Arrow Academy presents THE ERIC ROHMER COLLECTION (Review)

This boxed set from Arrow Academy combines the six entries to Eric Rohmer's Moral Tales cycle follow-up Comedies and Proverbs as well as the two historical adaptsions THE MARQUISE OF O and PERCEVAL.  In THE MARQUISE OF O, a widow becomes an outcast when she cannot explain the circumstances in which she mysteriously became pregnant.  In PERCEVAL, the young Welsh knight endures various trials on his way to becoming a knight and learning the meaning behind The Grail.  In THE AVIATOR'S WIFE, a young man follows his girlfriend's other lover hoping to catch him with another woman but may find a better suited mate of his own on the journey.  In THE GREEN RAY, a young woman's vacation companion cancels on her at the last moment, inavertently putting her on the search for Mr. Right on a series of mini-vacations.  In PAULINE AT THE BEACH, Pauline spends the last two weeks of vacation with her newly-divorced aunt, both of whom find new opportunties at true love.  In A GOOD MARRIAGE, a young woman decides that she will get married even though she does not know who her husband will be.  In FULL MOON IN PARIS, a woman tries to keep an apartment in Paris and one in the suburbs with her boyfriend as she tries to find a balance between the fun-loving and mature halves of her life.  In MY GIRLFRIEND'S BOYFRIEND, two young women form a friendship and pursue men who seem better suited to the other.  In FOUR ADVENTURES OF REINETTE AND MIRABELLE, a city girl and a country girl move in together to attend university and find their personalities clashing even as their attitudes influence one another's actions on a series of adventures.  Finally, in THE TREE, THE MAYOR, AND THE MEDIATHEQUE, a politicial attempts to build a utopian community in the countryside and finds opposition to his good if increasingly suspect intentions.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Academy (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE ERIC ROHMER COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• Ten films on nine discs
• "The Marquise of O"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• German LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Archival Interview with actor Bruno Ganz
• "Nestor Almendros: Director of Photography" TV special 
• Theatical Trailer
• "Perceval"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Cine Regards: Perceval" TV special
• "Cine Regards: Eric Rohmer" TV special
• "The Aviator's Wife"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Éric Rohmer on The Aviator's Wife"
• "Changing Landscapes" short film
• Theatrical Trailer
• "The Green Ray"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Éric Rohmer on The Green Ray"
• "Richard Aoyade on The Green Ray"
• Archival interview with actress Marie Rivière
• Theatrical Trailer
• "Pauline at the Beach"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Éric Rohmer on Pauline at the Beach"
• Archival interview with actress Arielle Dombasile
• Theatrical Trailer
• "Full Moon in Paris"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles 
• Audio Interview with Éric Rohmer
• "Éric Rohmer on Full Moon in Paris"
• Archival Interview with actress Pascale Ogier
• "Effraction: Tchéky Karyo" television documentary
• Theatrical Trailer
• "A Good Marriage"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Éric Rohmer on A Good Marriage"
• Archival Interview with actor André Dussollier
• Theatrical Trailer
• "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• On-Set Interview
• Theatrical Trailer
• "The Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Archival Interview with actress Joëlle Miquel (5:05)
• "The Tree, The Mayor and the Mediatheque"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
• Limited edition 124-page book containing new writing on the film by Jonathan Romney, Geoff Andrew, Philip Lopate, Geoffrey Macnab, David Jenkins, Tara Judah, Sophie Monks Kaufman, Justine Smith, Andy Miller and Brad Stevens

Severin Films resurrects THE AMICUS COLLECTION (Review)

Amicus, "the studio that dripped blood", showcases three of its masterworks in this boxed set from Severin Films.  In ASYLUM, a young doctor must audition for his new job by determining which of five patients is actually his predecessor who went insane by listening to their stories, prompting five tales of terror adapted by Robert Bloch from his own short stories.  In AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, the new virginal bride of Fengriffen becomes the victim of a family curse involving an eyeless phantom and a crawling severed hand.  In THE BEAST MUST DIE, a millionaire gathers a group of guests at his remote estate to hunt down the werewolf among them.  Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Stephanie Beacham, Ian Ogilvy, Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers, Britt Ekland, Calvin Lockhart, Madeleine Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, and Michael Gambon are among the stars.


REVIEW LINK: Severin Films (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE AMICUS COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• DISC ONE: Asylum (1972)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Roy Ward Baker and camera operator Neil Binney
• "Two's A Company" 1972 television set visit
• "Inside the Fear Factory" interview with directors Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis, and producer Max J. Rosenberg
• David J. Schow Remembers Robert Bloch featurette
• Fiona Subostsky Remembers Milton Subotsky featurette
• Two Theatrical Trailers
• DISC TWO: And Now the Screaming Starts (1973)
•  1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Roy Ward Baker and star Stephnie Beacham
• Audio Commetnary by star Ian Ogilvy
• "The Haunting of Oakley Court" location visit by film historians Allan Bryce and David Flint
• Audio Inteview with Peter Cushing
• Denis Meikle Remembers AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spot
• DISC THREE: The Beast Must Die (1974)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Paul Annett
• "And Then There Were Werewolves" audio essay by Troy Howarth
• "Directing the Beast" interview with director Paul Annett
• Theatrical Trailer
• DISC FOUR: The Amicus Collection
•  Trailer Reel (64 minutes) with optional audio commentary by Kim Newman and David Flint
• Highlights from Philip Nutman's audio interviews with producer Milton J. Subotsky (3 hours)
• Audio Notes by producer Max J. Rosenberg (47 minutes)
• Easter Egg

Breaking Glass and the life of JESUS (review)

When youth Jesus and his best buddies get drunk and play pranks on another dead drunk teen, the fun turns deadly as they beat him into a coma.  He and his friends make a pact of silence about the crime but Jesus confesses to his father who must wonders how far he must go to protect his son "when the flesh of your flesh is rotten."

REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

JESUS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Neighboring Scenes Q and A
• Interview with director Fernando Guzzoni and actor Nicolas Duran
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Breaking Glass Pictures sings the BODY ELECTRIC (review)

Twenty-three year old Elias is a design assistant in a clothing factory.  A loner by nature, he spends his nights in a series of anonymous encounters but soon finds a makeshift family with his laboring co-workers when they must share a series of grueling overtime shifts for the holidays.  Impractical to travel home in the few hours between getting off work and going back, the group find ways to unwind together.  When his boss worries about him getting too close to the workers, Elias ponders whether his uncertain professional future is worth losing meaningful friendships he never had before.

REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

BODY ELECTRIC DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Interview with director Marcelo Caetano
• Short film "Ball"
• Trailer
• Previews

Breaking Glass checks into B and B (review)

In this tense British comic thriller, a gay couple who sued the Christian owner of a B and B for refusing them a bed come back to reap there rewards on a night fraught with danger as they are joined by a mysterious guest who may be out to kill them or someone else.


REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

B AND B DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• English Closed Captioning
• Behind the Scenes
• Cast and Crew Interviews
• Outtakes
• Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber searches for THE WHALES OF AUGUST (Review)

Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, and Harry Carey Jr. star in THE WHALES OF AUGUST about the complicated relationship between two sisters who have taken care of each other for the last fifty years of their adult lives as they are about to face great change.  From director Lindsay Anderson (BRITANNIA HOSPITAL, IF...).

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

THE WHALES OF AUGUST Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by producer Mike Kaplan, moderated by film critic Stephen Farber
• "Peer Talk" the raw September 1986 interviews with stars Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern and Harry Carey Jr. (73 minutes)
• "Behind the Camera" raw September 1986 interviews with director Lindsay Anderson, cinematographer Mike Fash and production designer Jocelyn Herbert (28 minutes)
• Interview with actress Mary Steenburgen
• Interview with actress Margaret Ladd
• Interview with actress Tisha Sterling
• Interview with executive producer Shep Gordon
• "Mike Kaplan Vignette 1: Bette Davis"
• "Mike Kaplan Vignette 2: Cab Ride"
• "Mike Kaplan Vignette 3: Cliff Island"
• "Never Apologize: Malcolm McDowell on Lindsay Anderson"
• Song "You Can Never Tell" performed by Tisha Sterling, written by Mike Kaplan 
• Limited edition 16-page booklet.

