Essential Paperback & Audiobooks to Own : Feb 2024 Edition – The Essential Marc Olden!

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you new to this blog I am a huge fan of men’s adventure pulps/paperbacks of the 70s and 80s. The 70s and 80s explosion of Men’s adventure mags was a revival of sorts of the pulp craze of the 30s and 40s that featured such characters as THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, and THE SPIDER; but the 70s replaced the more costumed and fantastical elements, with a more militarized protagonist. Gone was the rich self-directed playboy vigilante, and instead you had these built weapons, these blunt weapons, conscripted into various agencies and their hidden shadow wars against enemies beyond the reach of traditional law enforcement.

Ian Fleming’s 14 book series James Bond, is in many ways its own age and genre of pulp, running from 1953 to 1967, it bridges the gap from the 30-40s pulps, and its success gives birth and creates the mold for the 70s/80s pulps.

Of these 70s, 80s pulps, I was introduced to the genre with THE EXECUTIONER MACK BOLAN (A long lived series starting in 1969, Don Pendleton wrote 37 of the first books before selling the series, which has continued into the 21st century) followed by the DESTROYER: REMO WILLIAMS books (one of my favorites, this series started in 1971 by the prolific and talented Warren Murphy. Arguably one of the most successful and longest running men’s adventure pulps, it continues to this day in various formats ) and have sampled many other takes on this genre since, but without doubt my favorite of this bunch is one of  the shortest lived… Marc Olden’s BLACK SAMURAI.

Marc Olden’s BLACK SAMURAI which ran for only eight books. But my gosh, what an eight books! What is amazing about these books, besides how great each one is, is how prolific Marc Olden was. He wrote and had published the first five books in THE SAME YEAR!!! And then the last three books in the next year. Eight books running from 1974 to 1975, The books by all reports sold well, before the publication inexplicably ended.

But despite their relatively short publishing life, these books stand out as the height of the medium; brilliantly written, with a veracity in terms of the action scenes (Marc Olden in addition to being a great writer was a life-long martial artist) and an empathy in terms of the characters, that was novel in a Men’s Action genre that dealt typically in stereotypes.

I had the great pleasure to do an interview with Diane Crafford (Marc’s Partner) regarding Marc Olden, I direct you to that earlier interview on this blog, but suffice to say he was a fantastic writer, and would go on to write several works outside of the BLACK SAMURAI franchise, two of which I consider absolute masterpieces, POE MUST DIE and BOOK OF SHADOWS.

However his BLACK SAMURAI series for me stands as some of the best and most beautiful of a very specific period of time; and those original Signet paperbacks, with those beautiful painted covers, are woefully and criminally out of print. And yes you can still pick these up in ebook form, and even in a newer trade format, but you really need to read that book with that Signet Art, that Signet aesthetic, as it properly sets the stage for the work within.

I hope this series gets a new printing that will do what those original Signet paperbacks did, be works of art inside and out. But till that happens I HIGHLY recommend using the links to pick up these Signet paperbacks while you can. Purchasing thru the links earn this Blog a few appreciated pennies, but whether you use the links or get these offline, I strongly urge getting them. These books are like the protagonist of the series, Robert Sands, the best of a time and a place.

 

In addition to picking up the SIGNET paperbacks from 1974 and 1975, the eight audio books are fantastic! With a great voice actor bring to life the escapades of Robert Sand’s BLACK SAMURAI. Don’t let the audio books disappear on you like the paperbacks have, Pick them up today! And you can also pic up the aforementioned POE MUST DIE and BOOK OF SHADOWS in their original paperback versions and in audio-book form. Voice actor is brilliant here as well, so these are must own. I’ll put links to those up as well. (There seems to be various audio book versions, so I can’t speak on the quality of the new ones. I’ll provide a link to the ones I have checked out and recommend.)

 

 

 

Most Disappointing Movie of 2024?? The acclaimed WHEN EVIL LURKS???

 

 

So yes WHEN EVIL LURKS is a 2023 Horror Movie that made MANY Best of the year lists. Directed by Demian Rugna who got on my radar I think in 2021 or  2022 when his 2017 film TERRIFIED finally made it on to SHUDDER. Not the crappy Torture Porn clown films called TERRIFIER, I’m talking about Rugna’s beautifully made, sensationally performed, and actully scary masterpiece TERRIFIED.

