Scorpion Releasing blus GRIZZLY (review)

Christopher George, Andrew Prine, and Richard Jaecek star in William Girdler's JAWS-on-land drive-in picture GRIZZLY, one of the highest grossing independent horror films until HALLOWEEN broke the record two years later.  A giant killer grizzly bear is picking off the campers during tourist season at a national park.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

GRIZZLY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• Filtered and Unfiltered Encodes
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono and 5.1 remix (on both versions)
• Isolated Music and Effects Track (on both versions)
• "Jaws with Claws" featurette
• Q&A with Andrew Prine and David Sheldon
• Katarina's Fun Facts and Triva
• Theatrical Trailer 

Available exclusively from Screen Archives!  Limited to 3,000 copies.

Scream Factory presents THE DUNGEONMASTER/ELIMINATORS (review)

Scream Factory's double feature includes two thriller Empire Pictures productions from the eighties.  In THE DUNGEONMASTER, tech wiz Paul and his fiancee Gwen are transported to a netherworld dimension and challenged by the demonic Mestema to a series of challenges for their freedom.  In ELIMINATORS, a half-human, half-robot mandroid seeks revenge against his creator's murderer.  Denise Crosby, Roy Dotrice, and Andrew Prine star.

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE DUNGEONMASTER/ELIMINATORS Blu-ray specs:

• The Dungeonmaster (1984):
• Unrated international RAGEWAR version
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Eliminators (1986):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with director Peter Manoogian
• Theatrical Trailer for THE DUNGEONMASTER

Etiquette Pictures tries to CATCH MY SOUL (review)

Singers Richie Havins and Tony Joe White, Season Hubley, Susan Tyrrell, and THE A TEAM's Lance LeGault star in this rare seventies rock opera adaptation of Shakespeare's OTHELLO set in a New Mexico commune.  A Manson-esque Iago tries to drive a wedge between wandering preacher Othello and his bride Desdemona, leading to tragedy and murder.

REVIEW LINK: Etiquette Pictures (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

CATCH MY SOUL Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Drink the Wine, Eat the Bread" making-of featurette
• "The Deacon Speaks" Interview with actor Tony Joe White
• "True Soul" featurette on cinematographer Conrad Hall
• Promotional Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot

 

Time Life salutes CPO SHARKEY: SEASON 2 (review)

Don Rickles is back as the foul-tempered CPO SHARKEY in season two of this short-lived sitcom.  The chief petty officer tries to keep his recruits out of trouble, please the new captain, and step up his love life amidst visiting officers, marine brawls, the integration of female officers, and the various schemes of his recruits.

REVIEW LINK: Time Life (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

CPO SHARKEY: SEASON 2 DVD specs:

• 22 episodes on three dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• English Closed Captioning
• 2015 Cast Reunion

LionsGate gets infected with COOTIES (review)

Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad, and Jorge Garcia star in this horror comedy as beleaguered elementary school teachers whose fourth grade students have been infected with a virus that has turned them into flesh-eating ghouls.  From the co-creators of GLEE and SAW!

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

COOTIES Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Allison Pill, Ian Brennan, Leigh Whannell, Jonathan Milott, and Cary Murnion
• "Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot. . .Catching Cooties" featurette
• Deleted/Alternate/Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Alternate Ending with Optional Commentary
• "Talking Cooties" featurette
• Digital HD Download Code

Scorpion Releasing yanks its JOYSTICKS (review)

Greydon Clark's naughty and hysterical sex comedy JOYSTICKS hits Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.  When a conservative businessman wants to shut down the local video arcade, the geeks, the girls, and the jocks must band together against his nefarious schemes.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

JOYSTICKS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director Greydon Clark
• Interview with director Greydon Clark
• Theatrical Trailer 

Available exclusively from Screen Archives!

Scorpion Releasing goes WHERE THE BOYS ARE (review)

Flamboyant producer Allan Carr (GREASE) heads to the beach with this eighties sex comedy remake of the sixties film WHERE THE BOYS ARE.  Four East Coast college girls head to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break in search of parties, sex, and love.  Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, Lynn Holly Johnson, Lisa Hartman, Christopher McDonald, and Russell Todd star.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

WHERE THE BOYS ARE '84 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo
• Interviews with actors Russell Todd and Wendy Schaal
• Theatrical Trailer 

Limited to 2000 copies and available exclusively through Screen Archives!

