Well, to DVD-R, at least, but then that's how things work nowadays, isn't it? Still, this is very exciting! Sony has included the 1968 Eurospy classic Hammerhead (review here) in its latest batch of made-on-demand "Columbia Classics" DVD-Rs. (Or "Sony Screen Classics by Request" depending on where you look. Clearly the whole campaign, while laudable, wasn't that thought out. For one thing, it seems very hard to tell when new titles are announced.) Anyway, Hammerhead is remastered in 1.85:1 widescreen and looks better than ever, as you can see from the clip on Sony's website! (And they did choose one of the very best moments from the film to demonstrate the picture quality. Don't you love it how in Eurospyland, you can always open a random door and be sure to find a beautiful girl in a bikini dancing behind it?) Hammerhead is one of my very favorite Eurospy movies, and a great next stop if you've enjoyed Deadlier Than the Male and want to wade gradually into deeper waters of the genre. You can order it now from the Columbia Classics website for $19.94 or from Oldies.com for $18.98 or wait and hope they turn up cheaper on Deep Discount like the earlier wave of titles did. This is a must-have Eurospy film!
This batch also includes the John Le Carré adaptation The Deadly Affair with James Mason as Smiley in all but name (review here) and the 1952 Dana Andrews spy noir Assignment: Paris. The former was already previously available as a Region 2 DVD, but it's good to have an R1 alternative at last for this fairly essential spy movie.
Additionally, on the non-spy front, the Hammer fan in me rejoices that Creatures the World Forgot is finally available and any fan of Michael Caine or Peter Sellers or Dudley Moore and Peter Cook or Sixties British cinema in general will be happy to finally have The Wrong Box on Region 1 disc, though it's been available in R2 for some time already.
