Blu-ray Review: TAG: The Assassination Game

TAG: The Assassination Game is a 1982 film written and directed by Nick Castle (who played Michael Myers in the original Halloween and would go on to direct The Last Starfighter). It's about a group of college kids who play a game on campus where they try to shoot each other with plastic darts that have rubber suction cup tips, a fun and safe game until one player takes things a little too seriously. It stars Robert Carradine (before Revenge Of The Nerds) and Linda Hamilton (before Children Of The Corn and The Terminator), along with Bruce Abbott (before Re-Animator and Casual Sex?), Kristine DeBell (Meatballs), Perry Lang (The Big Red One, Alligator, Eight Men Out), John Mengatti (Meatballs Part II), and Michael Winslow (before Police Academy and Spaceballs). The movie is part comedy, part film noir, part suspense thriller, and it largely manages to work in each realm, due mainly to excellent performances by Linda Hamilton, Robert Carradine and Bruce Abbott. The film has now gotten its first Blu-ray release.

As TAG: The Assassination Game begins, the score over its first moments seems to suggest this is a horror film. Then a big laugh comes almost immediately on the reverse shot of a man standing in a hall holding a newspaper with two holes cut out for his eyes. It is such a delightfully ridiculous image, and coming out of what otherwise is a suspenseful sequence, that we can't help but laugh. In this sequence one man is pursuing another, and it isn't until the end of the sequence that we learn it is all part of a harmless game. Then there is a sort of play on the James Bond opening credits sequence, which is fun. When we are introduced to Susan Swayze (Linda Hamilton) after the credits, she is alone after dark, and all our horror movie experience would inform us that she is soon to be a victim. But when she pulls out a profile for "Jeff Shooster," we learn she is not just being chased, but is a hunter herself, Linda Hamilton clearly gaining experience she'll need later for the Terminator movies. And when she ends up hiding in the dorm room of Alex Marsh (Robert Carradine), there are some wonderful film noir aspects to the look and feel of the film. Alex, in that scene, is reading a copy of Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely, a nice touch. All these early moments help establish the tone and give us a pretty clear idea of what to expect from this film. And, yes, it might remind you a bit of another 1980s film, Gotcha!, but this one predates that movie by three years.

Alex Marsh writes for the college paper, and fancies himself a Raymond Chandler type. He decides to write a piece about the game, in large part as a way to get to know Susan. His first stop is at the office set aside for the game, its door letting us know these rooms are also used by the Chess Club, Jews For Jesus, and the Iranian Student Association, something that is wonderfully funny as well as being oddly accurate to my memories of the college experience, that every special interest deserved and got its own club. Anyway, the head of TAG is quite a character. Named Nick Carpenter (presumably after Nick Castle himself and John Carpenter), he is played by Frazer Smith, a Los Angeles radio personality who completely commits to the role and is actually a delight, going right up to the edge, but never quite going over the top. Interestingly, much of the humor comes from, and because of, the character Gersh, played by Bruce Abbott in his first film role. Gersh, touching on horror movie tropes, addresses another player: "Don't you know you're not supposed to take showers when people are trying to kill you? They always get it in the shower." Though this movie is not in the horror genre, it does like to play with some of the elements of horror, and with the expectations of a horror audience. When Gersh is surprisingly hit and "killed" in the game, he does not take it well. After smashing up stuff in his dorm room, he returns to confront the player that shot him (who is still in the shower for some reason), this time carrying a real gun. 

Some people take games and sports much too seriously (hell, many universities take sports much too seriously), and can't handle losing. Their identities are too closely tied with a game, and such is the case with Gersh, who is the champion of TAG at his school. Even though he's a music student and composer, this game is where he puts his energy and his passion. And so he goes a little sideways when he is shot. What's interesting is that he realizes he's done wrong, and actually calls Nick Carpenter and confesses his crime. This, to me, is perhaps the funniest scene in the film because of Bruce Abbott's expressions while on the phone with Carpenter. Carpenter, not understanding Gersh's meaning, tells him, "Good work, Gersh, looks like you're on your way to another title." And he wishes Gersh, "Good luck." Gersh's expression as he says "Thanks" is perfect. He takes Carpenter's words as approval of his actions and encouragement to go on killing. Gersh is delightfully unhinged. And Carpenter's earlier admonishment to "clean up your act" takes on another meaning now.

