* indicates that this title is also available to rent, stream, or purchase on various platforms. Please note that streaming options may differ from these home video presentations in terms of visuals, supplemental features, etc.
“The Boy and the Heron” * (2023, GKids/Shout! Factory) Elegiac feature, in all senses of the word, from Studio Ghibli chief Hayao Miyazaki, who has reportedly capped his remarkable animation career with this Oscar-winning fable. Making sense of the past is again the framework for Miyazaki: here, it’s young Mahito echoing the director’s childhood through his evacuation from Tokyo during WWII, though Mahito also suffers the loss of his mother in the conflict. Transported to a rural estate where his new mother (his birth mother’s sister) and local schoolkids offer additional alienation, Mahito finds an outlet in a large, talking heron (with the voice of Robert Pattinson in the English dub) and a mysterious tower built by his long-vanished uncle (Mark Hamill). The world inside the tower – a typically spectacular Ghibli fantasy-scape, populated by spirits and otherworldly creatures – allows Miyazaki to address a panoply of emotions (grief, loss, militarism, ecological decline), though his thoughts on these issues are occasionally obscured by a seemingly endless stream of new plot points and character arcs, though that may be the the point: life is messy and difficult to resolve, and what we are able to extract from the chaos offers some solace and hope, if not a clear-cut answer. The GKids/Shout set – a 4K/Blu-ray combo – offers both the Japanese and English-language dubs (the latter featuring the voices of Florence Pugh, Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe and Dave Bautista), as well as interviews with composer Joe Hisashi, animation supervisor Takeshia Honda, and various promotional items.
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” * (2015, Arrow Video) Big-screen take on the ’60s-era spy TV series, with Henry Cavill and Arnie Hammer putting broad shoulders to American and Soviet counterparts tasked to stop Elizabeth Debecki’s icy Nazi sympathizer from threatening the world with a rogue nuclear device. Guy Ritchie assembles all the elements of an invigorating period romp: impressive action set pieces, endless double entendre action with an impossibly attractive cast (including Alicia Vikander and Hugh Grant) decked out in fashionable togs, and the director’s own hyper-stylized aesthetic (snark plus cultural artifacts multiplied by vigorous violence and visual flourishes), all of which work overtime in “U.N.C.L.E.” Most of the time, this translates into an exercise in high gloss but the perennially underrated Cavill. Vikander, and Grant appear to be having a great time (Hammer, years before his misfortune, doesn’t quite know what to do with himself), and their enthusiasm, along with Ritchie’s impeccable taste in soundtrack material, is occasionally infectious; Arrow’s Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray set borrows many of the extras from the 2015 WB Blu-ray and adds a few new items, including enthusiastic commentary by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry, interviews with producer Max Wigram and co-star Luca Calvani, and discussions of the original series’ influence and Ritchie’s ever-expanding c.v.
“The Golden Coach” * (1952, Raro Video/Kino Video) The titular coach arrives in an 18th-century Peruvian town as a front to prop up the local nobility and distract the impoverished population from the fact that they are funding this absurd bauble; an Italian theater troupe also lands in town, and soon offers a parallel game of social aspirations and artificial personas through its lead (Anna Magnani), who is wooed to varying degrees by the town’s Viceroy (Duncan Lamont), a self-impressed bullfighter (Riccardo Rioli), and an opportunistic soldier (Paul Campbell). English language-feature from acclaimed director Jean Renoir explores the axis of personal and professional happiness (as seen through the prism of the theater, but the conundrum is applicable to all walks of life) and the compromises required for both with spectacular visuals (the color palette and costumes alone merit a watch) and Magnani’s compelling performance; these qualities have made “Golden Coach” an arthouse favorite after decades of backburnering after its initial disappointing run. Raro’s 2K-restored Blu-ray offers a vastly improved image over the 2004 Criterion release; extras include an alternate French-language dub and commentary by critic Adam Nayman, who discusses, among many other details, the importance of Vivaldi’s music to the picture.
“The Tin Star” * (1957, Arrow Video) Ex-lawman turned bounty hunter Henry Fonda rides into a small town, intending to collect the fee for his latest kill, but instead inherits a front-row seat to an array of simmering conflicts: an inexperienced sheriff (Anthony Perkins), the town bully (Neville Brand) who wants to unseat him, and a population steeped in racial prejudice and kneejerk politics. Low-budget Western from genre specialist Anthony Mann is a mostly successful and succinct examination on the rough lessons required to become an honest and self-reliant person (men, mostly, but some of the women in the film have their arcs, too) who can make the hard decisions that most, if not all, make a point of avoiding. Tight, Oscar-nominated scripting by Dudley Nichols and cinematography by Oscar winner Loyal Griggs left thematic and visual heft that elevates the material out of TV Western territory, as does Fonda’s strong lead and support from Brand, John McIntire, and Betsey Palmer; Arrow’s Blu-ray includes commentary by Toby Roan and a featurette by Neil Sinyard that deliver all you need to know about Mann’s Western output and the film’s virtues, as well as an interview with composer Elmer Bernstein’s son, Peter, and liner notes by Barry Forshaw.
