It's a DUEL TO THE DEATH between Golden Harvest and 88 Films (review)

A Chinese scholar monk and a Japanese samurai compete in a swordplay competition unaware that forces behind the scenes are attempting to "trim down" the competition for what will become a DUEL TO THE DEATH.  From the director of A CHINESE GHOST STORY.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.S.) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DUEL TO THE DEATH Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese and English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• Interview with actor Eddy Ko
• Interview with screenwriter Manfred Wong
• "Duel Idenity" interview with actor Norman Tsui
• Interview with actress Flora Cheung
• English Opening/Closing Credits
• Image Gallery
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• Reconstructed U.S. Home Video Trailer
• Comes with a reversible cover.
• The first pressing comes with an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Kung Fu Bob and a 31-page booklet with two essays by The Fanatical Dragon.

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Full Moon and Surrender Cinema entice you into the DEVIANT DUNGEON PACK (review)

Enter castles full of time traveling babes and supernatural curses courtesy of Full Moon's nineties erotica label Surrender Cinema.  In DUNGEON OF DESIRE, a photographer and two models get sent back in time by a magic chastity belt and involved in castle intrigue around a pleasure-loving evil queen and two forbidden lovers.  In LURID TALES: THE CASTLE QUEEN, a history student trying out a VR program for relaxation ends up back in the past as the special guest of a beautiful widow and her two sexy sisters.  In HIDDEN BEAUTIES: THE AWAKENING, a pair of siblings and their friends are drawn to a European castle to free three maidens from a gypsy curse.

REVIEW LINK: Full Moon Entertainment (U.S.) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

DUNGEON OF DESIRE DVD specs:

• Disc One (Dungeon of Desire):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Bonus Trailers 
• Disc Two (Lurid Tales - The Castle Queen):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Bonus Trailers 
• Disc Three (Hidden Beauties - The Awakening):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Bonus Trailers 

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MVD Visual and Skinmax offer up a duo of MIDNGHT TEMPTATIONS (review)

In this retro duo of nineties Skinmax softcore erotica, MIDNIGHT TEMPTATIONS is about a fashion designer who gets implicated in the murder of a man she slept with but cannot remember and in MIDNIGHT TEMPTATIONS 2, a young woman undergoes past life regression to discover her past loves and the identity of her mysterious Mr. Right.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (U.S.) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

MIDNIGHT TEMPTATIONS/MIDNIGHT TEMPTATIONS 2 DVD specs:

• Midnight Temptations:
• 16:9 Anamorphic 1.33:1 Windowboxed Presentation
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Midnight Temptations 2:
• 16:9 Anamorphic 1.33:1 Windowboxed Presentation
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Bonus Trailers

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Second Sight beautifies THE UGLY STEPSISTER in 4K (review)

Besotted with a handsome young prince, young, naive Elvira becomes increasingly aware that she does not possess even skin deep beauty compared to her beautiful new stepsister, Elvira is subjected and subjects herself to a series of brutal procedures in this brutal mix of fairy tale deconstruction and body horror.

REVIEW LINK: Second Sight (U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE UGLY STEPSISTER 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray combo specs: 

• 2160p24 HEVC 1.66:1 Dolby Vision and 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen Presentations
• Norwegian/Polish/Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Emilie Blichfeldt and filmmaker Patrik Syversen
• Audio Commentary by film historian Meagan Navarro
• "This is My Ball" interview with director Emilie Blichfeldt
• "Generational Trauma" interview with actor Lea Myren
• "Take Up Space" interview with actor Thea Sofie Loch Næss
• "Character and Gore" interview with effects artist Thomas Foldberg
• "The Beauty of Ugly: The Effects of The Ugly Stepsister"
• "A Cinderella Story: Kat Hughes on The Ugly Stepsister"
• Deleted Scene
• Short Films:
• "How Do You Like My Hair?"
• "Sara's Intimate Confessions"
• Comes in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Ann Bembi, a 120-page book with "Cinderella’s Stepsister" by Emelie Blichfeldt, storyboard comparisons, and new essays by BJ Colangelo, Michelle Kisner, Kimberly Leszak, Jolene Marie Richardson, Katie Rife and Amber T, as well as six collectors' art cards. 