But it is the relationship between Susan and Alex that it is at the heart of this film. Alex describes Susan as "tough, strong, hard," and likens her to Lauren Bacall. A little later, Susan does her best Bacall, saying to Alex, "You know to whistle, Marsh, just put your lips together and blow." Adding humor to the moment, a cleaning woman behind Alex whistles at him to get his attention, to get him to move out of her way. Both Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton turn in wonderful performances, and those performances are the main reason the films works as well as it does.

Special Features

The Blu-ray includes a commentary track by writer/director Nick Castle and actor Robert Carradine, moderated by Sean Clark. Nick talks about being inspired by an article about a real campus game, and about how John Carpenter helped ensure that he would be able to direct the film. He mentions that Demi Moore, Daryl Hannah and Kirstie Alley were also considered for the role that ended up going to Linda Hamilton. Nick reveals that her character's last name was chosen after Patrick Swayze, and that the Wallace character was named after Tommy Wallace, a character in one of John Carpenter's movies. They talk about shooting at UCLA, and get into get into some detail about certain locations. They also talk about the great work of the movie's cinematographer, Willy Kurant. The Blu-ray also includes the theatrical trailer.

The Blu-ray edition of TAG: The Assassination Game was released on September 8, 2026 through Synapse Films.

Blu-ray Review: Falling Down

When Falling Down came out in 1993, I was alarmed by how much I was able to identify with the lead character, William Foster. Part of it, of course, was because of Michael Douglas' incredible performance in that role. But even at the age of 21, I was tired of much of the nonsense that society expects us to endure, and the idea of just walking away held much appeal. Now, more than three decades later, and living in Los Angeles, I find there is still something in that character that speaks to me, perhaps even more strongly than back then, although the character's faults are also more striking. This is a perfect time to revisit this remarkable film, especially after the recent changes this country has gone through and is continuing to go through, none of them for the better. A new 4K restoration of the film from Arrow Video has been released on Blu-ray, and it looks great. Plus, the disc has plenty of excellent bonus material.

The movie opens with an extreme closeup of William Foster's face. As the camera pulls back, we see that he is in his car, and is stuck in traffic. Others around him are hoking their horns, but we hear nothing. It is clear from that opening moment that William is on the edge. And we are right there with him. The sound begins to come in as the camera takes us along the scene, a scene that is completely normal, completely mundane, but which has taken on a nightmarish vibe. It is a hot day. His air conditioning is not working. A fly is buzzing around him, crawling on his neck. He can't even manage to swat the fly, though he tries multiple times. Finally he opens the car door, takes a welcome breath of air, grabs his briefcase and gets out. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" the guy in the car behind him asks (played by the film's screenwriter, Ebbe Roe Smith). William Foster answers, "I'm going home." Is there anything more relatable than that, wanting to just get home? That's all he wants, putting this film sort of in the same ballpark as The Warriors. And he, in fact, is a sort of warrior himself, a warrior whose war has ended and who is no longer needed. 

Meanwhile, Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall) is stuck in the same traffic jam, but has quite a different reaction, a different disposition, even smiling at the graffiti he spots on a billboard. As we soon learn, today is his last day as a police officer. And the world, much as it has for William Foster, is moving past Prendergast, leaving him behind. His boss (played by the wonderful Raymond J. Barry) knows basically nothing about him, about his life, nor cares to know. In some ways, the two main characters are leading parallel lives. The difference is in how each reacts to the changes in the world. 

