Saturday Sinema: Laurel & Hardy

Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations

coming to DVD and Blu-ray on June 16th 

"It's no exaggeration to say that the films haven't looked this good since 

they were first released in the 1930s." - Leonard Maltin

The comedy films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have been beloved around the world since they were first released between 1927 and 1940. So beloved that many of the available copies are blurred dupes printed from worn-out negatives. Now, the best of their short comedies and two of their finest features have been fully restored. They look and sound as spectacular as when they were first released... Here are a few videos that prove it:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6iG4k4zoQ 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDjaDaELXO0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCSELv-koGo

FEATURES

* NEW! 2K and 4K transfers from the finest original 35mm materials in the world. 

* WORLD PREMIERES! Laurel and Hardy's legendary 1927 silent "pie fight" film THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY makes its video debut after being "lost" for 90 years! The only reel of L&H bloopers and out-takes, THAT'S THAT!

* Classic short comedies BERTH MARKS, BRATS, HOG WILD, COME CLEAN, ONE GOOD TURN, HELPMATES, THE MUSIC BOX (the legendary Academy Award winning "piano moving" short), THE CHIMP, COUNTY HOSPITAL, SCRAM!, THEIR FIRST MISTAKE, TOWED IN A HOLE, TWICE TWO, ME AND MY PAL, THE MIDNIGHT PATROL, and BUSY BODIES in addition to the feature films SONS OF THE DESERT and WAY OUT WEST (which includes the team's famous soft shoe dance routine).

* EIGHT HOURS of EXCLUSIVE extras - 2,500 rare photos and studio documents, audio and film interviews with L&H co-workers, original music tracks and trailers plus a full restoration of their one surviving color film, THE TREE IN A TEST TUBE.

* Commentaries by L&H historians Randy Skretvedt and Richard W. Bann

*Restorations provided by Jeff Joseph/SabuCat in conjunction with UCLA Film & Television Archive and Library of Congress.

Friday Fun!

Never Worn White
Katy Perry

With all the intense things going on in the world, I thought we all deserved to take some time out! 

"Yes" its time for celebrity news that is fun and will bring a smile to your face 😊 If not, at least it will not agitate you.

Thus the biggest celeb news happening is Katy Perry revealing via the video for her latest ditty Never Worn White that she is pregnant by husband to be, Orlando Bloom. Can I get an Awwwwwwww...? I thought I could.

Perry is relieved the secret, until now, bun in the oven is out, as she is reportedly tired of sucking in her gut. OK, obviously I am not a woman and will never be pregnant, but it seems with a baby on board you really couldn't suck in your gut, but who knows, I could be wrong, and most likely am???

Anyway, Katy Perry announced the happy event in true, well, Katy Perry style by revealing her bump in the video to the world. Now that's a birth announcement!

Good one Perry! Congrats to the happy couple! See the big reveal after the jump...

Katy on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/katyperry/?hl=en  

Michael's Musings

Facepalm!
Michael Shinafelt

Wow! What a week!!! The Democratic Party finally found unity, and a vision. After what had basically been a sh!t show. Watch out Comb Over Caligula - your days are numbered and soon you will be the People's B!tch!

Alright, let's do this, right here right now - look, there's an oriental rug...it's time!

Just Because...When you're with The Flintstones you'll have a gay ole time 😲

Feel The Bern, no thanks, I got a shot for that once

You must sample the tart (ambiguity is my forte)

Wow! Yesterday was one year since Luke Perry passed 😢

Remember that time when you had lettuce stuck between your teeth? Those awkward moments...they should have Hallmark cards for them. 

Spin like you are Stevie Nicks!

I had a funny dream this morning that you were my personal trainer, you know who you are

Time to pull the plug (Yeah, I'm being ambiguous, yet again)

Woman Crush of the Week - Chrissy Teigen - Hey, she's beautiful, funny & she's got chutzpah!

I have a proud confession to make - never have I ever watched The Masked Singer. Honestly there is something creepy about it to me. 

