Blu-ray movie reviews: ‘Stillwater’ and ‘Night at the Opera’

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Check out a couple of movies that were released recently in Blu-ray format.

Still water (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, R rated, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 139 minutes, $34.98) – Matt Damon stars in director Tom McCarthy’s crime drama based on the Amanda Knox case as Bill Baker, an unemployed Oklahoma oil worker desperately trying to prove his daughter is innocent of the murder.

Mr. Baker’s mission is nearly insurmountable when Alison (Abigail Breslin) is convicted in France of murdering her college roommate and serving up to nine years in prison in the country.

Traveling to and from France and eventually living with and befriending a mother (Camille Cottin) and her young daughter (Lilou Siauvaud), the writer battles language and cultural barriers in an investigation that slowly uncovers a possible suspect and the real killer.

Damon’s performance of the working man demonstrates a firm but sometimes out-of-character, irrational determination as he fights to mend a deteriorating relationship with his daughter and save her.

The movie comes alive in its character review of the bond between a broken father and an equally broken daughter.

With the majority of the action set in Marseille, the high-definition presentation offers a panoramic tour of the city and surrounding areas, including the breathtaking coastal canals within the Calanques National Park.

The best extras: Three feature lengths of about 10 minutes in total offer a very superficial look at the production, focusing on the set, the venue and the genius of the director.

A Night at the Opera (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, unrated, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, 92 minutes, $21.99 — The legendary Marx Brothers were released on an ocean liner, and then New York City caused a world-class comedy mayhem in director Sam Woods’ 1935 musical comedy, which debuted on Blu-ray.

In the story, Groucho plays Otis B. Driftwood, the business manager of wealthy widow Mrs. Claypool (who is fooling the Marx Brothers Margaret Dumont).

While in Milan, Italy, she encouraged him to invest in the New York Opera Company, and the smug owner Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman) hired the great tenor Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), and Mrs. Claypool was part of high society. persuades him to help.

Driftwood meets Fiorello (Chico), the manager of struggling opera singer Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), and falls in love with star singer Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle). Driftwood signed a contract with Fiorello to hire Baroni (Lassparri thinks he is).

While Driftwood, Claypool, Gottlieb and Lassparri sail for America in an ocean liner, Baroni, Fiorello and disgruntled costume assistant Tomasso (Harpo) sneak aboard in search of Castaldi.

Driftwood eventually teams up with stowaways to embarrass Gottlieb and Lassparri and reunite the young lovers on the Big Apple’s opera stage.

This bizarre celebration of opera (with 10 musical numbers, no less) is also filled with profuse mockery of the upper class.

Sure, the laughs, jokes, and soliloquy are fast and furious, but it really culminates in a heartbreaking scene set in a cabin where Groucho squeezes people into sparse space.

As part of the Warner archive collection, this new high-definition stream created from 4K digital scanning offers a mostly clear, black-and-white experience perfect for appreciating the brothers’ manic comedy style.

The best extras: First, watch a preview before the main event with three short films shown during the original theatrical screening.

Specifically, 10 minutes of comedy “How to Sleep”, 20 minutes of star-studded “Sunday Night at the Trocadero” and eight-minute travel diary “Los Angeles: Wonder City of the West.”

Then, come back and watch the movie with an optional commentary from leading film historian Leonard Maltin. Mr. Maltin never loses words as he offers a loving tribute to one of his favorite films in a piece packed with information about the film and the Marx Brothers, production facts, and why “One Night at the Opera” is so important. sudden onset.

Finally, there is a 34-minute preview on the history of the Marx Brothers (published in 2004), featuring key words from comedy writer Anne Beatts, along with Hy Gardner’s six-minute interview with Groucho talking about working with Irving Thalberg in 1961. enjoy. , comic actor outstanding Dom DeLuise, and venerable master humorist Carl Reiner.

Let’s just say, Marx Brothers fans and anyone who loves to laugh will enjoy this publication.

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