steal his inheritence (Dame Judith Anderson, giving the film much added class) and two hateful stepbrothers played wonderfully by exploitation film mainstay Henry Silva and Robert Hutton of THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY and THE SLIME PEOPLE.

When Dame Judith hosts a ball for a visiting princess (cute Anna Maria Alberghetti), Fella's fairy godfather Ed Wynn makes it possible for him to attend and steal the young girl's heart. The ball sequence is best known for Jerry's amazing first-take dance down the massive staircase and also includes some genuinely charming choreography as he and the princess enjoy a spirited dance together.

(There seems to be a scene missing before this, however, since we never see his goldfish being turned into a chauffeur or his bicycle into a limosine, or find out why he must flee the ball at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind one of his Italian loafers.)

Much of the rest of CINDERFELLA is of the "charming" variety, yet there's plenty of the old Lewis hilarity to enjoy as well. The film is directed by Frank Tashlin (of the superb Martin and Lewis hit ARTISTS AND MODELS as well as other of Jerry's solo ventures) and thus we get to see where some of Jerry's own directorial influences came from.

There's another musical pantomime bit, and one great sequence which has Fella trying to eat his own supper at the end of a mile-long dinner table while also scrambling to serve as waiter for his stepmother and stepbrothers. The sets and costumes are opulent, and, like THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, CINDERFELLA is in dazzling Technicolor.

Finally, this collection comes with a CD entitled "Phoney Phone Calls 1959-1972", which finds Jerry displaying his unparalleled talent for prank phone calls years before The Jerky Boys came along. Some of the gags are a little flat, but several are screamingly funny. In "The Lost Watch", he answers an ad from a woman searching for a misplaced heirloom and by the end of the track almost has her believing that it's his ad and that she called him.

One phone gag was recorded live during an appearance on "The Steve Allen Show" with an appreciative audience reaction. But it's the final cut, "Bill Lynch", in which Jerry pretends to be his own thick-headed private secretary while thoroughly exasperating some hapless guy calling for a favor, which had me almost breathless with laughter.

All three films in this collection feature some wonderfully warm and chummy (and sometimes even informative) commentary tracks with Jerry and his old pal, singer Steve Lawrence. For THE ERRAND BOY, commentary is included for selected scenes only, along with bloopers, promo spots, and theatrical trailer. CINDERFELLA comes with bloopers as well.

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR Blu-ray is packed with extras, including:
•Jerry Lewis: No Apologies NEW! An intimate look at the artist who has entertained and educated audiences for more than eight decades

•Directors Letter NEW! A letter specially written by Jerry to present this new collection

•Recreated "Being A Person" book: 96-pages made up of drawings and quotes inspired/written by Jerry Lewis and drawn by his personal illustrator. 250 copies of this book were originally made and distributed to members of the cast and crew of The Nutty Professor after the director heard of general conflicts among them.

•CD: Phoney Phone calls 1959-1972: Years before the Jerky Boys were harassing unwitting shop clerks, housewives and businessmen, Lewis perfected the art, as these recordings show. Released in 2001 on the Sin-Drome label, this is a collection of private prank calls secretly recorded by Jerry Lewis over the years.

•48-Page Storyboard Book

•44-Page Cutting Script with Jerry’s notes

•Commentary by Jerry Lewis and Steve Lawrence

•The Nutty Professor: Perfecting The Formula Behind-The-Scenes Footage

•Jerry Lewis at Work

•Jerry at Movieland Wax Museum with commentary by son Chris Lewis

•Deleted Scenes

•Jerry and Stella Promos

•Bloopers

•Screen Tests

•Outtakes

•Original Mono Track

•Trailers

(Pictures shown are not stills from the actual discs.)

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WB update: Warner Bros. and Jerry Lewis celebrated the 50th Anniversary of The Nutty Professor this past week in New York. Jerry Lewis, the consummate entertainer, world-renowned humanitarian, cultural icon and motion-picture innovator was celebrated in an entertaining laugh-filled tribute by his friends and peers. In attendance were Jerry Lewis, Brett Ratner, Larry King, Richard Belzer, Kerry Keagan, Danny Aiello, Ed Norton, Russell Simmons, Rosario Dawson, Dominic Chianese, Ron Raines and more.

The event took place in honor of the Blu-ray release of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION which Lewis personally supervised, helping to compile loads of entertaining extra content for the release.

Event Sizzle Reel
  

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray/DVD Review by Porfle

FRANK SINATRA: 5-FILM COLLECTION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle (ANCHORS AWEIGH/ ON THE TOWN/ GUYS AND DOLLS/ OCEAN'S 11/ ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS)

 Originally posted on 4/29/15

 

Frank Sinatra the singer. Frank Sinatra the actor. One gained undisputed acclaim as a master of his craft, while the other's talents seem to have always been in the eye of the beholder. But when given a good role--be it either comedic or dramatic--"Ol' Blue Eyes" came through, and often his acting skills were nothing less than superb.

In the 5-disc Blu-ray set FRANK SINATRA: 5-FILM COLLECTION from Warner Home Entertainment (which also contains a 32-page hardbound photo book), we see some of the best of his lighter screen moments. Whether showing off those rich vocal stylings, keeping up with Gene Kelly on the dance floor, or displaying a well-honed comedy timing, Frank Sinatra left behind a legacy of entertainment which continues to endure as we celebrate his 100th birthday.

Contained herein are five of his most popular films: ANCHORS AWEIGH, ON THE TOWN, GUYS AND DOLLS, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, and ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS. Let's take a closer look at them...



