The Purge
The genres despised by the serious minded—especially crime, science fiction and horror—often register social anxiety and fault lines more effectively than Oscar-ready major motion pictures. The Purge (2013) has it all: America’s barely disguised racism, its economic divisions, fixation on comfort and false sense of security. It asks a profound question: are humans inherently violent? And it foresaw the rise of an ugly brand of populism: “Blessed be America, a nation reborn.”
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow: Memories in Rock II
“It’s not something I will do all the time,” Ritchie Blackmore insists. The interview on the DVD of this three-disc set—punctuated by concert and soundcheck footage—reveals a thoughtful musician. He’d rather play medieval rock with his acoustic-based Blackmore’s Night, but it’s fun to dust-off the amps and occasionally regroup Rainbow. Metal is “easier to play,” Blackmore adds—those high decibels are forgiving. The set’s two live CDs include Rainbow and Deep Purple hits.
Porto
They seem perfect for each other, soul mates falling deeply in love. But nothing comes simple for Jake (Anton Yelchin) and Mati (Lucie Lucas), a pair of worldly expatriates who encounter one another in a café in the Portuguese city of Porto. The film by Gabe Klinger is nicely photographed and intriguingly structured, a zigzag in time and emotion between elation and dejection. Extras on the Blu-ray include Klinger’s documentary on James Benning and Richard Linklater.
City of the Dead—Remastered Ltd. Edition
Well staged was the Salem-era scene of witch-burning that opens City of the Dead (1960) and its contemporary scenes maintain a level of creepiness. Christopher Lee plays a history professor a bit too eager to send his young grad student to a small Massachusetts town for her research on witchcraft. Clouds of dry ice and hooded figures fill the streets of the accursed place. The new Blu-ray features a lengthy interview with Lee.