Scorpion Releasing gazes into THE WILD EYE (review)

Philippe Leroy, Gabriel Tinti, Lars Bloch, and Delia Boccardo star in this semi-autobiographical expose of the Italian Mondo films and the shock tactics of their filmmakers.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE WILD EYE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with actor Lars Bloch
• Theatrical Trailer

Available exclusively from Screen Archives!

Arrow Video USA sets an alarm to WAKE UP AND KILL (review)

Robert Hoffman (SPASMO), Lisa Gastoni (SUBMISSION), and Gian Maria Volonte (A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) star in this noir thriller from Carlo Lizzani (BANDITS IN MILAN) about the true life exploits of Italian thief Luciano Lutring.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray/Region 1/2 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

WAKE UP AND KILL Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen transfers of two cuts of the film
• Italian LPCM 2.0 mono (Italian version)
• English LPCM 2.0 mono (English version)
• DVD: 
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfers of two cuts of the film
• Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (Italian version)
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (English version)
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles
• Italian Theatrical Cut (123 minutes) and English export version (97 minutes)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist.
• Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Robert Curti, author of Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980.

Arrow Video asks WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (review)

Fabio Testi (HEROIN BUSTERS), Karin Baal (DEAD EYES OF LONDON), Joachim Fuchsberger (FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG), Christina Galbo (LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE), and Camille Keaton (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE) star in this seminal Italian giallo/German krimi hybrid about grisly murders at a Catholic girls school in London that are related to the disappearance of a French girl named Solange.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray/Region 1/2 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? Blu-ray/DVD specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles for the Italian track and English SDH for the English track
• Branching Options to watch the film with English or Italian credits
• Audio Commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
• Interviews:
• star Karin Baal
• star Fabio Testi
• producer Fulvio Lucisano
• "Innocence Lost" visual essay by Michael Mackenzie
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by MALLEUS and a booklet featuring brand new writing on the film, illustrated with original stills

Severin Films unearths COUNT DRACULA (review)

Christopher Lee stars in Jess Franco's attempted faithful retelling of the Bram Stoker novel in COUNT DRACULA.  A London lawyer travels to Transylvania to close a real estate deal with Count Dracula only to bring the vampire plague back with him to England, threatening his fiancee and others.  Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Maria Rohm, Soledad Miranda, Jack Taylor, and Fred Williams star.

REVIEW LINK: Severin Films (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

COUNT DRACULA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by actress Maria Rohm, moderated by David Del Valle
• "Beloved Count" interview with director Jess Franco
• A Conversation with actor Jack Taylor
• "Handsome Harker" interview with actor Fred Williams
• "Stake Holders" an appreciation by French director Christophe Gans
• Christopher Lee reads "Bram Stoker's DRACULA" Alternate German, French, Italian, and Spanish Title Sequences
• German Theatrical Trailer
• Pere Portabella's avant-garde behind the scenes documentary CUADECUC, VAMPIR (66 minutes)

Well Go USA trains THE GOLDEN CANE WARRIOR (review)

REVIEW LINK: Well Go USA (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE GOLDEN CANE WARRIOR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• Indonesian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

LionsGate activates AMERICAN ULTRA (review)

THE SOCIAL NETWORK's Jesse Eisenberg and TWILIGHT's Kristen Stewart star in this stoner spy thriller about a convenience store clerk who discovers that he is a lethal weapon when CIA assassins set out to eliminate him.  NASHVILLE's Connie Britton, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's Tony Hale, THAT 70'S SHOW's Topher Grace, ICE AGE's John Leguizamo, and LOST HIGHWAY's Bill Pullman also star.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray/Region 1 NTSC DVD/Digital HD combo (DVDCompare)

AMERICAN ULTRA Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS:X (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 core), English DTS 2.0 stereo (optimized for late night listening), Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH, English, and Spanish subtitles
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 
• Optional English and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary with Director Nima Nourizadeh
• "Activating American Ultra" documentary
• "Assassinating on a Budget" featurette
• Gag Reel
• Digital HD code

