Hey folks, Harry here… A day late, but definitely not short on the column this week. It is another doozy. I only got about halfway through the first night, and I spent about 7 hours tonight writing on it. Luckily, next week looks light, so I’ll definitely crank that one out on time. I’ve seen most of the titles already. This week is a tremendous week, much like last column. Amazing titles, none moreso than the first. As usual the pictures and links take you to AMAZON where you can learn more on the title – and if so motivated, you can purchase it, which gives a little to help keep this column going. It is all very much appreciated. This column is tough to do – especially when there’s as many titles as there are this week – and especially when those titles are as awesome as many of these. Again, it is my pleasure to have no sleep, but this to share. Enjoy…
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
STARCRASH ( Roger Corman Blu Ray)
Caroline “Sweaty Titties” Munro on Blu Ray. Caroline Munro wears the most insanely skimpy “sci-fi fetish outfit” in the history of science fiction. And she wears it, incredibly well. You also get Christopher Plummer, who apparently has no memory of ever shooting this film… and it looks like it. Then there’s the nearly jailbait David Hasselhoff – who is insane in the film. And then there’s this crazy Robot faithful sidekick… The word I heard was that the producer of the film, had seen STAR WARS and told the director Luigi Cozzi that he wanted him to make Star Wars. Star Wars hadn’t opened in Italy yet, so the director read the novelization and decided to do his own perception of STAR WARS. The result is something unforgettably hokey, cheesy, camp and bugnuts fucking insane. The giant robot that does the bidding of this Amazon space force. Or how the Robot Companion and Caroline Munro survive certain death on a frozen planet – will BLOW YOUR MIND! That this movie found its way to the pinnacle of Home Video formats this quickly is a bit of a miracle.
That the BluRay is outfitted with extras like these – is an absolute delight!
New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.78:1) And DTS 5.1 Surround Sound
Audio Commentary By Writer And Starcrash Expert Stephen Romano
A Look At The Film’s Special Effects With Special Effects Director Armando Valcauda Including Unused Footage, Rare Photos, Original Drawings And More
New Interview With Writer/Director Luigi Cozzi (aka Lewis Coates)
New Interview With Actress Caroline Munro Discussing Her Time
As Stella Star And A Look At Her Career
Extensive Stills Galleries Including Behind-The-Scenes Photos, Posters, Stills, Original Production Art And Storyboards
Behind-The-Scenes Footage With Commentary
Deleted And Extended Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Theatrical Trailer With Commentaries By Eli Roth And Joe Dante, Courtesy Of Trailersfromhell
12-Page Booklet With Liner Notes By Stephen Romano
The Original Script (DVD-ROM)
God Bless Roger Corman – and I’ll tell him so myself when he arrives at FANTASTIC FEST later this month!
THE THIRD MAN (Blu Ray)
I know, didn’t Criterion just come out with a Blu Ray? Yes, that is true… And it is an absolutely stellar edition. BEAUTIFUL. So – what is this Blu Ray – and do you need it? 1st… The CRITERION Blu, which I do prefer, is currently out of print. And if you try to buy it online, it starts out at about $64.99. This edition is $29.99. Now – the StudioCanal Collection BluRay isn’t a slouch. It has an audio commentary with Guy Hamilton and Simon Callow. There’s an interactive Vienna tour, THE THIRD MAN radio play, An audio interview with Joseph Cotton and Graham Greene, like Criterion – this has Cotton’s alternate opening narration, among a few others. So if you have the Criterion, I wouldn’t recommend rushing out for this… but the special features are kind of fun to check out, and the box art is awfully purty… Just depends, how much do you love THE THIRD MAN?
