Eureka and Masters of Cinema worship THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR (review)

In response to Hollywood and West German westerns that East Germany felt promoted capitalist and colonialist values, the government-controlled studio DEFA mounted their highly successful run of Socialist Realist westerns with Native American heroes with THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR about a Oglala Lakota warrior who tries to keep the U.S. Army from moving his people to the reservations and protect the sacred treasure from greedy gold miners.

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

THE SONS OF GREAT BEAR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Western scholar Jenny Barrett
• "World Wide West" interview with Austin Fisher, author of "Radical Frontiers in the Spaghetti Western"
• "Homelands" video essay by Lee Broughton, author of "The Euro-Western"
• "Eyewitness Report" 1965 newsreel on the making of the film
• German Theatrical Trailer
• Masters of Cinema Trailer
• Comes in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Colin Murdoch and a collector's booklet featuring new writing on "The Sons of Great Bear" and DEFA’s approach to the Western by Mariana Ivanova, Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library.

Eureka exposes THE TATTOOED DRAGON (review)

Jimmy Wang Yu plays The Dragon who arrives in Thailand to track down stolen relief funds for Chinese overseas and ends up in the middle of a conflict between villagers and a gang using a casino to rob them of all their money and land.  From the director of THE BIG BOSS.

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

THE TATTOOED DRAGON Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng (New York Asian Film Festival) and filmmaker Michael Worth
• Audio Commentary by action film experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• "Wei and the Dragon" interview with martial arts cinema expert Wayne Wong
• Alternate English Export Opening Credits
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (mistakenly authored at 1080p25 and may not play on all U.S. players)
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing includes a slipcover featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore, a reversible cover, and a booklet by James Oliver.

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Full Moon Features plugs into ARCADE (review)

In this Full Moon production from producer Charles Band and director Albert Pyun, a gang of teenagers are the test subjects for the new virtual reality game ARCADE that is able to react like a living being and change its strategy.  When members of the group start to literally disappear into the game, they must learn how to beat ARCADE which has learned how to play outside the virtual world.

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

ARCADE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080i60 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actress Megan Ward and producer Charles Band
• Behind the Scenes
• Interview with actor John De Lancie
• Rare EFX Reel
• Video Trailer
• Bonus Trailer

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Blue Underground explores THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (review)

Christopher Lee stars as a supervillain bent on transforming the world's water supply into a giant block of ice in THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU from director Jess Franco.

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

THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.66:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• International Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• "The Fall of Fu Manchu" interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee and Tsai Chin
• "Castle of Carnage" interview with Stephen Thrower, author of "Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco"
• International Trailer
• Poster and Still Gallery
• "The Castle of Fu Manchu" 2023 RiffTrax Edition Riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy
• Comes with a reversible cover and slipcover. 

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Blue Underground chills THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU (review)

Super villain Fu Manchu discovers a powerful ancient Incan poison and abducts ten beautiful women to administer it to his enemies with the blinding "kiss of death" in this Jess Franco action adventure with Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, Maria Rohm, Gotz George, Shirley Eaton, and Richard Greene.

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

THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.66:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• International Trailer
• "Sax Rohmer's KISS AND KILL" U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• "The Rise of Fu Manchu" interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers, and stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, and Shirley Eaton
• "Sanguine-Stained Celluloid" interview with Stephen Thrower, author of "Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco"
• International Trailer
• "Sax Rohmer's KISS AND KILL" U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• Poster and Still Gallery
• "The Blood of Fu Manchu" 2022 RiffTrax Edition Riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy
• Comes with a reversible cover and a slipcover. 

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88 Films executes HER VENGEANCE (review)

When a casino manager is raped by five criminals, she seeks out the help of a wheelchair-bound ex-gangster to realize her bloody revenge in this gruesome Golden Harvest Category III film starring Pauline Wong and Lam Ching-Ying.

