MAN IN THE WILDERNESS (1971) on Blu-ray A generation or two before Leo DiCaprio headed down the Revenantal road, the great Richard Harris walked in the same shoes as the pioneer legend of Hugo Glass. Harris plays Zachary Bass who is mauled by a Grizzly and abandoned for dead by his fellow early 19th century fur traders of the Pacific Northwest. Bass survives against all odds and begins a harrowing odyssey through the wilds and back to “civilization,” all while hunting for the men who left him to die. Directed by Richard Sarafian, Man in the Wilderness overlays its grueling quest for vengeance with surprisingly redemptive twists and turns, both in Bass’s current day trek and via flashback to his previous life. Thanks to its new 1080p HD master, both the film’s wide vistas and Harris’ intimate harrowing performance are granted a whole new life. Also starring John Huston. 16×9 Widescreen

 PLAN A FALL GETAWAY

FITZPATRICK TRAVELTALKS: VOLUME 2 (1934-45) The Voice of the Globe Returns! In this second volume, collecting sixty of James FitzPatrick’s famed Technicolor travelogues, we once again crisscross the globe, bearing witness to a world soon to vanish beneath the fires of a world war. The tulips of Holland, the cherry blossoms of Japan, and the colors of Zion canyon are but some of the picturesque sights that FitzPatrick and his crew (including a young Jack Cardiff) set their camera on while he paints a poignant portrait of pre-war life in Spain, Egypt and Australia. With the war limiting his travel options, FitzPatrick narrow his lens to bring the sights and sounds of the Americas vividly to life during the early forties, from Ontario to Massachusetts to Venezuela.

CINEMA XTREME

MOBY DICK (1930) John Barrymore plays an altogether different Ahab in this sound remake of his earlier silent picture, The Sea Beast. Jettisoning much of Melville’s plot, character and circumstance, this riotous adventure romance replaces the Melvillean milieu with a romantic triangle between Ahab, his brother (Lloyd Hughes) and the minister’s daughter (Joan Bennett). Winning the lady’s promise of marriage, but losing a leg to the white whale, Ahab is deceived by his brother about his lady’s intentions. So a now crazed Ahab shanghais a crew, and sets to sea for vengeance against the beast that stole his leg and his hopes for love. Moby Dick is brought to life via a bravura demonstration of the effects work of it’s time, with its combination of model and miniature work delighting as much as Barrymore’s dashing take on the vindictive whaler.

NOTE: These DVDs are Manufactured on Demand (MOD); to order, fans must visit The Warner Archive Collection, WB Shop.com, Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

 ALFRED THE GREAT (1969) David Hemmings and Michael York star in this biopic about England’s only king to gain the appellation “Great”. Clive Donner directs this alternative epic, which subtly uses the 870s to reflect the dissent of the 1960s. Young Alfred of Wessex (Hemmings) is on the verge of entering the priesthood when the Danes invade, under the leadership of Guthrim (York). Thanks to an unready elder sibling, Alfred is pressed into a kingship and a marriage he is not ready for. With a ruling class objecting to his egalitarian notions, and an invading force that steals more than land, Alfred must turn to the people of the fen and the lessons of the past in order to save the country that spurned him. Fans of Game of Thrones will note this film’s climactic battle’s obvious influence on the “Battle of the Bastards.” 16×9 Widescreen