VW's Favorite DVDs of 2010: Richard Harland Smith

Today's list is courtesy of the illustrious Richard Harland Smith, a VW contributor since days of old, and a VW correspondent since days even older than that. RHS currently blogs for Movie Morlocks at the Turner Classic Movies website, screenwrites and curates the curious artwork of daughter Vayda Jane, but still manages to contribute to VW now and then, for which I'm grateful -- as I am for this list of ten. -- TL

By Richard Harland Smith

1. CRACK IN THE WORLD (Olive Films)

One of those seminal childhood films that made becoming an adult seem very attractive: you get to drive Jeeps, shoot guns, fire rockets, look through microscopes and telescopes, and sneak a peak up Janette Scott's skirt as she climbs a ladder from the bowels of the earth to its sulfurous surface. Big love to Olive Films for putting this back on the table.

2. THE MAGICIAN (Criterion Collection)

For all its painterly aesthetics, this under-loved Ingmar Bergman joint is no less a key childhood title for me, reminding me as it does now of those wonderful post-adolescent years of discovering foreign films on public television... back when you could do such a thing. Some of the imagery here is just burned into my brain, like an eyeball in an inkwell.

3. BOB HOPE: THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES COLLECTION (Universal)

This set has a number of films on it, including blah-blah-blah, don't-care-don't-care, yadda-yadda-yadds and THE CAT AND THE CANARY! Yeah, the 1939 one, which you haven't been able to see since forever! Universal could have slapped the SRP of this set onto a keepcase of THE CAT AND THE CANARY and I would have considered it a bargain. Plus, you get the equally funny THE GHOST BREAKERS in the bargain. Thanks indeed!

4. THE ELECTRIC CHAIR (Wild Eye Releasing)

I have a bit of a personal stake here, as this obscure/forgotten/never released independent film stars my late friend Victor Argo. When I interviewed Vic, fairly exhaustively, back in 2000, he didn't even mention what had been, at that point in his thirty-odd year career, his only starring role. This will be an acquired taste, certainly, but double-kudos to Wild Eye Releasing for making space on the shelf for something so rare and niche market. It means the world to me.

5. S0S PACIFIC (Odeon Entertainment, Region 2)
Not only is it a crackerjack corker of a pisscutter, but SOS PACIFIC allows Eddie Constantine fans a fairly rare opportunity to hear him in a movie with his own voice, as the late, great American in Paris was normally dubbed by others in his films from over there. This strangers-in-bad-company survival tale puts Constantine onboard (and then off) a charter plane with Eva Bartok from BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, Clifford Evans from CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and Richard Attenborough from, well, let's just say 10 RILLINGTON PLACE.

6. THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Region 2)

No, it's not THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND, but it does have Barbara Shelley in it (if not in a starring role) and it is must-see non-horror Hammer. Sony also has made available YESTERDAY'S ENEMY, with Stanley Baker, and I would recommend all of these to Hammer fans who think they've seen it all.

7. LAKE MUNGO (Lionsgate)

No one would think ill of you if you gave this title from the AFTER DARK HORRORFEST 4 COLLECTION a pass... but you'd be missing something unexpected. A documentary ghost story, the film doesn't go for the visceral shocks of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY but rather charts the terrain of remorse and regret from which ghosts sprout and flourish.

8. THE WOLFMAN (Universal)

Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to like Joe Johnson's THE WOLFMAN, and there are a ton of things wrong with it, but I just can't help but feel all giddy at the DVD package of the theatrical and director's cut and all the menu art and all the extra touches that, whatever its failings, mark this latest reboot of the Talbot Mythos a labor of love.

9. JOHNNY STACATTO (Timeless Media Group)

I offer this in the place of the THRILLER box set that I'm sure all of my fellow Watchdogs will have on their list. When I was a kid, I thought MANNIX was pretty cool but that's only because I hadn't heard of John Cassavetes or seen his early TV show, about the adventures of a jazz-loving shamus. (Early on, the plan was to make the protagonist an actual hepcat but, well, you know The Man.) This 3 disc set (27 episodes - a single season!) will have to hold me until they can find all those episodes of DAN RAVEN.