The first encounter William Foster has is with a Korean clerk at a convenience store. He goes into the store to get change for the pay phone (to anyone young reading this, it was not all that long ago that there were pay phones along the streets). When told he'd have to make a purchase, William decides to buy a can of soda. But the clerk overcharges him, telling him it will cost eight-five cents, not giving him enough change for the phone call, the entire point of the purchase. William's reaction is tinged with racism, calling the clerk out not just for the inflated price, but for not pronouncing "eighty-five" correctly. "There's a V in the word," William tells him. Still, we can't help but side with him as he reacts, grabbing the baseball bat from the clerk and smashing some of the displays of likewise overpriced items. And a little later when he hits a gang member with the bat, we can't help but cheer. And when he goes against a neo-Nazi, the exact sort of person who would later vote for Donald Trump, we feel a certain satisfaction, even joy. By the way, when the Korean clerk reports the incident to the police, he says he had the bat for defense. "De-fense," he stresses, reminding us of William's vanity license plate: "D-FENS." That license plate has a second meaning for us, more striking these days when we've been hearing about "draining the swamp," for "fens" means "marshes, swamps."

Our feelings toward William Foster change over the course of the story. We are at first rooting for him to make it home, but after a while his ex-wife tells him on the phone, "This isn't your home anymore." And that is a key line of the film. The world has changed, and nohing seems like his home anymore. And we can't help but wonder just what transpired to make his wife fear his arrival. At a certain point, we can no longer be on the character's side. "I'm the bad guy?" William asks, incredulous but thoughtful. And perhaps that line might make us take a look inward as well.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains a commentary track that includes thoughts from director Joel Schmacher, editor Paul Hirsch, screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, journalist Shawn Hubler, and cast members Michael Douglas, Michael Paul Chan, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Frederic Forrest. Joel talks about the opening scene, and how people relate to it, and Ebbe Roe Smith talks about how he once had an urge to walk away from his car in a traffic jam. Michael Douglas talks about why he took the part, and calls the role the "best part I've had since Wall Street." This track was recorded in 2009.

"Man On The Edge" is a new interview with screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, in which he talks about the inspiration for the film and about the nature of Los Angeles itself. He also talks about the original feel for the movie, and how the golf scene came about. This interview is approximately nineteen minutes. "At War With The World" is a new interview with composer James Newton Howard, in which he talks about having a short time to compose the score. He talks about the hand percussion in a certain scene, and about the use of guitar and the use of trumpet at the end. There is also a conversation with Michael Douglas from 2009, in which he calls the film an unusual picture to be made by a studio. This is approximately ten minutes.

"Going Home" is a featurette on the locations used in the film, and how they've changed since the production. Here it is mentioned how MacArthur Park is one location that hasn't changed much. And if you've been there recently, you know the truth of that statement. It is a place that many of us in Los Angeles avoid. The special features also include two trailers and an extensive image gallery (163 production photos, some in color, some in black and white). And a booklet is included, with pieces written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Simon Ward.

This special Blu-ray release of Falling Down was released on July 21, 2026.

Blu-ray Review: The House With Laughing Windows

Right from the film's opening image of a man being tortured, murdered, The House With Laughing Windows is riveting. And as we are still grappling with understanding just what we're seeing, the film adds another surprising element, voiceover that you might think to be coming from the man being murdered. "The colors. My colors. Coming out of my veins. They're soft, my colors. Sweet like autumn and hot as blood. They're smooth like syphilis." It's incredibly unsettling, and the film does a fantastic job of immediately taking us from our reality and placing us in its own. The House With Laughing Windows was directed by Pupi Avati, and stars Lino Capolicchio, Francesca Marciano, Gianni Cavina and Giulio Pizzirani. It was released in theaters in 1976, and late last year got a Blu-ray release here in the United States through Arrow Video. The Blu-ray release contains plenty of bonus material, including a full-length documentary on the film.

Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) has been hired to restore a painting in a church in a small community. He arrives by boat, which enhances the feeling that the community is cut off from the world he leaves behind. Arriving on that same boat is a beautiful young woman that he exchanges glances with, but no words. Solmi (Bob Tonelli), the man who has hired him, believes that the artist's work will become a main attraction of the town and will bring in tourists to help revive the post-war economy. When we see the painting, we recognize it immediately as depicting a scene similar to what we witnessed in the film's shocking opening. And it isn't long before we hear that the artist was crazy. Then, when Stefano is led to his hotel room, a red-haired woman emerges from another room. The hotel staff member shakes her head, and tells Stefano, "She should stay in her own place doing what she does best." There is a nice moment when the woman, down the hall already, turns back to them. Did she hear what was said, or is she just checking Stefano out? I love how the film introduces us to an assortment of interesting characters all in the first ten minutes. Stefano gets the first in a series of mysterious phone calls, someone telling him to go away. "Don't touch that painting."

