THE PSYCHOPATH On Blu-ray From Kino

THE PSYCHOPATH (1966) is one of the lesser-known films from Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg's Amicus Productions. The movie isn't one of the company's many anthology films, and it doesn't feature any big-time genre names such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. THE PSYCHOPATH does have some impressive behind-the-camera credits--it was directed by Freddie Francis and it was written by Robert Bloch. The film gets its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Kino Lorber.

THE PSYCHOPATH, set in England, concerns a series of murders among a group of men who were responsible for indicting a German industrialist named Von Sturm as a war criminal after WWII. At the scene of each killing a replica of the victim, in the shape of a doll, is left behind. A determined police inspector named Holloway (Patrick Wymark) is led to Von Sturm's bizarre widow (Margaret Johnston) and her equally unusual son (John Standing).

There isn't all that much plot to THE PSYCHOPATH, and the script cannot be counted among Robert Bloch's best work. Freddie Francis and cinematographer John Wilcox do, however, go out of their way to bring some flair to the proceedings, with superb use of color and widescreen Techniscope. Francis also lets the many fine English characters cast here shine, particularly Patrick Wymark. Usually the police inspector role in a British horror film of this period is a thankless one, but Wymark makes the man interesting. On his audio commentary for this disc, Troy Howarth compares Wymark's Holloway to Peter Falk's Columbo, and there are many similarities--both men favor rumpled raincoats, they each manage to drop in on suspects at the most inopportune times, and they both have a disarming nature about them. Margaret Johnston is very effective as the creepy Mrs. Sturm, and Hammer fans will appreciate Thorley Walters as one of the murder victims and a very brief appearance by Caron Gardner, who is known for her cameo in THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Troy Howarth also compares THE PSYCHOPATH to Mario Bava's Italian giallo thriller BLOOD AND BLACK LACE. The movie does share some elements of the giallo--an unseen killer who wears black gloves and wields a knife, stylish color photography, and the stalking of a beautiful young fashionable woman. I would also mention that Mrs. Von Sturm, and her houseful of unsettling dolls, reminded me of Baroness Graps in Bava's KILL, BABY...KILL! Despite its title, THE PSYCHOPATH is nowhere near as tawdry or as violent as most giallo entries. One can't help but think of PSYCHO when discussing Robert Bloch (he was the author of the original novel)....and Mrs. Von Sturm and her son do bring back memories of the Bates family. There's also a very Hitchcockian (and very well staged) confrontation between Inspector Holloway and the young Von Sturm set in a boathouse during the middle of the night. Elisabeth Lutyens contributes a very atmospheric music score.

Kino presents THE PSYCHOPATH in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen. For about the first twenty minutes of the film, the print has some damage--a couple of scratch lines run down the screen, and they are a bit distracting. For the rest of the film the print looks fine, and the colors are much more distinct. I'm not going to be too hard on Kino for this, considering that the movie has never been released on home video in widescreen before and this may have been the only print available.

The only real extra is Troy Howarth's commentary, and it is an informative and enthusiastic one. I've already mentioned a couple of his points. Troy also discusses the issue of how much post-production tinkering was done on the film--your stance on that will depend on whether you believe Milton Subotsky's opinions or those of Freddie Francis. An original trailer for THE PSYCHOPATH is included, and the case cover is double-sided, with different ad art for the film on each.

I wouldn't call THE PSYCHOPATH spectacular, but it is a very good thriller, worthy of discovery. Thanks to Kino's excellent presentation of this title, one can finally get the chance to see it the way it was meant to.

THE GAY BRIDE

In this day and age a title like THE GAY BRIDE brings up all sorts of ideas on what the movie might be about. For audiences back in 1934, when the film was originally released, the title probably made them assume that they would be seeing a typical "woman's picture". In reality the movie is a strange mixture of gangster antics and light comedy--by far the best reason for seeing it is the presence of its leading lady, Carole Lombard. THE GAY BRIDE makes its home video debut on a made-on-demand DVD courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection.