ANCHORS AWEIGH (1945)

In 1945, the King of the Crooners joined forces with the King of the Hoofers (not counting Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, that is) to give us ANCHORS AWEIGH. This frothy Technicolor romp from director George Sidney (VIVA LAS VEGAS, BYE BYE BIRDIE, several MGM "Our Gang" shorts) tells the story of Clarence and Joe (Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly), two recently decorated sailors on a glorious 4-day leave in Hollywood.

Playing against type, Frank's character is a shy nerd who can't score with the ladies so he decides to tag along after notorious wolf Joe to see how he does it. This seriously cramps Joe's style and he's constantly thwarted in his attempts to get together with dream date "Lola", especially when the two swabbies get saddled with a young orphan named Donald (a cherubic Dean Stockwell) who wants to run away from his Aunt Susie and join the Navy.

Aunt Susie turns out to be the lovely Kathryn Grayson (KISS ME KATE), an aspiring singer with whom Clarence is immediately infatuated. The script then takes us down a twisted path when wolfish Joe ends up falling for prim Susie while Clarence falls for a waitress from Brooklyn but is afraid to hurt Susie's feelings by dumping her, which is just what Joe wants except he doesn't want to hurt Clarence and Susie because he thinks they're in love, unaware that Susie is actually in love with him.

With all this tedious "love" stuff going on, ANCHORS AWEIGH benefits from the sparkling personalities of its stars and really takes off when they stop to sing and dance. With Gene Kelly at the helm during the musical numbers, this film yields several of the beloved sequences we often see in retrospectives like THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT, including Gene's celebrated fantasy duet with Jerry the Mouse (MGM originally wanted Mickey but Disney said "no way") and another dream sequence in which he plays a Latin bandit serenading lovely senorita Kathryn in a dance filled with amazing acrobatic stunts.

Frank, of course, gets to croon a few numbers as well as show off his own dancing skills as he hustles to keep up with Kelly. Kathryn Grayson sings in her shrill operatic style (she sounds like Snow White) and the great José Iturbi, as "himself", displays his dazzling virtuosity on the piano keyboard in several instances. A charming interlude with Gene and a little beggar girl (Sharon McManus) seems a bit shoehorned in, but in a musical such as this it hardly matters.

A rich supporting cast includes Grady Sutton (IT'S A GIFT, THE BANK DICK) as a would-be suitor for Aunt Susie, familiar screen comics Billy Gilbert and Edgar Kennedy, Leon Ames, Rags Ragland, and Pamela Britton as the waitress from Brooklyn.

Not quite the constant delight from start to finish that SINGIN' IN THE RAIN would be (all musicals that came before seem to be leading up to it), ANCHORS AWEIGH is still the sort of colorful confection musical lovers crave. And it served as proof that Frank Sinatra wasn't just some skinny singing idol, but a bonafide multi-talented movie star.


Blu-ray Special Features:

· Hanna & Barbera on the Making of ‘The Worry Song’ from MGM "When the Lion Roars"
· 1945 MGM Short "Football Thrills of 1944" – New to Home Entertainment
· 1945 MGM Short "Jerky Turkey" – New to Home Entertainment

· Theatrical Trailer



ON THE TOWN (1949)

Sinatra and Kelly took their sailor act into their next collaboration with 1949's ON THE TOWN, an exhilarating screen adaptation of the Broadway hit. This time it's three gobs on leave--Jules Munchin adds his cartoonish comical talents to the mix--while Vera Ellen, Betty Garrett, and the incredible Ann Miller play their delightful love interests.

Frank is once again the reserved, bookish type who wants to see all the tourist sites in New York, while Gene and Jules are ready for action. Gene falls for Vera-Ellen when he sees her on a subway poster as "Miss Turnstiles", and his friends are forced to join him in his desperate search for her. Along the way they pick up aggressively amorous cab driver Betty Garrett, who has eyes for Frankie, while anthropologist Ann Miller spots Jules in a museum and is instantly attracted to his caveman cranium.

This time the story is not only fun, but it serves as a springboard for a breathless succession of breezy, eye-pleasing, and downright irresistible song-and-dance numbers, some of which are performed against a backdrop of real New York locations. Frankie doesn't get any solo numbers this time, but the ensemble stuff is riotous fun as are his two duets with Betty Garrett, "Come Up to My Place" and "You're Awful."

Gene Kelly, who co-directed with Stanley Donen as he would later on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, saves a large chunk of the latter half for one of his extended dance fantasies containing a steamy, sultry interlude with Vera-Ellen, set to Leonard Bernstein's evocative score, that is surprisingly erotic.

But my favorite numbers are the museum piece "Prehistoric Man"--which manages to achieve Tex Avery-level silliness while showcasing what an utterly astounding performer Ann Miller was--and the joyous "On the Town." The latter sequence, which takes place on the roof of the Empire State Building before spilling out onto the street, builds to such a rapturous conclusion that it literally brought me to tears.

The supporting cast also features Alice Pearce (later to become famous as Mrs. Kravitz on "Bewitched") in an endearing performance as Betty Garrett's homely roommate, who at one point becomes a blind date for Gene in place of "Miss Turnstiles." Alice joins the others for the breezy number "You Can Count On Me" and is a delight as she blunders into a romantic apartment interlude between Frank and Betty, sneezing with a head cold. Keep a lookout also for Bea Benaderet and Dick Wessel.

I first saw ON THE TOWN back in the mid-70s when it was shown on the fondly-remembered "CBS Late Movie", and it immediately struck me as one of the most enjoyable musicals I had ever seen. Watching it again many years later, I'm happy to say that it has lost none of its happy-go-lucky appeal and has, in fact, become a strong contender with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as my favorite musical of all time.


