FILM FRENZY

Cary Grant in North by Northwest (Photo: Warner)

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.)

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (2024). It’s too soon to determine if we’ll receive a third film titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — director Tim Burton says no, the grosses say otherwise. But just like the Maitlands in the 1988 original (the couple played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, MIA here), this entry seems to be stuck between two worlds, often working as a tuned-in sequel to the first flick but other times failing to capitalize on established material. After Charles Deetz dies in a shark attack (doubtless due to actor Jeffrey Jones being found guilty of frolicking with kiddie porn circa Y2K), bubby wife Delia (returning Catherine O’Hara), troubled daughter Lydia (returning Winona Ryder), and moody granddaughter Astrid (series newcomer Jenna Ortega) head to the spooky mansion from the first film for the funeral. There, Lydia’s opportunistic boyfriend (stock casting for Justin Theroux) clumsily allows the devilish bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) to escape from the netherworld. All these years later, Betelgeuse is still intent on marrying Lydia, who ends up needing his help when Astrid gets mixed up in a life-or-death situation. Here’s a movie that’s both overplotted and underdeveloped, with too many new characters and storylines competing with what we really want to see: Keaton getting wild and crazy as the diabolical dervish. The best of the new subplots (even if it mirrors one from this past spring’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) involves Astrid’s relationship with a local boy (Arthur Conti) — this storyline is well developed and concludes in satisfying fashion. Other bits of business — the arrival of Betelgeuse’s soul-sucking ex-wife (Monica Belucci), the exploits of a ghostly TV-actor-turned-private-eye (Willem Dafoe), Beetlejuice II: The Search for Charles — are promising but fail to gain traction.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Burton; a making-of featurette; and a discussion of the Beetlejuice character.

Movie: ★★½

BLAZING SADDLES (1974). For Mel Brooks’ Western spoof, one of the most beloved comedies of all time, five writers (including Brooks and Richard Pryor) fashioned an outrageous screenplay that centers on Bart (Cleavon Little), a black man who becomes the unlikely sheriff of a Western town. The plan, concocted by sleazy politician Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) and corrupt Governor Lepetomane (Brooks), is for the racist townspeople to rise up against their lawman, but with the help of the genial Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), Bart manages to tame all adversaries, including the lumbering dimwit Mongo (Alex Karras) and the sultry saloon performer Lili Von Shtupp (a wonderful Madeline Kahn). Little is perfectly fine in the leading role, but I daresay the film would have been even better had Pryor played the part; instead, Pryor was such a controversial figure at the time that Warner Bros. refused to finance the picture with him as the star. Nevertheless, the movie travels at a fast and furious clip, and the dialogue is endlessly quotable, whether it’s Bart threatening to “whip this out,” Mongo stating that “Mongo only pawn in game of life,” or Lily Von Shtupp declaring that “It’s twue! It’s twue!” This earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Kahn), Best Original Song (the title tune, written by Brooks and John Morris), and Best Film Editing. Brooks and Wilder also earned an Oscar nomination that same year for their adapted screenplay for Brooks’ other smash hit, Young Frankenstein.

Extras in the 4K UHD + Digital Code edition include scene-specific audio commentary by Brooks; a retrospective making-of piece; an interview with Brooks; and additional scenes.

Movie: ★★★½

THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982) / LABYRINTH (1986). Two ambitious undertakings from Jim Henson and his Muppet-making factory, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth are both lavishly realized fairy tales brooding enough to earn their PG designations. In short, don’t expect cameo appearances from Kermit or Fozzie; the worlds on view in these films are full of danger and menace, certainly too harsh for the all-inclusive G rating. Both titles have been reissued for home viewers, this time in 4K + Blu-ray Steelbook editions as well as in Limited Edition Collector’s Sets.

