Author: Peter J Patrick
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The DVD Report #709
New This Week With so many of the major film releases of 2020 being shown on streaming platforms in conjunction with their theatrical releases, Ammonite becomes the first high profile awards contender to be released on DVD and Blu-ray. The film was on almost everyone’s list of Oscar contenders based on its pedigree. Top-casting, seven-time…
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Oscar Profile #532: Bruce Davison
Born June 28, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Clair and Marian Davison, Bruce Davison is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and New York University. He made his Broadway debut in Tiger at the Gates, his film debut in 1969’s Last Summer, and his TV debut in a 1970 episode of Medical Center. Following the…
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The DVD Report #708
New This Week Warner Archive has finally released the last four of their Blu-ray upgrades scheduled for December, including the Christmas themed The Shop Around the Corner and It Happened on Fifth Avenue. That’s really not an issue as both films, like any good film, can be enjoyed at any time of year. Neither film…
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Oscar Profile #531: Sophia Loren Revisited
Born September 20, 1934 in Rome, Italy, Sophia Scicolone and her younger sister, Maria, were raised by their maternal grandmother in the slums of Pozzuoli, their construction engineer father having refused to divorce his wife and marry the girls’ piano teacher mother. Encouraged to enter a beauty contest at 14, the young would-be actress was…
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The DVD Report #707
New This Week The first Blu-rays were introduced in 2006. Ever since then, there has been speculation as to which films, previously released on DVD, would be upgraded to the higher resolution Blu-ray discs. I have often speculated on this myself. This week, however, I am looking at the situation a little differently. Most classic…
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Oscar Profile #530: Kenneth Branagh
Born December 10, 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the middle child of a Protestant working class family, Kenneth Branagh moved with his family to Berkshire, England when he was nine to escape “the troubles”. Educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he was asked by the principal when he was 19 to perform…
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The DVD Report #706
New This Week It’s time for reflection. As we looked for entertainment in the horrible year just passed, we turned mostly to streaming, but there were many good Blu-ray releases of films from prior years to keep us busy as well. Without delving into the 4K Blu-ray market which I have yet to explore, I…
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Oscar Profile #529: David Fincher
Born August 28, 1962 in Denver, Colorado, David (Andrew) Fincher was the son of Howard “Jack” Fincher, a reporter and bureau chief for Life Magazine, and his wife, Claire Mae, a mental health nurse. The family moved to San Anselmo, California where filmmaker George Lucas was a neighbor. He began making films with an 8mm…
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The DVD Report #705
New This Week It was announced on December 3 that Warner Bros. will release all their 2021 films simultaneously in theatres and on their streaming service, HBO Max. That led to speculation that this could be the end of theatrical distribution as we know it as well as the end of DVD and Blu-ray releases…
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Oscar Profile #528: Frank Capra Revisited
Born Francisco Rosario Capra on May 18, 1897 in Bisacquino, Sicily and raised in Los Angeles from the age of six, the future President of both AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America) would become a naturalized American citizen in 1920 at which time he legally…
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The DVD Report #704
New This Week The Covid-19 coronavirus has made this such a terrible year in so many ways. Beyond the sickness and death, there has been economic suffering and mental anguish for many. Everyday things like going to school or work and shopping for essentials have been affected for everyone. Complaining about the state of movies…
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Oscar Profile #527: Gregory La Cava
Born March 10, 1892 in Towanda, Pennsylvania, (George) Gregory La Cava studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students’ League in New York. He was hired by silent film cartoonist Raoul Barré in 1913 to do odd jobs at his studio. By 1915, he was an animator on The Animated Grouch…
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The DVD Report #703
New This Week Mister Roberts, which has been given a sparkling 4K restoration by Warner Archive for its long overdue Blu-ray release, was a film of many firsts. The 1955 film was Henry Fonda’s first in seven years. It was James Cagney’s first film, except for cameos, in which he was not the top-billed star…
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Oscar Profile #526: Lionel Barrymore
Born April 28, 1878 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lionel Herbert Blythe was the oldest of three children of actors Maurice Barrymore and Ellen Drew Barrymore, Barrymore being the stage name that Lionel and his siblings, Ethel, and John, also took. The most prolific of the acting Barrymores, Lionel made his stage debut in a 1903 Kansas…
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The DVD Report #702
New This Week Made in Italy marks the feature writing and directing debut of actor James D’Arcy (Dunkirk). It also marks the first starring role of Micheal Richardson, the actor who legally changed his name from Neeson to that of his late mother with his father’s blessing in 2018. Richardson plays the soon to be…
