Steven Soderbergh’s most recent film “Black Bag” is a nuanced spy thriller starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett. Written by David Koepp, it will appeal to fans of John le Carré’s works.
”The Little Drummer Girl” had all the makings of a classic, but the casting of Diane Keaton in the lead role as an actress turned spy disrupted the better elements of the film. Warner Archive has given the picture a Blu-ray release.
“Pale Rider” was the only Western that Clint Eastwood directed or starred in during the Eighties. It is a solid entry in his canon, with great cinematography by Bruce Surtees. Warner’s 4K release is exceptional.
Warner Bros. have given one of Soderbergh’s more polarizing pictures, “The Good German” a 4K UHD release. The film blended film techniques from the Forties with a gritty spy thriller script.
Warner has given Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah” a fantastic 4K UHD release which features the original Dolby Atmos track missing on the Blu-ray. The film is one of the best dramas of this decade.
“The China Syndrome,” starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Michael Douglas, was one of the last paranoid social message thrillers of the Seventies. Sony has given the film a Blu-ray release.
The last Yakuza picture by the unrivaled master of the genre Kinji Fukasaku, “Hokuriku Proxy War” has been given a Blu-ray release by Radiance Films. The film is as cool as sake, suits, guns, and sunglasses.
MGM has given Martin Ritt’s 1961 film “Paris Blues” a Blu-ray release. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Sidney Poitier in Paris jazz clubs with a score by Duke Ellington make this one hard to resist.
Sony Pictures Classics has given Arkansas native filmmaker Jeff Nichols’ debut film “Shotgun Stories” a Blu-ray release. The debut shows a lot of the promise that Nichols delivered on in later pictures.