Arrow Video UK repossesses HOUSE IV (Review)

When her husband is killed in a fiery car accident, Kelly and her daughter move into his old family home.  Strange things begin to happen and they may not all be caused by her brother-in-law who wants the house for a toxic waste dump site.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (UK) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

HOUSE IV: THE REPOSSESSION Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Lewis Abernathy
• "Home Deadly Home: The Making of HOUSE IV" featurette
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Reversible Cover

Arrow Video UK takes in the horror show of HOUSE III (Review)

Serial killer "Meat Cleaver Max" (BLADE RUNNER's Brion James) has over 110 victims to his credit, and he's not gonna let the electric chair stop him.  His evil spirit transformed into pure energy infiltrates the home of the detective (PUMPKINHEAD's Lance Henriksen) and starts terrorizing his family.  Also known as THE HORROR SHOW.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (UK) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

HOUSE III: THE HORROR SHOW Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• R-Rated Theatrical Version or Unrated Version
• Audio Commentary by producer Sean S. Cunningham
• Interview with stunt coordinator Kane Hodder
• Interview with actress Rita Taggart
• "Slaughter Inc" interview with KNB Efx artists
• Behind the Scenes Footage
• Workprint Trims
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Reversible Cover

Kino Lorber drives ROLLING VENGEANCE (Review)

When drunk drivers kill his family, a young trucker turns his monster truck into a fire-breathing tank and pursues them with vengeance in mind.  Don Michael Paul, Lisa Howard, Lawrence Dane, and Ned Beatty star.

REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

ROLLING VENGEANCE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and film historian Jason Pichonsky
• Interview with actor Lawrence Dane
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Code Red learns that THE SLASHER IS THE SEX MANIAC (review)

A serial killer targets the unfaithful wives of the high society set and Farley Granger (ROPE) is on the case in the sleazy Italian giallo THE SLASHER IS THE SEX MANIAC.  Among the bevy of potential victims are Sylva Koscina, Femi Benussi, Susan Scott, Krista Nell, and more!  Theatrically released in the United States with hardcore inserts as PENETRATION!

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE SLASHER IS A SEX MANIAC Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Video Trailer
• Previews 

Code Red instructs THE CURIOUS FEMALE (review)

In the future when life is controlled by Master Computer, an underground cult screens forbidden works of Hollywood.  On this occasion, they take in THE THREE VIRGINS in which a dating service discovers the record presence of three virgins in the entirety of the university system and sets about placing them with mates for deflowering.

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE CURIOUS FEMALE Blu-ray specs:

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

Available from Ronin Flix and DiabolikDVD.

Film Movement predicts the TIME TO DIE (review)

Fresh off assisting Luis Bunuel on EXTERMINATING ANGEL, director Arturo Ripstein made his directorial debut with this fatalistic western written by Columbian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez with dialogue by Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes.  Just released after an eighteen year sentence for murder, Juan returns to his home to make up for lost time with the woman he loves only to discover that the two sons of the man he killed have sworn revenge on him.  While one of the brothers starts to question the truth of events that happened before he was born, the other's obsession with the vow he made to his father drives him to repeat the tragedies of the past.  Marga Lopez, Jorge Martinez de Hoyos, Enrique Roch, and Alfredo Leal star.

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

TIME TO DIE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• Spanish LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Arturo Ripstein and actor Enrique Rocha (in Spanish with English subtitles)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews
• Essay Booklet by Carlos A. Gutierrez

Kino Lorber under the CHINA MOON (review)

Small town Florida homicide detective Kyle Bodine finds himself on the wrong side of the law when his lover Rachel shoots her abusive husband in self-defense and he must hide the body and cover up their tracks.  Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Benicio del Toro, and Charles Dance star.

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

CHINA MOON Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director John Bailey and co-editor Carol Littleton
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber takes Bob Hope on a PARIS HOLIDAY (review)

Bob Hope is an American comedian in Paris to snag the rights to a hot script and falls in with a murderous group of counterfeiters.  His only hope is a beautiful state department agent, French comic Fernandel, and buxom Zara who may be trying to kill him.  Martha Hyer and Anita Ekberg also star.

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

PARIS HOLIDAY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Anita Ekberg Promotional Shampoo Ad
• Bob Hope Clip Reel

Vinegar Syndrome pulls KINKY TRICKS and CHINA LUST for REVEREND STAR (review)

In this trio of films of films from Nixon campaign filmmaker turned San Francisco adult filmmaker Charles DeSantos, THE SINFUL PLEASURES OF REVEREND STAR is about a cult who hypnotize innocent girls on the streets and turn them into sex slaves.  Candida Royale turns KINKY TRICKS to help her novelist boyfriend pay the rent, and Linda Wong tries to get her hands and thighs on a jade dildo called CHINA LUST.

