This month’s Blu-ray treats offer a wild range of cult and mainstream favorites, many transformed into 4K UHD editions and other rarities suddenly available in stunning restorations for the first time on home video. Included is Dario Argento’s deliriously demented- Phenomena, Martin Scorsese’s sublime rock documentary- The Last Waltz, Billy Wilder’s bittersweet comic masterpiece- The Apartment, David Cronenberg’s harrowing crime drama- Eastern Promises and the ultimate edition of John Landis’ great scary/comic chiller- An American Werewolf in London. Shout! Factory releases a rare uncut Blood of the Vampires on Blu-ray. Warner Archive releases a stunning, restored-from-the-negative, Blu-ray of the 1937 A Star is Born. There are also restorations of crackpot cult favorites like Death Game, The Laughing Woman and Monster from Green Hell.
Death Game (Grindhouse) One of my all-time favorites- this twisted 1977 psychological thriller directed by Peter S. Traynor stars Seymour Cassel as a San Francisco married businessman who stupidly invites two rain-drenched strangers (Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp) into his home one night when his wife is away only to have them seduce him, tie him up and torture the shit out of him. Eli Roth remade this as Knock, Knock in 2015. But the original is outrageous thanks to the memorable, go-for-broke, performances by Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp who are sexy, bonkers and surprisingly scary. Only available on home video in blurry, sub-par versions this 4K restoration, 2-disc Blu-ray special edition, is another exciting release from Grindhouse. And a labor of love- it took years to get here and is so worth it. You can finally appreciate the moody cinematography of David Worth and great production design by Jack Fisk. This 2-disc set includes a whole other movie- Little Miss Innocence ( a 1973 film similar to Death Game about a record executive who picks up two sexy hitchhikers and lives to regret it). It also comes with Eli Roth interviewing the director Peter Traynor and doing commentary with actress Colleen Camp. Sondra Locke appears in a great extended phone interview. And if you act quickly, the first 2000 buyers will receive a delightful meat cleaver key ring. What are you waiting for????
Phenomena (Synapse) First released in the States in 1995 in a hacked-up bowdlerized version and retitled Creepers, the original uncut version is one of Dario Argento’s strangest and most darkly beautiful. A young, stunning Jennifer Connelly stars as the daughter of a popular movie star who arrives at a boarding school in Switzerland. She has a psychic affinity with all insects and also sleep-walking, which introduces her to an entomologist (Donald Pleasence) and his pet monkey who work with the police trying to track down a psychopathic killer. There is a crazed Alice in Wonderland logic and the whole finale is so demented, violent and lyrical it defies easy categorization, especially with the razor-wielding monkey as an avenging angel. This new 2-disc 4k UHD incarnation from Synapse includes a wild array of extras including three different cuts of the film including Creepers, a handsome collector’s booklet, postcard-size lobby cards and even a reversible movie poster.
The Apartment (Kino) This 1960 multiple-Oscar-winning bittersweet romantic comedy from Billy Wilder is truly one of his best. Jack Lemmon is perfect as the insurance clerk who rises up the corporate ladder by renting out his apartment for the executives to have sexual trysts in. Shirley MacLaine is incandescent as elevator operator Fran Kubelik, having an ill-fated affair with a married bigwig (Fred MacMurray) at the “apartment.” Considering the sordid subject matter which includes suicide attempts and extra-marital carousing it’s astonishing how tender and lovely this all plays out. And the ending dissolves me in tears every time. This is being released in either a 4K UHD or Blu-ray edition and comes with audio commentary with film historian Joseph McBride (author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge).
