VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970) Severin Films 4k UHD Review

VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 89 Minutes 17 Seconds 

Audio: German DTS-HD 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Jess Franco, Dennis Price, Ewa Stromberg

Countess Nadine Carody (Soledad Miranda, Count Dracula) is a vampire who performs nightly at a local nightclub where she catches the eye of a cute young American tourist named Linda (Ewa Strömberg, She Killed In Ecstasy), who becomes obsessed with the blood-sucking stripper, plagued by erotic dreams of her nightly. No longer able to resist the attraction Linda seeks out Countess Nadine on her island home, despite warnings from a hotelier named Memmet (played by director Jess Franco), a crazed weirdo whom Linda discovers has a penchant for torturing and murdering young women in his home, which turns out to be connected in a way to the Countess. 

Linda seeks out the Countess on her island home where she is told that the property once belonged to none other than the notorious blood-sucker Count Dracula and that the Countess is a direct descendant. Afterward the two enjoy a few glasses of wine, and as so often happens in the Franco films, the gorgeous women get naked and start fooling around with each other, with the Countess drinking blood from Linda's jugular. When the partially drained Linda awakens the next day she finds the Countess drowned in the swimming pool. Linda winds up at an asylum seeking treatment from Dr. Seward (Dennis Price, Nightmare Castle), apparently remembering nothing of the encounter with the Countess. The doc becomes suspicious when another patient turns up with visions of the Countes, but the film plays a bit with the idea that  Linda's an unreliablenarrator, leaving open the option that the supernatural enchantress may have been a figment of her own damaged psyche. 

At this point the film sort of goes off the rails and becomes a blur of Eurocult convolution and hallucinatory imagery. We have the Countess's servant Morpho (José Martínez Blanco, Pieces), Linda's boyfriend Omar (Andrés Monales, The Vengeance odmf Dr. Mabuse) and the creepy Memmet (dir. Franco) entering the picture for a confusing finale that pits Doc Seward against the sensual vampire, not to stake her through the heart as you might expect, but to become one of the undead. Cohesion is not the strongest point of this, or many, Franco entries, the story is a bit of a mess and only loosely held together with lurid imagery and some surreal atmosphere, which for a Franco film is par for the course, and this is one of the better ones. 

Thankfully we have Franco again teaming-up with cinematographer Manuel Merino (99 Women) who fills the frame with sultry and surreal imagery, plus the magnetic beauty of Soledad Miranda, truly a vampyric vision of blood-draining sexiness, she with the supernaturally soulful wide-eyes and just the right amount of 70s curviness, her cult-status in not difficult to comprehend, she was a stunner. So, we have some eye-candy and surreal imagery, but the frosting on top of this erotic slice of weirdness is the groovy lounge score from Manfred Hübler (She Killed in Ecstasy) and Sigi Schwab. While it might not be a great slice of 70s cinema it's a fun Franco film with enough softcore delights so as not to disappoint the pervs, such as myself. Honestly I could see this being a hard watch for those not already steeped in Eurocult and the other works of Jess Franco, it's a bit slow and strangely paced in places, but for the Franco-philes this is prime stuff. 

Audio/Video: Vampyros Lesbos makes it's 4K Ultra HD debut from Severin Films looking terrific, framed in 1.66:1 widescreen with Dolby Vision HDR10 enhancements in 2160p. The film is scanned in 4K from the original camera negative and the source looks fantastic, with pleasing depth and clarity, the 4K resolution offers  plenty of texture and detail, and the WGC color-grade nicely plumps up primaries, with deep reds and inky blacks.  

Audio chores are handled by a German DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and audio levels are  well-balanced, dialogue sounds fine but the highlight is the psychedelic lounge score from Manfred Hübler and Sigi Schwab, a cool pastiche of loungey grooviness and fuzzed-out electric guitars. 

Onto the extras, we get a new pair of brand commentary tracks, first is an Audio Commentary with Kat Ellinger, author of Daughters of Darkness, and a second Audio Commentary with film professor Aaron AuBuchon and Oscarbate Film Collective's John Dickson and Will Morris. Both tracks are fantastic, and as someone who does not read a lot of film books I learned plenty about the cast and crew, the locations, loads of production notes, and explorations of the films themes, sexuality and influences. 

Also new is the 45-min Fever Dracula – Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús, it just wouldnt be a proper Franco reissue without Thrower contributing! He gets into this being a pivotal film in Fraco's career, his style and atmosphere, the terrific camerawork, the plot-stripped moodiness of it, comparing and contrastingnit to Franco's Count Dracula, examining the imagery of the film in-depth and how it maps on the story, as well as the themes of homosexuality.