Please do tell _____ fill in the blank and tell me damn it!

Remember, your junk drawer is a leaky fountain of yearning...

Call me, at a designated time, on the line, not anytime

I'm may not be on the line all the time, but you can always find me here:
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/MShinafelt  

Hump Day & Chill

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Tunesday Tuesday!

Rocking 65!
Dale Bozzio

Yesterday was Missing Persons front woman Dale Bozzio's 65th Birthday! Wow! I remember getting in tune (pun intended) with the band my freshman year in college via a well rounded, musically, guy in my dorm.

In fact he and I had tickets to see them in concert, but alas, the show got cancelled 😢 No worries I did see Ms. Bozzio perform with a version of Missing Persons (version meaning, not the original line up) on a double bill with E.G. Daily a few years back at the Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.

Thus in honor of my Missing Persons fandom and Ms. Bozzio's Birthday I am bequeathing you with a song that is quite timely at present by them "Destination Unknown." 

"Life is so strange when you don't know, How can you tell where you're going to, You can't be sure of any situation, Something could change and then you won't know"

Get the picture? Hit the video after the jump!

Missing Persons on Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_Persons_(band) 

Monday Motivation

Yes He Can!
Pete Buttigieg

With the news that Pete Buttigieg has ended his campaign to be President I felt he is the perfect poster guy for Monday Motivation, think about it, but not too hard.

I didn’t believe that a gay man would be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. He was. And every time he went on TV and talked about his husband, minds were changed. He might not have been liberal enough, for some people. But his run was historic.

This says it all. While I never thought he would get the Democratic Nomination I did feel his participation was important.

Oh, and you know you have not heard the last of this powerhouse - Monday Motivation, indeed!

Pete on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/pete.buttigieg/?hl=en  

Sunday Sinema: Kansas City

Returning to the city of his birth for inspiration, legendary maverick director Robert Altman helms an evocative, bullet-riddled tribute to the music and movies of his youth in Kansas City, a Depression-era gangster flick as only he could make one. Blondie O'Hara (Jennifer Jason Leigh) resorts to desperate measures when her low-level hood husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) gets caught trying to steal from Seldom Seen (Harry Belafonte), a local crime boss operating out of jazz haunt The Hey-Hey Club. Out on a limb, Blondie kidnaps laudanum-addled socialite Carolyn (Miranda Richardson), hoping her influential politician husband can pull the right strings and get Johnny out of Seldom Seen's clutches. Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and featuring a remarkable soundtrack performed live by some of the best players in contemporary jazz, one of Altman's most underrated and idiosyncratic films finally makes its long-awaited Blu-ray™ debut.

Bonus Materials

• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
• Original 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by director Robert Altman
• Newly filmed appreciation by critic Geoff Andrew
• Gare, Trains et Deraillement, a 2007 visual essay by French critic Luc Lagier, plus short introduction to the film narrated by Lagier
• Robert Altman Goes to the Heart of America and Kansas City: The Music, two 1996 promotional featurettes including interviews with cast and crew
• Electronic press kit interviews with Altman, Leigh, Richardson, Belafonte and musician Joshua Redman, plus behind-the-scenes footage
• Four theatrical trailers
• TV spots
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Dr Nicolas Pillai, original press kit notes and an excerpt from Altman on Altman

Sales Points

• Produced, written and directed by four-time Academy Award Nominee Robert Altman (The Player, Nashville, M*A*S*H*)
• Stars Oscar Nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Oscar Nominee Miranda Richardson (Damage), Harry Belafonte (BlacKkKlansman), Michael Murphy (Magnolia), Steve Buscemi (Fargo), Dermot Mulroney (Zodiac) & Brooke Smith (Silence of the Lambs)
• First Time Available on Blu-ray!
• Comp to other critically acclaimed Robert Altman Criterion Collection Blu-rays including Nashville, 3 Women, Short Cuts, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and The Player.

Order Here: https://mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/AA056