An American Werewolf in London (Arrow) Two Americans- Jack (Griffin Dunne) & David (David Naughton) are hiking across the Yorkshire Moors when they are attacked by a huge beast-like creature. Jack is killed and a seriously injured David lands in a London hospital where he can’t get authorities to believe that he and his friend were set upon by a wolf. David ends up staying with a beautiful, kindly nurse (Jenny Agutter/Walkabout) but then starts to transform with each rising of the full moon into a fearsome creature. A deft mix of humor and horror and staggering special effects by Rick Baker made this film a monster hit in 1981, and deservedly so. Naughton has great charisma on screen- and not a bad body (he frequently wakes up from a blackout during the full moon to find himself naked in all sorts of impossible places). Griffin Dunne is a delight as his buddy who keeps showing up in increasing stages of decomposition to implore his shapeshifting friend into taking his own life. Critics at the time grumbled that the movie couldn’t make up its mind if it was a scary or funny movie- audiences got it immediately. And it just gets better and better with age. This 4k limited edition by Arrow is the final word on the film- especially visually and aurally- it looks and sounds amazing. And the zillion extras are fabulous. They include the feature-length documentary on the making of the film, audio commentary by actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, “Mark of the Beast”- an examination on the Universal werewolf movie, archival footage with make-up genius Rick Baker and outtakes and new interviews with director John Landis.
Nightmare (Shout! Factory) This is one of Hammer Studios great psycho-dramas and stars Jennie Lindon as the traumatized teen who witnessed her mother stab to death her own father. She is haunted nightly at her mansion by a white-shrouded woman and begins to lose her grip on her sanity. This twisty tale of gas-lighting and murder has a clever script by Jimmy Sangster, who was tops at writing these types of thrillers. Julie Christie was originally supposed to play the lead but had to bow out for Billy Liar and we all know how that turned out. This Collector’s Edition is a 2K scan from the interpositive and comes with audio commentary by film historian Bruce Hallenbeck, “Reliving the Nightmare” about the making of the film, and vintage interviews with actress Jennie Lindon and screenwriter Jimmy Sangster among other great extras. It also includes a poster for this terrific chiller.
A Star is Born (Warner Archive) This is the sensational 1937 version produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman with a sweet-faced Janet Gaynor as aspiring actress Esther Blodgett who arrives in Hollywood and finds fame and fortune at a price. Fredric March is hauntingly effective as alcoholic movie star Norman Maine who falls for her and watches as her star rises and his wanes. This is restored from the original Technicolor negative and it’s absolutely a revelation. Trust me, you’ve never seen this movie look this great. I’m a huge fan of this incarnation of the oft-told story. There’s something so touching and affecting about Janet Gaynor and Fredric March just tears your heart out. The extras on the disc include a Warner Brothers cartoon “A Star is Hatched” that is hilariously sublime.
Monster from Green Hell (Film Detective) “The sun beat down as if it hated us,” says rocket scientist Jim Davis traveling through Africa in a voiceover during this 1958 horror favorite about radiation from a rocket experiment which produces gigantic wasps that terrorize the dark continent. The creatures with their weird tusks, disco-ball eyes and flapping wings are really cool looking. The disc includes the widescreen and full-frame version. It includes extras like a career retrospective on Jim Davis, commentary by author Stephen R. Bissette and an essay by author Don Stradley. This 1957 sci-fi flick looks absolutely terrific on Blu-ray and turns from black & white to color at the end. Get thee to Green Hell.
Blood of the Vampire (Shout! Factory) This was another surprise limited “Collector’s Edition” from Shout! Factory of a rare uncut version of this 1958 horror favorite written by Hammer films alumni Jimmy Sangster. Forever scowling with big, bushy-eyebrows, Donald Wolfit plays the fiendish Doctor Callistratus who lords over a mental institution so he can conduct outrageous experiments on the patients to help cure himself of a rare blood disease (which caused him to be staked to death in Transylvania in 1870, mistakenly thought to be a vampire). His disfigured servant Carl (Victor Maddern) rescued him from the grave then and helps torment his victims in the bowels of the prison-like madhouse. John Pierre (Vincent Ball) a doctor, wrongly convicted of a crime) is brought to the institution to help Callistratus in his experiments. Beautiful Barbara Shelley plays John Pierre’s fiancé who dangerously comes to the mental hospital to rescue her man. This restores a sequence with buxom female prisoners chained in the basement cut from most prints but promoted in lobby cards for the movie. I remember thinking how wonderfully sleazy this was when I saw it as a kid, and watching this handsome Blu-ray I was thrilled to find I was right.
