Masters of Cinema gaslights HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (review)

Baby Jane is just as batty as ever when Bette Davis goes off the deep end in HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE as a woman who may have murdered her married lover thirty-seven years ago... but what did she do with his hand and his head?  Olivia de Havilland and Joseph Cotten also star in this gory Robert Aldrich Southern Gothic thriller.

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

HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Diabolique Magazine editor Kat Ellinger
• Audio Commentary by film historian Glenn Erickson
• "Hush... Hush, Sweet Joan: The Making of Charlotte" documentary
• "Bruce Dern Remembers" interview
• "Wizard Work" archival behind-the-scenes look at the film, narrated by Joseph Cotten
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Teaser Trailer
• TV Spots
• Collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Lee Gambin, archival imagery and more!

Scream Factory crowns DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (review)

"The world's most evil vampire lives again" in DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS when a quartet of young British travelers in the wilds of Eastern Europe wind up as guests of a deceased host at Castle Dracula.  Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Charles Tingwell, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Phillip Latham, and Andrew Kier star.

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

DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen presentations of the US and UK Versions
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actors Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, and Suzan Farmer
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Constatine Nasr and author Steve Haberman
• "Back to Black" making-of documentary
• "Dracula and the Undead" episode of THE WORLD OF HAMMER
• Super 8 Behind the Scenes Footage
• Theatrical Trailers
• Still Gallery
• Poster Gallery
• Reversible Cover
• Slipcover

Arrow Video scales CRIMSON PEAK (review)

Guillermo del Toro tells a tale of gothic romance on an epic scale (at least an epic budget) when a young American woman is swept off her feet by a British aristocrat and taken to his ancestral home, the forbidding CRIMSON PEAK where the dead are not quiet.

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

CRIMSON PEAK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS:X and DTS Headphone:X 2.0 Stereo
• English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro
• "The House is Alive: Constructing Crimson Peak" documentary with cast and crew interviews
• Interview with Guillermo Del Toro
• Allerdale Hall - Four Featurettes
• "A Primer on Gothic Romance" Guillermo del Toro on the film's literary elements
• "The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak" featurette about the film's use of color
• "Hand Tailored Gothic" featurette on the film's costumes
• "A Living Thing" featurete on the modelling and construction of the Allerdale Hall sets
• "Beware of Crimson Peak" walking tour of Allerdale Hall with Tom Hiddleston
• "Crimson Phantoms" featurette on the film's ghosts
• "Kim Newman on Crimson Peak and the Tradition of Gothic Romance" interview with the author and critic
• "Violence and Beauty in Guillermo Del Toro s Gothic Fairy Tale Films" video essay by the writer Kat Ellinger
• Deleted Scenes
• International Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer
• 2 TV Spots
• Image Galleries:
• Double-sided, fold-out poster
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
• Limited edition 80-page, hard-bound book featuring new writing by David Jenkins and Simon Abrams, an archival interview with Guillermo del Toro, and original conceptual design illustrations by artists Guy Davis and Oscar Chichoni
• Limited edition packaging newly designed by Crimson Peak concept artist Guy Davis

Arrow Academy hatches THE SERPENT'S EGG (review)

When Ingmar Bergman ran into tax problems in his native Sweden, he headed west and ended up in Germany where Dino De Laurentiis gave him the money to make the film he wanted, and this big-budgeted tale of 1920s Berlin follows American acrobat Abel as he investigates the mysterious suicide of his brother which might be related to a series of bizarre deaths.  Liv Ullmann and Gert Froebe also star.

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

THE SERPENT'S EGG Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actor David Carradine
• "Bergman's Egg" appreciation by author Barry Foreshaw
• "Away From Home" archival featurette with actors Liv Ullmann and David Carradine
• "German Expressionism" archival interview with author Marc Gervais
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork choices
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Geoffrey Macnab.

