Talk about an eclectic and surreal month of Blu-rays this month. From a cult classic with a hilariously hambone performance by William Shatner, to a mommy dinosaur destroying London to reach her offspring, to the ultimate Bruce Lee film; a gorgeous, wildly controversial Louis Malle film; a demented, enjoyable new action film about a Finnish prospector slaughtering Nazis in an effort to redeem his claim, not to mention a surreal stop-motion Czech animated film based on the legend of The Pied Piper. If that isn’t enough, how about a restored Blu-ray of a crackpot Italian thriller starring one of my all-time favorites- Mickey Hargitay?
Impulse (Grindhouse Releasing). Well, Grindhouse Releasing has done it again- rescued another noxious gem from obscurity, and believe me- Impulse is one of those memorably sleazy wonders you want to turn everyone on to. Directed by William Grefe (Death Curse of Tartu, Stanley) this 1974 film was also hilariously titled: Want a Ride Little Girl? William Shatner plays lady-killer and leisure-suit abuser Matt Stone (no, not the South Park co-creator). A smart-mouthed blonde brat named Tina (Kim Nicholas) sees through the polyester when he starts dating her mom. After Tina spies him slaying his blackmailer (played by Harold “Oddjob” Sakata) in a carwash, Matt spends the rest of the film trying to murder the little moppet- even chasing her through a funeral home. To say Shatner overacts is like describing his infamous rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man as subtle. This 2-disc set is a 4k restoration from rare archival elements. The extras include “William Shatner Live in Santa Monica,” an in-depth interview with William Grefe not to mention hours of material from his vault, two bonus features and other surprises. And, if you act fast, a limited autographed edition. What the hell are you waiting for?
Enter the Dragon (Warner Brothers) 4K Ultra UHD special edition upgrade of the classic 1973 action film starring the great Bruce Lee. In the film, which, tragically, premiered after his death, Lee plays a master fighter who is asked by the British government to participate in a martial arts tournament organized by a renegade shaolin monk named Han (Shih Kien). He sabotages a secret underground drug operation run by the fearsome crime lord. And gets to fight to the death Han’s scar-faced bodyguard, responsible for his sister’s death. The fight sequences were all choreographed by Bruce Lee, and the “Lady from Shanghai” mirrored showdown at the end is pretty spectacular. John Saxon and afro-haired Jim Kelly play old army buddies and tournament participants. Kelly would go on to have his own action film career. Lee really cuts such a striking figure on film- handsome, sinewy, with cat-like movements and odd vocal intonations as he fights- that he creates his own mystique. There is a wonderful introduction by Lee’s lovely wife Linda Lee Cadwell who explains this disc includes the special uncut version that Bruce Lee approved of. Flesh tones are more natural in this 4K edition and the colors really pop- it’s a glorious way to discover the film if you’ve never seen it.
Gorgo (Vinegar Syndrome) After a volcanic disturbance underwater off the coast of Ireland, two salvage divers (Bill Travers & William Sylvester) capture a 65-foot prehistoric monster. The dinosaur is chained and carted off to London as a main attraction for the Dorkin’s Circus at Battersea Park. But the creature’s Mommy is headed their way and is she pissed. As a kid seeing this in a theater in 1961, we all cheered as “Mom” decimated London Bridge and Big Ben. Who would ever imagine a beautiful 4k UHD 2-disc Blu-ray of this? It comes with “The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo,” an archival documentary: “Gorgo Lives,” an appreciation by cartoonist Stephen R. Bissette, a making-of featurette, behind-the-scene footage, a video comic book and a folded poster designed by Matt Frank.
The Price We Pay (Lionsgate) (only on DVD) A lean, mean, grisly shocker by Ryuhei Kitamura, the director of Versus, Midnight Meat Train and No One Lives. A messy, shoot-out robbery of a pawnshop causes three thieves- Alex (Emile Hirsch), Cody (Stephen Dorff) and an injured John (Jesse Kinser)- to take a hostage- Grace (Gigi Zumbado), so she can drive them away from the crime scene. Unfortunately, her car breaks down outside a remote, seemingly deserted farmhouse. The only one there is a skittish young boy in the barn (Tyler Sanders) and when they ask him if they can stay the night he nervously agrees. But as they crash in one of the bunkhouses they all start to realize that something is very wrong there. Emile Hirsch well plays the trigger-happy psycho and Stephen Dorff is terrific, as is Gigi Zumbado. Then the movie kicks into nightmarish high gear. Sure, there is something familiar about all of this, but the last half hour is gory and great. Wait until you get to “Grandfather” (Vernon Wells) slicing people open to the aria “Nessun Dorma” from the Puccini opera Turnandot. Sadly, the movie is dedicated to the memory of Tyler Sanders, who died from an accidental drug overdose (at 18) shortly after the film was completed.
