Now on Blu-ray: RAY HARRYHAUSEN: SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN, RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES, THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS, SUTURE

A little inside baseball from the ScreenAnarchy staff camp:

When someone of significance passes away, a general call usually goes out to the team behind the scenes to determine who will write up a goodbye on our behalf. Sometimes it's a matter of who is available at a given moment to make something appear in a reasonable time, but other times, we will engage in friendly competition for the privilege to remember our heroes publicly. One of the latter instances was the case of the 2013 passing of cinema legend, Ray Harryhausen. I took the call that time, and what a privilege it was. Harryhausen meant and continues to mean a lot to be, and I wanted to say thank you the best that I could.

It's with that same sense of reverence that I approached the brand new Arrow Video Blu-ray of Gilles Penso's documentary, Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Penso's film takes the viewer of a tour through the life and career of Harryhausen, oen that is as fascinating as the films themselves. He interviews dozens of collaborators and admirers from all sectors of the movie business in an attempt to paint a picture of the immense influence that Ray Harryhausen had on an art form that he loved. The result is a beautiful eulogy to a talent that is unlikely to be seen again for a long time.

The list of contributors to this documentary is staggering, with some of Hollywood's biggest names appearing in extended interview pieces to pay tribute to their hero. People like Guillermo Del Toro, Rick Baker, James Cameron, Nick Park, Peter Jackson, and even Steven Spielberg get in on the love fest. Lest you think the subjects are overstating the debt they owe, each of their interviews are coupled with footage from their films that is directly attributable to the work of Harryhausen. It's really astounding to see how closely these modern blockbuster films hew to Harryhausen's work even in an age where CG has replaced the practical effects that Harryhausen pioneered.

If there is any significant fault to the documentary it is that it descends into hagiographic territory for pretty much the entire run time, but then again, why shouldn't it? For fans of Ray Harryhausen there isn't a whole lot of new material or many surprises to be had, but this fan couldn't wipe the smile off his face for the entire length of the film. Ray Harryhausen was a legend that will never be replaced and a master of a quickly dying art, but the fact that it continues to inspire even today is testament to the universal nature of his work.

The Disc

Arrow Video previously released this film on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK and this disc is a direct port of the previous incarnation. The video quality varies wildly from one interview to the next, as many of the subjects are only featured in archival footage. The film itself was completed back in 2011, but much of the footage is significantly older than that. All things being accounted for, though, it looks fine and I have no complaints.

Arrow Video have rounded up a decent number of extras for what is considered to be one of their budget releases. We get an audio commentary from the director, a dozen extended and new interviews from people like Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg that were not in the original feature as well as extended bits from people who are in the film, there is also Q&A footage, a trailer, and much more to enjoy.

I love the work of Ray Harryhausen, it's gotten me through some rough spots in my life, and to see him celebrated in this film is a happy thing. Definitely recommended.

Prior to being sent the new Arrow Video Blu-ray release, I had never seen Return of the Killer Tomatoes – or its preceding feature, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. However, being a fan of cult films I was always aware of the pair, I just figured that they sounded pretty dumb and that isn't exactly where my taste usually would lead me. Well, I still haven't seen Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, but I can say with authority now that Return is, as expected, pretty dumb, but in a fun and surprisingly literate way.

Ten years after the Great Tomato War featured in the first film, the world is still recovering and tomatoes are banned from all use worldwide. Leave it to Professor Gangreen (John Astin, The Addams Family) to bring them back while attempting to create an army of tomato warriors indistinguishable from humans. The only thing separating the world from tomato domination is a goofy pizza parlor employee named Chad (Anthony Starke) and his handsome pal Matt (a very young George Clooney fresh off his run on The Facts of Life and horror spoof Return to Horror High). Hilarity and romance ensue.

Return of the Killer Tomatoes was written and directed by the creator of the original film, John de Bello, and he never for a second allows the audience to forget that he's in on the joke. Return is a unique experience, as it's not quite a spoof or a satire, but somewhere in between as it looks at the film industry and horror/sci-fi conventions with its tongue firmly planted in cheek. De Bello makes sure that we never go five minutes without an inside gag, and a genuinely funny one at that, gracing the screen. Where many films of this sort tend to falter, for example all of the Scary Movie films, is that it still manages to weave a coherent story into the madness, utilizing the very conventions it is mercilessly skewing. The result is a really fun ride for anyone with a wacky sense of humor.

The Disc

Return of the Killer Tomatoes benefits from the team at Arrow Video and Lakeshore Entertainment giving it a brand new 2K restoration, as such it looks much better than anyone could've possibly expected. Fine detail is wonderfully rendered and the colors looks about as accurate as I can imagine they ever have. The uncompressed original mono audio track is clean and clear with no significant damage and special focus on the dialogue. Overall, it's hard to find fault with the A/V presentation of the film.

We are treated to a fair few extras to help contextualize the film and its significance by the Arrow Video team. There is an audio commentary with John De Bello, an extended interview with lead actor Anthony Starke in which he talks about his own career along with the obvious point of interest in his working with George Clooney before he was George Clooney, and finally a bunch of rare behind the scenes stills and a trailer. The package is rounded out with a booklet featuring an essay from regular Arrow Video contributor James Oliver in which he extols the virtues of Return of the Killer Tomatoes as an academic exercise.

This is a really great disc for a pretty good movie. Recommended.

Jack Hill was a Jack of all trades in the '60s and '70s exploitation film circuit.

He started off with the killer cult classic Spider Baby, and from there manages to weave his way through pretty much every major exploitation genre that existed between 1967 and 1980. He practically invented the Filipino women-in-prison genre with The Big Doll House, he make some of the most powerful blaxploitation films of the time with Pam Grier in films like Foxy Brown, and he took on the drag racing craze with Pit Stop, but one film that I didn't even know about before Arrow Video announced its pending release was The Swinging Cheerleaders.

The Swinging Cheerleader s fit into the '70s sex comedy genre that featured a ton of film in which women and girls in gender specific jobs (cheerleaders, nurses, stewardesses, etc.) found themselves sexually liberated and fighting for right, often against some surly and unseemly men who wish to corrupt them. In his film, Hill chose to cross pollinate the death of hippie culture (in 1974) with the rise of sexual liberation. The result is a smart, fun, and at times mildly raunchy ride through life on the campus of a college in which the biggest business is sports gambling. When the coaches attempt to fix the games to recover huge profits for themselves, it's up to the cheerleaders to save the day.

Though it isn't exactly a protest picture, The Swinging Cheerleaders does manage to pack a bit of social and cultural awareness in between its frequent nude scenes and drug induced paranoia. This kind of film, the raunchy sex comedy, would really take off once the '70s ended and the age of excess in the '80s began. One of my own favorite films in this general genre is 1979's H.O.T.S., which owes a lot toThe Swinging Cheerleaders and its ilk, though Hill's film is at least ten times more coherent and intelligent that H.O.T.S.

Of all of the directors that made their names during that halcyon age of exploitation filmmaking, very few had the track record that Jack Hill did across genres. Very few of his films are stinkers, and just about every one is smarter than it needs to be in order to get it's point across. As a result, exploitation filmmaking should have been held to a higher standard, but sadly Hill just became an outlier and icon in his refusal to completely dumb down his work. Jack Hill made films that still stand out today, even though they may be dated, their main concerns are still largely relevant, and more importantly, they are still entertaining as hell.

The Disc

I was shocked an amazed at the quality of Arrow Video's Blu-ray release of The Swinging Cheerleaders. I never expected this film to looks this good forty years later. The new 2K restoration is astonishing, and the image probably didn't even look this good the first time a print ran through a projector back in 1974. Colors pop, detail is crisp and clear, and the image is stable. The uncompressed mono audio also sounds great, with no major hiss, drop outs, or damage to be heard.

Arrow Video has become the go-to label for presenting the amazing work of Jack Hill on Blu-ray, and this release is yet another strong one from their camp. We get an audio commentary from Hill, who is still amazingly articulate as he makes his way through his eighties, we also get a brand new interview with the man about this film and its genesis, we get a Q&A from a 2012 screening and the New Beverly Cinema in LA with a pair of the film's stars. We also get archival interviews with DP Alfred Taylor (who also shot Spider Baby), and archival footage of Hill being interviewed by rockabilly wildman Johnny Legend. Cap it all off with a new essay from Cullen Gallagher and you've got another home run from Arrow Video and Jack Hill.

