May flowers mean only one thing to me- a colorful bouquet of batshit Blu-rays. And this month offers everything from the stupid to the sublime. A ludicrously ripe retelling of the life of the Marquis de Sade, a talking mule, a superb British crime drama, a suspenseful, expertly tale of two boys in peril, a Billy Wilder film noir classic, not to mention a girl on a chain gang? A neglected Brian de Palma classic. A rare Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. A great John McNaughton neo-noir. A 4k Collector’s Edition of the chilling Candyman. The original version of the fantasy film The Sword & The Dragon. Then there’s the amazing 3-disc Blu-ray “steelbook” of a great 1971 Spanish horror film Tombs of the Blind Dead. Flowers die but Blu-rays (hopefully) live on forever.
De Sade (Kino Lorber/Scorpion Releasing) One of the only American International films to be rated X, this 1969 fractured, fictional retelling of the life of the notorious Marquis de Sade (Keir Dullea/gone tomorrow) was a flop at the box office. Yes, it’s a mess, but I find it endlessly enjoyable (probably for all the wrong reasons). The screenplay is by Richard Matheson (The Incredible Shrinking Man) and it’s ambitiously surreal in many ways. It’s de Sade in prison (where, along with being committed to asylums, he spent 28 years) revisiting his disreputable past in his mind in a ruined, ornate, cobwebbed theater where his corrupt uncle (John Huston) puts tableaus on a stage reenacting his life. He recalls being tricked into marriage with the homely sister (Anna Massey) of the real sibling (Senta Berger) he was in love with. Lilli Palmer plays the scheming mother-in-law who has the Marquis thrown in jail when he won’t stay in line. Actually, the real reason de Sade spent so many years in jail was less for his licentious ways but for his politics, displayed in his sardonic writings and plays, which infuriated and angered authorities. The sex scenes are pretty tame- lots of exposed breasts, drunken orgies and spilled wine, filmed through a distorting red lens. The director Cy Endfield grew ill and was unable to complete the film, so director Roger Corman finished the movie (flashes of the gothic sensibility he brought to the Poe films shine through). An extra with Richard Matheson talking about the film is included.
Jigsaw (Cohen Film Collection) Sensational 1962 British crime film directed by Val Quest (The Quatermass Xperiment) about the dismembered corpse of an unidentified woman found in a rental property in Brighton. Detective Inspector Fred Fellows (Jack Warner) and Detective Sgt. Jim Wilks (Ronald Lewis/Scream of Fear) carefully track down clues to find the identity of the victim and her killer. Based on Hillary Waugh’s novel Sleep Long My Love and based on a true crime case, the brilliance of the film is the matter-of-factness of the investigation. The old-fashioned legwork and intuition that goes into solving a murder like this. Digitally remastered, this little-known gem hopefully will now find a new audience- it’s just a terrific film.
Double Indemnity (Criterion) This is a 4k restoration of the great 1944 film noir. Fred MacMurray was originally averse to play such a louse as insurance representative Walter Neff, who gets seduced by the blonde vixen Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) to bump off her husband and score on the insurance in this peerless Billy Wilder thriller. Even Stanwyck was nervous playing such a malevolent ma’am but Wilder said to her, “Are you a mouse or an actress?” With a screenplay by Raymond Chandler (who battled Wilder during the screenplay process but came up with solutions that original book author James M. Cain wished he had used in his novel). As MacMurray sums it up in the film, “Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money- and a woman. And I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman. Pretty, isn’t it?” This 4k restoration comes with audio commentary by film critic Richard Schickel, a 1992 film by Volker Schlondorff- Billy, How Did You Do It? including interviews with Billy Wilder, and Shadows of Suspense, a 2006 documentary on the making of this glorious dark gem. And don’t miss the fascinating conversation about the film with film historians Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith.
