Full Moon fights for the future in CRASH AND BURN (review)

The inhabitants of a pirate television station in the middle of the desert in an apocalyptic future are stalked by a robot that has had its prime directive not to harm humans removed in one of the earliest Full Moon sci-fi flicks.  Bill Moseley, Megan Ward, and Ralph Waite star.

REVIEW LINK: Full Moon (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

CRASH AND BURN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actor Bill Moseley and director Charles Band
• Behind the Scenes
• Bloopers
• Trailer
• Bonus Trailers

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MVD Visual sinks its teeth into VAMPIRE AT MIDNIGHT (Review)

The "Vampire Killer" is leaving a trail of blood-drained women around the Hollywood Hills with nothing tying the victims together until an L.A. detective becomes suspicious of a celebrity hypnotherapist who has set his sights on his concert pianist girlfriend.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

VAMPIRE AT MIDNIGHT DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Video Trailer

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Eureka Video explores STRANGE NEW WORLDS: SCIENCE FICTION AT DEFA (review)

In East Germany, DEFA Studios proposed a Utopian take on science fiction compared to the dystopian West.  In THE SILENT STAR - better known in the U.S. as FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS - an international expedition to Venus traces an alien signal.  In SIGNALS: A SPACE ADVENTURE, a captain uses a routine repair mission to scour the ends of the galaxy for another ship that mysterious broke up in a meteor shower.  In EOLOMEA, eight ships vanish from the same base and a female scientist suspects one of her mentors knows more than he claims with regard to an old project rejected by the U.N.  In IN THE DUST OF STARS, a rocket responds to an emergency call on a distant planet but its inhabitants are a pleasure-loving bunch whose seductive surface hides an ugly secret.

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

STRANGE NEW WORLDS - SCIENCE FICTION AT DEFA Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - The Silent Star:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film scholar by Rolland Man, presented by David Melville Wingrove
• "Red Skies" interview with Soviet cinema expert Claire Knight
• "Robot" 1968 animated short by Klaus Georgi, produced by the DEFA Studio for Animation Film
• "British Filmmaker Visits DEFA" 1959 newsreel documenting Anthony Asquith's visit to the set
• "A Rocket in the Soviet Zone" 1959 newsreel covering the making of "The Silent Star"
• German Theatrical Trailer 
• "Strange New Worlds" Box Set Trailer
• Disc Two:
• Signals - A Space Adventure:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film scholar by Rolland Man, presented by David Melville Wingrove
• Eolomea:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.20:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film scholar by Rolland Man, presented by David Melville Wingrove
• "Blast Off" interview with science fiction scholar Mark Bould
• "Jana and the Little Star" 1971 animated short by Christl Wiemer, produced by the DEFA Studio for Animation Film
• "Cosmonaut Dreams - Made in Babelsberg" documentary featuring special-effects cameraman Kurt Marks, costume designer Barbara Müller-Braumann, and technician Jan-Peter Schmarje
• German Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Three - In the Dust of the Stars:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Pillarboxed Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film scholar by Rolland Man, presented by David Melville Wingrove
• "Marx Attacks" video essay by film scholar Daniel Jonah Wolpert
• "Love 2002" 1972 DEFA documentary short by Joachim Hellwig
• "Dusting Off After 30 Years" 1990 interview with cinematographer Peter SuringGerman 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Limited collector's edition of 2,000 copies including a hardcase featuring new artwork by Carly A-F and 60-page collector’s book featuring an introduction by Mariana Ivanova, Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library, and new writing by DEFA historians Sebastian Heiduschke, Sonja Fritzsche and Evan Torner.
  

Cauldron Films check into THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS (review)

A team of young geology students on their way down from the mountains gets stranded by a landslide and takes shelter in a hotel only to discover that it is not just closed for the season but for good as the ghosts of murder victims seek new victims in this too-gory-for-television film from Umberto Lenzi.

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

THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
• Audio Commentary by film historians Rod Barnett and Adrian Smith
• "Working with Umberto" interview with effects artist Elio Terribili
• "The House of Rock" interview with composer Claudio Simonetti
• "The Kriminal Cinema of Umberto Lenzi" 2001 documentary featuring an interview with director Umberto Lenzi (52 minutes)
  

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Cauldron Films investigates THE HOUSE OF WITCHCRAFT (Review)

A journalist suffering from recurring nightmares about an old witch is spirited away to the countryside by his mysterious wife, but the villa she has rented is the one in his nightmares in Umberto Lenzi's too-gory-for-television production THE HOUSE OF WITCHCRAFT.

