Blu-rays
of the Week
Victoria—Complete 2nd Season
(PBS
Masterpiece)
In the second season of this absorbing
series about Queen Victoria’s first years of her imposing 63-year reign, the
English monarch has her growing family to worry about as well as her dealing with
constant domestic and international crises. Led by the delightfully natural Jenna
Coleman as the queen—she particularly shines in a wonderful sequence when Victoria
and husband Prince Albert (a solid Tom Hughes) get lost in the Scottish
countryside and spend a night in an elderly couple’s modest home—the series has
grown into an interesting historical drama. The series’ 10 episodes look
spectacular on Blu; extras include a Christmas episode and featurettes.
The Flight of Dragons
(Warner
Archive)
Although this 1982 animated feature from TV
producers Rankin/Bass (best known for seasonal classics Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town) is based
on a book by Peter Dickinson, its dragons, warlocks, wizards and Dark Ages
setting make it seem like a Lord of the
Rings rip-off. (Rankin/Bass did an animated Hobbit.) It’s an entertaining adventure with James Earl Jones,
Victor Buono, Harry Morgan and James Gregory lending their dramatic voices—but
hearing John Ritter as a benevolent dragon (!) is strange. The restored feature
looks gorgeous; for comparison, check out the washed-out standard-def TV
version, included as an extra.
The Hanging Tree
(Warner
Archive)
A proficient director of westerns, Delmer
Daves helmed this 1959 drama with a typically laconic Gary Cooper as a doctor with
a secret in his past who sets up a practice in a small mining town. With an
array of colorful supporting characters played by Maria Schell, Karl Malden,
Ben Piazza and George C. Scott (in a fine film debut as a fiery preacher), and picturesque
Washington State locations, this downbeat melodrama is worth a look. Shot in
technicolor, the film looks splendid in hi-def.
The Witches
(Arrow
Academy)
This 1966 omnibus film stars Silvana
Mangano, then-wife of producer Dino de Laurentiis, who brought together five
Italian directors for an extremely hit-or-miss showcase for his talented and
beautiful spouse. Mangano is terrific throughout, but is at her voluptuous best
in both the first and final sections, directed by Luchino Visconti and Vittorio
de Sica respectively. The latter is also intriguing because Clint Eastwood plays
her husband, dubbed into Italian of course. One of the extras—the other is a
commentary by critic Tim Lucas—includes an English-dubbed version with Eastwood
speaking in his own voice.
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