Blu Tuesday: “All Quiet on the Western Front” and More

0

Felix Kammerer, Edin Hasanovic and Albrecht Schuch in "All Quiet on the Western Front"

Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.

Pick of the Week: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of the same name, “All Quiet on the Western Front” is one of the most realistic and harrowing depictions of war since “Saving Private Ryan,” hammering home the sheer brutality of World War I in ways both gruesome and horrifying. However, as devastating as these sequences are to watch, they’re staged and shot with such elegance that it’s hard not to admire the death, destruction and desolation as it unfolds onscreen. The movie is a technical achievement on a number of levels, picking up awards for production design, cinematography and original score at this year’s Academy Awards, but it’s star Felix Kammerer’s performance that ties it all together. Though the film isn’t without its faults, “All Quiet on the Western Front” is yet another superb adaptation of the Remarque novel that stands on its own.

Extras include an audio commentary by director Edward Berger and a making-of featurette. FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Also Out This Week:

Superman: 5-Film Collection (1978-1987)” — Superman has always been my least favorite of all the major superheroes, and as such, I’ve never been too fond of the Christopher Reeve-led “Superman” films from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Though Reeve does a great job in the dual role of Clark Kent/Superman, all four movies are relatively cheesy and boring affairs that have only grown more dated with each passing year. Although 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” has previously been available for purchase on 4K, this is the first time that the other films — “Superman II,” “Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut,” “Superman III” and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” — have received a physical 4K release. For the most part, the 4K remasters are a huge improvement over previous editions and well worth the upgrade, but unless you’re a diehard Superman fan, you’d probably be better off waiting for individual releases. Extras include audio commentaries on all five movies, as well as making-of documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and more. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Knock at the Cabin” — M. Night Shyamalan has enjoyed a bit of a career renaissance in recent years thanks to low-budget genre films like “Split,” “The Visit” and “Old,” but while each of those movies has its share of fans, none of them have really resonated with me. The same is true of this apocalyptic thriller, based on the 2018 novel “The Cabin at the End of the World,” which takes an interesting premise and then proceeds to do nothing with it. The whole thing is quite ridiculous, stifling any tension that might otherwise exist due to a dead-end story that’s predicated on its protagonists making a choice that isn’t really a choice at all. It’s a lose-lose scenario, and not a particularly enlightening one, either. Though Dave Bautista certainly deserves props for turning in great work as the main antagonist, it’s wasted on a thinly plotted story that fails to impress. Extras include a behind-the-scenes look at making the film, some deleted scenes and more. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.

Share.

About Author

In addition to writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Jason is a proud member of the Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) and the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS).