Long regarded as one of the great films of the 1970s, the greatest in my estimation, Robert Altman’ 1975 masterpiece, Nashville has finally been given the deluxe treatment on Blu-ray and standard DVD.

Set over the course of a few pivotal days in the country music capital, the film features Altman’s patented mix of inter-connected characters speaking in overlapping dialogue. It also features marvelous characterizations by a superb cast led by Henry Gibson as the reigning king of country music; Ronee Blakley as the reigning queen; Karen Black as her chief competition; Keith Carradine as a touring rock star; Lily Tomlin as a member of a gospel choir; Barbara Harris and Gwen Welles as aspiring singers and Ned Beatty as Tomlin’s promoter husband. Featuring almost non-stop music, the marvelous songs were composed by cast members with Carradine’s “I’m Easy” winning the Oscar for Best Original Song.

The music, as good as it was, raised the wrath of the country music community who felt Altman was making fun of real country music. The truth, though, is that Altman had neither the patience nor the money to pay for genuine country tunes.

The film’s shocking ending is in keeping with the mood of a country grown weary of political assassinations. In addition to Carradine, Altman, Blakley, Tomlin and the film itself were nominated for Oscars.

The Criterion release contains the film and accompanying extras on both Blu-ray and standard DVD.

One of the quintessential New York films of the 1970s, Sidney Lumet’s 1973 film, Serpico was based on the real life experiences of a famed whistle blower cop brought to vivid life by Al Pacino in what many still believe to be his best performance. Paramount’s excellent new Blu-ray makes the film look like it was shot yesterday rather than forty years ago. Oddly, the film was only nominated for two Oscars. One went to Waldo Salt and Haskell Wexler for their excellent screenplay. The other went, of course, to Pacino.

A 1970 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film and a 1971 nominee for Best Original Screenplay, Elio Petri’s Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is a vitriolic political satire, a black comedy about a police inspector investigating a murder that he himself committed. Dropping clues, and then covering them up the inspector (Gian Maria Volonté) eventually confesses to his superiors with wry, unexpected consequences. Florinda Bolkan is the mistress who taunts him to kill her until he finally does.

Previously unavailable on home video in the U.S., Criterion has released Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion in dual format Blu-ray and DVD.

Last January, Fox conducted a poll to determine which films Blu-ray collectors most wanted to see given upgrades by the studio. Originally intending to release one film from each decade from the 1930s to the 1960s, the response was so great that they decided to release two from each decade.

From the 1960s they have released 1960’s North to Alaska and 1969’s The Undefeated, both starring John Wayne.

Henry Hathaway’s gold rush western, North to Alaska was a nice change of pace for Wayne who is backed by Stewart Granger, Capucine, Fabian and Erne Kovacs in this freewheeling comedy. A sleeper in its day, it holds up nicely today.

Andrew McLaglen’s The Undefeated is on the other hand, a standard western with Wayne and Rock Hudson as respectively former Union and Confederate officers who are forced to join forces to battle the bad guys.

From the 1950s we get 1954’s Carmen Jones and 1957’s Desk Set.

Otto Preminger’s film of Carmen Jones is historically important as the first film for which an African-American actress was nominated in the lead category. Dorothy Dandridge’s enigmatic performance is indeed the highlight of this screen version of the 1943 Broadway musical which was itself a modernization of Bizet’s opera, Carmen. Nonetheless Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll are also quite memorable.

Walter Lang’s Desk Set with a screenplay by Phoebe and Henry Ephron from William Marchant’s play was the eighth of nine collaborations of stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. It’s an amusing comedy about the introduction of a computer to the research department of a large TV network in which that department’s head (Hepburn) and the computer expert (Tracy) fall in love. It’s quite a bit different than the Broadway play which was a star vehicle for 57 year-Shirley Booth in which the character played by Tracy was a much younger man played by soap actor Byron Sanders. There was no romance.

Booth, incidentally played Liz Imbrie, the photographer in support of Hepburn in Broadway’s The Philadelphia Story, but like co-stars Joseph Cotten and Van Heflin was not selected for the film version. Hepburn later received an Oscar nomination for playing Booth’s Tony winning role in the film version of The Time of the Cuckoo re-titled Summertime.

From the 1940s the releases are 1942’s The Black Swan and 1947’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

Henry King’s swashbuckling The Black Swan won an Oscar for Leon Shamroy’s gorgeous color cinematography. Loosely based on the exploits of pirate Henry Morgan (Laird Cregar), it stars Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara in their first film together.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’ The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was based on the beloved 1945 novel by R.A. Dick, a pseudonym for author Josephine Leslie. Gene Tierney was at her loveliest as the young widow who falls in love with an acerbic ghost played by Rex Harrison in one of the most popular films of its era. The timeless tale became a TV series two decades later with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare.

The 1930s are represented by 1935’s The Call of the Wild and 1939’s Jesse James.

William A. Wellman’s The Call of the Wild stars Clark Gable as Jack Thornton, the adventurer who rescues Buck, the abused sled dog. Loretta Young is his love interest in the film that is now more famous for the off-screen affair of the two stars which resulted in the birth of their daughter who was raised as an adopted orphan by Young. Jack Oakie and Reginald Owen have prominent supporting roles.

Henry King’s Jesse James is a well-made if revisionist western for which the outlaw’s grand-daughter served as a consultant. Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine and Jane Darwell all have memorable roles. It was succeeded by an equally successful sequel, 1940’s The Return of Frank James, directed by Frtiz Lang with Fonda, Gene Tierney and Jackie cooper heading the cast.
This week’s new releases include Fast & Furious 6 and the Blu-ray upgrade of Mary Poppins.