Category: Home Viewing with Peter

With streaming programs in full force across various platforms, there’s no excuse not to view something at home now, whether it be through one of the services or from the reserves of your DVD and Blu-ray collections. Here are a few examples of the remarkable films and TV series and miniseries that are streaming right…

There are lots of series and mini-series to watch on streaming, but not too many recent or new theatrical films worth delving into. The dwindling Blu-ray and DVD releases of the last week or so are a mixed bag as well. Best of the lot is Gregory Hoblit’s 1996 film Primal Fear, given a 4K…

Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray of the long in demand 1948 version of Peter B. Kyne’s 1916 novel 3 Godfathers. John Ford’s film was the 8th of 9 films to date made from the 1913 novel of the same name. The first two versions, released in 1913 and 1916, respectively, starred silent screen great…

Imprint has released a Blu-ray upgrade of Bob Rafelson’s 1990 film Mountains of the Moon, based on the historical biographical “Burton and Speke” novel by William Harrison, as well as the original journals of the 19th century explorers John Hanning Speke and Richard Burton. It was only the second film from prolific writer-producer-director Rafelson that…

The Criterion Collection has released William Dieterle’s 1941 film All That Money Can Buy on Blu-ray under its Oscar qualifying title. Previous home video releases of the film, as well as its numerous television showings over the years, were under its better-known alternate title, The Devil and Daniel Webster, which was a slightly cut version…

Now that the 2023 Oscars are over, this is a good time to look back at previous Oscars to get a perspective on how the year’s best film might fare over time. Looking back at the Oscars of the years 2003, 1983, 1963, and 1943 gives us a snapshot of those Oscar nominated and winning…

The Criterion Collection and Kino Lorber have both released 4K UHD restored versions of classic films that were produced by the legendary Hal Wallis. Raoul Walsh’s 1939 film The Roaring Twenties was made during Wallis’ tenure as chief of production at Warner Brothers, while John Sturges’ 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was made…

As Oscar voting draws to a close, all this year’s Best Picture nominees are available for home viewing in one form or another. I finally got to see the last remaining nominee I hadn’t seen last week. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest can be found on Apple TV and other platforms. The Holocaust drama…

Kino Lorber has released 1945’s Blood on the Sun on Blu-ray. Made by James Cagney’s production company, the film about a reporter’s efforts to expose Japanese Prime Minister Baron Gi-ichi Tanaka’s militarist strategic plan for world domination prepared for Emperor Hirohito in 1929, was the actor’s most successful film between his Oscar winning performance in…

Kino Lorber has released a 4K UHD edition of Fritz Lang’s 1945 film Scarlet Street that is worth seeking out. Released on Christmas Day 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland, Lang’s film noir masterpiece was banned by the New York, Milwaukee, and Atlanta censors for being “licentious, profane, obscure, and contrary to the good order of the…

Criterion has released Dee Rees’Mudbound on Blu-ray, making the 2017 Netflix film finally available to home video collectors. Nominated for four Oscars including Best Adapted Screenplay (Rees and Virgil Williams), Cinematography (Rachel Morrison), Supporting Actress (Mary J. Blige), and Original Song (“Mighty River” co-written by Blige), the film won numerous awards for its ensemble cast…

Anatomy of a Fall is now available on pay-per-view prior to its streaming debut on Hulu. Nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Actress, Directing, Original Screenplay, and Film Editing, Anatomy of a Fall is a French film in which the lead is played by a German actress whose character’s language of choice is English.…

Having caught up with most, if not all, the contenders for this this year’s Oscars available for streaming on the various platforms, I decided to watch a film on Netflix that had been a minor contender for Oscar consideration two years ago. Michael Lembeck’s Queen Bees did manage a nomination for an AARP Movies for…

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray of Douglas Sirk’s 1952 musical comedy, Has Anybody Seen My Gal, a rare departure from the master of 1950s melodrama. Sirk, who began as a director in Germany in 1934, was forced to leave the country in 1937 when his first wife and mother of his only child denounced…

Three box office hits from the 1990s have been newly released in spectacular looking 4K UHD editions, all three of them being successful follow-ups to the even the bigger hits of their stars – Kevin Costner, John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, and Leonardo DiCaprio. 1991’s JFK was the passion project of director Oliver Stone fresh on…