MVD sees Van Damme x2 in DOUBLE IMPACT (review)

It's twice the Van Damme as a pair of twins separated as infants and growing up on opposite sides of the globe come together to avenge the murders of their parents.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (U.S.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DOUBLE IMPACT 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (HDR10)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray) - identical to the 2019 Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles
• "The Making of Double Impact" two-part documentary (100+ minutes)
• Deleted/Extended Scenes (54 minutes)
• "Anatomy of a Scene" interview with director Sheldon Lettich
• Behind the Scenes with actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and executive producers Charles Layton and Moshe Diamant
• B-Roll Selections
• Promotional Film Clips
• Press Kit Interviews with actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and executive producers Charles Layton and Moshe Diamant
• MVD Rewind Collection Promo with Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus Trailers
• Comes with a reversible cover and folded mini-poster.
• The first pressing includes a slipcover.

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88 Films takes aim at SHE SHOOTS STRAIGHT (review)

After gang members murder her husband, detective Mina and her sister-in-law Ling go on a mission of revenge that could cost them their jobs and their lives in this Sammo Hung production starring his future wife Joyce Godenzi and Carina Lau.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.S.) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SHE SHOOTS STRAIGHT Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Stereo and Original Mono
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (DVD dub) and LPCM 2.0 Mono (original dub)
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• Interview with screenwriter Yuen Kai-Chi
• Alternate LETHAL LADY English Opening/Closing Credits 
• Image Gallery
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible cover. 
• The first pressing includes an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore. 

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MVD Rewind pits a thousand against FORCE: FIVE (review)

When a young heiress is recruited into a religious cult, secret agent Jim Martin recruits a team of four (including THE OCTAGON's Richard Norton) to rescue her from the clutches of its corrupt leader and his karate kicking minions. From the people who brought you ENTER THE DRAGON and BLACK BELT JONES.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (U.S.) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

FORCE: FIVE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Archival interview with actor/martial artist Joe Lewis
• Archival interview with actor/martial artist Benny Urdiquez
• Archival "Benny Urdiquez" Fight Featurette
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus Trailers

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88 Films crowns Jackie Chan as the DRAGON LORD in 4K (review)

Jackie Chan is in love and it hurts in DRAGON LORD in which he plays the son of a landowner who neglects his training and studies for love only to run afoul of a gang of thieves who will kill to keep their operations secret.

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

DRAGON LORD 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Four-disc set (two 4K UltraHD discs and two Blu-rays) 
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10) and 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC Widescreen presentations of the Hong Kong version (96 minutes), the English export version (91 minuets), and the extended Taiwanese version (103 minutes)
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35 1 Widescreen presentation of the hybrid cut (109 minutes) on both 4K and Blu-ray discs
• Original theatrical and alternate home video mixes of the Cantonese track in LPCM 2.0 mono on the Hong Kong Version
• Classic English dub in LPCM 2.0 mono and Fortune Star DVD English dub in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on the Hong Kong Version
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 mono audio on the extended and hybrid cuts
• Classic English dub in LPCM 2.0 mono on the English export version
• Optional full English subtitles for the Cantonese track and simplified English subtitles for the shuttlecock sequence
• Audio Commentary on the Hong Kong Version by Asian film expert Frank Djeng and filmmaker F.J. DeSanto"Mars Cheung on DRAGON LORD" new interview
• "Dragon Tidbits" interview with assistant director Angie Chen
• "The Insider" interview with production manager Louis Sit
• "The Fall Guy" archival interview with actor/stuntman Mars Cheung
• "The Master Returns" interview with actor/action choreographer Whang In-Sik 
• Behind the Scenes Teaser
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer (1:31)
• Comes with a reversible sleeve with alternative Hong Kong artwork.
  The first pressing includes a slipcase featuring classic Japanese and International Artwork, rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore, collectable double-sided postcard, and a 40-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Thorsten Booze, Will Blaik, David West, Andrew Heskins & CJ Lines.
• A website-exclusive edition includes the limited edition extras but a different slipcover. 

