Tuesday, August 31, 2021

NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973) (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973)

Label:
Severin Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Cast: Vicente Parra, Carmen Sevilla, María Asquerino, Antonio Casas

Director Eloy de la Iglesia followed up Cannibal Man with this tasty Spanish giallo entry wherein beautiful high-class escort Elisa (Carmen Sevilla, Glass Ceiling
spies her neighbor Miguel (Vincente Parra, Cannibal Man) disposing of his wife Nuria's (María Asquerino) corpse down the apartment buildings elevator shaft in their shared hallway. 
Realizing that he has been caught literally red-handed he does not kill her but instead forces her to play accomplice to his crime. Miguel pleasantly coerces her to assist him in wrapping-up his wife's body with a shower curtain and stuffing her into the trunk of Elisa's car. Afterward they drive to her lakeside vacation bungalow outside of Madrid and sink the body to the bottom of the lake. Along the way it becomes clear that Elisa is surprisingly game to help him with his wife-murdering cover-up, especially when she fails to alert the police during a traffic stop at the scene of a horrific bus accident, though she does briefly attempt to kill him when she pushes him overboard while out on the lake, where she half-heartedly tries to I Spit on Your Grave-style boat-murder him!

The pair develop a strange bond that evolves into a sexual relationship but the relationship  is put at risk when Elisa's young lover Tony (Tony Isbert, Inquisition) becomes jealous of her new guy, immediately suspecting something is not kosher. This is a very tasty Spanish giallo-style thriller with terrific performances from Vincente Parra as the charming wife-killer and Carmen Sevilla as his initially coerced, but strangely happy-to-help accomplice, and they have good chemistry together. It was also good fun to see Goyo Lebrero from Cannibal Man here in a small but fun role as a near-deaf apartment caretaker. The flick doesn't offer up much blood and gore but it's a fine melodramatic-tinged giallo with a solid shock-ending that is sure to please fans of European thrillers.

Audio/Video: No One Heard the Scream arrives on region-free Blu-ray, making it's U.S. premiere on disc in 1080p HD and framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. This is touted as a new HD scan from the original negative and it looks quite pleasing, with an organic layer of film grain. The rivalries have a nice richness to them, particularly the reds, blue and greens, plus skin tones looks good - everyone seems fit and tan. We get some nice texture and fine detail by way of the chic 70's fabrics and wallpaper seen throughout, as well as in the close-ups of actors faces and hair.

Audio comes by way of Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. Like it's Italian counterparts the dialogue seems to be post-synced so it has a very Italian vibe in that respect, but it is clean and well-balanced and non-problematic. The score from Fernando García Morcillo
(Voodoo Black Exorcist) is pretty dang swanky and sounds terrific as well. 

The sole extra is the 24-minute Truth 24 Times A Second 0 Eloy de la Iglesia And The Spanish Giallo with Film Scholar Dr. Andy Willis who gets into the string connection between the Italian and Spanish film industries 70's beginning when producer Samuel Bronstion brought his studio to Spain with huge production like El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire. When that collapsed we saw the Spaghetti Westerns became fashionable, followed by thrillers and gialli. Willis touches on multiple Spanish giallos like Seven Murders for Scotland Yard, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll,  and The Killer Wore Gloves and several Naschy entries. He talks about how a lot of Spanish gialli went out of there way to not draw attention to the fact they were shot in Spain, but that de la Iglesia made that a feature of the film, but that it's still hard to put a finger on what makes a Spanish giallo unique outside of the setting. Wilson also gets into de la Iglesis and his film, how the violence in his films is quite shocking and visceral, and the the voyeurism and male eroticism inherent to his filmmaking. He also gives some love to screenwriter Antonio Fos who collaborated with de la Iglesia (A Candle for the Devil). 

The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster illustration, the same artwork is excerpted on the Blu-ray disc itself. 


Special Features:
- Eloy de la Iglesia And The Spanish Giallo – An Interview with Film Scholar Dr. Andy Willis (25 min) 

I am loving the recent spate of Eloy de la Iglesia films on Blu-ray coming from Severin Films; first we got Cannibal Man, now this, and next up is the teen delinquency Quinqui Collection trilogy, which I am right smack dab in the middle of watching. No One Heard The Scream is a cool stylish Spanish giallo that delivers de la Iglesia's trademark voyeurism as well as a light touch of subversive male eroticism, and Severin's Blu-ray offers a solid presentation that is sure to please fans and newcomers like myself of this tasty Eurocult thriller. 

Screenshots from the Severin Blu-ray: 










































Extras: 







The Green Knight arrives on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital 10/12

THE GREEN KNIGHT (2021)

Street Date: 10/12/21
4K + Blu-ray + Digital Combo 

The bold new take on the 14th century medieval story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, comes home! The Green Knight arrives on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital October 12th from Lionsgate. From acclaimed writer-director David Lowery (Petes’ Dragons, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, A Ghost Story), this fantasy re-telling of the classic 14th century medieval tale stars Academy Award nominee Dev Patel (2017, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Lion), Academy Award® winner Alicia Vikander (2016, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, The Danish Girl), Golden Globe® nominee Joel Edgerton (2017, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, Loving), Sarita Choudhury (TV’s “Blindspot,” “Jessica Jones,” “Little Fires Everywhere”), Sean Harris (The King, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tresspass Against Us), Kate Dickie (Prometheus, The Witch, Filth), and Ralph Iverson (The Witch, Brahms: The Boy II, TV’s “The Accidental Medium”).

The Green Knight will be available on 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Combo , Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Combo, and Blu-ray for the suggested retail price of $42.99, $39.99, and $29.96, respectively.
 
An epic fantasy adventure, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel),
King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom.
 
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Boldest of Blood and Wildest of Heart: Making The Green Knight
- Practitioners of Magic: Visual Effects
- Illuminating Technique: Title Design
- Theatrical Trailer
 
CAST
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire, Lion, The Personal History of David Copperfield
Alicia Vikander - Tomb Raider, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl
Joel Edgerton - The King, Boy Erased, It Comes at Night
Sarita Choudhury - TV’s “Blindspot,” “Jessica Jones,” “Little Fires Everywhere”

Kate Dickie - Prometheus, The Witch, Filth
Ralph Iverson - The Witch, Brahms: The Boy II, TV’s “The Accidental Medium”
 
Trailer: https://youtu.be/9Pe4uOEJI4Y

 
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2020
Title Copyright: © 2021 Green Knight Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: R for violence, some sexuality and graphic nudity
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Closed-Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: Spanish, English SDH
Feature Run Time: 132 minutes
4K Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 16x9 (1.85:1) Dolby Vision
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition, 16x9 (2.39:1) Presentation 
DVD Format: 16x9 2.40:1 Presentation
4K Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio
Blu-ray Audio: English Dolby Atmos
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio