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.
  

Raro Video and Radiance Films take on RULERS OF THE CITY (review)

Low-rung protection money collector Tony is eager to prove himself but gets in over his head collecting on a bad check from violent mobster Scarface Manzari and must rely on his new buddy Ric and old timer Napoli to stay one step ahead of two violent gangs on his tail in this lighter crime thriller from Fernando Di Leo (MILAN CALIBER 9).

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

RULERS OF THE CITY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.88:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles
• "Violent City" documentary featuring including interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, actor Al Cliver, editor Amedeo Giomini, and weapons expert Gilberto Galimberti
• "As a child, I saw my father murdered, and I want revenge now that I'm grown" interview with Eurocrime authority Mike Malloy 
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and a booklet with new writing by Francesco Massaccesi.

Radiance Films and Raro Video suffer the REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST (review)

British honeymooners get lost in Transylvania coinciding with the resurrection of a witch who swore revenge on her persecutors two hundred years before in Michael Reeves' directorial debut.  Barbara Steele and Ian Ogilvy star.

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

REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles for the English track and English subtitles for the Italian track
• Audio Commentary by producer Paul Maslansky, and actors Ian Ogilvy and Barbara Steele, moderated by David Gregory 
• Interview with actor Ian Ogilvy 
• Interview with author/critic Kim Newman 
• "A Bloody Journey to Italy" audio interview with actress Barbara Steele 
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies includes a reversible cover and a booklet by Kevin Lyons, author of "The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television".

Raro Video and Radiance Films trace THE ITALIAN CONNECTION (review)

When small-time pimp Luca Canali finds himself targeted for death by American gangsters, he unravels a tangled web of betrayals and double-dealing in this brutal crime film from Fernando di Leo starring Henry Silva, Woody Strode, and Mario Adorf.

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

THE ITALIAN CONNECTION Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles for the English track and English subtitles for the Italian track
• "Roots of the Mafia" documentary featuring director Fernando Di Leo, assistant director Franco Lo Cascio, producer Armando Novelli, and actress Franceca Romana Coluzzi
• "… and a Tiny Bullet for a Tiny Kitten" visual essay by film historian Howard S. Berger
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies includes a booklet with new writing by Italian crime expert Austin Fisher.
  

Raro Video resurrects DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT (review)

A desperate father implores a police commissioner to find his missing daughter who has the body of a twenty-five year old and the mental age of a child who may have fallen into the hands of pimps in this thriller based on the novel by Giorgio Scerbanenco.

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

DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.71:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English HoH and English Subtitles
• Video Introduction by Fangoria editor Chris Alexander
• Video Essay by Francesco Massaccesi (narrated by Howard S. Berger)
• English Export Trailer
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies including a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and the 12-page booklet "Death Occurred Many Times: The Thrillers of Duccio Tessari" by David Sodergren.
   

Raro Video UK indulges in a MURDER OBSESSION (review)

A horror movie actor, his girlfriend, and the crew of his latest film visit the house where he murdered his father as a child to see his sick mother, but someone or something dark is stalking the corridors ready to kill again in the final film of Italian horror founding father Riccardo Freda.

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

MURDER OBSESSION Blu-ray specs:

• Italian Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• English Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Interview with make-up effects artist Sergio Stivaletti 
• Interview with composer Claudio Simonetti 
• An appreciation by filmmaker Gabriele Albanesi 
• Deleted Scene 
• The first pressing of 3,000 copies comes with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and limited edition booklet with new writing by Mikel J. Koven, author of "La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo."

Raro Video brings NIGHT OF THE DEVILS to the UK (review)

A businessman gets stranded deep in the woods in Yugoslavia and is forced to seek shelter with a family who believe one of their own has become a vampire.  A gory Italian/Spanish horror film from the director of MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN.

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

THE NIGHT OF THE DEVILS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian Versions
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Alan Jones and Kim Newman 
• "The Angel and the Devils" interview with actress Agostina Belli 
• "The Devils Among Us" interview with actor Gianni Garko 
• "The Child of Darkness" interview with actress Cinzia de Carolis 
• "Celestial Light" interview with camera operator Nino Celeste 
• Interview with composer Giorgio Gaslini 
• Interview with film historian Chris Alexander 
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters. 
• The first pressing of 3,000 copies includes a limited edition booklet with new writing by Rachael Nisbet and archival writing by Chris Alexander.