Eureka sings a tune for LAURA (Review)

The celebrated noir classic LAURA comes to Blu-ray from Eureka as part of their Masters of Cinema line.  When a woman is brutally murdered, her face mutilated beyond recognition, a detective probes her past and her circle of friends and finds himself falling in love with a woman forever unattainable until she appears to him in the flesh.  Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson star in Otto Preminger's classic.


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

LAURA Blu-ray specs:

• Theatrical and Extended Cuts
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Wesleyan University film professor Jeanine Basinger and composer David Raksin
• Audio Commentary by film historian and author Rudy Behlmer
• "Laura" The Radio Adaptations:
• Lux Radio Theater, Episode 468 (February 5, 1945) starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, and Vincent Price
• Lux Radio Theater, Episode 866 (February 1, 1954) starring Gene Tierney and Victor Mature
• Screen Guild Theater (August 20, 1945) starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, and Clifton Webb
• Ford Theater (May 30, 1948) starring Virginia Gilmore and John Larkin
• "A Tune for Laura: David Raskin Remembers" interview
• "The Obsession" archival featurette on LAURA
• Deleted Scene (with optional audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Phil Hoad, alongside a selection of rare archival imagery.

Kino Lorber joins the RACE FOR THE YANKEE ZEPHYR (review)

WISEGUY's Ken Wahl and HALLOWEEN's Donald Pleasance go up against George Peppard for the treasure of a WWII plane wreck in David Hemmings' Australian actioner RACE FOR THE YANKEE ZEPHYR.  Lesley Ann Warren and Bruno Lawrence co-star.

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

RACE FOR THE YANKEE ZEPHYR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers

Kino Lorber glows with FOXFIRE (Review)

Heiress Amanda falls for handsome engineer Dart only to have their relationship contested by her mother when she discovers Dart is half-Apache.  Amanda impulsively marries him and only then does she realize that their love is against the odds and she will have to fight for him.  Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, and Dan Duryea star.

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

FOXFIRE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.00:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Diabolique Magazine editor Kat Ellinger
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers

Umbrella Entertainment seeks SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (review)

Jennifer Jason Leigh is the orignal roommate from hell in Barbet Schroeder's nineties thriller SINGLE WHITE FEMALE when newly single Bridget Fonda needs someone to share her rent-controlled apartment off the lease and gets more than she bargained for.

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SINGLE WHITE FEMALE Blu-ray specs:

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

Umbrella Entertainment goes X for EMMANUELLE/EMMANUELLE 2 (review)

The film that showed the same American audiences who lined up for DEEP THROAT and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES that "X was never like this" EMMANUELLE comes to Blu-ray with its sequel.  Based on the novels by Emmanuelle Arsan, the films explore the sexual awakening of diplomat's wife Emmanuelle joining her husband in Thailand in the first film and then her teaching her skills to another young woman with the help of her husband in Hong Kong for the sequel.  Sylvia Kristel, Alain Cuny, Marika Green, and Umberto Orsini star.  The first film was directed by fashion photographer Just Jaeckin who followed it with THE STORY OF O, and the second by photographer Franco Giacobetti who discovered BLACK EMANUELLE's Laura Gemser and cast her in a small role in his film.


REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

EMMANUELLE/EMMANUELLE 2 Blu-ray specs:

• Emmanuelle (1974):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• Emmanuelle 2 (1975):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescren
• English and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles

Umbrella Entertainment celebrates DAY OF THE DEAD: ULTIMATE EDITION (review)

The darkest day of horror the world has ever known "dawns" in George A. Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD, the third film in his original trilogy in which the dead far outnumber the living, and the military clashes with scientists on how to deal with the epidemic, finally turning on one another in a gory showdown with the flesh-eating dead.

