Captain From Castle (1947) The Pirates of Blood River (1962)
Play Dirty (1968)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring in Captain from Castle: Tyrone Power, Thomas Gomez,
Cesar Romero, John Sutton, Jean Peters, Lee J. Cobb, Antonio Moreno
Starring in The Pirates of Blood River: Glenn Corbett,
Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, Kerwin Matthews, Oliver Reed, Andrew Keir, Peter
Arne
Starring in Play Dirty: Harry Andrews, Daniel Pilon, Michael
Caine, Nigel Green, Nigel Davenport, Patrick Jordan
My Review and Thoughts:
My Rating: Captain from Castle: 5 out of 5, Pirates of Blood
River: 4 out of 5, Play Dirty: 4 out of 5
Here we go with another action packed, drama induced twisted
adventure of three wonderful films brought out wonderfully by the one and only
company Twilight Time on Special Edition Blu-ray’s. I choose a triple feature
just because it was fun to do so. It’s always great spending an afternoon in a
movie marathon and what better way to do so then with three high quality
blu-ray’s. Twilight Time has mastered yet again 3 Blu-ray’s that are highly recommended.
Captain From Castle:
This stars a true masterpiece film actor, the one and only
Tyrone Power. A true powerful acting performer in just about anything he has
ever done. He graced Cinema and owned the screen as he acted in countless
films. He was always able to capture the part, make you believe the part he was
performing. He made you feel his characters as living breathing reality. He
gives you all the emotions. He becomes the character and owns the character
throughout his career and in Captain From Castle is no different. He always
acted as if reality was taking place on screen.
Throughout his acting career he was a true action-packed
swashbuckling performer on screen. He captured every role, every action-packed
scenario that he ever starred in. From being a pirate, to being a hopeless
romantic, he gave it his all. Sadly, we lost him at a very young age of only 44
years old. The years that he acted, he gave us very memorable pieces of cinema
and this is one of them. Thankfully Twilight Time has honored this master with
a lovely Blu-ray.
Also starring the very beautiful and amazing Jean Peters.
Boy what a looker she was. Truly breathtaking actress that created many
wonderful characters throughout her career. She was a true sex symbol, but she
was so much more than that. Loved her in Viva Zapata! and Broken Lance is one
of her greats also.
Also starring the flawless mastery of Lee J. Cobb.
Captain and Castle was directed by one of the great
directors of all time. The one and only Henry King. This amazing director,
directed over 117 films. From the amazing Twelve O’Clock High, The Snows of
Kilimanjaro, The Song of Bernadette, Carousel and so many others. He truly was
a god and king of all things cinema.
Captain from Castle is set during the 16th century
Mexico. Your main character is Pedro De Vargas played by the one and only
Tyrone Power. His character flees from Spain. He is on the run because he has spoken
up against and offended the Inquisition officer. Pedro ends up joining up with
an expedition to Mexico but that all changes when the mission which is ran by
the character Cortez played flawlessly by the master Cesar Romero, ends up
turning the mission into conquering Mexico. Pedro ends up finding love all the
while hiding from the clutches of the inquisition.
The Pirates of Blood River:
Starring one of the greatest icons to ever grace cinema, the
one and only Christopher Lee, the master of terror Dracula himself. Lee needs
no introduction to anyone calling themselves a movie lover. He was the very
definition of performance in no matter what role he played. From drama, to
horror, he was the guru of cinema. Most fans flock to his horror films as their
trademarks, but Lee was so much more than just a horror actor. Lee was a
skilled thespian.
Also starring the one and only Kerwin Mathews. Mathews was a
regular in many of Ray Harryhausen films or action adventure, fantasy cinema.
He was the spectacular, swash buckling hero of many stand out films. From The
7th Voyage of Sinbad playing the lead role of Sinbad. To this one I am reviewing, 1962’s The
Pirates of Blood River. Also 1962’s Jack the Giant Killer, 1967’s Battle
Beneath the Earth. Who can forget his role in one of the greatest, cheesiest,
“oh my god what the hell did I just watch” 1971’s dorkiest and yet greatest
B-movie Cult midnight film ever, rubber suit and all, Octaman. How can you go
wrong with a man in a rubber suit octopus, half man, half rubber octopus,
priceless? His last two films where horror movies. 1973’s The Boy Who Cried
Werewolf and the comedy horror 1977’s Nightmare in Blood. Kerwin was an awesome
soul at true performing. He captured a vast array of weird, wild, dramatic
wonders throughout his career. He stopped acting in 1977 but did not pass away
until 2007. I suppose after a while certain actors just walk away, or are tired
of the business. He went on to sell antiques. Stayed with his partner Tom
Nicoll which they were partners for an amazing 46 years. Kerwin passed at 81
years old. He left me with a wonderful childhood of memories, growing up with
fantasy and adventure that he graced his wonders with.