Carole Lombard plays ambitious Mary, a showgirl (by far the most common professional occupation for 1930s American female movie characters). The gorgeous Mary attracts the eye of none-too-bright gangster "Shoots" Magiz (Nat Pendleton). Despite protestations from her best friend (Zasu Pitts), Mary encourages Shoots--she's not all that attracted to him, but she figures if she marries him, the poor sap won't last too long due to the nature of his business, and she'll get all his money. Mary does become Shoots' bride, and he does get bumped off--but due to the repeal of Prohibition, the widow finds out to her dismay that her husband had no money left. Mary gets involved with Shoots' devious associates (Sam Hardy, Leo Carillo), but it's Shoots' bodyguard (Chester Morris) who winds up getting the girl out of the rackets.

THE GAY BRIDE was the only film Carole Lombard made for MGM. Considering the reputation of the studio, Lombard had high hopes for it, but the results left her disappointed. Most of the books written about the actress look upon it as one of her most mediocre films. It certainly isn't terrible--but it doesn't do much to highlight Lombard's talents, other than make her look as ravishing as possible by providing her with a number of fashionable costumes. The movie has a in-between quality to it--it's not funny enough to be an out-and-out farce, and it's not dramatic enough to be a gangster melodrama.

MGM may have been the wrong studio for this type of material. A company like Warner Bros. would have taken the script and made it as wild and wacky as possible. Lombard seems a bit too refined to be a hard-edged golddigger--it's the type of part that would have been perfect for, say, Joan Blondell or Ann Southern. In the first part of the film the gangsters are portrayed as basically dopes--so when later on they are supposed to be a viable threat to Mary, the tension just isn't there. Chester Morris (his character is referred to in the film as "Office Boy") and Lombard spend most of the movie sniping at one another--which, by the "old movie rules" means that they are really in love. Every time I have seen Chester Morris in a film, he comes off to me as sulky and unlikable, and he did nothing to change my mind here. Morris seems far more comfortable insulting Carole than he does when he has to woo her. (The script goes out of its way to tell the audience that Office Boy is just a bodyguard, and does not take part in any illegal activities, in order to make the character seem a "proper" match for Mary.)

Zasu Pitts doesn't get much to do here as the obligatory best friend (she does get to recite a few "Oh Dears"). In the last part of the film, her character disappears, which makes me wonder if there was some editing done to the story. Another reason I think there was some studio tinkering is that all of Mary's financial and legal problems--which are considerable--are explained away with dialogue literally at the very end of the picture. MGM veteran Jack Conway directs the film in a low-key, practical manner.

The print used for this DVD of THE GAY BRIDE has a lot of scratches on it, and the image quality is not very sharp. There are no extras.

Carole Lombard is my favorite movie actress of all time, so of course I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to buy a film of hers that I had never seen. But in all honesty she's the only reason to watch THE GAY BRIDE.

My Favorite Movie Cast Ensembles

This list is a spinoff of my favorite and least favorite casting decisions lists. For me a great movie cast ensemble has to be more than just a bunch of big names thrown together. All the members of a great movie cast ensemble should have interesting and important roles to play (and this doesn't necessarily mean big roles). Many historical epic films stuffed their cast lists with famous stars, but wound up offering the talent involved nothing more than cameo appearances. THE LONGEST DAY is one of my favorite WWII movies of all time, but I wouldn't count it as a great ensemble cast, because most of the stars packed into it don't have all that much to do. THE LONGEST DAY is an event movie, not an actor's showcase.

Films from the Golden Age of Hollywood have a leg up on the competition for this list due to the fact that even the mediocre ones made during the period feature wonderful character actors, even in the smallest of roles. There's a number of times I'll be sitting around the house and I'll start watching a movie on TCM that isn't all that famous--or all that good--simply because of the acting talent in the cast.

