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30 April 2020

Severin Films gets LOST in CARNIVAL MAGIC (review)

Exploitation autuer Al Adamson's final films were a pair of oddball family films.  In CARNIVAL MAGIC, a circus on its last legs becomes an overnight success with a talking chimp.  In LOST, a girl moves with her mother and stepfather from the city to a ranch in Utah where she becomes lost in a flash flood and must find her way home.

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

CARNIVAL MAGIC Blu-ray specs:
  • Carnival Magic (1983):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
    • Audio Commentary by producer Erwin Feltner
    • Outtakes
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • TV Spot
  • Lost (1983):
    • 1080p24 MPE4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
    • Home Video Trailer
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • "The Happiest Hobo" rushes for an unproduced promo reel for what would have been Al Adamson's next film after CARNIVAL MAGIC

Also available in the fourteen-disc AL ADAMSON: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION:

88 Films has a HEART OF DRAGON (review)

Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung get serious in the comic drama HEART OF DRAGON in which Chan is a cop who must take care of his mentally disabled brother (Hung), especially when the boy in a man's body winds up with stolen diamonds and smugglers after him.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

HEART OF DRAGON Blu-ray specs:
  • Hong Kong Cut:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:! Widescreen
    • Cantonese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
    • Optional English Subtitles
  • Japanese Extended Cut:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (with Japanese soundtrack and songs) 
    • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (with HK theatrical soundtrack with no music for the parking lot fight scene), 
    • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (with HK theatrical soundtrack but Japanese soundtrack for parking lot fight scene) 
    • Cantonese DTS 1.0 (with HK theatrical soundtrack and Japanese songs) 
    • English DTS 1.0 (hybrid classic English dub With Cantonese audio for the extra Japanese scenes)
    • Optional English subtitles for each audio track
  • "The First Mission" Japanese promotional film
  • "The First Mission" extended Japanese making-of documentary from the same raw footage
  • Interviews:
    • actor Jackie Chan
    • actor Rocky Lai
    • actor Sammo Hung #1
    • actor Sammo Hung #2
    • cinematographer Arthur Wong
  • Theatrical Trailers:
    • Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
    • English "Raging Force" Trailer
    • Japanese Theatrical Trailer
    • Japanese Teaser Trailer #1
    • Japanese Teaser Trailer #2
    • New Fortune Star Trailer
  • Reversible Cover with alternative Hong Kong poster artwork and new artwork from R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien
  • Limited editon (first print run) o-card slipcover and booklet notes by James Oliver also featuring rare stills and lobby cards from the film.

88 Films blooms SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS (review)

When the "Half Moon Killer" targets a series of women, the survivor of one of his attacks and her husband carry on their own investigation while the police attempt to prevent the killer from reaching other prospective victims. Antonio Sabato, Marisa Mell, Uschi Glas, Marian Malfatti, and Pier Paolo Capponi star in this Umberto Lenzi giallo.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHID Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth and Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson
  • "Bloodflowers" interview with director Umberto Lenzi
  • "Killed by Death" interview with actress Gabriella Giorgelli
  • Reversible Cover
  • Limited edition first pressing soft-touch slipcover

28 April 2020

Film Movement catches WINTER FLIES (Review)

Unable to cope at home, young Mara steals an Audi and takes off from Prague to stay with his hero of a grandfather.  He picks up nerdy classmate Hedus along the way, along with a rescued mutt, and a hitchhiking girl.  As the adult world encroahes on their adventure, they go to childish extremes to escape in this Czech coming of age comedy.

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

WINTER FLIES DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
  • Czech Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • English (CC) Closed Captioning
  • Short Film
  • Bonus Trailers

Eureka Classics battles ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (review)

Humankind discovers it has more to worry about than civil war at the base of Zu Mountain as a Blood Demon-worshipping sect plan to open the portal to Hell in Tsui Hark's first big epic ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN filled with visual effects from the artists behind STAR WARS, WOLFEN, CAT PEOPLE, and TRON.

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

ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN Blu-ray specs:
  • The Film - Hong Kong Version:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
  • The Film - Export Version:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
  • Selected Scenes Audio Commentary by film scholar Tony Rayns
  • “Son of Incredibly Strange Film Show” TV episode on Tsui Hark
  • 2020 Interview with director Tsui Hark
  • Interview with actor Yuen Biao
  • Interview with actress Moon Lee
  • Interview with actor Mang Hoi
  • Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
  • The first 2,000 copies comes with a limted edition O-card with new artwork by Darren Wheeling and a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film and a 23-page booklet featuring an essay by film scholar James Oliver.

