Cult Epics's TINTO BRASS: MAESTRO OF EROTIC CINEMA (review)

From Italy's premiere ass aesthete Tinto Brass and Cult Epics come a five disc (four Blu-rays, one DVD) collection of four of his recent skin flicks.  In CHEEKY!, a Venetian blonde in London tangles with lesbians, swingers, and flashers while trying to remain true to her boyfriend.  BLACK ANGEL is Brass' fleshy but mainstream adaptation of the novella "Senso" (previously made by Luchino Visconti) updated to World War II Venice starring Anna Galiena and Gabriel Garko as a Venetian housewife and a Nazi officer.  PRIVATE is an anthology of erotic sketches about couples giving into temptations and fetishes of various kinds.  In MONAMOUR, the fire has gone out of the new marriage of Venetian Marta and her Milanese publisher husband.  When she meets a handsome French artist, she discovers that jealousy is the strongest aphrodisiac.  The set also includes a ninety-minute interview with Tinto Brass on a bonus DVD and a booklet.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Epics (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

TINTO BRASS: MAESTRO OF EROTIC CINEMA Blu-ray specs:

• Blu-rays:
• Cheeky! (Tra[sgre]dire):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• Italian and English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Making-of featurette
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Black Angel (Senso '45):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Making-of featurette
• Promo Video
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone (43 minutes)
• Private (Fallo):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• Italian and English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Making-of featurette
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Monamour: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo and English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Making-of
• Theatrical Trailer
• Bonus DVD:
• "Tinto Brass: Maestro of Erotic Cinema" documentary (93 minutes)
• 40-page liner notes booklet

Strand Releasing seeks REFUGE (review)

Krysten Ritter and Brian Geraghty star in this drama based on the stage play by director Jessica Goldberg.  Amy had to give up her dreams of college and career when her parents abandoned her and her brain-damaged brother and moody teenage sister.  When an aimless drifter comes into their lives and moves into their household, Amy falls in love with him but she may not be ready to give up on her dreams of another life.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

REFUGE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Strand Releasing Trailers 

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Strand Releasing ponders THE EMPTY HOURS (review)

Seventeen year old Sebastian is charged with looking after his uncle's seaside motel while the older man is in the hospital.  He soon finds a way to pass the time with Miranda, a career woman who meets her married lover at the hotel.  When her lover becomes increasingly late and starts breaking their dates, Miranda and Sebastian enter into an awkward, teasing, and playful relationship.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE EMPTY HOURS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English Subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Strand Releasing Trailers

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88 Films attends the BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS (review)

In Ted V. Mikels' BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS, Mara is the head of a coven of man-sacrificing witches who kill for profit.  Starring Leslie McRae (GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS), Tom Pace (THE ASTRO ZOMBIES), Sherri Vernon (THE DOLL SQUAD), Annik Borel (WEREWOLF WOMAN), and William Baghdad (MISSION: KILLFAST).  Music by Carl Zittrer (CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS).

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director Ted V. Mikels
• Theatrical Trailer
• Viewing Notes by Calum Waddel
• 88 Films Trailers

More 88 Films and Full Moon reviews at Update the Tags: 88 Films.

BFI presents BBC's THE BOY FROM SPACE (review)

In this memorable "Look and Read" series aimed at increasing children's reading comprehension and encouraging them to pick up books, two siblings track what they believe to be a meteor only to discover an alien boy who is being pursued by a sinister "thin man" who may also be an alien.  The original 1971 serial was shot on color film but broadcast in black and white with video segments featuring host Wordy providing grammar lessons and reviewing the details of the story.  This footage was wiped by the BBC but the film materials remained, so new color video segments with Wordy and his companion Cosmo were created in 1980 around the original serial.  This is the version presented on BFI's 2-disc set.

REVIEW LINK: British Film Institute (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE BOY FROM SPACE DVD specs:

• Disc One:
• All ten episodes of the 1980 "Look and Read" serial
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Disc Two:
• Feature version of the 1971 film serial
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• BBC Records LP Audio Version
• Newly-edited film version utilizing audio from the LP and video from the serial
• "Wordy's Think-Ups" Musical Segments from the "Look and Read" Serial
• DVD-ROM: the 1971 and 1979 booklets of the story (45 pages each in PDF)
• Essay Booklet

Scorpion Releasing steals GREEN ICE (review)

Ryan O'Neal, Anne Archer, and Omar Sharif star in this British-produced eighties action flick.  An electrical engineer and an heiress go to Colombia in search of her sister who mysteriously disappeared in the mountains.  They get tangled up with bandits, the local emerald concession, and a daring high tech heist.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

GREEN ICE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Isolated Music and Effects Track
• Scorpion Releasing Trailers

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Vinegar Syndrome gets fitted for GRADUATION DAY (Review)

"The Class of '81 is getting fitted for caps and gowns... and coffins!" in Herb Freed's memorable eighties slasher.  Just before graduation, the members of the varsity track team start dying in grisly manners.  Is it related to the accidental death of the team's star four months earlier, or is someone on the faculty just sick of the obnoxious seniors?  Christopher George, Michael Pataki, and Vanna White star.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

GRADUATION DAY Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by producer David Baughn
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
• Interview with star Patch Mackenzie
• Interview with director Herb Freed
• Interview with producer David Baughn
• Interview with editor Martin Jay Sandoff
• Theatrical Trailer

More Vinegar Syndrome reviews at Update the Tags: Vinegar Syndrome.