Simply Media presents THE BROTHERS: SERIES 2 (review)

Series two of THE BROTHERS charts the fortunes of the Hammond brothers as they try to run their late father's transport company (with his mistress on the board) as they deal with shady rivals, ruthless clients, lovers, exes, and the schemes of their domineering mother.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE BROTHERS: SERIES 2 DVD specs:

• Thirteen episodes on four dual-layered discs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles

Strand Releasing seeks GUIDANCE (Review)

Former Canadian child actor Pat Mills stars in this semi-autobiographical comedy as an ex-child actor and all-around trainwreck who gets fired from his latest non-union voiceover job and fakes a resume to become a high school guidance counselor.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

GUIDANCE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Interview with star/writer/director Pat Mills
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Film Movement attends THE DINNER (review)

Alessandro Gassman and Giovanna Mezzogiorno star in this Italian adaptation of the best-selling novel by Herman Koch.  The ideological gulf between the convictions of a doctor and his high-powered attorney brother are tested when they suspect that their own children are responsible for a hate crime against a homeless woman.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE DINNER DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles and English Closed Captioning
• Behind the Scenes
• Production Montage
• Theatrical Trailer

Videonomicon resurrects SCIENCE CRAZED (review)

When the Shelley Institute cuts off funding for his unusual growth experiments, Dr. Wilbur Frank injects a woman with his growth serum and she gives birth overnight to a deformed child who soon grows into a hulking full-grown man.  As Frank's creature goes on a murderous rampage throughout the corridors of the institute, his assistants and a hard-boiled detective may be the only help for people too stupid to run away from the monster.

REVIEW LINK: Videonomicon (Canada) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

SCIENCE CRAZED DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Canuxploitation.com's Paul Corupe and Rewind This!'s Josh Johnson 
• "I Survived Science Crazed: Terry Jones Speaks" interview with actor Cameron Klein
• "Cameron Klein's Science Crazed Q&A" audio interview with still gallery
• "Cameron's Grim Stitch Factory" interview with Cameron Scholes 
• "Science Crazed Changes Everything" interview with Pontypool author Tony Burgess
• Home Video Trailer
• Trailer for "Ryan's Babe"
• DVD-ROM features include two promotional stills, a sell sheet, and an .mp3 music cue.
• Liner Notes Booklet by Ben Ruffett and Josh Johnson 
• Easter Eggs

LionsGate investigates MR. HOLMES (review)

Ian McKellen reunites with GODS AND MONSTERS director Bill Condon in this intriguing speculation on the great detective's retirement and his eagerness to recall the details of his final case.  Laura Linney also stars.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

MR. HOLMES DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• English Closed Captioning
• Behind the Scenes Clips
• Theatraical Trailer
• Digital Download Code

Olive Films has A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA (review)

John Mills, Luciana Paluzzi, and Robert Hoffmann star in this sixties Italian/German thriller from Massimo Dallamano.  A Hamburg narcotics detective pursuing an elusive underworld figure is driven to distraction and jealousy by his much younger wife.  When he captures the assassin who has been taking out witnesses on his case, he hires the man to kill his wife but her charms could cause the killer to double cross him.

REVIEW LINK: Olive Films (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono

Arrow Video USA blesses REQUIESCANT (review)

Lou Castel (ORGASMO), Mark Damon (THE DEVIL'S WEDDING NIGHT), and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini (SALO) star in this political western from director Carlo Lizzani (HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET).  The only survivor of a massacre of Mexican revolutionaries double-crossed in a government land deal, Requiescant grows up with a traveling Protestant couple.  When the couple's daughter runs away with a dancing troupe, Requiescant goes to find her and his natural born sharpshooting abilities help him when up against the corrupt George Bellow Ferguson and his dissolute hired guns.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray/Region 1,2 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

REQUIESCANT Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles (for Italian audio) and English SDH subtitles (for English audio)
• Interview with actor Lou Castel
• Interview with director Carlo Lizzani
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Cover
• Liner Notes Booklet

Scorpion Releasing on the run with BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW (review)