There are more unusual characters in the town, and Stefano is surprised by a friend, Antonio (Giulio Pizzirani), who, it turns out, recommended him for the restoration job. He also claims to have discovered an extraordinary story which he needs to share. But even though he is a friend to Stefano, we aren't sure whether we can completely trust him, as there is some word of a breakdown in his recent past, and he seems nervous. Even Stefano worries that he might still be suffering from his illness. The film does an excellent job of aligning us completely with Stefano and making us uneasy about everyone else, without resorting to heavy-handed tactics. The film is also really well-constructed, the way one scene is connected to the next. For example, at one point Stefano sees a woman in the distance collecting flowers. and the film then cuts to some flowers next to him as begins work on restoring the painting. There is even mystery here, as Stefano casually asks Lidio (Pietro Brambilla) who brought the flowers to the church, and Lidio says he doesn't know. Mystery seems to be just under the surface of everything, and Stefano begins to scrape away at it, just as he begins to scrape away at the painting.

After Antonio's questionable death, immediately judged a suicide, Stefano is even more alone. The only other person he had connected to at all was the red-haired woman (who, in another of the film's surprises, turns out to be a school teacher), but when he goes back to her place, he learns she has left town. She has been replaced in her teaching position by the young woman from the boat, Francesca (Francesca Marciano). Because Francesca arrived in this community at the same time he did, Stefano feels he can trust her. And so do we. It isn't long before both of them are in grave danger. The House With Laughing Windows is a fanastic film, full of suspense, and with a wonderfully unsettling atmosphere that never feels unbelievable. In addition, there are beautifully composed shots. There is a reason this film is so beloved and respected. And this Blu-ray edition looks great.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains a lot of bonus material, including two commentary tracks. The first is done by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, who both immediately say they love the film, and go on to talk about what they appreciate about it (I think, however, that Alexandra does not know what the word "ambivalent" means). The second is by Eugene Ercolani and Troy Howarth, who talk about the Avati brothers and what they're known for in Italy, and how they wrote the initial script several years earlier. Also, interestingly, once they did go into production, the filming apparently went smoothly. That's something you rarely hear about any film. They talk about the priest character, and how there were a lot of Italian genre pictures in the 1970s that featured priests as killers. They say that "a lot of these films could be seen as being vaguely anti-Catholic" or "highly critical of Catholicism," but that's not the case with this film. They also talk about the lack of sex scenes in the film.

There is also, as I mentioned earlier, a feature-length documentary on the film, titled Painted Screams, directed by Federico Caddeo. It contains interviews with director Pupi Avati, producer Antonio Avati, assistant director Cesare Bastelli, costumer designer Luciana Morosetti, assistant camera operator Antonio Scaramuzza, sound man and still photographer Enrico Blasi, and painter Emanuele Taglietti, along with cast memgbers Lino Capolicchio, Francesca Marciano, Giulo Pizzirani, and Pietro Brambilla. Pupi Avati says the film was made by a crew of only twelve people, due to budget constraints, which is crazy. He also says, "When it comes to making so-called 'gothic films,' which would be called 'horror' back in the day, or just scary movies, the key is the protagonist's journey. You must establish a rapport with the protagonist from the get-go." Francesca says, "I think my character's purpose in this story was adding a reassuring presence amidst all this gloom." The documentary gets into the cast and the locations, and even about an earthquake that occurred during production. There is also information about the addition to the film's ending.

The special features also include two featurettes. The first, "La Casa Sola," has Chris Alexander talking about the importance of the opening title sequence, as well as the feel of the film and about this film's place within Italian cinema. The second, "The Art Of Suffering," finds critic Kat Ellinger talking about how the character Stefano represents modernity entering an antiquated community, and talks about the film's relation to artistic traditions. The Blu-ray also contains the film's trailer.