26 April 2020

Masters of Cinema spies THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE (review)

Diabolic mastermind Dr. Mabuse is back in postwar Germany to wreak more havoc in the criminal underworld, this time manipulating an American millionaire and a beautiful troubled young woman towards his own evil ends.  From director Fritz Lang.

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

THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
  • German and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film historian David Kalat
  • Interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss
  • Alternate Ending
  • Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned and original poster artwork
  • Collector’s booklet featuring production and cast credits, "Lang Comes Full Circle" by Philip Kemp (2020), "Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" by David Cairns (2009), "Fritz Lang on Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse", and "The Final, Unrealised Projects" by Lotte Eisner (1976), viewing notes, and Blu-ray credits
  • Limited edition O-card slipcase with the first 2,000 copies

24 April 2020

Film Movement shines a light on SÉRIE NOIRE (review)

LOVE CRIME's Alain Corneau transposes American noir writer Jim Thompson's "A Hell of a Woman" the to "cliques and cesspools" of Paris with the eighties thriller SÉRIE NOIRE.

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

SÉRIE NOIRE Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
  • French LPCM 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • "Série Noire: Darkness of the Soul" documentary
  • Interview with director Alain Courneau and actress Marie Trintignant
  • Booklet by film historian Nick Pinkerton

22 April 2020

Vinegar Syndrome is seduced by OLIVIA (review)

After her prostitute mother is murdered when she was a child, Olivia grows up in an unhappy marriage and adopts a double life as a prostitute by night until she falls for an American under the London Bridge.  The lovers are separated by tragedy but find each other again when the bridge is transported piece by piece to Arizona, but they are not the only ones in this tragic and bloody reunion.  From the director of THE BOOGEYMAN and THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR.

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

OLIVIA 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 Subtitles
  • "Becoming Olivia" interview with actress Suzanna Love
  • "Taking on Many Roles" interview with writer/assistant director John P. Marsh
  • "A Chance Meeting" interview with cinematographer Jon Kranhouse
  • "Learning From Ulli" interview with editor Terrell Tannen
  • Super 8mm production footage
  • "Double Jeopardy" Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible Cover
A special limited edition with an embossed slipcover designed by Earl Kessler Jr. limited to 2,000 copies can be ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

Vinegar Syndrome unleashes AMITYVILLE: THE CURSED COLLECTION (review)

Be careful what you pick up at yard sales as cursed objects from the Amityville murder house take the evil into the outer world in the four film set AMITYVILLE: THE CURSED COLLECTION.

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

AMITYVILLE: THE CURSED COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:
  • Disc One - Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • “The Return to Amityville" interview with director Sandor Stern
    • “Televised Terror" interview with cinematographer Tom Richmond
  • Disc Two - Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • “Time Pieces" interview with director Tony Randel
    • “Clockwork" interview with co-writer/producer Christopher DeFaria
  • Disc Three - Amityville: A New Generation (1993):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director John Murlowski, moderated by Elijah Drenner
    • “Through the Looking Glass" interview with director John Murlowski
    • “Malevolent Reflections" interview with co-writer/producer Christopher DeFaria
  • Disc Four - Amityville Dollhouse (1996):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • “Welcome to the Dollhouse" interview with the director/co-producer Steve White
    • “Jump into the Fire" interview with cinematographer Thomas L. Callaway
    • “Demons in the Dollhouse" interview with SPFX artist Roy Knyrim
  • Reversible Covers for Each Film
  • Box set designed by Earl Kessler Jr. and limited to 5,000 copies available directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

Arrow Video and THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON (review)

Darkly Noon, an escapee from a seige on a religious cult, stumbles through the forest and onto the farm of beautiful Callie and her mute boyfriend Clay.  Unable to understand and confront his newly discovered feelings of lust and jealousy, Darkly instead looks for evil and finds it in director Philip Ridley's follow-up to THE REFLECTING SKIN.

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

THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON 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 by writer/director Philip Ridley 
  • Isolated Score including never-before-heard extended and unused cues, and the two songs from the film
  • "American Dreams: Inside the Mind of Philip Ridley" visual essay by James Flower
  • "Eyes of Fire" interview with cinematographer John de Borman
  • "Sharp Cuts" interview with editor Leslie Healey
  • "Forest Songs" interview with composer Nick Bicât
  • "Dreaming Darkly" archive featurette from 2015 featuring interviews with Ridley, Bicât and star Viggo Mortensen
  • Previously unreleased demos of the music score
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Image Gallery
  • Reversible cover
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: a slipcover and an illustrated collector s booklet featuring a new Philip Ridley career retrospective written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Umbrella Entertainment chills with THE HAUNTING (Review)

Some houses are born bad, and Steven Spielberg can make them worse with a multi-million dollar budget and ILM visual effects in the overblown remake of THE HAUNTING.  Lili Taylor, Liam neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson star.