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

THE SINFUL PLEASURES OF REVEREND STAR/KINKY TRICKS/CHINA LUST DVD specs:

• 2K restorations of 16mm archival elements
• 4:3 non-anamorphic widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0
• Audio Interview with filmmaker Charles DeSantos on SINFUL PLEASURES, continued on KINKY TRICKS

Vinegar Syndrome and TEENAGE MASSEUSE give MORE to MY MASTER MY LOVE (review)

In this trio of films from porn jack-of-all-trades Ralph Ell, Darby Lloyd Rains is MY MASTER MY LOVE whose sex slave falls for her master's younger brother.  In TEENAGE MASSEUSE, Nancy Dare is a bored housewife who starts turning tricks when her husband Bobby Astyr is too tired to satisfy her.  In MORE, Harry Reems is a detective investigating the death of an undercover agent and uses his prostitute girlfriend to find the killer.


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

MY MASTER MY LOVE/TEENAGE MASSEUSE/MORE DVD specs:

• 2K scans of 16mm archival elements
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0

Scorpion Releasing witnesses THE RETURN (Review)

Jan-Michael Vincent, Cybill Shepard, Martin Landau, and Raymond Burr witness THE RETURN of an alien force to a small New Mexico town where cattle mutilations soon give way to human ones.  Vincent Shiavelli, Brad Reardon, and Neville Brand also star.

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

THE RETURN 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 actor Greydon Clark
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews
• Katarina's Nightmare Theater Playback Mode

101 Films wishes you a BLACK CHRISTMAS (Review)

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the sorority house, something was stirring, but it wasn't a mouse in Bob Clark's groundbreaking proto-slasher BLACK CHRISTMAS.  Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, and Kier Dullea star.

REVIEW LINK: 101 Films (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 2 PAL DVD combo (DVD Drive-in)

BLACK CHRISTMAS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 5.1 and 2.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 mono
• "Films and Furs" interview with actor Art Hindle
• "Victims and Virgins" interview with actress Lynne Griffin
• "Black Christmas Legacy" forty-minute featurette 
• 40th Anniversary Q and A (Blu-ray exclusive)
• TV and Radio Spots
• Reversible Cover
• Foldout Poster

Kino Lorber investigates MAIGRET AND THE ST. FIACRE CASE (review)

George Simenon's famed Inspector Maigret travels to the country at the request of the Countess of St. Fiacre who has been sent letters foretelling her death.  When she drops dead of an apparent heart attack, Maigret believes that she was murdered and has plenty of suspects for a death that everyone else believes was of natural causes.  Jean Gabin stars.

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

MAIGRET AND THE ST. FIACRE CASE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber helps as MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (review)

French golden age superstar Jean Gabin embodies novelist George Simenon's world-famous detective Maigret in the feature film MAIGRET SETS A TRAP that finds the seasoned detective on the hunt for a serial killer of young women.  Annie Girardot and Lino Ventura also star.

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

MAIGRET SETS A TRAP Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber charts A WOMAN'S LIFE (review)

The daughter of a wealthy landowner, Jeanne is thrust into adulthood when she marries a charming but penniless aristocrat and condemned to heartache after heartache.  When her son is born, she is eager to raise him not to become like his father only to be reminded just how little she can control as a woman in nineteenth century rural France.  Based on the first novel by Guy de Maupassant.

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

A WOMAN'S LIFE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with director Stéphane Brizé
• Interview with cinematographer Antoine Héberlé and sound designer Pascal Jasmes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Kino Lorber rhapsodizes HERMIA AND HELENA (review)

Camila comes to New York from Argentina to work on a Spanish translation of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM but finds her work frustrated by loneliness and purposelessness.  Searching for distraction, she finds herself resisting stepping into the roles vacated by Carmen, the girl who had the fellowship before her and has traded residences with her, including the attentions of the other woman's former lover and the issues with closeness and connecting with other people brought up by her own estrangement for her father.

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

HERMIA AND HELENA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English/Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commetnary by director Matías Piñeiro and producer Graham Swon
• Short Films by Matías Piñeiro
• U.S. and Argentinian Trailers
• Essay Booklet by Dan Sallitt 

Icarus Films remasters EIGHT FILMS BY JEAN ROUCH (Review)

Newly restored from 2K scans of the16mm film elements, Icarus Films presents eight ethnographic films from the first twenty years of Jean Rouch's fifty-five years as a filmmaker, from the observational MAMMY WATER and THE LION HUNTERS to the experimental THE MAD MASTERS, JAGUAR, I A NEGRO, and THE HUMAN PYRAMID, and the reverse ethnographies of LITTLE BY LITTLE and THE PUNISHMENT.

REVIEW LINK: Icarus Films (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

EIGHT FILMS BY JEAN ROUCH DVD specs:

• Eight films on four DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono on THE MAD MASTERS
• Optional English subtitles
• "Jean Rouch, the Adventurous Filmmaker" new documentary by Laurent Vendrine
• Essay booklet by Paul Stoller and Eric Kohn

Big World Picture hears FALSE CONFESSIONS (review)

Luc Bondy's final film was this updated production of the Marivaux play filmed during the day while the production was on the stage at night with the same cast in period dress.  A young man contrives his way into a household because he is in love with the lady of the house, but his attempts to trick her into falling in love with him are complicated by meddling relatives and servants as well as misunderstandings and the schemes of others.  Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, and Bulle Ogier star.


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

FALSE CONFESSIONS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Trailer
• Previews

Lionsgate stitches up LEATHERFACE (review)

The latest installment in the TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE franchise imagines an origin story for the boy who would be Leatherface in which a new nurse is kidnapped and taken on a roadtrip through hell by the escapees of a youth reformatory.  With the law on their tails - including a vengeful ranger who would rather save the state money by killing them off - they stick to the backroads and end up at a remote Texas farm.  Stephen Dorf stars.

REVIEW LINK: LionsGate (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

LEATHERFACE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Making-of
• Deleted Scenes including Alternate Ending
• Start-up Trailers

Code Red drives the MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS (Review)

John Saxon has three very tempting reasons to drive the MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS when sisters Susan Howard, Claudia Jennings, and Maureen McCormick compete with William Conrad in the bootleg whiskey business after their pappy is murdered.

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS Blu-ray specs:

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

Available from DiabolikDVD.

Code Red accepts MISSION: KILL (Review)

Robert Ginty stars as a demolitions expert who goes south of the border with an army buddy to run guns to the rebel factions of the Santa Maria dictatorship.  When his buddy is murdered by a hitman, he takes over the killer's identity but ends up joining the rebels as he tries to get to the man who ordered his friend's death.  From Action International Pictures.

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

MISSION: KILL Blu-ray specs:

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

Available from DiabolikDVD.

AGFA unsheathes THE SWORD AND THE CLAW (review)

Hiding behind the title THE SWORD AND THE CLAW is LIONMAN, one of the craziest Turkish action films ever made.  Raised by lions after his royal parents were massacred by Christians, the Lion Man returns to help his Turkish people gain freedom.  Clawing faces and bouncing around on an invisible trampoline, Cuneyt Arkin remains one of Turkey's great superstars still going strong into his eighties.

REVIEW LINK: American Genre Film Archive (AGFA)/MVD Visual (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE SWORD AND THE CLAW Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Bonus feature "Brawl Busters"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Face-Smashing Action Trailers
• Reversible Cover

Masters of Cinema probes THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (review)

Billy Wilder's look into THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES was not the comedic send-up audiences were expecting and it was a box office flop; however, a look at the film afresh with an understanding of the eighty minutes cut from the original Roadshow length offers a chance to reassess the film's mix of light comedy, tragic romance, and tense mystery.

REVIEW LINK: Masters of Cinema/Eureka Video (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Interview with film historian Neil Sinyard
• "The Missing Cases" fifty-minutes of deleted scenes utilizing script pages, production stills, and surviving film and audio
• Alternate Ending (audio only)
• Interview with actor Christopher Lee
• Interview with editor Ernest Walter
• Theatrical Trailer
• Collectors booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp; the words of Billy Wilder; and rare archival imagery
  

Code Red worships THE WITCHMAKER (Review)

Deep in the Louisiana bayou, Sabbat master Luther the Berserk drains lovely maidens of blood to sustain his centuries-old existence.  When a team of parapsychologists travel to a nearby cabin to conduct experiments, Luther hunts them down one by one in order to induct their medium into his cult of thirteen.  Produced by L.Q. Jones, shot by John Morrill, and co-starring GREEN ACRES' Alvy Moore who would all partner up again for BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN and A BOY AND HIS DOG.