Just as those flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz have terrorized many a tot over countless generations, so too have the Skeksis, the villains of choice in The Dark Crystal, put the fear of God — or at least of wicked looking puppets — into youngsters who first caught this film back in 1982 (or on video in subsequent years). An epic tale in the tradition of The Lord of the Rings, the movie centers on the ages-old battle between the evil Skeksis and the gentle Mystics, with two young Gelflings (think Hobbits) holding the key to tipping the balance of power into the hands of the righteous. This was followed 37 years later by the short-lived Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Unlike The Dark Crystal, which was a decent box office performer upon its U.S. release ($41M gross against a $15M budget), Labyrinth turned out to be an underachiever ($13M gross against a $25M budget), even with George Lucas attached as executive producer and a script by former Monty Python member Terry Jones. David Bowie, regal in a role for which Mick Jagger, Sting, and Michael Jackson were also considered, headlines as the Goblin King, although the most sizable part goes to future A Beautiful Mind Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, portraying a dreamy and dreaming teenager who enters the Goblin King’s domain in order to rescue her little brother. The influence of both Maurice Sendak and Lewis Carroll can be spotted throughout the film; kudos to Brian Froud for his conceptual designs for both this and The Dark Crystal.

Extras in both Steelbook editions (sold separately) include audio commentary by Froud; a making-of featurette; a picture-in-picture track; deleted scenes; and a fan event Q&A. The Dark Crystal also offers the original Skeksis language scenes while Labyrinth also includes a contact juggling tutorial. Also available are the Collector’s Editions of both films, each featuring a physical bauble (a shard replica for The Dark Crystal, a crystal ball for Labyrinth), five art cards, a collectible sticker, and a 28-page booklet.

The Dark Crystal: ★★★

Labyrinth: ★★★

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006). Christopher Guest’s “mockumentaries” have been blessed with a generosity of spirit, a willingness on the part of their creator to allow a different member of the tight-knit ensemble to break out in each production. In 1996’s Waiting for Guffman, it was Guest himself who shined brightest, as the sweet-natured theatrical director Corky St. Clair. In 2000’s Best In Show, Fred Willard was a comic marvel as the lewd play-by-play announcer Buck Laughlin. And Eugene Levy’s work in 2003’s A Mighty Wind, as the fragile folk singer Mitch, was so memorable that he earned the Best Supporting Actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle. In For Your Consideration, the spotlight belongs to Catherine O’Hara, although it must be noted that Parker Posey trails by only a couple of steps. The film is a swipe at all the hoopla surrounding Oscar season, with an indie project called Home For Purim being touted as a possible nominee. As Marilyn Hack, the cast member deemed most likely to earn an Oscar nod, O’Hara delivers a tour de force performance, channeling all the hopefulness, rage, and despair that doubtless struck a chord with aging, frequently unemployed, and quickly forgotten thespians all across Los Angeles. Posey also benefits from landing one of her best screen roles, as the eccentric actress whose defenses against future career disillusionment slide as she similarly gets a case of award fever. The knowing screenplay by Guest (who also plays the Purim director) and Levy (cast as an obnoxious agent) yields plenty of laughs until the last act, at which point the resolution of the Oscar nom race becomes obvious to predict and the subsequent grilling of the non-nominees comes across as both cruel and unlikely.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Guest and Levy; deleted scenes; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★

FRIGHT (1971). When Scottish actor Ian Bannen plays it close to the vest, it’s a treat. When he overacts outrageously, it’s a, well, fright. Unfortunately, it’s the latter Bannen who turns up in the abysmal terror tale Fright (later reissued as I’m Alone and I’m Scared). Susan George, in the first of two 1971 films in which her character gets raped (the other being, of course, Sam Peckinpah’s notorious Straw Dogs), plays Amanda, a virginal student who agrees to babysit the son of Helen (Honor Blackman) and Jim (George Cole) at their isolated home. What Amanda doesn’t know is that the lad is actually the son of Helen’s ex-husband Brian (Bannen), who’s locked up in a mental asylum after trying to kill his wife. What none of them know until it’s too late is that Brian has escaped from said asylum and has now turned up at Helen’s house just in time to terrorize Amanda and her doofus boyfriend (Dennis Waterman). Bookended by a simplistic setup and tacky denouement, Tudor Gates’ screenplay is forced to tread water much of the time, while the direction by Peter Collinson is particularly terrible — between the pair, viewers are treated to a furtive glance from the secretive Helen every five minutes and Amanda reacting to a spooky noise every six. It’s all very unpleasant and unrewarding, especially after Bannen shows up and begins devouring the curtains, the couch, and even his own leg. There’s one scene in which Amanda, who’s scared of everything, is illogically watching a horror film on the telly — it’s recognizable as The Plague of the Zombies, and my recommendation is for viewers to check out that worthwhile Hammer gem rather than this trashy offering.

Blu-ray extras include film historian audio commentary and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★

LAST CHRISTMAS (2019). Theatrically dismissed at the time by those moviegoers whose idea of romance was watching Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck lovingly stroke a handgun, Last Christmas is a charming seriocomedy that manages to survive its rather obvious twist. Emilia Clarke is aces as Kate, a cynical woman who works in a unique shop that specializes in offbeat Yuletide items. Ever since a major operation the previous Christmas, Kate hasn’t been the same. She gets along with her laid-back father (Boris Isakovic), but it’s rare when she’s not arguing with her successful sister (Lydia Leonard) or her overbearing mother (Emma Thompson), and it’s even rarer when she allows herself any semblance of happiness. That gradually starts to change when she meets Tom (Henry Golding), an affable chap who’s perpetually insisting that she look at the bright side of life. Thompson, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Sense and Sensibility, here shares story credit with her husband (and S&S co-star) Greg Wise and screenplay credit with performance artist Bryony Kimmings. Together, the trio have concocted a disarming piece that, in true Scrooge and Grinch fashion, witnesses the slow and steady thawing of a heart in the midst of holiday festivities. The movie is so adept at capturing the spirit and warmth of the season that the big twist honestly wasn’t even needed to stick the landing. And since it’s a rather obvious one, it threatens to potentially derail the picture as it heads toward its finale. Instead, director Paul Feig and his writers have by this point so thoroughly allowed us to invest in their characters that this narrative gotcha ultimately doesn’t seem excessive and might even strike some as unavoidable.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Feig and Thompson; an alternate opening and ending; deleted scenes; and bloopers.

Movie: ★★★

LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO (1928). Last year, the Flicker Alley label released Laurel & Hardy: Year One, which provided 13 of the 15 films Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made during their first official year as a team (the other two are mostly lost). Logically, we now get Year Two, which harbors the 10 silent shorts they created in 1928. There are more solid hits than home runs in this set — the lads’ best work was still ahead of them — but fans of the team, or of silent comedy in general, can’t go wrong. Leave ‘em Laughing, in which Stan contends with a sore tooth, is notable for its extended use of the “laughing gas” gag, a surefire staple also employed in the early years by Charlie Chaplin and later seen in such pictures as The Paleface and The Pink Panther Strikes Again. The Finishing Touch, in which the boys try to build a house but fail miserably, is clever in the manner in which it provides sustained silliness, with each gag (most carpentry-related) generally building into the next one. And We Faw Down is directed by future Oscar winner Leo McCarey (The Awful Truth, Going My Way), whose fingerprints are all over numerous L&H shorts (he’s billed as “supervising director” on many of them). Its plot finds the pair sneaking out to play poker, only to be caught in a lie by their disapproving wives — this also features a gag that would be recycled, most memorably in the Peter Sellers comedy Only Two Can Play.

Blu-ray extras include film historian audio commentary on all 10 shorts; a fragment from 1927’s Now I’ll Tell One, a Charley Chase comedy featuring appearances by Stan and Ollie; 1927’s Eve’s Love Letters, one of Laurel’s final solo efforts; fragments from 1928’s Galloping Ghosts, starring a solo Hardy; and 1929’s A Pair of Tights, starring Anita Garvin and Marion Byron in one of three failed shorts that attempted to create a female Laurel & Hardy team.