Before Lynda Carter was WONDER WOMAN, she was an excitement-starved car hop who wanted to be a country singer.  Her boyfriend was a hustler who dreamed he was Billy the Kid.  Together with her fellow car hop, her sister, and her sister's lover, they take to the road and rob banks like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.  Marjoe Gortner, Merrie Lynn Ross, Jesse Vint, and Belinda Balaski star.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director Mark L. Lester
• Interview with director Mark L. Lester
• Interview with actress/producer Merrie Lynn Ross
• Interview with actress Belinda Balaski

Arrow Video USA vents its BLOOD RAGE (review)

The Flordia-lensed eighties slasher BLOOD RAGE hits Blu-ray for all to appreciate the thoroughly splashy gore of Ed French that was slashed down by the MPAA theatrically and too dark to see on the home video versions ("That's not cranberry juice...").  Louise Lasser stars.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD combo (DVD Drive-in)

BLOOD RAGE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Limited Three Disc (2 Blu-ray, 1 DVD) Edition
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 stereo
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Uncut Video Version from a 2K scan of the original negative
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director John Grissmer
• Interview with star Mark Soper
• Interview with star Louise Lasser
• Interview with actor Ted Raimi
• Interview with producer/actress Marianne Kanter
• Interview with effects artist Ed French
• "Return to Shadow Woods" locations visit
• Video Title Sequence
• Photo Gallery
• Limited Third Disc (Blu-ray) featuring the alternate R-rated cut NIGHTMARE AT SHADOW WOODS, a composite cut with footage unique to NIGHTMARE AT SHADOW WOODS incorporated into the uncut version, and a rare outtakes reel
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach
• Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joseph A. Ziemba, author of BLEEDING SKULL! A 1980s Trash-Horror Odyssey

Vinegar Syndrome delves into CORRUPTION (review)

Singular golden age porn auteur Roger Watkins' dark and fantastical CORRUPTION hits Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome on Black Friday!  Jamie Gillis stars as a businessman who has sold his soul for power only to realize how little control he has over his destiny when he is double-crossed by one of his underlings.  George Payne, Michael Gaunt, Kelly Nichols, and Vanessa del Rio also star.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

CORRUPTION Blu-ray specs:

• 2K scan from the original camera negatives
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
• Interview with cinematographer Larry Revene
• Theatrical Trailer
• Pressbook Gallery
• The Easter Egg to End All Easter Eggs!

Slasher Video hunts DEADLY PREY for THE DEADLIEST PREY (review)

REVIEW LINK: Slasher Video/Olive Films (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

DEADLY PREY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080i60 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Interview with make-up artist Jack Hojohn
• Photo Gallery
• Outtakes
• Trailer

THE DEADLIEST PREY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo
• Interviews with actor Ted Prior, actor David Prior, actor David Campbell, and actor Fritz Matthews

Well Go USA presents PARTISAN (review)

Vincent Cassel stars in this slow-burn thriller about a young boy who grows up in a mysterious compound and is trained to be an assassin at the age of eleven by a mentor/father figure whose benevolent facade hides deep-seated rage and violence.

REVIEW LINK: Well Go USA (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

PARTISAN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Interviews with director Ariel Kleiman and actor Vincent Cassel
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Film Movement under a FULL MOON IN PARIS (review)

Eric Rohmer's romantic comedy FULL MOON IN PARIS comes to Blu-ray from Film Movement.  Having transitioned smoothly from her parents' home to the homes of her boyfriends (falling for next one while falling out of love with the previous), Louise has never experienced loneliness.  Feeling trapped in the suburbs, she announces to her boyfriend Remi that she is not going to rent her apartment but plans to sleep there on the weekends after partying in Paris.  As she tries to assuage his jealousy, her own is peaked by guilt and suspicion.  Pascale Ogier, Fabrice Luchini, and Tcheky Karyo star.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

FULL MOON IN PARIS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with actress Pascale Ogier
• 2015 and original theatrical trailers
• Liner Notes Booklet by David Thomson