The Boy Behind the Door (RLJE Films) A Shudder original, this superbly suspenseful feature by David Charbonier and Justin Powell is about two young boys- Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey), on their way to baseball practice, who are brutally abducted, thrown in the trunk of a car, and taken to a remote house with only oil rigs in the distance. Bobby escapes, but his devotion to his friend brings him back to the shadowy, fathomless fortress of a house to search for and rescue Kevin. But what lies inside is even more frightening than he can imagine. This relentlessly terrifying thriller is so expertly directed it blew me away. The directors did another film- The Djinn, which portrayed a young mute boy (again Ezra Dewey) alone in a house fighting a demonic figure and was also able to ramp up the suspense in a confined space. But this film has the added emotional impact of the friendship between the two boys.
Candyman (Shout! Factory) A 4K UHD (from the original negative) and Blu-ray combo of a genuinely scary 1992 film based on a creepy Clive Barker short story. Virginia Madsen and Kasi Lemmons play graduate students doing a thesis on urban myths who tries to get at the bottom of a murderous hook-handed demon (Tony Todd– chilling) who appears to those unlucky enough to say his name multiple times in front of a mirror. Much of this takes place at a fearsome housing project in Chicago called Cabrini-Green. Expertly directed by Bernard Rose, with a great score by Philip Glass. Audio commentary by Bernard Rose and Tony Todd plus audio commentary with the director and author/executive producer Clive Barker. Massive extras include Interviews with the cast, a feature about the production design and make-up FX of the film. Plus “Urban Legend: Unwrapping Candyman.”
Girl on a Chain Gang (The Film Detective) The true story of three Civil Rights workers who were murdered in Mississippi in 1964 is given the schlock treatment by exploitation producer Jerry Gross. Three “Yankees”- 1 white guy, a black guy and a white gal- Jean Rollins (Julie Ange) are driving down south through “Carson’s Landing” when they are ambushed by two drunken, racist cops and thrown in jail. The male prisoners are tricked into escaping so they can be gunned down and the poor woman is raped and beaten, and, after a kangaroo court trial, sentenced to a work farm. Chained to a black prisoner she makes her escape and is hunted down by rednecks. This is the film that introduced us to pretty, sexy, dark-haired Arlene Farber (Teenage Mother) who plays the town slut Nellie. This was filmed, not in the south, but in Long Island. There are wonderful liner notes by Something Weird Video’s Lisa Petrucci and a fascinating short on the tumultuous, and, in the end, tragic career of exploitation producer Jerry Gross. The disc also includes a hilarious “Certificate of Jury Service” card for the trial of “The People of Carson’s Landing Versus Miss Jean Rollins.”
Ilya Muromets (Deaf Crocodile Films) When I was a kid I remember seeing a badly dubbed, mangled version of this movie in a theater under the title- The Sword & the Dragon, with voiceover narration by 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace. Years later, there was a hilarious MST3000 version on TV. But to my amazement this is the visionary 1965 original directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. And it’s a lyrical spectacle. Based on Russian folklore it’s about Ilya Muromet (Boris Andreyev), who is bestowed a magic sword handed down by a mythical giant knight in the mountains. He rises up to free the woman he loves from the rampaging Tugars led by the villainous Tsar Kalin (Shukar Burkhanov) and then he fights alongside the Prince to combat the army from invading Kiev. (Gulp!) Shot with over 100,000 extras, it’s impressive but also visually rapturous in this 4K restored, amazing Blu-ray. It comes with a fascinating 2-part essay about Russo-Soviet fantasy films by Alan Upchurch which first appeared in Video Watchdog magazine.