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

THE HAUNTING Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Umbrella Entertainment hunts AFTER MIDNIGHT (review)

If love doesn't rip your heart out, something else might in AFTER MIDNIGHT when a commitment-phobic hunter barely has time to deal with his girlfriend walking out on him and something fierce and vicious tries to claw its way into his home every night.  From the star/director of THE BATTERY.

REVIEW LINK: Umbrella Entertainment (AUS) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

AFTER MIDNIGHT DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 5.1

20 April 2020

Scorpion Releasing goes BEYOND THERAPY (review)

Robert Altman and an all-star cast prove that for therapy to be successfu, both sides have to be fully committed in the Broadway comedy adaptation BEYOND THERAPY starring Julie Hagerty, Jeff Goldblum, Glenda Jackson, Tom Conti, and Chrsitopher Guest.

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

BEYOND THERAPY Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Bonus Trailers

Paramount tails the POLICE SQUAD! (review)

The makers of AIRPLANE! lampooned the TV cop show genre next with POLICE SQUAD! a short-lived ABC series that developed a cult following and spun off into THE NAKED GUN film franchise starring Leslie Nielsen.

REVIEW LINK: Paramount Pictures (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

POLICE SQUAD!: THE COMPLETE SERIES Blu-ray specs:
  • All six broadcast episodes
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen 
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary on "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" by creators David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, & Jim Abrahams and producer Robert K. Weiss
  • Audio Commentary on "The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)" creators David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, & Jim Abrahams and producer Robert K. Weiss
  • Audio Commentary on "Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)" by series writer Robert Wuhl
  • Leslie Nielsen Interview
  • "Behind the Freeze Frames" featurette
  • Gag Reel
  • Casting Test - Ed Williams
  • Casting Test - Alan North
  • Producers' Photo Gallery
  • List of Celebrity Death Shots
  • Production Memo Highlights

Kino Lorber soars with LEGAL EAGLES (Review)

Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and Daryl Hannah star in this courtroom romantic comedy in which a charismatic Assistant District Attorney and a plucky defense lawyer must team up when a beautiful young woman is framed for murder in New York's world of modern art.  From the director of GHOSTBUSTERS.

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

LEGAL EAGLES Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Making-of
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Bonus Trailers 

12 April 2020

Kino Lorber takes in a SWEENEY!/SWEENEY 2 double feature (review)

The hit British 70's cop drama THE SWEENEY had two feature film spin-offs.  In SWEENEY!, Regan and Carter of the Flying Squad investigate a suspicious suicide and become embroiled in a high-level conspiracy.  In SWEENEY 2, Regan honors the last wish of his boss on trial for corruption and sets about trying to catch a band of violent bank robbers.  John Thaw (INSPECTOR MORSE) and Dennis Waterman (NEW TRICKS) star.

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

SWEENEY/SWEENEY 2 Blu-ray specs:
  • Sweeney! (1977):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Sweeney 2 (1978):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Audio Commentaries on both films by film historian Simon Abrams
  • Theatrical Trailer for SWEENEY!
  • Bonus Trailers

09 April 2020

indiepix dines on A FEAST OF MAN (Review)

After their wealthy, pleasure-loving friend dies in a fiery accident, five friends gather for the weekend for his video will in which he promises a fortune if they will consume his corpse at dinner in this satiric comedy.

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

A FEAST OF MAN DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
  • English Closed Captioning
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • "Modern Luxury" advertisement short

Kino Lorber sails to THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE with BARNACLE BILL (review)

Alec Guinness tickles his funny bone as a captain living a double life (or double lie) in THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE and as another captain who turns a pier into a sea vessel in BARNACLE BILL.

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

THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE/BARNACLE BILL Blu-ray specs:
  • The Captain's Paradise (1953):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles 
    • Theatrical Trailer
  • Barnacle Bill (1957):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Bonus Trailers

08 April 2020

Film Movement Classics rides THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (Review)

When British Rail shuts down a village's much-needed branch line, the locals buy it up and try to run it by themselves.  Unfortunately, a pair of unscrupulous bus company owners try to sabotage the line in Ealing Studios' comedy THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT.

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

THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
  • English LPCM 2.0 Mono
  • Making "The Titfield Thunderbolt"
  • Douglas Slocombe Home Movie Footage
  • "The Lion Locomotive" featurette
  • Locations Featurette
  • Stills Gallery
  • Douglas Slocombe on Charles Crichton Audio Interview
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • About Film Movement
  • Booklet by film scholar Ronald Bergen

Scorpion Releasing looks into BLIND RAGE (Review)

Five blind mice rob a bank, and Jessie Crowder is on their trail (well, not really, he's bare in this) in the Fillipino heist film BLIND RAGE.

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

BLIND RAGE Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Interview with actor Leo Fong
  • Interview with actor Fred Williamson
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Bonus Trailers
Available directly from Ronin Flix and Diabolik DVD.

Scorpion Releasing rocks with RECORD CITY (Review)

Get your laughs off at RECORD CITY where the staff are all distracted by love and lust, a talent show is rocking the streets outside, and a robber is planning a heist.

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

RECORD CITY Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Bonus Trailers 
Available directly from Ronin Flix and Diabolik DVD.

Vinegar Syndrome bikes with HELL RIDERS (Review)

Tina Louise and Adam West take on violent bikers in HELL RIDERS, from the makers of DON'T GO IN THE WOODS and FROZEN SCREAM.

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

HELL RIDERS Blu-ray specs:
  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • "Straight to Hell" interview with co-writer/director James Bryan
  • Storyboard Excerpt Gallery
  • Reversible Cover
  • Fold-out poster
  • Limited edition bottom-loading VHS-style case
Available only from Vinegar Syndrome and select retailers.

Vinegar Syndrome hits the CARNAL HIGHWAYS for CARNAL OLYMPICS (review)

Vinegar Syndrome resurrects the Peekarama line with a Carlos Tobalina duo.  In CARNAL HIGHWAYS, budies John and Fernando buy a truck to haul cargo and pick up chicks.  In CARNAL OLYMPICS, Herschel Savage tricks two porn starlets into a contest for hottest porn star with a fake prize, but will he get it in the end?

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

CARNAL HIGHWAYS/CARNAL OLYMPICS DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
  • Theatrical Trailers for both films 
Available directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

04 April 2020

indiepix books TIME ZONE INN (review)

A couple doing a test run for a long distance relationship book a stay at a bed and breakfast know as the TIME ZONE INN where each room is its own location in another city.  Just as they and another couple question whether they can be apart and stay in love, the niece of the owner arrives with ideas that they find both liberating and destructive.

REVIEW LINK: Indiepix (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD-R (DVDCompare)

TIME ZONE INN DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
  • Italian LPCM 2.0 Stereo
  • Burnt-in English Subtitles
  • Indiepix Promo Trailer

01 April 2020

Masters of Cinema boxes BUSTER KEATON: 3 FILMS VOLUME 2 (review)

Masters of Cinema brings us a selection of three more 4K-restored Buster Keaton silent classics.  In THE NAVIGATOR, a couple are stranded on a ship set adrift by spies.  In SEVEN CHANCES, a groom is on the run when thousands of brides discover he will inherit millions of dollars if he marries on his twenty-seventh birthday.  In BATTLING BUTLER, a wealthy young man impersonates a prizefighter to impress his bride-to-be's family and ends up in the ring fighting "The Alabama Murderer."

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

BUSTER KEATON: 3 FILMS VOLUME 2 Blu-ray specs:
  • DISC ONE (The Navigator):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • Robert Israel Score DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
    • Audio Commentary by silent film historians Robert Arkus and Yair Solan
    • "Boats, Brides, and Boxers" video essay by film historian David Cairns
    • "Buster, Boats, Other Seacraft, and Work on Navigator" short documentary on the making of the film and Keaton’s fascination with boats as sources of comedy, by film historian Bruce Lawton
    • New Trailer
  • DISC TWO (Seven Chances):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • Robert Israel Score LPCM 2.0 Stereo
    • Audio Commentary by film historians Joel Goss and Bruce Lawton
    • "What! No Spinach?" comedy short by American actor / director Harry Sweet, that riffs on a number of elements from Seven Chances
    • New Trailer
  • DISC THREE (Battling Butler):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • Robert Israel Score DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
    • Audio Interviews:
      • "Buster Keaton in Conversation with Irwin Allen" (1945)
      • "Buster Keaton in Conversation with Arthur Friedman" (1956)
      • "Buster Keaton in Conversation with Robert Franklin" (1958)
      • "Buster Keaton in Conversation with Herbert Feinstein" (1960)
      • "Buster Keaton in Conversation with Studs Terkel" (1960)
    • New Trailer
  • LIMITED EDITION hardbound slipcase of 3,000 copies with a 60-page perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing on all three films by Philip Kemp and Imogen Sara Smith as well as a selection of archival writing and imagery.