88 Films gives us twice the Van Damme in DOUBLE IMPACT (review)

It's twice the Van Damme as a pair of twins separated as infants and growing up on opposite sides of the globe come together to avenge the murders of their parents.

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

DOUBLE IMPACT 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Sean Hogan and critic Kim Newman 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Sean Hogan and critic Kim Newman
• "Seeing Double" interview with stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong
• "Double Entendre" interview with director Sheldon Lettich
• "The Making of Double Impact" two-part documentary
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• "Anatomy of a Scene" interview with director Sheldon Lettich
• B-Roll Selections
• Press Kit Interview
• Promotional Film Clips
• Behind the Scenes
• Stills Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes in a slipcase with a reversible cover and a 20-page booklet. 

Radiance Films plays WICKED GAMES: THREE FILMS BY ROBERT HOSSEIN (review)

Stage actor-turned-film star and director Robert Hossein shows his range in three early works.  In THE WICKED GO TO HELL, he takes a minor part in the tale of two escaped criminals who invade the isolated home of an artist and his not-so-helpless model (Marina Vlady).  In NUDE IN A WHITE CAR, Hossein is a down-on-his-luck poet who becomes entangled in the twisted relationship between two sisters.  In THE TASTE OF VIOLENCE, Hossein is a revolutionary tasked with escorting a hostage across treacherous terrain with two untrustworthy partners and a price on their heads.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.S./U.K.) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

WICKED GAMES: THREE FILMS BY ROBERT HOSSEIN Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - The Wicked Go to Hell:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• French LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas
• "Picking Strawberries" documentary with historian Lucas Balbo featuring archival interviews with filmmakers Robert Hossein and Jean Rollin 
• "Behind Marked Eyes: The Cinematic Stare of Robert Hossein" documentary by Howard S. Berger
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two - Nude in a White Car:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas
• Interview with actress Marina Vlady
• "The Evolution of the Femme Fatale in Classic French Cinema" visual essay by critic Samm Deighan
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Three - The Taste of Violence:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by critic and author Tim Lucas
• Appreciation by filmmaker and Western authority Alex Cox
• Interview with author C. Courtney Joyner
• Theatrical Trailer
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, and a booklet featuring new writing by Walter Chaw and newly translated archival writing by Lucas Balbo.
   
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Acorn Media is on the case with HARRY WILD: SERIES 3 (review)

A retired English professor and a sixteen-year-old student partner up to solve mysteries in Dublin in this Acorn cozy mystery starring Jane Seymour.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (U.K.) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

HARRY WILD: SERIES 3 DVD specs:

• Six episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.00:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH Subtitles 

Acorn Media seeks tricks and treats from V/H/S/HALLOWEEN (review)

Learn what happens when you break the rules of trick or treating or take candy from strangers in the gory anthology V/H/S/HALLOWEEN.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

V/H/S/HALLOWEEN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English/Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH and French Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by "Diet Phantasma" director Bryan M. Ferguson, "Coochie Coochie Coo" director Anna Zlokovic, "Fun Size" director Casper Kelly & actors Lawson Greyson, Jenna Hogan, Jake Ellsworth, and Riley Nottingham, and editor Phil Samson, "Kidprint" director Alex Ross Perry, and "Home Haunt" director R.H. Norman and Micheline Pitt-Norman
• "Carbonated Carnage" behind the scenes featurette for "Diet Phantasma"
• Behind the scenes for "Coochie Coochie Coo"
• "Kidprint" deleted scene
• "Diet Phantasma" uninterrupted cut
• "Diet Phantasma" Commercial
• "Diet Phantasma" Image Gallery     

Unearthed Films sews the GARDEN OF LOVE (review)

The only survival of a commune massacre, Rebecca grows up with amnesia of the event until the ghost of her father starts beckoning her to help him find their killers so they can tear them limb-from-limb in this German splatterfest by Olaf Ittenbach (THE BURNING MOON).

