Clint Eastwood hung up his spurs from Spaghetti westerns and returned to the U.S. in order to form The Malpaso Company and start making movies his way. It wouldn’t be long before Eastwood would be back in the saddle for another western, with HANG ‘EM HIGH (115 mins., 1968, PG-13; Kino Lorber) becoming an immediate box-office smash for Malpaso and UA, who co-financed the film. Debuting this month on 4K UHD from Kino Lorber, “Hang ‘Em High” has always been a durable home video performer, and here receives a new 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative with strong results.

In the original script by producer Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg, Eastwood plays a rancher wrongly targeted by a lynch mob for being a cattle rustler. Their subsequently botched hanging results in Eastwood’s Jed Cooper not only surviving but immediately becoming a marshal for an overwhelmed Judge (Pat Hingle) in the often lawless Oklahoma territory of 1873 – and promptly tracking down the men responsible for his near death one by one.

“Hang ‘Em High” was directed by Eastwood surrogate Ted Post and is certainly a bit uneven. There are some gaps in the 115-minute film where action could’ve livened up the material, and Post’s direction is generally more serviceable than inspired. Still, the script is a fascinating one, eschewing formula at times for a believable portrait of the Old West where things weren’t always black and white in terms of justice – that especially pertains to Hingle’s turn as the judge with whom Eastwood doesn’t fully agree or entirely trust, yet comes to grudgingly understand.

With a strong score by Dominic Frontiere and a welcome turn in the later stages by Inger Stevens (the film ending her and Eastwood’s brief tryst in an open-ended manner), “Hang ‘Em High” is a worthwhile Eastwood western that’s been presented skillfully on UHD by Kino Lorber. The new Dolby Vision HDR (1.85, 5.1/2.0 DTS MA) transfer is well compressed and filled with detail, excepting some shots (reel transitions, etc.) that look to have been culled from an inferior, best-surviving source. The stereo remixed soundtrack is passable too, with extras including a new commentary by historian Steve Mitchell, an archival commentary by Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman from Shout’s 2019 release, plus TV/radio spots and the trailer.

Back in 2022 Kino Lorber released the Gaumont restorations of two Inspector Maigret double features featuring Albert Prejean as Georges Simenon’s intrepid hero. Shot in the 1940s, the films presaged the great Jean Gabin’s turn as Maigret, with all of Gabin’s features now newly brought to Blu-Ray for the first time in the U.S.

INSPECTOR MAIGRET COLLECTION is now available from Kino Lorber sporting Gabin opposite Annie Girardot and Lino Ventura in MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (119 mins., 1958). Gabin returned shortly thereafter, again for director Jean Delannoy in MAIGRET AND THE ST. FIACRE CASE (101 mins., 1959), while a hiatus of some four years took place before Gabin returned for a curtain call in MAIGRET SEES RED (87 mins., 1963).

All three films have been licensed through TF1 and Studio Canal with 1.37 (“Trap”) and 1.66 (“Fiacre Case,” “Sees Red”) transfers and crisp French mono soundtracks with English subtitles. Extras include commentaries by Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson, Bryan Reesman and Mike Sargent, and Simon Abrams, respectively, across the three films.

MAJOR PAYNE Blu-Ray (97 mins., 1995, PG-13; Kino Lorber): Inoffensive reworking of “The Private War of Major Benson” swaps out Charlton Heston for Damon Wayans’ marine veteran, who’s been handed the pink slip by Uncle Sam. Still wanting to share his rigid brand of discipline with others, Wayans’ “Winifred Payne” takes command of “Madison Academy Junior ROTC” in the hopes of turning its young brats into the cadets of the future. Nick Castle helmed this Universal spring ‘95 comedy which became a moderately successful – if forgettable – comedy vehicle for Wayans, then coming off “In Living Color,” with a decent quotient of laughs offsetting the well-worn formula the picture attempts to riff on. Kino Lorber’s 4K scan of the 35mm OCN (1.85, 5.1) results in an attractive remaster with a new commentary by Castle and Douglas Hosdale and talk with the great Michael Ironside on-hand for special features.