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

DAY OF THE DEAD: ULTIMATE EDITION Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini, Lori Cardille and Cletus Anderson
• Audio Commentary with Everett Burrell, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, and Mike Deak
• "World's End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead" documentary (85 mins)
• "Behind the Scenes: On Set"
• "Behind the Scenes: Tom Savini"
• Interview with George A. Romero at the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival (49 mins)
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Gateway Commerce Centre Promo Video
• Disc Two (Bonus DVD):
• "The Many Days of the Dead" documentary (40 mins)
• "Joe of the Dead: Acting in a George Romero Classic" interview with Joe Pilato (50 mins)
• "Reflections on the Living Dead" documentary (78 mins)
• "Travelogue of the Dead" with Joe Pilato
• Image Gallery
• Reversible Cover

Code Red Releasing is admitted to THE FIFTH FLOOR (review)

When she is poisoned on the dance floor, disco performer Kelly is believed to have attempted suicide and sent to the fifth floor psych ward for an involuntary hold while here case is investigated.  As the effects of the poisoning wear off, she is less unnerved by her fellow inmates than by a predatory member of the staff.  Dianne Hull, Bo Hopkins, Mel Ferrer, Julie Adams, Sharon Farrell, Anthony James, and Patti D'Arbanville star.

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

THE FIFTH FLOOR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Interview with actor Bo Hopkins
• Trailer and TV Spots
• Trailers

Arrow Video exposes FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION (review)

A middle-class housewife tranquilized by pills and alcohol is drawn into a web of blackmail and sexual assault when a mysterious man threatens to expose her husband as a murderer in THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION.  Dagmar Lassander, Pier Paolo Capponi, Simon Andreu, and Susan Scott star.

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

THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0
• Optional English subtitles for the Italian track and Englsih SDH for the English dub
• Audio Commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger
• "Private Pictures" documentary featuring archival interviews with actress Nieves Navarro and director Luciano Ercoli, and new interview material with writer Ernesto Gastaldi
• "The Forbidden Soundtrack of the Big Three" appreciation of the music of Forbidden Photos and 70s Italian cult cinema by musician and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
• "The Forbidden Lady" Q&A with actress Dagmar Lassander at the 2016 Festival of Fantastic Films
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
• An illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Michael Mackenzie (first pressing only)

Scorpion Releasing resurrects LEONOR (review)

Michel Piccoli, Liv Ullmann, and Ornella Muti star in Juan Luis Bunuel's take on the gothic horror romance.  When his wife Leonor is killed in a riding accident, aristocrat Richard forgoes mourning and quickly remarries younger Catherine.  Ten years later, his grief has caught up with him in the form of Leonor's apparition, causing him to enter into a diabolical deal to bring her back... only she is not the same as she was before.

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

LEONOR Blu-ray specs:

• 2018 HD Master of the US Cut (85 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• 2017 HD Master of the International Cut (99 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth
• Trailers

Arrow Academy is invited to GOSFORD PARK (review)

The guests of  weekend shooting party have a date with murder in GOSFORD PARK, Robert Altman's take on the British murder mystery featuring a top-tier cast including Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Clive Owen, James Wilby, Charles Dance, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Emily Watson, Jeremy Northam, and more.

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

GOSFORD PARK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Robert Altman, production designer Stephen Altman, and producer David Levy
• Audio Commentary with screenwriter Julian Fellowes
• Audio Commentary with critics David Thompson and Geoff Andrew
• "Executive Service" interview with executive producer Jane Barclay
• "Acting Upper Class" interview with actor Natasha Wightman
• "The Making of Gosford Park"
• "The Authenticity of Gosford Park"
• Cast and Filmmakers Q&A Session
• 15 Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary)
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin.
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Sheila O’Malley and an archive interview with Robert Altman (first pressing only) 

Umbrella Entertainment charts THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY McKENZIE (review)

Before Bruce Beresford was DRIVING MISS DAISY, he took Dame Edna for a spin in THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY McKENZIE, a film adaptation of the bawdy comic strip in which Aussie yobbo Barry can only inherit money from his late father by traveling to England and spreading the family's intellectual and cultural tradition which includes plenty of beer drinking, brushes with willing and able sheilas, and deploying his one-eyed trouser snake to put out a blazing inferno!

