‘A Bridge Too Far,’ ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ & ‘Talk Radio,’ On 4K-UHD & Blu-ray

Three extraordinary films from three extraordinary directors, from different decades delve into the dark side of humanity—in very divergent ways.

A Bridge Too Far — 4K-UHD/Blu-ray — Kino Lorber

British actor-turned-director Richard Attenborough would sweep the 1982 Oscars with his epic biopic Gandhi, but five years earlier, his true and misunderstood masterpiece, A Bridge Too Far, would open to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. It did fairly well in the UK but was dismissed by American journos and completely ignored by the Academy. Such a shame and a great show of just how ignorant many of our critics were when it came to recognizing honest depictions of war onscreen. They just couldn’t handle the realism back then. The incredibly overrated critic Roger Ebert called the film “an exercise in wretched excess,” and complained about the “violent indulgence in all the blood and guts and moans.” I guess the legion of profound scenes depicting the folly of war and the toll it takes on soldiers and civilians was too much for him. Twenty years later he would overly praise Saving Private Ryan for many of the reasons he panned Attenborough’s work.

A Bridge Too Far was way before it’s time in its daring to depict WW2 in a harsh and brutal manner and present a chapter in history where the outcome was mostly a bungled failure. It doesn’t go far enough in indicting Montgomery the way it should, but the rest is a remarkable achievement.

Based on the book by Cornelius Ryan and adapted by Oscar winner William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men), A Bridge Too Farboasted a veritable who’s who of stars including Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O’Neal, Maximilian Schell, Robert Redford and Liv Ullmann, to name a few. Producer Joseph E. Levine fought to get the best actors. And he succeeded. This was another thing critics had a beef with, the movie stars in the film. Didn’t matter they all did a splendid job.

The epic was nominated for eight BAFTAs. Edward Fox won for Best Supporting Actor. And John Addison’s rousing score took a deserved trophy as well.

The near-3-hour film delves into one of the most controversial campaigns in military history, Operation Market Garden. The plan was to invade Germany and smash the Nazis war plants by landing 35,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines in order to capture a succession of bridges leading to a hoped invasion. But because of bad weather, messy battlefield politics, crap intelligence, stupid decisions and, well, poor luck, the operation was a disaster–even though Monty would call it 90% successful to try and save face.

Attenborough took great pains in being as historically accurate as possible and it shows. This is masterful work across the boards. The only disappointing thing about it—and I go away with the same feeling each time I watch—is the lackluster ending. I get where he was going but something bigger was needed.

Performance standouts include Caan, Fox, Hopkins and Redford—but none were Oscar nominated.

The Kino Lorber 4K edition is terrific—it’s a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision Master from a 4K Scan of the 35mm original camera negative. Sound is also fantastic. Addison’s score is one of the best ever composed for a motion picture.

True fans might want to pick up the Vivavision (Imprint) Limited Edition 3-disc 4K-UHD/Blu-ray box set that came out at the very end of 2024 and, while expensive, is worth it for the plethora of goodies including new featurettes, video interviews, a wonderful new making of doc and a slew or archival extras.

Extras on the Kino release are tremendously disappointing, with only two audio commentaries included–an archival one with Goldman and the main crew and a new one with historian Steve Mitchell and author Steven Jay Rubin.

But if you’re just interested in the film as a stand-alone, then the Kino Lorber disc is a fantastic buy.

https://kinolorber.com/product/a-bridge-too-far-4kuhd

Killers of the Flower Moon – 4K-UHD/Blu-ray — Criterion

Martin Scorsese only has one Academy Award (for 2006’s The Departed). Let that sink in. He’s been nominated 16 times, including 10 for Best Director. But has just one Oscar. How is that possible?

The Academy often likes to shower his films with tons of nominations like Killers of the Flower Moon, which received 10, and won none. Zero. It defies logic. And Leonardo DiCaprio’s extraordinary, immersive lead performance wasn’t even nominated. A true puzzlement.

I was able to revisit Killers for the third time, thanks to Criterion’s gorgeous new release from a new 4K digital master, approved by Scorsese, with a terrific Dolby Atmos soundtrack. I was stunned by how powerful the film is. At close to 3 ½ hours, it never felt too long. What I did feel was a lot of disgust and anger for the way human beings behave towards other people they somehow see as being less than.

This epic, cinematic poem about power, avarice, betrayal, love (as misguided as it might be) and horrific murders is based on David Grann’s true crime best seller and begins in 1919 Oklahoma where the Osage people have gotten rich because of oil found on their land.

Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) is coming home from the great war to live with his uncle William King Hale (Robert DeNiro, in one of his most chilling performances), who pretends (well, actually I think he believes his own bullshit) that he is the savior of the Osage, but in actuality has begun to swindle them out of their money and land in some of the most cruel and horrendous ways—by systematically killing them—mostly the women. Not-so-bright Ernest becomes involved in his uncle’s scheme along with his brother Byron (Scott Shepherd)

But when Ernest falls for Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) things become incredibly complicated. There’s a bizarre love story at the heart of the dark and grim tale.

It took a few viewings to truly appreciate Lily Gladstone’s subtle, but potent performance. But this time around I was gobsmacked by the abundance of intelligence and emotion in her work. The final heartbreaking look that Molly gives her husband, Ernest is priceless.

My only beef was and is with the screenplay not giving Molly her deserved confrontational moment.

The marvelous Jesse Plemons arrives late in the film as an FBI agent finally discovering the truth.

The entire ensemble is to be commended—except for an overdone Brendan Fraser. Special shout out to Cara Jade Myers as Molly’s spirited sister, Anna.

Scorsese’s production team does amazing work from the evocative music by Robbie Richardson to the striking cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto to Thelma Schoonmaker’s masterful editing.

This is a tremendously dark chapter in our history and Scorsese, and his team (including co-screenwriter Eric Roth) do not try and whitewash or sanitize it. Killers is a disturbing look at America, one that’s been left out of the history books but needs to be written in…with blood.

This Criterion package is a spectacular gift to film lovers with a Blu-ray devoted to Extras including a brand-new documentary on the making of the movie featuring Scorsese, DiCaprio and Gladstone, discussing the importance of telling an authentic story. There’s a great short, WahZhaZhe: A Song for the Osage as well as an excerpt from the 2023 Cannes Film Festival press conference and more.

With his unparalleled oeuvre, Martin Scorsese is easily one of our greatest filmmakers. And Killers of the Flower Moon proves he’s not finished adding to the classic cinema canon.

https://www.criterion.com/films/35293-killers-of-the-flower-moon

Talk Radio – Blu-ray – Kino Lorber

Three-time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone’s riveting, dark comedy thriller, Talk Radio is almost 40 years old but if you replace the title with with ‘social media,’ boy, does it resonate. A few decades later, hatred and vitriol are alive and well and spewing forth from the mouths of so many influencers and podcasters, both on the right and left.

Based on Eric Bogosian’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play as well as Ted Savinar Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg by Stephen Singular, the screenplay was written by Stone and Bogosian and when you have these two powerful figures collaborating, the end result is something rather robust.

Almost entirely set in a radio station in Dallas, Texas, the film centers on Jewish shock show host Barry Champlain (Bogosian) and the ferocious rage he unleashes on his antisemitic, racist, homophobic listeners. His show is about to go national, and he’s fixated on his own agitation and disgust. His negativity knows no limits.

The stellar cast includes a terrific Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors), a super young ‘n cute Alec Baldwin (Married to the Mob), John C. McGinley (Platoon) and Michael Wincott (Ticket to Heaven) in a scene-stealing, wince-inducing turn.

Stone and his amazing DP, Robert Richardson (JFK) moves the camera in dizzying fashion, keeping us anxiety-ridden and uncomfortable for most of the claustrophobic ride. It’s an intense and tantalizing work.

Talk Radio received good reviews at the time of its release but only performed mildly at the box office. Bogosian deserved Oscar consideration for his raw, searing, relentless portrayal of an outraged man who pretends to enjoy being hated when, deep down, he wants to be liked and accepted.

Twilight Time restored the film and released it on Blu-ray in 2019. Kino Lorber now provides a terrific high-def 2K scan version that looks and sounds fab.

Also included is a new 15-minute chat with Stone, who provides interesting details about how he got involved in the project and that he blames producer Edward R. Pressman for bungling the release by insisting the film come out Christmas Day 1988.

Stone has not made a feature since Snowden, 10 years ago. He can’t get financing and that’s a damn shame because he’s one of America’s great directors.

Available May 19, 2026

https://kinolorber.com/product/talk-radio