JORY Blu-Ray (97 mins., 1973, PG; Kino Lorber): Weepy ‘70s western with a youth angle in star Robby Benson, who was “introduced” to the general public in this tale of a teen who has to fight for survival in the Old West after his father is killed. “Jory” leaps from one episode to another, meeting the likes of singer B.J. Thomas, “Godfather” vet John Marley and a young Linda Purl along the way, but this Avco Embassy production from director Jorge Fons, based on a Milton Bass novel, doesn’t amount to much except a downer succession of depressing incidents in keeping with the era’s genre “revisionism.” Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) looks fine and features an engaging interview with Benson, who remembers being told to stop smiling by his own father on-set! (perhaps he should’ve directed the film!).

THE LOST MAN Blu-Ray (112 mins., 1969, PG-13; Kino Lorber): Long-forgotten “social message” movie from Sydney Poitier features the star as a Black militant leader who masterminds a payroll robbery which predictably goes wrong; his efforts to flee the scene along with his fellow members, while trying to avoid implicating more of the traditional protesters he’s embedded with, make for a slow-going thriller that’s more a character piece under the direction of writer Robert Alan Arthur, who adapted a Frederick Laurence Green novel. Poitier’s the man but this downbeat Universal production plods through most of its run time, leaving only a few supporting turns of note including Paul Winfield, Michael Tolan as the detective assigned to the case, and Joanna Shimkus, aka the future Mrs. Poitier. A commentary by Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff is included in Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray (2.35, mono) which sports the trailer and a new 4K scan of the OCN; Quincy Jones’ “groovy” score ultimately comes off as unmemorable as the film itself.

---

Severin New Releases

Out this week from Severin is a deluxe UHD/Blu-Ray limited box-set, SANGSTER DIRECTS HAMMER, which offers the U.S. premieres of three Hammer ‘70s efforts, 19 hours of supplements, and a 312-page (!) book that looks at the work of Hammer veteran Jimmy Sangster with essays, tributes, interviews and even comic adaptations.

It’s a lavish edition even if just a trio of films are included: THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (96 mins., 1970, R), LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (96 mins., 1970), and FEAR IN THE NIGHT (94 mins., 1972).

THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN is an interesting curio in Hammer’s long-running Frankenstein series: eschewing the formula of most of its contemporaries, this 1970 entry substitutes Peter Cushing’s Doctor for Ralph Bates’ younger, abrasive medical student, who’s ready to party with the undead and does so by constructing a monster in the form of future Darth Vader “Dave” Prowse. Some tart black humor spices up a divisive sequel that’s quite watchable, provided you can distance yourself from the Cushing pictures that surround it. The Dolby Vision HDR transfer (1.66, mono) from Studio Canal’s restoration looks finely detailed with only some pale flesh tones popping up here and there.

The second entry in Hammer’s unofficial “Karnstein” trilogy, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, meanwhile, adapted Sheridan LeFanu’s “Carmilla” as a capable vampire thriller with Yutte Stensgaard as the undead queen who comes to practice her special fang-biting skills at an elite girl’s school. Ralph Bates (again) and Barbara Jefford co-star in Sangster’s fan-favorite, late-era Hammer outing, here improved by a 4K scan of original film elements that come alive in Severin’s Dolby Vision HDR presentation (1.66, mono).

The third feature here, FEAR IN THE NIGHT, is a less engaging Hammer thriller starring Judy Geeson as a woman with a fragile psyche who takes a job at a remote, rural boarding school. Ralph Bates again pops up here as Geeson’s husband with Joan Collins and Peter Cushing co-starring, but while “Fear” is a change of pace from the usual monster mayhem Hammer typically trurned out, its twisty script is pat and predictable and dated in its own way. Studio Canal’s 4K restoration (1.85, mono) again offers clear benefits in its UHD premiere with Dolby Vision HDR accentuating contrasts, color and heightened levels of clarity.

All three movies have been included on Blu-Ray as well with loads of extras that should keep Hammer fans occupied all summer long.

“Horror of Frankenstein” offers a new Tim Lucas commentary plus an archival commentary by Jimmy Sangster and Marcus Hearn; a 1997 reunion panel with Sangster; an archival interview with star Veronica Carlson; new interviews with crew members Nicholas Granby, Neil Binney, Philip Campbell and Jeremy Burnham; an audio essay on 125 years of Frankenstein movies by Gillian Wallace Horvat; an interview on Mary Shelley with Dr. Emma Liggins, and another Shelley segment with Dr. Colin Azariah-Kribbs; alternate TV opening credits and trailers.

“Lust for a Vampire” includes a commentary by David Flint and an archival talk with Sangster, Marcus Hearn and actress Suzanna Leigh. There are also interviews with cast members Judy Matheson, Kirsten Lindholm, Christopher Neame, Erica Beale and Mel Chucher, plus production runner Philip Campbell. An illustrated archival audio interview features Yutte Stensgaard while another archival talk is included with writer Tudor Gates. Recent retrospectives are provided by Dr. William Hughes and Carmen Maria Machado, while Alexandra Heller-Nicholas’ video essay looks at the movie’s legacy and an alternate version of the “lesbian scene” rounds out the extras.

“Finally, “”Fear in the Night” boasts a trio of commentaries (Sangster and Hearn; historians David Flint and Chris Cook; an archival interview with Peter Cushing and Dennis Meikle) plus interviews with Neil Binney and Philip Campbell and another appreciation by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

In addition to the comprehensively detailed 300+ page book, there’s also a bonus Blu-Ray of extras that include a 2026 documentary on Sangster, “Hammer & Beyond: The Jimmy Sangster Legacy”; interviews with Virginia Metherell and Will Bates; historians Kier-La Janisse and Amanda Reyes on Joan Collins’ horror output; C. Courtney Joyner on Hammer’s U.S. distribution (which was pretty scattershot by the early ‘70s); an archival interview with Sangster; a look at lesbian vampire movies with Annie Rose Malamet; and a talk with author David Pirie who claims “I Coined ‘The Karnstein Trilogy.’”

Also new from Severin is the new documentary CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN (96 mins., 2024), which finds author Robin Hardy’s sons – half-brothers Justin Hardy and Dominic Hardy – taking a look at their late father’s work, from its conception through the movie’s rocky production and difficulty in releasing an unexpurgated version. Personnel correspondence and conversations with friend Anthony Shaffer (with whom Hardy had a falling out) inform this moving and more personal piece than your typical “Movie Making Of,” well edited and packaged by the Hardys and co-director Chris Nunn. Extras on Severin’s Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) include an audio interview with the Hardys and Nunn, a Q&A with the trio and producer Alison Palmer, a Making Of featurette and trailer.

---

New on 4K UHD

THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (98 mins., 2026, PG; Universal): Sequel to the mega-successful “Super Mario Bros. Movie” manages to give viewers more frenetic action as Mario and Luigi are whisked away to galaxies unknown, but not before meeting Yoshi and dealing with a miniaturized, but no less energetic, Bowser. All the Nintendo mainstays return in this follow-up from the Illumination crew, but the film somehow manages to be less than its predecessor as it packs in so much in the way of frenzied pacing that I was exhausted before even the last Nintendo fan service cameo was rolled out. Still a dynamic looking and sounding 4K presentation that kids, of course, should enjoy, Universal’s combo pack of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” includes Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound (at least the movie is much lighter on licensed pop music this time around) along with the Blu-Ray, a Digital HD code, a Making Of and a handful of other behind-the-scenes featurettes.