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY McKENZIE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Introduction by Dame Edna
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus Trailers
• PDF Screenplay

Umbrella Entertainment entertains on THE BALCONY (review)

As a revolution rages outside in an unnamed republic, the brothel of Madame Irma has its own private world of order in its deployment of fantasy and illusion to give power to its clients.  When the chief of police comes to Madame Irma for help, she concocts an illusion to restore authority to the outside world, but the invasion of a revolutionary leader who may not even exist threatens to visit brutal reality upon fantasy.  Shelly Winters, Lee Grant, Peter Falk, Ruby Dee, and Leonard Nimoy star.

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE BALCONY DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono

Big World Pictures celebrates MARIE CURIE: THE COURAGE OF KNOWLEDGE (review)

This biopic of the first female winner of the Nobel Prize (twice) examines her struggles in the aftermath of her husband's death to continue pursuing the use of radium in treating cancer, dealing with the sexism of her colleagues at the Sorbonne and the Academy of Scienes, and the scandalous love affair that threatened her reputation purely based on her gender.

REVIEW LINK: Big World Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

MARIE CURIE: THE COURAGE OF KNOWLEDGE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews 

Big World Pictures treats SCARRED HEARTS (review)

From the director of AFERIM! this loose depiction of the short life of Romanian writer Max Blecher follows his admission to a private clinic to treat tuberculosis requiring him to spend his days in a full body cast where he learns that his fellow patients have found ways to adapt to their situation and live life to its fullest.

REVIEW LINK: Big World Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

SCARRED HEARTS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.30:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• Romanian Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews 

Kino Lorber unveils CLOUZOT: THE EARLY WORKS (review)

Before he became known for thrillers like LES DIABOLIQUES and WAGES OF FEAR, director Henri-George Clouzot toiled away as a screenwriter for roughly a decade, learning cinematic grammar and honing his style on a series of melodramas, farces, and musicals of which six are included here along with his short film directorial debut.

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

CLOUZOT: THE EARLY WORKS Blu-ray specs:

• Six films and one short on two BD50 discs
• Disc One:
• Dragnet Night (1931)
• I'll Be Alone After Midnight (1931)
• The Unknown Singer (1931)
• Short - The Terror of Batignolles (1931)
• Disc Two:
• My Cousin from Warsaw (1931)
• Tell Me Tonight (1932)
• Dream Castle (1933)
• Booklet Essay by film critic Peter Tonguette

Eureka Classics defends KHARTOUM (Review)

Charlton Heston is a British general who goes up against Laurence Olivier's chosen one who wages a holy war in the Sudan in the epic KHARTOUM.  Also starring Richard Johnson and Ralph Richardson.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka (UK) Region B Blu-ray/Region 2 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

KHARTOUM Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.76:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.76:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Nick Reman, Julie Kirgo, and screenwriter Lem Dobbs
• Interview with film historian Sheldon Hall
• Theatrical Trailer

Paramount cracks the code for SCORPION: THE COMPLETE SERIES (Review)

Based on the life of genius Walter O'Brien, the outlandishly entertaining series SCORPION follows a group of super geniuses, lead by a Homeland Security agent and a waitress who translates the normal world for them, as they fight crime, take on dramatic rescues, and avert catastrophe over four seasons.

REVIEW LINK: Paramount Pictures/CBS (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

SCORPION: THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD specs:

• Ninety-three episodes on twenty-four dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surround
• Optional English SDH (all seasons) and Portuguese (seasons 1 and 2) subtitles
• Four audio commentaries
• Four season overviews
• Four season gag reels
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes on casting, crew, scoring, design, stunts, and visual effects
• Slipcover

Blue Underground munches on ZOMBIE (review)

ZOMBIE is going to eat you in HD in Blue Underground's 4K restoration of Lucio Fulci's splatter classic.  A reporter and a young woman travel to a tropical island in search of answers and discover open graves and gushing throat wounds.  Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, and Richard Johnson star.

