Bikeriders 4K (2023/Universal 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Door-To-Door Maniac (aka Five Minutes To Live) + Right Hand Of The Devil (both 1961/Film Masters Blu-ray Set)/Harum Scarum (1965/Elvis/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Ride (2023/Well Go Blu-ray)

4K Ultra HD Picture: B Picture: B-/B-/B/B- Sound: B+/C+/B-/B Extras: C/B-/C/C Films: C/B- & C+/C/C

PLEASE NOTE: The Harum Scarum Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders 4K (2023) is a film of the criminal biker culture in the 1960s, Danny Lyon's book of the same name and with the kind of characters we used to see all the time until the late 1970s on the big screen. Cool bikes never went away, but stories of the tough times mostly did. I believe much of what we see here probably happened and in many of the ways shown, liberties on the truth notwithstanding. I also like the cast that includes Austin Butler (just off of his Elvis film,) Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus and, as expected, a scene-stealing Tom Hardy.

Hardy is not over the top either, but no matter how good it looks in the period recreated, bikes included and costumes top rate, the makers make the huge mistake of trying to imitate the style of Martin Scorsese films and it immediately hurts the film in such profound ways, it all never recovers. The voiceovers are like a bad third-rate imitation of GoodFellas, et al, and the nearly two hours is too often a torture test of how not to make such a film. Like imitating Hitchcock or Spielberg, you are always doomed when you try this kind of thing and that is why what could have been a good or even great film crashes and burns very early on. Now you can see for yourself.

Extras include Digital Code, while the discs (per the press release) add:

· Johnny, Benny, & Kathy: From the accents to the attitude, get to know the lead characters of THE BIKERIDERS. Hear from the cast and producing team on how they took the personalities and environments from a book of photographs and brought a narrative to the big screen.

· The Era of THE BIKERIDERS: Grab your leather jacket and gear up for a ride as we enter the era of THE BIKERIDERS. This piece focuses on the authenticity that was captured by the brilliant production team who nailed the look, feel, and sound of the late 1960s Midwest.

· The Filmmaker's Eye: Jeff Nichols: Go behind the lens with director Jeff Nichols as he shared his overall vision for the film, stylistic choices, and how he works with talent. Members of the ensemble cast along with producers chime in on the significance of working on a Jeff Nichols film.

· and a Feature-Length Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Jeff Nichols.

Bill Karn's Door-To-Door Maniac (1961) + Aram Catcher's Right Hand Of The Devil (both 1961) are part of an interesting new double feature Blu-ray set from the Film Masters label, the first of which has legendary singer Johnny Cash as a sadistic singer/thief who gets involved with a conniving, longtime criminal (the late, great Vic Tayback, still playing heavies at the time, but best know as Mel from Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and the TV series that spin off from it, Alice with Linda Lavin) who convinces this 'man in black' to help him rob a bank by kidnapping and terrorizing the wife of the head of it.

The family includes Ronnie Howard (Ron Howard in his child actor years) when he was still known for the huge hit Andy Griffith Show as their son, but he does not know his dad is having an affair with another woman, though his mom starts to suspect. That complicates some things and then, Cash's predator really goes way too far, but I will stop there, though you would not see the film with big names made like this today. However, it was a B-movie made by men and you just have to see it to believe it. It has enough interesting moments and Cash in a rare dramatic role, so glad to see it make it to Blu-ray.

Aram Catcher's Right Hand Of The Devil has the director as the lead, a criminal who gets a bunch of other petty thieves together to rob a stadium of some serious cash, but he also gets obsessed about a particular woman and the film becomes more surreal than expected. I actually liked how it does it and in a leisurely way, but it is not for everyone. Catcher was trying to be Hitchcock among others and even worked with the Master of suspense until they had an ugly falling out, but I was surprised how ambitious this film was. He did almost all the work on it (including costumes and editing) so it makes for a great second film here and though it can be too laid back in parts, I still think it is worth a good look too.

Extras include a nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and two excellent essays, while the discs (per the press release) add author/podcaster Daniel Budnik and film historian Rob Kelly join forces to provide a comprehensive commentary track for Door-to-Door Maniac with Don Stradley providing liner notes; Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan and Matt Weinhold of the Monster Party podcast are back for a full-length commentary for Right Hand Of The Devil, with C. Courtney Joyner providing liner notes; Ryan Verrill and Will Dodson from Someone's Favorite Productions present the all-new, visual essay, Player Piano: Passion of Aram Katcher; recut 2024 trailer for Door-to-Door Maniac; and a restored, original trailer for Right Hand Of The Devil.

