Affairs
Of Anatol
(1921/Paramount/Film Preserve/Artcraft Blu-ray)/Bonnie
Scotland (1935/MGM/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)/Howard
Hughes In Hollywood Volume 1: Two Arabian Knights
(1927) + The Racket
(1928/Flicker Alley Blu-ray Set)/Project
Hail Mary 4K (2026/4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray*)/Sheep
Detectives (Blu-ray/*both
2026/Alliance/MGM)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B Picture: B-/B-/B-/B-/X/B- Sound:
B-/C+/B-/B/B+/B Extras: B/C+/B-/B/C/D Films: B-/C+/C+/B-/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Bonnie
Scotland
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Here's
a solid set of over a century of comedy, some silent and some brands
new, including laughs into other genres.
Cecil
B. DeMille's The
Affairs Of Anatol
(1921) is an amusing piece about a married man (Wallace Reid) who has
a soft spot for women in need to a fault, which is severely affecting
his marriage to his beautiful wife (Gloria Swanson in prime form) who
he is unhappy with to begin with. In all the luxuries their wealth
brings, yet that does not necessarily mean happiness.
A
great example of the kind of sophisticated filmmaking the original
Paramount was known for abut is not seen enough today (sad since they
were the second-biggest studio in the Classical Hollywood period)
shows us a side of glamour and class the studios produced in the
silent era we have lost too many films from that period that showcase
all that. What a loss, but when you see this extraordinary
restoration by the legendary Robert A. Harris and James Mockoski form
various sources from 35mm prints to a 16mm Kodachrome print that
preserved all the advanced tinting the film offers, it is a
revelation and all while watching a really good comedy.
Those
who only know Swanson from Sunset
Boulevard
and even her Von Stroheim films, you can see here very clearly why
she was such a big star and big deal. Though you have some flaws and
limits, the restoration can be stunning, with more than a few
segments looking shockingly vivid, sharp, clear and delivering the
kind of silent cinema that made movies a hit and especially here, you
know how much hard work really went into its making. Especially not
with all the new AI joining the played out CGI visual effects, et al,
it is actually a revelation.
The
supporting cast is solid and early on, as you watch, those not use to
silent cinema will forget that as they get quickly involved in all
the ups and downs the characters go through. We see all kinds of
great restorations, but The
Affairs Of Anatol
speaks so much to our silent film history and is such a key film to
see restored, it will give all a new appreciation for all of them!
Extras
in this fine slipcase packaging include a nicely illustrated booklet
on the film including informative
text liner notes by film historian Farran Smith Nehme, while the disc
adds a rare promotional reel behind the scenes of the film's
production, accompanied with music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture
Orchestra.
Radio
Drama Version (59:33) as The Mercury Theatre adapts the Arthur
Schnitzler play by Orson Welles, originally broadcast on August 22,
1938; starring Welles, Arlene Francis, William Alland, Helen Lewis,
Alice Frost and Ray Collins, with music by Bernard Herrmann.
A
Trip to Paramountown (1922, 12:18) is a fun, short
documentary film by Jack Cunningham, made for Paramount Pictures'
10th Anniversary featuring several personalities under
contract to Paramount at the time; restored by the Academy Film
Archive.
Behind
the Scenes Photo Gallery (12 stills)
and
a really interesting Restoration Demonstration (2:30).
James
W. Horne's Bonnie
Scotland
(1935) is a key Laurel and Hardy feature film that was not exactly
available for a long time in complete form because someone decided to
cut the film up into a few short segments and sell them like that
instead of just releasing the film as is. An affront to all serious
film fans, those highly against censorship and the duo itself, it is
back in full and now you can see for yourself.
The
duo travel to Scotland to get Stan's inheritance from an uncle, but
he gets nothing but a set of bagpipes and a snuff box, a huge
disappointment. To make things worse, they accidentally sign up to
be in the British Army, then land up very out of their element when
they are shipped to India!
This
certainly has more laughs than not and should have never been cut up
like that, but fish out of water military comedies never really
worked for me (see another one below) and even this hilarious duo can
only make this so compelling for me. However, I was glad to finally
see the whole thing as it was and that is a reason to celebrate no
matter what.
Extras
include a feature length audio commentary track by superfans and film
scholars Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann and excerpts of the
immortal duo form two other films the were in: Hollywood Party
(1934) and Pick A Star (1935).
Howard
Hughes In Hollywood Volume 1 features two key films directed by
Lewis Milestone for the famous eccentric billionaire before he bought
RKO Studios: the comedy Two Arabian Knights (1927) and The
Racket (1928,) a film many rightly think of as a precursor to
Hughes' gangster classic Scarface (1932, Howard Hawks) with
some of the same rough, precode realities the later film would have
and used footage from this earlier film.
Two
Arabian Knights has William Boyd and Louis Wolheim as two U.S.
soldiers during WWI who get captured by the Germans and sent to a
prison camp, but they escape to Arabia, where they both fall for a
beautiful native gal (Mary Astor!) in a somewhat politically
incorrect romp still worth watching for what works.
The
Racket was more than able to go a few rounds with any other
silent crime film at the time, with Thomas Meighan as a good cop
trapped in a sea of bad cops and criminals cutting backroom deals and
corrupting the big city. Louis Wolheim is far from comic here as the
lead gangster, Nick Scarsi, among many good performances here.
Extras
include a nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and a new essay by film historian Imogen Sara Smith,
separate notes on the music by Robert Israel and Neil Brand, vintage
reviews, conservation notes, and introductions on each score, plus a
reversible cover, while the discs add:
Feature
length audio commentaries: Historian Harlow Robinson, author of
Lewis Milestone: Life and Films, discusses Two Arabian
Knights while film critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme
together discuss The Racket
Rare
Outtakes from The Racket: 44 minutes of on set footage or
various takes, filmed for The Racket, but later reused for Hughes'
Scarface (1932)
Howard
Hughes In Hollywood (2026): A look at Hughes' arrival in
Hollywood and his earliest efforts in the industry, scripted by film
historian David Pierce
Howard
Hughes and the First Academy Awards (2026): Film historian Randy
Haberkamp explores the origins of the Oscars and Hughes' early wins
as a producer
Hart
Wegner Remembrance: A look at the UNLV Film Department's
founding faculty member, Hart Wegner, late professor emeritus of
German, Comparative Literature, and Film Studies, whose work was
instrumental in preserving Hughes' legacy
and
an Image Gallery featuring production stills, promotional material,
and rare documents from the Howard Hughes Motion Picture Records at
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
For
more on the original Hughes/Hawks Scarface, you can learn more
by starting with our coverage of the Criterion 4K edition of the film
at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16565/Scarface+4K+(1932/Criterion+4K+Ultra+HD+Blu-ray
Phil
Lord and Christopher
Miller's Project
Hail Mary 4K
(2026) was a surprise hit by the commercial filmmaking duo, based on
a book by the
author of The
Martian,
with the movie borrowing everything from 2001:
A Space Odyssey,
to lead Ryan Gosling's own First
Man
to Interstellar
to Danny Boyle's Sunshine
(2007, a far more adult, dark, complex and mature film about
reigniting the sun with a space mission) to a take off of the three
robots from Douglas Trumbull's Silent
Running
(1972) as one single entity by way of Lucas & Spielberg.
They
are able to weave this together to make a family film that has a
little suspense, but is no classic and the lead here carries more of
the film than he should have to. The few good moments are soon
undermined by what we have seen before, the familiar, the predictable
and that becomes boring early on. You may want to take a look at it
for what works, but those who know the genre will not be as
impressed.
Extras
include a
feature length audio commentary track by Directors Phil Lord and
Christopher Miller, including how their initial cut was 3 hours and
45 minutes!
Kyle
Balda's The
Sheep Detectives (2026)
is a high concept comedy that could have gone one of several ways. A
farmer (Hugh Jackman) reads detective stories to his farm animals all
the time, but little does he know the sheep can speak english and
love the mystery genre. When something bad happens there, the sheep
take on the case!
Now
it could be dark like the original Orwell Animal Farm book or
Watership Down or be a thriller for families with hidden adult
ideas or they can choose like this did to be an outright, safe family
release. Initially amusing, voice actors include Julia Louis
Dreyfus, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart and Bryan
Cranston, but this goes on for 109 minutes and only is able to hold
together so long before it becomes repetitive. Some may enjoy this
and the talent present is inarguable, but it did not work for me.
Check it out if you think it might for you.
There
are no extras.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Project
Hail Mary 4K
has some nice shots and good moments, but has a softness that
persists more than expected, likely from more CGI work than usual.
Color is not bad either, but detail and depth is not as consistent.
The lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems)
sound is easily the best here, though the music scores for the silent
releases are more recent recordings.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfers on the four old films here, three of which are silent
films, are going to show their age in various ways, though Anatol
has complex tinting and other films can have sepiatone tints, et al.
Only so much can be done about the damage on the various film
materials here, but they have been as thoroughly restored and
preserved as possible. Anatol is particularly impressive and I was
pleased with how often the rest of the films held up. All the
silent films also have DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes for their music scores,
while Bonnie Scotland
has a DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix. Two
Arabian Knights has a
slightly forward score, while The
Racket comes with two of
them, both sounding good.
The
1080p 2.00 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Sheep
Detectives
has excessive digital work for the talking sheep and other animals,
but that means it is a little softer than one might like. Could this
look better in 4K? The lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby
TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) sound is better and not bad
throughout, featuring a consistent soundfield.
To
order the Bonnie
Scotland
Warner
Archive 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
