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31 January 2022

Blue Underground sentences MANIAC COP 3: BADGE OF SILENCE (review)

You can't keep a good "maniac cop" down but you can put him in a bad movie, as is the case with the Alan Smithee-directed MANIAC COP 3.

REVIEW LINK: Blue Underground (US) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

MANIAC COP 3 UHD/Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One (UHD):
    • 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
    • English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional Danish, Dutch, English HoH, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director Alan Smithee (Bill Lustig and Joel Soisson)
    • Theatrical Trailer
  • Disc Two (Blu-ray):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
    • English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional Danish, Dutch, English HoH, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director Alan Smithee (Bill Lustig and Joel Soisson) (2021)
    • "Wrong Arm of the Law: The Making of Maniac Cop 3" documentary
    • Deleted and Extended Scenes
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Poster and Still Gallery
    • Original Synopsis
    • D-Box
  • Slipcover

Blue Underground resurrects MANIAC COP 2 (review)

"You have the right to remain silent... FOREVER" when the undead officer Matt Cordell dispenses fatal vigilante justice to the city and the only ones who can stop him do not realize that there is corruption within their own ranks.  Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Bruce Campbell, and Laurene Landon star.  From director William Lustig and screenwriter Larry Cohen.

REVIEW LINK: Blue Underground (US) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

MANIAC COP 2 UHD/Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One (UHD):
    • 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional Danish, Dutch, English HoH, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director William Lustig, moderated by Nicolas Winding Refn
    • Theatrical Trailers:
      • International Trailer
      • UK Teaser
      • French Theatrical Trailer
      • German Theatrical Trailer
  • Disc Two (Blu-ray):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround 
    • Optional Danish, Dutch, English HoH, Finnish, French, French (Canadian), German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Castelian), Spanish (Latin American), and Swedish subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director William Lustig, moderated Nicolas Winding Refn
    • "Back on the Beat: The Making of Maniac Cop 2" documentary (46:52)
    • Cinefamily Q&A with director William Lustig in September 2012
    • Deleted Scene
    • Theatrical Trailers:
      • International Trailer
      • UK Teaser
      • French Theatrical Trailer
      • German Theatrical Trailer
    • Poster & Still Gallery
    • Isolated Music Track
    • Easter Eggs
  • Slipcase

88 Films attends GESTAPO'S LAST ORGY (review)

Held captive in a Nazi camp for sex slaves, Lise holds out against the attempts of a general and a sadistic doctor to break her spirit with various perversions and tortures in this Nazisploitation film from Cesare Canevari.

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

GESTAPO'S LAST ORGY Blu-ray:

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by critic and author Samm Deighan
  • Audio Commentary by Italian movie specialists Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
  • Alternate Italian Ending
  • "Remembering Albeto Baldan Bembo" interview with film historian Pierpaolo De Sanctis
  • "One Thing on His Mind" interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi
  • English Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible cover
    The first pressing includes a double-sided foldout Italian poster, a slipcover, and a 19-page booklet featuring the essay "Taking on the Censors: Italian Excess" by Barry Forshaw.

28 January 2022

Vinegar Syndrome gets "infested" by TICKS (review)

Teens and pot growers get "infested" in the giant bug movie throwback TICKS starring Seth Green and Clint Howard.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

TICKS UHD/Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One (UHD):
    • 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles 
    • Audio Commentary by director Tony Randel and actor Clint Howard, moderated by Nathaniel Thompson
    • Audio Commentary by special effects supervisor Doug Beswick and stop-motion animator Yancy Calzada, moderated by filmmaker Joe Begos
  • Disc Two (Blu-ray):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director Tony Randel and actor Clint Howard, moderated by Nathaniel Thompson
    • Audio Commentary by special effects supervisor Doug Beswick and stop-motion animator Yancy Calzada, moderated by filmmaker Joe Begos
    • "Under the Skin: The Making of TICKS" three-part making-of documentary
  • Reversible Cover
  • Slipcover

Vinegar Syndrome reveals NOTHING UNDERNEATH/TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE (review)

Fashion models in Milan learn that "chasing fame is murder" in this pair of eighties thrillers NOTHING UNDERNEATH - in which an American park ranger travels to Italy in search of his model sister who may have been murdered - and TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE where a music video cast is stalked by a blade-wielding killer.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