I really have very little interest in movies about humans being horrible to each other, there is enough of that in our nightly news. Of my fiction, I want it to be even in the genre of Horror, especially in the genre of Horror… I want it to (and I guess this comes from my UNIVERSAL MONSTER, HAMMER HORROR TV marathon roots) be tinged with the fantastic.

And TERRIFIED Does that but more, it is a genuinely masterful film. It joins a small handful of films such as IT FOLLOWS and THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, REC, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (like REC don’t let the diminishing returns of the sequels blind you to just how game changing and impactful the first film was), THE DESCENT, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, MANDY, BONE TOMAHAWK, A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, PONTY POOL, GINGER SNAPS 3 (Best of the series), WOLFMAN as true cinematic marvels and gifts of this still young century. And all of them share this common theme of mortal man and their brushes with the other, with the Fantastic.

So I LOVE Demian Runga’s TERRIFIED (ATERRADOS). As soon as it came to Bluray I purchased it. And was always on the lookout for anything new by this filmmaker. Last year WHEN EVIL LURKS  was all the talk on the streaming channels, and the talk was all glowing, I almost bought the film sight unseen.

But I waited. Here in 2024 I found the film on Amazon Prime to rent at a good price (only $3.99, I typically never rent films anymore. I figure that rental fee could go toward purchase of the actual Dvd, Bluray or UHD) and I watched the film.

 

And the film starts well, is well shot, and the premise, the conceit of the movie, of this particular brush with the fantastic,is very rich. I can see world of film around this concept, it is that provocative of a concept. Where the film goes wrong for me is in the execution. For such a smart concept, the protagonist is progressively stupider and stupider, until it actual becomes annoying. He is told repeatedly don’t do this or people will die, and repeatedly he does exactly what he is told not to… and people die. Over and over again. And whereas in TERRIFIED the Horror snuck up on you, and live up to its name. Here every scene, with a couple exceptions you see coming. It’s all very telegraphed, so you are closing in on the end, stuck watching a character, you have lost all empathy for, he should be the one dying not those around him.

By the ending I felt let down by the movie. By the writing, by ultimately the story and inept story beats (Why are you splitting up, why leave mom alone with you know what?). And I really wanted to like this film. From writing to direction to editing the team behind TERRIFIED is the same as WHEN EVIL LURKS, but unfortunately the former is one of my favorite films of the last few years, and the latter is so far my biggest disappointment of 2024.

Grade: C-/D+.

Movie of the Day : MACARTHUR (1977) by Director Joseph Sargent

1977’s MACARTHUR is largely a forgotten film, by a largely unjustly forgotten director.

Joseph Sargent was a young, new breed of director who would get his start in the 1960s directing TV shows, back in an age where directing TV was the B league, a stepping stone to the A league… directing theatrical releases.

Sargent, credited with 92 directing jobs, would do the vast majority of those jobs for TV, but he had a brief stint of a few theatrical releases, sandwiched in his long TV career as director. 

Sargent made his brief leap to the A league with some compelling and gripping features, dealing largely with the strange and dangerous place the late 60s, early 70s found us in. Namely an America and an American people caught in that brief, little understood period, where change and growth was not just a possibility, but an active path. Where we for a moment embraced this idea of a nation of the people, by the people, for the people, could actually be realized; where at the very least the conversation could be had.

This was a time sandwiched between the McCarthy 50s and the Reagan 80s, before America sold out to its corporate overlords, and the last defenders of American liberty and truth, Newspapers, were dismantled. Sargent’s films of the 70s, reflect the growing pains and possibilities of a changing, turmoiled America, at a crossroads between Liberty and Control; In an age before the corporate overloads learned to weaponize our illusions of freedom against us.

Sargent’s movies are gripping sign-posts to hard times, that were still replete with… possibilities. Among some of Sargent’s few theatrical movies are THE MAN (1972 – regarding the first Black President, and woefully unavailable on streaming or physical media) , NIGHTMARES (1983 Horror Anthology), THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (An undisputed masterpiece from 1974), and the film this post is dedicated to… his followup to PELHAM, 1977’s  MACARTHUR.

MACARTHUR sports a gripping score, a superb latter-day Gregory Peck role. Gregory Peck was very much a star as a young man, however his performances could be somewhat limited and wooden, I really find his later performances as an older man, is where he grows into his stardom. His 60s and 70s performances, are all just amazing. Gregory Peck grew into a great actor, and that greatness, and gravity are in full display in his role of MacArthur. In addition to score and acting, the film boasts some tremendous direction, that, seeing it for the first time in 2023, can be called nothing less than enthralling and epic.