Blu-ray Special Features:

· 1949 MGM Short "Mr. Whitney Had a Notion" – New to Home Entertainment

· 1949 MGM Cartoon "Doggone Tired" – New to Home Entertainment

· Theatrical Trailer



GUYS AND DOLLS (1955)

That singing sensation, Marlon Brando, possessed the star power in 1955 to bump Frank Sinatra out of the lead role in GUYS AND DOLLS, director Joseph L. Mankiewicz' film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical based on the stories of Damon Runyon.

As slick gambler Sky Masterson, Brando's soft but earnest singing style benefits from a strong acting foundation while Frank, in the lesser role of illegal crap game promoter Nathan Detroit, skillfully invests his own Frank Loesser-penned songs with more heart and depth than that character has ever shown before.

Mankiewicz explores the colorfully stagey Times Square settings with a cinematic zest that is eye-filling and constantly appealing, while the cast bring all the denizens of the streets to vivid life. Small-time hustlers such as Stubby Kaye's "Nicely-Nicely", Sheldon Leonard's "Harry the Horse", and B.S. Pully's "Big Jule" all get their moments to shine (Kaye's "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" is a joy as is the opening number, "Fugue For Tinhorns") as con men work the bustling crowds and sewers host shady criminal activities.

The story gives equal emphasis to its two love stories, one of which involves Nathan Detroit and the lead burlesque dancer at the Hot Box club, Miss Adelaide (a terrific Vivian Blaine). They've been engaged for fourteen years and heartsick Adelaide is pressing Nathan to quit his floating crap game business and settle down with her or else. He wants to host one final big game first, but can't find a location for it with local cop Lt. Brannigan (Robert Keith) breathing down his neck.

Meanwhile, Sky Masterson is starting to fall for rigidly straitlaced "Save-A-Soul" missionary Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) after betting Nathan that he can persuade her to accompany him to Havana. This he does by promising to deliver at least twelve sinners to her next prayer meeting, but while they're away (during which he gets her sloppy drunk), a crap game is held in her mission. Sarah accuses Sky of setting the whole thing up on purpose, creating a rift between them.

With a meatier, more offbeat, and somewhat seamier story than many musicals, GUYS AND DOLLS is solid adult-oriented fun that keeps its pace up despite being somewhat overlong. There's a fascination to watching Brando broadening his acting horizons this way, giving it his all while not quite coming across as a bonafide singing star. His big song, the show-stopper "Luck Be a Lady Tonight", suffers from our knowledge of how much better Sinatra would've sung it (and indeed often did).

Be that as it may, Frank makes the most of his character and his charming scenes with Vivian Blaine, who gives the film's best performance as Adelaide. Lovely Jean Simmons also gives her all as Sarah Brown, with her own distinctive singing style.  (None of the leads were dubbed.) And as a splendid example of how to transform a popular stage musical into top-notch screen entertainment, GUYS AND DOLLS stands the test of time with flying colors.


Blu-ray Special Features:

· "A Broadway Fable: From Stage to Screen, Guys & Dolls: The Goldwyn Touch"

· "A Broadway Fable: From Stage to Screen, Guys & Dolls: From Stage to Screen"

· "More Guys & Dolls Stories"
o "Adelaide"
o "Brando Dance Lesson"
o "Goldwyn’s Career"
o "On the Set"
o "Rehearsing Adelaide"

· "Musical Performances"
o "Fugue for Tinhorns"
o "I’ll Know"
o "Guys & Dolls"
o "Adelaide"
o "Luck Be a Lady"
o "Sue Me"

· Theatrical Trailer



OCEAN'S 11 (1960)

The skinny, earnest kid of ANCHORS AWEIGH and ON THE TOWN had already grown into a more worldly and somewhat cynical character by the time of GUYS AND DOLLS, but by 1960's OCEAN'S 11 we find a Frank Sinatra who has matured into the icy cool, cosmopolitan, and slightly shady Las Vegas megastar persona that would define the rest of his life.

The quintessential "Rat Pack" movie, OCEAN'S 11 reunites Frank's former WWII paratrooper sergeant Danny Ocean with his old Airborne buddies played by Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop, in one of those scathingly brilliant heist schemes to relieve five major Vegas casinos of several million dollars at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.

I didn't care much for this slow-moving, bland-looking heist tale with production values that sometimes resemble those of a Quinn Martin cop series from the 60s. At least, not the first time I watched it.

A second viewing, however--without the burden of my previous expectations blinding me to its modest charms, and with the advantage of Frank Sinatra, Jr.'s knowing commentary--revealed it to be a fun "hang-out" movie in which you get to spend some quality leisure time just palling around with Frankie, Dean, Sammy, and their cool friends. And before it's over, that simple robbery plot which seems so pedestrian at first delivers a couple of nifty, nasty twists that are pretty neat.

We watch as Danny (Sinatra) and Jimmy Foster (Lawford) get the old gang together one at a time for the caper, which takes up pretty much the whole first half of the movie. (One thing's for sure, this flick isn't in any hurry to get anywhere.) There are a few detours, as we see Danny dealing with his neglected but faithful wife Beatrice (Angie Dickinson) and a hostile spurned lover played by Patrice Wymore.

Jimmy, meanwhile, must endure the presence of his wealthy mother's new husband Duke (Caesar "Butch" Romero, who would soon play The Joker to Adam West's Batman) in order to hit her up for his usual "allowance." Sammy, as usual, brings his own boundless energy and cool-cat appeal to his role of a garbage truck driver whose job is to collect the stolen cash from each casino.

Not even counting some welcome cameos and bit parts by the likes of Red Skelton, Shirley McLaine, and George Raft, the cast is impressive. Filling out the "eleven" are Richard Conte (Don Barzini in THE GODFATHER), Jerry Lester (of Jerry Lewis' THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and THE LADIES' MAN), cult superstar Henry Silva (of Lewis' CINDERFELLA), Norman "Mr. Roper" Fell, Akim Tamiroff, and other worthy character actors.

