Jess Franco's THE GIRL FROM RIO (1969) arrives on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray September 26th from Blue Underground

THE GIRL FROM RIO (1969) 

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray 

Label: Blue Underground

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 94 Minutes 

Audio: English (1.0 DTS-HD MA) with Optional English SDH, Français, Español Subtitles 

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

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Richard Wyler, Maria Rohm, Shirley Eaton, George Sanders 

In the tradition of BARBARELLA and DANGER: DIABOLIK comes this swinging ‘60s action orgy as bisexual super-villain Sumuru (the luscious Shirley Eaton of GOLDFINGER) launches a diabolical plan to enslave the male species with her army of lusty warrior women. But when Sumuru kidnaps a fugitive American playboy, she crosses a sadistic crime boss (Academy Award winner George Sanders of ALL ABOUT EVE and VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED) and ignites a battle of the sexes that will bring Brazil to its knees in more ways than one.

Richard Wyler (THE BOUNTY KILLER) and Maria Rohm (EUGENIE) co-star in this kinky cult favorite from producer Harry Alan Towers (THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU) and director Jess Franco (VENUS IN FURS). Also known as RIO 70, FUTURE WOMEN and THE SEVEN SECRETS OF SUMURU, THE GIRL FROM RIO is now presented in a brand-new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, totally uncut and uncensored with all its eye-popping nudity, torture and lesbianism in Dolby Vision HDR!

-  WORLD PREMIERE! Brand-new Dolby Vision HDR 4K Restoration from the uncensored original camera negative

- Audio: English (1.0 DTS-HD MA)

- Subtitles: English SDH, Français, Español

- Region Free

- Limited Edition embossed slipcover (First Pressing Only)

Special Features: 

- NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth

- NEW! Rocking in Rio - Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco”

- Rolling in Rio – Interviews with Director Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan Towers and Star Shirley Eaton

- NEW! Additional Scenes from German Version

-  Trim Reel

- Poster & Still Gallery

-  NEW! RiffTrax Edition – THE GIRL FROM RIO Riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy 

Jess Franco’s action-packed erotic spy caper now on 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray Disc!

WORLD PREMIERE! Brand-new 4K Restoration from the uncensored original camera negative

UHD features 2160p Ultra HD Resolution and Dolby Vision HDR, with DTS-HD Master Audio

Sell Points: 

Remastered Blu-ray features 1080p HD Resolution, with DTS-HD Master Audio

Loaded with Extras, including Additional Scenes and the outrageous RiffTrax Edition of the film!

Limited Edition embossed slipcover (First Pressing Only)

National Print Advertising and extensive Online Exposure

Directed by Jess Franco (VENUS IN FURS, VAMPYROS LESBOS)

Written & produced by Harry Alan Towers (THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU, THE MANGLER), based on characters created by Sax Rohmer

Starring Shirley Eaton (GOLDFINGER, THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU), Richard Wyler (THE BOUNTY KILLER, LITTLE WOMEN), Academy Award® winner George Sanders (ALL ABOUT EVE, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED), and Maria Rohm (99 WOMEN, EUGENIE)

For fans of THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU, Fu Manchu, and James Bond 

Film Reviews:

“Spectacular!” – The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film

“A Great Comic Book Style Action Film!” – DVD Drive-In

“Shirley Eaton Gives A Deliriously Villainous Performance Worthy Of Joan Crawford!” – DVD Talk

“A Wacky Psychedelic Thriller… As Far As Vintage European B-Films Are Concerned, THE GIRL FROM RIO Is One Of The Very Best!” – Blu-ray.com

 

THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (1950) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review)

THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (1950)

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 103 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: B&W 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1)

Director: Vincent Sherman 

Cast: Joan Crawford, David Brian, Steve Cochran, Kent Smith

In The Damned Don't Cry (1950) notorious Hollywood icon Joan Crawford (Strait-Jacket) plays small town woman Ethel Whitehead who after the accidental death of her six-year old son abandons her go-nowhere husband and the small factory town she grew up in to look for something more than what she has, which is nothing. She starts off small as a counter girl, who is then recruited by lingerie entrepreneur Grady (Hugh Sanders, Storm Warning) with underworld ties to model lingerie by day and making extra cash as an escort by night. WHile doing this she meets modest CPA Martin Blackford (Kent Smith, Cat People), who she romances a tiny but before introducing him to gangster George Castleman (David Brian, The Girl Who Knew Too Much) who heads up a racketeering syndicate. Castleman recognizes Ethel for her beauty but also for her shrewd nature, taking her on as his moll and molding her into a strategic part of his operation. 