Collection: ★★★

1982: GREATEST GEEK YEAR EVER! (2023). Many cineastes have long hailed 1939 as the greatest year for movies, but when it comes to the greatest year for movies that appeal to “geeks,” 1982 handily wins that battle. Sorry, but in the annals of geekdom, Wuthering Heights and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington just cannot compete with The Beastmaster and Tron. But don’t let the title mislead you. This vastly enjoyable miniseries takes a deep-dive into this rich movie year, going beyond just the popcorn flicks to tackle serious Oscar-bait films as well. Dozens of talking heads — among them Ron Howard, William Shatner, Roger Corman, Dee Wallace, plus film critics both respectable (Leonard Maltin) and “quote whore”-ish (no comment) — offer their thoughts on the 12-month period that saw the releases of such enduring favorites as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Poltergeist, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, and Night Shift. Insights are provided, on-set shenanigans are recalled, and box office performances are discussed. The focus is naturally on the blockbusters, but award contenders are also examined, among them Tootsie (reviewed in From Screen To Stream below), The Verdict (ditto), Missing (reviewed here), and Best Picture Oscar winner Gandhi (which is predictably bashed by all, Shatner and Keith David excepted). Memorable bits include a discussion of the megabomb Megaforce (star and interviewee Barry Bostwick is amusing and ingratiating), the disastrous release of the E.T. video game from Atari, and the contrast between the racial elements of two films opening the same week: 48 Hrs., the exciting “buddy cop” flick which signaled the arrival of Eddie Murphy, and The Toy, offensive rot starring Richard Pryor as a child’s plaything.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Roger Lay Jr. and writer Mark A. Altman; deleted and extended scenes; and footage from the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con Panel.

Miniseries: ★★★½

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). Everything comes together just right in this Alfred Hitchcock gem that finds the director again chasing one of his favorite themes: the innocent man falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit and forced to flee until he can prove his innocence. Here, the dupe is Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), a New York ad executive who gets mistaken for a U.S. government spy named George Kaplan. The villains (including ones played by James Mason and Martin Landau) do their best to bump off Thornhill; when that fails, they manage to get everybody in the country believing he’s a murderer. Following a cross-country trail of clues in the hopes of finding the real Kaplan and clearing his name, Thornhill picks up his only ally in Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), a woman who initially appears to be attracted to him because — well, presumably because he looks like Cary Grant. Saul Bass’ stylish opening credits and a terrific score by Bernard Herrmann (a year later, he would score Hitchcock’s Psycho) immediately establish that Ernest Lehman’s script will contain as much playful humor as nail-biting suspense, and Hitchcock directs it for maximum impact. The climactic set-piece on Mount Rushmore is a classic, yet even it takes a backseat to the legendary sequence in which Thornhill is attacked by a crop duster. This earned Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (the Mount Rushmore close-ups as well as the United Nations building interiors were recreated on Hollywood soundstages).

Extras in the 4K + Digital Code edition include audio commentary by Lehman; a retrospective making-of piece; the 2009 documentary The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style; and a lengthy promo / trailer, the sort he also did for Psycho and The Birds.

Movie: ★★★★

ONE, TWO, THREE (1961). Having read John McCabe’s excellent biography of James Cagney when it first appeared back in 1997, the tidbit I best recall was the actor’s statement that, of the countless co-stars he had over the decades, the only one he truly despised was Horst Buchholz, a supporting player in Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three. Being the only person hated by one of the greatest of all Hollywood actors — now that’s quite the achievement, if not a particularly envious one. Cagney primarily objected to Buchholz frequently trying to steal scenes, but he needn’t have worried: The younger star is OK but nothing special, whereas Cagney delivers a marvelous performance for the ages. Moving with the speed of a NASCAR vehicle, this uproarious comedy stars Cagney as “Mac” MacNamara, a senior Coca-Cola executive overseeing the company’s operations in West Berlin. Hoping for a promotion, he agrees to look after his boss’s daughter (Pamela Tiffin) when she visits Berlin for a few weeks — to his shock, he discovers that while in his care she has managed to marry a hotheaded Communist (Buchholz) from East Berlin. What follows is a dizzying, fast-paced yarn in which Mac tries to right all wrongs and save his own skin. Cagney performs at such an exhaustive, breakneck speed, it’s no wonder he retired from film immediately thereafter — he doubtless needed a long nap (I kid, but he was MIA for 20 years, until he returned for 1981’s Ragtime). A sharp satire of the era’s American and Russian philosophies, the film provides additional treats for those well-versed in politics (Khrushchev’s shoe-banging) and/or cinema (The Public Enemy, Little Caesar).