NOTHING UNDERNEATH/TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One - Nothing Underneath (1985):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues!
    • Audio Commentary by film historian and critic Rachael Nisbet
    • "Murders a la Mode" interview with screenwriter Enrico Vanzina
    • "Murder, He Wrote" interview with screenwriter Franco Ferrini
    • "High Fashion Music" interview with composer Pino Donaggio
    • "Models, Murders and Italy" interview with actor Tom Schanley
  • Disc Two - Too Beautiful to Die (1988):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
    • Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by film historian and critic Rachael Nisbet
    • "Nothing True But the Eyes" interview with writer/director Dario Piana
    • Alternate Ending Storyboards
    • Deleted Scenes Storyboards
  • Reversible Cover
  • The first 5,000 copies ordered from Vinegar Syndrome come with a special limited edition embossed slipcover designed by Earl Kessler Jr.

27 January 2022

AGFA strips for THE MONSTER OF CAMP SUNSHINE on a HONEYMOON OF TERROR (review)

Models, nurses, and honeymoon couples in search of private spots for skinnydipping and hanky panky run afoul of crazed killers in this pair of nudie cutie films.

REVIEW LINK: American Genre Film Archive (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE MONSTER OF CAMP SUNSHINE/HONEYMOON OF TERROR Blu-ray specs:

  • "The Monster of Camp Sunshine":
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • "Honeymoon of Terror":
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Bonus Film "All Men Are Apes!":
    • Upscaled from Something Weird's S-VHS Master
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen 
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Nudie Trailers

25 January 2022

Acorn Media investigates THE MADAME BLANC MYSTERIES (review)

SCOTT AND BAILEY's Sally Linday created and stars in THE MADAME BLANC MYSTERIES about a London antiques dealer who investigates her husband's mysterious death in antiques haven Saint Victoire in the South of France.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (UK) Region 2 PAL (DVDCompare)

THE MADAME BLANC MYSTERIES DVD specs:

  • Six episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
  • 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English HoH Subtitles
  • "From Script to Screen" behind the scenes
  • Photo Gallery

24 January 2022

Eureka is on FULL ALERT (review)

When the body of a murdered architect is discovered in a rooftop water tank, a disgraced civil engineer readily confesses to the deed but the investigating police detective believes that the suspect and his cohorts are planning a major heist in Ringo Lam's gritty "100% Hong Kong" thriller.

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

FULL ALERT Blu-ray specs: 

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • Cantonese/Mandarin LPCM 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by director Ringo Lam
  • Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
  • Audio interview with composer Peter Kam
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • The first 2,000 copies come with a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) and a collector's booklet featuring new writing by David West (NEO Magazine).

88 Films fights fire with iron in THE CHINESE BOXER (review)

Jimmy Wang Yu stars and directs this tale of THE CHINESE BOXER who develops literal hands of iron to avenge his master and classmates who were slaughtered by Japanese karate experts.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE CHINESE BOXER Blu-ray specs:

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • Cantonese and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film journalist Samm Deighan
  • "Open Hand Combat" interview with journalist David West
  • "Wong Ching at Shaw" interview with actor Wong Ching
  • US "Hammer of God" Theatrical Trailer
  • Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
  • English Export Trailer
  • US TV Spot
  • Comes with a reversible cover featuring with brand-new artwork from R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien & Original Hong Kong poster artwork.
  • The first pressing comes with a slipcover with brand-new artwork from R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien, a double-sided A3 foldout poster, and a booklet featuring "Hong Kong's Famous Fight Life'" by Andrew Graves.

22 January 2022

88 Films follows the DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN (review)

A country bumpkin with martial arts fighting skills gets in over his head when he becomes the favorite protector of a textile mill boss whose workers are being poached by a violent rival in DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN starring Alexander Fu Sheng and directed by Chang Cheh.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN Blu-ray specs:

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • Mandarin and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film journalist and author Samm Deighan
  • Audio Commentary by Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
  • "Jamie Luk at Shaw Brothers" interview with actor/director Jamie Luk by Frédéric Ambroisine
  • Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible cover
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY includes a limited edition slipcover with brand-new artwork from R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O’Brien, a double-sided A3 foldout poster, and a booklet featuring "The Visceral Martial Arts Cinema of Chang Cheh" by Matthew Edwards, "International Bright Young Thing: A Look Back on The Disciples of Shaolin and its Charismatic Star Alexander Fu Sheng" by Andrew Graves, and an article by Kung Fu Bob.