When Castleman's West Coast guy Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran, Storm Warning) starts giving him trouble he send's Ethel out west undercover to spy on him, in the guise of wealthy oil heiress named  Lorna Hansen who takes up with Prenta, in an effort to get the dirt how he's skimming money from the syndicate. Things get messy when Ethel/Lorna unexpectedly she develops feelings for the handsome playboy Prenta, and with her, he proposes, and when Castleman realizes he's been betrayed, he's none too happy about.   

Crawford is absolute fire in the role, she'd played gangster molls before but this is one of her best, starting off as a woman with nothing, clawing her way to the top, using men like pawns in chess only to be tripped up unexpectedly by her own emotions, it's great stuff. The onscreen chemistry between her and the three men in this ensemble, (Blackman, Castleman, Prenta), makes for terrific viewing. I also like the structure of the film, opening with the dumping of a body in the desert, the cops start piecing things together, trying to figure out how an heiress (Crawford's Lorna Hansen) who has seemingly disappeared figures into it a mob hit, as either a victim or victimizer - that's the set-up at the top, and then the rest of story is told in flashback, as we see Ethel determinedly climbs from the bottom to the balcony of high society, and see how this all plays out. I thought it was pretty spectacular, this is noir gem to be sure, and it comes highly recommend. 

Audio/Video: The noir thriller debuts on region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive, this is a new 2023 1080p HD master from 4K scan of Original Nitrate Camera Negative, and it's another knockout monochromatic restoration from the Warner Motion Picture Imaging. The black and white presentation is spectacular with excellent contrast and grayscale, shadows are deep and inky, the grain levels look uniform and the fine detail is very pleasing throughout, offering plenty of texture and fine detail in the close-ups. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, sounding authentically vintage but free of any age-related issues, and the score from Daniele Amfitheatrof (Major Dundee) is well-represented in the mix. 

Extras include an archival Audio Commentary by Director Vincent Sherman, the 14-min The Crawford Formula: Real To Reel in which director Vincent Sherman and a bevy of fine film historians break the film down, plus a 1951 

Screen Director's Playhouse radio broadcast 4/5/1951 version of the story with Joan Crawford and Frank Lovejoy, plus the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie artwork.

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary by Director Vincent Sherman 

- Featurette: The Crawford Formula: Real To Reel (13:43) 

- Screen Director's Playhouse radio broadcast 4/5/1951 (59:14) 

- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:12) 

Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray: 

Industry Veteran + Clasic Film Historian Phil Hopkins Launches Film Masters With Horror Slate

Industry Veteran + Noted Film Historian Phil Hopkins Launches Restoration + Distribution Company

With Goal of Saving + Celebrating Classic Film

Streaming Now; Blu-ray + DVD Releases Coming This Fall

www.FilmMasters.com

 A new vintage film restoration and distribution company, Film Masters, has been launched by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins.

Said Hopkins, “Preserving these films in an increasingly homogenized media world is more important than ever. As a consortium of historians and avid enthusiasts, Film Masters was launched to celebrate the preservation and restoration of vintage movies, many of them cult films, that otherwise might not be seen or experienced by a new generation of film lovers. Each release will feature original bonus materials that contextualize and enhance the enjoyment and understanding of the film.”

With one Blu-ray/DVD title planned each month, the premiere release under the new label on Sept. 26 will be a two-disc collection featuring the schlock, cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus film The Killer Shrews, which were released as a double-feature bill in 1959.  Followed by the horror flick Beast From Haunted Cove (1959) on Oct. 24; and the drama The Scarlett Letter (1934) on Nov. 21.

The majority of the film releases will be restored from a new, 4k scan of 35mm, original film elements; will be offered in original aspect ratios; and will be presented on region-free discs with DTS-HD sound and Dolby AC3s sound.

Working with Hopkins as part of the Film Masters team to provide an array of insights and viewpoints on film to develop original content for bonus features are author Larry Blamire; producer/director Daniel Griffith; author and film historian C. Courtney Joyner; professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney; film historian Sam Sherman; and film historian Tom Weaver, among other noted, guest commentators.

Additionally, there will be original editorial content for classic film fans featured on the Film Masters website and in four-color, collectible booklets inserted into Blu-ray/DVD releases, provided by Susan King, a film/TV/theater writer for the Los Angeles Times for 26 years specializing in classic Hollywood; award-winning journalist and author Don Stradley; Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, author of two books on film noir and editor of The Dark Pages newsletter; author and filmmaker Anders Runestad; Kami and Chris Spagenberg, editors of the Classic Couple website, which celebrates vintage movies and film history; and other select guests with knowledge of classic film and a respected presence in the community.