Sisu (Lionsgate) “Sisu” is a Finnish word that cannot be translated. It means “a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination.” Set during the last days of World War II, a prospector from Finland (Jorma Tommila) mines a shitload of gold and has to transport it hundreds of miles to sell (on horseback). Along the way, he encounters vicious Nazi soldiers that attempt to part him from his beloved gold and he turns into a relentless killing machine, decimating all in his path. Even the German higher-ups say: “He’s one mean motherfucker that you do not want to mess with.” This is one of those brutal, exhilaratingly, fun rides, and a blast to watch with friends. Directed with relentless fervor by Jalmari Helander. Now, be honest, who doesn’t like watching a Nazis die a hideous death?
Delirium (Vinegar Syndrome) This deliriously insane 1972 Italian thriller by Renato Polselli stars Mickey Hargitay as a criminal psychologist helping the police with their investigation of a series of violent, psychotic killings of women. He lives with a frustrated wife (Rita Calderoni) who he begs to leave him because he is sick and impotent, but she encourages her husband to strangle her in bed instead. Everything is pitched at such a hysterical level that from scene to scene you can’t catch your breath. Or reason why people are doing what they are doing. The murders and dream sequences are sleazy and wild, and after a while you just give in to the film’s overwrought sensibility. It’s really that deranged. The extras include featurettes on director Renato Polselli by friend and filmmaker Luca Rea and by Polselli’s daughter Vanessa. Plus, a fabulous never-before-seen archival interview with Mickey Hargitay chronicling his acting career in Italy. This also includes an 86-minute American version of the film (sourced from video) which opens during the Vietnam war, with plenty of stock footage and Mickey Hargitay as an army Captain wounded during combat. Trying to explain the genesis of his character’s madness, I guess. It also includes different murders and a whole alternate ending too.
Night of the Executioner (Mondo Macabro) One of the last film by Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy (aka Jacinto Molina) is a Death Wish-like revenge saga with Naschy starring as a respected surgeon celebrating his 50thbirthday with his family when a ludicrously-garbed gang of punk hoods break into their house. The gang ties him up, rapes and kills his wife and daughter in front of him and then cuts out his tongue, leaving him for dead. He survives and begins training, lifting weights, throwing knives, and transforming himself into a vigilante. He worms himself into the underworld to seek revenge for his wife and daughter. Filled with jarring bits of black humor and nasty sequences like when the criminal gang castrates one guy and overdoses another because they are late with payments to their mysterious, masochistic, asthmatic boss “the Cobra.” A world Blu-ray premiere, this comes with audio commentary and interviews with Naschy’s son Sergio Molina (he plays an ill-fated boy named Rocky in the film) who admits that this movie was somewhat based on the fact his father had been mugged on the streets of Madrid, not to mention his love of Charles Bronson. There are interviews with other members of the cast also.
The Fear (Mondo Macabro) Extraordinary, moody 1966 black & white film by the phenomenally talented Greek writer/director Kostas Manoussakis, who unfortunately only made three films. This film is set on a dusty, remote farm where Anna (Elena Nathanail) has returned from her studies in Athens. Her parents exist in a bitter, loveless marriage and her creepy, voyeuristic step-brother frightens her. Especially after the deaf-mute maid goes missing and Anna is convinced her family is hiding a deadly secret. Gorgeously filmed, with an unforgettable ending at a wedding where the brother breaks into an ecstatic, drunken dance. It’s an amazing sequence and this 2K restoration from the original negative does the film justice. Be sure to watch the lengthy, fascinating documentary about the director.
Pretty Baby (Kino Lorber) This disturbing, strangely haunting film by Louis Malle was controversial at the time it first landed in theaters in 1978. But imagine opening this film today? Set in a Storyville, New Orleans whorehouse in 1917, Brooke Shields is extraordinary as Violet, the 12-year-old daughter of a prostitute Hattie (Susan Sarandon). She flits around the bordello, hanging with the piano player (Antonio Fargas), pouring absinthe for Madame Nell (jazz legend Frances Faye) or taking care of her mother’s new baby boy. A photographer Bellocq (Keith Carradine) comes to do portraits of the ladies of the red-light district and becomes a fixture at the house. Barbara Steele and Diana Scarwid play two of the prostitutes. This was director Louis Malle’s first American film and it drips atmosphere and oddness. This is a new 4k scan of the 35mm original camera negative and comes with great extras including an interview with Brooke Shields, an interview with film historian Leonard Maltin and audio commentary by Kat Ellinger.
The Pied Piper (Deaf Crocodile) An astonishing, surreal and sensational 1986 Czechoslovakian stop-motion animated take on the Pied Piper legend by director Jiri Barta. A greedy, gluttonous village is over-run with rats until a mysterious cloaked stranger appears and by using a flute lures the rodents to a watery grave. But the town elders refuse to pay him for his service and he gets revenge by transforming them all into rats themselves. Using expressionist sets reminiscent of silent German films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the animation will remind you sometimes of imagery from the Quay Brothers or Jan Svankmajer, but it’s uniquely its own- with creepy, wooden-carved villagers mixed with live-action rats to create an unforgettably bizarre experience. This also includes the director’s other masterpiece The Vanished World of Gloves which charts film history through animated gloves.
Wow Dennis you been busy! Great article thanks.
Dennis-always love reading your movie reviews! No one writes them better than you!