Tuesday, November 19, 2024

MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM 2024 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE!




MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM
2024 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

Well, it's that time of the year again... 'twas about a month before Christmas and all the stockings are hung by the decorative fake LED fireplace with care, in hopes that on Christmas morn physical media film lovers would find Blu-rays and 4K UHD flicks with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision there... or something like that... 

Naughty or nice, if they're a movie lover get 'em something cool this year, it's been a fantastic year for physical media editions, so there's no shortage of cool stuff to choose from. Tphere were so many awesome box sets, collections and single film editions released this year, it's kind of crazy.  

As is out semi-annual tradition we've put together some movie lovers Christmas gift ideas for you, chock full of Amazon affiliate links (and some cool indie distros, too) to generate some of our own Christmas cheer on the back end. So, have a look-see and hopefully you get some ideas of what to get your cinema loving friends and family, but don't forget to treat yourself, too! This is a list that caters to my own personal preferences of cult-classics, paranoid sci-fi, and vintage horror, and I tried to spice it up with some cool television. Westerns, crime-thrillers, and a nice selection of nostalgic animated releases, all sort of cool stuff. 


 Limited Edition 4-Disc Blu-ray + 
2-Disc CD set (Cauldron Films)

SHAWSCOPE VOL. 3 LIMITED EDITION BOX SET  10-Disc Blu-ray Set (Arrow Video) 

Limited Edition 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy (Paramount) 

HELLRAISER: QUARTET OF TORMET - PINHEAD SLIPCASE 4-Disc Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD (Arrow Video)

13-Disc Blu-ray Set (Severin Films) 


ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE ICONIC FILM COLLECTION 6-Disc 4K Ultra HD Set (Warner Bros.) 

JOYSTICKS (1983) Collector's Edition Blu-ray (MVD Rewind Collection) 

Bu-ray (Scream Factory) 

ZERO WOMAN: RED HANDCUFFS (1974) Blu-ray  
(Neon Eagle Video) 

THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1947) Blu-ray (Warner Archive) 

REDNECK MILLER (1976) Blu-ray (Film Masters Archive Collection)

BODY DOUBLE  (1984) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital (Steelbook) 

GHOULIES II (1987)  2-Disc Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (MVD Rewind Collection) 

HIGH CRIME (1973) 
3-Disc Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD (Blue Underground)

THE GUYVER  (1991) Limited Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD (Unearthed Films)  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome)


4K Ultra HD (Warner Bros.)

THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS (1972)   4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Celluloid Dreams)

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) 4K Ultra HD + Digital (Warner Bros) 

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital  (20th Century Focmz) 

4K Ultra HD + Digital. (Warner Bros.)

GUMMO  (1997) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion) 

HAPPINESS (1998) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion) 

LONE STAR  (1996) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion) 

GREG ARAKI'S TEEN APOCALYPSE TRILOGY  4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion) 

THE TENANT (1976) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome) 

4K Ultra HD + Digital (Sony) 

(Shout! Factory) 

(Shout! Factory) 

3-Disc Blu-ray + CD Soundtrack (Grindhouse Releasing) 

BAD COMPANY (1972) 
Blu-ray (Fun City Editions)

LOONEY TUNES COLLECTOR'S CHOICE VOLS. 1-4 Blu-ray Set (Warner Archive) 


SUPER FRIENDS: THE COMPLETE SERIES  (1973-1985) 16-Disc Blu-ray Set (Warner Bros.) 

(2024) 2-Disc Blu-ray Set (Paramount)

THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023) 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray 

4K Ultra HD (Warner Bros.) 

THE COMPLETE RANKIN BASS CHRISTMAS COLLECTION  5-Disc Blu-ray Set (Universal).

BATMAN - 85TH ANNIVERSARY 10-FILM COLLECTION 10-Disc 4K Ultra HD (Warner Bros.)  


FRIENDS: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1994-2004) 25-Disc 4K Ultra HD - Blu-ray Set 
(Warner Bros.) 

(1989-1998) 24-Disc 4K Ultra HD Set (Sony) 

I LOVE LUCY: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1951-1960) 33-Disc Blu-ray Set (Paramount) 

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
(2024) 5-Disc 4K Ultra HD Set (Warner Bros.) 