Unfortunately this would be Sargent’s last theatrical film of note, and with a few un-noteworthy exceptions, he would finish out his career in TV. Why a film of such quality as MACARTHUR and the previous TALKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3, did not lead to a longer theatrical career is unknown, and seemingly unfortunate.

However thankfully we do have MACARTHUR. You can sample it on Streaming, but I highly recommend the Indicator Blu-ray release that includes both versions, the US and UK version. The US version, is the longer version, and is the way to go. The UK version, cuts minor scenes and adds a small scene between MacArthur and the Emperor of Japan, but that scene actually does not add anything to the story telling, and is a bit out of place, and feels like it weakens and confuses the narrative rather than strengthening it. It was wisely left on the cutting room floor in the US release.

Though with the Indicator release you can view this short minute sequence (that occurs at the 1 hour and 28 minute mark) and then return to the US release to conclude the movie.

All in all this is a fantastic film, and kudos to Blu-ray label Indicator for making this film available on Physical media. Streaming is nice, but ephemeral. I fear for the longevity of films that are left only to the impermanence of streaming. Hopefully a label will also release Sargent’s THE MAN.

In the meantime MACARTHUR, courtesy of British label INDICATOR is a wonderful addition to better home movie collections everywhere. Grade: A-.

Get your copy here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the RUST Alec Baldwin Manslaughter Case and the Fate of Weapons Masters and the call for CGI augmented prop guns.

A lot of people have weighed in on this tragedy.

Some with agendas, some with axes to grind, some with pain to share, some with outrage to place.

I say the following as someone who is a gun owner, but absolutely believes in stricter gun laws. Absolutely believes you should have a background check for guns, and for guns capable of mass murder, waiting periods, psyche test, and sales excluded based on a history of violent issues or mental issues. I believe the same rigid testing, what has been called psychopath testing, should be required not just for purchasing of high capacity weapons, but to be a politician, a police officer, a prison guard, in the military, etc.

I say the above to let you know that the following does not come from a knee-jerk, “don’t touch my guns” place.

If it saves lives, take all our guns; and give us all swords.

No the RUST case, I see a Tragedy.

I feel bad for all involved, of course the family of the victim, but also the cast and crew touched by this accident, including Alec Baldwin.

Obviously there was culpability and incompetence on this set, enough incompetence that six live bullets ended up on set, and one ended up in a gun, that ended a life.

I’m not here to argue who should have been charged and who should not have, chargers have been proffered and hopefully it will clarify the mistakes of that day, and while nothing will repair the damage of that day, hopefully it will give some framework to the tragedy, and at the very least some additional impetus to future productions to increase or at least adhere to established safety protocols.

Cause here’s the thing, every talking head that has discussed this has railed that this is a call for change in Hollywood, and “removing live weapons from set is the answer, live guns is the cause, and prop guns with CGI effects is the answer.”

To that I say, with all respect, you have to see with better eyes then that.

There is a 100 years of cinema checks and balances in place, security measures in place, to stop accidents like this. To catch accidents like this. And that process works. Lets say a 1000 movies (both theatrical, and broadcast, and streaming)  a year, for a hundred years of cinema, so a 100000 movies at the low end, a 100,000 movies, millions of guns shot, swords slashed, cars crashed, heavy artillery fired, buildings and bridges blown up, and you can count on fingers and toes, the fatalities, rather than those fatalities being in the millions.

And that is because of a system the has worked and is working, The Weapons Masters. These guys for a hundred years, have given cinema its exciting fiction, while keeping people safe and alive.

The fact that it didn’t work in the RUST case, was because the rules, the safety checks were not followed. Was because the checks and balances that a competent Weapons Master brings to a set, was obviously not in use on this set.

So the peanut gallery’s kneejerk reaction is to “do away with live guns, and use prop guns that look like real guns, but can’t fire so are absolutely safe and we add the ,muzzle flash with CGI. Job Done, right? Who needs Weapons Masters when we eliminate operable guns?”

So now everyone drinks this koolaid, and they dismantle and fire weapons masters because no one is using real guns, “no need. We are safe now.” You have never been more wrong.