The House With Laughing Windows was released on Blu-ray on December 2, 2025 through Arrow Video.

Blu-ray Review: Cutting Class

There is an undeniable nostalgia for the music and movies of the 1980s, and certainly for the horror films of that decade. One film, however, that many of us missed the first time around is Cutting Class, which stars Jill Schoelen, Donovan Leitch, Brad Pitt, Roddy McDowall and Martin Mull. The cast alone would make this movie worth giving a second (or first) look. But also it marked the directorial debut of Rospo Pallenberg, known for writing Excalibur and The Emerald Forest. And now that we’re into the month of Halloween, it is the perfect time to enjoy this slasher movie, which received a special edition treatment by the folks behind the MVD Rewind Collection. It includes both an unrated version and the original R-rated release, along with some bonus material.

As the movie begins, a boy is delivering newspapers, and we see the portion of a headline, indicating that a boy who killed someone has been released. Paula Carson (Jill Schoelen) collects the paper, while her father (Martin Mull), dressed as the stereotype of a hunter, is getting ready to leave. He wants the paper, but his daughter keeps it from him, saying, “You’re just going to find something in here that’s going to upset you.” Well, that is a perfect line for our current times, isn’t it? And Paula could not have been more correct, as we soon see the full headline: “Boy Who Killed Father Released From Institution.”  Paula’s father says he’s worried about leaving her alone for a week. Paula counters with the fact that she is the one who should worry, saying, “You are a great district attorney, but you’re a lousy hunter.” So while he may have dressed himself in the garb of a hunter, it turns out that isn’t his element at all. That’s a nice bit of characterization there. He gives his daughter the rules for while he’s gone: do your homework, no boys in the house, and no cutting class.

Well, it’s not long before Paula breaks at least one of her father’s rules. But the boy in question is Brad Pitt, so who could blame her for inviting him in? His character is the jock of the film. Donovan Leitch plays Brian Woods, the boy who was released from an institution where he served some time for the death of his father. He tells his old friend Dwight (Brad Pitt), “I’m better now.” Dwight isn’t buying it. But what is more interesting is something else that Brian says, almost under his breath, “I can forgive you.” That is the first moment that makes us wonder which of these two boys we in the audience can trust, if either.

Roddy McDowall is a delight, as always. In this film he plays the principal of the high school (making me think for just a moment about his role as a teacher in Class Of 1984, which came out seven years earlier). Here he is wonderfully creepy, but is not the only adult in the movie who seems to lust after Paula. There is also the art teacher who has Paula model for his class, instructing her to lean over to pick up an apple. Creepy, for sure. And certainly not to be outdone in the creepy factor is the school custodian. So there are plenty of characters for the audience to suspect as the bodies begin to pile up. Not that anyone takes much notice at first. It isn’t until Paul discovers the vice principal’s body draped over the copy machine that anyone realizes something is wrong.

The movie is a bit goofy, no question about it, and there are things that characters do that leave you wondering if they might be a touch stupid, but it’s an overall enjoyable ride. Perhaps my favorite moment is when the principal in a silly wig from the theatre department asks Dwight, “What are you doing?” Roddy McDowall’s delivery is perfect. It’s a funny moment in an otherwise tense sequence. There is also a great scene where Paula and Dwight, on the school’s stage, read aloud from Brian Woods’ trial transcript. That reminds you of the theatricality of court proceedings, as well as the theatricality of this movie itself and its situations. In addition, Jill Schoelen does an excellent job, and it’s her performance that keeps the film grounded in some idea of reality.

Special Features

The Blu-ray disc includes two interviews. The first is with Jill Schoelen, in which she says she initially didn’t want to do the film, that the script had a lot of problems. But she was excited to work with Martin Mull and Roddy McDowall. Their participation is what helped her decide to do it. She also talks a bit about how women were treated in the industry at the time, and how that has changed in more recent years. This interview is approximately twenty minutes. The second interview is with Donovan Leitch, who talks about being a fan of the movies that Rospo Pallenberg wrote, and being excited to be in his directorial debut. He also talks about meeting Brad Pitt on the first day, and about Roddy McDowall. This interview is approximately sixteen minutes.

