88 Films grants Jackie Chan a pockeful of MIRACLES (review)

Jackie Chan unofficially remakes A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES and LADY FOR A DAY as a gangster who attributes his good luck to the roses he buys daily from a street vendor.  When he learns that the woman has let her daughter away at school believe she is a wealthy woman, he and his girlfriend (Anita Mui) go to elaborate extremes to keep her daughter, her fiance, and his father from discovering the truth while also fighting a gang war.  Lo Lieh and Wu Ma also star along with tons of celebrity cameos in this action/drama/comedy.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• Hong Kong Version (128 mins): 
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10) 
• 3 Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks (original, alternate, and home video mixes) 
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Remix 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Remix 
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by the New York Asian Film Festival's Frank Djeng and filmmaker F.J. DeSanto 
• Export Version (107 mins): 
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10) 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• Hong Kong Version (128 mins): 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen 
• 3 Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks (original, alternate, and home video mixes) 
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Remix 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Remix 
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by the New York Asian Film Festival's Frank Djeng and filmmaker F.J. DeSanto 
• Export Version (107 mins): 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• "Jackie Chan: Film Director" video essay by film historian Steve Lawson 
• Excerpts from the Taiwanese Version 
• Hong Kong Teaser Trailer 
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer 
• English Export Trailer 
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer 
• Japanese TV Spot 
• Image Gallery
• The deluxe limited edition comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong art and is packaged in a rigid slipcase with artwork by Sam Green, a perfectbound book with essays by David West, Paul Gramhall, and William Blaik – not supplied for review so we do not know if it has been expanded over the booklet included with the first 3,000 copies of the 2019 edition – limited art cards, and a double-sided foldout poster.

Eureka Classics spars with the SHAOLIN BOXERS (review)

James Tien takes the lead as one of the SHAOLIN BOXERS fighting a corrupt gang who want to take over his master's school and extort protection money from the town.

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

SHAOLIN BOXERS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• Audio Commentary by Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• "Shaolin Style" interview with Wayne Wong of Martial Arts Studies
• Theatrical Trailer
• Limited edition of 2,000 copies comes with an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling and a collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Hong Kong cinema scholar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park.
   
  

Arrow Video hosts ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK in 4K (review)

The gal with the enormous... ratings: ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK gets her own film spin-off as the horror hostess makes a stop in New England to collect her inheritance on the way to Vegas and soon has a torch-wielding mob chasing her to burn her at the stake as a witch!

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (US/UK) 4K UltraHD (DVDCompare)

ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK 4K UltraHD specs:

• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actors Cassandra Person, Edie McClurg and writer John Paragon
• Audio Commentary by director James Signorelli
• Audio Commentary by producer Patterson Lundquist
• Introduction by director James Signorelli (optional)
• "Too Macabre: The Making of ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK" 2018 documentary (97 minutes)
• "Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster" featurette
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• U.S. Teaser Trailer
• Image Galleries
• Includes a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck. 
• The first pressing also includes an illustrated collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Sam Irving, Kat Ellinger and Patterson Lundquist.
  

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88 Films gets stranded with CASTAWAY (review)

Gerald, a middle-aged man puts an ad in the lonely hearts column looking for a "wife" to spend a year with him on a desert island.  When twenty-something Lucy responds to the ad, they begin a desert island odyssey of clashing wills, tempestuous lust, and a fight for survival against nature itself in this eighties Nicolas Roeg film starring Oliver Reed and Amanda Donohoe.

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

CASTAWAY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth
• Audio Commentary by film journalist David Flint
• "Harvey Harrison on CASTAWAY" cinematographer interview
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
  

88 Films declares THE LADY IS THE BOSS (review)

Lau Kar-Leung and Kara Hui but heads over how to run a traditional martial arts school in the Shaw Brothers action comedy THE LADY IS THE BOSS.

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

THE LADY IS THE BOSS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• "Sam Ho on Lau Kar-Leung" interview
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Cover
• The first pressing includes a slipcover and foldout poster.
  

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88 Films fears THE LADY ASSASSIN (review)

When the emperor must decide between two of his sons as his successor, the evil fourth prince plots his ascension to the throne with a web of deceit and murder that may come back to haunt him in THE LADY ASSASSIN from Shaw Brothers.

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

THE LADY ASSASSIN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "From Child Actor to Fight Coordinator" interview with martial arts director Poon Kin-Kwan
• Video Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Reversible Cover
• The first pressing includes a slipcover and a foldout poster.
  

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88 Films pulls the strings of PINOCCHIO 964 (review)

Dumped onto the street as rubbish because of his inability to get an erection, cyborg sex slave Pinocchio 964 is taken in by a girl with amnesia.  As she attempts to help him recover his own identity, her own memories are triggered and this is fairy tale culminates in a bloody, vomity mess of body horror from the director of RUBBER'S LOVER.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region B Blu-ray/Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

PINOCCHIO 964 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Archival interview with director Shozin Fukui
• "Pozzie Punk" new interview with director Shozin Fukui
• "Tokyo Noise" interview with film historian Stephen Thrower
• Shozin Fukui short films "Gerorisuto" and "Caterpillar"
• Teaser Trailer
• Limited edition first pressing includes a DVD copy, numbered OBI strip, and booklet with an essay by Mark Player.
  