2-Disc 4K Ultra HD Steelbook (Disney) 

A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1965-1966) 5-Disc Blu-ray Set (Warner Archive) 

6-Disc Blu-ray Set (Warner Archive)  

CINEMA SPECULATION (Hardcover Book) by Quentin Tarantino 

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Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Announces Se7en (1995) on 4K UHD

SE7EN (1995) 

FROM ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR DAVID FINCHER, THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL AND 4K UHD DISC ON JANUARY 7, 2025

EXPERIENCE THE FILM IN IMAX FOR THE FIRST TIME, STARTING JANUARY 3, 2025 FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

The film stars Academy Award Winners Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman
and Gwyneth Paltrow

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the psychological thriller Se7en from New Line Cinema and acclaimed director David Fincher, the 1995 film will be available for purchase Digitally in 4K Ultra HD and on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc on January 7, 2025.

Se7en will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home and more.

Additionally, to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, the newly re-mastered version of Se7en will be offered theatrically worldwide with exclusive IMAX engagements in the U.S. and Canada beginning on January 3, and international theatrical engagements on select dates. To purchase tickets, or for further information, please visit www.imax.com/seven.

Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Mank) from a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, the film stars Academy Award winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love), along with John C. McGinley (Platoon), Golden Globe nominee R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket), and Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, American Beauty) as John Doe. The film is produced by Arnold Kopelson and Phyllis Carlyle.

Se7en received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing (Richard Francis-Bruce) at the 68th Academy Awards. The film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Andrew Kevin Walker) at the 49th British Academy Film Awards.

The 4K restoration of Se7en was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was sourced from the original camera negative. The restoration was overseen by director David Fincher.

About the Film
Two cops (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) track a brilliant and elusive killer who orchestrates a string of horrific murders, each kill targeting a practitioner of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Gwyneth Paltrow also stars in this acclaimed thriller set in a dour, drizzly city sick with pain and blight. David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) guides the action – physical, mental and spiritual – with a sure understanding of what terrifies us, right up to a stunning denouement that will rip the scar tissue off the most hardened soul.

Se7en Digital release and Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contain the following previously released special features:
-Audio Commentaries: 1. The Stars: David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman 2. The Story: Richard Dyer, Andrew Kevin Walker, Richard Francis-Bruce, Michael De Luca, David Fincher 3. The Picture: Darius Khondji, Arthur Max, Richard Francis-Bruce, Richard Dyer, David Fincher 4. The Sound: Ren Klyce, Howard Shore, Richard Dyer, David Fincher
- Deleted Scenes: Car Ride in from Gluttony; My Future; Raid on Victor’s; Spare Some Change?; Tracy Wakes from Light Sleep: Pride
- Alternate endings: Animated storyboards of un-shot ending; Original “Test” ending
Still Photographs (featurettes): John Doe’s Photographs; Victor’s Decomposition; Police Crime Scene Photographs; Production Photographs; The Notebooks
- Production Design (featurette)
- Mastering for the Home Theater (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Early Storyboards (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Rough Version (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Final Edit (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Stereo Audio: Commentary One – The Concept – Designer Kyle Cooper (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Stereo Audio Commentary Two – The Sound – Brant Biles & Robert Margouleff (featurette)
- Theatrical EPK

Se7en
Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, Parisian French
Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French
Run Time: 127 minutes
Rating: R for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language
Digital Street Date: January 7, 2025
Physical Street Date: January 7, 2025

Pre-Order Se7en (4K Ultra HD + Digital) Steelbook -https://amzn.to/40KNvOH
Standard 4K -
https://amzn.to/3AIKOmp
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Sunday, November 17, 2024

THE STONE TAPE (1972) (101 Films Blu-ray Review)


THE STONE TAPE (1972) 

Label: 101 Films
Region Code: B
Rating: Cert. 12 
Duration: 90 Minutes 
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080i HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 
Director: Peter Sasdy 
Cast: Jane Asher, Michael Bryant, Iain Cuthbertson, Reginald Marsh, Michael Bates

I love the British tradition of broadcasting ghost stories on Christmas Day, one such telefilm was The Stone Tape (1972), which was originally broadcast by the BBC on Christmas Day 1972. It was written by Nigel Kneale (writer of Quatermass and the Pit) and directed by Hammer regular Peter Sasdy (Hands of the Ripper), combining elements of the chilling supernatural and the untapped unknown of science fiction, and it ended up being quite a smash success for the BBC. 