BREATHLESS (Criterion Blu Ray)
God I worship Jean Seberg in this. She’s one of those women on screen that you just hopelessly fall for. If you’ve never seen BREATHLESS, imagine BEFORE SUNSET with a sense of urgency & threat. If you haven’t seen Linklater’s BEFORE SUNSET, I’m not real sure what I can point you at that could give you a sense of this film. Cuz, that’s a clumsy way of communicating the sublime wow of BREATHLESS. Jean-Paul Belmondo is a cop killer. But he is also a man. A man that has women on hooks. And when the heat gets too much, he focuses upon the French-speaking American girl. Neither of them are stupid. These are people that have chosen to be in the situations that they are in. She knows he isn’t a good man, or at the very least she suspects, but that’s what attracts her to him. He’s not crazy handsome, but he is kinda dreamy in a square-jawed Jeff Goldblum kinda way. But as a filmgoer you fall in love with the pair of them. I can’t help but admire the effortless cool with which Jean Paul Belmondo carries out his crimes and then effortlessly pours on the charm as though he had just gotten his car from the parking garage. He’s a scoundrel in that Han Solo kinda manner – and this film was most definitely an influence on George Lucas. BREATHLESS is exactly its title. An utterly BREATHLESS experience. A film about two people in love, that are the dangerous versions of ourselves. Godard was a consummate film lover as a critic, and with BREATHLESS he shared that love with the rest of us. You can not be a film geek and not love BREATHLESS.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (Blu Ray)
I like the book edition Blu Rays that Warners puts out – but while I personally like the presentation of the book format, I do hate the lack of extras that usually accompany those editions. THIS is a full release for one of the great American films. The Transfer is gorgeous, you get a commentary by Milos Forman, Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz. They have an 87 minute documentary on the making of and looking back at this classic film. There’s also a 52 page Hard Bound book in here, a reproduction of the press book, a deck of playing cards with character images on the faces. There’s also 4 mini-poster reproductions from it’s worldwide release. And then there’s additional scenes and the trailer. So if you love this film, this is the set to have.
As for the film – it’s fucking ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST! It won a shitload of Academy Awards and nobody was arguing about them, because it obviously earned each and every single one of them. The acting, directing, writing, photography, everything. It was absolutely the best film of 1975 – and it is Jack Nicholson’s greatest role. He’s fucking magnificent. The sort of role that gets you jumping out of your seat afterwards excitedly talking about how they don’t make movies like this anymore, then someone brings up Aronofsky – and then I say, I fucking love Aronofsky, but I’d bet Aronofsky would say he hasn’t made a film as perfectly perfect as ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. Just amongst the best films ever.
SEVEN (Blu Ray)
Here’s one of those Warner Brothers Book editions – but unlike the early ones – this is loaded with extras – but most importantly – this is a full 2.35:1 transfer – contrary to what the Amazon site says. The print is fucking gorgeous. Features commentaries with Fincher, Pitt, Freeman among others. Additional and extended scenes, alternate endings, there’s an “Exploration of the Opening title sequence from multiple video anges and with various audio mixes and 2 commentary tracks. There’s Production design and still with commentarires. This has THE NOTEBOOKS: Full motion video details “John Doe’s” Writings – warning – don’t lose your mind reading this stuff! There’s also a special feature on creating the image and audio for this edition with compares and contrasts to previous editions.
Now – SEVEN is why David Fincher owns my ass in a seat forever and a day for every film he ever makes. SEVEN is tremendous. Brilliantly crafted. Writing that is just as sharp as it ever gets. The sound design on this film is extraordinary. The image is lickably grimy in a John Waters sense. Every performance in the film is a career best. And in many ways – the same can be said for Fincher. I think he has continued to make tremendous film, but nothing that gives me quite the cinematic rager that this one does.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Season 1 (Blu Ray)
If you even have to think about this purchase… beyond the consideration of the financial outlay… We might not be compatible soul mates. Classic TWILIGHT ZONEs are crack for me. I’ve been watching these alternating discs with the Boris Karloff THRILLERS casually for the last two weeks. And I can instantly see the difference. There’s film elements that have been scanned for these Blu Rays – and you can see how crisp the images are. Plus – here’s the extras you get:
Extremely rare, never-before-released unofficial Twilight Zone pilot, "The Time Element," written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz
19 New Audio Commentaries, featuring The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree, author and film historian Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television), author and music historian Steven C. Smith (A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann), music historians John Morgan and William T. Stromberg, writer/producer David Simkins (Lois & Clark, Dark Angel), writer Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man), actor William Reynolds and director Ted Post. Interviews with actors Dana Dillaway, Suzanne Lloyd, Beverly Garland and Ron Masak.