Shakedown (Kino) Crackling crime drama directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Howard Duff as unscrupulous, ruthlessly ambitious news photographer Jack Early, who lands a job at a big San Francisco newspaper by playing two gangsters (Brian Donlevy and Lawrence Tierney) against each other and romancing a decent woman at the paper (terrific Peggy Dow) and a mobster’s girl (Anne Vernon). The city editor (Bruce Bennett) has him pegged as a creep from the start, “You never had a mother. You were put together in some machine shop. You can think but you can’t feel. Stepping all over people and climbing all over them to get to the top. You’re no good. You’re no good at all.” A brand new 2K master of a real noir gem, with audio commentary by Jason A. Ney.
Edgar Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection (Kino) Edgar G. Ulmer came from Vienna (where he apprenticed with F. W. Murnau) to Hollywood and toiled in B-movies, but he was able to infuse his no-budget films with ingenuity and dark poetry, creating such indelible works as Detour (1945), Bluebeard (1944) and Ruthless (1948). Here are three of his fascinating sci-fi entries. The Man from Planet X (1951) about a visitor from another planet who lands a spaceship on the foggy Scotland moors. There are haunting, eerie moments and it was incredibly shot in 6 days. The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) is about a crook who is busted out of jail by a corrupt US major (who dreams of world domination) to be used as a guinea pig by a scientist who has created an invisibility machine. The crook uses his new vanishing skills to rob banks (chuckling all the while). Beyond the Time Barrier (1960) is about a pilot (Robert Clarke) in an experimental aircraft who breaks the time barrier and ends up hurtled into a post-nuclear future where he is captured by mutants and discovers an underground civilization of telepathic deaf-mutes.
The Last Waltz (Criterion) This Martin Scorsese documentary about the farewell concert of the Band at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in 1976 is so much more than a concert film. It reflects Scorsese’s love of the music and his ability to translate that joy to a film audience in dizzying, thrilling ways. With all sorts of guests at the concert including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Dr. John and Joni Mitchell it also makes a movie star of lead singer Robbie Robertson, who is handsome and dynamic on screen. This 4K UHD special edition from Criterion has two audio commentaries which includes Scorsese and members of the band, a new interview with Scorsese about the film and a documentary about the making-of-the-film among other great extras. The audio soundtrack is also supervised and approved by Robbie Robertson.
Eastern Promises (Kino) This violent, fascinating, David Cronenberg crime drama starring Viggo Mortensen as a driver for a Russian mob in London is subversive and unforgettable. Naomi Watts is wonderful as a Russian/British midwife who delivers the baby of a young prostitute who dies in childbirth and is warned off investigating the trafficking of young girls by Mortensen. It also includes a prolonged naked knife fight in a Turkish bath that is hot as it is scary. Cronenberg’s crime dramas with Viggo like History of Violence and this one were just terrific. And having a new 4K restoration is a sublime treat.
Sukkubus (Mondo Macabro) Bizarre 1989 German folk horror tale about three rugged God-fearing cattle herdsmen up in the alps who drunkenly fashion some straw, wood and garments into the facsimile of a woman only to have her come to life and wreak vengeance on the men for their blasphemy. Visually sumptuous, the film directed by Georg Tressler has a hypnotic power on the viewer as the near naked temptress (with spooky iridescent eyes) coaxes and torments them to their doom. A 4k transfer from the film negative, this comes with an interview with one of the actors Peter Simonischek that is wryly hilarious.
The Laughing Woman (Mondo Macabro) Utterly perverse and fascinating 1969 film by Piero Schivazappa, awash in eye-dazzling pop-art visuals, about a journalist (Dagmar Lasander) who is invited to the mansion of a wealthy, decadent man (Philippe Leroy) who drugs and chains her, subjecting her to torture and subjugation all the while spewing a misogynist anti-woman rant and threatening that he can kill her at any time. She has to use her wiles to turn the tables on him. What’s great is in the end you are really watching a twisted tale of feminist revenge. Visually the production design is wickedly over-the-top. A brand new 4K transfer from the film negative with audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger, an interview with the director and an extra concerning the amazing production design.
