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The 20th century didn’t exactly go out with a bang at the movies, at least not in the summer of 1999. Kubrick’s last gasp, “The Phantom Menace,” a pair of weak Julia Roberts vehicles, leering teen comedies, and a tepid Austin Powers sequel made for a drab time at the multiplex, brightened up only by the likes of “The Sixth Sense” and “The Mummy.” Finally, after so much disappointment, genre fans soaked up director Renny Harlin’s “comeback” movie, DEEP BLUE SEA (107 mins., 1999, R; Arrow), basking in what was (and is) solid summer fun, now remastered on 4K UHD.

“Deep Blue Sea” – a combination of “Poseidon Adventure,” “Jurassic” and “Jaws” – is a skillfully crafted and exciting thriller that goes to show what happens when man (or in this case, the decidedly feminine Saffon Burrows, whom Harlin wisely allows to slip out of her wet-suit a la Sigourney in “Alien”) decides to tamper with mother nature. The cause is scientific experiments, but the consequence is the unleashing of a trio of enhanced sharks who wreck havoc on helpless researchers trapped in an underwater lab. The victims include shark wrangler Thomas Jane (quite good), lab chef LL Cool J (a career-shifting performance as it turns out, parlaying his success here into the later “NCIS: Los Angeles” series), doctor Stellan Skarsgard and suit Samuel L. Jackson, who find themselves trying to outwit the cunning maneaters and find their way to the surface.

“Deep Blue Sea” isn’t groundbreaking action-filmmaking, but it does succeed on its own terms as a sturdy, effects-filled summer-time thriller — the kind of nonsensical fantasy we need to have (and used to) during the May-August period of summer-time movie going. The set-pieces keep coming, the special effects are often extraordinary, and Harlin handles the entire affair with the panache he brought to “Die Hard 2” to “Cliffhanger,” two of the best action films of the ’90s.

Following a pair of bombs, it was great to see Harlin back in the saddle again; with the movie’s memorable climax and one ingeniously staged death sequence (you’ll know it when you see it), the director replaces visions of former wife Geena Davis sinking in “Cutthroat Island” and “Long Kiss Goodnight” with the kind of well-edited and choreographed action scenes Harlin became known for earlier in his career. The cast, meanwhile, fares well and having a lack of star power in the lead roles only adds to the surprise of the screenplay, a multi-authored affair by Duncan Kennedy and Donna and Wayne Powers that, to give credit where it’s due, even has its share of good lines.

Long overdue for a remaster, Arrow’s 4K UHD debuts a brand new restoration (2.35) of the original OCN with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos sound and the original 5.1 DTS MA sound design also on-hand. This looks immeasurably better than Warner’s earlier Blu-Ray in terms of detail and color, while new extras abound. These include three commentaries, the best of which features screenwriter Duncan Kennedy talking about the project, while a critic commentary by Rebekah McKendry and the archival Harlin/Jackson track return from the previous release. New interviewees include critic Trace Thurman talking about shark fare and production designer William Sandell discussing the movie. Other legacy extras spotlight deleted scenes and featurettes (but not the movie’s original ending where Burrows survives) while Arrow’s deluxe packaging houses new writing from a number of critics, previously unseen production art/designs (including concepts for a toy line!) and a double-sided foldout poster.

Also new from Arrow is a 4K UHD edition of an Italian giallo thriller staple. DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING (105 mins., 1972) is, in fact, Lucio Fulci’s masterwork, starring Thomas Milian and Barbara Bouchet as a pair of outsiders who attempt to solve a series of brutal murders of young boys in the rural town of Accendura. Unsettling themes and grizzly violence make this recommended mostly for Fulci fans and genre buffs, though the film is unquestionably well-executed on a technical level.

Making its 4K debut, Arrow’s UHD (2.35) is presented in a new 4K restoration from the original 2-perf Techniscope camera negative with Dolby Vision HDR. The disc includes both English and Italian soundtracks; a commentary from Troy Howarth; a video discussion with giallo authority Mikel J. Koven; a video essay from Kat Ellinger; a 1988 audio interview with Fulci; and extensive additional interviews with assorted cast/crew. The Dolby Vision enhanced transfer is superior with the illustrated collector’s booklet offering writing from both Barry Forshaw and Howard Hughes.