“Tales of Tomorrow” episode "What You Need."
Vintage audio interview with Director of Photography George T. Clemens.
1977 syndication promos for "A Stop at Willoughby" and "The After Hours."
18 Radio Dramas
34 Isolated Music Scores featuring the legendary Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and others! Set also includes:
Audio Commentaries by actors Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, and CBS executive William Self.
Vintage Audio Recollections with actors Burgess Meredith and Anne Francis, directors Douglas Heyes and Richard L. Bare, producer Buck Houghton and writer Richard Matheson.
Rod Serling Audio Lectures from Sherwood Oaks College.
Rod Serling Promos for "Next Week's" Show.
Original Unaired Pilot Version of "Where is Everybody?" with Rod Serling's Network Pitch.
Footage of the Emmy Award wins for the series
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
Here’s a film that is utterly absurd, but it sure is pretty to look at. I’m just not sure that I actually like it. The whole absurd casting of this tale, I can dismiss due to my love of Kerwin Matthews playing Sinbad. I did think we were past that period of overt anglification, but we aren’t. I long to see a great Arabic actor play Sinbad, in a completely epic SINBAD film that save for language, is devoid of English influence. My dream would have been to see a young Omar Shariff, directed by David Lean with effects by Ray Harryhausen, back in the day… But that is a dream. I’d settle for Naveen Andrews as Sinbad, even if he is of Indian origin, but the world completely believes he’s Iraqi thanks to LOST. BUT back to PRINCE OF PERSIA… this is a light-hearted adventure that never fully takes off for me. But I like the leads, but found the film awfully safe and ultimately a tad boring and predictable. That said – I did enjoy Jake and Gemma’s chemistry, which I thought was the best thing about the film. There’s tons of extras, if you care.
FRINGE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
The single greatest problem with getting this column in on time this week, besides a certain Comic Artist friend of mine, has been FRINGE’s 2nd Season. Usually, the way I watch most TV shows is as I work. Now, I can’t work during TRUE BLOOD – I’m too invested in every nuance of that show, I love FRINGE. I watched the first season in a two day orgy of watching, this season… I divided it up, I’m about halfway through as I write this. The last complete episode involved the parasitic worm plotline. The single greatest actor that I feel is working on Television today is John Noble. I remember watching Mr Noble play Denethor as he heard young Peregrin Took tell him about the fate of his son, Boromir – and I could not take my eyes off of Noble. He was absolutely magnetic, brilliant and a complete surprise. As Walter on FRINGE – he’s amazingly eccentric, in a truly unique take on the “mad scientist” type. For people that dismiss this as X-FILES… they simply reveal that they haven’t been watching the show. Yes, they’re investigating strange incidents, but where the show has gone thus far this season… it seems incredibly fresh to me. I’m dying to learn more about Nimoy’s character and that plotline… but this is outstanding and if you have lots of work to do… I don’t recommend picking it up, it will suck you in – and right now, Walter is talking about Brain Transplants and how you would do that… and I believe every word Walter tells me – and last episode, he couldn’t remember how to get home. I love that. This is a fantastic show – dive in.
GLEE: 1st Season
I’m told by everybody that I’m friends with, that I will love GLEE at a primal level. I watched one episode on my iPad – thought it was cute, but it didn’t force me to watch another. That said, I imagine when I crack open this set – and start with Episode 1 and go through the last episode, that I’ll probably be a full fledged member of the GLEE squad. Right?
LETTERS TO JULIET
Ok – I admit it, I’m kinda bonkers for Amanda Seyfried – and home video has conspired to put 4 different Amanda Seyfried films in front of me in the past month – and there’s been a great deal of erotic and sensual work by her. Here you have a PG Romantic Comedy – and while I absolutely hate Gael Garcia Bernal’s character (but not his performance) as written, I found myself suckered into liking this thing. It’s about as obvious as my belly, but lovable all the same. But the real jewel here is the casting of Franco Nero in the film. I just can’t believe that the people making this were cool enough to hook Vanessa Redgrave with Franco Nero. But every second he’s on screen, I could hear my dead mother “coo” in my head. She loved Franco Nero passionately. I saw a great deal of his movies under her mania – and just seeing him in this movie, made me miss watching this with my mom. She’d have loved seeing him here!
