FILM FRENZY

Peter Falk as Columbo (Photo: Kino)

By Matt Brunson

(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.)

COLUMBO: SEASONS 1-7 (1971-1978). Second only to All in the Family as my all-time favorite TV series, Columbo remains one of the most consistently entertaining and consistently intelligent prime-time shows ever to grace the small screen. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link, it was one of the first three programs showcased on the “umbrella series” The NBC Mystery Movie (the other original rotating shows were McCloud and MacMillan and Wife), but it quickly proved to be the most popular. That’s primarily because of Peter Falk, absolutely wonderful as the trenchcoat-wearing detective whose disheveled appearance and fumbling manner were in contrast to the brilliant mind that always made sure the killer was nabbed before the end credits. The network successfully tested out the character in a pair of pilot movies (both included in this set): Prescription: Murder (1968) and Ransom for a Dead Man (1971). In the role thankfully turned down by first choice Bing Crosby because he wanted to focus on his golf game, Falk was an instant hit, and Columbo appeared in 43 mysteries over the course of the decade. (The first episode, “Murder by the Book,” was directed by a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg.) Falk returned for 24 more Columbo entries made sporadically between 1989 and 2003, and those will presumably be hitting Blu-ray in the future. Including the two pilots but not the post-70s run, Columbo earned 32 Emmy Award nominations and 10 wins, the latter including one victory for Outstanding Limited Series, three for Falk as Outstanding Lead Actor, and one for Patrick McGoohan’s supporting stint as the killer in “By Dawn’s Early Light.” There are so many superb episodes that it would be too lengthy to cite them all, but there was never a shortage of stars willing to appear on the series — the who’s who included William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Vincent Price, Janet Leigh, Donald Pleasence, Dick Van Dyke, Anne Baxter, and even Johnny Cash.

The Blu-ray set comes with a handy episode guide booklet.

Series: ★★★★

EUREKA (1983). Nothing personal against the teenage Indy, but isn’t it a bit disconcerting seeing Nicolas Roeg’s career get downsized to the point where he was forced to direct an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles? Surely the architect of a resume that includes the masterpieces Walkabout and Don’t Look Now (as well as The Man Who Fell to Earth and Performance) deserved better than being relegated to episodic TV. Yet perhaps this was always to be the fate of a maverick whose works were often unclassifiable and always unique, more so since his later projects didn’t match the critical or cult success of his earlier films (Roeg passed away in 2018, at the age of 90). Eureka is an interesting if flawed effort, a morality tale as told by a madman (or perhaps just a mad man). Gene Hackman stars as Jack McCann, a prospector whose gold strike makes him rich but also leaves him susceptible to ennui and unrest for the remainder of his life. Having settled on his own island in the Bahamas, he ignores his wife Helen (Jane Lapotaire), dotes on his daughter Tracy (Theresa Russell), fumes at Tracy’s impenetrable husband Claude (Rutger Hauer), belittles his friend and business partner Perkins (Ed Lauter), and stands up to a bullying mobster (Joe Pesci) and his right-hand man (Mickey Rourke). To paraphrase a classic line from The Third Man, McCann was born to be murdered. Eccentric even by Roeg standards, Eureka, written by Paul Mayersberg (working from the true-life tale of Harry Oakes), goes overboard with the histrionics, and even the slight supernatural tinge that defines Roeg’s movies is clumsily handled here. Yet there are some thought-provoking ideas and exchanges (love Tracy’s line to Claude, “There’s too much of you and not enough of me”), and the acting is impeccable.

There are no Blu-ray extras.

Movie: ★★½

FACE/OFF (1997). Utterly preposterous, this zany action yarn starts with a far-fetched premise and then proceeds to recklessly build on its absurdities. But, boy, does this baby deliver! With director John Woo going full-tilt, it’s hard not to get caught up in the sheer exuberance of this adrenaline rush of a movie, which centers on two men who physically swap faces and in essence are forced to become the other person. The protagonists are FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) and crazed terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), sworn enemies even before Troy murdered Archer’s young son. A shootout leaves Troy in a coma, and, through the miracle of modern science, Archer is able to temporarily swap faces with his nemesis in order to complete one last assignment. But after Troy unexpectedly awakens from his slumber, he decides to keep his new face in order to weave his web of terror from behind a federal badge. As Troy, Cage falls back on his eye-rolling hyperactivity when it’s not really necessary, but he makes up for it when essaying the Archer role, locating a passivity we rarely see from this frequently wired actor. As for Travolta, he’s in top form throughout, whether playing the ferociously dedicated Archer or the playfully sinister Troy. There are strong supporting turns as well from Joan Allen (as Archer’s wife) and Gina Gershon (as Troy’s girlfriend). The crack about Archer’s (i.e. Travolta’s) “ridiculous chin” alone makes this worth the purchase price.