Out of all of Arrow Video's releases on the recent docket, there was one that I had never heard of and was hesitant to check out because of the description, Suture:

The wealthy and self-assured Vincent (Michael Harris) meets his blue collar half-brother Clay (Dennis Haysbert) at their father's funeral and is struck by their similarity. He decides to murder Clay and take his identity, only Clay survives the assassination attempt with no memory and is mistaken for Vincent.

While fans of paranoiac thrillers like The Manchurian Candidate – I count myself among that number – may think that sounds great, the idea of constructing such a film sounds great, I was not so sure. The problem isn't the plot, I can get behind some gas-lighting, lost identity thrillers all day long, the problem for me was the overly artistic sounding conceit that these characters were to be played by men of different races. Michael Harris is white and Dennis Haysbert is black, so the idea that anyone in the real world would be able to confuse the two seemed a bit to abstract for my sensitive palate.

I'm not a smart man – I'm sure that anyone who reads my writing would confirm this for me – but I do like to think that I'm an observant one. Suture takes an interesting look at identity politics and confusion from a place of confrontation, and I like confrontation. The idea that these two characters would be mistaken for one another is pretty ridiculous on the surface, but once one buys into the conceit of the film, it works brilliantly and fairly soon race becomes just another tool in creating the mood that the writer-directors, David Siegel and Scott McGehee, are looking for.

The audience is taken along for the ride when Clay awakens from his assassination attempt without a memory and is groomed by family and friends who believe he is Vincent, to take on his assassin's personality. It is very clear to everyone watching the film that the new Vincent (Clay) is the same, but somehow different, but rather than using the differences to disprove his identity, they all choose to help mold him back into the Vincent that they believe he once was. His own lack of memories turns him into a blank slate onto which Vincent's loved ones can paint the man they loved, regardless of its accuracy to his actual personality.

This is the kind of film that breeds conversation, whether you liked it or not. Suture is an intelligent thriller that trusts its audience to be aware of their own prejudices and shed them in order to go along for the ride. It doesn't hurt that Haysbert, probably best known these days for his TV work in shows like 24 and The Unit, is a fierce and commanding performer who compels you to believe that whatever he's saying is believable. It's a powerhouse performance in one of his few leading roles, and without Haysbert I don't think this film has quite the impact.

Suture is an exceptional work that truly represents the glory days of American independent cinema in the early '90s. This was a time where filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and others were doing their best work. Sadly, Suture did not lead to the kind of extended and illustrious careers that those filmmakers saw, but it is definitely ripe for rediscovery, especially these days when race politics are everywhere thanks to the news. Suture is a beautiful film that is finally receiving a well-deserved second chance to win your approval, don't let it slip by.

The Disc

Suture is presented by Arrow Video in a stunning 4K restoration from the original camera negative. While the film has been previously available on home video, you've never truly seen it until you've seen this amazing restoration. The directors talk about the restoration in the bonus material and mention that it has never looked this good, not even when it was first screened, because of technical limitations of the time. Thankfully this new disc is absolutely pristine and beautiful to look at, thanks for the restoration overseen by superstar James White. The audio is also restored and clarity is exceptional.

Suture is a film that demands context, and thankfully Arrow Video has seen their way clear to provide plenty for this release. There is an audio commentary with the directors, moderated by fan and patron Steven Soderbergh, who offered to Executive Produce the film after seeing it. There is also a great making of documentary called Lacerations: The Making of Suture, that features lots of interviews with the directors, as well as principal and supporting cast and crew. We also get an HD presentation of the directors' early short Birds Past as well as a few deleted scenes.

Last, but certainly not least, is one of Arrow's most impressive booklets to date for a stand along single release. The booklet includes several essays exploring different aspects of the film and its psychology as well as written commentary from the filmmakers and reprints of contemporaneous reviews of the film. This booklet is a godsend for those who crave context.

If you don't buy anything else in this gallery, buy this disc. Suture is a minor masterpiece.