Making out this list reminded me of how particular directors feature greater overall casts in their films than others. Frank Capra, in my opinion, was the master at putting together great ensemble casts--in his films there's no such thing as a throwaway role. John Ford of course had his famous stock company, and even though he doesn't get a lot of credit for doing so, John Sturges filled his movies with exceptional performers. I could have listed several films from each of those three directors.

I know some might complain about the lack of modern films here. I will mention that Martin Scorsese always has great ensemble casts. And no, I don't list any of the now many superhero movies that feature multiple comic book characters, because in my mind the fictional heroes in them are more important than the actors wearing the suits.


STAR WARS
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, David Prowse

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941 version)
Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Gladys George, Lee Patrick, Barton MacLane, Elisha Cook Jr., Jerome Cowan

CASABLANCA
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, S. Z. Sakall

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H. B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif, Claude Rains, Anthony Quayle, Arthur Kennedy, Jose Ferrer

TUNES OF GLORY
Alec Guinness, John Mills, Dennis Price, John Fraser, Gordon Jackson, Susannah York, Kay Walsh

JFK
Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Donald Sutherland, Jack Lemmon

THE WILD BUNCH
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Jaime Sanchez, Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones

THE LAST HURRAH
Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Basil Rathbone, Pat O'Brien, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Ed Brophy, John Carradine, Ricardo Cortez, Frank McHugh, Anna Lee

THE GREAT ESCAPE
Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, Donald Pleasence, James Donald, Gordon Jackson, Nigel Stock

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974 version)
Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark, Michael York

Some Of My Least Favorite Movie Casting Decisions

And now it's time for a Least Favorite Casting Decisions list. This one was actually harder to put together than the Favorite Casting list. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of entries to choose from...it's just that if I don't like a certain movie or a certain performer I'm not going to spend time watching them. I'm far more knowledgeable about films and actors I like than ones I don't, therefore it is easier for me to write about them.

I must also point out that I'm not going to go down the politically incorrect route. Almost all the historical and biblical epics made in the 1950s-60s featured white English-speaking performers as the main stars. To go through all of those movies and chastise those casting decisions now, in my opinion, doesn't really accomplish much. Technically one could say that 90% of all casting decisions made during the Golden Age of Hollywood were politically incorrect. If you can't put a older film in the context of the time it was made, you're going to have to severely limit your viewing choices.

I'll try not to be too snarky during this list, but I make no promises.


Marlon Brando in JULIUS CAESAR
I might as well admit now that I've never been all that much of Brando fan. His "revolutionary" style of acting looks to me now as contrived and indulgent. I'm sure having the young Marlon alongside classical artists such as John Gielgud and James Mason in a film adaptation of Shakespeare's play was a high concept idea back in 1953, but Brando here seems to be off in his own world.

Ben Affleck in THE SUM OF ALL FEARS
Honestly I could say that casting Affleck in any movie would be a bad idea....but trying to have him portray Tom Clancy's main hero Jack Ryan was particularly egregious.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in BATMAN AND ROBIN
This is a prime example of gimmick casting. "Hey! Let's have Arnold play Mr. Freeze!! It'll be great!!" Well, it wasn't....but, truth be told, it didn't matter who would have played this role, the movie still would have been terrible.

Anthony Perkins in FEAR STRIKES OUT
In this film Perkins plays Major League baseball player Jimmy Piersall in a film that details the man's struggle with emotional and mental issues. Perkins was a fine choice when it came to emotionally troubled characters...but it's fairly obvious here that Perkins didn't have much experience baseball-wise. He doesn't even look comfortable while wearing a baseball uniform.

Clark Gable in PARNELL
For some reason someone at MGM thought it was a good idea for the rugged King of Hollywood to play a 19th Century Irish statesman. Was this an early example of Oscar bait?

Grace Jones in A VIEW TO A KILL
The folks who ran the James Bond franchise tried to go the trendy route by casting Jones, who had a certain notoriety in the mid 1980s, as the main henchman in this lousy 007 outing. Ironically, due to a recent documentary, Jones is back in the spotlight again...which proves that if you just wait long enough, just about anything will come back in style.