The bonus material includes a “Find The Killer” contest VHS promotional piece. The sound is not great here, but considering the source, that’s understandable. As I mentioned, both the unrated and R-rated versions of the movie are included on this Blu-ray disc. There is also a piece that compares various sequences of the two versions, showing them side-by-side. The movie’s trailer is also included.

Cutting Class is available as part of the MVD Rewind Collection.

DVD Review: A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove is an absolutely wonderful film about an older man who is set in his ways, who is cantankerous, a man who is trying to maintain some sort of order over his rather small world after the loss of his wife. It begins with Ove (Rolf Lassgård) arguing over a coupon for flowers, and you can’t help but side with him, especially as the poor cashier is unperturbed by his rant. Moments later we see him place the flowers at his wife’s grave, a place he returns to often throughout the film. Then during the opening credits sequence, Ove goes about his routine, checking on the state of things in his immediate neighborhood and grumbling whenever his finds something amiss, which is often. And I have to admit I could very well end up as this man. Perhaps we all could. And that is what endears him to us immediately.

Early in the film, Ove is let go from his job, not because he’s incompetent, but simply because of his age. But interestingly, he doesn’t put up a fight at all. And soon we learn why. He has decided to kill himself in order to rejoin his wife. In fact, he only stops when he spots someone through his window driving on a path where no cars are allowed. He has to go out to put a stop to that, of course, to restore order. We can’t help but wonder if his current state is due to the loss of his wife, or if he was always of this nature, and soon we begin to suspect the former.

The mixture of comedy and drama works incredibly well here, sometimes within the very same moment or even the same line of dialogue. During his second suicide attempt, the doorbell rings, and he begrudgingly goes to answer it. When he is close to succeeding at killing himself, he revisits his past, and we are treated to moments from his childhood and early adulthood, and we begin to get a sense of what a remarkable person he is, and what a good person he is. In the present, a reporter hints at Ove’s exciting past. And there are other hints of things that have not yet been shown to us, and we find ourselves more and more immersed in this character’s life and world, as he himself becomes immersed in the life of Parveneh (Bahar Pars), his new neighbor.

A Man Called Ove had me in tears at times, laughing out loud for joy at other times. It’s a beautiful and moving film, featuring a tremendous performance by Rolf Lassgård.

Special Features

The DVD contains a few special features. The Ove In Us All: A Talk With Hannes Holm, Rolf Lassgård And Bahar Pars is a look at the main characters through the perspective of the actors playing them, as well as from the film’s director. They talk about the combination of comedy and drama, and about the Saab/Volvo rivalry in that country, something that plays a part in the story. This is approximately fourteen and a half minutes. There is also a Q&A with the film’s directors and stars, moderated by John Anderson. Hannes Holm talks about his reaction to the book. Rolf Lassgård and Bahar Pars talk about how they met, and discuss different scenes. This special feature is approximately twenty-one minutes.

The special features also include a photo gallery showing the makeup for the character of Ove, and a makeup time lapse, showing his makeup being applied and removed. The film’s trailer is also included.

A Man Called Ove was directed by Hannes Holm, and is presented in its original Swedish, with optional English subtitles. It was released on DVD on December 27, 2016 through Music Box Films.

Blu-ray Review: Adam Resurrected

I’ve read a lot about the Holocaust, and a question that’s been on my mind for years is just how do people come through something like that? How do they go on after that experience? How is that possible? The extraordinary and moving film Adam Resurrected sheds some light on that very question. This movie was directed by Paul Schrader, who is known for such films as Hardcore, Cat People, Affliction and Auto Focus, and it stars Jeff Goldblum as Adam Stein, an acclaimed comedian who survives the concentration camp by becoming the pet of the commandant. Jeff Goldblum gives an outstanding performance here. That he was not nominated for an Academy Award for this film is all the proof you need to know the Oscars are nonsense. The movie was released on Blu-ray through MVD Visual as part of its Marquee Collection, and the disc features some worthwhile bonus material.