88 Films enrolls in SPLATTER UNIVERSITY (review)

The Troma pickup SPLATTER UNIVERSITY hits Blu-ray in the UK courtesy of 88 Films.  Forced to retake sociology after their "stupid teacher got murdered" the previous semester, the students of St. Trinian's discover that their are worse things than failing midterms when a knife-wielding killer starts slicing his way through student bodies and the faculty.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SPLATTER UNIVERSITY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director/editor Richard W. Haines
• "Splatter Scholar" interview with slasher expert Justin Kerswell
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Bonus feature: What Really Frightens You

Second Run hails ALL MY GOOD COUNTRYMEN (review)

Vojtech Jasny's banned 1969 masterpiece presents a series of scenes of country life after WWII as a group of friends find their relationships ruptured by the onset of communism with opportunism and vindictiveness leading to abuse, arrests, and murder.

REVIEW LINK: Second Run DVD (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

ALL MY GOOD COUNTRYMEN DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.37:1 fullscreen
• Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Short film "Bohemian Rhapsody"
• Liner Notes Booklet by Peter Hames

Blue Underground and Tony Anthony GET MEAN (review)

The Stranger (BLINDMAN's Tony Anthony) returns in the sprawling adventure GET MEAN as the cowboy is hired to provide safe passage for a gypsy princess to her kingdom in Spain and finds himself in the middle of a battle between Moors and Vikings.  Diana Lorys, Mirta Miller, Lloyd Battista, and Raf Baldassare star.

REVIEW LINK: Blue Underground (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

GET MEAN Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by producer/star Tony Anthony, co-writer/star Lloyd Battista, and executive producer Ronald J. Schneider
• "The Story of the Stranger" interview with producer/star Tony Anthony
• "Looking for Richard" interview with co-writer/star Lloyd Battista
• "Beating a Dead Horse" interview with executive producer Ronald J. Schneider
• "Tony & I" intervew with director Ferdinando Baldi
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• French Trailer
• Four Radio Spots
• Poster & Still Gallery 
• Liner Notes Booklet by Spaghetti Western expert Howard Hughes

Scream Factory stares into the WHITE OF THE EYE (review)

Director Donald Cammell (DEMON SEED, PERFORMANCE) proves into the WHITE OF THE EYE with this long neglected eighties serial killer thriller starring David Keith, Cathy Moriarty, Art Evans, Alan Rosenberg, and Alberta Watson.

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray/Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

WHITE OF THE EYE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Donald Cammell biographer Sam Umland
• "Into the White" interview with cinematographer Larry McConkey
• "Into the Vortex" interview with actor Alan Rosenberg
• "Eye of the Needle" interview with actor Art Evans
• Deleted Scenes (with commentary by Sam Umland)
• Alternate Credit Sequence
• Bleach Bypass Sequences

Cinema Libre tracks ROTOR DR1 (review)

In the world's first drone community collaborated feature film ROTOR DR1, a young man in a post-apocalyptic world comes upon a strange drone that may be a clue to the whereabouts of his long-lost father.  Taking to the road with a runaway, they follow the drone's path and encounter various dangers along the way.

REVIEW LINK: Cinema Libre (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

ROTOR DR1 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Chad Kapper, writer Megan Ryberg, and actors Christian Kapper & Steve Moses
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Outtakes
• Featurettes:
• "What is Rotor DR1"
• "Drone Race"
• "First/Last Shoot Days"
• "Maya Screen Test"
• "Original Test Footage"
• "Rotor Science/Tech"
• "Rotor Community Concept"
• Timelapse Storyboards
• Trailers
• Previews 

indiepix casts a WHITE SHADOW (review)

The award-winning WHITE SHADOW is the story of Alias, an Albino teenager sent to live with his uncle in Dar Es Salaam after his father is brutally murdered by hunters who supply Albino parts to witch doctors.  He hopes that he is leaving superstition behind in the villages but finds little difference between the outback and the city in the struggle to survive.