In the 1960s, Elvis lost his popularity in the music world despite still having hits here and there, still has the most Top 40 hits of the Rock Music era since 1955 (119!) especially from 1963 until about the end of the decade, mostly forgettable songs. He used to blame The Beatles for him no longer being on top (despite still being the top male hit star of the 1960s) and I can understand the complaint to somewhat of an extent, but his 'Elvis Musicals' were even worse and the fab Four did not make him make them. Gene Nelson's Harum Scarum (1965) is one of the poorest of them, dating particularly poorly with dull music and a plot that has become more ridiculous for all kinds of reasons.

His actor/stuntman character 'Johnny Tyrone' is also a martial arts fighting expert (!?!?!?!) and he is so good, he gets kidnapped by a group from the Middle East (!?!?!?!?) to assassinate a King! Yes, his fighting skills are somehow superior to all the warriors in the Middle East of the time (?????) so they have to capture this 'King' of fighting arts to succeed.

Of course, current world events make this more implausible now than ever, but it was even goofy for the middle of that decade. It would NEVER get greenlit today by a longshot. Of course, it is mostly shot on MGM sets and its not trying to be more than the fake & funny romp it tries to be, but it cannot even do that well. The makers brought back his Girl Happy co-star Mary Ann Mobley, who I always liked (she was The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. briefly before the Adam West Batman happened and the spin-off series went for the youth culture/pop art thing, with the also-great Stephanie Powers taking over) and does nto get enough screen time here.

Even if she did, it is beyond bad and silly, cliched, stereotyped and the songs are everything we've seen before, yet, it made money like every single Elvis film ever made. Again, he was the only movie start to never have a film lose money. After suffering through this one again after so many years, he HAD to be REAL popular at the time still for this to eek out any kind of profit. Now the very most curious can see for themselves. At least it is well restored, so see more in the tech section below.

Extras include the Original Theatrical Trailer and two Chuck Jones Technicolor MGM Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts: The Cat's Me-Ouch and Of Feline Bondage.

And then we have Jake Allyn's Ride (2023) featuring C. Thomas Howell as an old, retired broncho rider who needs some serious money when his daughter develops cancer. With his estranged son, they decide to rob a fortune to take care of her, but it all goes wrong and all kinds of bizarre things follow.

I did not expect just another horse riding movie, but this can get surprisingly brutal, but it has too many cliches, melodrama and too often smacks of a 'disease-of-the-week' TV movie that became such a cliche decades ago. The underrated Annabeth Gish also shows up, but she is not in it enough and oddly, I did not totally buy Howell as old. Thus, this is only for the very curious, but at least everybody involved is giving it their best.

Extras include a set of separate on-camera interview clips with Director Allyn and cast members Annabeth Gish, C. Thomas Howell, Forrie J. Smith, Josh Plasse, Laci Kaye Booth and Zia Carlock and an Original Theatrical Trailer.

Now for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Bikeriders 4K is good here, but has some surprising softness and slight lack of detail more often than expected, so the Elvis film can actually compete with it, while the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the regular Blu-ray is softer still with less color range. Go for 4K if you can to see it if you must. Both have lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) mixes that have their moments and if nothing else, this has the best sound of any biker film in cinema history... for now.

The 1080p black & white digital High Definition image transfers on both Film Masters Blu-rays can show the age of the materials used, in both 1.33 (aka 'TV version' that shows the full frame actually shot on each film with more image on the top and bottom) X 1.78 X 1 framing, still look good for their age, budget and the fact that they are orphan films. The 1.78 X 1 on Devil might be very slightly softer than the rest, but they are very watchable and the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mixes on all four versions are as good as these films will likely ever sound.

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Harum Scarum can sometimes show the age of the materials used, but this is far superior a transfer to all previous releases of the film and its Metrocolor looks pretty good and consistent throughout. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is about as good as this film will ever sound, but the hit records seem to have also been issued in stereo.

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Ride is a new HD shoot and has some good shots, but nothing too outstanding either, if at least consistent. Still, softer than I would have liked, while the slightly better DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is steady enough and professional, if not spectacular or with any memorable sections.

To order the Warner Archive Harum Scarum Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20

- Nicholas Sheffo