{"id":23319,"date":"2024-05-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=23319"},"modified":"2024-05-31T20:51:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T03:51:16","slug":"the-best-movies-to-buy-or-stream-this-week-stop-making-sense-ferrari-crimson-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/the-best-movies-to-buy-or-stream-this-week-stop-making-sense-ferrari-crimson-peak\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: <i>Stop Making Sense<\/i>, <i>Ferrari<\/i>, <i>Crimson Peak<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you\u2019re watching.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PICK OF THE WEEK:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.a24films.com\/products\/stop-making-sense-collectors-edition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Stop Making Sense<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>Let\u2019s not beat around the bush here: deluxe packaging or no, A24 is charging too damn much for the 4K UHD of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/11\/movies\/talking-heads-stop-making-sense-spike-lee.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>recent re-release<\/em><\/strong><\/a> of the Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme\u2019s all-timer concert film, which is an A24 Shop exclusive with a rather steep current asking price of $53 (plus shipping). Now, that said, if you\u2019ve got it to spend, it\u2019s worth every dime. The early digital recording and careful film restoration means it looks and sounds like it was shot last week (better, frankly, since it\u2019s shot on film), the picture still pulses with the electricity of a magnificent live performance, and its rewatch value is off the charts (I\u2019m finishing my second run of the disc as I write this). Hopefully the label will grant us a budget release down the read, but Heads-heads, you know what to do here. (Includes audio commentary, extended cuts, rehearsal tapes, and alternate mixes.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ON HULU:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/movie\/a208b2b4-61c2-4add-bfea-8894c3ed886b\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/movie\/a208b2b4-61c2-4add-bfea-8894c3ed886b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ferrari<\/a><\/em>:<\/strong> Michael Mann resisted labeling his dramatization of a year in the life of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver)&nbsp;as a biopic, and <a href=\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/maestro-ferrari-and-the-state-of-the-modern-biopic\/\">it\u2019s easy to understand why<\/a>; calling it that gets it financed, but also gets it lumped in with the likes of <em>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em> and <em>Back to Black<\/em>. As with Mann\u2019s finest films,&nbsp;<em>Ferrari<\/em>&nbsp;is at its best when it\u2019s most experiential: the roar of the engine, the speed of the camera movement, the rip of the cuts, the excitement and anticipation of roaring off the starting line before day has broken, the click-click-click cutting, even as Enzo just takes a regular daily drive.&nbsp; And, as ever, there is the intimacy of his camera, his consistent desire to get as close as he can to the faces and (especially) the eyes of his subjects, so he can peer into their very souls. That urgency, that desire, is what elevates&nbsp;<em>Ferrari<\/em>&nbsp;from the biopic pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ON BLU-RAY \/ DVD \/ VOD:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ko4gG0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anatomy of a Fall<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>The opening line of Justine Triet\u2019s thorny crime drama (joining the Criterion Collection, fresh from its Oscar win for best original screenplay) is \u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d It\u2019s a casual question, at the beginning of a semi-formal interview, but it becomes Triet\u2019s key inquiry; it is asked by Sandra Voyter (Sandra H\u00fcller, staggering), a novelist whose husband dies a few minutes into that grabber of an opening. He fell from a high window, so maybe he killed himself, or maybe he was pushed by his wife; Triet pointedly does not tell us, and H\u00fcller\u2019s performance is similarly enigmatic, creating quiet yet searing suspense throughout the investigation and trial that follows. Acting is tip-top across the board, not just from H\u00fcller but from young Milo Machado Graner as her son, who has secrets and reserves of his own.&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hulu.com\/movie\/94f53938-6240-42b4-abef-8be1d1c39d72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Also streaming on Hulu<\/em><\/a>.) (Includes deleted and alternate scenes with commentary, Triet interview, audition and rehearsal footage, featurette, trailer, and essay by Alexandra Schwartz.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3UYKSV5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">All That Breathes<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>The latest release from Janus Contemporaries is this 2022 Oscar nominee for best documentary feature (it also played Sundance and Cannes). Its subjects are Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud, who operate New Delhi\u2019s Wildlife Rescue, aiding the region\u2019s black kite birds and returning them to the world. It\u2019s not glamorous work, and Shaunak Sen\u2019s documentary is appropriately unassuming, regarding their interactions from a respectful distance and taking in the political and religious struggles of the region around them. Gorgeously photographed with a stirring score, it\u2019s a modest but unforgettable picture. (Includes interview and trailer.)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Narc (2002) Official Trailer - Ray Liotta Movie HD\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pBu-Q0Ka_DM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ON 4K:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4e08W2s\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4e08W2s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Narc<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>Joe Carnahan\u2019s 2002 cop drama was perpetually stuck on DVD, so kudos to Arrow Video for finally giving it not only the Blu-ray but 4K bump. Ray Liotta turns in one of his most memorable and menacing performances as Henry Oak, an unhinged Detroit detective who teams with a disgraced narcotics undercover cop (Jason Patric) on the stalled investigation of Oak\u2019s partner\u2019s murder. Liotta has the showcase role, gnashing and fuming (and doing it well), but Patric holds his own by underplaying, matching Liotta\u2019s roaring fire with a slow burn. (Includes audio commentary, introduction, new and archival interviews, featurettes, trailer, and essay by Michelle Kisner.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3V1qQJK\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3V1qQJK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Crimson Peak<\/em>:<\/a><\/strong> Guillermo del Toro\u2019s Gothic horror\/romance is&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/flavorwire.com\/542829\/a-stunning-haunted-house-is-the-star-of-guillermo-del-toros-gothic-crimson-peak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stunningly designed<\/a>&nbsp;and sumptuously photographed; every frame\u2019s a knockout, every second magnificently crafted (and Arrow\u2019s new 4K is a beaut). A number of critics only granted it that, but I think it\u2019s perhaps del Toro\u2019s most fully realized work to date \u2013 it finds the filmmaker in total command of not only his form (which has never been an issue), but his storytelling, as he crafts a gripping, blood-soaked tale of deception, murder, and ghosts, situating the beauty of his images against the savagery of their violence. There are generous helpings of&nbsp;<em>Rebecca<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Jane Eyre<\/em>, and plenty of moody walks down hallways clutching candelabras, but this is no mere echo chamber; Mia Wasikoswka, Jessica Chastain, and Tom Hiddleston find the pulse of their characters before shedding their blood in an appropriately hysterical climax. (Includes audio commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, full-length making-of documentary, featurettes, video essay, and essays by David Jenkins and Simon Abrams.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FLOATING WEEDS (Masters of Cinema) Original Theatrical Trailer\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bHpVeD9kJEI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ON BLU-RAY:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3yCjOUc\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3yCjOUc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Story of Floating Weeds \/ Floating Weeds<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>This Criterion two-pack of two by Yasujir\u014d Ozu gets an overdue Blu-ray bump, and it\u2019s a marvelous set, offering the rare opportunity to see a filmmaker tackle the same material twice, at two points in his life, in two different styles (cinematically, if not personally). <em>A Story of Floating Weeds<\/em> was made in 1934, a silent film in black and white; <em>Floating Weeds<\/em> was released 25 years later, in sound and color. As the title suggests, both are delicate and tender, stories of aging and rethinking, told with beauty and simplicity; Ozu\u2019s direction is, as ever, direct and affecting, with compositions that are striking but never showy. Intoxicating, enchanting filmmaking. (Includes audio commentaries, trailer, essay by Donald Richie.