Blu-ray extras include film historian audio commentary; interviews with Wilder; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★½

SEVEN CHANCES (1925) / SHERLOCK JR. (1924). This double feature Blu-ray serves up two of Buster Keaton’s finest comedies from the silent era, and while Seven Chances is given the marquee treatment on the case, it’s Sherlock Jr. that stands as an all-time masterpiece.

Seven Chances finds Keaton playing Jimmie Shannon, a 27-year-old stockbroker who will inherit seven million dollars if he gets married by 7 p.m. on the very day he learns of his good fortune. (If that plotline sounds familiar to fans of The Three Stooges, it’s because the knuckleheads employed it in not one but two of their shorts, 1947’s Brideless Groom and 1956’s Husbands Beware.) Attitudes at the time result in a few uncomfortable moments (particularly those involving black characters), but the final third of the picture constitutes one of Keaton’s defining set-pieces, as his hapless groom-to-be is chased by countless wanna-be brides and soon finds himself also dodging dozens of rolling rocks.

Mercilessly edited down by Keaton after preview audiences didn’t provide the desired reaction, Sherlock Jr. turned out to be a soft performer for the risk-taking filmmaker. The only terrible thing about it, though, is its brief 45-minute running time, since a movie as brilliant as this one could only have benefitted from additional reels. Fans of 1926’s The General will disagree, but this is perhaps the best of all Keaton features, an absolutely dazzling comedy in which a movie-theater projectionist falls asleep on the job and imagines himself as a detective in the films being shown up there on the silver screen. The gags are laugh-out-loud funny, the stuntwork is breathtaking, and the visual innovations are astounding. For a terrific double feature, watch this in tandem with its most obvious descendant, Woody Allen’s 1985 marvel The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Film critic audio commentary is offered for both movies. Other extras consist of the aforementioned Three Stooges short Brideless Groom, and an earlier short with a similar plot, 1904’s How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns, directed by The Great Train Robbery helmer Edwin S. Porter for Thomas Edison’s production company.

Seven Chances: ★★★½

Sherlock Jr.: ★★★★

THE TERMINATOR (1984). Still a toss-up between The Terminator and Aliens as to which James Cameron picture ranks as his best (sorry, but the Avatar flicks don’t even enter the conversation), this propulsive yarn about a murderous cyborg has long staked its claim as a classic — science fiction or otherwise — for the ages. In retrospect, it’s hard to believe it only grossed $38 million during its original run and received reviews that, while largely favorable, were hardly raves (give Time credit, then, for being one of the few major publications to include it on its year-end “10 Best” list). But the film found its sizable audience on video and went on to spark Arnold Schwarzenegger’s superstar status, although I would argue that the real star of this first picture is Linda Hamilton. Arnie plays the title terror, an unstoppable cyborg sent from the post-apocalyptic world of (gulp) 2029 back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton, terrific), the woman whose unborn son will potentially save humanity from the machines. But also skipping through time is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier who’s been sent back solely to protect Sarah. The fantasy elements satisfy, the action sequences are electrifying, and Brad Fiedel’s score retains its muscular charge. And yes, the rumor is true: Cameron considered O.J. Simpson for the role of the Terminator but ultimately felt audiences wouldn’t accept him since he was “too nice.” (For a look at 1984, one of the greatest years in cinema history, go here. And for a look at the other films that joined The Terminator on my 10 Best of 1984 list, go here.)

Extras in the 4K UHD + Digital Code edition include a retrospective featurette; seven deleted scenes; and a look at the visual effects and the music.

Movie: ★★★★

TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA (1970) / PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971) / THE EIGER SANCTION (1975). Three films from Clint Eastwood’s seventies run are now making their 4K Ultra HD debuts in new 4K + Blu-ray editions from Kino.

Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine make an unlikely but surprisingly effective team in Two Mules for Sister Sara, an enjoyable Western directed by Don Siegel. The name of Eastwood’s character is Hogan, but it might as well be The Man with No Name, given the obvious similarities to the iconic figure from Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns. The action kicks off when Hogan rescues a woman named Sara from a gang of hoodlums and quickly discovers that she’s actually a nun. Despite being drawn to her, Hogan is respectful of her calling and protects her against various threats, learning along the way that Sister Sara can hold her own in many circumstances. They agree to team up in order to help Mexican revolutionaries in their fight against the occupying French forces — he for the money, she for supposedly more noble reasons. You can count on one hand the number of times Eastwood shared marquee billing with a female star (The Bridges of Madison County with Meryl Streep and Million Dollar Baby with Hilary Swank are among the few others), and the light comic touch provided by MacLaine (who’s actually billed first in the on-screen credits if not on the posters or in the trailers) successfully works in tandem with the sardonic approach preferred by her co-star.

The psycho-thriller Play Misty for Me was notable as the first film directed by Eastwood, made after he felt he had learned enough from his mentors Siegel and Leone. Employing the same basic plotline that would later become even more popular in 1987’s Fatal Attraction, this critical and commercial hit stars Eastwood as Dave Garner, a late-night radio disc jockey who, before getting back together with his girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills), has a fling with an overenthusiastic fan named Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter). It soon becomes clear that Evelyn has an unhealthy attraction to Dave, with her obsession eventually leading to violence. A crisp and economical picture, this finds Walter delivering a truly unsettling performance and also features ace supporting turns from John Larch as a testy detective, Clarice Taylor as Dave’s wise-cracking housekeeper, and Siegel himself as Dave’s bartender buddy. Roberta Flack’s version of “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” was chosen by Eastwood for inclusion in one scene; this exposure subsequently led to the song’s explosion, as it hit #1 on the Billboard charts and won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Of the 15 starring vehicles for Eastwood during the 1970s, the 1972 Western Joe Kidd and the 1975 espionage flick The Eiger Sanction are generally considered the runts of the litter, frequently criticized before being dismissed out of hand. Yet I’ve always found both to be highly enjoyable watches distinguished by exemplary casts. (For my money, the only truly awful Eastwood effort from the decade is 1977’s The Gauntlet, an idiotic cop flick that also features poor Sondra Locke’s worst-ever performance.) In The Eiger Sanction, Eastwood plays Jonathan Hemlock, an art professor who once worked as an assassin for a shady organization. He returns to the fold assigned with discovering the identity of the man who helped murder a former colleague; all intel suggests that said character will be taking part in a treacherous climb in the Swiss Alps, a development that will require Hemlock to revive his own skills as a mountain climber. Even the naysayers have praised the formidable mountain-climbing sequences that take up the bulk of the final act (Eastwood impressively did most of his own stunts), but the first two thirds are just as entertaining in their own right. George Kennedy adds some appreciated warmth as Hemlock’s garrulous friend from his climbing days.

This edition of Two Mules for Sister Sara contains the 114-minute international version on 4K and the 105-minute U.S. cut on Blu-ray. Extras include film historian audio commentary; a vintage interview with Eastwood; and the theatrical trailer, which oddly doesn’t include any footage of MacLaine in her nun outfit (was the studio afraid audiences would somehow confuse it with The Singing Nun? Or TV’s The Flying Nun?). Extras on Play Misty for Me include film critic audio commentary; a retrospective behind-the-scenes piece; an interview with Mills; and a look at the movie’s various poster designs (including ones that reveal the movie was originally titled The Slasher). Extras on The Eiger Sanction include film historian audio commentary; an interview with co-star Reiner Schöne (who plays the cocky climber Freytag); and a vintage promotional piece.

Two Mules for Sister Sara: ★★★

Play Misty for Me: ★★★

The Eiger Sanction: ★★★

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

ANNIE (1982) / THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (1982). Of the top 10 grossing films of 1982, the only ones not featured in 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! are the two musicals which were based on Broadway hits and opened theatrically during the summer season.

As a property, Annie had the larger pedigree, but this film adaptation is dreadful, ranking with 1980’s Phobia (reviewed here) as the worst picture of director John Huston’s generally stellar career. This version was critically hammered in most quarters back in the day, but in an example of the sort of historical revision that has sadly now become the norm in Trump’s AmeriKKKa, it only took the 2014 release of a superior new take starring a black girl (Quvenzhane Wallis) for many to suddenly declare that the ’82 model is a national treasure. Don’t you believe it. This remains an abomination, a clockwork lemon that’s bloated, charmless, and artificial. Albert Finney tries hard as Daddy Warbucks, but Aileen Quinn is a bland Annie, and Carol Burnett flails grotesquely as Miss Hannigan (to be fair, always a difficult part to nail). This did earn a pair of Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Music, Adaptation Score, but the Razzies were more on target with nods for (among others) Worst Picture and Worst Director.

Like Annie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas did well at the box office ($69M to Annie’s $57M) but earned rather unenthusiastic reviews. Nevertheless, it’s a movie that never fails to entertain me, with its bright performances, amusing musical numbers, and a soundtrack that still has a place in my CD collection. Dolly Parton plays Miss Mona, who runs the title establishment, while Burt Reynolds is cast as her paramour, Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd. All’s fun and games at Miss Mona’s establishment until zealous TV personality Melvin P. Thorpe (Dom DeLuise) sets his sights on closing it down. Among the musical highlights are “A Lil’ Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place” and “Texas Has a Whorehouse in It,” but the highlight is easily Parton’s gorgeous rendition of her 1974 hit “I Will Always Love You” (it’s irksome that the song is best known because of Whitney Houston’s adaptation when Parton’s version is perfection). Charles Durning is a hoot as The Governor, hoofing and singing to “The Sidestep” — he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his efforts.

Annie: ★

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: ★★★

TOOTSIE (1982). In 1959, Billy Wilder made the brilliant cross-dressing comedy Some Like It Hot, and 23 years later, it was Sydney Pollack who helmed another classic gem in the same mold. (Perhaps not coincidentally, these two titles topped the American Film Institute’s 2000 list of the 100 funniest movies ever made.) Tootsie marks one of those rare occasions when a troubled production and a revolving door of writers did not sink a film; on the contrary, the result proved to be a critical smash and a box office bonanza, grossing more than any other 1982 release save for the record-busting E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dustin Hoffman stars as temperamental New York actor Michael Dorsey, who learns from his agent (played wonderfully by Pollack himself) that nobody will hire him. Donning a dress and wig, he auditions as “Dorothy Michaels” for a female role in a popular soap opera. He lands the job, which leads to a number of complications: He has little time for his neurotic friend (Teri Garr), he constantly fights with the show’s chauvinistic director (Dabney Coleman), and he finds himself falling in love with the program’s leading lady (Jessica Lange). The gender politics, while still spot-on, seem more surface-skimming than before, but everything else about this topflight comedy still works beautifully. Hoffman is magnificent in his dual role, while Bill Murray stealthily steals scenes as Michael’s deadpan roommate. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress (Teri Garr, RIP), its only winner was Lange for Best Supporting Actress.

Movie: ★★★★

THE VERDICT (1982). Talk about wretched timing: Did Paul Newman even have a reasonable shot at the Best Actor Academy Award for 1982? In many other years (say, 1984, when F. Murray Abraham won for Amadeus), the veteran would likely have been a near-lock, but not in this contest. On one side was Gandhi’s Ben Kingsley (the Academy’s choice) and on the other was Tootsie’s Dustin Hoffman (my choice), and even the sentimental factor — coupled, of course, with that note-perfect performance — wasn’t enough to place him in the winner’s circle. (He would finally win for the belated sequel to 1961’s The Hustler, 1986’s The Color of Money.) Working from David Mamet’s lean script (adapted from Barry Reed’s novel), Newman stars as a boozy lawyer struggling down the comeback trail via a medical malpractice suit. No one gives him a shot at winning, especially against a polished opposing attorney (James Mason), which means he also has crippling self-doubt as one of the challenges placed before him. This was nominated for five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Mason), Best Director (Sidney Lumet), and Best Adapted Screenplay. And yes, the long-standing trivial tidbit is accurate: That is indeed a 20something, pre-Moonlighting Bruce Willis as an extra in the final courtroom scene.

Movie: ★★★½