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

THE HOUSE OF WITCHCRAFT Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth
• "Artisan of Mayhem" interview with effects artist Elio Terribili
• "The House of Professionals" interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste
  

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VCI Video exposes "The Witchmaker" as THE NAKED WITCH (review)

Six women have turned up bloodless deep in the bayou prompting rumors of a witch.  When a team of psychic researchers isolate themselves in a remote cabin to investigate the phenomena, their psychic sensitive becomes the target of Luther the Berserk, aka "The Witchmaker" in this 1960s horror gem featuring GREEN ACRES' Alvy Moore and DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN's Anthony Eisley.

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

THE NAKED WITCH Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
  
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
  
• Audio Commentary by film historian Robert Kelly
• "1960s Horror: A Decade of Innovation and Fear"
• THE WITCHMAKER Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot, and Radio Spot
  

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Radiance Films goes noir with HARDBOILED: THREE PULP THRILLERS BY ALAIN CORNEAU (Review)

The director of LOVE CRIME and ALL THE MORNINGS OF THE WORLD dabbles in the French strain of film noir in this trio of HARDBOILED pulp thrillers.  In POLICE PYTHON 357, a lone wolf cop must stay ahead of his own colleagues to avoid becoming the prime suspect in the murder of his lover who he suspects was actually killed by her previous lover whose identity is as secret as his own.  In SERIE NOIRE, a door-to-door salesman falls for "a hell of a woman" and becomes entangled in a web of lies and murder.  In CHOICE OF ARMS, a reformed gangster must fall back on old habits when he is threatened by a violent and impulsive young punk.  Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Sylvia Sandrelli, Simone Signoret, and Gerard Depardieu star.

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

HARDBOILED - THREE PULP THRILLERS BY ALAIN CORNEAU Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - Police Python 357:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 WidescreenFrench LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by The Projection Booth Podcast's Mike White
• "Maxim Jakubowski on Police Python 357's Source Novel and Adaptation"
• 1976 Belgian television interview with director Alain Corneau and actor François Périer
• Disc Two - Serie Noire:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Série noire: The Darkness of the Soul" 2013 documentary
• Interview with director Alain Corneau and actress Marie Trintignant
• 1981 Belgian television set interviews with director Alain Corneau and actors Patrick Dewaere and Miriam Boyer
• "A Hollyhock in a Cornfield: Jim Thompson on Screen" visual essay by film historian Patrick Martinovic
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Three - Choice of Arms:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 2.0 StereoOptional English Subtitles
• Introduction by documentary filmmaker Jérôme Wybon
• "Shooting Choice of Arms" 1981 interviews with the cast and crew including behind-the-scenes footage
• 1981 interviews with actors Catherine Deneuve, Yves Montand, and Gerard Depardieu from the set
• Interview with critic Manuela Lazic on Yves Montand in the 1970s
• Theatrical Trailer
• Limited edition of 2,500 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, reversible covers for each disc, and an 80-page booklet featuring new writing by Charlie Brigden, Andrew Male, Nick Pinkerton, Travis Woods, and newly translated archival interviews with Alain Corneau.
  

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Arrow Video takes aim at V-CINEMA: BULLETS AND BETRAYAL (review)

As the theatrical market shrunk and the video market boomed in the 1980s, studio Toei responded to the need for new product with a low budget video line of action and exploitation cinema called "V-Cinema" and this set includes a nine film overview of the line's action output.  In CRIME HUNTER: BULLETS OF RAGE, a cop is out to avenge his gunned-down partner.  In NEO CHINPARA: ZOOM GOES THE BULLET, a low-level yakuza member questions his choices when he is selected to take out a hitman.  In STRANGER, a young woman who embezzled money at her bank for her lover becomes the target of a stalker when she takes a job as a night time taxi driver.  In CARLOS, a Brazilian/Japanese gangster kills a rival and takes advantage of the ensuing war between two gangs to seize power.  In BURNING DOG, a paroled bank robber gets pulled into the plans of an old friend to rob a U.S. Army base.  In FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: DEATH THREAT, a female assassin infiltrates a women's prison to take out the legendary "Scorpion" only to realize that she must become the Scorpion to get out and avenge her own betrayal at the hands of her yakuza lover and a corrupt political hopeful.  In THE HITMAN: BLOOD SMELLS LIKE ROSES, a former police academy student avenges his murdered fiancee by starting a war between two gangs.  In DANGER POINT: THE ROAD TO HELL, a pair of hitmen become entangled in the intrigues around a horde of stolen money and decide to cash in themselves.  Finally, in XX: BEAUTIFUL HUNTER, a female assassin raised to kill since her childhood in a Catholic orphanage is caught between duty and love when she falls for her latest target.

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

V-CINEMA ESSENTIALS - BULLETS AND BETRAYAL Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Loose Cannon" interview with director Shundo Okawa
• "Crime Hunter and the Dawn of V-Cinema" video essay by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Zooming Out" interview with writer/director Banmei Takahashi
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two:
• Stranger:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Stranger than Fiction" interview with writer/director Shunichi Nagasaki 
• Carlos:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "From Manga to Movies" interview with writer/director Kazuhiro Kiuchi
• "An Extra Round in the Chamber" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Jonathan Clements
• Disc Three:
• Burning Dog:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Fire and Ice" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Mark Schilling
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Toshiharu Ikeda's Beautiful Monster of Vengeance" video essay by film historian Samm Deighan
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Four:
• The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Versatility of Teruo Ishii" video essay by Japanese cinema expert Frankie Balboa
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Danger Point: The Road to Hell:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Road to V-Cinema" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert James Balmont
• Disc Five:
• XX: Beautiful Hunter:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Sacred and the Profane" interview with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi
• "They Brought Back the Sleaze" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Patrick Macias
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Five keep cases in a slipcase with reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon and a collector's booklet featuring new writing by Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley Scanlon.
  

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Eureka's Masters of Cinema strikes TERROR IN THE FOG - THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC (review)

Prolific turn-of-the-century British thriller writer Edgar Wallace remained popular in Germany throughout the twentieth century from the continued reprints of his novels to an authorized cycle of films from Rialto Film that Artur Brauner's CCC company attempted to rival with a series of films based on the novels of Wallace's lesser-known son Bryan Edgar Wallace.  In CURSE OF THE YELLOW SNAKE, an adventurer attempts to keep a cursed golden statue out of the hands of a cult bent on world domination.  In THE STRANGLER OF BLACKMOOR CASTLE, a killer stalks the estate, strangling and decapitating victims.  In THE MAD EXECUTIONERS, someone has appointed themselves judge, jury, and executioner, taking the law into their own hands and going after criminals Scotland Yard cannot catch.  In THE PHANTOM OF SOHO, a knife-wielding killer stalks the alleys of the red light district.  In THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY, a series of copycat Jack the Ripper murders terrorizes the city at the same time an actor is playing the killer on the stage, making him the prime suspect.  In THE RACETRACK MURDERS, a series of murders occurs just before Derby Day.

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

TERROR IN THE FOG - THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC Blu-ray specs: 

• Disc One:
• The Curse of the Yellow Snake:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• German Theatrical Trailer
  
• The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• "What is a Krimi" introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• Disc Two:
• The Mad Executioners:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• German Theatrical Trailer
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
  
• The Phantom of Soho:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (upscaled from standard definition)
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
  
• German Theatrical Trailer
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• International Trailer
  
• "Bryan Edgar Wallace: An Era" interview with Alice Brauner, producer and managing director of CCC Film and daughter of Artur Brauner
• Disc Three - The Monster of London City:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• German Theatrical Trailer
• "Passing the Blade: From Krimi to Slasher" video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
  
• Disc Four - The Racetrack Murders:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English and German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Introduction by film historian and author Tim Lucas
• "Terror in the Fog" discussion between film historians Tim Lucas and Stephen Bissette (alternate audio track on the film)
• German Theatrical Trailer
  
• Limited edition box set of 2,000 copies includes hardcase featuring new artwork by Poochamin and a 60-page collector’s book featuring a new introduction to the Wallace krimi cycle by film writer Howard Hughes, a new essay on Edgar Wallace and Bryan Edgar Wallace by crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw and new notes on each film by Holger Haase, co-editor of Krimi! magazine.
  

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Raro Video learns to SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER (review)

In SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER, Dominic Malacarne is an up and coming Milanese police lieutenant who looks the other way for the small scale vice trade operations, but the mob is leaning on him to cover up the connections between a seemingly inconsequential complaint about a Swiss car, an aristocrat's missing son, and a pair of Portuguese gunrunners.  Directed by Fernando Di Leo (SLAUGHTER HOTEL) and starring Luc Merenda (TORSO) and Richard Conte (THE GODFATHER).

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

SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER Blu-ray specs:

• Separate English and Italian Versions
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
  
• Italian and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film critic Travis Woods
• "Master of the Game" archival interview with director Fernando Di Leo
• "The Second Round of the Game" archival interview with actor Luc Merenda and assistant director Franco Lo Cascio 
• The limited edition of 3,000 copies is presented in full-height Scanavo packaging and includes a booklet featuring new writing by Sam Moore.