The main stars, of course, are just fun to watch, especially Dean Martin in total "don't give a f***" mode and Frank effortlessly holding it all together without even singing a note. (Dean croons "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" two or three times, while Sammy performs the theme song "Ee-Oh-Eleven.")

Directed by Lewis Milestone (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, OF MICE AND MEN), OCEAN'S 11 has a relaxed, informal air and never takes itself too seriously, but it isn't a slapdash affair. While some of the acting and direction may seem flat at times, this is one movie that just doesn't feel like breaking a sweat if it doesn't have to. And that awesome ending shot is just the kind of thing Quentin Tarantino makes a mental note to copy later.

It kinda struck me as A HARD DAY'S NIGHT for the pre-Beatles generation--a day in the lives of our favorite hipster bad boys in their natural habitat, just being their narrow-tie-wearing, scotch-swilling, chauvinistic selves.

It does get serious at times, though--as when Richard Conte's character Bergdorf, recently released from prison and estranged from wife Jean Willes, visits his little boy in military school for what may be the last time. Or when his doctor gives him the bad news about his heart, leading to this pricelessly arch bit of dialogue: "Listen Doc, give it to me straight...is it the big casino?"


Blu-ray Special Features:

· Commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr. and Angie Dickinson

· Las Vegas Then and Now Vignettes

· Theatrical trailers



ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS (1964)

Since 1960's OCEAN'S 11 had been such a lark for the Rat Pack, some of them got together again four years later with director Gordon Douglas for the lighthearted crime spoof ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS. But as we learn from Frank Sinatra, Jr.'s commentary--which, once again, serves as an absolutely invaluable first-hand account--this breezy musical about rival gangs in Prohibition-era Chicago was overshadowed not only by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was Frank Sinatra's personal friend, but also by the five-day kidnapping of Frank, Jr. himself in Lake Tahoe, California.

While much of the movie is breezy fun, it's apparent in several scenes that Papa Frank's heart just isn't in it. Still, he musters what he can as "good guy" crime kingpin Robbo, the lone holdout when rival boss Guy Gisborne (Peter Falk) rubs out the current big cheese Big Jim (Edward G. Robinson in a brief cameo) and demands all the other bosses line up behind him. Robbo's refusal results in the opposing bosses hitting each other's speakeasies in a frenzy of mutual destruction.

Enter Big Jim's daughter Marian, played by a gorgeous Barbara Rush, who offers Robbo a hefty sum to eliminate the man who killed her father. Robbo instead donates the cash to an orphanage, thus gaining a citywide reputation as the new "Robin Hood." This new image suits him so he starts giving a cut of all his proceeds to charity, while Marian, whose intentions go beyond mere revenge, seeks the aid of any man who'll respond to her seductive advances to make a power grab. Meanwhile, Guy Gisborne continues in his efforts to bring down Robbo both violently and by trying to get him sent up the river on trumped-up counterfeiting charges.

As an old-style gangster comedy, ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS is about on the same level as BUGSY MALONE or the "A Piece of the Action" episode of "Star Trek", only with better production values. Some of the transitions into the song-and-dance numbers are awkward, to say the least, with Falk's number coming off as particularly ear-bending despite his giving it the old college try (fortunately, the rest of his comic performance is a delight).

Dino, who plays Robbo's partner Little John, fares better with his jaunty pool-hustling tune "Any Man Who Loves His Mother", and Sammy's energetic shoot-em-up number "Bang! Bang!" is a real blast. Frank, in his best moment in the film, seems to forget his troubles for a bit when he gets to croon his classic ode to Chicago, "My Kind of Town."

Another plus for the production is the presence of the venerable Bing Crosby as Allen A. Dale, an overaged "orphan" who joins Robbo's crew in order to help coordinate his charitable activities. Bing does a wonderful soft-shoe number with the boys back at the orphanage entitled "Don't Be a Do Badder!" (the lyrics are cringeworthy but Bing manages to sell them), then joins in another fun song-and-dance sequence with Frank and Dean, "You've Either Got or You Haven't Got Style", which is unique for having all three of these major singing stars together at one time.

A gaggle of wonderfully rough-looking character actors fill the supporting roles as well as some familiar names such as Victor Buono, Hans Conried, Robert Foulk, Richard Bakalyan, Billy Curtis, and Sig Ruman. A chorus line of flappers performing the number "Charlotte Couldn't Charleston" is led by none other than legendary singer-dancer-choreographer Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame, who would co-star in VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS a year later and go on to appear in the counterculture classic EASY RIDER in '69.

While the story tends to drag a bit here and there, and the songs aren't always top-notch, ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS is still an enjoyable enough gangster spoof and one of the last of the old wave of Hollywood musicals. It's a shame that the conditions under which it was made so dampened the spirits of those involved, especially its star, Frank Sinatra, resulting in a movie whose lightheartedness comes off as noticeably strained.


Blu-ray Special Features:

· Commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.

· Vintage featurette "What They Did to Robin Hood"

· 1939 WB Cartoon "Robin Hood Makes Good" – New to Home Entertainment

· 1949 WB Cartoon "Rabbit Hood"

· 1958 WB Cartoon "Robin Hood Daffy"

· Theatrical trailer

----------------------

(Pictures shown are not stills from the actual discs.)

Buy it at the offical WB Shop

Street date: May 5, 2015

FRANK SINATRA: 5-FILM COLLECTION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle (ANCHORS AWEIGH/ ON THE TOWN/ GUYS AND DOLLS/ OCEAN'S 11/ ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS)

KRYPTON: THE COMPLETE SECOND & FINAL SEASON -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray TM I reviewed in this blog post.  The opinions I share are my own.)