Also new to this edition is The Red Scarf Diaries – A Jess Franco career appreciation by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker, how speaks passionately of he discovered Franco on his cinematic journey, his appreciation of his indie spirit, and a special apprectiatoon for the film's with Soledad Miranda, what makes her so memorable, and it's influence on his film Anora, calling Franco's style a timeless, beautiful timecapsule. 

In The Land Of Franco Part 12, a new 19-min Franco locations featurette with Stephen Thrower, locations in Paris  as seen in The Sadist of Notre Dame, Cecelia, Exorcism, Hot Nights of Linda, Blue Rita, and a sadly fruitless and exhaustive endeavor to find the cellar bar from Lorna... the Exorcist, 

Archival extras begin with the 21-min Interlude In Lesbos – Interview with director Jess Franco, the now deceased auteur Jess Franco, sprawled out on the couch chain smoking while discussing the making of the film and his collaboration with producer Karl-Heinz Mannchen and his love for Soledad Miranda, and her tragic passing. Also included is the Interview with Soledad Miranda Historian Amy Brown which is also found on the She Killed in Ecstasy 4K Ultra HD. Disc extras are buttoned up with a 3-min  German Trailer for the movie, 1-min Alternate German Opening Title Sequence – ‘Dracula’s Heiress’ and a short 3-min outtake from the Jess Franco interview, Jess is Yoda. 

This 2-disc set does not include the bonus DVD disc that accompanied the previous Special Limited 2-Disc Collectors Editio  from Severin, which offered the a 75-min 

Las Vampiras – Alternate Spanish Language VHS Version with optional English subtitles, a version of the film that had had all the nudity removed per censorship of the era, it also features an alternate and inferior soundtrack, but it makes for a fun Franco-curio, even if it is ported from an ugly VHS source, so hang onto the edition for that, plus the 20-min Stephen Thrower on Vampyros Lesbos: Interview with Author of ‘Murderous Passions –  The Delirious Cinema Of Jess Franco’, which is also not included. 

 The 2-disc set arrives in a black, dual-hubbed keepcase with  artwork by Wes Benscoter, plus a slipcover featuring a separate  artwork of Soledad Miranda. 

Special Features: 

- Fever Dracula – Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús (44:44) 

- The Red Scarf Diaries – A Jess Franco career appreciation by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker (9:54) 

- Interlude In Lebos: Interview featurette with Director Jess Franco (20:51) 

- Sublime Soledad: Interview with Soledad Miranda Historian Amy Brown (20;23) 

- Jess Is Yoda Clip (2:44) 

- Alternate German Opening Title Sequence – ‘Dracula’s Heiress’ (1:26) 

- German Trailer (2:36) 

Vampyros Lesbos (1970) is a hypnoticly erotic slice of Eurocult offering a dizzying blend of softcore vampire happenings and the usual Franco-weirdness. Star Soledad Miranda is absolutely stunning in 4K, and Severin have put together a wonderful UHD edition of the film with new and arvchival extras, making this a must-own have for the Franco-philes and Euro-cultists! 

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SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1970) Severin Films 4K UHD Review

SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1970) 

 

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free 

Duration: 80 Minutes 27 Seconds 

Rating: Unrated

Audio: German DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Jess Franco, Fred Williams, Paul Muller, Ewa Stromberg, Horst Tappert, Howard Vernon

Dr. Johnson (Fred Williams, Count Dracula) is a scientist bent performing illicit experiments on human embryos for the benefit of mankind, or some such crock o' shit. However, when his research comes up for review by his peers he is discredited by a shocked and unsympathetic medical board who frown upon such things. Despite the fact that the doc has a gorgeous home on a private island and a stunningly gorgeous and devoted wife (Soledad Miranda, Vampyros Lesbos), the mad doc is so distraught by his fall from grace that he opts to slash his wrists and end it all. In the aftermath his supernaturally hot wife sets about to seducing and murdering each of the four members of the medical board, whom she blames for the death of her beloved husband. 

A very simple premise and to be honest there's just not much more to it. The murderous seductress sets out to seduce each of the board members, three men and one woman among them. It's a fun cycle of seduction and murder from start to finish. The four doctors are Dr. Crawford (Ewa Strömberg, Vampyros Lesbos), Dr. Houston (Paul Muller, Barbed Wire Dolls), Dr. Walker (Howard Vernon, The Awful Dr. Orloff) and Dr. Donen (played by director Jesus Franco). Howard Vernon's character has the most gruesome death scene with Miranda shredding Dr. Orloff's wedding tackle. 