REVIEW LINK: Unearthed Films (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

GARDEN OF LOVE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Making GARDEN OF LOVE" effects documentary
• "Behind the Scenes of GARDEN OF LOVE" documentary
• Original Opening
• Outtakes
• Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing includes a slipcover.

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88 Films crowns the PEACOCK KING (review)

When the Gates of Hell are opened, a Tibetan monk and a Japanese monk are separately tasked with preventing the return of the Hell King to Earth, if they can stay out of each others' way in this Golden Harvest special effects-heavy adaptation of the popular Japanese manga.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

PEACOCK KING Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Mono
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (DVD dub) and LPCM 2.0 Mono (original dub)
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Frank Djeng and filmmaker F.J. DeSanto
• "Yuen Biao on PEACOCK KING" interview
• "Tony Rayns on PEACOCK KING" interview
• Scenes from the Japanese Version
• English Opening and Closing Credits
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery 

Radiance Films stokes its LIBIDO (review)

Returning to the seaside villa where as a child he witnessed his father kill his mistress, Christian is on the verge of coming into his inheritance when his sanity is tested by bumps in the night and a few dead bodies in this Gothic/giallo hybrid directed by prolific genre screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi starring a young, then-unknown Giancarlo Giannini.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

LIBIDO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
• Interview with co-screenwriter/co-director Ernesto Gastaldi
• Interview with Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer
• English Export Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista and artwork based on original posters by Renato Casaro.
  Limited edition of 3,000 copies, presented in full height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and a booklet featuring new interviews with star Dominique Bosquero and script supervisor Patrizia Zulini. 

MVD Visual exposes KNOCK OFF in 4K (Review)

Jean Claude Van Damme, HK director Tsui Hark, and Rob Schneider(!) take on terrorists operating within Hong Kong's knock off industry in the nineties action flick KNOCK OFF.

REVIEW LINK: MVD Visual (US) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

KNOCK OFF 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (HDR10)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• Same content as the 4K disc in 1080p plus:
• 2026 interview with writer Steven E. de Souza
• 2026 interview with producer Moshe Diamant
• 2020 interview with writer Steven E. de Souza
• Archival making-of featurette
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Comes with a reversible cover.
• The first pressing includes a slipcover.

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Also available in a Blu-ray-only edition. 

88 Films brings back SWAMP THING in 4K (review)

Wes Craven tries his hand at DC Comics with his adaptation of SWAMP THING.  TWIN PEAKS' Ray Wise is a scientist who becomes mutated by his own creation.  Also starring Adrienne Barbeau, Louis Jordan, Nicholas Worth, and David Hess.

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

SWAMP THING 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs: 

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• U.S. Theatrical Cut:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Wes Craven, moderated by Sean Clark
• Audio Commentary by make-up artist William Munns, moderated by Michael Felsher  
• International Cut:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• Same content as the 4K disc in 1080p plus:
• "The Movie that Started Everything: Mimi Craven on Swamp Thing"
• "Tales from the Swamp" interview with actress Adrienne Barbeau
• "Hey Jude" interview with actor Reggie Batts
• "That Swamp Thing: A Look Back with Swamp Thing creator Len Wein"
• "Swamp Screen: Designing DC's Main Monster" interview with art director Robb Wilson King
• "From Krug to Comics: How the Mainstream Shaped a Radical Genre Voice" video essay by critic Kim Newman 
• Comes with a reversible sleeve. 
• The first pressing includes a slipcover. 
• A website-exclusive edition includes a slipcase with artwork by Ilan Sheady, slipcover with original artwork, four art cards, and a double-sided poster.