Heaven (1986/Lightyear)/Iphigenia (1977*)/Lady Chatterley's Lover (1955/Icarus)/Malpertuis (1971* aka Legend Of Doom House)/The Ogre Of Athens (1956/*all MVD/Radiance/all Blu-rays)

Picture: B-/B-/B/B-/B Sound: B-/C+/C+/B-/C+ Extras: C-/B-/C/B-/B- Films: C+/B-/C+/B-/B

Next up are a group of films with more artistic aspirations than anything else...

Diane Keaton's Heaven (1986) is an odd first directorial effort for the legendary actress who we just lost sooner than we should have. Sometimes called a documentary, it is instead a semi-experimental special interest work that combines new interviews with people about what they think of the title subject and place (does it exist, et al) and mixes it with select old movie clips from the old silent and early sound days.

Leaning on Art Deco a bit, the interviewees come up with just about every idea and answer to questions about the afterlife, most of which you have heard before and then some. Keaton never speaks or takes any sides necessarily, though the choice of clips can be campy and eventually, so bizarre (blackface, et al) that you can see why this has not been available for a long time and how that only adds to potential controversies with this work.

I'll stop there, but it is ambitious enough and some of it will remind one of Woody Allen's work in Stardust Memories and (because of its editing) Take The Money And Run. And though the song came out around the same time as this film and Keaton directed its music video, Belinda Carlisle's hit record ''Heaven Is A Place On Earth'' is nowhere to be found in this film, even as many similarly relevant songs are.

The only extra is an Original Theatrical Trailer, to the extent this saw such bookings back in the day, but it did get new ones recently for this restored release.

Michael Cacoyannis' Iphigenia (1977) is part of a Greek Tragedy trilogy from the director, still only known primarily for the massive international success of Zorba The Greek (1964) was far more successful and prolific overseas and in his home country. Based on tales of the Trojan War, we previously covered as an impressive opera (see below,) Cacoyannis and actress Irene Papas continued their longtime collaboration here as she plays Klytaimnistra, Kostas Kazakos is Agamemnon and Tatiana Papamoschou as the title character.

When he kills a sacred animal, the Gods demand his oldest daughter (Iphigenia) as sacrifice to make up for it, all the while when thousands of army men (played by real Greek military men) await for what's next.

This is a big, ambitious film and though it was not super expensive, it is super realistic and can be brutal at times in its graphic violence, et al. It also made me wonder how this will compare to Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, but I appreciate how it pulls no punches and never wallows in anything to be exploitive. Its honest filmmaking, more impressive than ever by not falling back on any phony fantasy elements or bad CGI effects, so ever if you don't know all the history (though the more you know, the more you'll get out of this film,) you'll want to give this one a good look just the same.

Extras include a new interview with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou on Michael Cacoyannis (2025)

• Archival press conference interview with Michael Cacoyannis (1977)

• Archival interview with director Michael Cacoyannis and actress Irene Papas (1977)

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

• Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Vrasidas Karalis

• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

For more on that dual musical version of the story, go to this link:

https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12150/Gluck:+Iphigenie+en+Aulide/Iphigenie+en+Tauride:+M

Marc Allegret's Lady Chatterley's Lover (1955) is a decent version of the famous D.H. Lawrence's novel where the title Lady (Danielle Darrieux) has to find another man (Erno Crisa) when her husband (Leo Genn) is so injured, he cannot be intimate with her the way she needs, wants, etc. Unlike too many later versions, it does not take the potential 'sexpliotation' route and handles the material with great intelligence, maturity and class.

The result is one of the better versions of the book filmed to date, even if some things were changed for post-WWII realities and all involved are in top form, delivering a very palpable and convincing film, all the way to when the affair starts to very slowly become scandalous. These days, in too many circles, this would not be a scandal or problem, so watching it now is nostalgic in a whole new, maybe unexpected way. Either way, a solid film worth catching, especially since it has been so well restored.

Extras include a nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and an essay by Michael Barrett.

Harry Kumel's Malpertuis (1971, aka The Legend Of Doom House) has a young sailor named Jan (Mathieu Carriere) not certain whether to go back home, then goes literally back to his childhood home, only to find it is gone. When a night of partying goes wrong, he wakes up at the mansion of his Uncle Cassavius (Orson Welles) who is very wealthy, with anyone else there whop wants his money staying there until the man dies.