As said there's not a lot to the story, it is very simplistic but what sold the movie for me is the stunning beauty of star Soledad Miranda. Her turn as the murderous widow is so mesmerizing, there's very little dialogue but her eyes have a hypnotic seductive sadness about them. Of course, this was the swinging 70's but even I thought that the ease of which she seduces each of the doctors is sort of funny, but you just go with it. You'd expect that after the first corpse turned up with a note indicating that the other were are next they would be a heightened sense of self preservation among these highly educated professionals, but that just goes to show you that you should never underestimate the draw of a gorgeous, naked woman. Just thinking about it myself if I were in the situation I might set aside my own fear of death for a chance to score with Soledad Miranda if I am being honest, she was something special and was gone way too soon, dying shortly after shooting wrapped on this picture. 

On top of that purely carnal reasons for loving this movie we have some great visuals throughout the movie and an abundance of fantastic architecture with surrealistic cinematography by longtime Franco cinematographer Manuel Merino (Vampyros Lesbos). I couldn't write about the movie and not mention the sweet psychedelic lounge-pop score from Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab (The Devil Came from Akasava) which is one of my favorite scores of any Franco film, of any film ever in fact, I listen to it all the time. There's also some weird scenes of implied necrophilia between Mrs. Johnson the corpse of her departed lover whom she keeps around for cuddles, a nice twist of macabre Franco strangeness. 

Audio/Video: This new 4K UHD edition from Severin offers a new restoration, scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision HDR enhancement. 

The source looks immaculate,  colors are more vivid, especially purples and red, skin tone appear warmer, and blacks are deeper . Fans of the magnetic Soledad Miranda will no doubt appreciate the eye-popping UHD transfer and the more natural looking skin tones, right down to the last nipple and freckle. Noticeable print damage is minimal but there are instances of speckling visible from time to time. The accompanying Blu-ray sourced from same restoration looks terrific as well, even without the Dolby Vision enhancements. 

The lossless German DTS-HDMA 2.0 Dual-Mono audio sounds quite nice, a few audio imperfections from the source material are evident but the sexy lounge-pop score from Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab comes through nicely. Optional English subtitles are provided. 

Onto the plentiful extras we begin with a pair of new extras, first the 21-min In Land of Franco Part 13,  a new locations featurette, Thrower accompanied by Severin's David Gregory start off by the home of Daniel Lesoeur and locations, including a burned down mill, that were used in various Franco production like The Midnight Party, Kiss Me Killer, Hot Nights of Linda, Female Vampire and Night Of The Eagles, Faceless,  Its a terrific piece, including unearthing a gorgeous Exorcismo poster and other ephemera. Then the 42-min Ecstacy In Rage- Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema Of Jess Franco, copious production notes, cast info, locations and modernist architecture featured in the film, ,  examination of the story, plot and some story elements previously explored in The Diabolical Dr. Z, the score, the more peculiar aspects of Francos film, flagrantly rediculous death scenes including suffocation by inflatable pillow, Soledad Miranda's mesmerizing performance, her intensity, details of her death and its blow to Franco, highlighting her nonfranco films and the possibility she might have broke out into bigger films. 

The rest are archical extras, beginning with the intimate 17-min Jess Killed in Ecstacy: Interview with Writer/Director Jess Franco that was filmed shortly before his death in 2013, Franco is typically sprawled out on his couch, chain-smoking of course, while he discusses the making of the film and his fruitful and short-lived collaboration with star Soledad Miranda. He also talks about the locations, the cast, noting how the film did not connect with audiences, was banned in Spain, and remembering her death and bits affect on him. It ends with his thoughts on recoeving awards later in life, and how cinema and Lina Romay were the best things to happen to him. He speaks very thick-accented English, optional English subtitles are provided. Sublime Soledad - Interview with Soledad Miranda Historian Amy Brown offers up a 20-minute interview about the early life and career of Miranda Soledad who passed away at the tender age of 27 less than a year after shooting on the film wrapped. She talks about her family and early life, an accomplished dancer who supported her family with her earnings, moving to Madrid to act, 

The last of the disc extras is a German Trailer for the film plus a 7-minute Paul Muller On Jess Franco - Interview with Frequent Franco Star who speaks about his time working with Franco, the interview is in Spanish with English subtitling. 