Severin Films surrenders to DELIRIUM (review)

A Vietnam vet goes on a killing spree of young women, but is he just a crazed murder or the "psycho puppet" of a mysterious organization in the late seventies flick DELIRIUM.

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

DELIRIUM Blu-ray specs:

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • "Directing Delirium" interview with director Peter Maris
  • "Monster Is Man" interview with special effects artist Bob Shelley
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Also avilable directly from Severin Films with an exclusive slipcover.

Severin Films warns DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE (review)

DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE, you have been warned... especially if you are a pretty young lady because there's a guy lurking in there witha flamethrower in the early eighties grindhouse classic starring Dan Grimaldi of THE SOPRANOS.

REVIEW LINK: Severin Films (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One:
    • Theatrical Cut (83 minutes):
      • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
      • English LPCM 1.0 Mono
      • Engilsh Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
      • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director Joe Ellison and producer Ellen Hammill, moderated by David Gregory
    • Audio Commentary by actor Dan Grimald
    • TV Cut (90 minutes)
      • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
      • English LPCM 1.0 Mono
      • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • "'House' Keeping" interview with co-producer Matthew Mallinson and co-writer Joseph R. Masefield
    • "We Went in the House!: The Locations of Don't Go in the House" locaiton visit with Michael Gingold
    • "Playing with Fire" interview with actor Dan Grimaldi
    • Trailer Gallery:
      • U.K. Theatrical Trailer
      • U.K. Teaser Trailer
      • German Theatrical Trailer
      • U.S. Theatrical Trailer
      • 4 U.S. TV Spots
    • Image Gallery
  • Disc Two:
    • Integral Cut (92 minutes)
      • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
      • English LPCM 1.0 Mono
      • English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
      • Optional English SDH Subtitles
      • Audio Commentary by Stephen Thrower, author of "Nightmare USA" 
    • "Minds on Fire: The Dying Embers of 1970s Psychological Horror" video essay by "The Reprobate" David Flint
    • "Burn Baby Burn" interview with director Joseph Ellison
    • "Grindhouse All-Stars: Notes from the Sleaze Cinema Underground" documentary by Calum Waddell
    • Open Matte Flamethrower Scene
    • "Don't: Trailers from the Golden Age of Grindhouse" Trailer Reel
  • Reversible Cover
  • Also avilable directly from Severin Films with an exclusive slipcover.

20 January 2022

Second Sight probes the reality of CENSOR (review)

A young censor driven to protect the viewing public by her own childhood trauma discovers that "you can't edit reality" in the British horror film CENSOR, feature debut of Prano Bailey-Bond.

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

CENSOR Blu-ray specs: 

  • Disc One:
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
    • Optional English HoH Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by director and co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond and executive producer Kim Newman
    • Audio Commentary by director and co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond, director of photography Annika Summerson, editor Mark Towns, and sound designer Tim Harrison
    • Audio Commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger, Lindasay Hallam, and Miranda Corcoran
    • "Nasty" short film by Prano Bailey-Bond
    • "The Making of Censor" documentary
    • "My Nasty Memories" interview with filmmaker David Gregory
    • "Ban the Sadist Videos" two-part documentary by filmmaker David Gregory:
  • Disc Two:
    • "My Own Nasty" interview with co-writer and director Prano Bailey-Bond
    • "The Censor" interview with actress Niamh Algar
    • "Penning a Nasty" interview with co-writer Anthony Fletcher
    • "Nasty Images" interview with director of photography Annika Summerson
    • "I'm Cutting It" interview with editor Mark Towns
    • "Nasty Sounds" interview with composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
    • "Enid's Gaze: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on Censor" visual essay
    • 2021 Screening Q&A with Prano Bailey-Bond and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, hosted by Jed Shepherd
    • Prano Bailey-Bond in conversation with BBFC compliance Officer David Hyman
    • Deleted Scenes
  • Comes in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by James Neal, a softcover book with new essays by Anna Bogutskaya, Kat Ellinger, Tim Murray, Alison Peirse, and Hannah Strong plus production photos, as well as six collectors' art cards.