AMERICA: THE STORY OF US
I didn’t go gaga for this series – but my nephew LOVES it – and anything that makes a 10 year old get giddy about American History is a good thing. I don’t necessarily believe this was made for folks that read every history book you could get your hands on back as a student – this is something that will trigger in younger viewers a desire to learn more. So – if that sounds appealing to you and you have a youngster that you want to get headed in that direction, this might help.
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
I hate this. I hated it in 1983 and I hate it today. I’m not going to say it is bad, this is beloved by too many for me to go there. I simply can’t stand the songs or the production. For me films like this were why people were so hesitant to make Pirate movies until Johnny Depp swaggered about. Musicals can be a tricky business – you either love a style of music or you hate it. The musical, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE is fingernails on chalkboards for me. That is the sad, but real truth about this film for me. For the fans that love it, this has been a long time coming. It has finally been released on DVD – and it looks good. I just don’t like it.
MONSTER HOUSE (Blu Ray 3D Version)
MONSTER HOUSE was tremendous in theaters in 3D. It is the best of the Robert Zemeckis involved Performance Capture movies – and I believe this is only the second BluRay 3D release after CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS… I’ve seen some of that disc in the proper set up and it does look good – but home 3D is a difficult reality. The best most effective way of seeing 3D is in a manner that involves peripheral vision. Meaning you need to be close enough to the screen that the vision of the film fills your field of vision. You get a more intense sense of motion, depth and involvement. Sitting back, makes it feel less and less remarkable. Like it isn’t worth it. Most home theaters simply don’t have seating for an entire family that would provide the best field of vision for 3D – if you have this kind of setup – then this is absolutely the way to watch this movie!
THE BLACK CAULDRON: 25th Anniversary Special Edition
I like the hell out of BLACK CAUDRON. I was 13 when I saw THE BLACK CAULDRON – and I’ve always dreamt of seeing in in 70mm, with the crazy in-theater special effects – I seem to have ancient memories of reading about how there were special presentations that used laser projection on mist down the aisles of the theater during the big Cauldron sequence. I might be crazy, but I swear to God I remember reading something like that in Starlog back in the day. Am I crazy? I can’t find anything online about that – so I could be delusional. Here’s the extras…
Deleted scene: The Fairfolk: Join Taran, Fflewddur Fflam, Gurgi, and Princess Eilonwy as they travel into the depths of the earth, and meet the Fairfolk
• The Witches’ Challenge Game: In order to defeat the dark powers of the Horned King, you must get the magical sword. The sword is held by the Witches of Morva. Solve their riddles and the sword is yours
Plus classic DVD features:
• Still frame gallery – Gallery of behind-the-scenes artwork and photos
• Theatrical trailer: Original theatrical trailer
• Quest For The Black Cauldron: Race to reach the Black Cauldron before the evil Horned King does in this trivia game
• Trick Or Treat: Donald Duck cartoon from 1952
THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (Blu Ray)
Probably the single most fun Zombie film in the history of the genre. AND – the best hardcore rotting animated corpses ever designed. At the FAMOUS MONSTERS convention earlier this year – a great deal of the cast was on hand – but at 3 different conventions this year, I’ve spent a great deal of time with William Stout – the production designer of this film – and I have to say… this film is probably the rosetta stone that defined my sister and mine’s friendship. This movie scared the living shit out of her. She was 3 going on 4 when I showed it to her. I was 13 and thought it’d be cool to torture my sis with this film. But after the film – when she was particularly freaked out – I pulled out my copies of Cinefantastique, Starlog and Cinefex and showed her how they did it. That it all began with pencil and paper, then clay… then latex and rubber and rods and hydraulics – and then the movie became pure fun for us. I’m hoping to pick this and the next disc up later today – so I don’t know if this is loaded to the gills with extras – but I certainly hope so. Throughout this year, there’s been a great deal of opportunity to have the cast together to do extras. If it isn’t on here, I’ll be perturbed.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Blu Ray)
I love the original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS – and I remember listening to my father and his friends talk very skeptically about how this version would never even come close to comparing to the original. They were convinced it would suck. This is one of those rare cases of a remake being superior or on an even keel with the classic original. I love the cast, that freaky dog, the way the pods work here. Sutherland is amazing. Goldblum is amazing. Nimoy – gives my favorite non-STAR TREK performance – and it scared the bejeesus out of me as a kid – and as an adult. This is a truly great Science Fiction Horror film. W.D. Richter knocked the screenplay out of the park. I find myself quoting the, “If it is a caper, then you eat it!” all the time. And whenever a friend says something alien, I can sometimes be found leaning my head back and doing the mouth agape and point. This does have a commentary by Kaufman, a doc, but otherwise is pretty light on would could have been far more extensive an extras collection.