10. THE GREEN SLIME (Warner Archive Collection)

There are a bunch of titles from this collection that I could nominate for greatness (coughSTRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOORcough) but there's just something about THE GREEN SLIME. Like a lot of grumpy 50-somethings, I learned about this Kinji Fukasaku joint from the cover of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and I actually saw it fairly early in the development of my love of these kinds of things. The movie has lived in my heart for decades and it's great to have it back on my TV.

I've Been Dardosed

Pierre Fournier, the mastermind behind the wonderfully obsessive Frankensteinia blog, kindly wrote the other day to inform me that I'd been chosen as one of his five tag-ees for the Dardos blogging Award. I'm not sure where the Dardos Award originated because I'm pretty far down the line of recipients, as far as I can tell, but here's the legend behind it:

"The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

"The rules are: 1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog. 2) Pass the award to another 5 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award."

I thank Pierre for his thoughtful consideration, as expressed here, which moves me on to Condition #2. I can't guarantee that any of these bloggers haven't already been recognized by Dardos and the spreaders of its happy contagion, but the object of this exercise is to help get the word out about people doing quality blogging. With that in mind, I hearby Dardose...

Stephen R. Bissette's Myrant. Even if there was a tin cup attached to his blog, Steve would give you way, way more than your money's worth. An unpredictable mixture of personal diary, sketchpad, auction house and burning Bush screeds, it also presents some of the most insightful essays on horror and cult cinema found anywhere online. In addition to everything else he does, I blame him for inspiring me to start Video WatchBlog.

Glenn Kenny's Some Came Running. Glenn says His Lovely Wife is a fan of mine, so it's the least I can do. Just kidding. This infectiously readable blog was set up overnight in response to Glenn's sudden firing as PREMIERE's film blogger sometime near the outset of the Great Film Critics Massacre of 2008, and I've been part of his daily audience ever since. I was about to blog in memory of Kathleen Byron the other day, till I saw this and realized I couldn't possibly improve on it. Here he proves himself a master of saying a lot in very few words -- must be that PREMIERE training. Plus he loves import discs and other filmo-fetishistic weirdness. And when Glenn writes about music, I'm always gasterflabbed by how many other interests we have in common. The only non-VW contributor among my choices, though not by conscious design.

Maitland McDonagh's Miss FlickChick. Maitland, the author of MOVIE LUST, FILMMAKING ON THE FRINGE, THE 50 MOST EROTIC FILMS OF ALL TIME and the ever popular BROKEN MIRRORS/BROKEN MINDS: THE DARK DREAMS OF DARIO ARGENTO -- was another casualty of the Massacre, forfeiting her position as TV GUIDE's senior movies editor after 13 years of solid service. Since last October, she's been steadily blogging, mostly about scary movies, always in her uniquely smart, uniquely alluring way. Even her account of a day trip to the Bronx Zoo captured something of her trademark vibe: "Suffice it to say that the highlight of my day was having a hissing cockroach crawl across my hand and hiss in my ear."

Richard Harland Smith of Movie Morlocks. For my money, RHS is, hands-down, one of the most talented and original writers about genre film working today -- and sometimes he actually does this for my money. In a saner world, he'd have a lucrative job as one of the nation's leading opinion-makers. As it is, he's one of a revolving group of bloggers at TCM's Movie Morlocks, and his remarkably candid, personal reading of THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN is a recent advertisement of his uncompromising ability.

Sam Umland's 60x50. I often think I need to stop visiting the film blogs I frequent and start tracking down more music blogs. Sam explains that his 60x50 is "an experiment in invention and discovery, inspired by an observation made by William Stafford in WRITING THE AUSTRALIAN CRAWL. The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate Stafford's insight that a writer 'is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought of if he had not started to say them.'" Prompted randomly by the date on the calendar, Sam not only writes short thematic essays on popular music, but excavates meaning from obtuse rock lyrics, explores commonly misheard lyrics, and is always coming up with something insightful and rewarding.

Just click on the italicized blog titles, and you'll be taken right there.

Happy Birthday to...

... VW's own Richard Harland Smith, seen here paying his respects at the Edgar Wallace memorial plaque at Ludgate Circus in London, England in 2003. Well, that's the sort of bloke he is. Husband (his wife Barb is casting that shadow at the bottom of the frame), doting father of two (Vayda and Vic were but gleams in his eye at the time), screenwriter, samurai and friend, he also blogs brilliantly at TCM's MovieMorlocks site. Click on the pic for a much more detailed look.