A killer snake is on the loose in London, putting a wrench into the plans of kidnappers who want to hold a rich 10-year-old boy hostage. That plot synopsis alone promises the potential of thrills for genre buffs, but what if I told you the movie also stars Sterling Hayden as the boy’s grandfather; Klaus Kinski, Oliver Reed and Susan George as the villains; Sarah Miles as a vet specializing in deadly snakes; and Nicol Williamson as the cop on the case. The film exists, and it’s called VENOM (92 mins., 1982, R; Blue Underground), but why is that, seemingly, nobody has ever heard of it?

Viewers now have the chance to discover the film for themselves as Blue Underground has just released this obscure British chiller on 4K UHD in a nifty new, remastered transfer that surpasses the label’s previous Blu-Ray. While what they’ll find is a movie so pedestrian that you’ll wonder why any of these celebrated actors bothered to appear in it, “Venom” has its minor charms, plus an improved new transfer and soundtrack that make it more palatable than before.

The real issue is that “Venom” is inexplicably tedious given its premise. Writer Robert Carrington’s script, from a novel by Alan Scholefield, sets up the film well, with the American boy – stuck for the weekend being looked after by his grandfather (Hayden, completely wasted as a veteran big game hunter) – receiving a deadly Black Mamba from a local pet shop instead of a domesticated pet snake. The good news for him, though, is that its mistaken receipt enables the snake to cause all kinds of trouble for the film’s trio of bad guys: the family driver (Reed), and a criminal mastermind (Kinski) who’s in love with the boys’ caretaker (George). The group conspire to hold the child for a ransom they’ll never receive, as they’re quickly holed up in the family’s London flat with the Black Mamba on the loose.

It’s disappointing how quickly “Venom” loses its momentum after a good start. The boy himself and his grandfather are pushed off to the side in favor of a slow-going police-procedural picture that serves up predictable just desserts for the bad guys, while Miles really has little to do in the “Matt Hooper role.” Ditto for Williamson, relegated to clenching his jaw in a role with no pay off. Perhaps a bit of the blame needs to be laid at the hands of journeyman director Piers Haggard, who paces “Venom” like a TV-movie and never gives fans much juice in terms of outrageous moments (to be fair to Haggard, he was a replacement for Tobe Hooper, who was jettisoned after filming started). Sure, it’s fun ultimately watching Kinski flounder around with the snake – and Reed’s demise is memorable – but those sequences are brief and the pleasures of “Venom” limited in spite of its cast.

Released in the U.S. by Paramount in early 1982 and by Handmade Films in England, “Venom” has scarcely been seen over the years. Blue Underground’s new 4K UHD is a major leap over the label’s Blu-Ray in terms of transfer (remastered with Dolby Vision HDR) and sound, with the Dolby Atmos mix a better balanced track than the previous disc’s faux stereo mix (that 5.1 track and the original mono are also included). The movie offers an early score from Michael Kamen that opens and closes with a warm, distinctively Kamen-esque main theme, while the rest of the music works overtime to generate excitement in a movie light on thrills.

Blue Underground has also produced a wealth of welcome new extras here. These include a lengthy, informative talk with editor/second unit director Michael Bradsell, who discusses Hooper’s abrupt exit from the movie (one wonders if Hooper’s “issues” lead to whatever happened on “Poltergeist” a short time later), make-up artist Nick Dudman, and critics Kim Newman and Allan Bryce, each given their own interview segments. There’s also a new “historian” commentary featuring Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani to go along with extras from the previous release (Haggard’s commentary, trailers, Michael Gingold’s booklet notes).

Though certainly not an undiscovered classic, kudos to Blue Underground for unearthing “Venom” in a superlative new UHD with tasty extras to boot.

Also New on 4K UHD

RED ONE 4K UHD (123 mins., 2024, PG-13; MGM/Warner): Overstuffed and rather charmless “blockbuster” envisions a modern day Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) who’s kidnapped, necessitating his top security expert (Dwayne Johnson) and a bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to team up in order to save him – and Christmas itself. “Red One” made headlines due to its “high concept” script by “Fast and Furious” screenwriter Chris Morgan with Jake Kasdan helming – yet despite a massive budget and highly reported overruns (some of which were reportedly due to Johnson showing up late to the set), “Red One” sputtered at the box-office, quickly fleeing to AmazonMGM’s Prime home in order to find a larger audience. Despite the cast and a few laughs, this PG-13 rated affair is mostly unlikeable, bland Hollywood product, sprinkled with profanity and innuendo that makes it ill-suited to a younger crowd who may have best appreciated it. As such, “Red One” is in a no man’s land, too childish for adults and too adult for kids. Warner’s 4K UHD (2.35, Dolby Atmos) looks superb with a high bit-rate presentation, Dolby Vision HDR and Atmos sound, but only includes a Digital HD code for extras.