Bonus-junk junkies are advised to hang on to the previous Severin Special Lmited 2-disc Collectors Edition Blu-ray/CD set because this new set does not include a couple of notable extras, first is the bonus CD wiyh the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for 3 Films By Jess Franco: Vampyros Lesbos / She Killed In Ecstasy / The Devil Came From Akasava. The second is the 13-min Ecstacy In Rage - Interview with Stephen Thrower, the Author of ‘Murderous Passions – The Delirious Cinema Of Jess Franco’. So you may wish to hang on to it! 

The 2-disc release arrives in a dual-hubbed black keepcase with a single-sided wrap featuring Wes Benscooter artwork, plus a slipcover with an image from the film that as the wrap artwork is based on, with spotgloss highlights. You may spot a familiar looking pull quote on the back cover of the wrap! 

Special Features: 

- Jess Killed In Ecstasy: Interview with Director Jess Franco (16:56)

- Sublime Soledad: Interview with Soledad Miranda Historian Amy Brown (20:23)

- Ecstacy In Rage- Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema Of Jess Franco (41:56) 

- In the Land of Franco Part 13 (21:07)

- Paul Muller On Jess Franco: Interview with the frequent Franco Star (6:32) 

- German Trailer (2:44)

She Killed in Ecstasy (1970) is an erotically charged revenger laced with intoxicating visuals and scene after scene of the lovely and curvy Soledad Miranda, who fills nearly every frame of the movie. On top of that you have a swinging psychedelic lounge score that will linger long after watching the feature. This 4K UHD of She Killed In Ecstasy is easily the best it's ever looked, and the new and archival extras are terrific, highly recommended for the Franco freakos! 

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BOHACHI BUSHIDO: CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT (1972) 4K UHD Review

BOHACHI BUSHIDO: CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT (1972) 

Label: Mondo Macabro 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 81 Minutes 12 Seconds 

Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 with English subtitles

Video: HDR 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Director: Teruo Ishii

Cast: Tetsurō Tamba, Gorō Ibuki, Yuriko Hishimi, Tatsuo Endō

The Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman's Curse) directed Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1972) stars Tetsuro Tanba (Violent Streets) as the assassin-swordsman Shinô Ashita. The film opens with a very striking and highly stylized sequence of him battling samurai on a bridge over a river, vastly outnumbered he slices his way through many of them, limbs are severed and the blood streams in torrents, but having grown weary of the samurai code he relents, noting that “To die is hell, but to live, is also hell”, choosing to throw himself off the bridge into the icy river below in a suicide attempt. His would-be suicide is thwarted when the Bohachi clan, a vicious gang who have forsaken any semblance of honor, abandoning the eight virtues of humanity: godliness, loyalty, respect for your elders, trust, modesty, justice, conscience, and shame, who are lead by Shirobei Daimon (Tatsuo Endô, Sex and Fury), manage to retrieve his unconscious body from the river and nurse him back to health, warming his body with the warm flesh naked women. Hid current state of mind pairs well with their ideology, and they successfully recruit him to take out their flesh-peddling brothel competitors in the village, offering him protection from the law in return, which he accepts. 

The film has some pretty awesome stylized sequences with garish lighting, the sword fights are bloody as Hell and action-packed, and the nudity come fast and furious throughout -  the sheer amount of breasts seen here is quite breathtaking. The final set piece is a another huge battle with Shiro taking on another horde of sword-wilding attackers, this time he's drug-addled with opium, The scene having a hallucinatory quality to it that is both bloody and surreal with plenty of slicing and dicing, making for a wonderfully surreal and quite sleazy exploitation spectacle, chock full of nihilism, eroticism and bloody sword violence.  

Audio/Video: Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1972) makes it's worldwide 4K UHD debut from Mondo Macabro, advertised as a "brand new exclusive 4K restoration" framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, in 2160p Ultra HD with HDR color-grade. The source looks terrific, grain structures are more refined than the previous Blu-ray, the 4K resolution offering more detail and texture, particularly in close-ups. The colors of the previous Blu-ray were pretty solid, but the new HDR color-grade improves upon it with primaries being reivigorated, evidentbright from thevopening credit sequence on the bridge, bathed in eye-searing red light and geysers of stylized bloodshed. The colored lighting even more vivid, with deeper blacks and superior depth and contrast. There's still some inherent softness as indicated when I reviewed the previous Blu-ray edition, but overall this 4K upgrade is a nice uptick visually. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue exchanges are delivered without issue, no age-related wear and tear to speak of, sequences of violence and clanging swords have oomph, and the score by  Hajime Kaburagi’s (Eighteen Years in Prison) has heft. It's vintage mono and lacks depth but still has solid fidelity for what it is. Screenshots from the previous Blu-ray edition can be seen HERE.

