Eureka's Masters of Cinema exposes the CRUEL TALE OF BUSHIDO (review)

When his fiancee attempts suicide, a young salaryman looks back on a family history spanning over two hundred years and a recurring cycle of duty honoring the Bushido code no matter the personal destruction wrought upon generations of his family line in Tadashi Imai's cruel tale starring Kinnosuke Nakamura of the MIYAMOTO MUSASHI film series and the LONE WOLF AND CUB TV spin-off.

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

CRUEL TALE OF BUSHIDO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono and DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Tony Rayns on CRUEL TALE OF BUSHIDO" critic interview
• "7 Kinds of Samurai: Tadashi Imai's Cruel Tale" interview with Jonathan Clements, author of "A Brief History of Japan"
• Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing of 2,000 copies includes an O-card slipcover featuring new artwork by Tony Stella and a collector's booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon.

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88 Films passes the torch to GOD OF GAMBLERS II (review)

Andy Lau is the newly-dubbed "Knight of Gamblers" who must foil the attempts of his boss' old enemy to ruin his reputation while also dealing with the bumbling "Saint of Gamblers" (Stephen Chow) and his uncle who will do anything to study under him in Wong Jing's sequel to both his hit film and Stephen Chow's even bigger hit parody.

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

GOD OF GAMBLERS II Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian David West
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, NY Asian Film Festival
• "Money Maker" interview with director Wong Jing
• Scenes from the Taiwanese Version
• Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing comes with a slipcover and double-sided foldout poster. 

Acorn Media turns up crimes for the QUEENS OF MYSTERY: SERIES 2 (review)

Detective Matilda Stone and her three crime-writing aunts get tangled up in various murders in their quaint village of Wildemarsh in series two of QUEENS OF MYSTERY.

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

QUEENS OF MYSTERY: SERIES 2 DVD specs:

• Six episodes on two dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 PAL widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• "Solving Series 2" behind the scenes
• Picture Gallery 

Second Run returns to childhood with LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC! (review)

Bullied by his father and his classmates alike, small and frail Oldrich lives a rich fantasy life to survive the uneasy and violent existence of his village in between Nazi occupation and Russian liberation in this surreal film from the director of THE EAR and COACH TO VIENNA.

REVIEW LINK: Second Run (U.K.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC! Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "The City Cinematheque Interview with Karel Kachyňa" from CUNY TV 1998
• "A Memory of the Present [Paměť našeho dne]" 1963 short film by Jan Nemec
• Comes with a 20-page booklet with an essay by film critic Peter Hames. 

SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY in 4K for Severin Films (review)

When her scientist husband commits suicide, a grieving widow takes seductive and deadly revenge on the people she holds responsible in Jess Franco's reworking of THE BRIDE WORE BLACK starring Soledad Miranda, Howard Vernon, and Paul Muller.

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

SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.66:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Ecstasy in Rage" interview with author Stephen Thrower
• "In the Land of Franco Part 13" locations visit with author Stephen Thrower
• "Jess Killed in Ecstasy" interview with writer/director Jess Franco
• "Sublime Soledad" interview with Soledad Miranda historian Amy Brown
• "Paul Muller on Jess Franco" interview
• German Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a collector's slipcover (U.S. website exclusive and U.K. retail editions only)

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Severin Films tangos with VAMPYROS LESBOS in 4K (review)

Jess Franco's first muse Soledad Miranda stars as the original VAMPYROS LESBOS, the heiress of Count Dracula who seduces a young woman to initiate her into the vampiric circle in this psychedelic classic.

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

VAMPYROS LESBOS 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.66:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of "Daughters of Darkness"
• Audio Commentary by film professor Aaron AuBuchon and Oscarbate Film Collective's John Dickson and Will Morris
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of "Daughters of Darkness"
• Audio Commentary by film professor Aaron AuBuchon and Oscarbate Film Collective's John Dickson and Will Morris
• "Fever Dracula" interview with Stephen Thrower, author of "Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco"
• "The Red Scarf Diaries" Jess Franco career appreciation by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Sean Baker
• "In the Land of Franco Part 12" locations visit with film historian Stephen Thrower
• "Vampyros Jesús" interview with writer/director Jess Franco
• "Sublime Soledad" interview with Soledad Miranda historian Amy Brown
• "Jess Is Yoda" featurette
• German Opening Title Sequence
• German Theatrical Trailer
• Collector's slipcover (U.S. website exclusive and U.K. retail editions only)

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88 Films is STRIPPED TO KILL (review)

When a stripper at the Rock Bottom club is brutally murdered, a female detective goes undercover as a stripper and finds both liberation and danger in this Roger Corman production directed by Katt Shea (THE RAGE: CARRIE 2) starring Kay Lenz and Greg Evigan.