Extras in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition include audio commentary by Woo and writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary; separate audio commentary by just Werb and Colleary; film historian audio commentary; a making-of featurette; deleted scenes (including a dopey alternate ending); and a 2007 piece examining Woo’s life and career.

Movie: ★★★

HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS (1983). For such a largely forgotten film, this adaptation of Earl Derr Biggers’ novel Seven Keys to Baldpate — by some accounts the ninth screen version, with four appearing in the silent era alone — holds its fair share of notable achievements. It’s the only film that brought together Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine, four giants in the horror field. It was the 24th and final movie co-starring the titanic team of Cushing and Lee. And it was the last feature helmed by Pete Walker (still alive at 84), who earlier had made his mark as the director of such controversial sex-and-gore flicks as The Flesh and Blood Show and House of Whipcord. The Cannon Group head honchos Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus (who produced the film) told Walker they wanted a horror film in the old-school tradition; with Michael Armstrong providing the script, he served up this enjoyable if slight comedy-mystery in which spoiled American author Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr.) bets his British publisher (Richard Todd) $20,000 that he can write a novel on the order of Wuthering Heights in a 24-hour period. So that he may work in peace, he travels to a Welsh mansion that’s supposed to be empty; instead, the house soon fills up, thanks to the presence of the elderly caretaker (Carradine), his grown children (Price, Cushing, and Sheila Keith), a prospective buyer (Lee), and his publisher’s assistant (Julie Peasgood). The awful Arnaz is deadly in the largest role — and the two twist endings (present in the source material) are strictly take-it-or-leave-it — but the presence of Price, Cushing, and Lee allow all the shenanigans to go down easy.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Walker; film historian audio commentary; a retrospective piece from 2012, featuring various cast and crew members; and an interview with Walker.

Movie: ★★½

JFK (1991). Upon its initial release, Oliver Stone’s best film probably graced more newspaper op-ed columns than any other picture in recent memory. Afraid of shaking the status quo, media moguls, newspaper publishers, and even former MPAA president Jack Valenti frantically took exception to the movie, with pearl-clutching editorials making it into print (our government wouldn’t lie to us, writers naively chirped), zealots comparing Stone to Leni Riefenstahl, and one cowardly magazine editor refusing to print his critic’s rave review (the critic admirably resigned in protest). But now as then, it’s best to ignore the windbags, who methinks doth protest too much anyway. JFK is an often extraordinary movie, not only in its technical prowess but also in the way Stone is able to combine historical facts with his own flights of fancy to create a motion picture that, beyond striking more than a few nerves, convincingly portrays a country at war with itself, shaken to its core and desperately trying to regain its balance after a tragedy that would forever alter the American landscape. In the role famously turned down by both Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner heads the all-star cast as determined district attorney Jim Garrison, with standout supporting contributions coming from Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, Donald Sutherland, and, as Lee Harvey Oswald, Gary Oldman. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), this won for Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson) and Best Film Editing.

JFK is being offered in a 4-disc edition with the director’s cut in 4K and Blu-ray and the theatrical version in Blu only. Extras include audio commentary by Stone; deleted and extended scenes; an alternate ending; and new interviews with Stone and Richardson.

Movie: ★★★½

PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (2023). As the parents of a 4-year-old daughter, my wife and I have seemingly spent more time these years watching G-rated TV toons than adult live-action fare. Our favorite series by far is the exceptional Bluey, with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic a distant second. My pick for the worst would probably be Superkitties, although competition comes from Alice’s Wonderland Bakery, wherein the great-granddaughter of the Lewis Carroll character spends her days making pastries. Falling somewhere in the middle is this Canadian show, a lazily written yet brightly animated series whose appeal is, naturally, Puppies! Led by a boy named Ryder, the members of the PAW (“Protect And Wag”) Patrol — German shepherd Chase, Dalmatian Marshall, cockapoo Skye, bulldog Rubble, Labrador Retriever Zuma, and mutt Rocky — stand forever ready to serve the members of the Adventure Bay community via various rescue and humanitarian efforts. The movie finds constant series foil Mayor Humdinger teaming up with the villainous Victoria Vance to obtain some crystals that will grant them superpowers. The TV series is neither inspired nor offensive, and it offers the usual kid-friendly messages of embracing cooperation and kindness (although my grown daughter, initially hearing the name and seeing the presence of a cop pup, amusingly assumed it was created to indoctrinate small children into passively and unquestioningly supporting a police state; ha, I don’t think it’s that insidious!). The movie follows suit with the life lessons, as Skye learns that being the smallest pup doesn’t mean she can’t be as effective as the others. Still, the most important life lesson is this: Adults may not be thrilled by the film, but the wee ones will lap it up.