REVIEW LINK: IndiePix (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

WHITE SHADOW DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Swahili Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Behind the Scenes segments and Deleted Scenes

Arrow Video suffers THE TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES (review)

Before THE BOOGEYMAN and THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR, Ulli Lommel honed his horror skills in Germany with this arty take on the murders of Fritz Haarmann, the country's first serial killer.  Working with writer/star Kurt Raab and mentor Rainer Werner Fassbinder's stable of talented actors and crew, Lommel presents a vivid and intimate portrait of a murderer and the situations in post-war Germany that enabled him to seduce and murder as many as forty young men.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region AB Blu-ray/Region 1/2 DVD Combo (DVD Drive-in)

THE TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• German LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• German Dolby Digital 1.0
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Ulli Lommel, moderated by Uwe Huber
• Interviews with Ulli Lommel, actor Rainer Will, and cinematographer Jurgen Jurges
• An Appreciation by Stephen Thrower
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Booklet

Strand Releasing assumes A BORROWED IDENTITY (review)

When Palestinian Eyad is accepted into a prestigious school in Jerusalem, he encounters bigotry from some of his Jewish classmates but also finds love with Naomi and friendship with Yonatan, a student with Muscular Dystrophy.  As American troops march into Iraq and tensions between Israelis and Palestinians heat up, Eyad finds himself in a smaller version of the conflict as he must choose between his future and the happiness of those he has come to care about.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

A BORROWED IDENTITY DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• Hebrew/Arabic Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews 

Wild Eye Releasing tunes into THE HORROR NETWORK (review)

"It's prime time for evil" when Wild Eye Releasing tunes into THE HORROR NETWORK.  Five stories of ultimate horror include a woman on an isolated farm tormented by strange phone calls and things that go bump in the night, a patient who tries to convince his psychiatrist that his sleepwalking is something far more sinister, a deaf girl stalked through the countryside by a mysterious van driver, a mother and daughter's legacy of brutal abuse, and a suburban psycho who could be your next door neighbor (or worse).  From the creators of TRASHOLOGY.

REVIEW LINK: Wild Eye Releasing (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

THE HORROR NETWORK DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic widescreen (multiple aspect ratios from 1.76:1 to 2.98:1)
• English/Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Burnt-in English subtitles (for the Spanish dialogue)
• Alternate cut of "The Deviant One"
• Image Gallery
• Trailer
• Previews

Film Movement tells MARIE'S STORY (review)

Based on a true story, a turn of the century French nun at a convent school for the deaf takes on the momentous challenge of teaching a blind and deaf young girl how to connect with the outside world.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

MARIE'S STORY DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles and English Closed Captioning
• English Descriptive Audio Track
• Making-of
• Theatrical Trailer
• Short Film 'Motherly' by Navid Nikkhah Azad
• Previews 

Film Movement studies the STATIONS OF THE CROSS (Review)

A member of a fundamentalist Catholic sect, fourteen year old Maria is estranged from her classmates and is told by her religion to look inwards for the blame for the torments she feels when met with experiencing the new feelings of a teenage girl just a week before her confirmation as a "warrior of Christ."  With visions of self-sacrifice in her heart, young Maria may be on her way to sainthood sooner than anyone expected.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region 1 NTSC (DVDBeaver)

STATIONS OF THE CROSS DVD specs: 

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles and English Closed Captioning
• Audio Commentary by director Dietrich Brüggemann
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus Short Film "One Shot" by Dietrich Brüggemann
• Previews

Marty Gross Films visits KYOTO: HEART OF JAPAN (review)

Kon Ichikawa's memorable, unclassifiable art film documentary KYOTO, commissioned by Olivetti Arte as a goodwill present to Japan, is memorable less for its informative content than for the director's visual exploration of the Kyoto landmarks and cultural traditions accompanied by the scoring of famed composer Toru Takemitsu.

REVIEW LINK: Marty Gross Films (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

KYOTO: HEART OF JAPAN DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English, Japanese, or Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono narration tracks
• Kyoto and Tokyo Premiere Footage

Arrow Films counsels DAG: SEASON ONE (review)

In this dark Norwegian sitcom, Dag is a marriage counselor who has come to the conclusion after a hundred patients that people are better off alone.  Nine out of ten of his patients have divorced and his secretary - whose kink is other people's misery - has him counseling more unconventional couples.  Meanwhile, his best friend is trying to escape the wrath of his ex-girlfriend's family of Serbian butchers and his sister is trying to set him up with eligible women who range from the quirky to he unstable.  When his sister's bed friend Eva comes home after being a hippie for ten years in Goa, she sees Dag as a challenge, and both find themselves exploring new relationships even as their friends give them plenty of evidence that couplehood is more miserable than loneliness.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Films (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