 

Originally posted on 1/13/20


Having missed the first season of this show, I couldn't make heads or tails of many of these character names and their motives.  For a while anyway, it's a bit tedious for those without photographic memories or some kind of mental filing system for keeping it all sorted out.

But somewhere around the second or third episode of KRYPTON: THE COMPLETE SECOND & FINAL SEASON things started to fall into place and the story actually got rather involving. Not terribly so, but enough for me to enjoy the rest of the season without a scorecard.

What it is, basically, is glorified space opera (which is a good thing, by the way) that reminded me a lot of the "Flash Gordon" serials that I grew up with, featuring fancifully futuristic societies and characters that are either admirably purehearted or hissably evil.

The comparison is also apt in that each episode always has a cliffhanger ending--you can almost hear the announcer exhorting us to come back to the theater same time next week--coming at the climax of much science-fantasy-type melodrama and derring-do.

The big difference is that this show has all the modern technical advantages of CGI and a generous budget to give us spectacular planetary vistas, raging monsters (such as the incredibly hostile behemoth Doomsday), and cityscapes brilliantly alight and swarming with flying craft.

I did, however, find the production design to be on the dark and murky side at times, as though Krypton sometimes had trouble paying its light bill.  And some shots seemed to lean so heavy on the CGI frou-frou as to make one yearn for the days of occasional visual austerity.

All that aside, the complicated multi-level plotlines do weave themselves together into quite a saga involving two of Krypton's main houses, El and Zod, which end up on opposite sides of a massive revolution.

During this increasingly cataclysmic clash, our hero Seg-El (a likable Cameron Cuffe), the grandfather of Kal-El (whom Earth will someday know as "Superman"), is pitted in mortal opposition to the murderous tyrant General Dru-Zod (powerfully portrayed by Colin Salmon of the Brosnan-era "James Bond" films), the show's ruthless equivalent to Ming the Merciless who rules the city of Kandor with an iron fist and is intent on conquering the universe.

A myriad of supporting characters include Seg-El's love Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell), who will inexplicably align with Dru-Zod against the rebels.  (Did I mention that Dru-Zod is the son of the younger Seg-El and Lyta-Zod? It's a time travel thing.) Also of note is Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day), mother of Seg-El's son Cor-vex, who will someday be renamed Jor-El and become Kal-El's father. 

But seeking to prevent Kal-El from one day traveling to Earth and becoming his arch-enemy Superman is the really, really evil cyborg Brainiac, also a time traveler but with the insidious ability to enter Seg-El's body and use him toward his own malevolent ends. (Their interactions provide some of the most entertaining scenes.)

There's also yet another character displaced in time, Earth man Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos), the show's main comedy relief (he's sort of a Seth Green type) who comes from a future Earth devastated by Brainiac and is trying to keep that from happening. A dozen or so additional characters of note add to the action and drama.

The dialogue fluctuates between mock-Shakespearean and unexpectedly coarse (much of the humor is scatological) but the cast perform it all with conviction. This is especially true of Colin Salmon's Dru-Zod, a fitting predecessor to the familiar General Zod from the "Superman" movies.

The 2-disc Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment contains all ten one-hour episodes and is in 16x9 widescreen with English 5.1 audio and subtitles in English and French. The bonus menu consists of two featurettes, "The Fate of Superman" and "Villains: Modes of Persuasion." There are also instructions for digital download.

For those who enjoy the old serials as I do, it won't matter that KRYPTON: THE COMPLETE SECOND & FINAL SEASON doesn't quite embody the finest of the sci-fi genre.  It's quite sufficient as a lively, intense, complex, colorful, sometimes eye-pleasing, always involving chapter play, culminating in a final blazing battle between good and evil with the fate of the entire galaxy in the balance.

KRYPTON: THE COMPLETE SECOND & FINAL SEASON -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

CASABLANCA -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

 

Originally posted on 1/22/16

 

CASABLANCA (1942) is one of those films which we can now look back on as an undisputed classic in which everything seems to come together perfectly.  At the time, however, it was regarded by the studio as just another production, whose script, based on the unproduced play "Everyone Comes to Rick's", was being written on the fly and didn't even have a proper ending worked out until shortly before it was shot.

 The story takes place in 1942 in the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca, which overflows with refugees desperately struggling to gain passage to America and elsewhere in the free world to escape Nazi encroachment in Europe .  Exiled American (and ex-freedom fighter) Rick Blaine, played to perfection by Bogart , runs a nightclub called "Rick's Café Américain" in which many of these people meet to buy and sell the hope for freedom. 

 Also on hand is Rick's friend, Captain Louis Renault (THE INVISIBLE MAN's Claude Rains in one of his best performances), the head of the local police and an opportunist of the first order whose greatest pleasure is accepting bribes both monetary and sexual.  Renault openly admires Rick's similarly self-serving qualities and even displays a platonic crush on him ("If I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick," he admits). 



We wonder how Renault would react if Rick started reverting back to his old, noble self, especially in the presence of the vile German officer Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI,  THE MAN WHO LAUGHS), newly-arrived and on the trail of famed Czech resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henried). 

 While Rick starts out as an anti-hero, he gradually and without really meaning to becomes more heroic as the story progresses.  Early on, Peter Lorre's oily Ugarte--who recently killed some German soldiers to attain two letters of transit to sell in Casablanca--begs Rick for help before he's captured ("Hide me, Rick!  Hide me!").  Rick's terse response: "I stick my neck out for nobody." 