MY GIRL 4K UHD (102 mins., 1991, PG; Sony): The adventures of Anna Chlumsky’s 11-year-old heroine Vada Sultenfuss informed not one but two weepy coming-of-age pictures: the box-office hit “My Girl” (which rode the wave of co-star Macaulay Culkin’s “Home Alone” success the previous year) as well as its inevitable, not-as-successful 1994 follow-up. In the original (and superior) “My Girl,” Laurice Elehwany’s script is at its best detailing young Chlumsky’s relationship with her widowed mortician father (Dan Aykroyd), along with his blossoming relationship with Jamie Lee Curtis, in an early ‘70s-set period piece; the misadventures Vada has with her best friend (Culkin) are episodic in nature but when tragedy strikes the picture becomes melodramatic and contrived (an element the picture’s advertising tried hard to disguise). Still a viewer favorite, “My Girl” makes its 4K UHD debut with one of Sony’s trademark solid Dolby Vision HDR (1.85) presentations and both 5.1 and 2.0 DTS MA audio. Extras include a commentary with Elehwany, featurettes, the trailer, and a Digital HD code.

TRICK OR TREAT 4K UHD (97 mins., 1986, R; Red Shirt/Synapse): Quite likeable mid ‘80s teen horror outing is a lot less bloody and sadistic than most of its genre contemporaries, despite its R rating. Marc Price, then best known for his role of nerdy “Skippy” on “Family Ties,” stars as a hapless, heavy metal-loving high school student who’s picked on and devastated after his favorite heavy metal performer (Tony Fields) dies in a fire. After receiving a mysterious LP from local DJ Gene Simmons, Price’s character finds “Sammi Curr” resurrected and giving him the ability to go after the jocks (including a young Doug Savant) who have tormented him – yet ultimately that power proves to be too much and Price has to put the big-haired, undead performer back in the bottle before it’s too late.

Directed by Charles Martin Smith, “Trick or Treat” was a middling performer for Dino De Laurentiis’ DEG studio (as most of their releases were), and has never gotten much attention due to generating only a few home video releases. Making its 4K and Blu-Ray debut here from Red Shirt and Synapse, the movie has been restored in a beautiful Dolby Vision HDR presentation (1.85) with 5.1/2.0 stereo sound. This is a very enjoyable slice of ‘80s horror, lighter in its horror elements than you might expect (perhaps one reason the movie didn’t take off at the box-office) but with appealing characters and a good pace to match.

The UHD/BD combo houses loads of extras, from a feature-length documentary to additional interviews and featurettes. You also get a commentary track from Smith, interviews, a locations featurette, music video, all the trailers you’d imagine and more, all with a collectible slipcover on top.

Blu-Ray New Releases

QUACKSER FORTUNE HAS A COUSIN IN THE BRONX Blu-Ray (90 mins., 1970, PG; VCI): Long-overdue Blu-Ray edition of this very quirky comedy-drama features Gene Wilder as a young Irish man, used to removing manure from horse-drawn wagons in his native Dublin, who has to adapt to the times after it turns out the horses are about to be replaced. He also carries on a relationship with a local woman while meeting an American exchange student (Margot Kidder) who eventually opens his mind up to other possibilities.

Wilder was coming off “The Producers” when he opted to make this strange little film, helmed by director Waris Hussein and shot by the great Gil Taylor on location in Dublin. The result is very odd and hampered by almost wholly post-synced dialogue that doesn’t come off well in a muddy sounding mono soundtrack, but the performances and subject matter are so unusual, it’s a “period piece” that’s worth a viewing.

VCI’s restoration (1.85, mono) is superb with excellent detail for this seldom-circulated movie. A historian commentary provides some much needed insight into the movie’s production, with Wilder trying to recruit Jean Renoir at one point to helm the film (he came close, but would’ve had to wait a year and lose the movie’s funding – a risk Wilder ultimately wasn’t going to take).