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

HER VENGEANCE Blu-ray specs:

• Category III Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival 
• Category IIb Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong poster artwork in a rigid slipcase designed by Chris Barnes, a collectible postcard, and a 40-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Frasier Elliott, Matthew Edwards, and C.J. Lines. 

88 Films collides with SEX RIDER: WET HIGHWAY (review)

An unhappily-engaged young woman and a man on the run collide in a nightmare of sex and violence in the Nikkatsu erotic film SEX RIDER: WET HIGHWAY.

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

SEX RIDER: WET HIGHWAY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.45:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Earl Jackson and Jasper Sharp
• "Highway to Nowhere" introduction by film historian Ken Terawaki
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer 

Cauldron Films gets lost in THE HOUSE OF CLOCKS (review)

When a home invasion on the villa of an eccentric clock collector and his wife culminates in a bloodbath, three young thieves become trapped in a supernatural nightmare when all of the clocks start running backwards and the dead come back to life in this late era Lucio Fulci gorefest.

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

THE HOUSE OF CLOCKS 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 Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani
• "Lighting the House of Time" interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste
• "Time and Music" interview with composer Vince Tempera
• "Working with the Master" interview with first assistant director Michele de Angelis
• "Time with Fulci" interview with special effects artist Elio Terribili
• Archival Interviews with actors Paolo Paolini, Carla Cassola, and Al Cliver

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88 Films flies away with TOKYO EMANUELLE (review)

When her Parisian husband leaves her, Kyoko returns to Japan and becomes entangled in eroticism with an old schoolmate and a mysterious professor who has come up with new laws of eroticism in this Nikkatsu erotic film inspired by the famous Emmanuelle novels and films.

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

TOKYO EMANUELLE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.45:1 Widescreen
• Japanese and English LPCM 2.0 Mono Tracks
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Jasper Sharp and David Flint
• "Lost in Translation" introduction by film historian Kei Chiba
• "Emanuelle Goes to Tokyo" introduction by film historian Mio Hatokai
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing includes a limited edition OBI strip and booklet notes by Jasper Sharp and Dakota Noot.

Arrow Video can't get enough of THE STUFF in 4K (review)

Are you eating it or is it eating you?  New World's and Larry Cohen's cult eighties hit THE STUFF hits 4K via Arrow Video.  Michael Moriarty plays an industrial spy looking into the overnight success of the highly addictive and mind-altering desert "The Stuff".  Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Danny Aiello, and Patrick O'Neal star.

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

THE STUFF 4K UltraHD specs:

• Disc One - Theatrical Cut (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writers and critics David Flint and Adrian Smith 
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Larry Cohen 
• "Can't Get Enough of THE STUFF: Making Larry Cohen's Classic Creature Feature" 2014 documentary featuring Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea Marcovicci, mechanical makeup effects artist Steve Neill, and critic Kim Newman 
• "Enough is Never Enough" newly-edited featurette featuring previously unseen interviews with director Larry Cohen and producer Paul Kurta, originally shot for the 2017 documentary KING COHEN 
• "42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street" 2015 documentary 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Alternate Trailer 
• TV Spot 
• Arrow Trailer 
• KING COHEN Trailer 
• Image Gallery
• Disc Two - Pre-release Version (Blu-ray): 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Comes in a slipcover with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Barnes and an iIllustrated collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Joel Harley and a new essay by Daniel Burnett.

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88 Films falls for a WITCH FROM NEPAL (review)

Chow Yun-Fat gets bewitched on a trip to Tibet as the chosen one of a tribe fighting an evil cat warrior in this film from the director of A CHINESE GHOST STORY.

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

WITCH FROM NEPAL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• Interview with critic Tony Rayns
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer 

Deaf Crocodile haunts FRECKLED MAX AND THE SPOOKS (review)

Abused by his foster parents at a traveling circus, Max escapes the caravan in "vampire country" and meets the friendly residents of Castle Frankenstein in Juraj Jakubisko's feature-length version of his seven-part television miniseries based on the popular children's novel "Frankenstein's Aunt".