The twist is that Cassavius expects anyone who gets his fortune stay there until they die! Jan has to figure all this out as the situation becomes more bizarre and odd.

Very well shot and edited, Welles more than holds his own as does the rest of the cast, including Susan Hampshire, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Walter Rilla, Sylvie Vartan, Daniel Pilon and even an uncredited Johnny Halliday. The result is a film that is as much of an experience as just a film and though a few things might be off or there might be minor down moments, it is impressive and recommended.

Extras include a feature length audio commentary by Harry Kümel and assistant director Francoise Levie (2005)

• New interview with Harry Kumel (2025)

• New interview with author and gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby (2025)

• Malpertuis Archive: an archival documentary on the making of the film featuring Kumel, actor Mathieu Carriere and director of photography Gerry Fisher among others (2005)

• Orson Welles Uncut: a featurette on the casting of Welles, including rare outtakes of the actor (2005)

• Susan Hampshire: one actress, three parts - an archival interview with the actress, including screen tests and contributions from cast and crew (2005)

• Archival interview with Michel Bouquet and Harry Kumel from Belgian television (1971)

• Jean Ray, John Flanders 1887 - 1964: an archival interview with the source novelist and co-writer of Malpertuis (2005)

• Malpertuis Revisited: Harry Kumel revisits locations from the film (2005, 4 mins)

• Malpertuis: The Cannes cut: the rejected version of the film which premiered in Cannes (100 minutes, SD)

• The Warden of the Tomb: Kumel's early film based on Franz Kafka's play (1965, 37 mins)

• Trailer

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

• Limited Edition 80-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by Lucas Balbo, Maria J. Perez Cuervo, David Flint, Willow Catelyn Maclay, Jonathan Owen

• and Limited Edition of 3,000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

Nikos Koundouros' The Ogre Of Athens (1956) is the other key Greek film here, about an innocent man (Dinos Illopoulis,) a mild-manned bank clerk Thomas keeping to himself when he is mistaken for the title character aka ''The Dragon.'' That happens to be a man who rules the dark streets and alleys of all the cities of the island, but instead of denying it, Thomas decides (against his better judgment) to pretend to be that very man. Because people like infamy, they buy into what he says and does, but the fun ride will not go on forever and something will soon give.

Considered a masterwork, it is rightly considered a film that had so much to say at the time, very relevantly in particular, especially when it came to Greece itself. More than just a time capsule, it is a character study on several levels and some of it is definitely as relevant as ever. I was more impressed than I expected it be and definitely recommend it.

Extras include a new introduction from Jonathan Franzen (2025)

• New interview with critic Christina Newland (2025)

• New interview with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou (2025)

• Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters

• Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Andreas Giannopoulos and extract from Jonathan Franzen's Freedom

• and Limited Edition of 2,500 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

Now for playback performance. The 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Heaven has both vintage black & white footage that shows the age of the materials used, plus new color footage for the interviews. It looks decent, but expect it to also be odd throughout.

The 1080p 1.66 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Iphigenia can show the age of the materials used, which has more dirt and specs on it throughout, meaning the original camera negative might also be partly or totally missing at this time. Color, detail and depth have their moments,but this will need further restoration down the line.

The 1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer on Lady Chatterley's Lover can sometimes show the age of the materials used, but this looks as good as any film here and has impressive moments throughout. Detail can be particularly impressive.

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Malpertuis has some fine shots, but offers a very mixed presentations, especially since it needed some serious reconstruction to save it. You still get some nice shots and nice uses of color, so all the work was worth the effort. This is some of Director of Photography Gerry Fisher's best work.

The 1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer Ogre Of Athens shows the age of the materials used here and there, but this too surprised me by how consistently sharp, clean and clear it was. Its ironic that the two oldest films here look the best.

All films are theatrical mono releases, save simple stereo for Heaven, all offering PCM 2.0 soundtracks except Iphigenia, as it offers DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless sound. Most really show their age sonically, but Heaven has a mixed soundtrack of very old movie sound and new hit records, while the sound on Malpertuis has fared better than expected.

- Nicholas Sheffo