VW's Favorite DVDs of 2007: Richard Harland Smith

Today's list reflects the tastes of VW contributor Richard Harland Smith, who moonlights (or daylights, as it were) as a liner notes writer for various DVD labels and blogger at the Turner Classic Movies page, MovieMorlocks.com. His list begins with his favorite of the year, but the rest are in no particular order.

THREE FILMS BY HIROSHI TESHIGAHARA (Criterion)

Although I was familiar with WOMAN IN THE DUNES (thanks to Gordon Gow's eye-opening genre study SUSPENSE IN THE CINEMA), the larger career of Hiroshi Teshigahara was uncharted territory to me until this year. WOMAN didn't disappoint and PITFALL and FACE OF ANOTHER (pictured above) are equally compelling and gorgeously photographed meditations on post-war life in a rapidly modernizing (and westernizing) Japan. My top-slotted DVD release of the year.

CLASSIC FLY COLLECTION (20th Century Fox)

Even though I already have THE FLY and RETURN OF THE FLY on a double disc, I'm all abuzz about this new collection for the inclusion of CURSE OF THE FLY, starring the incomparable Carole Gray. If you thought RETURN was minor and depressing, brother you don't know the half of it! CURSE is one of the great soul-scarring experiences of my childhood.

THE PSYCHIC (Severin Films)

It's about bloody time somebody showed some love for this redheaded stepchild of the Lucio Fulci corpus. I'm not calling THE PSYCHIC a lost classic, just a whiter shade of Fulci and an indispensable slice of Euro-Cult.

MICHAEL SHAYNE MYSTERIES, VOL. 1 (20th Century Fox)

A great rediscovery that didn't get enough nearly enough press or praise upon its release back in the Spring. Tight, neat little comic thrillers starring the long-underrated Lloyd Nolan, backed by a slew of cherce supporting players from Hollywood's boiling B-unit.

FOX HORROR CLASSICS COLLECTION (20th Century Fox)

Fox comes through again with a dynamite collection of largely forgotten suspense thrillers and one downright supernatural shocker. I would have paid this much for THE UNDYING MONSTER alone but I'm pleased as punch to have director John Brahm's THE LODGER and HANGOVER SQUARE as well.

SAM KATZMAN COLLECTION (Sony Pictures)

Admittedly not in the same league as the films cited above, but the titles comprising this collection are nonetheless guilty pleasures non pareil... especially THE GIANT CLAW and THE WEREWOLF. And that packaging! In a word: gimme!

CHOSEN SURVIVORS/THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING (20th Century Fox "Midnite Movies")

I love CHOSEN SURVIVORS as much for what it does wrong (skimpy characterization) as what it does right (Fred Karlin's cool synth score, whose thumping bass line anticipates John Carpenter's minimalist noodlings for HALLOWEEN) and I went batty when I heard it was getting a proper DVD release. It's just one of those titles from the early 70s that had great re-telling properties on my grammar schoolyard. As for THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING, I'm a sucker for 60s British sci-fi... something about thatch roofs and ro-men really sends me.

THE OMEGA MAN (Warner Home Video)

Available in HD and Blu-ray, either of these remastered DVDs will do as a testament to this enduring schlock classic. Watch this back-to-back with CHOSEN SURVIVORS for a freefalling Lincoln Kilpatrick double-bill.

WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (Dark Sky Films)

I never ever thought this disturbing Spanish horror film would ever ever rate an American DVD release and I'm ever glad to be wrong. If you haven't seen this muy creepy island-set thriller, run-- don't walk-- to get your hands on a copy. But send your kids to the mall first.

THE NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (BCI/Eclipse)

This is just one of a slew of Paul Naschy movies put out by BCI/Eclipse and all are equally noteworthy but I think this title (alternatively known as THE CRAVING) is a stand-out due to its relative rarity and good production values. If you're a Naschy newbie, sink your teeth into this!

Tomorrow: A rule-bending list from VW contributor, filmmaker and horror host Shane M. Dallmann.