Extras are exactly the same as the previous Mono Macabro Blu-ray edtion, kicking  off with a new Audio Commentary with Japanese film expert Tom Mes who gives his usual well-informed and researched input, getting into the decline of Japanese cinema in the 60s and the rise of the pinky violence films, and analyzing the film itself and it's handling of the edo-era. We also get Archival Audio Commentary with Japanese film makers J-Taro Sugisaku and Takao Nakano, in Japanese with subtitles. There's also a 42-sec Introducing the Commentators that establishes the archival commentator's bona fides. We also get a 18-min Interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto about working with Bohachi Bushido director Teruo Ishii, plus a 21-min Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi; and a 16-min Archival interview “What is Pinky Violence?”. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 3-mn Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc 4K UHD edition arrives in black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, mirroring the artwork from the previous Blu-ray, a moody Justin Coffee illustration that nicetly captures the tone of the film. 

Special Features:

- Interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto about working with BOHACHI BUSHIDO director Teruo Ishii (17:44) 

- Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi (21:05) 

- Archival Interview “What is Pinky Violence?” with Thanks to Discotek Media  (15:33) 

- Audio Commentary with Japanese film expert Tom Mes.

- Archival Audio Commentary with Japanese film makers  J-Taro  Sugisaku and Takao Nakano with Thanks to Discotek Media 

- Introducing the Commentators with thanks to Discotek Media  (0:42) 

- Theatrical Trailer (3:11) 

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'Zulu Dawn' starring Burt Lancaster, Peter O’Toole, Simon Ward and Bob Hoskins gets stunning 4K remastered Limited Edition & Special Edition release on 25 May 2026

DOUGLAS HICKOX’S 1979 SEMINAL WAR FILM AND PREQUEL TO ZULU GETS A STUNNING NEW PHYSICAL RELEASE FROM SEVERIN FILMS

“THE PREQUEL EPIC TO ZULU…

A sweeping battle film with a top-flight cast and thousands of African extras” 

- The New York Times

“A FILM OF FINE ACTING, EMOTIONAL POWER AND VISUAL BEAUTY…

An epic re-examination of the worst defeat ever suffered

by a modern army at the hands of native forces”

- Reeling Back

Screen legends Burt Lancaster (GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL), Peter O’Toole (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA), Simon Ward (THE THREE MUSKETEERS) and Bob Hoskins (THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY) lead an all-star cast in ZULU DAWN, the “fascinating and awesome” (DVD Talk) prequel to the 1964 classic ZULU. Following its recent theatrical release, the brand-new stunning 4K remastered edition, scanned in 4K from the interpositive, is getting a new release on Limited Edition and Special Edition courtesy of Severin Films.

ZULU DAWN Limited Edition UHD/BD 3-disc set, ZULU DAWN Special Edition UHD/BD 3-disc set and ZULU DAWN Standard Edition BD 2-disc set will be released on 25 May 2026 and are available to pre-order now. All versions come complete with both the Original and U.S. Theatrical cuts of the film, plus more than six hours of special features, including a brand-new feature-length documentary on the making of the film, narrated by Dai Bradley (KES), featuring new interviews with actor/co-producer James Faulkner (GAME OF THRONES), producer Nate Kohn and many more. The Limited Edition also includes an exclusive 100-page book, double-sided poster and art cards. Please see full details on attached press release.

In January 1879, officials of the British colony of Natal, Africa issued a list of ultimatums to the Zulu Nation. When the Zulu King refused, the Empire declared war. Then in a series of grave tactical blunders, a garrison of 1,500 British soldiers faced 25,000 enraged Zulu warriors in what would become the most horrific disaster in British military history.

Nigel Davenport (CHARIOTS OF FIRE), Denholm Elliott (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK), Phil Daniels (QUADROPHENIA), Simon Sabela (SHAKA ZULU), James Faulkner  (WAKE UP DEAD MAN) and Dai Bradley (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT), co-star with 13,000 Zulus in this “eye-filling, spectacular experience” (Mondo Digital), directed by Douglas Hickox (THEATRE OF BLOOD) from a screenplay by ZULU writer/director Cy Endfield.

