88 Films foretells THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES in 4K (review)

Two years after his wife's death from a tumor after a mysterious car accident, a Washington Post reporter winds up in Point Pleasant with no memory of how he got there and becomes entangled with local sightings of a sinister creature whose presence foretells disaster.  Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, and Alan Bates star.

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

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.40:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington, cinematographer Fred Murphy, composer Andy Milburn, editor Brian Berdan, and production designer Richard Hoover
• Audio Commentary by film critic Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington
• Theatrical Teaser
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington, cinematographer Fred Murphy, composer Andy Milburn, editor Brian Berdan, and production designer Richard Hoover
• Audio Commentary by film critic Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington
• "Do Not Be Afraid: Investigating The Mothman Prophecies" documentary featuring director Mark Pellington, actor Will Patton, cinematographer Fred Murphy, production designer Richard Hoover, film editor Brian Berdan, and composers tomandandy (80 minutes)
• "The Bridge - The Making of The Bridge Sequence"
• "Mothman Under the Influence" montage of director Mark Pellington's production archive featuring the music of David Ness 
• "Day by Day - A Director's Journey Part 1: The Road In" 
• "Day by Day - A Director's Journey Part 2: The Road Home" 
• "Search for the Mothman" documentary (43 minutes) 
• "First Look Special" Archive Featurette 
• Archive Interviews with actors Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, and director Mark Pellington 
• Deleted Scenes 
• "Halflight" music video by Low 
• Theatrical Teaser 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes in a rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Devon Whitehead, a 40-page perfect bound book including "Living With Ghosts: Loss and Love in Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies" by Walter Chaw, "You Have Been Here Twice Before, Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies and the Uncanny" by James Rose and rare stills, a double-sided foldout poster, and five collectible postcards.
• Also available in a website-exclusive edition with an O-ring slipcover featuring the original poster art (limited to 1,000 copies). 

88 Films spooks up THE HAUNTED COP SHOP (review)

A police station is attacked by poltergeist vampires during the Hungry Ghosts Festival in this Hong Kong horror comedy from Jeffrey Lau co-written and produced by Wong Kar Wai.

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

THE HAUNTED COP SHOP Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Frank Djeng, New York Asian Film Festival
• "Hauntings and Hollerings: James Mudge on THE HAUNTED COP SHOP"
• Deleted and Extended Shots
• Image Gallery
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with an O-ring slipcover featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore, removable O-ring, a reversible sleeve, and a double-sided foldout poster.

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Eureka's Masters of Cinema look BENEATH THE TREES: FOLK TALES AT DEFA II (review)

While West Germany's film industry was competing with Hollywood and primarily Disney, East Germany was adapting folk tales and fairy tales with socialist ideals with adaptations of Hans Christian Andersen's THE TINDERBOX and THE ROBE (a zany take on "The Emperor's New Clothes" shot in 1961 but banned until 1991), the Brothers Grimm's SNOW WHITE, SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED, and THE FROG KING.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka Entertainment (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BENEATH THE TREES: FOLKTALES AT DEFA Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• The Tinderbox (1959):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by socialist cinema expert Ally Pitts, host of A Russian and Soviet Movie Podcast 
• 1964 U.K. Television English-Dubbed Version
• "An Enchanted Land" interview with German cinema expert Rachel Palfreyman
• Puppet Animations:
• "The Emperor’s New Clothes (Herbert K. Schulz, 1956)
• "The Fisherman and his Wife (Werner Krauße, 1975)
• "Beauty and the Beast (Katja Georgi, 1976) 
• Disc Two:
• Snow White (1961):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Snow White and Rose Red (1979):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• "Mirror, Mirror" video essay by film and animation scholar Sam Summers 
• Disc Three:
• The Frog King (1988):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• The Robe (1961/1991): 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Michael Brooke 
• Limited collector's edition box set of 2,000 copies includes hardbound slipcase featuring new artwork by Carly A-F and a 60-page book featuring a new essay on the production design of DEFA’s folktales by Märchenfilme expert Corinna Alexandra Rader, new notes on each film in this set by DEFA historians Sebastian Heiduschke and Qinna Shen, plus the original Hans Christian Andersen and Brothers Grimm stories that inspired The Tinderbox, Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, The Frog King and The Robe. 

Toy Robot Video enters the NINJA WARS (review)

Sonny Chiba, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Noriko Watanabe star in the visually-stunning eighties fusion of Japanese history and martial arts fantasy as pawns in murderous intrigue between warlords battling for control and using ninjas as their secret weapon.

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

NINJA WARS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Jonathan Clements
• "A Japanese Ninja: author Matt Alt on Ninja Wars"
• "The Way of the Ninja: author and academic Daisuke Miyao on the ninja in Japanese Cinema"
• Three Theatrical Trailers
• VHS Transfer of the English-dubbed Version
• "Dark Magic Fantasy of Ninja Sword and Sorcery" text essay by Zack Davisson
• First pressing comes with a slipcover. 