Some Of My Favorite Movie Casting Decisions

The idea for this post comes from my brother Robert.

When it comes to discussing great movie casting decisions, one has to be careful not to veer into "Hindsight is 20/20" territory. Just about any movie that is critically or financially successful will be credited for having great casting. Most popular movie character portrayals are so iconic that it's almost impossible to imagine another performer essaying the role. Is having Clint Eastwood play The Man With No Name or Dirty Harry an example of great casting...or is it a choice that was just patently obvious?

If you are a fan of a certain actor, you'll mostly think that anything they appeared in was a great casting decision. For those performers you don't like, you'll think the opposite is true.

One also has to take into account that how we perceive certain movies--and certain performances--changes over time. For years, George Lazenby as James Bond in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was considered one of the ultimate examples of miscasting--but now the film, and Lazenby's version of 007 is looked upon more fondly. I have a feeling that many of the comic book films--and the casting in them--that saturate the market and the public's attention these days may not hold up too well a few decades from now.

The reason I titled this post "Some of my favorite movie performances" is that there's no way I can pick all the ones I feel that are notable throughout the entire history of cinema in just one list. For this one I'm going to try and pick those decisions that had some doubt or unusual aspect to them. If you have some great casting decisions of your own, please feel free to leave a comment here or on The Hitless Wonder Movie Page.


James Stewart in BROKEN ARROW
I could have easily chosen Stewart's role in WINCHESTER '73, but BROKEN ARROW was filmed first (even though it was released later). Both films established Stewart as a tough, rugged, and complicated Western hero, and the actor's later portrayals in the genre established his post-WWII image. How many people back in 1949 would have imagined Stewart as a Western star?

Harrison Ford in STAR WARS and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
There's all sorts of urban legends about the different actors supposedly "considered" for the role of Han Solo in the original STAR WARS. Most of these legends are just cheap clickbait, but the fact is George Lucas took a chance on picking Ford. I'd say it worked out pretty well. As for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, most people know that Tom Selleck was going to play Indiana Jones, but decided to star in the MAGNUM P.I. TV show instead. I know there's going to be a younger Han coming out soon, and there's already been younger Indiana's, but Harrison Ford is the real Han and Indy.

Brigitte Helm in METROPOLIS
What exactly did Fritz Lang see in a unknown teenage girl who had no acting experience whatsoever?? Whatever it was, it enabled him to allow Helm the opportunity to give one of the most iconic performances in cinema history.

John Wayne in SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON
In essaying the role of Capt. Nathan Brittles, Wayne was essentially playing a man roughly 20 years older than himself--and he did it brilliantly. It is said that John Ford cast Wayne in the role after being impressed by the Duke in RED RIVER, but if Ford wasn't confident in the actor's abilities he wouldn't have used him at all to begin with.

Peter Cushing in HORROR OF DRACULA
If you go by how Dr. Van Helsing was portrayed in Bram Stoker's novel, having Cushing play the character would not be a good choice. Cushing was much younger, and much more typically English than Stoker's Van Helsing. But Cushing's Van Helsing is now the standard by which all movie monster fighters are compared to.

Errol Flynn in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
Warner Brothers was seriously considering James Cagney, of all people, for the role of Robin. That would have been...unique, but honestly, how could you have not cast an in-his-prime Errol Flynn?

Boris Karloff in FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
Universal was planning to use Bela Lugosi as the Frankenstein Monster, due to his success as the Count in the '31 DRACULA. There's a number of stories on how Boris Karloff was finally cast, but no matter which one you believe, it was a fantastic decision that had major ramifications for fantastic cinema. Karloff went on to become the greatest all-around actor in classic horror film history.

Other Notable Examples: Steve McQueen in THE GREAT ESCAPE, Barbara Steele in BLACK SUNDAY, Christopher Reeve in SUPERMAN--THE MOVIE, Hugh Jackman in X-MEN, Lee Van Cleef in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

In upcoming posts I will discuss some casting choices that were not my favorites, and some of my favorite ensemble movie casts of all time.