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/44WG7A7\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/44WG7A7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembene<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>Senegalese director Ousmane Semb\u00e8ne is no stranger to Criterion \u2014 his <em>Black Girl <\/em>joined the Collection in 2017, and <em>Mandabi<\/em> followed in 2021. Those were both from his 1960s filmography, pointed but gentle slices of African village life. This set, as indicated in the title, collects three pictures from his later, sharper, more provocative 1970s period: <strong><em>Emita\u00ef,&nbsp;Xala,&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>and<strong><em>&nbsp;Ceddo<\/em><\/strong>. They are astonishing examples of a filmmaker reconfiguring his priorities and voice, while retaining his considerable gifts; taken together, they\u2019re fascinating examples of drama as critique, and world cinema that pulsates with righteous indignation. (Includes interview, making-of documentary, and essay by Yasmina Price.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4ax15GQ\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4ax15GQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daisy Miller<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>Peter Bogdanovich\u2019s 1974 adaptation of the Henry James novella was famously his first flop, shrugged off by critics and audiences at the time as a self-indulgent vanity project, a vehicle for his then-girlfriend Cybill Shepard and nothing more. But time has been kind to this one, which would make a fine double feature with <em>Barry Lyndon<\/em>, another mid-\u201870s mash-up of New Hollywood and period drama that was summarily dismissed but rightly reappraised. Bogdanovich\u2019s unconventional idea, of making a period piece with screwball comedy timing and energy, plays better than it sounds, and he shows off his actors\u2019 skill by staging his scenes on long, fluid takes, to let them keep the tempo high. Shepard is delightful in the leading role, an absolute brat and unashamed of it, while the supporting cast shines \u2014 especially Eileen Brennan, as a real pill. (Includes audio commentaries, interview, introduction, and trailer.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3yDsPMP\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3yDsPMP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Philo Vance Collection<\/a><\/em>:<\/strong> Before he was the Thin Man, William Powell was another whip-smart, nattily dressed movie detective: Philo Vance, first seen in S. S. Van Dine\u2019s mystery novels, cast as Powell in these three early talkies collected on one disc by KL Studio Classics. Philo Vance is no Nick Charles, so lower your expectations accordingly, but these are enjoyable, breezily paced whodunits. The weakest is the first, <strong><em>The Canary Murder Case<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 surprisingly, as it features Louise Brooks in a supporting role, but her refusal to reshoot and dub when it was converted from a silent to a talkie leads to some of the clunkiest doubling this side of <em>Plan 9 from Outer Space<\/em>. (It also basically ended her career Stateside.) <strong><em>The Greene Murder Case<\/em> <\/strong>is stronger, already ironing out some of the early-talkie bumps and fleshing out the partnership\/rivalry between Vance and blustery Sgt. Heath (Eugene Pallette), while <strong><em>The Benson Murder Case<\/em><\/strong><em>, <\/em>featuring a timely \u201cstock market in disarray\u201d plot hook, turns into a sharp locked-room mystery. (Includes audio commentaries.) <em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dangerous Game (1993) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/72zlX7Yw_9Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vinegarsyndrome.com\/products\/dangerous-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Dangerous Game<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>Everyone remembers the fireworks created by director Abel Ferrara and actor Harvey Keitel\u2019s game of raw cinematic chicken in 1992\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Bad Lieutenant<\/em>; few remember their follow-up the next year, this mostly forgotten but undeniably effective inside-indie-Hollywood drama that might as well be called&nbsp;<em>Bad Director<\/em>. Barely released and panned by most critics, it was widely dismissed as self-indulgent claptrap, and done no favors by the scorn surrounding co-star Madonna\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Body of Evidence<\/em>, released earlier that year. But it\u2019s one of her finest performances, a vulnerable piece of work that blurs the line between fiction and reality (a tad uncomfortably for the actress, by most accounts), and Keitel is, as usual, blisteringly good. Ferrara\u2019s films tend to get better with age; this one\u2019s been overdue reconsideration, so kudos to the new Vinegar Syndrome sublabel Cin\u00e9matographe for putting some respect on its name. (Includes audio commentary, interviews, video essay, trailer, and essays by Samm Deighan, Peter Labuza and Carlos Valladares.