And indeed, Rick seems grudgingly content to sit out the current world war as manager of his bustling nightclub until one night, when an old flame named Ilsa (the utterly radiant Ingrid Bergman) comes through the front door with her husband, none other than Victor Laszlo.  Rick, once an idealistic crusader himself but now cynical and disillusioned, has never forgiven Ilsa for inexplicably running out on him during the fall of Paris, at the height of their love affair--not knowing that Laszlo, whom they both thought dead, had turned up alive.

 When Rick obtains the two letters of transit from Ugarte, he has the means of whisking Ilsa back to America with him and resuming their love affair while leaving Laszlo behind to carry on alone and devastated.  But will he do something so selfish and immoral?  Or regain his soul and commit the supreme act of sacrifice for the sake not only of Ilsa and her husband but of the free world itself?

 This is the dilemma which gives CASABLANCA much of its power to effect us emotionally while simmering with a growing suspense.  As a film, everything clicks-- Michael Curtiz' sharp direction, the gorgeous black-and-white photography, great performances by a stellar cast, a powerful musical score by Max Steiner, and a story that's always totally engaging. 

 Action and romance are perfectly balanced and compliment each other, while comedic touches abound, especially from the delightfully corruptible Renault,  the antics of Rick's eccentric staff (including S.Z. Sakall), and a fez-topped Sydney Greenstreet (again) as a competing club owner who wants to acquire Rick's place along with his loyal piano-playing band leader Sam (Dooley Wilson, who croons the classic "As Time Goes By").




But when Laszlo exhorts Sam and his band to strike up a stirring rendition of "La Marseillaise" in response to Strasser and his fellow German officers belting out "Die Wacht am Rhein", the move (which Rick okays with a subtle nod of his head) not only stirs the patriotic fervor of everyone else in the club but may bring the viewer to tears as well.  (Steiner uses this same anthem as a fanfare for his own musical credit during the main titles.)

The climax of the film takes place at the airport, a focal point for dreams of freedom throughout the story.  Rick now literally holds the ticket to a new life with Ilsa, who will join him if he asks her to.  Yet his newly reawakened sense of duty to humanity now fights for precedence.  Meanwhile Renault, his own duty to Strasser  putting him at odds with his friend, awaits Rick's decision. 

 When the plane fires up its engines, Steiner's music swells, and there comes a stunning, perfectly-edited series of  closeups of Bogart,  Bergman, and Henried which generate a dramatic tension few films could ever attain.  It's pure, undiluted Hollywood magic at its most sublime, and the resolution which follows couldn't be more perfect.  CASABLANCA is an intricate jigsaw puzzle of seemingly disparate pieces which fit together to form a beautiful picture.

Read our review of THE BEST OF BOGART COLLECTION

CASABLANCA -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE JAZZ SINGER -- Blu-Ray/DVD review by porfle

Originally posted on 1/15/13

 

It wasn't really the first time the movies had talked.  But when Warner Brothers released "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, it was the first such film to become a commercial sensation, thus heralding the ultimate demise of the silent era.

Warner Home Video's 3-disc set THE JAZZ SINGER gives film buffs and novices alike the opportunity to view the original classic in all its pristine glory, with a practically flawless print and a robust soundtrack taken from the original recording discs once used to accompany the film when projected.  This Blu-Ray presentation also comes with two DVDs containing a wealth of extras that reflect the diligent work of various film preservationists.

As for the film itelf, it's the story of a young jazz singer named Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson) whose rigidly conservative father disowns him because he refuses to become a cantor in the synagogue.  Despite five generations of Rabinowitzes being cantors, Jakie would rather sing songs like "Toot Toot Tootsie" and "Dirty Face, Dirty Hands" under the name "Jack Robin" than to serenade the faithful, which will eventually drive his father to his deathbed as his heartbroken mother looks on in anguish.

When Jakie meets and falls in love with Broadway star Mary Dale (a sparkling May McAvoy), she recommends him for the lead role in a Broadway revue that promises to propel him to stardom.  But the night of his debut coincides with the services for the Day of Atonement, in which Jakie must perform as cantor lest his father die of disappointment.  It's the classic dilemma, plunging both Jakie and the viewer into a world of heartrending melodrama.

It may be difficult to understand now, but at the time Al Jolson was considered the world's greatest entertainer.  Indeed, he's earnest and engaging when performing even though his material seems incredibly corny and even maudlin nowadays.  While the majority of THE JAZZ SINGER is silent, Jolson's performance numbers are done with sound, including his ad-libbed patter between songs.  His famous quote "Wait a minute, wait a minute...you ain't heard nothin' yet!" is the line that first introduced most viewers to the world of talking cinema. 

Later, when the banished Jakie comes home to visit his beloved mother, he serenades her at the piano as Jolson ad-libs up a storm between lyrics.  His extensive dialogue here is what most impressed initial viewers and critics who found this synchonization of picture and sound to be irresistibly exciting.  Jolson's performing style continues to carry the film to new heights in the final Broadway sequence, in which he makes cinematic history belting out his heart-on-the-sleeve rendition of "Mammy" on bended knee.

While his use of minstrel-style blackface continues to be a sticking point for many viewers--Warner Brothers leads off the lengthy enclosed booklet with a disclaimer about "ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society" and is careful to feature a white-faced Jolson on the DVD cover--Jolson himself doesn't stress the usual stereotype while in the makeup and uses it mainly to get into character for his sentimental songs.  How tolerable one finds this is up to the individual viewer.

Storywise, THE JAZZ SINGER mixes the lighthearted jazz scenes and the warm, stereotypically Jewish humor with strong somber overtones that are reflected by the lovely theme music by Louis Silvers (overture and exit music are included here and are a treat).  Director Alan Crosland's lean, efficient work is augmented by some priceless opening shots of New York's lower east side.  