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Cult Films and Tinto Brass expose MIRANDA (review)

Serena Grandi is discovered in the film that crowned Tinto Brass the "Maestro of Eroticism" as MIRANDA, a woman running an Italian guesthouse in the aftermath of World War II.  With her husband missing and presumed dead, she moves on with life with a series of lovers, looking for one who will take her without trying to possess her.

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

MIRANDA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English, Italian, and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles (for English) and English (for Italian)
• Viewing options with either English or Italian opening and closing credits
• "The Innkeeper's Secrets" interview with director Tinto Brass
• English Export Trailer
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Cover
• First Pressing Slipcover

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Radiance Films' tragic UNE FEMME DOUCE (review)

Robert Bresson strips down the high emotion of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella of a domineering husband reflecting on his wife's suicide in LA FEMME DOUCE, the debut of actress Dominique Sanda and Bresson's first film in color.

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

UNE FEMME DOUCE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• French LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Michael Brooke
• 1969 television interview with director Robert Bresson by composer Pierre Boulez
• 1985 television interview with actress Dominique Sanda
• "Over Her Dead Body" visual essay by film historians Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin
• Comes with a reversible cover. 

Radiance Films checks into NEW ROSE HOTEL (review)

Two corporate espionage agents set up a honey trap to lure away a scientist from a ruthless corporation but love and money make deadly bedfellows in this techno noir from Abel Ferrara starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and Asia Argento.

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

NEW ROSE HOTEL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by screenwriter Christ Zois
• "Abel Ferrara on NEW ROSE HOTEL" interview
• "Asia Argento on NEW ROSE HOTEL" interview
• "Wild and Woolly" interview with actor Willem Dafoe
• "Beatrice Loayza on NEW ROSE HOTEL" critic interview
• Theatrical Trailer
• Limited edition of 4,000 copies, presented in and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings including a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original promotional materials and booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens, author of "Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision". 

88 Films recruits Jackie Chan for the MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS in 3D (review)

Jackie Chan, James Tin, and Bruce Leung are the MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS escorting a beautiful lady, her sick brother, and lethal twin swords women across deadly mountain terrain teeming with bandits and witches in the first Hong Kong 3D production.  Directed by Lo Wei.

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

MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS Blu-ray specs:

• Two-disc set featuring Real3D 1080p24 MVC 2.35:1 widescreen and 2D 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen versions of the Film
• Cantonese, Mandarin, and English LPCM 2.0 Mono Tracks
• Alternate English LPCM 2.0 Mono Track with alternate music cues
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by NY Asian Film Festival's Frank Djeng and filmmaker F.J. DeSanto
• "Punching Into the 3rd Dimension - James Mudge on Magnificent Bodyguards"
• "Magnificent Bodyguards - A New Dimension in Action?" visual essay by film historian Steve Lawson
• Mandarin Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Trailer  
• Comes with a reversible cover.

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Arrow Video exposes the corruption of SHOGUN'S NINJA (review)

Sonny Chiba passes the torch to Hiroyuki Sanada and takes the villainous role in this tale of intrigue and betrayal as a young man returns to Japan from China to avenge the massacre of his ninja clan.  This mix of historical fact and fictional liberties includes famous characters like the rebel thief Goemon Ishikawa and the notorious Hattori Hanzo, from the director of ROARING FIRE, SEX AND FURY, and SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (U.S.) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SHOGUN'S NINJA Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Japanese and English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Chris Poggiali
• "The Rebirth of Japanese Action Cinema" interview with Japanese cinema expert Clément Rauger
• Comes in a slipcover with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Skinner, and a collectors’ booklet featuring "The Double Agents of SHOGUN'S NINJA" by Earl Jackson.

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Eureka Classics shudders from THE SCREAMING SKULL (review)

A mentally-fragile young bride is haunted by the memory of her husband's first wife which takes the form of a malevolent ghost.. or does it in THE SCREAMING SKULL, an AIP B-movie that anticipates the Roger Corman Poe Gothics to come.

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

THE SCREAMING SKULL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Optional introduction by film historian Stephen Laws
• "Shrouded in Mystery" video essay by film and literature scholar Mary Going
• Theatrical Trailers
• The first 2,000 copies come with a limited edition O-card slipcase and interior packaging featuring new artwork by John Dunn and a collector’s booklet featuring "It May Kill You! Promotional Gimmickry and The Screaming Skull" by film historian Jon Towlson, author of "Subversive Horror Cinema" and "The Screaming Skull Conquers America: An Account of the Film's US Release History" by Christopher Stewardson. 

Cult Films celebrates at SALON KITTY (review)

THE DAMNED's Helmut Berger and Ingrid Thulin star with CALIGULA's Teresa Ann Savoy in this big-budget piece of Nazisploitation about the use of the brothel SALON KITTY by the Nazis to spy on their own soldiers with a team of twenty women trained in prostitution and espionage.  From director Tinto Brass.