This mindset that you are now safe, is a horrible mindset for safety. Flies in the face of security. There is a lot of horrible things about fear, but one redeeming part of fear… fear if you listen to it, can keep you from harm, can teach you caution, can teach you respect, can teach you to stay alive.

You now create an atmosphere without checks and balances, because everyone assumes they are using inoperable guns, no need for fear, no need for caution, no need for checks and balances. So what happens when the same type of person who would bring live bullets to a set, instead brings a 3d printed prop gun, with live rounds in the chamber. In your new perfect CGI prop set, people end up just as dead.

And with the checks and balances of a proper movie, these tragedies become the norm, not the exception.

The RUST case was a tragedy, but the take away from that tragedy can not be to gut an overhaul a system that has saved lives and limbs for a hundred years, the takeaway must be to have productions strictly adhere to the protections that are in place to keep people safe. And an Indie production must prove it has qualified weapons masters and checks and balances in place, prior to being insured/going into production.

 

That is the solution, not knee-jerk outcrys for wholesale change, change that opens up its own untested issues, but to give teeth to the protections already in place, and productions and individuals… bound by them.

 

Here endeth the Lesson.

 

FIVE Standout 3D Bluray Discs that are way better viewing experiences than UHD/4K!

FORCE AWAKENS

GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS

Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon

LIFE OF PI

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ang Lee

 

The Last Hurrah: Seminal Physical Media Box Sets – Indicator’s MARLENE DIETRICH 6 film Boxset!

Marlene Dietrich & Josef von Sternberg at Paramount, 1930-1935 (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray] [2019]

 

 

I’ve had this boxset for a year or so, but am just now finishing all the films and all the special features. I really had no interest in Marlene Dietrich or Joseph Von Sternberg, or this boxset.

Just as an art object, I thought it was one of the most beautiful looking boxsets I had seen, but I had a hard time spending money on 6 romance films, that I likely wasn’t going to like, based just on the boxart.

So I did not buy it when it first came out, or for the first few sales over the following year. What got me to finally decide to purchase was I picked up a movie from Joseph Von Sternberg, not starring Dietrich, called THE LAST COMMAND.

And I was BLOWN AWAY.

This was from frame one, a master Director, his composition of shots, use of camera movements, beauty of the frame. I felt watching that film, the way I felt discovering Welles’ CITIZEN KANE or David Lean’s GREAT EXPECTATIONS or The Hugh’s Brothers MENACE 2 SOCIETY, it made me LOVE cinema.

Each time. Each film.

They made me a lover of cinema, and a devotee of that director.

So following up on THE LAST COMMAND, Indicator’s MARLENE DIETRICH & JOSEPH VON STERNBERG Boxset became a must buy.

Now having lived with this Boxset for over a year, seen the films and the special features, and I can confidently say it is one of my favorite purchases of the last couple of years. And the films, are not what I thought. They are about romance yes, but they are about more… they are about drama, and war and intrigue and loss and hope and sacrifice.

Small Melodramas, of the pangs of love, told against the backdrop of events great and small. But more the film is a showcase of a passionate union between a star a director and a costume designer, and together they created glamour, in the original definition of the word, a sorcery– a construct of beauty, for an age that needed it.

Together they moved the needle, they defined iconic.

This Boxset from Indicator, likewise moves the needle now, and is iconic and a must own.

Click the images for more info, or to pick up a boxset of your own. Criterion has a region A boxset of its own, the content with the exception of some of the special features is largely the same. The difference is the quality of the box part of the boxset.

 

The Criterion release sports boring, uninspired stock photo with not especially interesting typography for the box art, and a really cheap, thin cardboard box, Whereas Indicator commissions lavish, stunning painted artwork for their boxset, and the quality of the box is a durable, thick solid, not easily dented or warped box.

One is a work of art made to endure and be worthy container for the films within, one is not.

But if you just want to watch the films, and are not concerned with quality of the box part or the boxet, or want the features that are not on the Indicator set, than by all means pick up the Criterion set as well.

However if you can only get one, Indicator is the one to get.

For another, and more comprehensive view on the boxset check out SOLITARY RONIN”S simply essential coverage at the link below. If you are not subscribed to SOLITARY RONIN you are missing out on what I genuinely consider, one of the most informed and most informing channels on film you can find not just on Youtube, but anywhere. He and a handful of other channels are a film-school in a box. So definitely do yourselves a favor, subscribe to him and check him out. 