Swedish actor Warner Oland, who would become famous for his portrayal of Chinese detective Charlie Chan, makes an impression as Jakie's unyielding father, the quintessential old fogey, while Eugenie Besserer is Jakie's long-suffering mother Sara.  Otto Lederer adds to the Jewish-related humor as neighborhood kibitzer Moisha Yudelson. 

But it's Jolson who makes THE JAZZ SINGER as fun and involving as it is, despite being about as creaky and over-the-top sentimental as a story can be.  (Critics of the time thought so, too.)  While his performing style takes some getting used to, he's unfailingly charming and enthusiastic every second he's on the screen, giving his all during every musical number and applying himself diligently in his acting requirements as well.  It makes one wonder just how effective he must have been while interacting with a live audience.  

Disc One contains not only the film itself but also a wonderfully informative commentary by film historians Ron Hutchinson and Vince Giordano.  A 1926 Vitaphone short, "The Plantation Act", features Jolson in blackface in a performance that prompted the Warners to cast him as "The Jazz Singer" over George Jessel, who had made the role his own on stage and expected to be a shoo-in for the screen version. 

Also included are the short, "An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee", the Tex Avery cartoon "I Love to Singa", the shorts "Hollywood Handicap" and "A Day at Santa Anita", a 1947 Lux Radio Theater broadcast featuring Jolson, and the film's trailer.

Disc Two begins with a feature-length documentary, "The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk" and two rare Technicolor excerpts from the lost film "Gold Diggers of Broadway" (1929).  Also included are the following WB studio shorts: "Finding His Voice" (1929 animated cartoon produced by Max Fleischer), "The Voice That Thrilled the World", "Okay for Sound" (1946), "When Talkies Were Young" (1955), and "The Voice from the Screen", a 1926 demonstration film which explains the new technology in incredibly boring fashion.

Disc Three offers over three and a half hours of vaudeville stars in musical, dramatic, and comedy performance shorts, many of which have been newly restored by film archivists and historians.  They run the gamut from the hilarious verbal comedy of Shaw and Lee in "The Beau Brummels" and Burns and Allen in "Lambchops" to the song stylings of Baby Rose Marie ("The Child Wonder") and the music of Dick Rich and his Melodious Monarchs.  Most of these shorts are in fine condition, but some have been pieced together from existing footage.

Some may find THE JAZZ SINGER a bit of a chore to sit through.  I myself was a little bored now and then upon first viewing, but I found that it really started to grow on me after watching it for the second or third time.  It's best to pretend that you're sitting in the audience for a crowded, anticipation-charged showing in 1927, and witnessing firsthand the triumphant advent of sound as a blackfaced Jewish guy belting out "Mammy" rings the death knell for silent cinema.

THE JAZZ SINGER -- Blu-Ray/DVD review by porfle

Just Announced -- "Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season" Soaring Onto Blu-ray & DVD October 19, 2021

 

#1 Premiere on The CW This Season With Adults 18-49

"SUPERMAN & LOIS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON"
 
Contains New Extended Versions of All 15 Episodes from the Exciting First Season
 
Soaring onto Shelves on Blu-ray™ & DVD October 19, 2021

 

BURBANK, CA (July 21, 2021) – Superman saves the world, and saves his family when Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season releases on Blu-ray and DVD on October 19, 2021 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. 

Featuring never-before-seen extended versions of all 15 action-packed episodes from the first season, plus bonus features, Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD ($29.98 in Canada) and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($39.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). 

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers and to stream exclusively on HBO Max starting August 20, 2021.

After years of facing super-villains, monsters, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, one of the world’s greatest super heroes (Tyler Hoechlin) and comic books’ most famous journalist (Elizabeth Tulloch) come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever – dealing with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents!
 
With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1. Featuring all 15 episodes from the first season in high definition, as well as a digital code of the season (available in the U.S. only).

Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl, Arrow), Elizabeth Tulloch (Supergirl, Grimm), Jordan Elsass (Little Fires Everywhere), Alex Garfin (New Amsterdam), Erik Valdez (Graceland), Inde Navarrette (13 Reasons Why), Wolé Parks (All American), Adam Rayner (Tyrant), with Dylan Walsh (Blue Bloods), and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage). 

Based on the DC characters, and Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the series was developed by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, Supergirl) and Todd Helbing (The Flash, Black Sails), who executive produce alongside Sarah Schechter (All American, Riverdale), Geoff Johns (Titans, DC’s Stargirl, Wonder Woman) and David Madden (Kung Fu, Save the Last Dance).

BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES

    Superman: Alien Spirit
    Superman and Lois Legacy of Hope
    Never Alone: Heroes and Allies
    DC FanDome Panel: Superman & Lois


15 ONE-HOUR EXTENDED EPISODES

    Pilot
    Heritage
    The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower
    Haywire
    The Best of Smallville
    Broken Trust
    Man of Steel
    Holding the Wrench
    Loyal Subjekts
    O Mother, Where Art Thou?
    A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events
    Through the Valley of Death
    Fail Safe
    The Eradicator
    Last Sons of Krypton


DIGITAL
Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season available to own on Digital. Digital purchase allows consumers to instantly stream and download all episodes to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital movies and TV shows are available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and others.

BASICS
Street Date: October 19, 2021
Order Due Date: September 7, 2021
BD and DVD Presented in 16x9 widescreen format
Running Time: Feature: Approx 705 min
Enhanced Content: Approx 85 min

DVD
Price: $24.98 SRP ($29.98 in Canada)
3-Discs (3 DVD-9s)
Audio – English (5.1)
Subtitles – English SDH

BLU-RAY
Price: $29.98 SRP ($39.99 in Canada)
3-Discs (3 BD-50s)
Audio – DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 – English
BD Subtitles – English SDH
 
About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's physical and digital distribution businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.
 
About DC
DC, a WarnerMedia Company, creates iconic characters, enduring stories, and immersive experiences that inspire and entertain audiences of every generation around the world and is one of the world’s largest publishers of comics and graphic novels. As a creative division, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, interactive games, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE digital subscription service and community engagement portal. For more information visit dccomics.com and dcuniverseinfinite.com.
 
SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

Just Announced -- "Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season" Soaring Onto Blu-ray & DVD October 19, 2021

Just Announced - "Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie" -Blasting Off On Digital October 11 & On DVD October 27

Cartoon Network’s “Ben 10” Goes on His Most Out-of-this-World Adventure Yet in

"Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie"

Blasting Off on Digital October 11, 2020
Own the DVD October 27, 2020


BURBANK, CA (August 27, 2020) Ben Tennyson is back on the alien-fighting scene, and expanding to take on the universe as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie globally on Digital October 11 and on DVD October 27, 2020. Follow the alien-transforming kid hero with all-new powers and settings on this intergalactic adventure, filled with action-packed bonus content including Animatics, exclusive to the DVD. Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie carries a suggested retail price of $14.99 for Digital, $19.99 for the DVD ($24.99 in Canada), and is rated TV-Y7. Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie has an order due date of September 22, 2020.

The action-packed movie, which will air globally first on Cartoon Network, will focus around a blast from Ben’s past returning to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day. Meanwhile, Gwen and Grandpa Max team up to help protect the world in Ben’s absence. But when our boy hero is confused for the villain in space, Ben must figure out a way to get back to Earth to help save it!

“After 15 successful years, the Ben 10 franchise continues to thrive around the world,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, WBHE Senior Vice President, Originals, Animation & Family Marketing.  “From its Emmy Award-winning series to its robust toy line from Bandai, merchandise in all forms have all combined to generate more than $4.5 billion in global retail sales to date. We know that fans and newcomers alike will want to own this latest installment in the franchise’s home entertainment catalog to add to their Ben 10 collections.”

Ben 10 is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and created, and executive produced by Man of Action Entertainment (Big Hero 6, Generator Rex), with John Fang (Mixels, Generator Rex) as executive producer.

DIGITAL
Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie will be available to own on October 11, 2020. Digital allows consumers to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital is available from various retailers including iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, PlayStation, Xbox and others.

MARKETING SUPPORT
The release of Ben 10 vs The Universe: The Movie will be supported by a robust national publicity campaign; estimated to generate millions of impressions.


DVD BONUS FEATURES
·        Animatics


BASICS
Digital Release Date: October 11, 2020
DVD Release Date: October 27, 2020
Order Due Date: September 22, 2020
Presented in 16x9 widescreen format
Total Runtime: Approx. 69 minutes
Enhanced Content: Approx. 10 min
1 DVD-9s
Audio – English (5.1)
Subtitles – English SDH
Rated: TV-Y7
Digital Price: $14.99 SRP
DVD Price: $19.98 SRP ($24.99 in Canada)
UPC #: 883929723577
Catalog # 100778092


About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

About Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC)
Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC) brings together Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), as well as Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation. Among the iconic franchises, series and characters under the GKYAC banner are Looney Tunes, DC’s animated Super Heroes, Rick and Morty, Craig of the Creek, the classic Hanna-Barbera library, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, Warner Bros.’ unrivalled film library, and many more. 

GKYAC’s mission is to be the premiere global provider of kids, family, young adults, and classics content and brands. The group’s programming supplies unique and compelling content for HBO MAX, WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer platform. Uniting these award-winning networks and innovative brands helps maximize opportunities and growth potential, both as standalone businesses and as content generators, to drive and support its franchises, cross-studio initiatives as well as ratings.
Warner Bros. GKYAC’s content is currently distributed in 192 countries around the world and the division’s networks are in 500 million homes, delivered through more than 65 channels in 31 languages.

About Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a division of WarnerMedia and the #1 global animated series network, offering the best in original content for kids and families with such hits as Ben 10, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, The Powerpuff Girls, and We Bare Bears. Seen in 187 countries, over 450 million homes and in 33 languages, Cartoon Network inspires the next generation of creators and innovators by engaging its audience at the intersection of creativity and technology. Its award-winning pro-social initiatives, Stop Bullying: Speak Up and CN Buddy Network are acknowledged and often used resources for kids and adults looking for tools that can assist in dealing with the ongoing issue of bullying.
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Now, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. Warner Media is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).

About Cartoon Network Studios
Established in 2000, Cartoon Network Studios (CNS) is a global animation and interactive studio recognized for its innovative approaches to IP development and world-building. Fostering a creator-driven environment, CNS is home to hundreds of visual artists who have been a part of the studio’s many critically acclaimed and groundbreaking animated series including Adventure Time, Ben 10,Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, The Powerpuff Girls, and Victor and Valentino. CNS has also produced notable Adult Swim hits such as Primal, Samurai Jack, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. CNS has been honored with multiple awards and accolades including: Emmy, Peabody, GLAAD and Annie Awards. Internationally, the studio also garnered the BAFTA, Italy’s prestigious Pulcinella Award and Annecy Festival’s Cristal Award. Currently, CNS houses a VR lab, and produces an array of interactive formats and products for youth and young adult audiences around the world. As part of its ongoing efforts to discover unique and promising voices everywhere, the studio has a robust global Artist Program and has numerous partnerships, including Exceptional Minds, Black Women Animate and California Institute of the Arts.

Just Announced - "Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie" -Blasting Off On Digital October 11 & On DVD October 27