THE DAREDEVILS / ODE TO GALLANTRY Blu-Ray Double Feature (1979-82; Eureka): More martial arts mayhem for genre fans chops its way onto Blu-Ray when Eureka presents this double feature, out March 25th, starring the “Venom Mob” – six kung-fu performers (Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, and Wai Pak) whose work with Hong Kong director Chang Cheh resulted in a flurry of box-office hits.

This package includes two fan favorites starring the Venom Mob: “The Daredevils” (1979) as well as the later “Ode to Gallantry” (1982), each in HD masters (2.35) supplied by Celestial Pictures. Both movies look nifty in widescreen as most of these films do from the era, making good use of the scope framing, while Mandarin audio and an optional English dub on “The Daredevils” is on tap. Extras include commentaries by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, plus another track featuring Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, on both pictures. There’s also a new interview with genre scholar Wayne Wong on the Venom Mob and a collector’s booklet.

FLESH + BLOOD Blu-Ray (128 mins., 1985, R; Capelight/MPI): Paul Verhoeven’s box-office underachiever isn’t an easy view, but nevertheless makes its way to Blu-Ray in the U.S. for the first time.

This tale of a mercenary (Rutger Hauer) who spars with a nobleman’s son (Tom Burlinson) over his young bride-to-be (Jennifer Jason Leigh, who never looked better than here) during the Middle Ages is classic Verhoeven: gritty, graphic, and not especially politically correct. Then again, this was Europe in the early 1500’s, and Verhoeven (along with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman) isn’t a romanticist: there’s plenty of carnage, sex, rape, violence, and gore to go around, so squeamish viewers should beware.

If you’re up for the ride, the movie is worth a look, here presented in what looks like an aged MGM master (2.35) that features somewhat blah color and a bit of noise in Capelight’s high bit-rate Blu-Ray. The good news is the widescreen framing restores cinematographer Jan DeBont’s work, which is one of the movie’s chief assets, while the 2.0 PCM audio features the original Dolby Stereo sound design, with Basil Poledouris’ score being one of the picture’s strongest components.

Capelight’s disc curiously omits a Poledouris interview which was contained on some previous releases, but does include Verhoeven’s commentary, a more recent interview with Verhoeven (from Koch’s German release), and a talk with writer Gerard Soteteman in its special features.

INSERTS Blu-Ray (115 mins., 1975, NC-17 [Originally X]; MGM): Now here’s an obscure offering perfect for curious cinephiles.

Shortly after appearing in “Jaws,” Richard Dreyfuss starred in this pretentious, sleazy, but somehow still compelling film as “Boy Wonder,” a downtrodden filmmaker in the 1930s who couldn’t make the transition from silents to talkies. Now saddled with making one of the cinema’s earliest excursions into erotica, “Boy Wonder” has to juggle an icy leading lady (Veronica Cartwright), a gangster (Bob Hoskins) and his moll (Jessica Harper), and “Rex the Wonder Dog” (Stephen Davies) in order to crank his production out.

Originally X-rated (and still NC-17 by today’s standards), “Inserts” looks and feels like a filmed play, even though writer-director John Byrum’s script was penned for the screen. The movie is fun and shocking for a while, but eventually sinks under Byrum’s pretentiousness and the plastic, ‘70s dialogue and mannerisms that date the picture badly.

Nevertheless, “Inserts” was a film that had been out of circulation for years until a 2005 DVD brought it back in print (the disc was released during that very brief period when MGM’s catalog films were being distributed by Sony). Dreyfuss aficionados may find MGM’s new Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) to be worthwhile as it brings “Inserts” back in-print following an out-of-print (but mostly barebones) Twilight Time disc. The full-length 115 minute international cut is included here (the U.S. apparently received a shortened R-rated version), along with a theatrical trailer. Both transfer and sound hold up serviceably here on a film that isn’t for all tastes – but will prove to be compelling for those viewers who take to it.

Burt Reynolds starred and directed THE END (100 mins., 1978, R; MGM), a hit black comedy starring Burt as a real estate agent, told he has just months left to live, who tries to end his life. Needless to say, few of Reynolds’ efforts work, backfiring in comic fashion as Reynolds meets Dom DeLuise’s insane inmate, who likewise fails to get the job done. Sally Field, David Steinberg, Joanne Woodward, Kristy McNichol, Robby Benson, Carl Reiner and Norman Fell co-starred in this occasionally funny but often strident pic, scored by Paul Williams and written by Jerry Belson, that became a big hit back in ‘78 despite being panned by most critics, who (understandably) found the tone all over the map. MGM’s 1080p (1.85) transfer is acceptable and DTS MA mono sound rounds out the disc.

