CineSavant & Trailers From Hell: Comfort and Joy For Film Fans and Movie Buffs

If you’re a passionate film fan like me, you probably don’t just watch movies, you very likely purchase your favorite films on physical media. These days multiple versions of new and classic movies are regularly being issued and re-issued, often as special editions, imports and in limited runs by “boutique” labels such as Arrow Video and Powerhouse Indicator. It’s hard to keep them all straight, much less make an informed choice about which version you should add to your library. One of the best places to get in-depth information about films and their disc releases is the ongoing column by the one and only CineSavant, aka DVD Savant. That’s the non de plume of Glenn Erickson, a film industry veteran who’s been writing about movies for many years now. His current home is that essential website for discerning cinephiles, Trailers From Hell.

Glenn always provides absorbing and entertaining analyses of the films he reviews in his twice-weekly column, which runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  He supplies comprehensive coverage of the latest and greatest Blu-ray and DVD releases. It’s always a pleasure to read his illuminating, fascinating and informative work. He writes about movies in a variety of genres, and often includes a fact or detail that even die hard film fans like myself may not have known. From the James Bond movies to 1950s science-fiction flicks, to foreign films, little known independent features, film noir, and back through to Hammer horror and Toho’s Godzilla series, CineSavant provides thoughtful and accurate reviews. If there have been multiple disc releases of a film, Glenn will let you know the pluses (and occasional minuses) of each version, and how they differ, from picture quality to special features. The CineSavant page also features excellent guest writers like Charlie Largent, who maintain the site's high quality when writing about their genre of specialty.

In a field where many writers and bloggers claim to be experts, CineSavant is the real deal. Glenn has also released two excellent books compiling his work, DVD Savant and Sci-Fi Savant. Both are worth seeking out. I’m happy to say that I own a copy of Sci-Fi Savant, and this spectacular collection of science-fiction film reviews spanning the cinematic decades of the genre is one of my go to references on the subject. Sitting down to read Glenn’s indispensible writing is always one of the highlights of my week, and I’m very glad that he has found a home at Trailers From Hell, the website of choice for cool and in the know film buffs. Not only is Glenn’s work hosted at the site, you can check out other talented writers like Dennis Cozzalio and Randy Fuller. 

At Trailers From Hell, you can view trailers for a wide variety of films featuring commentaries by filmmakers like Allan Arkush, Mick Garris and John Landis. While you're there, you also can find links to episodes of the fantastic (and absolutely addictive) podcast The Movies That Made Me, hosted by screenwriter Josh Olson and director Joe Dante. In each episode, the dynamic cinematic duo talk with a variety of actors, directors and writers about the moves that inspired them. I’ve written about both Trailers From Hell and Cinesavant in the past, but in these unprecedented times we live in, it’s nice to celebrate positive things that bring you joy, and Cinesavant and Trailers From Hell never fail to brighten my day, week, month or year.  I strongly encourage you head on over to https://cinesavant.com and https://trailersfromhell.com, and dive into a world of cinematic wonders that will delight and enthrall you.