Directed by one of my personal favorite directors of cinema.
Specifically, because of his horror movie films. I being a B-movie Drive-In
fiend, flock to his films. He mastered Horror greats as Vampire Over
London, Blood Beast from Outer Space. One of my personal all time favorite
zombie films 1966’s The Plague of Zombies. Also directed the truly classic 1966’s
The Reptile. Loved 1967’s The Mummy’s Shroud. A pivotal Director of my
childhood.
As you would guess the title of the movie basically explains it. You have a group of mean and ruthless pirates that attack a
settlement on the Isle of Devon. They as all pirates are looking for treasures.
These pirates will stop at nothing to obtain their riches.
Play Dirty:
Starring the one and only who needs no introduction the main
man of performing himself Michael Caine. Caine plays Capt. Douglas. The plot is
set during the North African Campaign in World War 2. British soldiers dress up
and disguise themselves as Italian troops in the ability to travel behind the
Nazi lines in hope to destroy a very important oil depot run by the Nazi’s.
Also starring Harry Andrews who was truly a unique performer
that had a memorable look about him, he was massively squared jawed which made
you remember his face. He was one of the unique character actors that stood
out. Andrews would always tend to play tough guy military style roles. His
looks and personality gave him a forceful ability to make you believe that the
character he was playing was real. 107 performing credits to his name, he gave
his all to the cinema world. From classic’s like Battle of Britain (1969) to
Moby Dick (1956) to winning awards for The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) and
1965’s The Hill. He was a true performer that always stood out and maintained
the viewer in every part he played. He has been honored by Twilight Time with their
releases of Theatre of Blood, Alexander the Great, Solomon and Sheba all on
special edition Blu-ray’s.
Directed by Andre De Toth. A director that took his
performing actors and actresses to the next level. A true director that always
knew what he wanted, and he executed it greatly. Action, suspense, drama,
horror and mystery. He made a world of his own in 44 movies and TV under his
mastery. Play Dirty is a prime example of his action talent.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Yet again no fault in this department. Twilight Time tends
to always capture the perfection of audio and video quality. They never let me
down in this reality. The quality and perfection they put into their products
shines brightly with ease of sound clarity to the ear and beauty of video to
the eye.
Captain from Castle:
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.33:1
AUDIO: English 2.0 DTS-HD MA / English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1947 / Color
Pirates of Blood River:
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 2.35:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English
1962 / Color
Play Dirty:
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 2.35:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1968 / Color
Extras:
Captain from Castle:
Isolated Music Track: You have a pure talent on the music in
this film. A composer of perfection. Alfred Newman. Alfred Newman was another
pioneer of music. A composer and arranger and conductor of many, upon many
pieces of music for film. The vast array of work under his belt can only show
you his expertise at music, from, The Song of Bernadette, All About Eve, The
Diary of Anne Frank, How the West Was Won, The Greatest Story Ever Told and
many, many more credits to his name. What’s so different and amazing about
Newman is, he only wrote music for film. This idea and concept showcases the
beauty he had for film and that beauty always showed in the finished product. I
must mention the success of his music was honored countless times, winning an
impressive 9 Oscars and being nominated over 40 times.
Audio Commentary with Film Historians Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame,
and Nick Redman
Tyrone Power: The Last Idol
Tyrone Power and His Leading Ladies
Original Theatrical Trailer
The Pirates of Blood River:
Isolated Music & Effects Track: The music is done by
Gary Hughes. Hughes doesn’t have much under his belt as composer. He died at
the young age of 56. He mastered many wonderful Drive-In films such as the 1963
classic The Crimson Blade. Also, the wonderful Drive-In Classics The Devil-Ship
Pirates, The Viking Queen and A Challenge for Robin Hood.
Audio Commentary with Writer Jimmy Sangster, Art Director
Don Mingaye, and Film Historian Marcus Hearn. A Wonderful listen.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Play Dirty:
Isolated Music & Effects Track: A master talent. A
brilliant composer. An Oscar winning musician. A 3-time Oscar winner. Michel
Legrand mastered so many greats of cinema. 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affair,
Summer of ’42, 1983’s Yentl. Over 200 movies and TV credits to his name. Still
alive and kicking it today and still composing. His music is still used today.
Started composing in 1955 and still composing in 2017. A wonderful special
feature that I always look forward to on Twilight Time blu-ray’s.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Twilight Time did another amazing job at bringing forth
three fantastic experiences that they accomplish so greatly. A beautiful
transfer to all three, dynamic visuals and hearing on all three. All three are
priceless examples of how to treat older films. Highly recommend all three
Blu-ray’s.
INFO:
Make sure you head over to www.screenarchives.com to buy all
the wonderful Twilight Time Blu-rays. The main page that gives you these
beautiful releases on top quality Special Editions.
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