Blue Underground sinks its teeth into VENOM (review)

The abduction and ransom of a child goes wildly awry with a dead policeman and a killer mamba on the loose in this British thriller fro the director of BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW starring Oliver Reed, Klaus Kinski, Susan George, Nicol Williamson, and Sterling Hayden.

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

VENOM 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray Combo specs:

• 4K UltraHD:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision) 
• English Dolby Atmos 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Piers Haggard, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott 
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English Dolby Atmos 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Piers Haggard, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott 
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani 
• "Fangs for the Memories" 2025 interview with editor/second unit director Michael Bradsell 
• "A Slithery Story" 2025 interview with makeup artist Nick Dudman 
• "Mamba Memories" 2025 interview with author/critic Kim Newman 
• "Pick Your Poison" 2025 interview with author/critic Allan Bryce 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Teaser Trailer TV Spots 
• Poster and Still Gallery
• Comes with a slipcase, a reversible cover, and an 18-page illustrated booklet featuring the essay "Filmmaking Bites: The Twisting, Turning History of "Venom" by Michael Gingold.

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Eureka celebrates THE DAREDEVILS with an ODE TO GALLANTRY (review)

Chang Cheg's Venom Mob is showcased in this double bill.  In THE DAREDEVILS, four friends face off against an army of ten thousand to avenge a murdered friend.  In ODE TO GALLANTRY, a beggar gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity between rival martial arts gangs.

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

THE DAREDEVILS/ODE TO GALLANTRY Blu-ray specs: 

• The Daredevils:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist and filmmaker Michael Worth
• Audio Commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Ode to Gallantry:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist and filmmaker Michael Worth
• Audio Commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• The first pressing of 2,000 copies comes with a limited edition O-Card slipcover featuring new artwork by Chris Malbon and a collector's booklet featuring new writing by writer and critic James Oliver.
  

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Raro Video and Radiance Films take on RULERS OF THE CITY (review)

Low-rung protection money collector Tony is eager to prove himself but gets in over his head collecting on a bad check from violent mobster Scarface Manzari and must rely on his new buddy Ric and old timer Napoli to stay one step ahead of two violent gangs on his tail in this lighter crime thriller from Fernando Di Leo (MILAN CALIBER 9).

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

RULERS OF THE CITY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.88:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles
• "Violent City" documentary featuring including interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, actor Al Cliver, editor Amedeo Giomini, and weapons expert Gilberto Galimberti
• "As a child, I saw my father murdered, and I want revenge now that I'm grown" interview with Eurocrime authority Mike Malloy 
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and a booklet with new writing by Francesco Massaccesi.

Radiance Films engages with terrorism in LE COMBAT DANS L'ILE (review)

Before THE CONFORMIST, Jean-Louis Trintignant played another character who embraced fascism in the French political thriller/domestic drama LE COMBAT DANS L'ILE as a man on the run with his wife (Romy Schneider) after a failed political assassination attempt.

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

LE COMBAT DANS L'ILE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen 
• French LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Interviews with director Alain Cavalier
  
• 1983 TV interview with actor Jean-Louis Trintignant 
• "The Succulence of Fruit" interview with critic Philippe Roger 
• "Un Américan" 1958 short film by Alain Cavalier 
• Still Gallery 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Reversible Cover

88 Films is paralyzed by the SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (review)

When his girlfriend vanishes the night before they plan to leave the country, Prague-based American reporter Gregory Moore goes in search of her, stumbling into a sinister conspiracy only to realize too late that his own time is running out in this giallo from Aldo Lado (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS) starring Jean Sorel, Ingrid Thulin, Mario Adorf, and Barbara Bach.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray Combo Specs: 

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision) 
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by Italian cinema experts Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani 
• "When Butterflies Turned to Glass" interview with director Aldo Lado 
• "Glass Doll Theories" video essay by film historian Pier Maria Bocchi 
• "Lado's Trilogy of Terror" video essay by film historian Mike Foster 
• "Paralyzed by Fear" interview with expert Stephen Thrower 
• "The Need to Sing" interview with singer Edda dell'Orso 
• "Cutting Glass Dolls" interview with editor Mario Morra 
• "Czech Mate" retrospective documentary with director Aldo Lado and Jean Sorel (101 mins) 
• "Einmal Italien und zurück [Once to Italy and Back]" interview with co-producer Dieter Geissler 
• English International Trailer 
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen 
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by Italian cinema experts Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani 
• "When Butterflies Turned to Glass" interview with director Aldo Lado 
• "Glass Doll Theories" video essay by film historian Pier Maria Bocchi 
• "Lado's Trilogy of Terror" video essay by film historian Mike Foster 
• "Paralyzed by Fear" interview with expert Stephen Thrower 
• "The Need to Sing" interview with singer Edda dell'Orso 
• "Cutting Glass Dolls" interview with editor Mario Morra 
• "Czech Mate" retrospective documentary with director Aldo Lado and Jean Sorel (101 mins) 
• "Einmal Italien und zurück [Once to Italy and Back]" interview with co-producer Dieter Geissler 
• English International Trailer 
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• Presented in a rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys, and containing a perfect-bound book, and double-sided poster,
  

88 Films and Jackie Chan wield the DRAGON FIST (review)

Jackie Chan is out to avenge his murdered master (again) in this late Lo Wei production preceding his Golden Harvest blockbusters.

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

DRAGON FIST Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin, Cantonese, Cantonese (alternate video mix), and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles for Mandarin and Cantonese tracks 
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and FJ DeSanto
• "A Dragon's Rules" interview with writer/journalist David West
• Japanese Opening Credits
• Japanese TV Spot
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• Lobby Card Gallery
• Then and Now Gallery

Second Run resurrects a GOLEM (review)

A man discovers in the course of a police interrogation that he is missing all but his most recent memories in this Polish quasi-science fiction thriller based on a pre-Kafka occult novel by Gustav Meyrink directed by Piotr Szulkin.

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

GOLEM Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• Polish LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Michael Brooke 
• Short Films: 
• "One, Two, Three [Raz, dwa, trzy]" (1972) 
• "Everything [Wszystko]" (1972) 
• "A Sketch in Six Parts [Szkic do sześclu części]" (1973) 
• "Copyright Film Polski MCMLXXVI" (1976) 
• Annotated Script/Storyboard 
• Comes with a 20-page booklet featuring essays by Tomasz Kolankiewicz and Michał Oleszczyk.
  

Second Run chases FUGITIVE IMAGES: SELECTED WORKS BY ANDREA LUKA ZIMMERMAN (review)

"A selection of vital works from filmmaker, artist and cultural activist Andrea Luka Zimmerman, the first director to be shortlisted for both the Grierson and Jarman Awards. Situated between documentary and fiction, these films challenge political and structural injustice, working with marginal communities to assert our shared humanity."

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

FUGITIVE IMAGES: SELECTED WORKS BY ANDREA LUKA ZIMMERMAN Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• Taskafa: Stories from the Street (2013): 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.78:1 Widescreen 
• English/Turkish LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
• English Subtitles 
• Trailer 
• Estate, a Reverie (2015): 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.78:1 Widescreen 
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
• Trailer 
• Short Films: 
• "I am Here" 
• "More Utopias Now!" 
• "Birdboy and the General" 
• "Shelter in Place" 
• "Civll Rites" 
• "Art Class" (2020) 
• Trailer 
• "Merzschmerz – Four Short Films": 
• "Lucky Hans" 
• "A Good Man" 
• "The Flying Fish" 
• "Once Upon a Time There Was a Tiny Mouse" 
• Appreciation by Penny Woodcock
• Disc Two:
• Erase and Forget (2017): 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.78:1 Widescreen 
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
• Trailer 
• Here for Life (2019): 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.78:1 Widescreen 
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
• Teaser and Trailer 
• Behind the Scenes 
• Songs: 
• "Wayfaring Stranger" by Fern Maddie 
• "Gelem Gelem" by Balamuc 
• "Sounding the Voices" sound work by Andrea Luka Zimmerman 
• Appreciation by Gareth Evans
• Comes with a 48-page booklet.

88 Films gets a slick FULL BODY MASSAGE (review)

When her regular masseur cancels, a successful art dealer spends a challenging evening with a replacement whose focus on spiritual healing spurs erotic intimacy in Nicolas Roeg's Showtime TV movie starring Mimi Rogers and Bryan Brown.

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

FULL BODY MASSAGE Blu-ray specs: 

• Theatrical Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widesreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• TV Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen (upscaled from standard definition)
• English DTS 2.0 Stereo
• "Painting by Numbers: Gareth Williams on FULL BODY MASSAGE" actor interview
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Hannah Gillingham.
  

Eureka's Masters of Cinema visits SIRK IN GERMANY 1934-1935 (review)

Before Douglas Sirk became Hollywood's King of Melodramas, he worked in a variety of genres in his native Germany but always with an eye towards biting social commentary about life under the Nazis.  In the comedy APRIL, APRIL! a pompous man and his socialite wife scramble to save face after they have been the victims of a prank.  In THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT, an unwed mother endures public shame as she attempts to live honorably in a repressive society.  In PILLARS OF SOCIETY, a man returns to his Norwegian home after twenty years and discovers that he has been scapegoated by his corrupt brother-in-law.

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

SIRK IN GERMANY 1934-1935 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.19:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen Transfers of APRIL, APRIL!, THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT, and PILLARS OF SOCIETY
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono Audio
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentaries on all three films by Douglas Sirk expert David Melville Wingrove
• Shorts: 
• Zwei Windhunde (Two Greyhounds) (1934) 
• Dreimal Ehe (Three Times Before) (1935) in two versions 
• Der eingebildete Kranke (The Imaginary Invalid) 
• "Magnificent Obsessions" 2025 interview with film historian Sheldon Hall
• Limited to 2,000 copies. 
• Comes with an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow and a collector’s booklet featuring a new extended essay on Sirk’s early works by German cinema expert Tim Bergfelder.