BLOODSPORT / TIMECOP (Blu Ray)
I have a weak spot for both of these films. In particular, I really do like TIMECOP quite a bit. You don’t get any extras, but you get double the Dammage for the price of a single film. You know who you are, but you’re excited about this.
JACOB’S LADDER (Blu Ray)
I watched this 3 nights ago – and I’ve been digesting this movie since I saw a preview screening during my freshman year of college – and I’m still not sure what I think of Adrian Lyne’s bad trip movie. It looks damn sharp on Blu… but don’t expect it to seem any less convoluted or dense as it did 20 years ago. Jesus. Was this really 20 years ago?
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Blu Ray)
Those of you that held off buying the Theatrical cuts on Blu Ray – probably did a smart thing, buying them separately, now that they’re being released that way will save you $15 (if you get all 3) plus – you get a disc of extras (standard def) that you wouldn’t get in the set that released earlier, but that are all things you already have if you have the DVDs. So this is yet another money grab. You can’t really blame Warners too bad, giving how much they’re sinking into THE HOBBIT – and the possibility that it could all go south… They’re probably under pressure to create gold from this straw. We’re all waiting for the great editions – and those are nowhere in sight. Sigh.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (Blu Ray)
This is the one that I watch most separately from watching the Trilogy – but I watch the trilogy about 4 times a year, mainly because Yoko watches these films everytime she’s sick and not feeling good. They’re her warm blanket. Personally – I just love the battle of Helm’s Deep deeply. How about you?
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Blu Ray)
All 3 of these have the same standard def DVD of extras, but nothing you’d clamor for… But if I didn’t already have this as a set, I’d run out to pick them up, just to have these in Blu Ray to watch at home. BUT – I’ve had the Blu Rays for a while now – and when I watch the Trilogy, I still grab my DVDs of the Expanded Edition. I watched them initially just to see them in the higher, stunning resolution, but even though the image isn’t as solid, I prefer the expanded editions greatly. WARNERS – do a BRILLIANT JOB and work CLOSELY with Peter and Weta to make those EXPANDED EDITIONS the greatest releases the format has ever seen. Just like the Expanded Editions were to DVD releases. Right?
MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE?
When I heard that David Lynch was producing a Werner Herzog film starring Michael Shannon and Willem Dafoe… I was expecting something amazing. Ultimately – I just didn’t like the movie, though I desperately wanted to. Beaks did though, so you may too. Quint didn’t though.
DELICATESSEN (Blu Ray)
One of those films that made me seek out foreign films while I was in college. When this opened in Austin, and we saw this – there was a euphoria that has never left this town. This played a long time here. In Austin, we’re big fans of Cannibalism. And we already giggle about it. After all – we are home to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE here. And this film helped make Austin weirder – simply within the local film loving scene. Jeunet & Caro blew us away with this – and Studio Canal has done a great job here. Your special features includes:
Audio Commentary with Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
“FINE COOKED MEATS” by Diane Bertrand: The Making of Delicatessen.
The Archives of Jean Pierre Jeunet.
“Main Course Pieces” Retrospective Documentary
But honestly – Darius Khondji’s cinematography and this production design demands Blu Ray treatment. And if you’ve never happened to see DELICATESSEN – I truly envy you.