Also New From MGM: A little-seen MGM/UA release from 1982, TWILIGHT TIME (102 mins., PG) profiles Karl Malden as a Yugoslavian man, recently returned from an extended period living in the U.S., and his relationship with his two young grandchildren on their family farm. Jodi Thelen co-stars as the kids’ new schoolteacher in a film produced by restaurateur Dan Tana and co-written and directed by Yugoslavian director Goran Paskaljevic. Walter Scharf scored this serviceable, slow-moving drama with Bond vet Maurice Binder credited with “graphics.” MGM’s acceptable HD master is new on Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) in what I believe is the first domestic home video release of “Twilight Time”…An apparently fictional romance between the great painter Francisco Goya (Anthony Franciosa) and the scheming Duchess of Alba (Ava Gardner) is detailed in the THE NAKED MAJA (111 mins., 1959), an overblown Hollywoodized concoction that was one of the first U.S.-centric international productions from Italy’s Titanus studio. In fact, Hollywood vet Henry Koster helmed the picture, which offers stilted drama and performances to match – but does, at least, look vibrant here in Technirama with Gardner in top form and Angelo Lavagnino chipping in a superb score. MGM’s Blu-Ray (2.35) marks the first release of the movie since VHS in a print that obviously hasn’t been 4K-remastered but is still passable.

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Quick Takes

JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH Blu-Ray (288 mins., 1987-99; Film Movement): Dynamite, two-disc Blu-Ray release offers the complete, 1987 PBS mini-series “The Power of Myth,” featuring scholar/author Joseph Campbell deep-diving into the hero’s journey and an exploration of mythic themes both in human history and the human experience altogether. Bill Moyers hosts and narrated this groundbreaking series which ranges from a discussion of religious themes to “Star Wars” and other contemporary fables, with Campbell a fascinating subject – bringing expertise and empathy to a wide range of material covered herein.

In 1999, Moyers conducted an hour-long interview with George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch in conjunction with the release of “The Phantom Menace.” This PBS special is included as a bonus in Film Movement’s “Power of Myth” Blu-Ray, which preserves the source’s original 1.33 standard-def aspect ratio in a presentation that’s as good as the broadcast-quality video allows. A 24-page booklet and two episodes from “Bill Moyers’ Journal” featuring Campbell round out a terrific release.

GHOST CAT ANZU Blu-Ray (95 mins., 2024; Shout! Factory): Surreal, amusingly playful Japanese anime focuses on Karin, a young girl living in rural Japan who befriends a ghost cat named Anzu who’s charged with looking after her. Unsure of Anzu, Karin ends up making a deal with the devil instead and causes all kinds of chaos the duo have to rectify in this well-reviewed import from directors Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita. Shout’s Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) includes Japanese audio with English subtitles, an English dub, a French track, plus teasers, trailers and a collectible slipcover.

DOCUMENTARY NOW! – The Complete Series Blu-Ray (10 hours, 2015-22; Mill Creek): Satirical documentary series from producers Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and John Mulaney parodies famously real-life chronicles in a hit-or-miss manner. Big stars abound here: Owen Wilson, Faye Dunaway, Michael Keaton, Anne Hathaway, and numerous Saturday Night Live cohorts of the creators, but the material doesn’t always connect. Mill Creek’s Blu-Ray boasts a collectible booklet with Armisen’s introduction, eight mini-poster cards, two hours of bonuses (IFC Emmy panel discussion; deleted scenes; featurettes. etc.), 1080p transfers and 2.0 PCM stereo sound.

EATING MISS CAMPBELL Blu-Ray (84 mins., 2022; Troma): Director Liam Regan’s oddball mix of indie horror, social critique and satire finds a suicidal 18-year-old girl waking up in a low-budget horror movie – one marked with cannibalism, high school shootings, and other hallmarks of modern teenage living. Troma’s production won’t be for every taste but includes commentary, deleted scenes, a documentary and loads of other extras on Blu-Ray (1.85).

NEXT TIME: Kino Lorber March Madness! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!