BLU BELMONDO

New Releases: The Cohen Film Collection will release two 1964 classic films next month directed by Phillipe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo: That Man From Rio and Up to His Ears. I'm especially looking forward to seeing That Man From Rio because some of the scenes were apparently filmed in front of Oscar Niemeyer architecture. From the press release on the Blu-ray site: "Arriving in the wake of the newly popular James Bond films, That Man from Rio and Up to His Ears were a cut above the many 007 spoofs that spilled forth worldwide. In That Man from Rio, set against the beauty of Brazil, Belmondo and Françoise Dorléac (the star of François Truffaut's The Soft Skin and Roman Polanski's Cul-De-Sac) are in hot pursuit of a stolen Amazonian statuette, while others pursue them for the same treasure. The colorful wide-screen comic adventure, recognized as an inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (for co-writers de Broca, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Ariane Mnouchkine and Daniel Boulanger). It was named Best Foreign Language Film of 1964 by the New York Film Critics Circle. In the follow-up, Up to His Ears, loosely based on Jules Verne's novel "Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine," Belmondo plays a bored and recently bankrupted millionaire who is convinced to allow someone to murder him so that he can leave the insurance money in his will. He's fine with the plan until he meets a stunning stripper (Ursula Andress/Dr. No, She) and tries to cancel his deal, setting off a madcap chase across China and Tibet." Both films have had a 2K restoration and include docs about de Broca and Belmondo, making-of features, and trailers. 2-disc set. Street date is April 4th. I'm hoping we'll see the 1973 de Broco-Belmondo film, Le Magnifique, on Blu-ray soon. Great trailer for That Man From Rio below. Enjoy!

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