15 January 2022

The Film Detective sheds noir light on THE AMAZING DR. X (review)

A young widow who believes she is haunted by her dead husband falls under the influence of a spiritualist, but is THE AMAZING MR. X a conman or a vessel for the voices of The Beyond?

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

THE AMAZING MR. X Blu-ray specs:

  • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Fullscreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by film scholar Dr. Jason Ney
  • "Mysteries Exposed: Inside the Cinematic World of Spiritualism" documentary by Ballyhoo Pictures
  • 10-page booklet with an essay by Don Stradley

 

The Film Detective births FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (review)

The grandson of Dr. Frankenstein is trying to replicate his grandfather's experiments in the suburbs of Southern California, but the female of the species definitely is deadlier than the male.

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

FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER Blu-ray specs: 

  • 1080p24 MPEG-2 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
  • Optional English SDH and Spanish subtiltes (for film, commentary, and extars)
  • Audio Commentary by film historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter & filmmaker Larry Blamire
  • "Filmmaker of the Unknown" 1983 interview with director Richard E. Cunha
  • "John Ashley: Man from the B's" interview with filmaker/film historian C. Courtney Joyner
  • 10-page booklet by Tom Weaver

13 January 2022

AGFA screens a BLOOD-A-RAMA TRIPLE FRIGHTMARE (Review)

Stay inside and get the "Full Drive-in Experience" with the BLOOD-A-RAMA TRIPLE FRIGHTMARE!  In HELP ME... I'M POSSESSED, a mad doctor in the Nevada desert is the only danger when a series of mutilation murders attracts attention to his strange experiments.  In NIGHT OF THE STRANGLER, a wealthy Louisiana famly is targeted for death after the daughter gets pregnant with a black man's child.  In CARNIVAL OF BLOOD, a Coney Island carnvial is beset by gory murders.

REVIEW LINK: American Genre Film Archive (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BLOOD-A-RAMA TRIPLE FRIGHTMARE Blu-ray specs:

  • Help Me... I'm Possessed (1974):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Night of the Strangler (1972):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Carnival of Blood (1970)
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
    • Optional English SDH Subtitles
    • Partial Audio Commentary by Bleeding Skull's Annie Choi and AGFA + Bleeding Skull's Joseph A. Ziemba
  • Drive-in Snipes
  • Optionl "Full Drive-in Experience" Playback Mode
  • The first 4,000 copies ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome come with a special limited edition embossed slipcover.

Scream Factory bites back with THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (review)

Hammer lunges into the perissive seventies with thrusting stakes and heaving bosoms in their iconic adaptation of the lesbian vampire novella "Carmilla" in THE VAMPIRE LOVERS starring Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing.

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

THE VAMPIRE LOVERS 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 actress Ingrid Pitt, director Roy Ward Baker, and screenwriter Tudor Gates, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott
  • Audio Commentary by critics Jonathan Rigby and Marcus Hearn
  • Audio Commentary by film historian/author Dr. Steve Haberman and film historian/filmmaker Constantine Nasr
  • "The Rapture of Cruelty: Carmilla in Classic Cinema" audio essay by Steve Haberman, read by actress Madeline Smith
  • "To Love a Vampire" introduction by actress Madeline Smith
  • "Carnal Crimson" interview with critic Kim Newman
  • "Fangs for the Memories" interview with film historian/author Jonathan Rigby
  • "Feminine Fantastique: Resurrecting THE VAMPIRE LOVERS”
  • "New Blood: Hammer Enters the ‘70s"
  • "Madeline Smith: Vampire Lover"
  • "Carmilla by Sheridan LeFanu (1872)" excerpts read by Ingrid Pitt
  • Deleted Shot of the Opening Beheading
  • Trailers From Hell with filmmaker Mick Garris
  • U.S. Theatrical Trailer
  • U.S. Radio Spots
  • Photo Galleries
  • Reversible Cover
  • Collector's Slipcover (with the first pressing)

11 January 2022

Emmanuelle exposed by Cult Epics in the SYLVIA KRISTEL 1970s COLLECTION (review)