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE WITCHMAKER Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by producer L.Q. Jones and cinematographer John Morrill
• Interview with producer L.Q. Jones
• Reissue Trailer
• Code Red Trailers
• Limited Edition Slipcover

Available from Ronin Flix and DiabolikDVD.

AGFA and Something Weird twitch with BAT PUSSY (Review)

The grungiest, dirtiest film that put storefront theater films back on the cultural map BAT PUSSY comes to Blu-ray in a 2K scan of the only surviving (possibly only existing) 16mm print.  While virtually nothing is known of when or where this film was made, it may very well be the first porn parody ever.  When Dora Dildo's twat twitches, she knows crime is afoot in Gotham City and assumes her alternate identity as Bat Pussy and bounces across town on her hippity-hop to root out the criminals: in this case, masochistic train wreck of a couple Buddy and Sam who have the tenacity to make a porn film without her.

REVIEW LINK: AGFA/Something Weird Video/MVD Visual (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

BAT PUSSY Blu-ray specs:

• 2K scan of the only surviving 16mm print
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Something Weird's Lisa Petrucci and Tim Lewis, along with AGFA's Joe Ziemba and Sebastian del Castillo, and Bleeding Skull's Annie Choi
• “Dating Do's and Don'ts” 1949 Corone Instructional short subject
• “The Shoplifter” short film
• “A Trip to the Storefront Theater” short
• Crime-Smut Trailers from the Something Weird Vault 
• Bonus Film: ROBOT LOVE SLAVES (1971)
• Booklet featuring "I Saved Bat Pussy" by Mike McCarthy and an appreciation by Lisa Petrucci

VCI roots for SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS (review)

Sick of being taunted and teased by the cheerleaders of Benedict High, Satan-worshipping janitor Billy takes them and their coach on a detour to meet a Satanic cult looking for nubile flesh and blood sacrifices.  John Ireland, Yvonne de Carlo, and John Carradine star.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Greydon Clark
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker David DeCoteau and film historian David Del Valle
• Still Gallery

AGFA and Something Weird relive THE VIOLENT YEARS (review)

Suburban high school debutantes become girl gang terrorists during THE VIOLENT YEARS.  Paula wants for nothing as the daughter of a newspaper editor but she lives for the thrill of robbing gas stations and molesting necking couples with her three school friends in this Ed Wood-scripted film of juvenile delinquency.

REVIEW LINK: AGFA/Something Weird Video/MVD Visual (DVD Drive-in)

THE VIOLENT YEARS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Frank Henenlotter and Ed Wood biographer Rudolph Grey
• Theatrical Trailer
• Outtakes from Ed Wood's aborted JD film HELLBORN
• Gutter-Noir Trailers from the Something Weird Vault
• Bonus feature: ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO from a 2K scan of a 35mm print
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Booklet

Blue Underground has a DEATHDREAM (review)

Future A CHRISTMAS STORY and PORKY'S director Bob Clark and writer Alan Ormsby followed up CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY THINGS with this supernatural take on the effects of the Vietnam War as a soldier supposedly killed in action shows up on his family's doorstep with a very special kind of craving.

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

DEATHDREAM Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Bob Clark
• Audio Commentary by writer/effects artist Alan Ormsby
• Interview with writer/effects artist Alan Ormsby and actress Anya Liffey
• Interview with actor Richard Backus
• Interview with composer Carl Zittrer
• "Tom Savini: The Early Years" featurette
• Interview with production manager John "Bud" Cardos
• Alan Ormsby Short Film "3:45 P.M."
• Alternate Opening Titles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Photo Gallery
• Booklet by Travis Crawford

Second Run strikes the WITCHHAMMER (review)

A stolen wafer from the church leads to a hysteria of witch-hunting and torture in the Czech 1969 New Wave effort WITCHHAMMER that uses historical fact to parallel the Communist oppression of the Czechs following the Prague Spring.

REVIEW LINK: Second Run (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

WITCHHAMMER Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "The Womb of Woman is the Gateway to Hell" an appreciation by Kat Ellinger
• "The Light Penetrates the Dark" 1931 Short Film
• Essay booklet by Samm Deighan

Kino Lorber sings I'LL BE SEEING YOU (review)

Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, and Shirley Temple star in this wartime romance in which a woman on furlough from prison for the holidays and a convalescing soldier with debilitating shell shock fall in love over the holidays and try to make the most of the short time they have together.