ERASER 4K UHD (115 mins., 1996, R; Warner): Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘90s output is mostly a disappointing lot, compounded by the fact he turned down the likes of a James Cameron version of “Planet of the Apes” as well as a Ridley Scott-directed “I Am Legend.” Oh, and even though it wasn’t his fault that Paul Verhoeven’s “Crusades” epic fell through, it still punches an action movie fan in the gut with the lament of “what might have been.”

Instead we were served up Arnie comedy in Ivan Reitman’s diminishing-returns “Twins” reunion “Junior” and Chris Columbus’ wan production “Jingle All the Way” (which at least developed something of a cult following). On the action side of things, Schwarzenegger mostly put it in neutral with vehicles like the decent “T3,” Peter Hyams’ laughably bad “End of Days” and “Eraser” – a serviceable, efficient, and still not very thrilling genre exercise from journeyman director Chuck Russell, who was able to parlay his success off the Jim Carrey venture “The Mask” into this highly budgeted studio exercise.

In the by-the-numbers script credited to Tony Puryear and Walon Green, Arnold plays a U.S. marshal assigned to protect witness Vanessa Williams when the bad guys decide it’s time to rub her, and Arnold, out of the picture. That’s pretty much the extent of the story in “Eraser,” which has a few adequately executed set-pieces but nothing you haven’t seen before – especially with Arnold having hit something of a high in Cameron’s “True Lies” a couple of years prior. Schwarzenegger has decent chemistry with Williams but James Caan phones in his villainy and the movie ends with an obviously reshot conclusion that must’ve been reworked after bad test screenings. “Eraser” isn’t the worst of Arnold’s late ‘90s efforts but it’s something of a “low-boil” affair best left for the star’s die-hard fans.

Warner’s 4K UHD includes a dynamic new Dolby Vision HDR (2.39) transfer with Dolby Atmos sound; note that Alan Silvestri’s mostly nondescript score may have reworked portions of his rejected “Mission: Impossible” effort from that same summer. Extras include “Reinventing the Modern Action Hero” and “’90s Action Thriller Reimagined” featurettes and the trailer.

Also new from Warner on 4K UHD is THEY WILL KILL YOU (94 mins., 2026, R), a “Battle Royale” variation with Zazie Beets trying to stay alive during a night at “The Vigil,” a lair presided over by the likes of Patricia Arquette and her clan of Satanists. Beets brings the needed energy to her role and there’s action to spare in the picture, but director Kirill Sokolov’s movie ends up overstaying its welcome due to its bombastic nature and simplistic plot — even at a slender 94 minutes. Warner’s attractive 4K UHD includes both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound, plus a Making Of, featurettes and a Digital HD code.

YOU, ME & TUSCANY Blu-Ray (105 mins., 2026, PG-13; Universal): Easy-going romantic comedy stars Halle Bailey, quite relaxed here as a young woman who pretends to be an Italian homeowner’s fiancee, which becomes a problem after she falls for his charismatic cousin (“Bridgerton” alumnus Rege-Jean Page). Bailey, who tried her best during the waterlogged Disney live-action version of “The Little Mermaid,” generates solid chemistry with Page and director Kat Coiro takes good advantage of it, setting Ryan Engle’s script against lovely locations along the Amalfi coast. Universal’s Blu-Ray (2:1, TrueHD 7.1) includes commentary, featurettes and a Digital HD code. 

PRIMAL Season 3 Blu-Ray (223 mins., 2026; Warner): Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated series about a caveman named Spear and his dinosaur Fang starts off with the former dead — but not even that is going to keep a good Neanderthal down. In fact, “Primal”‘s third season resurrects Spear outright, albeit (initially) in some odd zombie state, setting our hero off on a violent journey that climaxes in an ending everyone, likely, will agree is satisfying. Getting to that point may test one’s patience despite Tartakovsky’s trademark animation, which remains compelling in its widescreen aspect ratio throughout. Warner’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1 DTS MA) includes a couple of featurettes.

NEXT TIME: Imprint’s latest including RAISE THE TITANIC and ESCAPE TO ATHENA. Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone and a Happy 4th (and 250!) to the U.S.A.