Although she never escaped the shadow of her starmaking turn as Emmanuelle, Sylvia Kristel worked in a variety of genres and daring works including Alain Robbe Grille's PLAYING WITH FIRE as one of many caught up in a plot involving sex trafficking, extoration, sadism, and murder.  In PASTORALE 1943, she had a small role as a teacher ostracized by her peers during the Nazi occupation of Holland.  In MYSTERIES, she and Rutger Hauer face off cruelly and erotically.  Finally, in JULIA, she is the sexual ideal of a teenage virgin spending the summer in Switzerland with his father and kooky family.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Epics (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SYLVIA KRISTEL 1970s COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One - Playing with Fire (1975):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
    • French DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by film historian Tim Lucas
    • Interview with Catherine Robbe-Grillet
    • Photo Gallery 
    • Bonus Trailers
  • Disc Two - Pastorale 1943 (1978):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • Dutch/German/English DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by film historian Peter Verstraten
    • Interview with actors Sylvia Kristel and Frederik de Groot
    • Interview with actress Sylvia Kristel
    • Poster and Photo Gallery
    • Promo Trailer
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Bonus Trailers
  • Disc Three - Mysteries (1978):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • Dutch/English DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by film historian Peter Verstraten
    • Audio Commentary by Sylvia Kristel biographer Jeremy Richey
    • Cast and Director Interview
    • Poster and Photo Gallery
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Bonus Trailers
  • Disc Four - Julia (1974):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • German DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • English LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles
    • Audio Commentary by Sylvia Kristel biographer Jeremy Richey
    • Poster and Still Gallery
    • U.S. Theatrical Trailer
    • Bonus Trailers
  • Collector's Slipcase
  • Foldout Poster
  • Forty-page booklet by Sylvia Kristel biographer Jeremy Richey

09 January 2022

Second Run introduces HUNGARIAN MASTERS to the west (review)

Three essential films from Hugarian cinema and three prominent directors are showcased in HUNGARIAN MASTERS.  In Zoltán Fábri's MERRY-GO-ROUND, a farm girl in love with a field worker is promised to an older landowner by her father without her consent.  In CURRENT, eight youths go for an excursion to the river on a hot summer day, but only seven come back.  In AGNUS DEI, villagers are abused and abuse their power in the midst of the power struggle between the communists and the loyalists in 1919 Hungary.

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

HUNGARIAN MASTERS: THREE FILMS BY ZOLTÁN FÁBRI, ISTVÁN GAÁL AND MIKLÓS JANCSÓ Blu-ray specs:

  • Disc One - Merry-Go-Round (Körhinta):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
    • Hungarian LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles 
    • "We're Flying, Mari" interview with filmmaker István Szabó
    • Screen Tests
    • 2017 Restoration Demo
    • Theatrical Trailer (1:21)
  • Disc Two - Current (Sodrásban):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
    • Hungarian LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles 
    • Appreciation by author Gareth Evans
    • "Tisza - Autumn Sketches (Tisza - Őszi vázlatok)" 1962 short film by István Gaál
    • Theatrical Trailer
  • Disc Three - Agnus Dei (Égi bárány):
    • 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
    • Hungarian LPCM 2.0 Mono
    • Optional English Subtitles 
    • Interview with director Miklós Jancsó
  • Booklet for each film with essays by Hungarian cinema specialist John Cunningham, authors Peter Hames and Gareth Evans, and curator and critic Tony Rayns. 
  • Limited edition slipcase.

01 January 2022

Acorn Media investigates DALGLIESH (review)

P.D. James' popular detective Adam Dalgliesh comes back to the small screen in three two-part cases.  In SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE, Dalgliesh investigates the mysterious death of a trainee nurse in front of all of her colleagues.  In THE BLACK TOWER, Dalgliesh begins to suspect that three deaths of elderly people were most unnatural.  In A TASTE FOR DEATH, the bodies of a tramp and a disgraced politician are discovered in a church, and a latchkey child may hold the key to the mystery.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

DALGLIESH Series 1 DVD specs:

  • Six episodes on two dual-layer discs
  • 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 Widescreen
  • English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
  • Optional English HoH Subtitles
  • The Making of DALGLIESH
  • Who is DALGLIESH?
  • Picture Gallery