“ZULU DAWN IS A GENUINE EPIC WITH FIRST RATE PRODUCTION VALUES…

Stunningly staged and photographed, with Elmer Bernstein providing the stirring score”

- Cinema Retro

SPECIAL FEATURES:

LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVES:

· 100-Page Collectors' Book With New Articles By Ian Knight And Film Historian Simon Lewis

· Six Collectors’ Art Cards

· Double-Sided Poster

DISC 1: UHD - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (118 mins)

· Audio Commentary With Anglo-Zulu War Historian Ian Knight And Film Historian Simon 

Lewis *

· Theatrical Trailer *

DISC 2: BLU-RAY - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (118 mins)

· War Cry of the Zulu – The Making Of ZULU DAWN, A Feature-Length Documentary 

Narrated By Dai Bradley

· Trailblazer: The Simon Sabela Story – A Documentary On The South African Actor/Director 

· The Saga of Bob’s Last Stands – Bob Hoskins’ Death Scene

· The Scene That Never Was – The Eclipse at Isandlwana

DISC 3: BLU-RAY - U.S. THEATRICAL VERSION (98 mins)

· The Symbol of Sacrifice (1918) – The 1997 Reconstruction Of The Historical South African 

Film

· Saviour Of the Symbol of Sacrifice – Interview With Mayer Levy 

· The History of the Zulu Wars – Featurette With Zulu Rising Author Ian Knight

· Recreating The War – Interview With Historical Advisor Midge Carter

· A Visit to The Battlefield – Author Ian Knight Visits The Location Of The Battle Of 

Isandlwana

· Outtakes

 

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Third Season coming to Blu-ray & DVD on June 30, 2026.

Continue the Epic Journey with

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Third Season

Coming to Blu-ray & DVD on June 30, 2026

 Prepare to journey back into a savage prehistoric world when Warner Bros. releases Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray and DVD June 30, 2026. From visionary creator Genndy Tartakovsky, the critically acclaimed animated series continues its gripping story with an intense new chapter filled with danger, survival, and emotional stakes. Pre-order your copy today!

The third season of “Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal” opens with a shocking twist that resurrects Spear in a new form—stripped of memory and humanity—and forces him to roam a brutal, untamed world as a shadow of his former self. As Spear battles savage landscapes and deadly foes, faint echoes of his past begin to stir, leading him toward an emotional and explosive reunion that will test the limits of survival.

“Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal” is created by Tartakovsky with art direction from Scott Wills (“The Ren & Stimpy Show,” “Samurai Jack”) and music composition from Tyler Bates (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Samurai Jack,” “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal”) and Joanne Higginbottom (“Salem,” “Samurai Jack,” “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal”) and sound effects design from Joel Valentine (“Samurai Jack,” “Big City Greens,” “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal”)

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete Third Season – includes all 10 Season Three episodes plus bonus content.

Blu-ray

DVD

Audio: English

Subtitles: English SDH

Running Time: 223 minutes

Rated: TV-14

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LOVE CAMP (1977) Delirium Home Video Blu-ray Screenshots

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THE UGLY STEPSISTER (2025) Second Sight Films 4K Ultra HD Review + Blu-ray Screenshots

THE UGLY STEPSISTER (2025) 

aka Den Stygge Stesøsteren

Label: Second Sight Films 

Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), B (Blu-ray) 

Rating: Cert. 18

Duration: 109 Minutes 25 Seconds 

Audio: Norwegian DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision (HDR10) 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Emilie Blichfeldt

Cast: Ane Dahl Torp, Myren, Flo Fagerli, Thea Sofie Loch Naess

The Ugly Stepsister (2025), directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, is a dark retelling of the Cinderella story that is super-dark, twisted and wonderfully grotesque. In it the recently widowed Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp, Dead Snow) arranges to marry a new husband, Otto (Ralph Carlsson), a older 

widower, whom she believes is wealthy. Accompanying her are her two daughters, the not traditionally beautiful Elvira (Myren) and the younger Alma (Flo Fagerli), who upon arrival are introduced to Otto and his beautiful blonde daughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess). As they gather for a festive wedding breakfast Otto unexpectedly drops dead. It is only upon his death that Rebekka comes to realize that her new husband was broke, in a cruel twist of fate realizing that he was only  marrying her for her perceived wealth, as creditors arrive and scavenge his estate's belongings leaving Rebekka with meager finances and dour future prospects. 