In it a team of scientists working for written by Nigel Kneale and directed by Peter Sasdy are set-up in a newly renovated gothic mansion are at work on a project meant to discover a new recording medium that will compete with the Japanese. There's still one room in the mansion that has not yet been completed, it's been earmarked as where the bulky new computer banks will go, but it was never completed because the local work crew were afraid to enter it, satiating that it's notoriously haunted.  Project manager Peter Brock (Michael Bryant, The Working Class) scoffs at the notion but genius computer programmer Jill Greeley (Jane Asher, The Masque of the Red Death) has a ghostly encounter in the room the team investigates further, and they theorize that the stone foundations exposed in the room, which date back to the Saxon era, may have absorbed psychic energies so extreme that they will play back in a ghostly way to those who have a certain psychic-sensitivity, the so-called Stone Tape Theory. Well, wouldn't you know it, the scientist think that this stone tape theory could be the new recording medium they're looking for! They end up bombarding the room with ultra-high frequencies and a battery of science stuff in an effort to find out how to trigger the ghostly playback, but soon the presence Jill felt previously seems to have been "erased", and it is then theorized that perhaps a new impression could be recorded over it, but Brock's corporate bosses have lots faith in the research an order him to cease their research into the stone tape theory. 

The film ultimately ends with Jill encountering another much older recording trapped in the stone, which ends tragically, and leaves us with a frightening new recording. This was a first time watch for me, and while the techniques and effects are quite dated the ghostly sci-fi at the heart of it is still quite stirring. This is  not the usual old dark house spook fest, it was contemporary for it's time, and while the science of it is purely twaddle this is the sort of stuff that I loved as a kid, it would have set my imagination fire for sure, and it still does, highly recommended. If you're a fan of stuff like the A Ghost Story for Christmas broadcast on the BBC and Ghostwatch, this eerie made-for-TV gem comes highly recommended. 

Audio/Video: The Stone Tape (1972) arrives on region-B locked Blu-ray from 101 Films, presented in the original 1.33:1 broadcast aspect ratio n 1080i with the correct frame rate. This was shot on tape and not film, as such one should approach this Blu-ray with limited expectations. After 101's excellent work on another classic BBC ghost story, Ghost Watch on Blu-ray, I am happy to say that this presentation, while inherently flawed still looks solid all things considered. There's a bit of murky softness to it that I would expect, ghosting and flare artifacts that were inherent to the eras video capture. That said, colors often impress and and are well-saturated. it's not the sharpest image you would ever want to see, but it does appear true tot he video source, and the Blu-ray authoring and compression looks rock solid, so no additional artificing further detracts from the source limitation. Audio comes by way of  English PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is limited in it's range but does the job, dialogue sounds fine and the eerie electronic score by Desmond Briscoe and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, while often coming in hot and bit harsh, is quite atmospheric and jarring when it means to me. 

101 Films offer a wonderful slate of extras, we get an archival Audio Commentary with Nigel Kneale and film critic Kim Newman, a new Audio Commentary with filmmakers Jon Dear and Sean Hogan, the 42-min ‘Children of The Stone Tape’ Documentary on the lasting legacy of The Stone Tap featuring interviews with Peter Strickland (Duke of Burgundy), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentleman) and star Jane Asher; and the 15-min 'Out of Darkness: A Visionary Manxman’ Short film on writer Nigel Kneale featuring biographer Andy Murray.

We were only sent the 'check disc' for the purpose of the review, which is just a pre-production disc and no packaging, but the Limited Editions set also includes a Rigid Slipbox, a Script Book, a Booklet with writing on the telefilm including ‘Placememory’ by Andy Murray and ‘Weird Science: The Stone Tape at Fifty’ by John Doran, and a set of Art Cards. 

Special Features:
• ‘Children of The Stone Tape’ Documentary on the lasting legacy of The Stone Tape (42 min)
• ‘Out of Darkness: A Visionary Manxman’ Short film on writer Nigel Kneale (14.48)
• Audio Commentary with filmmakers Jon Dear and Sean Hogan 
• Audio Commentary with Nigel Kneale and film critic Kim Newman 
• Limited edition rigid box packaging
• Set of art cards 
• Script booklet
• Booklet including ‘Placememory’ by Andy Murray and ‘Weird Science: The Stone Tape at Fifty’ by 
John Doran 

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