Warner Archive Collection New Releases Oct. 29: Boys of Steel, Men Without Fear
Young Man of Steel
THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON (1991-92) Joining series star (and now full Producer) Gerard Christopher were comic scribes Andy Helfer, Mike Carlin, and J.M. Dematteis as well as future Justice League animated mainstay Stan Berkowitz who all helped The Adventures of Superboy sail above any syndicated show limits thanks to their ample imaginations and affection for the source material. This 3-Disc, 22-Episode complete series collection sees young Clark Kent/Kal-El ready to break the bonds of boyhood and emerge as the legendary Man of Steel while battling and befriending classic four color foes like Lex Luthor (Sherman Howard, Batman Beyond), Metallo (Michael Callan, Mysterious Island) and Bizarro (Barry Meyers aka Douglas B. Meyers, Mr. Silver the Robotic Performer), as well as TV originals Chaos (Paul McCrane, Robocop), Adrian Temple (Roddy Piper, They Live) and Tommy Puck (Billy Mummy, Babylon 5). It all leads up to a one-two punch season finale, “Rites of Passage” that sees Superboy return to Smallville to begin his final steps into Supermanhood. Note: Initial quantities of this release will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand.
Middle-Aged Man of No Fear – on Blu-Ray!
FEARLESS (1993) Peter Weir directs this visionary tale of ordinary folk transformed by extraordinary events to tragic and transcendent ends. Jeff Bridges delivers one of his most unforgettable performances as Max, an architect who survives a horrific plane crash unscathed. But Max’s family might not be so lucky, as the experience has left the now shamanistic survivor seemingly beyond the reach of his wife (a deeply anchored Isabella Rossellini) and son (Spencer Vrooman). Rosie Perez plays “the other woman” Carla, whose overwhelming grief may prove to be the panacea for both her and Max. Finally presented in it’s correct wide screen aspect ratio, Weir and cinematographer Allen Daviau’s vision comes to breathtaking Blu-ray from a sparkling new master. Also stars Tom Hulce, John Turturro, Benicio Del Toro, and John De Lancie. Adapted for the screen by Rafael Yglesias from his own novel. 16×9 Widescreen 1080p HD, DTS-HD Audio, Blu-ray Disc
Lee Tracy: Blarney Man of Ballyhoo
THE HALF NAKED TRUTH (1932) Pre-Code cinema fast-talker Lee Tracy helps give birth to a new queen comedienne when he teams up with “The Hot Pepper” Lupe Velez and director Gregory La Cava in this Big top-cum-Great-White-Way ballyhoo. Tracy and Velez play a carnie pitchman and hoochie-coochie girl who take their act off the road to make big rubes out of the seen-it-all citizens of the Big Apple. Eugene Pallette co-star as their circus strongman pal strong-armed into playing a “Turkish” bodyguard (and “Turkish” is code for a specific type of harem guardian, if you know what we mean) for Velez’s faux fugitive queen. Nothing fails quite like success and the perfect pair of pitchers have a falling out, thanks to a wannabe lothario (Frank Morgan). And this, of course, means war…
THE NUISANCE (1933) Lee Tracy is sublimely in his element as an in-it-to-win-it shyster bleeding the “soulless corporation” running his city’s streetcars in this pitch perfect cynical crusader flick. Unfortunately for the gentry of this fine city, Tracy’s J. Phineas Stevens, Esq. who has the moral edge (albeit a thin one) over the corrupt public utility corp. Creating the quandary is lay private detective Madge Evans, sent undercover and under the sheets to get the goods on Stevens. Frank Morgan plays Stevens secret weapon, a dyspeptic dipsomaniac doc who knows how to doctor an X-ray, while Charles Butterworth plays an archetypical example of the now-vanished art of flop men, who throw themselves under cars for a quick payoff (no foolin’!). Directed by Jack Conway.
TURN BACK THE CLOCK (1933) This landmark comedic fantasy directed by Edgar Selwyn and co-written by Selwyn and the great Ben Hecht stars Lee Tracy as the time-tossed middle-aged everyman Joe Gimlet. NYC tobacconist and WWI vet Joe is struck in a rut, married to his high school sweetheart Mary (the always pleasing Mae Clarke) when a chance encounter with his hometown pal-made-good Ted Wright (a charming Otto Kruger) causes Joe to doubt his life’s choices. A horrible accident sends Joe plunging down the depths of his own past and finds himself back in the innocent days of 1910, armed with the memories of 1932. This time around Joe ain’t gonna be a sap, he’s gonna go for the dough, see? He sets Mary aside and makes a play for the one he let away, the wealthy Elvina (Peggy Shannon), and formerly future Mrs. Ted Wright. As Joe changes the present to avoid his future, Joe and Ted trade lives in bittersweet fashion as they discover middle-aged regret is a class-less affair. As an extra bonus – look for a cameo by the now Ted Healy-free Three Stooges as a trio of wedding singers!
HBO on the Hunt
MANHUNT (2013) The May 1, 2011 raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan that culminated in the killing of Osama bin Laden took 40 minutes, but the CIA¹s hunt for bin Laden took two decades. Manhunt tells the remarkable true story of this nearly 20-year pursuit of the world¹s most notorious terrorist. Directed by Greg Barker and based on the book ³Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad² by Peter Bergen, this documentary feature is a real-life spy thriller that reveals behind-the-scenes accounts from CIA analysts, targeters and operatives who testify to the disagreements, frustrations, tragedies and triumphs that make up this fascinating yet painful chapter in American military and political history.
NOTE: These DVDs are Manufactured on Demand (MOD); to order, fans must visit The Warner Archive Collection or WB Shop.com.