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vinegarsyndrome.com\/products\/limportant-cest-daimer-that-most-important-thing-love?_pos=1&amp;_sid=43fd08bae&amp;_ss=r\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/vinegarsyndrome.com\/products\/limportant-cest-daimer-that-most-important-thing-love?_pos=1&amp;_sid=43fd08bae&amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">L&#8217;important c&#8217;est d\u2019aimer<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>Released on these shores as <em>That Most Important Thing: Love <\/em>(or <em>The Most Important Thing is Love<\/em> \u2014 these nuances matter!), this 1975 French drama from the great Polish auteur <a href=\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/lice-blood-and-muck-andzrej-zulawskis-polish-apocalypse-trilogy\/\">Andrzej \u017bu\u0142awski <\/a>offers up the kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/classic-corner-love-is-the-most-important-thing\/\">emotional intensity and unrestrained insanity<\/a> we\u2019d expect from the man who would follow it up with <a href=\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/from-cause-celebre-to-cult-favorite-possession-at-40\/\"><em>Possession<\/em><\/a>. Romy Schneider stars as a self-proclaimed \u201cwashed-up actress\u201d whose unstable marriage is unsteadied by the arrival of a self-assured photographer (Fabio Testi). Zulawski heightens this provocative portrait of the life of an actress (it would make a fine double feature with <em>Dangerous Game<\/em>) with his customary shock jolts of sex and violence, and just when things get momentarily sane, Klaus fucking Kinski shows up\u2014as an insane actor, even. Psychologically thorny and frequently upsetting, it\u2019s the kind of eccentric melodrama that only Zulawski could birth. (Includes interview, English language version, and essay by Kat Ellinger.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vinegarsyndrome.com\/products\/vacation\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/vinegarsyndrome.com\/products\/vacation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vacation!<\/a><\/em>: <\/strong>\u201cFour friends on a beach getaway\u201d sounds like a million horny \u201880s sex comedies, but not in the hands of writer and director Zach Clark (<em>White Reindeer, Little Sister<\/em>), who made this low-budget black comedy in 2010; it looks like mumblecore, but feels like something much darker, summoning up a persistent dread underneath the deceptively light mood. His smart script keenly captures how it feels to reconnect with friends you\u2019ve drifted from, and the discomfort of navigating their new temperaments and priorities. Performances are bracing, and Clark brings the unpredictable events to a memorable climax \u2014 so to speak. (Includes commentary, deleted scenes,&nbsp; infomercial, and essays by Mark Olsen and Stephen Saito.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiancefilms.co.uk\/products\/shinobi-le\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Shinobi<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong> Raizo Ichikawa stars in this trilogy of ninja action epics, collected in this new box from Radiance Film: <strong><em>Band of Assassins, Revenge, <\/em><\/strong>and <strong><em>Resurrection<\/em><\/strong>. Set in 16th century Japan, this is mythic storytelling on an epic scale, concerning a brave and <em>extremely <\/em>persistant warrior who swears to exact revenge against the tyrannical warlord who ordered the elimination of our hero\u2019s village. These are rousing adventure tales, crispy photographed and cleanly composed, with purposeful and precise camerawork, filled with thrilling set pieces.<strong> <\/strong>(Includes interviews, visual essay, trailer, and essays by Jonathan Clements and Diane Wei Lewis.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Radiance #54 Shinobi: Band of Assassins (Satsuo Yamamoto) New Trailer\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vOsCPHZkibk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our bi-weekly look at the best new titles on Blu-ray, 4K, and your subscription streaming services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":531,"featured_media":23320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1616,340],"tags":[1617,1436],"class_list":["post-23319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disc-streaming-guides","category-movie-reviews","tag-disc-streaming-guide","tag-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23319"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23350,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23319\/revisions\/23350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}