DAG: SEASON ONE DVD specs:

• Ten episodes on two discs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles

Oscilloscope Laboratories explores LA CIUDAD (THE CITY) (review)

Shot between 1992 and 1997, LA CIUDAD was an intimate attempt by filmmaker David Riker to tell the stories of Latin American immigrants in New York City in their own words.  A day laborer meets a tragic end at a job site, a young man far away from home falls in love with a girl also from his village, a homeless puppeteer tries his best to raise his daughter, and a seamstress in a sweatshop discovers that her daughter is in a hospital back in Mexico and needs $400 for treatment.

REVIEW LINK: Oscilloscope Laboratories (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

LA CIUDAD (THE CITY) DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Spanish/English/Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• Making-of featurette (in English with optional Spanish subtitles)
• Fifteen Years Later: Director and Cast discussion (in Spanish with optional English subtitles)
• Theatrical Trailer

Vinegar Syndrome's THE EXECUTIONER PART II and FROZEN SCREAM (review)

Vinegar Syndrome's latest Drive-in Collection volume showcases two works by producer/actress Renee Harmon.  In THE EXECUTIONER, PART II (from DON'T GO IN THE WOODS' James Bryan), Chris Mitchum hunts a masked vigilante blowing up pushers, pimps, and punks with live grenades.  Aldo Ray also stars.  In FROZEN SCREAM, a detective investigates the connection between a series of grisly murders and a doctor's extended consciousness experiments.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE EXECUTIONER, PART II/FROZEN SCREAM DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• THE EXECUTIONER, PART II mastered in 2K from the original 35mm negatives
• FROZEN SCREAM mastered in 2K from the original 16mm negatives
• "The Executioner's Song" interview with director James Bryan
• Theatrical Trailer for THE EXECUTIONER, PART II

Film Movement seduces THE MARQUISE OF O (review)

In Eric Rohmer's mannered by gorgeous adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist's tale of "forced seduction" a widowed marquise is rescued by a Russian count from being dishonored by soldiers only to find herself pregnant without knowing how it occurred.  Although the marquise is thrown out of her father's home, she is shocked when the count proposes marriage to her.  Bruno Ganz stars.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE MARQUISE OF O... Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 fullscreen
• German LPCM 2.0 mono
• Interview with Eric Rhomer
• Interview with actor Bruno Ganz
• Original and 2015 Theatrical Trailers
• Booklet by critic David Thomson

Wolfe Video revisits BIG EDEN (review)

Arye Gross, Eric Schweig, Tim DeKay, and Louise Fletcher star in the celebrated gay love story BIG EDEN getting its fifteenth anniversary release on Blu-ray from Wolfe Video.  When NYC artist Henry Hart learns that his grandfather has had a stroke, he drops everything and heads home to Montana and confronts old baggage and new love.

REVIEW LINK: Wolfe Video (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BIG EDEN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Tom Bezucha
• "BIG EDEN: A Look Back" featurette with Tom Bezucha and actors Arye Gross, Eric Schweig, Tim DeKay, and Louise Fletcher
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Arrow Films peers through FOG AND CRIMES: SEASON 3 (review)

In the third and final season of FOG AND CRIMES, Luca Barbareschi's cop finds himself solving high profile murders in Turin while dealing with his troubled relationship with lawyer Angela, a runaway child, and a nest of murders and lies among the elite.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Films (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

FOG AND CRIMES: SEASON THREE DVD specs:

• Four feature-length episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.78:1 letterbox
• Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles 

Wolfe Video cruises IN THE GRAYSCALE (review)

Driven by a gnawing feeling of something not working in his life, a thirty-something architect moves away from his wife and child.  When he accepts a challenging job to build a landmark in Santiago, Chile, he is paired with a quirky gay historian and finds himself questioning his sexual identity.

REVIEW: Wolfe Video (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

IN THE GRAYSCALE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Simply Media revisits MY WIFE NEXT DOOR (review)

In the seventies Britcom co-created by Brian Clemens (THE AVENGERS) MY WIFE NEXT DOOR, George and Suzy have divorced after two years living apart and both have realized they need a change.  When they end up moving in to neighboring country cottages, they engage in a standoff to make the other move, to make each other jealous, and to keep each other out of their lives... but love is always lovelier the second time around.

REVIEW LINK: Simply Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

MY WIFE NEXT DOOR DVD specs:

• Thirteen episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles

Acorn Media and RLJ learn NEW TRICKS: SERIES 12 (review)

The crew of the Unsolved and Open Case squad bid farewell after twelve years in the final ten episodes.  As new evidence is discovered and new tips are sent in, the squad re-opens cases from the past decades to solve a series of murders while dealing with their troubled personal lives and police and government politics.  Larry Lamb, Denis Lawson, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tamzin Outhwaite, and Dennis Waterman star.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media/RLJ Entertainment (US) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

NEW TRICKS: SERIES 12 DVD specs:

• Ten episodes on three dual-layer discs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Top Ten Series Moments
• Cast Filmographies
• Picture Gallery

Big World Pictures presents REBELS OF THE NEON GOD (Review)

A young man quits school for the bright lights of Taipei and falls in with a small time thief in this HD restoration of Tsai Ming-Liang's 1992 masterpiece.

REVIEW LINK: Big World Pictures (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

REBELS OF THE NEON GOD DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Arrow Video pets EDGAR ALLAN POE'S BLACK CATS (review)

Two giallo-tinged adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's classic story "The Black Cat" get the HD overhaul on Arrow Video's Blu-ray set.  In Lucio Fulci's "The Black Cat" (1981), a photographer in an English village becomes involved in the investigation of a series of freak deaths she comes to believe are the work of a black cat belonging to a medium conducting experiments with the dead.  David Warbeck, Mimsy Farmer, and Patrick Magee star.  In Sergio Martino's "Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" (1972), a series of murders in a small Padua village have a drunken author and his mentally fragile wife believing his is responsible.  Luigi Pistilli, Anita Strindberg, and Edwige Fenech star.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray/Region 1/2 DVD combo (DVD Drive-in)

EDGAR ALLAN POE'S BLACK CATS Blu-ray/DVD combo:

• The Black Cat (1981):
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the English track and English subtitles for the Italian audio
• Audio Commentary by Fangoria's Chris Alexander
• "Poe Into Fulci" featurette with Stephen Thrower
• "In the Paw-Prints of the Black Cat" visit to the locations
• "Frightened Dagmar" inteview with actress Dagmar Lassander
• "At Home with David Warbeck" 70 minute interview from 1995
• Theatrical Trailer
• Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972):
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the English track and English subtitles for the Italian track
• "Through the Keyhole" an interview with Sergio Martino
• "Unveiling the Vice" featurette with Sergio Martino, actress Edwige Fenech, and writer Ernesto Gastaldi
• "Dolls of Flesh and Blood" video essay by Michael Mackenzie on Martino's giallo films
• "The Strange Vice of Ms Fenech" tribute to actress Edwige Fenech
• "Eli Roth on YOUR VICE" featurette on the filmmaker
• Limited Edition with eighty-page booklet
• Reversible Covers

Kino Lorber unmasks THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (review)

Lon Chaney's classic horror role as THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA hits Blu-ray from Kino Lorber in its 1925 original and 1929 reissue versions with wealth of extras including four music score choices and a commentary explaining the differences between the two cuts of the film and the problems that plagued the production and its critical reception.

REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDBeaver)

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 fullscreen
• 1929 cut (24fps)
• Alloy Orchestra score LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Gaylord Carter score LPCM 2.0 stereo
• 1929 cut (20fps, 1080i) 
• Gabriel Thibaudeau orchestral score LPCM 2.0 mono
• Audio commentary by film historian/Lon Chaney expert Dr. Jon Mirsalis 
• Disc Two:
• 1925 cut (SD)
• Frederick Hodges score LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Excerpts of the Sound Edition
• Original Screenplay - scrolling text
• Theatrical Trailer
• Gabriel Thibaudeau Interview
• Burton Holmes Travel Pictures:
• "Paris from a Motor"
• "A Trip on the Seine" (3:30)