Later both Elvia and Agnes are invited to attend the all noble young virgins ball, where Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) will choose a wife. Rebekka sees this as a potential financial stabilizer, and the whimsical Elvira has long dreamt of marrying a prince, indulging in fantasies about marrying into the royal bloodline, but her mother believes her to be too ugly to ever have a chance to draw the attention of the prince at the upcoming ball, to that end she sets out to give her daughter a bit of a Victorian era glow-up. Rebekka subjects her awkward daughter to some horrific cosmetic surgery without the benefit of anesthesia at a clinic run by aptly named Dr. Esthétique (Adam Lundgren). During the painful process Elvira has her nose broken with a chisel and hammer and reset to beautify it, made to wear metallic nose-brace, which brought to mind The People Eater from Mad Max: Fury Road. She also has extended eyelashes sewn into her lower eyelid, providing viewers with some squeamish eye surgery, with the doctor and the nurses wearing these surgical gowns that made me think of David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers, which I am thinking in no happy accident, the influence of Cronenberg's body horror is slathered all over this one, albeit Cronenberg's body horror comes from within usually, while the physical horrors here are external and inflicted. After her cosmetic surgeries she is enrolled at a finishing school fort young women to learn proper social etiquette and ballroom dance. The school's instructor Sophie von Kronenberg (Cecilia von der Esch) despises her initially, but eventually comes to realize her potential, gifting her a tapeworm egg to swallow to help her lose weight, which is just a horrific idea. All the while Agnes's dead father's corpse is just rotting away in disused room in the house the whole time, unburied, because the expensive cosmetic surgeries meant there was no money to bury his body, with young Agnes occasionally visiting him to vent her anger and frustrations. 

Throughout the film we hear the disgusting sounds of Elvira stomach rumbling from extreme hunger, leading to a later horrific scene as she attempts to disgorge the parasite from her stomach, and if your squeamish, well, you'd better strap yourself in for that one! The parasite eventually causes her to become malnourished and she starts losing her hair, causing her to have to wear a blonde wig for the ball. 

At a certain point Elvira catches her stepsister Agnes having sex in the stables with the stable boy Isak (Malte Myrenberg Gårdinger), which she informs her mother of, resulting in Agnes being treated like the fairytale Cinderella, they even call her Cinderella at various points, as she is put to work in the kitchen and made to be a servant. Agnes also dreams of marrying the prince, but when a jealous Elvira tears up her ball gown all hope seems lost, until she has a vision of her dead birth mother (Agnieszka Żulewska) who gifts here with a pair of gorgeous shoes and summons silk worms from her father's corpse that spin a beautiful new ballroom gown, as well as a carriage to take her to the ball, one that she says will turn into a pumpkin at midnight, setting the stage for the stepsisters to attend the ball to compete for the prince's affections, with a wild finale that features a desperate Elvira willing to horrifically mutilate her own body to  fit into the fabled slipper the prince will use to identify his future wife, 

The is a wonderfully dark and lush period set film, the locations and costuming are absolutely stunning, steeped in atmosphere and and dread, and I adore the subversion of the Cinderella story through a dark slice of body horror with themes of beauty standards and the psychological effects of transformation and wish fulfillment, all filtered through a visual style that I would describe as Walerian Borowczyk (Immoral Tales) by way of Cronenberg (The Brood). It's an incredibly assured feature-film debut from Emilie Blichfeldt, establishing herself as a cinematic voice worth checking out, and Second Sight limited edition 4k UHD/Blu-ray set is the perfect way to watch it, offering a stellar 4K UHD presentation with a terrific set of in-depth extras and some gorgeous limited edition packaging.  

Audio/Video: The Ugly Stepsister (2025) gets a top-notch presentation from Second Sight Films, sourced from a 4K DI, presented in 2160p UHD framed in 1.66:1 widescreen, with Dolby Vision/HDR10 WCG enchantments. The Gothic setting is lush and wonderfully realized, it was shot with vintage lenses which help maintain filmic look. It appears that some artificial film grain has been added to the image as well, which helps maintain the illusion of film. The cinematography has some inherent softness to it giving the dark fairytale an appropriate dreaminess to it that feels candlelit. The image is warm and chock full of earthy tones that look terrific, color pops during some f the more gruesome scenes, but also during the ball with everyone in their finery.  Fine detail and textures are nicety dialed in, those horrific body horror elements like the stitching in of fake eyelashes and the severing of toes are delivered with startling clarity. The accompanying 1080p HD Blu-ray presentation is also terrific looking, even without the benefit of WGC color-grade the transfer is a knockout, just a notch below the 4K. 

