We’re getting down to the wire when it comes to Christmas shopping but before panic sets in, here are a few suggestions for the classic film fan on your list (from among several recent releases) that will most likely be highly coveted.
—The Night of the Hunter: This dark masterpiece from 1955—the only film directed by closeted actor Charles Laughton—has long needed the special-edition treatment; fans of the movie (we are legion) will salivate over the Criterion Collection’s two-disc version (available in both Blu-ray and DVD). The movie, which focuses on a serial killer posing as a preacher (Robert Mitchum at his most seductive and frightening) who goes after two helpless children on his search for stolen bank loot, has been gorgeously remastered. It comes with the usual bonus featurettes on the first disc while the second is an unheard-of two-and-a-half-hour collection of outtakes that include Laughton directing his cast, often in voiceover. The result is like the ultimate behind-the-scenes feature—and a one-of-a-kind look at Laughton’s process.
—The Opposite Sex: This second remake of gay director George Cukor’s 1939 classic The Women isn’t nearly as pleasing as the original, and June Allyson and Joan Collins are second-hand substitutes for high-falutin’ Norma Shearer and nasty, glamorous Joan Crawford in the original. But this 1956 movie—filmed in a blaze of Technicolor and featuring Delores Gray belting out the title song and several other numbers—does have its compensation nonetheles,s including Joan Blondell, Ann Sheridan, Agnes Moorehead, Ann Miller and Charlotte Greenwood in the supporting cast. There’s also a certain ’50s hunk named Jeff Richards, who plays the singing cowboy Buck Winston. It’s available through Warner Archives’ DVD on Demand program.
—Cry Wolf: The Warner Archive has also just released Films Starring Barbara Stanwyck, five of “Stany’s” movies dating from the early ’30s through the early ’50s. The best of the lot is this 1947 suspense mystery set on a lavish estate that seems to constantly be beset by thunderstorms. The movie pits Stanwyck against the impossibly beautiful Errol Flynn as the lord of the manor.
—Taxi Zum Klo: This classic of gay cinema—a relationship dramedy—was truly groundbreaking when it was released in 1981. Frank Rippoloh wrote, directed and stars (playing a character named after himself) in the story of a German schoolteacher who is nothing if not passionate about cruising for gay sex—as much as he can find. That goes on until he meets the attentive, caring Bernd. Will Frank give up his über-active sex life for monogamy with Bernd? It all leads up to Berlin’s annual Queen’s Ball, which, in itself, is a fascinating piece of gay history. axi showed two men in love and lust with no apologies long before I Love You Phillip Morris and a slew of other gay-themed movies. This 30th-anniversary edition includes a batch of bonus featurettes. Breaking Glass Pictures, the distributor, has a number of other LGBT-themed releases in its December slate worth checking out as well—Edie & Thea, The Stranger In Us and Seeing Heaven.