Hope you found this post of interest, and if you did please like, subscribe and email/comment.

Till next time… be well.

 

“But I think it’s safe to say the six films they (Director Joseph Von Sternberg, Star Malene Dietrich and Paramount’s Lead Costume Designer Travis Banton) made together during this five year period produced some of the most remarkable images, most stunning costumes and iconic moments of cinema history.”–Nathalie Morris in the Sarah Appleton helmed and Samm Dunn and John Morrissey produced 2019 Indicator Special Feature, STYLING THE STARS (can be found on the Indicator DEVIL IS A WOMAN Blu-ray, part of the Marlene Boxset)

What Spencer Tracy and Stanley Kramer’s 1960 INHERIT THE WIND has to say to the current sitting UNSUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES in 2022

 

“Henry Drummond: Can’t you understand? That if you take a law like [abortion rights] and you make it a crime —, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it. And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we’ll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!”

 

I don’t know if you can say it any better than that. Even if you have never watched the movie, go look up just that performance by Spencer Tracy, it is one of the greats. Ostensibly about Evolution, the quote also works well for voter suppression, civil rights, and female contraceptive and abortion rights.

And here’s the thing… I’m not in favor of Abortions. It is too my mind a crushing thing. But here’s the thing it is even more a crushing thing to the woman who needs it. No one is in favor of an Abortion. The Abortion itself is not a pleasant or sought after thing. It is a thing of circumstance and for the one who has to make that choice… necessity.

A man does not want anyone telling him what to do with his guns, yet for some reason they feel women should have less rights over their own body and reproductive choices than men demand for inanimate objects. Unless you are going to raise that fetus into adulthood, and support mother and child comfortably for the duration, you don’t get a say over her private choice.

By the pro-life argument, applied to men, women should have the right to tell you what to do with your sperm. Why stop with the fertilized egg having rights that trump the host? Why not also grant the sperm rights that trump the host? Taken to that standard — masturbation or sex for any reason outside of procreation should be considered as much a crime as abortion. If pro-lifers had to apply their nonsensical extremist standard to men that they apply to women, I guarantee you the pro-life movement would find itself quickly and drastically devoid of supporters.

I’m being a little facetious here but you get my point.

 

 

 

And here 62 years removed from INHERIT THE WIND, from the enlightenment that gave us that courageous movie and that courageous speech, we find the grand children of that enlightened age…  marching backward. Buoyed by the not yet dead relics and slaves of a much romanticized “never was” antebellum glory, and the dream of Reich… that in reality— was never more than a nightmare.

Living out the fractured dreams of men who had their chance and squandered it, and want the young to go backward into their follies and their lament. Old fools leading young fools… into the Holocaust.

What a waste of energy and lives and potential.

Here in an age of science fiction and possibilities, to be led by Dinosaurs into regression and cannibalism and witch-hunts… to go crawling backwards as a nation and a species… when so many have given and sacrificed so much… for the rights you would let the vermin of an atrophied age… defecate on.

I think we should not allow that.

I think we should fight.

 

I think The Supreme Court, The Trumps, The Nazis, The KKK, The loss of Journalism and Newspapers, The usurping of media Mass and Social by the interests of elitism and hate, the proponents of the rights of gun manufacturers and corporations…. I think we should fight them all.

And by fits and starts… drive them into the sea.

Click the banner above to get involved.

Like, comment, subscribe, but most of all… think. In an age where so few do, …think, ponder, ruminate, and with a clear and focused mind—- say ‘this far, no further’.

May God, whichever God you bend your knee to… Keep you, and preserve you, and strengthen you, not to in all things be right (that is the stance of the zealot and the enemy) but rather the empathy to draw a line, between right and wrong…. and the conviction and the strength to hold and fight for that line.

 

Streaming TV Guide of the Day : 1 Jan 2022 – Youtube Edition

 

 

Movie Diary : 2022 Day 1- 01012022- UNDERWORLD AWAKENING 3D and PINA 3D from Criterion!

 

 

 

So my first movie viewing of 2022 is one that came into my 3D collection in the last couple of weeks of 2021, and I am just now getting a chance to give it a spin on my 3D projection system.

I am speaking of UNDERWORLD:AWAKENING. The 3D Blu-ray reviews on it were mixed, so I thought I would find out for myself. Generally the 3D is very similar to the quality of the movie, okay but nothing great.