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

STRIPPED TO KILL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues! and film scholar Amanda Reyes
• Audio Commentary by director Katt Shea, moderated by Scorpion Releasing's Walt Olsen
• Audio Commentary by director Katt Shea and actress Kay Lenz 
• "Directing Stripped to Kill" interview with director Katt Shea 
• "The Contradiction" video essay by film historian Mike Foster 
• "Stripped: Katt Shea" interview 
• "Stripped: Roger Corman" interview 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• The first pressing comes with a slipcover featuring original artwork and liner notes by Calum Waddell.

Film Masters unleashes the MONSTER MAYHEM COLLECTION (review)

Four low-budget fifties shockers crawl back from the grave in the MONSTER MAYHEM COLLECTION.  In MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL, animal test subjects launched up into space land back on Earth in Africa mutated into a giant beast.  In THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, a scientist is possessed by a malevolent alien force.  In FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER, the mad scientist's grandson tests experimental drugs on the daughter of his research partner while trying to build his own monster.  In GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN, a geologist, an archaeologist, and his daughter travel up into the mountains of Big Bear in search of the remains of the conquistador Diablo Giant only to discover he is still quite fresh.

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

MONSTER MAYHEM COLLECTION Blu-ray specs:

• DISC ONE:
• Monster from Green Hell:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles (for film and commentary)
• Audio Commentary by film historian Stephen R. Bissette
• "Missouri Born: The Films of Jim Davis" career retrospective with author/film historian C. Courtney Joyner
• The Brain from Planet Arous:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles (for film and commentary)
• Audio Commentary by author/film historian Tom Weaver, film music historian David Schecter, filmmaker Larry Blamire, and actress Joyce Meadows
• "The Man Before the Brain: Director Nathan Juran" visual essay narrated by film historian Justin Humphreys
• "The Man Behind the Brain: The World of Nathan Juran" visual essay by filmmaker C. Courtney Joyner 
• DISC TWO:
• Frankenstein's Daughter:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles (for film and commentary)
• Audio Commentary by film historian Tom Weaver, filmmaker Larry Blamire, and film music historian David Schecter
• "Filmmaker of the Unknown" 1983 interview with director Richard E. Cunha 
• Giant from the Unknown:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles (for film and both commentaries)
• Audio Commentary by actor/screenwriter Gary Crutcher
• Audio Commentary by film historian Tom Weaver, director Richard E. Cunha, actor Ewing Miles Brown, producer Arthur A. Jacobs, Richard E. Cunha's son Rick, filmmaker Larry Blamire, and journalist Steven Cronenberg 
• 17-page booklet by Tom Weaver. 

Full Moon charges up MANDROID (review)

A secret robotics experience being carried out behind the Iron Curtain goes awry when a mad scientist sets it loose on its creators in this Full Moon production that originally started out as an eighties Empire Pictures project with concept art by Jack Kirby.

REVIEW LINK: Full Moon Features (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

MANDROID Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• VideoZone Behind the Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus Trailers 

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88 Films duels with SHANGO (review)

In the aftermath of the Civil War, an amnesiac Texas Ranger runs into a group of Confederates and Bandidos who are convinced the war is not over and terrorizing a small village in search of Union gold in this spaghetti western starring Anthony Steffen, Eduardo Fajardo, and Maurice Poli.

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

SHANGO Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian and writer Lee Broughton
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
• "The Career of Edgar G." interview with film historian Eugenio Ercolani
• "Son of a Gun" interview with actor Anthony Steffen's son Manuel De Teffé
• Theatrical Trailer
• The first pressing comes in a slipcover with a rigid slipcase designed by Joel Robinson and liner notes by Daniel Burnett and Lee Broughton.
   

Radiance Films has a "bullfight of love" with Almodovar's MATADOR (review)

What happens when a gored bullfighter who takes killing from the arena into the bedroom and a man-eater of an attorney realize they share the same twisted desires?  More than you can imagine in this Pedro Almodovar erotic thriller starring Antonio Banderas, Assumpta Serna, Nacho Martinez, Eusebio Poncela, and Carmen Maura.

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

MATADOR 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (SDR)
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Interview with Almodóvar expert José Arroyo
• "Jonathan Ross Presents For One Week Only" 1991 episode on Almodóvar's cinema, featuring interviews with Pedro Almodóvar, producer Agustín Almodóvar, stars Antonio Banderas and Carmen Maura, and more
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Guy Lodge and an archival interview with Almodóvar. 

Radiance Films exposes the trickery of SPECIAL EFFECTS (review)

Mary Jean is just dying to get into movies.  When she turns up dead, the director who killed her decides to turn make a film about it, drawing in her prime suspect husband, the investigating detective, and a mysterious young woman who is the dead woman's "dead ringer" in this Larry Cohen Hitchcockian thriller.

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

SPECIAL EFFECTS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Larry Cohen, moderated by Larry Cohen biographer Steve Mitchell 
• Audio Commentary by Larry Cohen biographer Steve Mitchell
• Interview with actor Eric Bogosian
• "Cohen on Cohen" feature-length archival interview
• Interview with critic Christina Newland on Zoë Tamerlis Lund
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented with o-card and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings in an O-card slipcover featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee and a booklet featuring new writing from Juan Barquin.