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

I'LL BE SEEING YOU Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Code Red rides the DEVIL'S EXPRESS (Review)

Marial artist Warhawk Tanzania (BLACK FORCE) hops the DEVIL'S EXPRESS to do battle with a demonic force that has followed him back to New York from China and is picking off subway workers and passengers in search of a powerful medallion in this funky seventies horror/blaxploitation pic.

REVIEW LINK: Code Red (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

DEVIL'S EXPRESS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers
• Reversible Cover
• Limited Edition O-Card

Available directly from Ronin Flix.

Film Movement crowns THE SISSI COLLECTION (review)

Romy Schneider appears in the trilogy that made her an international star as Sissi, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of Hungary, charting her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph and the early years as she battled with her scheming mother-in-law Archduchess Sophie and charmed a nation.  Also included are VICTORIA IN DOVER in which Schneider plays a young Queen Victoria and FOREVER MY LOVE, the two-and-a-half hour English-dubbed condensation of the Sissi trilogy with a theme song by Burt Bacharach.

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

THE SISSI COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One: Sissi (1955)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 fullscreen presentations
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English Subtitles
• Disc Two: Sissi, The Young Empress (1956)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 fullscreen presentations
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Disc Three: Sissi, The Fateful Years of an Empress (1957)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 fullscreen presentations
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Disc Four: Victoria in Dover (1954)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Disc Five: Bonus DVD
• "Forever My Love" (145 minutes), 1962 English-dubbed condensation of the Sissi trilogy with a theme song by Burt Bacharach
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• "From Romy to Sissi" 1956 vintage featurette
• "Sissi's Great-Grandson at the Movies"
• Trailers
• 20-page commemorative booklet

Scream Factory's company loves MISERY (Review)

James Caan and Kathy Bates star in the film that made "I'm your number one fan" a glaring red flag with Stephen King's MISERY.  When a writer crashes his car in a blizzard, he is nursed by his number one fan who turns violent when she discovers that his latest novel kills off her favorite character.  Directed by Rob Reiner and scripted by William Goldman.

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

MISERY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Rob Reiner
• Audio Commentary by screenwriter William Goldman
• Interview with director Rob Reiner
• Inteview with effects artist Gregory Nicotero
• "Misery Loves Company" featurette
• "Marc Shaiman’s Musical MiseryTour" featurette
• Vintage Featurettes:
• "Diagnosing Annie Wilkes”
• "Advice For The Stalked"
• "Profile Of A Stalker"
• "Celebrity Stalkers"
• "Anti-Stalking Laws"
• Theatrical Trailers
• Reversible Cover and Collector's Slipcover

Arrow Video USA takes J.D.'S REVENGE (review)

When a young law student participates in a hypnotism act, his mind is opened up to the influence of a razor-wielding mobster from the forties who uses him as a vessel for his revenge on the people who set him up and murdered him in this Blaxploitation classic.

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

J.D.'S REVENGE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• "The Killing Floor"
• Audio Interview with actor David McKnight
• Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spots
• Arthur Marks Trailer Reel

Vinegar Syndrome probes A WOMAN'S TORMENT (review)

Roberta Findlay riffs on REPULSION with A WOMAN'S TORMENT in which a mentally unbalanced woman flees her sisters home for their family's desolate beach house where her grip on reality begins to crumble.

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

A WOMAN'S TORMENT Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• 2K remasters of the X-rated and R-rated versions
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 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 SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary on the R-rated version by director Roberta Findlay
• Q and A with director Roberta Findlay
• Interview with actor Michael Gaunt
• Reversible Cover Artwork

Kino Lorber remembers SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (review)

The David O. Selznick production SINCE YOU WENT AWAY is the story of a housewife who must keep the home fires burning while her husband is sent off to war.  Juggling two teenage daughters, two borders (including an old flame), her own loneliness, and the realities of war as they hit too close to home, Claudette Colbert stars along with Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotton, Monty Woolley, and Robert Walker.

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

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY Blu-ray specs:

• Three-hour Roadshow version
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Breaking Glass Pictures opens a RIFT (Review)

When Gunnar receives a call in the middle of the night from his ex-lover Einar who is staying at his family's vacation cottage in Rokkur, he drives there believing Einar is suicidal.  Gunnar begins to believe Einar's fear that they are not alone, but is the lurker outside in the night a prowler, a hookup gone wrong, or Einar's malevolent imaginary childhood friend who has not outgrown him?

REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

RIFT DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
• Icelandic Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailer
• Previews