Raro Video USA is caught up in LA SEDUZIONE (Review)

Maurice Ronet (PURPLE NOON) plays a Sicilian who returns to his home town and becomes involved with his first love (Lisa Gastoni) and her teenage daughter (Jenny Tamburi) in director Fernando Di Leo's LOLITA-esque tale.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

LA SEDUZIONE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.95:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• English subtitles for the Italian track and English subtitles for portion of the English track that were not dubbed
• "Erotic Notes" featurette
• Booklet by Bret Wood

Raro Video USA exposes the TEENAGE PROSTITUTION RACKET (review)

Carlo Lizzani blows the lid off THE TEENAGE PROSTITUTION RACKET in this seventies slice of sleaze and social commentary.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE TEENAGE PROSTITUTION RACKET Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Documentary Featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Credits
• Booklet by Bret Wood

Raro Video USA celebrates a SACRIFICE! (review)

Umberto Lenzi inadvertently jump-started the Italian cannibal film subgenre with the Italian take on A MAN CALLED HORSE.  British news photographer John Bradley is in Thailand on a photo story.  When he gets into a fight at a bar and accidentally kills a man, he goes off the beaten track and ends up trapped by an ancient tribe.  Escaping proves to be a problem because enemy cannibal tribes surround the village and the chief's daughter has fallen in love with him.  Released in the states as SACRIFICE! but better known as THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SACRIFICE! Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Cannibal World" featurette with Umberto Lenzi, writer Francesco Barilli, and actress Me Me Lei
• Collector's Booklet

Raro Video scents the PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK (review)

AUTOPSY's Mimsy Farmer stars in Francesco Barilli's delirious and grisly take on ROSEMARY'S BABY and REPULSION as a chemist who pricks herself on a nail and begins to believe that she is the victim of voodoo or witchcraft.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with director Francesco Barilli
• Theatrical Trailer
• Short Film "The Errant Knight"
• Essay/filmography insert

Raro Video USA checks into the PLAY MOTEL (review)

What happens at the Play Motel doesn't always stay at the Play Motel when hookers are being murdered and businessmen are being blackmailed.  When a socialite's corpse ends up in their truck, an actor and his wife play detective.  Ray Lovelock (QUEENS OF EVIL), Anna Maria Rizzoli, Antony Steffen (THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE), Patrizia Webley (MALABIMBA), Marina Hedman (SATAN'S BABY DOLL), Marino Mase (NIGHTMARE CASTLE), and Antonella Antinori (BURIAL GROUND) star.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

PLAY MOTEL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 mono tracks
• Optional English subtitles
• "The Midia's Touch" featurette
• Alternate Hard Scenes
• Credits

Raro Video USA transforms the WEREWOLF WOMAN (review)

Psychologically shattered by a childhood trauma, Daniela Nasseri has lived in seclusion with her father on their country estate.  When she discovers that her lookalike medieval ancestress was a werewolf who was burned at the stake, she starts to suffer vivid nightmares of sex and bloodshed.  When her sister brings home a virile husband from the states, her libido is aroused as well as her bloodlust.  BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS' Annik Borel, HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY's Dagmar Lassander, THE CAT O'NINE TAILS' Tino Carraro, NEW YORK RIPPER's Howard Ross, and EAGLES OVER LONDON's Frederick Stafford star in this sexy horror film from DEPORTED WOMEN OF THE SS SPECIAL SECTION's Rino Di Silvestro.  Also known as LEGEND OF THE WOLF WOMAN.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDBeaver)

WEREWOLF WOMAN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 VC-1 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian and English LPCM 2.0 mono tracks
• Optional English subtitles 
• Interview with director Rino di Silvestro
• English and Italian Theatrical Trailers

Raro Video decides 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 USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 VC-1 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian and English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Master of the Game" interview with Fernando Di Leo
• "The Second Round of the Game" interview with 
• English Trailer
• Italian Trailer
• Liner Notes Booklet
• Slipcover

SHOOT FIRST DIE LATER will also be available in later in June as part of the FERNANDO DI LEO CRIME COLLECTION VOLUME 2 with NAKED VIOLENCE and KIDNAP SYNDICATE.
More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video.