UNLEASHED (Blu Ray)
I much prefer the title DANNY THE DOG… but the studios do love their ONE WORD titles that seem ridiculous – But DANNY THE DOG is Jet Li’s best English language film and performance. Bob Hoskins is fantastic here – and this is essentially quite similar to the HD-DVD that Universal put out forever a go, but this is the first Blu Ray release!
GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN Live 1973: BILLION DOLLAR BABIES TOUR (Blu Ray)
Here’s the concert film of Alice Cooper’s 1973 BILLION DOLLAR BABIES tour. Clocking in at 100 minutes – Shout Factory has put out another great Blu Ray Rock experience. This even has commentary by Alice Cooper himself – along with “play concert only” option, delted scenes and outtakes. If you have always wanted to see Alice Cooper when he was scaring every parent on the planet – this is it. You don’t see concerts like this anymore.
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (Blu Ray)
I still prefer the original, mainly out of pure nostalgia – and the fact that in the original – that exact mirror tile that is in Brolin’s bedroom – was in my parents bedroom – and our house was pretty spooky too. And had crazy goings ons. I do, however, enjoy the hell out of this movie. And will never forget walking through a room with several thousand flies – as did EVERY member of the special Drafthouse Audience – including Ryan Reynolds himself! That was a crazy cool event. I still have the façade that was made to look like the AMITYVILLE House. Which is still the scariest looking house ever. This isn’t great, but it is quite a decent scary movie.
BOOGIE WOOGIE
Yeah – here’s another of those Amanda Seyfried films that has me going gaga for her. Actually – this film has two other past obsessions, which still feed my dirty mind. Heather Graham and Gillian Anderson (Yes, I have a Scully crush!) This film is about an Art Scene that scares the hell out of me. These people are all pretty loathsome, especially Danny Huston and his obnoxiously self-congratulatory laughter. But my favorite actor and role in this belongs to CHRISTOPHER LEE. BOOGIE WOOGIE is the title of a painting by a master that Christopher Lee knew personally in his youth. It is the centerpiece of his Art Collection – and his wife and the loathsome urchin that is always around, continually plot to sell it – Lee would rather die, then see it go within his lifetime. He has invested himself in that item. This is something I completely understand. It is how I feel about my original KING KONG 1-sheet. I sold movie posters for the majority of my life. It is my favorite film, my favorite poster that I could ever acquire – and I’ll die owning it. But watching Christopher Lee express this same sort of feeling… is CLASSIC! This is a sexy film – everybody is fucking everybody – and it is a society that I could give a shit about, but damn the ladies are hot and Heather Graham in a Lesbian scene… well, I’m easy sometimes. Ok. A lot of times. But at least I know what makes me easy.
RETURN OF THE 5 DEADLY VENOMS
Is this really the first domestic DVD release of this? This is a BUTT-NUMB-A-THON classic – at that particular BNAT it was known under its far better title, CRIPPLED AVENGERS – and I know you’ve probably see a lot of martial arts films – but have you ever seen paraplegic martial arts? There’s all manners of disabled martial arts going on here – and IT WILL BLOW YOUR FUCKING MIND all over the wall behind your chair or couch or headboard. This is one of Chang Cheh’s most astonishingly outrageous and brilliant films over his amazing Shaw Brothers career. Fight choreography unlike anything you’ve ever seen – or are likely to ever see again. The stuntwork is the sort of work that you playback to friends to show them shit they’ve never seen before. This – this is a favorite new thing in your life. OR – you clicked instantly upon seeing it –because you know what this title is and how fucking jaw-droppingly amazing this movie is. One of my favorite films to whip out and mindfuck folks with.
FEAST (Blu Ray)
Another FANTASTIC FEST bit of fun! I remember everyone expecting this to be a trainwreck after following that crazy Weinstein Television experiment – BUT – the surprise was on all of us – when we laughed and jumped and squealed with cult movie fun. I don’t get very scared by it, but it does get me giggling through a great deal of it. If you want that type of horror film – this is one to get. Here’s the extras that Amazon says are on this:
“The DVD includes a smattering of outtakes and deleted scenes (including an alternate ending); commentary by Gulager, the screenwriters, and two of the film's numerous producers; and a making-of featurette, which Project Greenlight viewers should find interesting solely for producers Chris Moore and Michael Leahy's attitudes towards Gulager (both were a hair's breath away from firing him throughout the production, but here, amusingly suggest unconditional support).”
I’m definitely picking this one up.
AFTERSCHOOL
An incredibly disturbing and cynical look at today’s wired youth that learn behavior from BREAK.COM apparently. Watching this will give you second doubts about having kids – or having the internet and having kids. Very very disturbing film. You have been warned. Only for people that thought KIDS and BULLY were “cool” – like me.
PORNO
This Portuguese language sexual oddity is really fucking bizarre. There’s Lesbian Erotica set to Jerry Goldsmith’s STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE Ilia & Decker theme. There’s a scene where a guy gives a girl a big, live, creepy looking Grasshopper to masturbate with… she allows the grasshopper to stroke her clit, and she acts like (or really is) brought to orgasmic bliss by the grasshopper. She dismisses her lover, and puts the bug back to work as the soundtrack belts out “BORN FREE!” There is shit in this movie that you can never unsee. I’m serious. But you’re likely to laugh like a hyena throughout! Not really hardcore, but disturbingly hot – especially when they use the Goldsmith music for Lesbianism. That’s just somehow perfect.
DOLEMITE: THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE (DOLEMITE / THE HUMAN TORNADO / PETEY WHEATSTRAW / DISCO GODFATHER / RUDE / THE LEGEND OF DOLEMITE / LIVE AT WETLANDS / THE DOLEMITE EXPLOSION)
If you like BLACK DYNAMITE – you really do owe it to yourself to see the real thing. DOLEMITE MOTHERFUCKER, that’s where it’s at! I’m so happy I got to meet the legend before his time allotted on Earth was interrupted by an unbelievable battle in the afterlife – and I’m convinced if anyone can come back from Death’s domain, it would be DOLEMITE! DOLEMITE, where are you when we need you most? Those first 4 titles are bliss. And I’m curious to see THE DOLEMITE EXPLOSION. If you love things to be outrageous – this set is for you!
MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS (Blu Ray)
Ok classic comedy fans – this is our first glimpse of Laurel & Hardy on Blu Ray. Now, personally I would have preferred WAY OUT WEST first – as it is my favorite Laurel & Hardy film – but I’ve always enjoyed MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS – there’s some amazing sight gags and the usual overload of charisma from these two wonderful performers. The elegance with which they make you laugh is just absolutely delightful. I’m hoping this is a good release – I could do without the COLOR version, all I’m looking for is a great crisp 1080p B&W copy – and that’s allegedly on here.
MANDINGO (Blu Ray)
Can you believe MANDINGO is on Blu Ray? Veterans of “The 7th Voyage of Butt-Numb-A-Thon” may remember the awesome of DRUM – this is the prequel to that film (which came out first, making DRUM the sequel) Ken Norton plays the title character – James Mason plays the evil plantation owner – and he does it with relish and zeal. Directed by Richard Fleischer, scored by Maurice Jarre… the insanity of this film gives us incest, shocking interracial acts (at the time) and actual nudity. Susan George must be seen in this. Remember, MANDINGO lit the fuse and DRUM is the explosion… hopefully that’ll hit Blu Ray soon too!!!
Next week we get the Director’s cut of ROBIN HOOD, SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND 1st season, TINKER BELL & THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE, AMERICAN BEAUTY Blu, EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS, 1st season of THE HUMAN TARGET, CHARADE (Criterion Blu), THE SECRET OF MOONACRE, Joseph Campbell on POWER OF MYTH with Bill Moyers, HE’S YOUR DOG CHARLIE BROWN, ONDINE, 1st season of BORED TO DEATH, PEACEMAKER (Blu), THE EXPERIMENT, GAMERA VS GYAOS / GAMERA VS VIRAS, VIGILANTE (Blu), GAMERA VS GUIRON / GAMERA VS JIGER, FANTOMAS: FIVE FILM COLLECTION and that’s about it. A much lighter load than the past two weeks – it will be on time.