Blu-ray extras consist of pieces on the characters and voice actors.

Movie: ★★

TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932). Of all the men who over the decades have donned the loin cloth to portray Edgar Rice Burroughs’ jungle swinger, the most popular has remained Johnny Weissmuller, the former Olympic swimmer who starred in 12 Tarzan pictures between 1932 and 1948. Yet equally as important to the success of the series was Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane; her sexy, spirited work matched up beautifully with Weissmuller’s tight-lipped stoicism, and the series largely lapsed into formula once she departed after the first half-dozen titles in the franchise. The grandly entertaining Tarzan the Ape Man is the one that kicked it off, and, along with its first follow-up, 1934’s series-best Tarzan and His Mate, it’s interesting to note the differences between these pre-Code Tarzan flicks and the ones produced after the Hays office put a tight lid on “immorality” in the movies. The level of sexuality is more pronounced in Tarzan and His Mate (there’s never any doubt when Tarzan and Jane swing off for the sole purpose of making whoopee), but the explicit violence can be found in both pictures — in the first film, it turns up in scenes like the one in which hostile natives are ground into dust under the weight of rampaging elephants. Certainly, there are uncomfortable racist elements, although they can just as easily (and accurately) be attributed to the English colonialist characters in the movie as to the Hollywood filmmakers behind the cameras: When an African servant carrying a heavy load falls to his death from a high precipice, the first question out of a white hunter’s mouth is, “What was in that pack?”

Blu-ray extras consist of the 2004 feature-length documentary Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle; the 1932 cartoons I Wish I Had Wings and Moonlight for Two; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★½

WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY (2022). Biopics are perennially lambasted for taking liberties with the truth, but that didn’t happen with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which looks at the life and career of the brilliant musical parodist. Its honesty is amazing and inspiring, touching on such easily verifiable occurrences as the lengthy love affair between Al and fellow 80s superstar Madonna, his gun battle with Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and goons, an assassination attempt on his life at a major awards show, and, most startling of all, the fact that “Eat It” was an original composition which Al actually wrote before Michael Jackson penned “Beat It.” And so it goes with this deliriously loopy comedy co-written by Yankovic and director Tim Appel, with Daniel Radcliffe hurling himself into the central role with gusto and Evan Rachel Wood almost unrecognizable as the Material Girl. With such a throw-everything-and-see-what-sticks brand of humor, it’s only natural for several gags to fall completely flat — for once, the sort of canned laughter employed on TV sitcoms would have been useful to help with those silent, laugh-free spots where a nyuk bombs. Overall, though, this is a highly amusing movie with a handful of standout bits — particularly noteworthy is the pool party attended by (among many others) Andy Warhol (Conan O’Brien), Wolfman Jack (Jack Black), Pee-wee Herman (Jorma Taccone), and even Salvador Dali (Emo Philips).

Extras in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition include audio commentary by Yankovic and Appel; a making-of featurette; interviews with Yankovic, Radcliffe, Wood, and Appel; deleted, extended, and alternate scenes; the lyric video for the new Yankovic song “Now You Know” (played over the end credits); and movie promos.

Movie: ★★★

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: SANTA CLAUS (TV episode, 1993; movie, 1959). Jolly Saint Nick has been the marquee attraction in not one but two classic episodes of MST3K. Yet while many prefer the show featuring 1964’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians — and it is a stellar episode — it’s the one showcasing 1959’s Santa Claus that deserves the lofty treatment. Quite simply, there’s nothing else out there quite like it. This dubbed version of a Mexican production plays like a particularly vivid fever dream, full of such disturbing sights as robotic reindeer, an oscillating fan with a human ear attached to it, “pleasure” lips on a large computer, and a prancing red demon who seems to perpetually be auditioning for A Chorus Line. This Santa eschews the North Pole for some undefined spot in the clouds, where he employs kids (and Merlin the Magician!) instead of elves and utilizes all manner of intrusive devices as he spies on children all over the world. The film eventually turns into a classic “good vs. evil” saga as Santa battles the dancing devil Pitch for the soul of an adorable little moppet named Lupita. It’s cinema at its most surreal — or “good old-fashioned nightmare fuel,” according to Crow — and Mike and co. seem suitably flummoxed by its more disturbing interludes. Santa Claus might not be an influential work in film history, but it’s certainly an influential work in MST3K history, as it was referenced in at least a half-dozen subsequent episodes.