Tag Archives: Larry Gates

1967 film “In the Heat of the Night” gets a Criterion Blu-ray release in January

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The 1967 Norman Jewison directed film “In the Heat of the Night“ starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger is getting a Blu-ray Disc release from The Criterion Collection on January 29th, 2019. The film won a total of FIVE Academy Awards, and was previously released on the format in 2014 by MGM. Tech specs for the release include 1080p HD video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio from a brand new 4K restoration with uncompressed Mono sound. The Criterion Blu-ray is already available for PRE-ORDER over at Amazon and directly via Criterion. There are several New bonus materials set to be included on the release, which are listed below along with info regarding the new restoration and sound.

New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray

  • New Interview with director Norman Jewison
  • New Interview with actor Lee Grant
  • New Interview with Aram Goudsouzian, author of Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon
  • Audio commentary from 2008 featuring Jewison, Grant, actor Rod Steiger, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler
  • Turning Up the Heat: Movie-Making in the ’60s, a 2008 program about the production of the film and its legacy, featuring Jewison, Wexler, producer Walter Mirisch, and filmmakers John Singleton and Reginald Hudlin
  • Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound, a 2008 program about Jones’s innovative soundtrack, including its title song sung by Ray Charles, featuring interviews with Jones, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and musician Herbie Hancock
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic K. Austin Collins
  • New cover by Sean Phillips

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” gets a Signature release on Blu-ray in October

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The original 1956 Don Siegel directed film adaptation of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers“ starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter is getting a “Olive Signature” edition Blu-ray Disc release on October 16th via distributor Olive Films. The film has received a new high-definition digital restoration, according to the distributor. This new version on Blu-ray Disc is now available for PRE-ORDER over at Amazon. A list of bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below.

  • Audio Commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
  • Audio Commentary by actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, and filmmaker Joe Dante
  • “The Stranger in Your Lover’s Eyes” – A two-part visual essay with actor and son of director Don Siegel, Kristoffer Tabori, reading from his father’s book A Siegel Film
  • “The Fear is Real” – Filmmakers Larry Cohen and Joe Dante on the film’s cultural significance
  • “I No Longer Belong: The Rise and Fall of Walter Wanger” – Film scholar and author Matthew Bernstein discusses the life and career of the film’s producer
  • “Sleep No More: Invasion of the Body Snatchers Revisited” – An appreciation of the film featuring actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, along with comments from film directors and fans, John Landis, Mick Garris, and Stuart Gordon
  • “The Fear and the Fiction: The Body Snatchers Phenomenon” – Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, along with film directors John Landis, Mick Garris and Stuart Gordon, discuss the making of the film, its place in history, and its meaning
  • 1985 archival interview with Kevin McCarthy hosted by Tom Hatten
  • “Return to Santa Mira” – An exploration of the film’s locations
  • “What’s In a Name?” – On the film’s title
  • Gallery of rare documents detailing aspects of the film’s production including the never-produced opening narration to have been read by Orson Welles
  • Essay by author and film programmer Kier-La Janisse
  • Original theatrical trailer