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

SALON KITTY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles (for English) and English (for Italian)
• Interview with director Tinto Brass
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• International Trailer
• Foldout Poster
• Reversible Cover
• Postcard
• First Pressing Slipcover

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Unearthed Films summons up BAKEMONO (review)

A dank, dark Airbnb hosts various Tokyo visitors and a flesh-eating demon in this practical effects-loaded indie gore flick.

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

BAKEMONO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.90:1 Widescreen
• English/Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles (foreign dialogue only) or full English SDH subtitles
• "Making the Practical FX: Bringing a Gruesome Monster to Life"
• "The Dark Side of Tokyo: The Meaning Behind the Film"
• "Principal Photography"
• "Bakemono Unleashed: Reactions and Surprises"
• German festival Q and A with director Doug Roos
• Photo Gallery
• Teaser #1
• Teaser #2
• Trailer for THE SKY HAS FALLEN
• First Pressing Slipcover

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Second Run pulls the strings for JIRI TRNKA: PUPPET MASTER (review)

Dubbed the "father of Czech animation" Jiří Trnka created imaginative and sophisticated works of animation that challenged the talents of Disney and influenced other Czech artists including Karel Zeman and Jan Svankmajer (along with the British Brothers Quay).

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

JIRI TRNKA: PUPPET MASTER Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - Old Czech Legends:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "A Beginner’s Guide to Jiří Trnka" video essay by film historian Evan Chester
• "Badly Painted Hen [Špatně namalovaná slepice]" 1963 animated short by Trnka collaborator Jiří Brdečka 
• Disc Two - The Czech Year:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Loutky Jiřího Trnky [The Puppets of Jiří Trnka]" 1955 documentary by Bruno Šefranka
• "A Beginner’s Guide to Czechoslovak Animation" video essay by film historian Evan Chester (27:58) 
• "The Hand [Ruka]" 1965 short by Jiří Trnka
• Restoration Theatrical Trailer 
• Come with a 32-page booklet with writing by experts on Czechoslovak cinema Peter Hames and Jonathan Owen. 
• Limited edition of 2,000 copies comes with a limited edition slipcase. 

Radiance Films schemes with TEN WOMEN IN BLACK (review)

A handsome television producer gets paranoid when he discovers that ten women in his life want him dead, and one of them is his wife in this bitter comedy drama from Kon Ichikawa.

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

TEN WOMEN IN BLACK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Appreciation by musician Yasuharu Konishi (Pizzicato Five)
• "The Kon Ichikawa Story" 2006 documentary directed by Shunji Iwai
• Theatrical Trailer
• 1997 Re-Release Trailer
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing by Yuka Kimbara, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

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Cult Epics unmasks KRIMINAL in 4K! (review)

After stealing the Crown Jewels, master thief Kriminal evades the gallows and takes off for Istanbul on the trail of a cache of diamonds exchanging hands through various double crosses in this comic strip adaptation from Umberto Lenzi.

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

KRIMINAL 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.39:1 Widescreen (HDR10)
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
• Italian Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
• "Armed to the Teeth: The Cinema of Umberto Lenzi" feature-length documentary by Eugenio Ercolani and Andrea Moroni
• "Camera Nostalgia" interview with actor Glenn Saxson
• "The Sound of Krime" interview with film music historian Pierpaolo De Sanctis 
• Isolated Score (28 tracks)
• Italian Credits
• Promotional Gallery 
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• Cult Epics Trailers 
• Comes with a reversible cover and slipcover.

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Also available as a Blu-ray single-disc edition. 

Also available as a five-hundred copy limited edition with exclusive slipcover direct from CULT EPICS! 

88 Films takes a bite out of AMAZONIA: THE CATHERINE MILES STORY in 4K (review)

English schoolgirl Catherine Miles travels down to the Amazon to spend the holidays on her parents' rubber plant.  On a birthday trip up the Amazon river, their boat is ambushed and her parents are killed.  Abducted by a headhunting tribe, Catherine plots her escape even as she is ritually initiated into the tribe and develops a murderous hunger for revenge against her parents murderers.  Released by Charles Band's Empire Pictures in the United States as WHITE SLAVE.

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

AMAZONIA: THE CATHERINE MILES STORY 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti
• "Nothing to be Ashamed Of" interview with composer Franco Campanino 
• "The Man from the High Crane" interview with camera operator Federico del Zoppo
• "Capitalizing on Cannibals" interview with expert Eugenio Ercolani 
• "Body Trade in Amazonia" visual essay by film historian Rachael Nisbet 
• "No Meat on These Bones" visual essay by film historian Mike Foster 
• "Ecological with the Truth" visual essay by The Nasty Pasty
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring new art by Chris Barnes and alternate original artwork. 
• The limited edition also includes a slipcover with artwork by Chris Barnes, a U-card leaving the slipcover free of certificates and markings, and booklet notes by Francesco Massaccesi.