Adam Resurrected has an unusual and memorable opening. The camera is close on Adam’s face, and his left eye shifts to either side while his right eye remains stationary. It is humorously unsettling, and so a perfect image to begin the tale. He speaks fondly of the past, like a dream, and we see some footage from perhaps a better time. There is something dreamlike and imaginary about this film, and perhaps that itself is an answer regarding how people deal with survivor’s guilt. The present in this film is 1961, and Adam is in Israel. He is playful and familiar with his landlady, but that hasn’t kept her from calling the authorities on him, leading us to wonder just how she got the bruise on her neck. He is returned to an institution in the desert, a place, as Adam tells us in voice over, that is “a home for the survivors of the Nazi camps.” The shot of the gate in the middle of the desert is rather funny and eerie, a dreamlike image itself. And we see that Adam was able to get out of his handcuffs during the drive, just one of the early hints that Adam has some unusual talents.

Adam may have trouble dealing with life in the present, but he is also having trouble coming to grips with his past. As he looks at a model train, his memory takes him back to another train, where he huddled in a corner with his wife and children. By the way, the trips to the past are shown in black and white (at least up through the war). And we see the life he led up to that point in short bursts, beginning in Berlin in 1926, where he is performing on stage in a small club, a Nazi in the audience laughing and enjoying his performance. As the year changes to 1930, Adam’s career has taken off and he is performing on a larger stage. Adam has a psychic gift, and is able to learn about a person by touching his or her clothing, and on this night he reveals that his “volunteer” in the audience had been planning on taking his own life that very evening. In 1936, Adam is told by the Nazis that he is no longer allowed to perform. “I am not political,” he says to them. “Everyone loves the circus.” His act is a family affair, with both daughter and wife taking part, and we know that all of them are in danger. When in 1944 he arrives at the concentration camp with his family, he meets Commandant Klein (Willem Dafoe), the man who had attended an earlier performance, and who delights in tormenting him, treating him like a dog, taking him as his personal pet. Playing that demeaning role is what keeps Adam alive.

Interestingly, Adam now in turn treats Gina Grey (Ayelet Zurer), a nurse at the institute, in a similar fashion, having trained her to roll over and yelp like a variety of dogs. But Gina is no victim here, for she takes equal part in the game. And she is no fool, knowing at one point that Adam has used her in order to take the keys to a certain room that has aroused his curiosity. That room houses a special patient brought there by Dr. Nathan Gross (Derek Jacobi), a boy who himself was raised like a dog. Adam is at first jealous of the boy, for the boy is crazier than he is, and, Adam believes, is Dr. Gross’ new star patient. But eventually Adam begins to help the boy. That relationship is interesting, but what is far more engaging is the collection of adults who have been brought to the asylum, all survivors of the Holocaust, and the way they deal with or avoid dealing with the horrors of their experience. They all deliver believable performances, but it is Jeff Goldblum’s work here that especially makes this film worth watching. His is a tremendous performance that viewers are unlikely to forget.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains some bonus material. Adam Resurrected: Behind The Scene features interviews with cast and crew members, including Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, Hana Laszlo, director Paul Schrader, producer Ehud Bleiberg, writer Yoram Kaniuk, screenwriter Noah Stollman and costume designer Inbal Shuki. Jeff Goldblum mentions that viewers know everything that goes on inside the institute is imaginary, for there was no such place at that time. He also praises the actor who played the boy, and talks about the importance of doing his own best possible work in this role. Yoram Kaniuk talks about his brief appearance in the film. This feature is approximately twenty-four minutes.

There is footage from Q&A at the Haifa International Film Festival. The panel includes Paul Schrader, Yoram Kaniuk and Ehud Bleisberg. Paul Schrader talks about the challenge of adapting a novel for the screen. Yoram Kaniuk is funny as he relates his response to watching the filming. Ehud Bleisberg gives a bit of the history of the attempts at turning the book into a film. They also talk about the film’s setting. This feature is approximately an hour and twelve minutes.

