Author Archives: chipkaufmann

While very familiar with the numerous Toho monster/sci-fi movies, I was only vaguely aware of the Daimajin series. I had never seen a complete film and only excerpts from RETURN OF DAIMAJIN. When I saw that amazon had this blu-ray available at a greatly reduced price, I couldn’t resist and now I’m glad I didn’t.Continue reading “DAIMAJIN: STATUEsque Japanese Trilogy Has A Lot To Recommend It”

Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story has the titular character getting its revenge at the end of the story. KURONEKO (black cat in Japanese), the second of director Kaneto Shindo’s two great stylized horror films (after ONIBABA), has not one but two characters getting revenge not once but many times. A mother and her daughter-in-law areContinue reading “THE BLACK CAT – Japanese Style”

A cursory examination of the merits of Japanese cinema would place the highly acclaimed dramas of Akira Kurosawa at or near the top while the Japanese monster movies that followed in the wake of Inoshiro Honda’s original GODZILLA would surely be ranked near or at the bottom even though far more people have seen theContinue reading “ONIBABA: A Remarkable Japanese Horror Film”

…and its sequels, there was THE LOST WORLD. Written as a serialized novel by Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912, it was initially made into 2 movies. First was a silent film version made in 1925 and then this one from 1960. It was produced, directed, and co-written by Irwin Allen who wasContinue reading “THE LOST WORLD (1960): Before JURASSIC PARK…”

I first encountered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s THE LOST WORLD in the 1960 version with Michael Rennie, Jill St. John and Claude Rains. I was 8 years old and had yet to develop my fascination with silent movies. That would come a few years later. I first became aware of this movie’s existence when IContinue reading “THE LOST WORLD (1925): The Definitive Restoration For The Foreseeable Future”

When I was growing up in the 1950s and the early 1960s, I remember reading about this film in TV GUIDE (remember when it was a staple in every home?) and looked forward to seeing it. Unfortunately in those pre-cable/streaming days, it was never shown on a channel that could be picked up on theContinue reading “DANTE’S INFERNO (1935): Spencer Tracy’s Last Fox Film Finally Available”

I had seen stills of this 1911 Italian epic for many years but it wasn’t until 2005 that I had the opportunity to see it. That was shortly after this DVD was released by Snapper UK. A quick look at the other titles available from that label indicate that they primarily released concert footage ofContinue reading “L’INFERNO (1911): Dante Goes To Hell And He Can Take The Soundtrack With Him”

In the mid 1970s Kevin Francis (son of legendary cinematographer and director Freddie Francis) made a foolhardy attempt to keep alive the old school of British horror that he had grown up with (and to which his father had made significant contributions). Unfortunately he was tilting at windmills as his company Tyburn, which had previouslyContinue reading “SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE MASKS OF DEATH (VHS Only): Tyburn’s And Peter Cushing’s Last Hurrah”

Edward L. Cahn has become a forgotten man among low budget filmmakers. Not as gifted as Edgar G. Ulmer nor stunningly incompetent like Ed Wood Jr or as prolific as William Beaudine, Cahn was nevertheless responsible for many of the more memorable moments which occured in 50’s B movies. To the first generation raised onContinue reading “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1962 – VHS Only): Low Budget Version Is Well Done But Is Still Underappreciated”

Back in 1988 MGM in conjunction with Turner Entertainment (no Turner Classic Movies back then) released this version of Erich von Stroheim’s masterwork GREED on VHS as part of their Silent Classics series. The print used was prepared by England’s Photoplay Productions the number one restorer of silent films at the time and is basedContinue reading “GREED (VHS Only) : This Is The Version That SHOULD Be On DVD”