New DVD Releases from Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is an independent arthouse distributor that releases movies under a variety of labels: Kino Lorber, Kino Repertory, Alive Mind Cinema, and more. They’re gotten Academy Award nominations … the works. Their library has more than 2800 titles, and their digital channel kinonow.com has bout 1000 of those titles. Recently, they released three new Universal films on DVD that I’m really excited about. Two of them, I’d actually never had the opportunity to see before, and one I already made a video about!
The first film is Universal Production Extraordinary: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The film was directed by Stuart Paton, and shot on location in the Bahamas. It used state of the art underwater filming technology - this movie is really worth watching for that alone. The cover art uses an old promo poster of Captain Nemo and his crew preparing for their trip under the sea, and it includes the famous giant octopus. This is a 4K restoration, and the DVD’s special features include audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide, and a musical score by Orlando Perez Rosso.
Universal’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea used state of the art underwater filming technology.
The second film is Straight Shooting. This is a John Ford movie from 1917, starring Harry Carey - who was one of the biggest early movie stars. And this isn’t just any John ford movie, but his first feature, which he made under the name Jack Ford. This movie was shot mostly on the Universal backlot, and it wasn’t actually supposed to be a feature at first. John Ford apparently lied and said some of the film had fallen in a river so he’d be approved to shoot more. Though some people were upset, my Uncle Carl Laemmle supposedly said, “If you got a suit with an extra pair of pants, you wouldn’t just throw them away!”
John Ford’s first feature, Straight Shooting, proves he was born to film the American West.
I really enjoy the black and white artwork with the butterfly on the front of the Straight Shooting DVD. I’m not an expert on westerns, but my great grandfather Edward Laemmle made a ton of westerns back in the day, and the promo materials I’ve seen of his movies reminds me a lot of this style. The description for the film is not wrong when it says this movie is a thrilling adventure, and proves John Ford was born to film the American West. This DVD has lots of special features too. There’s a score by Michael Gatt, audio commentary by John Ford biographer and film historian Joseph McBride. The DVD also includes a film fragment from a 1920 John Ford Film called Hitchin Posts.
The Shakedown is not only made by my Uncle Carl Laemmle, but also my cousin William Wyler!
Lastly, we have the DVD with my favorite artwork of all: The Shakedown. This DVD is twice as meaningful for me because it’s made by my Uncle Carl and directed by William Wyler, who’s a distant cousin of mine. It was made in 1929, and was considered lost until just about 20 years ago. The Shakedown is a heartwarming boxing drama starring James Murray and Barbara Kent. The restoration has a score by Michael Gatt, and audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton.
Each of the films is so different from the other, but all are worth seeing for different reasons. I highly recommend you give them a watch, and don’t forget to check out the other films Kino Lorber has to offer!