Category: Home Viewing with Peter

I still haven’t received my copy of the massive Ford at Fox collection so I’m unable to review the films that are included in the set, but I can tell you what’s in it and what’s not. Ford’s career at Fox took off with 1924’s The Iron Horse, a blockbuster about the westward expansion caused…

I had hoped to review the massive Ford at Fox collection this week. Unfortunately, I have been unable to get my grubby little hands on a copy of the collection that releases today. What I can tell you is that it contains 24 films including the documentary Becoming John Ford. I can also tell you…

John Waters’ 1988 film, Hairspray, was the director’s first mainstream film, albeit one with enough bizarre edges to appeal to his avant-garde following as well as the masses. A hilarious take on the TV dance show phenomenon of the early 1960s, the film catapulted Rikki Lake to stardom as forthright “fat” girl Tracy Turnblad and…

This week is Thanksgiving. Films built around the holiday are few and for the most part, far between. The most famous, of course, is 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street, which begins with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, but is more about Christmas than Thanksgiving. I’ll have more about that later. It would be almost forty years…

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of cartoon movies, but every once in a while one comes along that is so hyped up it’s hard to ignore. Ratatouille is one that is worthy of the hype. The film from Disney Pixar ( Toy Story, Cars) is beautifully lit, so much so…

Back in September, I mentioned With a Song in My Heart and I’ll Cry Tomorrow as part of my report on movie musicals from 1927 through 1955. Both, starring Susan Hayward, are finally being released on DVD. I’ll Cry Tomorrow, the musical biography of Lillian Roth, releases today as part of Warner Bros’. Leading Ladies…

It’s time to get caught up with new releases again. The 80th Anniversary Edition of The Jazz Singer is of more historical than entertainment value today. The film itself is a creaky tale of the Jewish cantor’s son who finds success beyond the synagogue to the disdain of his father. It is about 80% silent…

How many people do you know who watch scary movies on Halloween? I don’t watch them myself, nor do I know anyone who does, but in the days and weeks leading up the holiday there is no better way to get into the mood than to watch a few horror flicks back-to-back. Horror films have…

There are lots of things we can do with our time other than watch movies, but the best place to watch them when we want to watch them is on a widescreen LCD or plasma TV screen via a state-of-the-art DVD player. The trouble is we are at the mercy of the big DVD companies…

Last week, I briefly mentioned the 50th Anniversary Edition of Funny Face, which I’ve now seen. Restored from the original negative, the film looks stunning. One of the most gorgeous films ever made, previous home video editions have been so washed out and ugly anyone discovering the film for the first time on VHS or…

Gross-out comedies don’t win Oscars but they do have a rich tradition in film…that is to say they make lots of money. Starting with National Lampoon’s Animal House in 1978, the genre basically was about, and generally appealed to, adolescent boys and grown men in arrested adolescence. In the 1980s, films in the genre included…

The movie musical has a long history going back to the first talking film, The Jazz Singer . In the first few years of the talkies it seemed every other film was a musical, from 1928’s The Singing Fool to 1929’s The Broadway Melody , Applause , The Love Parade and Hallelujah to 1930’s Under…

You know it’s Fall when Hollywood begins to release its big gun Oscar hopefuls and the year’s earlier contenders start to make it to DVD. So far this year there’s been only one film consistently generating Oscar buzz and it’s just been released on DVD. Actress Sarah Polley’s directorial debut, Away From Her, is a…

Sunday, September 16 is the broadcast date for the 59th Annual Emmy Awards. I basically hate the Emmys. I watch the show every year and kick myself afterward for wasting my time. The show is long and boring and they give out way too many awards, usually to the same shows and people they awarded…

We’re going to take a little digression this week, folks. Before there were DVDs there were CDs. Before there were movies available for home consumption, there were records. From the introduction of the LP, in the late 1940s, to well into the 1980s, one of the most popular recording genres was the original cast album.…