Vinegar Syndrome possesses MALABIMBA (review)

Only in an Italian castle where bored rich people have seances to pass the time can a teenage girl's awkward stage include demonic possession with BURIAL GROUND director Andrea Bianchi's MALABIMBA.

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

MALABIMBA Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:
  • Blu-ray:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
  • DVD:
    • 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film historians Heather Drain, Samm Deighan, and Kat Ellinger
  • "Malabimba Uncovered" interview with actres Mariangela Giordano and cinematographer Franco Villa
  • German Promotional Still Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible Cover
The first 2,000 copies purchased directly from Vinegar Syndrome come with an embossed slipcover designed by Earl Kessler Jr.

Vinegar Syndrome meets a DEADLINE (review)

A horror author with writer's block finds violent fantasies taking on a life of their own and getting very close to home in the Canadian eighties gore flick DEADLINE.

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

DEADLINE 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 Subtitles
  • “Producing Something Horrific” interview with producer Henry Less
  • “Embracing the Horror” interview with cinematographer Manfred Guthe
  • Reversible Cover
The first 2,000 copies ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome include an embossed slipcover designed by Earl Kessler Jr.

Vinegar Syndrome rubs FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE... WERE LOVERS and THE MISLAYED GENIE (review)

The Peekarama line is back with the pairing of FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE... WERE LOVERS - in which real-life couple Rene Bond and Ric Lutze live out their rocky relationship on camera with each other and many others - and THE MISLAYED GENIE in which a virginal high school student discovers a magic lamp between his legs that houses a genie who grants sexual wishes.

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

FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE... WERE LOVERS/THE MISLAYED GENIE DVD specs:
  • 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
  • Promotional Still Gallery
Available directly from Vinegar Syndrome.

Vinegar Syndrome watches the skies for XTRO 3 (review)

A demolitions team is sent to an uncharged island to sweep for mines and discover an alien ship, bizarre scientific experiments, and a very pissed off alien in XTRO 3: WATCH THE SKIES.

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

XTRO 3 Blu-ray/DVD Specs:
  • Blu-ray:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
  • DVD:
    • 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • "Winning and Losing" interview with director Harry Bromley Davenport
  • "Acting Like a Writer" interview with writer/actor Daryl Haney
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible Cover

88 Films pledges DRAGONS FOREVER (review)

"Brothers" Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao reunite for a final time in DRAGONS FOREVER as a shady lawyer, a private detective, and a schizophrenic electronics wizard who get involved in intrigue between a fishing company suing a factory run by a vicious gangster.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

DRAGONS FOREVER Blu-ray specs:
  • Disc One (Hong Kong Version):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Mono, English DTS 5.1 (new dub) and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (classic dub)
    • Optional English Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
    • "Benny Forever" interview with actor Benny “The Jet” Urquidez
    • "Discussing Dragons Forever" interview with academic David Desser
    • "Hong Kong Cinema Forever" interview with film historian Mike Leeder
    • "Working with the Dragons" interview with martial artist Jude Poyer
    • "Double Jeopardy" interview with martial artist Brad Allen
    • "Beyond Gravity" interview with martial artist Joe Eigo
    • "Kick Fighter" interview with martial artist Andy Cheng
    • "Thai Breaker" interview with martial artist Billy Chow
    • "The Legacy of Dragons Forever" featurette with today's actors & martial artists including Troy Sandford, Chris Jones, Ross Boyask, Maria Tran, Mike Leeder, Jean-Paul Ly, Mark Strange, Mike Moeller, George Clarke, Jude Poyer & Steve Lawson
    • Deleted Scenes
    • Japanese End Credits
    • Behind the Scenes Footage and Outtakes
    • English Export Theatrical Trailer
    • Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
  • Disc Two (Limited Edition Exclusive):
    • English Export Version:
      • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
      • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (classic dub)
      • Optional English HoH Subtitles
    • Japanese CYCLONE Z Cut: 
      • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
      • Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Mono
      • Optional English Subtitles
  • Reversible Cover
  • Limited Edition O-Card Slipcover and booklet by film historian Scott Harrison
Available directly from 88 Films.