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

ZOMBIE Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and 1.0 mono, and French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English (for Italian audio), English SDH (for English audio), Chinese, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and Thai subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth
• Audio Commentary by actor Ian McCulloch and Diabolik Magazine editor Jason J. Slater
• Introduction by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
• "When The Earth Spits Out The Dead" interview with author Stephen Thrower
• Theatrical Trailers:
• International Trailer
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• 2 TV Spots
• 4 Radio Spots
• Poster & Still Gallery
• Disc Two: 
• "Zombie Wasteland" interviews with actor/stuntman Ottaviano Dell'acqua and Stars Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, and Al Cliver
• "Flesh Eaters on Film" interview with co-producer Fabrizio de Angelis
• "Deadtime Stories" interviews with co-writers Elisa Briganti and (uncredited) Dardano Sacchetti
• "World of the Dead" interviews with cinematographer Sergio Salvati and production designer Walter Patriarca
• "Zombi Italiano" interviews with special make-up effects artists Gianetto de Rossi & Maurizio Trani and special effects artist Gino de Rossi
• "Notes on a Headstone" interview with composer Fabio Frizzi
• "All in the Family" interview with Antonella Fulci
• "Zombie Lover" an appreciation by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
• Disc Three (CD):
• Soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi and Giorgio Tucci (9 tracks)
• Booklet by Stephen Thrower
• Reversible Cover
• Holographic Slipcover

Limited Edition available with three different cover choices:

Blue Underground is a MANIAC (review)

Forget FLASHDANCE, Joe Spinell is the MANIAC in William Lustig's 42nd Street gorefest as a mother-obsessed killer of women cutting a slice out of the Big Apple.  Caroline Munro also stars.  Special make-up effects by Tom Savini.


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

MANIAC Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and 2.0 Stereo, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, German Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH, Chinese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai
• Audio Commentary by writer/director William Lustig and producer Andrew W. Garroni (Recorded in July 2010)
• Audio Commentary by writer/director William Lustig, editor Lorenzo Marinelli, Joe Spinell's assistant Luke Walter and special make-up effects artist Tom Savini (From 1994 and the Laserdisc release)
• Trailers:
• U.S. "Hard" Trailer
• U.S. "Soft" Trailer
• International Trailer
• French Trailer
• German Teaser
• German Trailer
• Italian Trailer
• 9 TV Spots
• 4 Radio Spots
• Disc Two: 
• Outtakes (with audio commentary by William Lustig)
• "Returning to the Scene of the Crime with Bill Lustig" location revisit
• "Anna and the Killer" interview with actress Caroline Munro
• "The Death Dealer" interview with special make-up effects artist Tom Savini
• "Dark Notes" interview with composer Jay Chattaway
• "Maniac Men" interview with songwriters Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
• "The Joe Spinell Story" documentary
• "Mr. Robbie" 'Maniac 2' Promo
• Publicity:
• "Paul Wunder" radio interview with William Lustig, Joe Spinell and actress Caroline Munro
• William Lustig on "Movie Madness (18/02/1981)"
• Joe Spinell at Cannes
• Joe Spinell on "The Joe Franklin Show"
• Caroline Munro TV Interview
• Barf Bag Review Policy
• Grindhouse Film Festival 2010 Q&A with William Lustig, Andrew Garroni and Sharon Mitchell
• Stills Gallery
• Controversy:
• Los Angeles:
• Channel 7 News 3/6/81 11:00pm
• Channel 11 News 3/6/81 10:30pm
• NBC Tomorrow Show 3/10/81
• Chicago:
• Channel 2 News 2/3/81 10:00pm (2:13)
• Philadelphia:
• Channel 10 News 3/2/81 11:00pm (0:29)
• Channel 3 News 3/3/81 6:00pm (1:13)
• Channel 3 News 3/3/81 11:00pm (0:51)
• Channel 6 News 3/3/81 5:30pm (0:54)
• "Newsbeat"
• Violent Movies (12:45)
• Movie Violence (8:26)
• "Midnight Blue"
• Al Goldstein rants against violent movies (3:54)
• Al Goldstein mutilates his love doll (2:39)
• "Gallery of Outrage" various newspaper reviews
• Disc Three (CD):
• Soundtrack by Jay Chattaway
• Comes with a booklet by Michael Gingold
• Reversible Cover
• Holographic Slipcover

Second Run crafts an INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION (review)

A professor searching for the core of all matter (the atom) and an engineer are kidnapped by pirates and a wealthy aristocrat who plans to use the professor's discovery to rule the skies with bombs in Karel Zemen's fantastic adaptation of Jules Verne's novel "Facing the Flag" titled INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION (released in the Untied States as THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE).

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

INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Full English-dubbed version with introduction by Hugh Downs (also in HD)
• An Appreciation by KUNG FU PANDA's John Stevenson
• Featurettes:
• "Why Zemen Made the Film"
• "Zemen's Special Effects Techniques"
• "Restoring the World of Fantasy" and Restoration Demo featurettes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Essay booklet by film hisotrian James Oliver

Second Sight answers WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (review)

BLACK CHRISTMAS may have done it first, but everyone remembers "the call is coming from inside the house" from WHEN A STRANGER CALLS with Carol Kane as the babysitter terrorized by creepy phone calls and Charles Durning as the detective on the hunt for a deranged killer.  Kane and Durning join THE STEPFATHER's Jill Schoelen in the sequel WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK on the hunt of another madman.

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

WHEN A STRANGER CALLS Blu-ray specs:

• "When a Stranger Calls" (1979):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• "When a Stranger Calls Back" (1993):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• 1977 short film "The Sitter" that inspired "When a Stranger Calls"
• Interview with director Fred Walton
• Interview with actress Carol Kane
• Interview with actress Rutanya Alda
• Interview with composer Dana Koproff
• CD Soundtrack
• 40-page perfect bound booklet with new essay by Kevin Lyons
• Reversible poster with new and original artwork
• Rigid slip case packaging

Arrow Video USA celebrates BLOODY BIRTHDAY (review)

Three children born during an eclipse go on a killing spree on the eve of their tenth birthday in this eighties melding of the slasher and the killer kids genres.  Lori Lethin, Susan Strasberg, Jose Ferrer, and Joe Penny star.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

BLOODY BIRTHDAY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Ed Hunt
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
• "Bloody Babysitter" interview with actress Lori Lethin
• "Bad Seeds and Body Counts" appreciation by film journalist Chris Alexander
• "Starships and Killer Brains" film producer Ken Gord on the career of his friend and collaborator Ed Hunt
• Interview with producer Max Rosenberg
• Theatrical Trailer
• Promo Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Timothy Pittides
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: collector's booklet featuring new writing by Lee Gambin

Umbrella Entertainment survives THE QUIET EARTH (review)

The New Zealand eighties post-apocalyptic cult classic THE QUIET EARTH hits Blu-ray from Film Movement.  Waking up in a seaside motel, scientist Zac Hobson discovers that he is apparently the last man on Earth after the catastrophic failure of "Project Flashlight."  No sooner does he declare himself president and then God of the planet than he discovers that he is not the last person on Earth and that the catastrophe that killed all of the other people on the planet is about to happen again.

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE QUIET EARTH Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by screenwriter/producer Sam Pillsbury
• Theatrical Trailer
• Restoration Trailer
• Slipcover

Film Movement and LA FAMILIA (review)

When twelve-year-old Pedro is not in school, he is rough-housing with his wannabe gangster pals.  When another kid tries to rob him and his friend of their phones, a fight ensues and the other kid is accidentally killed.  Fearing retaliation, his hard-working father Andres packs them up and they go on the run, but Pedro sees only cowardice in his father's actions but he will soon be forced to grow up quickly.

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

LA FAMILIA DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Short film "Les Miserables"
• Trailers

Strand Releasing scales GABRIEL AND THE MOUNTAIN (review)

The tragically short life of a Portuguese college student on a year of sustainable travel who disappeared in the mountains of Malawi is traced by his director friend Fellipe Barbosa and the people he met along the way in GABRIEL AND THE MOUNTAIN.

