So Cal Arts & Entertainment
Yiddish films on Blu-ray, Yiddish & Chanukah CDs
Three years ago at a film festival in Pordenone, Italy, Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films delighted me with the news he was restoring “The Dybbuk” (1937), arguably the greatest Yiddish film ever made. It’s been a long wait but worth every minute; Serge has topped...
read moreLon Chaney & Priscilla Dean on Blu-ray, “In The Next Room” on Zoom
“Outside the Law” (1921) may not one of the better known collaborations between Lon Chaney Sr. and director Tod Browning, but thanks to Kino Lorber—which has one of the more robust catalogs of vintage films today—it looks better than ever on their new Blu-ray and DVD...
read moreHilary Hahn highlights OC Philharmonic season, outdoor theatre in Lake Forest
The 24th Street Theatre is celebrating Dia de los Muertos online, Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. PST. Special guests at the virtual festival will include Aztec dance troupe Huitzilopochtli, ballet folklórico Sol de Fuego, and Emmy-winning actor Edward James Olmos. The...
read more“City Without Jews” and sexploitation on Blu-ray, rare blues on CD & calendar
The city’s in turmoil, crowds are rioting in the streets, people are starving, and the stock market’s on the brink of collapse. Sound familiar? Instead of one political party or another being blamed, however, “the Jews are responsible for our misery.” If this sounds...
read more“Shanghai Triad” on Blu-ray, Film Movement streaming service, William Beaudine
Oh goody, an alternate timeline, hip-hop fantasy riff on “Peter Pan.” I think I’ll pass on Dance with Films this year. Instead, I recommend a subscription to Film Movement Plus, a streaming service that virtually promises never a dull moment. The site is particularly...
read moreTheatre online in “Uncertain Times,” from Moliere to the Bard
Is the pandemic the death of theatre as we know it? It’s a question being asked ‘round the world. Few are willing to dip their toes in the waters of online theatre while the conundrum is being debated. Yes, the medium is problematic in myriad ways. And no, it’s not...
read moreVintage German queer cinema on Blu-ray, Peter Sellers rarity online
Two entertainers, a struggling ingénue and a veteran thespian, bump into each other on their way out of auditions. Both rejected, they sing to each other about their hopes and dreams. After calling the seasoned Viktor (Hermann Thimig) on his grandiose fibs, Susanne...
read moreArena Cinelounge reopening, “Cotton Club Encore” on Blu-ray, “Ága” on DVD
While Santa Ana’s Frida Cinema is offering special pop-up drive-in showings around Orange County and other theaters are doing virtual screenings, Hollywood’s independent arthouse staple, Arena Cinelounge, is the first bricks-and-mortar movie theater to reopen to the...
read moreAlastair Sim on Blu-ray, silent films online
If you’ve always wanted to attend the Pordenone Silent Film Festival—Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy, where I had a blast in 2017—now’s your big chance. The 39th edition of the festival will be an online event this year. In collaboration with movie...
read moreEaling comedies on Blu-ray, theatre online
Ealing is more than a suburb on the edge of London. Before the BBC moved into its hallowed soundstages, it was a “defiantly small” film studio, as Peter Ustinov once recalled, that “glorified the small at the expense of the big, the conventional, the pompous.” The...
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