KILLER FORCE (AKA THE DIAMOND MERCENARIES)

KILLER FORCE (aka THE DIAMOND MERCENARIES) is a 1975 caper-adventure film starring a cast that could only have been put together in the Seventies--Peter Fonda, Telly Savalas, Christopher Lee, Hugh O'Brian, Maude Adams, and....O.J. Simpson. The movie was co-written and directed by the highly competent Val Guest (THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, HELL IS A CITY). Sounds like it should be quite impressive, right? Well, the final results are not all that spectacular...but hey, I got the Kino DVD of this from Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers for $4, so I think I made out okay.

Peter Fonda plays Bradley, a security officer at a large diamond mine located in South Africa. Bradley's job isn't made any easier by the diamond syndicate's head of security, Webb (Telly Savalas). Webb is a paranoid fellow who's convinced that a major smuggling operation is going on right under the company's nose. Bradley is convinced by a company official to act as if he is actually part of the operation, so as to ferret out those who are really running things. Bradley goes on the run and encounters a group of mercenaries who need his help to steal a huge haul of diamonds from the mine....but which side is Bradley truly on? And can he escape the determined Webb's clutches regardless?

KILLER FORCE is one of those "impossible mission" movies, where a disparate group of characters get together and try to penetrate an impenetrable fortress, or undertake a deadly task with all the odds stacked against them. Usually in these types of films, some of the characters are portrayed in a way that makes the audience interested in their plight, or the story is set in a situation like World War II, where one at least gets the chance to root for the achievement of the goal. KILLER FORCE doesn't use any of these conventions--the characters are not particularly likable or engaging, and the goal of stealing a bunch of diamonds is based on just flat out greed. The movie might have been better served if a more hard-edged traditional action star had been made the lead. Not only does Peter Fonda seem miscast, there are times where he appears bored by all the proceedings. It doesn't help that Fonda's role is not set up consistently--at one point he chastises the mercenaries for their brutal methods, yet he winds up killing plenty of people along the way himself. Telly Savalas is a portent force as Webb, but the script doesn't explain why the guy is so obsessed at catching diamond thieves (Webb even goes out of his way to tell off and bully his superiors in the company).

Hugh O'Brian is the leader of the mercenaries, and among the group are Christopher Lee and O.J. Simpson. Lee would have been much better served playing O'Brian's role. As the deadly Major Chilton, Lee doesn't get to do as much as he should, but he does enough to make the character more than just the usual minor bad guy role. Lee's Chilton displays proper manners which belie the man's nasty streak. O.J. Simpson appearing in any movie viewed from today's perspective becomes a major distraction, especially in an action flick such as this. Every scene that involves Simpson's character could easily become the subject of sick jokes. (If you've ever wanted to see a film which has Christopher Lee and O.J. Simpson in a car together, this is it.)

Val Guest helmed a number of important genre films in the 1950s and 1960s, but by the 1970s his choice of titles was somewhat perplexing. (Was that due to the then-weakness of the British film industry?) Guest does do an above average job here, making good use of the desert-like African locations and handling the action scenes very well. (One thing that needs to be said about the action sequences is that in this movie, all one has to do is basically nudge a helicopter or a Land Rover and it will blow up.) In the end I think Guest made the movie more entertaining that it probably should have been.

The Kino DVD of KILLER FORCE presents a very sharp 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen print of the film. The print actually has the on-screen title THE DIAMOND MERCENARIES, which also adorns one of the two trailers provided. THE DIAMOND MERCENARIES titles and trailer (which is narrated by Patrick Allen) give Christopher Lee third billing. A sequence of alternate KILLER FORCE main titles are included, along with an alternate ending. The alternate ending, which might be looked at as a "downer" is much better than what appears in the film. The original ending is incredibly anti-climatic...it's one of those endings that make you say "That's all there is???"

KILLER FORCE has a number of problems when it comes to the plot and the characters, but it does fit the bill if all you want is a cheesy action flick that has a lot of gunfights, explosions, and interesting actors.

KING OF JAZZ On Blu-ray From Criterion

Universal's 1930 big-budget musical revue KING OF JAZZ was recently restored, and the results have been released on Blu-ray by Criterion. It's one of the most unique productions I have ever seen, and Criterion has supplied a wealth of supplementary material to go along with it.

KING OF JAZZ was Universal's attempt to hop on the early-sound musical bandwagon. By the time it was finally released, nearly every other major Hollywood studio had already come out with their own musical revues, and audiences were tired of the genre. KING OF JAZZ fell into obscurity, and whenever it was mentioned, it was looked upon as a quaint curio. The movie isn't perfect, but as a film buff I found it fascinating.

The supposed King of Jazz the title refers to is bandleader Paul Whiteman. It's hard to believe now, but the portly Whiteman, who resembled Oliver Hardy, was one of the most popular American entertainers in the 1920s. Whiteman's band played a form of music that is far different from the accepted definition of Jazz that we know today. Despite this Whiteman and the musicians who played with him had a huge influence on the Jazz format (this is extensively discussed on all the various extras featured on this Blu-ray). George Gershwin's legendary "Rhapsody in Blue" was first recorded by Whiteman's band, and the song is a major highlight of KING OF JAZZ. I honestly knew basically nothing about Whiteman before buying this disc, but the extras on it give all the background and information one needs to know about the bandleader.

KING OF JAZZ was filmed in an early two-strip Technicolor format, which accentuated the colors red and green. For a modern viewer this visual scheme might take some getting used to, but for me some of the restored scenes on this disc look breathtaking. In KING OF JAZZ the two-strip Technicolor was not just used for its own sake--the sets and costumes were designed to make the best use of the process, and the cinematography goes out of its way to use the available colors as creatively as possible. Some of the scenes have a Expressionistic quality to them.

Some of the acts featured in KING OF JAZZ are better than others--the comic "blackouts" in between acts have a seedy Pre-Code aspect to them. The movie has a little bit of everything--there's even a animated sequence, the very first of its kind in Technicolor, done by Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan. Bing Crosby is here, making his film debut, along with early Universal stars Laura La Plante and John Boles. A young Walter Brennan is here too (he still looks middle-aged). Among the other talents presented are the Russell Market Girls, who were the precursors of the Rockettes.

The performers that impressed me the most from this film were the Sisters G, a German-born dancing pair of lithe Louise Brooks lookalikes. In my opinion, they should have had a lot more screen time.

The Sisters G

My favorite sequences in the film were the "Rhapsody in Blue" number (which, due to the two-strip process, comes off looking like "Rhapsody in Teal") and "Happy Feet". There are a few times when the musical numbers feel a bit stagey (the director of this film was Broadway impresario John Murray Anderson), but there's also several moments that disprove the legend that all the great film musical innovations were invented by Busby Berkeley. Universal spent a small fortune on this production, and it certainly shows on screen.

As I have mentioned, the extras here are extensive. There's interviews and presentations from Gary Giddins, Michael Feinstein, James Layton, and David Pierce, and they all fully analyze the making of the film, and give background on the performers featured in it. An audio commentary has Gary Giddins, Gene Seymour, and jazz artist Vince Giordano. It's a fine one, but it is focused mostly on the musical aspects of KING OF JAZZ. The Blu-ray includes an extensively illustrated booklet that has an informative essay on the film by Farran Smith Nehme.

For anyone who has a major interest in classic Hollywood, this Blu-ray is a must buy. I have to point out that it will also be of interest to those who have a love for the music and fashions of the late 20s--early 30s. The extras are some of the best that have ever been presented on any Criterion disc, and the restored film looks spectacular. I can easily predict that the KING OF JAZZ Blu-ray will be on my top five discs of 2018 list.