Barry Lyndon 4K (1975/Warner/Criterion 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Executive Suite (1954/MGM*)/His Kind Of Woman (1951/RKO/*both Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Rust (2024/Decal DVD)/Warfare (2025/A24 Blu-ray)

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

PLEASE NOTE: The Executive Suite and His Kind Of Woman Blu-rays are now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

Next up are melodramas with advanced, even complex stakes and all worth a good look and them sone. We'll start with a classic.

Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon 4K (1975) was the film the all-time genius director made when his Napoleon project collapsed from financial backing pulling out after the epic Waterloo bombed at the box office. Not wanting to waste his immense research on the project and still wanting to make a film about the period, he chose the William Makepeace Thackeray novel ironically entitled The Luck Of Barry Lyndon. It would benefit from some key innovations and remains one of the greatest epic films ever made.

Warner, hoping for another Lawrence Of Arabia-sized hit, backed it and Kubrick was on a critical and (eventually) commercial roll. Then big box office star Ryan O'Neal (What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Love Story) was hired to play the title role, with many saying he was all wrong and not the brawling, angry, drunken, lower-class Irish guy type and too much a romanic lead to work. Of course, we now know the late actor was far closer to the character than most knew and is really good here.

He marries into wealth and a higher social class and almost immediately, though in a slower way and period style, leads from one bad situation to another and sometimes, disaster. Then a war is also going on and the characters will not be able to allow it to take place in the background like so many romantic war epics, so the stakes are much higher for everyone involved and the class division with little movement is more frail with a war going on.

The scenes of personal conflict and equally remarkable war sequences complement each other as the story moves forward, the various and subtle nuances throughout the film are remarkable, non-stop and just keep adding to its epic sweep as it builds to its climax. Barry Lyndon was sadly not a big hit when it came out, but its influence was immediate (Ridley Scott's The Duelists only a few years later (his first feature film) was one of the first to show it) and with its ultra-naturalist, ultra-realist approach that included the way it was shot and items like costumes that no longer looked like obvious costumes but clothes you would see if you were back in time permanently marked the end of the old Hollywood way of almost all epics and a new way that was far more convincing, compelling, believable and effective.

Running just over three hours, the cast also includes Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leon Vitali, Hardy Kruger, Diana Korner, Steven Berkoff, Andre Morrell, Philip Stone, Geoffrey Quigley, Roger Booth, John Bindon, Murray Melvin, Barry Jackson, Ferdy Mayne, George Sewell, Anthony Sharp, John Sharp and Leonard Rossiteer. Another great cast!

Special Features include a high quality booklet with tech info, an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and two pieces about the look of the film from the March 1976 issue of American Cinematographer, while the discs add...

• Interviews with the cast and crew as well as archival audio featuring director Stanley Kubrick on the film's cinematography, costumes, editing, and production

• Interview featuring historian Christopher Frayling on production designer Ken Adam

• Interview with critic Michel Ciment

• Interview with actor Leon Vitali about the 5.1 surround soundtrack, which he co-supervised

• Interview with curator Adam Eaker about the fine-art-inspired aesthetics of the film

• and Trailers.

More Kubrick films on 4K are also out there, but this is one of the best and some (2001, The Shining) disappointed me a bit. This one does not. For another one that did not, try my coverage of A Clockwork Orange 4K:

https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15973/A+Clockwork+Orange+4K+(1971/Kubrick/Warner+4K

Robert Wise's Executive Suite (1954) has been upgraded to Blu-ray by Warner Archive and is a nice successor to the old DVD. As I said in my DVD review....

''I am not a big fan of the work of Robert Wise, but even I have to admit that his 1953 MGM drama Executive Suite is one of his best films. Originally issued as part of the Barbara Stanwyck Signature Collection on DVD, which we covered at this link, it deserves this special reissue:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6231/Barbara+Stanwyck+Signature+Collecti

A major executive at a respected manufacturer unexpectedly dies and the fallout deals with corporate responsibility, in a battle between a inventor (William Holden) with the company, a bean-counting goof (Fredric March) who wants to sell the company out for cheap, quick profits no matter how it permanently damages its name and reputation and caught in between are the many employees of the company, a corporate board that is not very united, a widow (Barbara Stanwyck) too upset to do anything who has also been an absent board member and Shelley Winters shows up as the secretary who has become a confidant to a board member without most knowing.

Written very well by Ernest Lehman (North By Northwest), the film holds up very well for its age and is as relevant as ever [and even years later, as much as ever]. Additional turns by a first rate cast that includes Walter Pidgeon, Paul Douglas, a young Dean Jagger, Louis Calhern, Tim Considine and an unusually effective Nina Foch make this a must-see film not enough have seen.''

Extras are a little different here than on the DVD and repeat the feature length audio commentary track on the film, by Oliver Stone that is pretty thorough about its politics, the time the film was made and more, then add an Original Theatrical Trailer, Tom & Jerry animated Technicolor short Hic-Up Pup and live action Pete Smith Specialty short Do Someone A favor.

John Farrow's His Kind Of Woman (1951) was originally issued on DVD in a Film Noir 3 box set and at the time, I said...

