outer limits

Hailed as a pioneering piece of sci-fi television or dismissed as a monster-of-the-week rip-off of The Twilight Zone, depending on who you ask, The Outer Limits, which premiered on ABC in 1963 is still a veritable goldmine of outré ideas and low budget execution. Built around an hour-long format, the stories often focused on alien intelligences, sometimes benign and misunderstood, other times intent on mankind's destruction. While it doesn't have the cache of Rod Serling's creation, the series, which ran for two seasons, nevertheless lodged in an entire generation's subconscious with a string of episodes attempting things never before seen on network television, introducing some of the most outrageous costumed creations outside of a Roger Corman film along with a parade of soon-to-be high profile guest stars like Robert Culp, Martin Sheen, Leonard Nimoy and Bruce Dern.

Kino Lorber's box set packages the entire first in high-definition for the very first time along with a commentary track on nearly every episode (there are 32 in all), plus an essential booklet by author David J. Schow that breaks down the show's genesis, production process and fan appeal episode by episode. The previous MGM DVD sets were more than a little muddled and notoriously glitchy, so the hi-def makeover here is long overdue. The only thing missing is Season Two, which is scheduled to follow soon.

The first feature-length 35mm film produced entirely in New Zealand, Sleeping Dogs certainly doesn't look like an amateur production, what with future Jurassic Park star Sam Neill in the lead role of a wandering laborer falsely accused of staging a terrorist attack, and director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Species, Dante's Peak) looking quite comfortable behind the camera already. The film is a calling card of sorts, but, to its credit, comes off as something more than just another cinematic resume submitted for Hollywood's approval. Sleeping Dogs stays true to its New Zealand roots, even if that means dropping the rest of its audience into a political morass that's well nigh impossible to sort out.

Luckily, Sam Neill makes for such an appealing man-on-run (here done up more like a California surfer than his clean-cut contemporary look) that the more New Zealand-specific aspects of the script are just background noise. Arrested for conspiring with the revolutionary movement, his character stages a daring escape only to find him falling in with the very revolutionaries he was accused of conspiring with in the first place! Warren Oates pops up as a loud-mouthed American soldier, but that's Sleeping Dogs only real concession to international marketing. For the most part, it gets by on the homegrown talent that proved it was too talented to stick around for long. Arrow Video's Blu-ray presentation is one of their best (and that's saying something), including a commentary, vintage and more recent Making Of documentaries and collector's booklet.

Much the same way Elvis' Hollywood career was dictated by an army of managers and studio executives, Marilyn Monroe was a victim of her own success. Her image as the dimwitted sexpot was proven to sell tickets and opportunities for her to show some range were few and far between. However, her first starring role in 1952's Don't Bother to Knock proved there was potential lurking beneath that impressive figure and baby-talk voice...potential so real that it's almost frightening. Of course, that's the whole idea behind director Roy Baker's lean little thriller, co-starring Richard Widmark as Jed, a jilted airline pilot who spots Nell (Monroe) babysitting in the hotel room next door and pops over for a drink. But it doesn't take long for him to notice that Nell is a little "off," mistaking him for a past lover and refusing to let him leave.

There is a subtle hint of Fatal Attractions to come here, but Baker's film actually handles the issue of mental illness with tact and kindness. That doesn't make Monroe's performance any less terrifying, particularly her interactions with the child she was hired to protect. There's moment at a windowsill where the audience truly doesn't know how far Nell - or the movie itself - will go. And while the rest of Monroe's career was satisfying, it was never this unexpected. Twilight Time's 3000-copy Blu-ray limited edition looks terrific and includes an isolated music track, a pair of Biography profiles on Monroe and Widmark, liner notes and the original theatrical trailer.