Watched the first two on 4K. The sound on these, especially the second, is superb. Probably the best 4K disc sound I’ve heard yet.
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@Drikus I saw this in Foyles the other day and was tempted then I read a few reviews and passed on it. What’s your view?
They don’t make 'em like this any more. In glorious Technicolor, producer-cum-one-man-UK-film-industry Alexander Korda’s extraordinary 1940s Arabian Nights fantasy, directed mostly (but not completely) by the great Michael Powell remains a feast for the senses. Conrad Viedt is wonderful as the wicked Vizier and Rex Ingram splendid as the giant genie. The cinematography and effects (despite their age) are absolutely eye-popping.
Because of the war, production transferred from Blighty to Hollywood, but there’s still something oddly British about the whole thing (it might be the Powell touch). One can see why, in the grim early years of the war, this spectacular fantasy, with its glorious and rousing Miklos Rosza score, was such a commercial and popular success.
The transfer on this BD is superb - much better, incidentally, than on the trailer below.
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One of the best films I saw lately. Great story and O’Toole is simply sublime here. Highly recommended.
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Great thanks a while before I will get up to London so just ordered on Amazon.
Just finished watching Catch 22 on C4.
‘Catch’ it while you can - you won’t be disappointed.
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Could never really get past lines like “To know a man you have to fight him”. There was a faux-profoundness across the whole movie that grated for me. Very watchable, though. Not like the sequels. (Closing credits of #2 featuring RATM’s “Calm Like a Bomb” notwithstanding)
The main reason this 1974 Carry On is remembered today is because it marks the end of an era. The last with Sid in it, the last with Hat and Babs too. The final one scripted by Talbot Rothwell. There are a few laughs, and Sid is great as a lecherous, cackling highwayman, but there’s an air of melancholy about the whole thing.
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Next week I’m going to see Coppola’s new “Final Cut” of Apocalypse Now at the pictures, so I thought I’d prepare for that by watching the 2001 “Redux” version, which adds another 50 minutes of footage. I’m not sure the extra run time does anything - I like the stuff with the Playboy bunnies and the additional Kurtz bits but the plantation scene is way too long and slows the narrative down. Still, it’s definitely not as slow as the infamous “Workprint” version - which is available on bootleg and which lasts five hours! 
This three-disc BR set is excellent though, and Vittorio Storaro’s remarkable cinematography - which uses green, orange and black as its primary palettte - and Walter Murch’s jaw-dropping sound design and film editing come across beautifully.
And this is of course Apocalypse Now, a huge, sprawling mess of a film, one that will probably never be completely to its creator’s satisfaction, but which remains - with Terrence Malick’s Badlands - the best American movie of the past half-century.
A 4K blu-ray of the new “Final Cut” is being released at the end of next month, for those interested…
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@TheKevster - firstly love the new avatar - yes I agree with your comments on the French plantation scenes.
I love the documentary Hearts of Darkness shot by Coppola’s wife which accompanies the redux set. Amazing insights like Harvey Keitel taking the lead role, Martin Sheen’s heart attack whilst filming and borrowing the helicopters from Marcos only for them to be diverted at the last moment to sort out a dust up on the Laos border. Also, nice insight into Orson Wells originally proposed film.
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Love that film. I saw it for the first time at the cinema and I have never laughed at any film so much. Indeed, it took me a while to regain my composure and attention after the stoning scene. Python at their best.
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Moulin Rouge (2001), partly because it’s been an age since I watched it, and my daughters had never seen it but wanted to. They got very involved in it and enjoyed song-spotting. I’d also forgotten just how entertaining it was. Yes, there’s a lot of larger-than-life acting, but it’s good quality so is effective. Placido Domingo’s cameos are just fabulous.
‘Just’ on DVD but noticeable how much better the DTS track was than the Dolby Digital.
Mark
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Over the weekend we watched the miniseries of Chernobyl on DVD, courtesy of Cinema Paradiso.
An excellent, if extremely unsettling dramatisation of the events that happened at Chernobyl in 1986. It’s 5 episodes in all and we split the viewing over two nights. Compelling viewing, and a slightly unnerving reminder that we have Dungeness just down the road from here…
p.s. One of the lead actors was new to me and kept reminding me of Richard Harris, particularly in his voice. Turns out it’s Jared Harris, his son.
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This is spread across two discs, isn’t it; did Cinema Paradiso send both together as a single selection?
Yes, two discs. CP sent each disc separately, one arriving on Friday and the second arriving on Saturday, so there was no big wait for the second part.
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