Audio comes by way of Norwegian DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. The track is nuanced and layered, the dialogue acoustics sound great, and the score which ranges from more delicate strings to electronic drone also sounds excellent. The surround is sparse for a modern surround track, but it does the job, sounds of scream and the thunder have nice presence to them, just don't expect a surround sound workout with it. 

As usual Second Sight go all out with the bonus content, we start off with a pair of new commentaries, the first with with director Emilie Blichfeldt and Filmmaker Patrik Syversen, and the second with audio commentary by film journalist Meagan Navarro. Then into the 34-min This Is My Ball: a new interview with director Emilie Blichfeldt , get gets into how "creative naps" informed the film's story, creating a different spin on the Cinderella story, the scripting process, shooting the short to test the body horror versus the inherent sympathy factor, the difficulty of the casting process, how ambitious the film was, world building and design, the influence of Eastern European fairytale cinema and 70s films like Picnic at Hanging Rock, the costuming and make-up, the practical effects, shooting in Poland, the locations, the anachronistic 70s/80s synth score, shooting the body horror scenes, challenges during the shoot, scenes she is most proud of. Then onto the 19-min Generational Trauma: a new interview with actor Lea Myren, she talks about being shocked by the script, enjoying the a Cinderella story from the female gaze versus traditional telling, the audition process, her shared language with the director, working under prosthetics, the tapeworm scene, what the  costuming and uncomfortable corset brought to her performance, and seeing the film screen at Sundance with an audience. 

Next, the 15-min Take Up Space: a new interview with actor Thea Sofie Loch Næss, she speaks of meeting the director after being cast in a short as Cinderella, then being cast six years later as Cinderella again, how this is more of a Brothers Grimm version of the story, admiring the director's clarity of vision and making it happen, working with her co-stars, learning to speak Swedish, the costuming, and not realizing they were making a horror film at first. 

Character and Gore is a new 18-min Interview with effects artist Thomas Foldberg, he gets into his make-up FX heroes Dick Smith and Rock Baker, how he is not a huge gore fan unless its character driven and realistic, how he came onto this film, the good chemistry with the director, the tight shooting schedule, complicated effects make-up shots. 

We also get an 11-min The Beauty of Ugly: The Effects of The Ugly Stepsister more in-depth look at the special effects with Foldberg who shows off prosthetic pieces used for the gruesome special effects worl , and 18-min visual essay A Cinderella Story: Kat Hughes on The Ugly Stepsister, a brief Deleted Scene that shows a intense piano performance from Elvira, and two of the director's Short Films: How Do You Like My Hair? and Sara’s Intimate Confessions (21:53) that establish the director's fascination with body horror and body issues. 

The limited Edition set from Second Sight includes a Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Ann Bembi, inside the UHD/Blu-ray discs are housed in a 4-panel digibook with clear plastic trays holding the discs. There is also a 

120-page perfect bound book with Cinderella’s Stepsister by Emilie Blichfeldt, storyboard comparisons and new essays

by BJ Colangelo, Michelle Kisner, Kimberly Leszak, Jolene Marie Richardson, Katie Rife and Amber T, which are all terrifically explore the film with depth and perception. There are also Six Collectors' Art Cards tucked away inside. It's a gorgeous limited edition set, but fear not, if you cannot spring for the deluxe limited edition set there are both standard Blu-ray and 4k UHD editions that have the same stellar presentations and mirrored disc extras. 

Special Features: 

• Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs

• UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision

• New audio commentary with director Emilie Blichfeldt and Filmmaker Patrik Syversen

• New audio commentary by Meagan Navarro

• This Is My Ball: a new interview with director Emilie Blichfeldt (34:29) 

• Generational Trauma: a new interview with actor Lea Myren (19:08) 

• Take Up Space: a new interview with actor Thea Sofie Loch Næss (14:33) 

• Character and Gore: a new interview with effects artist Thomas Foldberg (18:00) 

• The Beauty of Ugly: The Effects of The Ugly Stepsister (11:12) 

• A Cinderella Story: Kat Hughes on The Ugly Stepsister (18:08) 

• Deleted Scene (3:11) 

• Short Films: How Do You Like My Hair? (10:48) and Sara’s Intimate Confessions

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Ann Bembi

• 120-page book with Cinderella’s Stepsister by Emilie Blichfeldt, storyboard comparisons and new essays

by BJ Colangelo, Michelle Kisner, Kimberly Leszak, Jolene Marie Richardson, Katie Rife and Amber T

• Six collectors' art cards

Screenshots fromt he Second Sight Films Blu-ray: 

Extras: