Welcome to the Wider Screenings DVD Review Archive.
This section is created to supplement the release in bookstores throughout the USA, Canada and Australia of Wider Screenings: the Discerning Viewer's Guide to DVD. The purpose of these reviews is archival, analytical fully illustrated critical assessment of the most rewarding movies currently available on DVD. Reviews are structured so as to introduce the film in it's historical context, reference the careers of key filmmakers involved, synopsize the movie, analyze it for what it sets out to do thematically, assess how well it achieves such and then relate the film's individual visual and aural style in terms of the DVD transfer. Supplementary material including assessment of DVD special features, alternate DVD releases of the movie, a Wider Screenings star rating and links to further reading. As site construction proceeds, links to career profiles for key filmmakers listed in the credits will be added.
NEWLY ADDED TO THE DVD REVIEW ARCHIVE
Reactionary Nihilism: the 1980s films of star Charles Bronson and British director J. Lee Thompson, from the serial killer flick 10 to Midnight to a look at Asian cultural differences and child prostitution in Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects.
From Foxes to Lolita: British director Adrian Lyne and the modern morality play, popularized to immense success in Indecent Proposal's moral dilemma - would you cheat sexually on your spouse for a million dollars and a lifetime of financial security?
In Defense of Caligula: banned by the OFLC in Australia in its uncut form since 1979, now in 2 and 3 disc collector's editions is the totally unrated, uncensored Bob Guccione / Tinto Brass masterpiece Caligula.
Bikies and Counter-Culture Idealism: Zombie filmmaker George A. Romero turns Romantic for Knightriders, the film that dared to believe in a counter-culture ideal of jousting motorcyclists where "Camelot is a state of mind."
FILM RAVE
About the Archive
The Wider Screenings DVD Review Archive is dedicated to primarily American film from 1962 to 2001.
Updated daily, it comprises information about individual films and their filmmakers. It is intended as a bank of movie information for DVD and home viewing enthusaists.
All reviews here follow a distinct pattern: intro and summary on page 1, critical analysis on page 2, DVD visual and sound information on page 3, DVD special features, star rating and additional reading guide on page 4.
Links to related films and key personnel are continually being added as the archive expands.
DVDs are acquired from a variety of sources. All reporting and critical accounts are based on the principles of scholarly research and archival collection.
All pictures and YouTube video embeds in Wider Screenings, including the archive, are used for illustrative review purposes only, under the "fair use" Academic standard.
Biographies of key directors will be added to the linkage system as the site expands.
FORMATTED DVD REVIEW TITLE INDEX
10 to Midnight (1983: d. J. Lee Thompson)
52 Pick-Up (1986: d. John Frankenheimer)
Accused, The (1988: d. Jonathan Kaplan)
Almost Perfect Affair, An (1979: d. Michael Ritchie)
Andersonville (1995: d. John Frankenheimer)
Angel Collection, The (1984-1988: d. RV O'Neil, Tom DeSimone)
Angel of H.E.A.T (1982: d. Myrl A. Schreibman)
Astral Factor (1976: d. John Florea)
At Close Range (1985: d. James Foley)
Audrey Rose (1977: d. Robert Wise)
Aviator, The (1985: d. George Miller)
Baby Snakes (1979: d. Frank Zappa)
Bad Lieutenant (1992: d. Abel Ferrara)
Barfly (1987: d. Barbet Schroeder)
Batman Legacy Box Set (1989-1997: d. Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher)
Battle Creek Brawl (1980: d. Robert Clouse)
Believers, The (1987: d. John Schlesinger)
Best Seller (1987: d. John Flynn)
Betsy, The (1978: d. Daniel Petrie)
Big Sleep, The (1977: d. Michael Winner)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962: d. John Frankenheimer)
Black Angel (2002: d. Tinto Brass)
Black Samurai (1976: d. Al Adamson)
Black Sunday (1977: d. John Frankenheimer)
Blue Sky (1994: d. Tony Richardson)
Brazil (1985: d. Terry Gilliam)
Breakheart Pass (1975: d. Tom Gries)
Breakout (1975: d. Tom Gries)
Breathless (1983: d. Jim McBride)
Bucktown (1975: d. Arthur Marks)
By Brakhage (1954-2001: d. Stan Brakhage)
Caboblanco (1980: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Caligula (1979: d. Tinto Brass)
Caligula - the Untold Story (1980: d. Joe D'Amato)
Capetown Affair, The (1967: d. Robert D. Webb)
Capricorn One (1977: d. Peter Hyams)
Carousel (1956: d. Henry King)
Cassandra Crossing, The (1976: d. George P. Cosmatos)
Chained Heat (1983: d. Paul Nicholas)
Cheeky (2000: d. Tinto Brass)
City of Industry (1997: d. John Irvin)
Cleopatra Jones (1973: d. Jack Starrett)
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980: d. Michael Apted)
Cockfighter (1974: d. Monte Hellman)
Cool Hand Luke (1967: d. Stuart Rosenberg)
Cool World (1992: d. Ralph Bakshi)
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951: d. Robert Wise)
Death on the Nile (1978: d. John Guillermin)
Death Wish 4 - The Crackdown (1987: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Devil in the Flesh (1985: d. Marco Bellochio)
Dirty Duck (1975: d. Charles Swenson)
Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966: d. Terence Fisher)
Driver, The (1978: d. Walter Hill)
Emanuelle in America (1976: d. Joe D'Amato)
Emerald Forest, The (1985: d. John Boorman)
Escape Artist, The (1982: d. Caleb Deschanel)
Escape from New York (1981: d. John Carpenter)
Evil That Men Do, The (1984: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Exorcist Collection (1973-1990: d. William Friedkin, John Boorman, WP Blatty)
Exterminator, The (1980: d. James Glickenhaus)
Extremities (1986: d. Robert M. Young)
Fargo (1996: d. Joel Coen)
ffolkes (1980: d. Andrew V. McLaglen)
Fisher King, The (1991: d. Terry Gilliam)
Fort Apache the Bronx (1981: d. Daniel Petrie)
Foxes (1980: d. Adrian Lyne)
Friday Foster (1975: d. Arthur Marks)
Fritz the Cat (1972: d. Ralph Bakshi)
Funhouse, The (1981: d. Tobe Hooper)
Ginger in the Morning (1973: d. Gordon Wiles)
Gladiator, The (1986: d. Abel Ferrara)
Gorky Park (1983: d. Michael Apted)
Great Balls of Fire! (1989: d. Jim McBride)
Hammer Horror Collection (1957-1959: d. Terence Fisher)
Hammett (1982: d. Wim Wenders)
Happy Birthday to Me (1981: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Hell Night (1981: d. Tom DeSimone)
Holcroft Covenant, The (1985: d. John Frankenheimer)
Hotel New Hampshire, The (1984: d. Tony Richardson)
Hound of the Baskervilles, The (1959: d. Terence Fisher)
Hound of the Baskervilles, The (1978: d. Paul Morrissey)
Hurricane, The (1999: d. Norman Jewison)
Immediate Family (1989: d. Jonathan Kaplan)
Indecent Proposal (1993: d. Adrian Lyne)
Island of Dr. Moreau, The (1996: d. John Frankenheimer)
Jacob's Ladder (1990: d. Adrian Lyne)
JD's Revenge (1976: d. Arthur Marks)
Joe Kidd (1972: d. John Sturges)
Kentucky Fried Movie, The (1977: d. John Landis)
Khartoum (1966: d. Basil Dearden)
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Klansman, The (1974: d. Terence Young)
Knightriders (1981: d. George A. Romero)