Flower Drum Song (Kino Lorber) The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical is given the lush Ross Hunter-produced film treatment with a predominantly Asian-American cast using many from the original Broadway show including the charming Miyoshi Umeki as a stowaway from Hong Kong who arrives in San Francisco for an arranged marriage. James Shigata plays the college student and prospect husband who is romancing a beautiful showgirl (Nancy Kwan). With songs like “A Hundred Million Miracles” and “I Enjoy Being a Girl.” Jack Soo is memorable as the owner of the Celestial Garden Nightclub. So is Juanita Hall (who played Bloody Mary in South Pacific) as the brassy Madame Liang. This widescreen 1961 musical looks terrific on Blu-ray and comes with a myriad of extras about the evolution of the Broadway show to film and the casting.
V/H/S/94 (RLJE Films) This Shudder original is a gleefully grisly horror anthology with a wrap-around story of a raid on an industrial warehouse supposedly manufacturing illegal drugs. What the officers find inside is a ghastly collection of eyeless bodies and televisions broadcasting disturbing VHS tapes. The macabre VHS offerings (made by different directors) are consistently good this time around- a female newscaster investigating the sighting of a “ratman” in the sewers; a young woman alone in a funeral parlor during a rain storm hearing noises emanating from a coffin; a mad scientist fusing bodies with machines; a right-wing militia group with a sinister “secret weapon” that bloodily backfires on them. Satisfyingly creepy and great fun.
Francis the Talking Mule (Kino Lorber) Before they jammed a wad of gum into the mouth of TV’s Mr. Ed to give the illusion that a horse can speak, there was Francis the talking mule, in a succession of low-brow comedies made in the 1950s by Universal Studios to add to their Ma & Pa Kettle batch of B-movie fillers. In Francis, the first in this Blu-ray collection, Donald O’Connor plays a Second Lieutenant during World War II, caught behind Japanese enemy lines with a mule he discovers can talk (but only to him). The animal aids in his escape but he thrown in the psychiatric ward when he tries to tell people the mule can speak. This leads to somewhat amusing hijinks that carried over to the other films in the series- Francis Goes to the Races (1951), Francis Goes to West Point (1952), Francis Covers the Big Town (1953), Francis Joins the WACs (1954) and Francis Joins the Navy (1954). After Donald O’Connor left after grumbling, “when you’ve made six pictures and the mule still gets more fan mail than you do,” Universal tried to revive the series with Mickey Rooney in Francis in the Haunted House (1956), which was frightening all right, but not as intended, and finished the series off for good.
Femme Fatale (Shout! Factory) The old Brian De Palma returns with a vengeance in this deliriously nutty erotic thriller. The gorgeous Rebecca Romijn is Laure, the daring but devious lesbian jewel thief, who, in the first sequence, double-crosses her partners in the heisting of diamonds during the 2001 Cannes Film festival (a sequence alone that has the witty fluidity of the museum scene in Dressed to Kill). The plot is preposterous and a send up of all deadly dame movies. The twists and turns eventually entangle Antonio Banderas, who plays a paparazzi who gets snared in Laure’s web. But De Palma’s camera work crackles with the fresh, wicked invention he showed in The Fury.
Caligula: The Untold Story (Severin) Leave it to Italian sleaze king Joe D’Amato (Anthropophagus) to take a stab at a Caligula film. Handsome, pouty-lipped David Brandon (Stage Fright) is actually terrific as the mad emperor, reveling in sex and violence while having nightmares of his demise on a beach. Gorgeous Laura Gemser (Black Emanuelle) plays Miriam, who cozies up to Caligula to get revenge for his raping and killing her younger sister. Future director Michelle Soavi (Cemetery Man) plays a would-be assassin who gets his tendons and tongue cut out by Caligula. Laura Gemser’s real-life husband Gabrielle Tinti plays Agrippa, who gets a steel stake jammed up his ass. This handsome Blu-ray from Severin includes the heavily-cut American version but there’s nothing like the extreme Italian, explicit, uncut version which includes a XXX orgy scene which includes a dwarf and a horse. Actor David Brandon is interviewed about his work on this film and others he made in Italy. There’s also a soundtrack CD included. The film is surprisingly fun while being deliciously depraved.