The disc includes an audio commentary track by Paul Schrader, in which he talks a bit about the book and its initial controversy. He also talks about the special look of the flashback scenes, and says the film didn’t get the initial reception he had expected. He also talks about Jeff Goldblum’s performance, and says that Jeff committed the script to memory a year before shooting. The Blu-ray also contains nine and a half minutes of deleted scenes, including an interesting scene with Adam and Commandant Klein, and variations on what leads to Adam going out into the desert. There is an extended scene with Adam and Nathan Gross. The film’s trailer is also included in the bonus material.

This Blu-ray edition of Adam Resurrected was released on June 22, 2021 through MVD Visual as part of its Marquee Collection.

Blu-ray Review: The Last Time I Committed Suicide

Most people know Neal Cassady as the real-life inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. But I first read about him as the fearless driver of “Furthur,” Ken Kesey’s psychedelic bus, in Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. He is also mentioned in a verse of the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One.” Neal Cassady was greater than fiction, a total force, a completely intriguing character. His brain seemed to operate on a level that was different from that of most people. Jerry Garcia described how Cassady interacted with folks: “You might not see him for months, you know, and he would pick up exactly where he left off the last time he saw you, like in the middle of a sentence.” Before Jerry Garcia met him, before Ken Kesey met him, he wrote a long letter to Jack Kerouac. This was in 1950. Kerouac said he was inspired by that letter, and there had been some efforts by Allen Ginsberg to get it published. The letter was then lost, though Kerouac had apparently copied a third of it or so. Stephen Kay’s film The Last Time I Committed Suicide is based on that letter, or at least on the part that was known at the time the movie was made. For it wasn’t until more recently that the full letter was discovered and subsequently published. It is known as “the Joan Anderson letter.” The Last Time I Committed Suicide stars Thomas Jane as Neal Cassady and Claire Forlani as Joan, and is now being released on Blu-ray as part of the MVD Marquee Collection.

The film opens in black and white, jazz music playing, the camera hand-held, establishing a lively rhythm. Rhythm was important to Cassady, in the way he spoke, the way he moved. And in this scene, he is walking about his home, talking to himself, working out a story, and then sitting down to type it out in the form of a letter. We see him address it, “Dear Jack.” After the opening titles sequence, the film goes to color as we move into the story of the letter, and Cassady visits Joan in the hospital. The film bounces around a bit in time, and we soon learn that it was a suicide attempt that led to her hospitalization. The film doesn’t really get into the reason for the attempt, but the letter makes it pretty clear that Cassady was going to split up with her. In voice over, Cassady says, “I never asked her why.”

In the movie, Cassady works at a tire shop with an older man named Jerry (Jim Haynie). In real life, he worked for a railroad company. Cassady tells his co-worker, “Jerry, we come in here, five out of seven, fifty out of fifty-two, make things that are taking people places, and we’re going nowhere.” The movie is about that internal struggle, his desires pulling him in two opposing directions, toward a normal home life with a family, and to a more nomadic existence. We all know how things turned out, but this film takes place in that moment in Cassady’s life before the decision was made, and depicts some events that may have led to it. And it features a pretty great cast. Adrien Brody plays Benjamin, who seems to be based on Allen Ginsberg, and there are some hints of a sexual relationship between them. Keanu Reeves plays Harry, a pool-hall denizen who befriends Cassady and seems to want to lead him into trouble (I’m not sure if he is based on a real person or not). At one point, we see Cassady, Harry and two girls out on the road, freely enjoying themselves. Though my favorite bit with Keanu Reeves in this film is toward the end when he talks about being creepy. “Start with honesty, that’s what my old man said before he took off,” he says. “And I might add that creepiness just so happens to be one of my most powerful traits. Creepiness and neediness.” The film also stars John Doe, Marg Helgenberger, Gretchen Mol and Amy Smart. And watch for an appearance by the boom mic in the scene at the police station.

The film ends as it began, in black and white, as Cassady finishes the letter. Sure, not a lot happens in this movie, as far as a strong narrative goes, but that isn’t really the point. The film depicts a key figure in the beat culture at the time when he was unsure where his life was going, before the events in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, before the events in On The Road, even before he traveled to California. The Last Time I Committed Suicide was written and directed by Stephen Kay, and is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray on July 6, 2021 through MVD Visual. The Blu-ray includes the film’s trailer.