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

GABRIEL AND THE MOUNTAIN DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• Portuguese/English/French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers

Altered Innocence inspires THE POET AND THE BOY (review)

A married poet floundering as a teacher in a South Korean village finds creative inspiration and his sex life with his wife reinvigorated when he meets the son of the village's new bakery.

REVIEW LINK: Altered Innocence (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE POET AND THE BOY DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Korean Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English and Spanish subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers
• Reversible Cover

Film Movement paints EGON SCHIELE: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (review)

The short life of painter Egon Schiele and his search for his muse is detailed in this German biopic.

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

EGON SCHIELE: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Deleted Scenes
• Interview with director Dieter Berner and writer Hilde Berger
• Casting
• Rehearsal
• Short Film 'Nothing Happens'
• Trailers

Film Movement proposes a THREE-WAY WEDDING (review)

A modern French farce in which playwright Auguste invites his producer, his ex, and her new lover to brunch to work on his play and tries to get back with his ex by making her jealous of his new secretary.  Pascal Greggory, Julie Depardieu, and Louis Garrel star.

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

THE THREE-WAY WEDDING DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Burnt-in English subtitles
• Previews

Second Sight discovers TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (Review)

When his brother contracts the measles, Tom is sent off to stay with his uncle in the country in a large manor house converted into flats.  In quarantine with no friends, Tom wanders about in the night and discovers that the tiny back yard turns into a sprawling Victorian garden when the grandfather clock strikes thirteen.

REVIEW LINK: Second Sight (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN DVD specs:

• Six episodes on one dual-layer DVD
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles

Severin Films gets shipwrecked with THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION (review)

Take a pleasure cruise to Blood Island where you will encounter man-to-animal transformations, mutations created by the atomic bomb, tribal ceremonial rites, and victims torn limb from limb in THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION.

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

THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (Terror is a Man):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• "Man Becomes Creature" interview with Hemisphere marketing consultant Samuel M. Sherman
• "Dawn of Blood Island" interview with co-director Eddie Romero
• "Terror Creature" interview with Pete Tombs, co-author of "Immoral Tales"
• "When the Bell Rings" interview with critic Mark Holcomb
• Theatrical Trailer
• Poster & Stills Gallery
• Disc Two (Brides of Blood):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Hemisphere marketing consultant Samuel M. Sherman (first 44 minutes of the film)
• "Jungle Fury" interview with co-director Eddie Romero
• "Here Comes the Bride" interview with Hemisphere marketing consultant Samuel M. Sherman
• "Beverly Hills on Blood Island" interview with actress Beverly Powers
• Alternate "Brides of Blood Island" Title Sequence and "Jungle Fury" Title Card
• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer
• Poster & Stills Gallery
• Disc Three (Mad Doctor of Blood Island):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Hemisphere marketing consultant Samuel M. Sherman (first 50 minutes of the film)
• Audio Commentary by film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
• "Tombs of the Living Dead" interview with Pete Tombs, co-author of "Immoral Tales"
• "A Taste of Blood" interview with critic Mark Holcomb
• "The Mad Director of Blood Island" interview with co-director Eddie Romero
• Theatrical Trailer
• "Chiller Carnival of Blood" Shock Show Trailer featuring "The Mad Doctor of Blood Island", "The Blood Demon", and "Curse of the Vampires"
• Poster & Stills Gallery 
• Limited Edition CD Soundtrack (34 tracks)
• Disc Four (Beast of Blood):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Hemisphere marketing consultant Samuel M. Sherman (first 55 minutes of the film)
• "Celeste and the Beast" interview with actress Celeste Yarnall
• "Dr. Lorca's Blood Devils" interview with actor Eddie Garcia
• "Blood Devils" Super 8 Digest Version
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spot 1
• Radio Spot 2
• Poster & Stills Gallery
• Reversible Covers featuring the UK Video Artwork

Limited to 3,500 copies, housed in a slipcase.  Also available as The Blood Oath Bundle
with a Blood Island treasure map, the beast enamel pin, Beast of Blood swizzle stick, 4 Beast of Blood coasters, and the Blood Oath recipe card, or Dr. Lorca’s Head Bundle with all of the above plus a Beast of Blood mask.