REVIEW LINK: Deaf Crocodile (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

FRECKLED MAX AND THE SPOOKS Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Slovak DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
• "Film about Film [Film o filme]" 1986 behind the scenes look at the miniseries and feature by Rudolf Ferko
• "Portrait of a Film Director [Portrét režiséra]" 1989 documentary on director Juraj Jakubisko by Matej Mináč featuring filmmaker Federico Fellini
• Interviews:
• Ján Ďuriš, director of photography
• Petra Galková, assistant director
• Rastislav Steranka, Director of the National Cinematographic Centre of the Slovak Film Institute
• "Frankenstein's Faster, or Frankenstein's Aunt: The Novel That Became Freckled Max" video essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson (27:55)

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Arrow Video stays up late with THE NIGHTWATCH COLLECTION (review)

Before Nordic Noir, there was NIGHTWATCH, a Danish thriller in which young law student Martin (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in his breakout role) takes a job as a watchman in Copenhagen's forensic department during the murderous reign of a serial killer of young women in which he becomes the prime suspect.  Kim Bodnia (THE BRIDGE) and Sofie Grabol (THE KILLING) also star.  In NIGHTWATCH: DEMONS ARE FOREVER, Martin's daughter discovers that the murder who nearly killed her parents is still alive and institutionalized, starting a new chain of murders.

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

THE NIGHTWATCH COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - NIGHTWATCH:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Danish/Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Ole Bornedal
• "Not Afraid of the Darkness" interview with director of photography Dan Laustsen
• "Death in Denmark" appreciation of NIGHTWATCH and NIGHTWATCH: DEMONS ARE FOREVER by film critic and Nordic Noir specialist Barry Forshaw
• 1994 making-of documentary
• Danish Theatrical Trailer
• German Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two - NIGHTWATCH - DEMONS ARE FOREVER:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• Danish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• "How the NIGHTWATCH Films Explore the Horrors of Adulthood" video essay by film critic Heather Wixson
• "Life (and Death) on Mars: Public and Private Life in the NIGHTWATCH Universe" video essay by film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Danish Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Peter Strain, a double-sided foldout poster featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Peter Strain, and illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Eva Novrup Redvall. 

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Altered Innocence gets JUICE for DADDY DEAREST: TWO CLASSIC ADULT FILMS BY ARTHUR J. BRESSAN, JR. (review)

The two penultimate East Coast adult films of gay filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan come to Blu-ray in new 2K restorations.  In JUICE, a photographer has the weekend to get some hot shots or lose his job.  In DADDY DEAREST, a director making an adult film is inundated with memories of his lost love and fantasies that begin to reshape his work.  Michael Christopher, Daniel Holt, Johnny Dawes, Eric Ryan, and Vincent Thomas (the alleged inspiration for the Ryan Phillippe's character in the film 54) star.

REVIEW LINK: Altered Innocence (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

JUICE/DADDY DEAREST: TWO CLASSIC ADULT FILMS BY ARTHUR J. BRESSAN, JR. Blu-ray specs:

• Juice (1984):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Engish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Elizabeth Purchell & KJ Shepherd of "Cruising the Movies"
• Theatrical Trailer
• Daddy Dearest (1985):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Engish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Elizabeth Purchell & KJ Shepherd of "Cruising the Movies"
• Theatrical Trailer
• Video essay on Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. by I. Que Grande 
• Ephemera and Script Gallery 
• Other Trailers
• Comes with a booklet with an essay by Mackenzie Lukenbill and press notes by Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. 

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88 Films is SEXUALLY YOURS (review)

Descendant of the great seducer Casanova, Gerard Casanova is a "call boy" who prefers the women to come to him and pay (travel costs extra) in this seventies French sex comedy from Max Pecas.

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

SEXUALLY YOURS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Still Gallery