I am a fan of a good creature feature, and even CGI laden werewolf transformation scenes are always fun to watch. You kinda know what you are getting with this UNDERWORLD franchise and this one delivers what you would expect.

Regarding the 3D, a couple of things really work against stereo imaging, even for natively shot 3D. Dark or underlit/dreary/ low contrast scenes, particularly night scenes, being one of the nemesis of good stereoscopy and poor shot compositions that flatten out the depth rather than accentuating it, being the 2nd one. A film like the first DOCTOR STRANGE… people tend to confuse great visual effects with 3D, when in actuality DOCTOR STRANGE has (for the most part) deplorable 3D, sporting both dreary, underlit scenes and poor/flat compositions.

This film, UNDERWORLD AWAKENING, is not flawed to that degree; it actually has good shot composition– designed to make use of 3D, but is hampered by the fact that 90% of the film takes place at night or in low light situations, effectively undermining the very separation you are trying to get in a stereoscopic movie.

Still there is enough 3D to be noticeable and given the choice I would much rather watch this film in even muted 3D, then without. So worth a look. Grade: C- for the movie and C- for the 3D.

Now onto PINA.

 

I knew very little about the film PINA, before watching it today. I knew it was the only 3D release that seminal Boutique Blu-ray company Criterion has released. I knew it was in some way to deal with dance.

Now having seen it, I completely do not understand how this film is virtually never mentioned, even by die-hard Criterion experts and fans. This is clearly one of Criterion’s best and most essential releases.

PINA, by the great director Wim Wenders, is at once a love letter to a calling — a vocation, while also being as moving an eulogy as one person has ever had. It is a dance troupe’s love letter to their guiding star, choreographer Pina Bausch, and as great and effective and affecting a use of 3D as I am likely to see all year.

What LIFE OF PI was able to do for a fiction film, PINA does for documentaries/performance art, making the 3D more than a gimmick, but an indispensable part of the storytelling process.

The doorway sequence close to the end is one of numerous excellent uses of stereo imaging, but may be my favorite of the whole film, as they break rules in that shot, moving the camera, as the actors move, as all the layered doorways seem to move, it is a brief moment, but it helps your idea of reality tremble for a moment, and what more is magic but that.

As a fan of theatre, great theater is hard to translate to great film. While a fan of ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI the film, it pales to the power and immediacy of the theatrical presentation I saw. The same with nearly every version of RICHARD THE III I have seen, they pale to the experience of having attended a walking theatrical play of RICHARD III , conducted at night, in the rain, following the actors in an out of decaying edifices, with roofs gone, and nothing to stop the heavens to bearing witness. Great theater is hard to match.

Very rarely does that happen the other way, where the film can capture or surpass the theatrical presentation.

A few come quickly to mind, Branagh’s HENRY THE VTH (1989), Anthony Harvey’s THE LION IN WINTER (1968) and this film, Wim Wender’s PINA (2011) while not an adaption of any one performance, but rather the overview of a troupe’s body of work, offers an immediacy in how the camera is used, and the stereo imaging is used, that allow the artists to communicate with you in a way that transcends, perhaps by a little — perhaps by a lot, anything that you can experience sitting in the best seats of the best traditional theater.

PINA becomes therefore great film, and even rarer a great and essential 3D film. Grade: A. a film that must be experienced in 3D, and a must own film.

p.s. THE CRITERION RELEASE OFFERS A MAKING OF, THAT IS ALSO IN 3D (SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE), as WELL AS A COMMENTARY. THIS FILM HAS A WEALTH OF CONTENT FOR NUMEROUS VIEWINGS and REVISITS. A RELEASE I LOOK FORWARD TO ENJOYING FOR YEARS.

 

“Dance. Dance! Or otherwise we are lost.”

–Pina Bausch

 

These reviews were conducted using 3D Blu-rays, a region free 3D compatible Blu-ray player, and a short throw, full HD, 3D compatible short throw projector (Essential for a flexible/portable system) offering at least 3000 lumens, and high contrast, and active DLP glasses (one of the most important parts of any system)..

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase your own pre-assembled system you can use this link as well as clicking the images in this post to acquire the items depicted.

If you found this post useful please like, subscribe, and patronize the attached links.

 

Streaming TV Guide of the Day 4 Aug 2021- Youtube Edition!

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