Film Movement investigates THE THIRD MURDER (review)

A cyncial attorney is tasked with defending a murder case in which the defendent has not only already confessed but has only recently been released after a thirty-year sentence for two previous murders.  As the defendant's story keeps changing, the attorney's need to understand the truth behind the killing supersedes his need to win the case in this award-winning film from Hirokazu Koreeda.

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

THE THIRD MURDER Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40: 1 widescreen
• Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English Subtitles
• Making-of
• Messages from the Cast
• Short Film "A Gentle Night" by Yang Qio
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Arrow Video partakes in the ORGIES OF EDO (review)

Beneath the pomp and ceremony of the Edo era is a world of depravity explored in ORGIES OF EDO from Teruo Ishii (HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN).

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

ORGIES OF EDO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Orgies of Ishii" interview with film historian Patrick Macias
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Tom Mes

88 Films showcases THE BEST OF 80s SCREAM QUEENS (Review)

THE BEST OF 80s SCREAM QUEENS features a trio of sexy horror flicks starring Linnea Quigley.  In NIGHTMARE SISTERS, Quigley, Michelle Bauer, and Brinke Stevens play a trio of homely(!) sorority sisters who are transformed into sexy succubi by a crystal ball to take a bite out of their hunky frat co-pledges.  In MURDER WEAPON, two mob princesses just out of the sanitarium throw a "hell of a party" with their hunky exes and a mad killer.  In DEADLY EMBRACE, a businessman wants to marry his mistress and hopes to pay a studly college student/hired poolboy to seduce his wife, but she already has plans of her own for the young man.

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

THE BEST OF 80s SCREAM QUEENS Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• "Nightmare Sisters" (1987)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Disc Two:
• "Murder Weapon" (1989)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescren
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• "Deadly Embrace" (1989)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• Optional English HoH subtitles
• Collector's Slipcover (first print run)

Kino Lorber confesses I BOUGHT A VAMPIRE MOTORCYCLE (Review)

I BOUGHT A VAMPIRE MOTORCYCLE drives a stake through the heart of British horror when a hapless biker buys a vintage bike that belonged to a murdered Satanist.  Neil Morrissey stars.


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

I BOUGHT A VAMPIRE MOTORCYCLE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Dirk Campbell, writers John Wolskel & Mycal Miller, and actor Alan Frank
• "We Made a Vampire Motorcycle" retrospective documentary
• "The Vampire´s Lair" featurette
• "Where Are They Now?" featuerette
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailers
• Reversible Cover

Film Movement pledges FOREVER MY LOVE (review)

Romy Schneider made an international splash as Sissi, Queen Elizabeth of Austria, with the Sissi film trilogy, (1955-1957) however, Americans did not get to see her in her signature role until 1962 with the English-dubbed series condensation FOREVER MY LOVE with a theme song by Burt Bacharach.

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

FOREVER MY LOVE DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• "From Romy to Sissi" featurette
• "Sissi's Great-Grandson at the Movies" featurette
• Trailers

Shout Select hunts down DRAGNET (review)

Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks bring Jack Webb's crime series DRAGNET into the eighties with an action-packed comedy.  Alexandra Paul, Harry Morgan, Elizabeth Ashley, and Christopher Plummer co-star.

REVIEW LINK: Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DRAGNET Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by pop culture historian Russell Dyball
• Interview with actress Alexandra Paul
• "Just the Facts" 1987 documentary
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Reversible Cover
• Slipcover

Artsploitation Films baptises LUCIFERINA (review)

After her mother is killed and her father injured in a mysterious accident, novice Natalia travels into the jungle with her sister and her friends to participate in a soul-cleansing ritual, but the influence of drug opens up her memories to a terrifying secret in this Argentinian horror film.

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

LUCIFERINA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer