Movieline Online

While the term  giallo  has burrowed its way into the horror lexicon—complete with box sets, special editions, and even a name-drop in the latest  Scream  installment—its European antecedent, the  krimi , remains largely uncharted territory for most genre fans. A series of German-produced murder mysteries, frequently based on the works of Edgar Wallace, the  krimi  finally gets a spotlight in “Region A” thanks to Eureka Entertainment, which presents a compelling collection that shows what all the fuss is about. The Curse of the Yellow Snake  (1963) leans closer to the  Dr. Mabuse  supervillain series, with a mad "oriental" villain (brace yourself for some outdated racism and makeup effects) seeking to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would allow China to dominate the world. Packed with back-stabbings and secret ceremonies, this one feels more like a Hammer adventure than a straightforward mystery. Things kick off in earnest with  Th...

Although it's grandfather of modern outbreak movies, 1971's  The Andromeda Strain  feels more like a reaction to the technological tsunami of  2001: A Space Odyssey  than a trendsetter in its own right.  Based on Michael Crichton's novel, this is a film that has an endless amount of enthusiasm for the scientific method and emergency quarantine procedures; it's the cinematic equivalent of a TV disclaimer announcement, listing possible side effects and health warnings.  Suffice to say, the thrills are few and far between.  But director Robert Wise brings some signature style to this story of an alien organism that wipes out a small New Mexico town...and threatens to destroy the world.  Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill) and his team of academic all-stars are rushed to an underground government facility called Wildfire, specifically designed to handle extraterrestrial threats of the microbiological sort.  After working their way ...

Italy may not be the cradle of cinema, but it has produced enough influential auteurs and essential films to fill an opera house. Yet somehow, the name Valerio Zurlini rarely even makes the program, let alone earns a standing ovation. With just eight features over two decades, Zurlini’s body of work is modest compared to giants like Fellini or Visconti — but no less deserving of attention. Now, Radiance Films’ new limited-edition Blu-ray of  Girl With a Suitcase , easily surpassing the long out-of-print NoShame disc, should finally bring some long-overdue recognition to Zurlini’s delicate artistry. At the heart of the film is Claudia Cardinale, delivering one of her finest early performances. She plays Aida, a struggling nightclub singer abandoned by a careless lover — literally left on the side of the road with nothing but her suitcase. When her ex’s younger brother, a naïve teenager named Lorenzo (Corrado Pani), impulsively reaches out to help, Zurlini sets the stage for a h...

As the title implies,  Yakuza Wives  isn't just about mobsters; it's about the women who live in their shadows — and often, step out of them. Director Hideo Gosha puts a unique spin on the all-too-familiar genre, dragging it into the neon-drenched ‘80s complete with big hair, big boobs and high stakes power plays. At the center is Migiwa Awazu (Shima Iwashita), the "elder sister" and de facto leader of the Domoto Family while her husband serves out a prison stretch. But Migiwa isn’t content to just arrange tea parties for the “prison wives club” — she takes advantage of an all-out gang war to make sure her man comes home to a throne. Meanwhile, her naïve younger sister falls for a rival yakuza with ambitions of his own, setting up a collision course of blood, betrayal, and broken hearts. Yakuza Wives  nails a particular moment in Japanese cinema: the glossy, turbocharged ‘80s, when crime films looked slicker but stayed just as brutal underneath. Yet it’s Shima Iwashit...

The peaks and valleys of Japanese cinema left plenty of filmmakers behind. The shifts from theaters to television to DTV and back again reflected an industry chasing money rather than any artistic endgame. Directors like Seijun Suzuki and Shohei Imamura, who launched their careers during the height of the studio system at Nikkatsu, found themselves out of fashion after only a decade or so. But critical reappraisal of their early work gave both a second shot at the success that had eluded them the first time around. Seijun Suzuki’s  A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness  (1977) was his first theatrical feature in a decade, bridging the gap between his earlier stylized action pictures and the art-film renaissance still to come. Reiko (Yoko Shiraki) is a rising star in the world of women’s golf, so much so that a fashion company handpicks her to become their top model and spokesperson. But Reiko’s ascent attracts the attention of a rabid fan (Kyoko Enami), whose obsession escalates into b...

‘80s Icons like Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme were action heroes first, romantic leads second…usually a very distant second. But as the action genre diversified in the ‘90s, audiences demanded a bit more than the usual fare of explosions and roundhouse kicks.  Enter Andy Lau, Hong Kong’s answer to Tom Cruise, a smoldering leading man who provided instant chemistry with his female co-stars and managed to be a convincing bad-ass at the same time. All that and a beautiful singing voice too. In  The Adventurers  (1995) Lau stars as Yan, a Cambodian refugee whose parents’ involvement with the CIA soon leaves him an orphan.  Vowing revenge against the arms dealer responsible, Yan works his way into the Thai military and finally gets his chance after being placed as an undercover asset in San Francisco.  There he woos Crystal, the daughter of his sworn enemy, and marries into the family.  But will his feelings spoil his one chance for ...

At this point in the never-ending flood of Shaw Brothers titles glutting the market it comes down to one question:   is this one really worth it ?  Even collectors with a raging case of FOMO have to draw the line somewhere. So 88 Films release of  Lady with a Sword  (1971) is a good news/bad news situation.  The good news?  It’s  definitely  a keeper.  The bad news? Time to make some more room in the budget. After her sister’s murder, Fei-fei (Lily Ho) vows to settle the score with those responsible.  Unfortunately, that just so happens to be her betrothed from a marriage arranged in childhood. Torn between family obligations and righteous vengeance, Fei-fei and her young nephew must fight off a trio of bad guys – and overprotective in-laws – to see justice done. While set in the same sweeping historical period as most Shaw Brothers films,  Lady with a Sword  keeps the story personal and is all the...

France’s critical reassessment of Hollywood genre pictures gave credibility to filmmakers whose work had been dismissed as lightweight entertainment back in the U.S. And no genre got more love than  film noir , a label added after-the-fact to post-war pulp thrillers that focused on the darker side of the American dream.  Director Alain Corneau puts these concepts in a cultural blender, reinterpreting the moody, morally ambiguous books and movies that inspired him to produce a trio of films that are both uniquely  noir  and uniquely French at the same time. Police Python 375  (1976) takes its cue from  Dirty Harry  but was actually adapted from a 1946 novel used as the basis for  The Big Clock  and the Kevin Costner-Gene Hackman thriller  No Way Out .  Yves Montand stars as aging supercop Marc Ferrot who must investigate  himself  after his lover is murdered by a superior officer.  Covering up evidence a...