Surrounded puts Letitia Wright in front and centre of this Post Civil War Western. Many enslaved people faced discrimination and hardships despite being freed after the Civil War. Some women pretended to be men to secure jobs and avoid sexual assault.
My newest interview subject, Mark A. Mangini, is an accomplished sound designer and editor. He’s helped create the soundscapes for films of all sorts. Ranging from multiple films in the Star Trek franchise to a frequent collaboration with Joe Dante, from Disney Renaissance classics like Beauty And The Beast and Aladdin to Mad Max: Fury Road, which would win him his first Oscar, Mark A. Mangini has created memorable soundscapes for almost half-a-century, with no signs of stopping any time soon. Mark took some time to speak with me this past December, and today I share my epic conversation with this great talent.
It’s been 18 years since I was first introduced to the concept of DVDs. The family of my girlfriend at the time had a DVD player, and I was so fascinated by the technology in 1999 that I knew I wanted one for myself. I was even buying DVDs before I got a DVD player as a Christmas present the following year. I came to fall in love with the format and how all sorts of titles were coming out with wonderful extras. Even something as simple as a theatrical trailer could excite me. Eventually, DVD gave way to Blu-Ray, and while I’ve yet to make the upgrade to Blu-Ray (mainly because I can’t find an All Region player for my PC, which is how I view movies), there’s one studio that’s still willing to help those who haven’t been able to make the leap to Blu-Ray. That studio is Kino Lorber Studio Classics.