''John Farrow directed one of RKO's most interesting and ambitious Noirs ever with His Kind Of Woman from 1951, but it was Richard Fleischer who landed up reshooting almost the entire thing, though he is not credited for it. It not only pairs hyper-iconic sex symbols Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell under Howard Hughes' production, but also features the underrated Charles McGraw, Raymond Burr, Tim Holt, Marjorie Reynolds, Jim Backus and Vincent Price in one of his best acting roles. This one goes all out in a tale about a nearly washed up gambler (Mitchum) suddenly seeing his fortunes take a turn for the better when the deal he enters into near the Mexican border could be fatal. This is the kind of fun, energetic, power productions Martin Scorsese was pointing out in his great film The Aviator that Hughes and only Hughes could to would dare to make. The audio commentary by the great Vivian Sobchack is a real gem, loaded with all kinds of facts and observations that adds to the rewatchability of an amazing production.''

The other extras include an Original Theatrical Trailer and Bugs Bunny animated Technicolor short Bunny Hugged.

Joel Souza's Rust (2024) was likely on its way to becoming at least a minor classic in the Western genre when unexpected disaster happened and co-producer/star Alec Baldwin was creating a vital scene where he was to shoot his gun into the point of view of the camera. Thinking the gun was loaded with blanks, he fired, but it had a bullet and killed Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins, A.S.C. and was one of the most horrible things that had happened on any movie set in a while. Baldwin even got charged with murder (for reasons we cannot go into here, politics likely played a part) which he beat in court. Then they had to finish the film.

Running over two hours, this cut is a mixed bag with some of the film really working, but others just too talky and cliched, some of which might be ill-advised reshoots. In its current 2+ hour cut, I could have trimmed about 20 minutes or so and this would have been a better film. Still, Baldwin is good here and obviously saw in the original screenplay the potential that this could work really well. The tale has a young 13-year-old (Patrick Scott McDermott) eventually convicted for murder to hang, as if an adult when he accidentally shot dead a man wanting him to be a indentured worker after an altercation with his son that the son caused.

The set-up is not as convincing as it should have been, but having the whole town just let that young be convicted without ANY objection makes it worse, though this is an excuse for a mysterious strange (Baldwin) to show up and do something about it. They both land up on the run with a big reward for them and several people hunting them down, including one particularly determined killer (Travis Fimmel of Vikings) and several members of the law.

The problems come with scenes that are too long, too talky and a script that has too many unnecessary cliches and still insists on retaining them. Too bad, as this again was likely going to be a better film before the incident, but it has just enough moments to give it a good look if interested. Frances Fisher, Jake Busey and Xander Berkeley head the rest of the cast.

There are sadly no extras.

Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's Warfare (2025) is one of the biggest surprises of the year, a remarkable war film about Navy SEALS trapped in an Iraqi apartment building and how they have to fight their way out. Smart, suspenseful, clever, vivid, blunt, sometimes graphic and totally engrossing, A24 has yet another ace of a film with a great cast led by Will Poulter and Michael Gandolfini.

We join the group in the middle of their mission, though only so much is explained, when trouble surfaces and they are eventually under attack. All of this happens slowly, suddenly, but not necessarily totally unexpectedly. Then from there, they have to deal with it and it simply builds as it gets more and more intense, as effective as the likes of Full Metal Jacket, Black Hawk Down and other such films in the genre. I won't say anything else as to not ruin any surprises or twists, but it is based on a true story and is immediately one of the year's best.

Extras include six illustrated, collectible postcards with behind-the-scenes photography by Alex Brockdorff, while the disc adds a Feature Length Audio Commentary with Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland, and Military Consultant Brian Philpot and the ''Courage Under Fire: The Making of Warfare'' featurette.

Now for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.66 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Barry Lyndon 4K is one-of-a-kind visual experience, with every shot looking like a painting, yet very alive, from the use of a custom zoom lens to make the row of fighting soldiers look like walls, to the strict use of candlelight to shoot interior shots, making the people look like paintings and sometimes, death. Kubrick took a Mitchell 35mm camera, had the lenses and plate removed, then cut wider to fit a NASA satellite lens inside, allowing for the shots at a time when photochemical film stocks had somewhat limited light sensitivity to get the final image. The results are stunning, never duplicated again and with Director of Photography John Alcott, B.S.C., the transfer here is based off of a 2000 HD master Leon Vitali created from Kubrick's personal notes and delivers like nothing since I saw the film on 35mm film.

The 1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image on the regular Blu-ray is still good, but no match for the 4K and pales at times in comparison.

The sound on both disc versions is here in an upgraded DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix and PCM 1.0 Mono mix, the former of which I like better but shows the limits of the original recording at times, the latter of which is a little weaker than I would have liked it to be and should have been 2.0 Mono instead. Of course, the 5.1 brings out more in the music and battle scenes.

The 1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfers on both Suite and Woman can sometimes show the age of the materials used, but these transfers are far superior to all previous home video releases of the films and only a mint film print or 4K editions could compete now. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mixes on both are as good as the films will likely ever sound, but they are a little more sonically limited than I would have liked and though better than their lossy DVD versions, warmer if not a giant improvement.

Also issued in a 4K edition we hope to see soon, the 1080p 2.00 X 1 High Definition image transfer on Warfare looks good and consistent throughout, plus some very effective editing, something we do not see enough. The lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) mix also has its moments, though more than a few down points for dialogue and suspense, it is the best on the list of all the titles here.

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Rust has some good shots, but this older format is holding it back at its best, then you can tell how some shots are not from the original shoot. The best shots deserve a Blu-ray and 4K release, but you can still appreciate it here just enough. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is also not bad, but we'd bet it is better in a lossless format.

To order either of the Warner Archive Blu-rays, Executive Suite and His Kind Of Woman, go to this link for them 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