School of Death (Mondo Macabro) 1975 Spanish gothic horror set in London in 1889 and centered around the poor girls at Saint Elizabeth Refuge’s orphanage. At a certain age, young women are unwittingly sent off to work at Blind Crow’s House only to end up as guinea pigs for a sinister doctor with a scarred pizza face who operates on their brain and sends their lobotomized bodies out as prostitutes with a plot to blackmail wealthy clients. Leonora sees a former friend Sylvia (who has been pronounced dead by her friend the physician) and she tries to get a kindly physician to help her solve the mystery. A real rarity, this restored, beautiful-looking chiller directed by Pedro L. Ramirez finally gets the respect it’s due. With audio commentary by Kat Ellinger.
The American Scream (Culture Shock Releasing) Ben and Barbara Benzinger (Pons Maar & Jennifer Darling) are heading for vacation in the Sierra Mountains with their son Brent (pouty-lipped Matt Borlenghi), daughter Bridget (Riley Weston) and their teen friends Larry (Kevin Kaye) and Roxanne (Jeanne Sapienza). But as soon as the kids reach the weird town of Wilson Creek they are threatened by the murderous adults, for this town is where parents bring their kids to get rid of them- permanently. Everything is cartoonish, mildly gory and over-the-top and often annoyingly stupid, but there’s a germ of an interesting idea in this 1988 oddity directed by Mitchell Linden. Edy Williams (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) plays a stripper at a local bar which is an added treat.
Koko-Di Koko-Da (Darkstar) Tobias (Leif Edlund) and Elin (Ylva Gallon) have never gotten over the death of their young daughter Maja (Katarina Jacobson) three years earlier. They head out into the wilds on a camping trip but feelings of resentment and stress choke the air. Elin gets up in the middle of the night to take a pee and is confronted with a weird entourage- a small Wally Shawn look-a-like wearing a white linen suit and a straw hat, a hulking morose girl and an oafish brute carrying a dead dog. Like a Swedish horror Groundhog Day, the scenario keeps repeating with different outcomes- all of them deadly. This defiantly bizarre film by Johannes Nyholm has a wonderfully warped nightmare logic to it. My favorite section is Elin following a white cat through the forest to a little house with a stage inside revealing a puppet play. One of the oddest illustrations of processing grief I’ve ever seen but memorably creepy. The film comes with deleted scenes and short films by the director.
Red Spirit Lake/We Await (Saturn’s Core Audio & Video) Two shot-on-video shockers by Charles Pinion. Red Spirit Lake (1993) stars Annabelle Davies, who inherits a wintry country home from her late aunt (who was a practicing witch). Evil Satanists led by Diego Sardonia (Juergen Straub) are eager to acquire the property because of its dark power but thwarting them are the ghostly spirits of former witches. Director Pinion plays the deranged caretaker, whose brain is scrambled because he was visited by angels. Transgressive Cinema great Richard Kern plays a henchman who gets fisted to death at the end, and other luminaries like Kembra Pfahaler/The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black and filmmaker Tessa-Hughes Freeland play two of the ghostly, vengeful witches). We Await (1996) was shot in San Francisco and is about a man kidnapped by an urban family of cannibals who drink hallucinogenic green slime called “nectar.” One of them lives and acts like a dog in this loony mix of nudity, gore and weirdness. There are many extras including director Pinion interviewed by Mike Hunchback, outtakes, rare footage and making-of featurettes.
You’re so right about The Apartment. It is one of my favorite holiday movies and Jack and Shirley have such great chemistry. I love that it’s in black.and.white too.
American Werewolf in London is so underrated. It was scary and funny at the same time. Your posts are so heartfelt and true. I wish we could be werewolves and vampires together.