Legend of Valentino, The (1975: d. Melville Shavelson)
Lifeforce (1985: d. Tobe Hooper)
Light Sleeper (1992: d. Paul Schrader)
Lock Up (1989: d. John Flynn)
Lolita (1998: d. Adrian Lyne)
Lord of Illusions (1995: d. Clive Barker)
Love and Bullets (1978: d. Stuart Rosenberg)
Love Lies Bleeding (1999: d. William Tannen)
Man Who Wasn't There (2001: d. Joel Coen)
Maria's Lovers (1984: d. Andrei Konchalovsky)
Mask (1985: d. Peter Bogdanovich)
Maximum Overdrive (1986: d. Stephen King)
Messalina, Messalina (1977: d. Bruno Corbucci)
Messenger of Death (1988: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Midnight Cowboy (1969: d. John Schlesinger)
Millennium (1989: d. Michael Anderson)
Minus Man, The (1999: d. Hampton Fancher)
Mirror Crack'd, The (1980: d. Guy Hamilton)
Monkey Shines (1988: d. George A. Romero)
Motel Hell (1980: d. Kevin Connor)
Mr. Majestyk (1974: d. Richard Fleischer)
Murphy's Law (1986: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Napoleon (1926: d. Abel Gance)
Ned Kelly (1970: d. Tony Richardson)
Next of Kin (1989: d. John Irvin)
Nightcomers, The (1972: d. Michael Winner)
Of Unknown Origin (1983: g. George P. Cosmatos)
Omega Man, The (1971: d. Boris Sagal)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984: d. Sergio Leone)
One From the Heart (1982: d. Francis Ford Coppola)
Orca: the Killer Whale (1977: d. Michael Anderson)
Out of Towners, The (1970: d. Arthur Hiller)
Outsiders, The (1983: d. Francis Ford Coppola)
Paprika (1991: d. Tinto Brass)
Pope of Greenwich Village, The (1984: d. Stuart Rosenberg)
Quest for Fire (1981: d. Jean-Jacques Annaud)
Prayer for the Dying, A (1987: d. Mike Hodges)
Raise the Titanic (1980: d. Jerry Jameson)
Red Sun (1971: d. Terence Young)
Repo Man (1984: d. Alex Cox)
Resident Evil (2002: d. Paul WS Anderson)
Return of the Living Dead (1985: d. Dan O'Bannon)
Roadie (1980: d. Alan Rudolph)
Robin and Marian (1976: d. Richard Lester)
Rumble Fish (1983: d. Francis Ford Coppola)
Salon Kitty (1977: d. Tinto Brass)
Sand Pebbles, The (1966: d. Robert Wise)
Sea Wolves (1980: d. Andrew V. McLaglen)
Seconds (1966: d. John Frankenheimer)
See No Evil (1971: d. Richard Fleischer)
Sentinel, The (1976: d. Michael Winner)
Shark! (1969: d. Sam Fuller)
Showgirls (1995: d. Paul Verhoeven)
Slaughter (1972: d. Jack Starrett)
Slayground (1983: d. Terry Bedford)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983: d. Jack Clayton)
Somewhere in Time (1980: d. Jeannot Szwarc)
Southern Comfort (1981: d. Walter Hill)
St. Ives (1976: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Starman (1984: d. John Carpenter)
Stunt Man, The (1979: d. Richard Rush)
Supergirl (1984: d. Jeannot Szwarc)
Talk Radio (1988: d. Oliver Stone)
Targets (1968: d. Peter Bogdanovich)
Tenant, The (1976: d. Roman Polanski)
Time After Time (1979: d. Nicholas Meyer)
Tourist Trap (1979: d. David Schmoeller)
Truck Turner (1974: d. Jonathan Kaplan)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949: d. Henry King)
Ulzana's Raid (1972: d. Robert Aldrich)
Union City (1979: d. Marcus Reichert)
Valdez Horses, The (1973: d. John Sturges)
Vampire Collection (1968-1971: d. Jean Rollin)
Von Ryan's Express (1965: d. Mark Robson)
Wacko (1981: d. Greydon Clark)
Walker (1987: d. Alex Cox)
Walking Tall Trilogy (1973-1977: d. Phil Karlson, Earl Bellamy, Jack Starrett)
Warriors, The (1979: d. Walter Hill)
White Buffalo, The (1977: d. J. Lee Thompson)
Wicker Man, The (1973: d. Robin Hardy)
Wildcats (1986: d. Michael Ritchie)
Will Penny (1968: d. Tom Gries)
Witchfinder General (1968: d. Michael Reeves)
Xtro (1982: d. Harry Bromley Davenport)
Year of the Gun (1991: d. John Frankenheimer)