Raro Video presents NIGHT OF THE DEVILS (review)

Gianni Garko (SARTANA IS COMING), Agostina Belli (SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER), and Teresa Gimpera (SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE) star in this creepy Spanish/Italian vampire film by Giorgio Ferroni (MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN).  A businessman runs his car off the road in the middle of a forest and takes shelter with a family besieged by a bloodthirsty witch.  Based on Alexei Tolstoy's "Family of the Vourdalak" - the basis for "The Wurdalak" segment from Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH - with special effects by Carlo Rambaldi (E.T.).

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

NIGHT OF THE DEVILS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English or German subtitles
• Video Interview with FANGORIA's Chris Alexander
• Video Interview with composer Giorgio Gaslini
• Liner Notes Booklet by Chris Alexander

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video.

Fernando Di Leo and Joe Dallesandro in MADNESS (review)

Eurocult greats Joe Dallesandro (ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA) and director Fernando Di Leo (TO BE TWENTY) meet up in MADNESS.  Dallesandro plays an escaped criminal in search of his hidden loot, which happens to be buried under the fireplace of a couple's country vacation cottage.  When the couple and the wife's sexy sister arrive, Dallesandro puts them through a hellish weekend of beatings, rape, and murder.  Lorraine de Selle (CANNIBAL FEROX) also stars.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Raro Video (IT) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

MADNESS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Director's Biography
• Director's Filmography
• Liner Notes Booklet

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video. 

Raro Video cruises on WAVES OF LUST (review)

Before CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, Ruggero Deodato dabbled in the giallo genre with the sexy, sleazy jet-set thriller WAVES OF LUST (Ondata di Piacere).  John Steiner (TENEBRAE) and Elizabeth Turner (BEYOND THE DOOR) play a sadomasochistic wealthy couple who meet their match when they are individually and jointly seduced and manipulated by carefree youths Silvia Dionisio (MURDER OBSESSION) and Al Cliver (ZOMBIE).

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-In)

WAVES OF LUST DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.84:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Erotic Tsunami" documentary
• Deleted Scenes from the English version
• Ruggero Deodato TV spots with commentary 
• Liner Notes Booklet (by yours truly!)

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video.

Raro Video sets sail on WAVES OF LUST (review)

Before CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, Ruggero Deodato dabbled in the giallo genre with the sexy, sleazy jet-set thriller WAVES OF LUST (Ondata di Piacere).  John Steiner (TENEBRAE) and Elizabeth Turner (BEYOND THE DOOR) play a sadomasochistic wealthy couple who meet their match when they are individually and jointly seduced and manipulated by carefree youths Silvia Dionisio (MURDER OBSESSION) and Al Cliver (ZOMBIE).

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Raro Video (IT) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

WAVES OF LUST DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.84:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• "Erotic Tsunami" documentary
• Deleted Scenes from the English version
• Ruggero Deodato TV spots with commentary 
• Liner Notes Booklet (by yours truly!)

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video.

A Vacation Massacre in Raro Video's MADNESS (review)

Eurocult greats Joe Dallesandro (ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA) and director Fernando Di Leo (TO BE TWENTY) meet up in MADNESS.  Dallesandro plays an escaped criminal in search of his hidden loot, which happens to be buried under the fireplace of a couple's country vacation cottage.  When the couple and the wife's sexy sister arrive, Dallesandro puts them through a hellish weekend of beatings, rape, and murder.  Lorraine de Selle (CANNIBAL FEROX) also stars.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-In)

MADNESS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Director's Biography
• Director's Filmography
• Liner Notes Booklet

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video. 

Raro Video hatches a PLOT OF FEAR (review/comparison)

Michele Placido and Tom Skerritt are on the case when two members of the elite (and perverted) "Wildlife Lovers" club are brutally murdered. Seemingly related to the death of a hooker at one of their orgies years before, the murders continue and only model Jeanne (Corinne Clery, THE STORY OF O) seems to have crucial information that could lead to the killer.  John Steiner (TENEBRAE) and Eli Wallach also star.

REVIEW LINK: Raro Video USA (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

PLOT OF FEAR DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Liner Notes by Chris Alexander
• Interview with screenwriter Ernesto Oldoni
• Interview with the director's son Pietro Cavara
• Interview with actor Michele Placido

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video.