Without Warning (Kino Lorber) 2K restoration of a cheesy, amusing, 1980 low budget alien monster movie by the director of Satan’s Cheerleaders– Greydon Clark. Some kids in a van go swimming down by the lake only to get attacked by little flying starfish (with teeth), all part of an alien invasion. Look for a young, scruffy David Caruso as an early victim. Filled with great hammy character actors like Martin Landau as a crazed vet, Jack Palance as a loony hunter, Larry Storch as a hapless cub scout leader, Sue Ann Langdon as a barmaid and Neville Brand and Ralph Meeker as hard-boiled barflies skeptical of all this alien nonsense. There’s an extra “Greg & Sandy’s Alien Adventure” with new interviews with the two actors that played the young, cute leads- Tarah Nutter and Christopher S. Nelson (whose dad was actor Ed Nelson). They both are incredibly engaging recalling this hard-scrabble three-week shoot. Much of the logic-free movie takes place at night and luckily the cinematographer is Dean Cundey (who worked on many great John Carpenter films). The actor who plays the alien- Kevin Peter Hall went on to play the creature in The Predator.
Wild Things (Arrow Video) John McNaughton’s (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) wickedly sardonic tale is set in the sun-drenched, wealthy world of south Florida, but like the alligators in the Everglades, there are sharp teeth under the surface waiting to snap. When Kelly (Denise Richards), a pouty, Lolita-esque high school student from a wealthy family, accuses her guidance counselor (Matt Dillon) of rape, he hires a sleazy attorney (Bill Murray) to defend him. Even the detectives (Kevin Bacon and Daphne Rubin-Vega) are suspicious of the charges until another student- a pinked-out doper (Neve Campbell) comes forth with similar accusations. But nothing is at it seems in Blue Bay, Florida. Dripping with venomous wit, wet T-shirts and wonderful bits of unexpected humor, the sunny, sexy look of the film masks the nasty amorality of its players. It’s like opening a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue only to find a nest of black widow spiders inside. This is a 4k ultra HD restoration including the theatrical cut and the unrated version with new audio commentary by John McNaughton and a making-of documentary.
Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century (Kino Lorber/Code Red) Ludicrously enjoyable Italian rip-off of the Dino De Laurentiis King Kong, but this time with a giant abominable snowman found preserved in the ice in Canada. Unfrozen the creature goes bonkers but then befriends, and is gentle with, a young girl named Jane (because of her pretty long hair) and her younger mute brother Herbie. As the scientist explains, “the jackets the children are wearing are furry, like the Yeti. I venture to say they’ve touched some memory core of the creatures who lived in the Himalayas ages ago.” Yeah, sure. After a rampage in Toronto, Jane scolds the bigfoot, “Oh Yeti- what have you done?” A wave of crass commercialism grips the country where even the gas for your car is promoted: “Put a Yeti in your tank,” and girls wear t-shirts that demand, “Kiss me Yeti!”
Tombs of the Blind Dead (Synapse) Stunning 3-disc “steelbook” of a sensational 1971 Spanish horror film by Amando de Ossorio which became a four-film series. It concerns the living dead Templar Knights, who fought in the Crusades and practiced occult sacrifices of virgins to ensure their immortality. Their eyes were pecked out by crows when they were left hanging by the courts, so now their rotting remains return from the dead in tattered monk’s robes astride skeletal horses to kill and maim. They can’t see you but they can hear your heart beating so they have the ability to strike murderously fast. A memorably creepy, gory and great horror movie this Blu-ray set is the deluxe treatment, with a high definition version of the uncut Spanish print. It also includes the bowdlerized American version (where a grisly flashback about the Templars is put at the beginning of the film). It also includes a CD- “Tribute to the Templars” with music inspired by the film and many extras about the history of Spanish horror films and interviews with surviving cast members.
Your recommendation of Jigsaw was stellar! Just watched it. Keep those suggestions coming. Many thanks.