On the company’s website, the  Film Masters Blog will post multiple articles each month covering a variety of topics, often to contextualize a film showing on Film Masters YouTube Channel, which is now streaming a variety of classic films at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4vyUiIG_LhSuo2V3mFws6A

Also showing on the YouTube channel, is an ongoing, original series, “Legendary Faces,” which pays homage to Hollywood's most iconic stars and launched this week with a Peter Lorre tribute.

About Film Masters:

Film Masters is a consortium of historians and enthusiasts who seek to celebrate the preservation and restoration of films. We are archivists, committed to storing film elements for future generations and reviving films that have been sitting dormant for decades. By scanning in 2K and 4K, we give these lesser-known films the red-carpet treatment they deserve. Leveraging modern means of distribution to release forgotten films back into the world, we also produce original bonus materials—including feature-length documentaries, audio commentaries and historic articles—to contextualize and celebrate these works of art as they were meant to be.  Visit us online at: www.FilmMasters.com

Raven Banner Brings Swissploitation Grindhouse MAD HEIDI To Blu-ray and VOD July 21

Raven Banner Releasing and Swissploitation Films Present the North American Home Video Release of the Blood and Cheese Soaked Grindhouse Epic

Mad Heidi Starring Casper Van Dien and Alice Lucy On Blu-ray, Digital HD and Cable VOD July 21st

"Mad Heidi is a grindhouse film in every sense of the word. It’s over the top, bombastic, and absolutely nuts during most of its runtime.” -- JoBlo

"Alice Lucy proves herself to be a capable action star in a story filled with memorable characters" -- Adventures in Poor Taste

"...a joy for fans of exploitation films.” -- Screen Anarchy

Raven Banner Releasing and Swissploitation Films are excited to announce the North American digital and physical release of the modern grindhouse epic Mad Heidi. Following a one night theatrical release across the United States and Canada, Mad Heidi will bow on Blu-ray, digital and cable VOD (including Prime Video, Amazon, Vudu, Bell and more) July 21st. The Blu-ray will be available in both a standard edition and a Limited Edition Extra Cheese Edition.

This wicked odyssey of blood and cheese puts a new spin on the classic tale of “Heidi,” finding our heroine (Alice Lucy) all grown-up and living an idyllic life in the Swiss Alps with her beloved grandfather (David Schofield) far above an increasingly-dystopian landscape presided over by Our Very Swiss Leader (Casper Van Dien) - a ruthless dictator bent on world domination through dairy. But when her goat-herding lover (Kel Matsena) is brutally murdered by government thugs for distributing illegal cheese, Heidi embarks on a wild quest for vengeance that will bring her toe-to-toe against fierce female prison inmates, cheese-fueled Swiss super-soldiers, ninja nuns, and more, as she fights to take down the tyrannical regime and restore freedom to Switzerland.

Mad Heidi initially made waves for its innovative crowdfunded approach, bypassing traditional financing tactics to ensure that the film’s original vision was preserved while placing profits back in the hands of the creators and backers. Boasting elaborate sets, impressive practical makeup and gore effects, and unhinged ingenuity helmed by first-time filmmakers Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein, Mad Heidi is the ultimate tribute to grindhouse cinema.

In a dystopian Switzerland that has fallen under the fascist rule of an evil cheese tyrant (Van Dien), Heidi (Lucy) lives a pure and simple life in the Swiss Alps. Grandfather Alpöhi (Schofield) does his best to protect Heidi, but her desire for freedom soon lands her in trouble with the dictator’s henchmen. When pushed too far the innocent Heidi transforms into a kick-ass warrior who sets out to liberate her country from the heinous cheese fascists. Mad Heidi is an action-adventure exploitation extravaganza based on the popular children's book character Heidi and the world's first Swissploitation film. 

Mad Heidi: 92 minutes / Switzerland

English & Swiss German / English Subtitles

The Limited Edition Extra Cheese Edition (SRP $41.99) will come with a number of exclusive bonus features. These include:

• Audio Commentary with Co-Directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein

• Stunt Reel

• The Making of Mad Heidi Featurette

• a CD Soundtrack

• a 28 Page Booklet

• Limited Edition Trading Cards

• O-Card by Artist Peter Ricq

The standard Blu-ray of Mad Heidi (SRP $29.99) will include:

• Audio Commentary with Co-Directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein

• Stunt Reel

• The Making of Mad Heidi Featurette

DANGEROUS WHEN WET (1953) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review)

DANGEROUS WHEN WET (1953)

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 95 Minutes 52 Seconds 

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

Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1) 

Director: Charles Walters 

Cast: Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood, Denise Darcel.

The splashy MGM Technicolor swim-comedy Dangerous When Wet (1953) is a breezy and wonderfully light entry about a particaurly physically fit family of Arkansas-based dairy farmers, the Higgins family, who are recruited by travelling vitamin tonic Liquapep salesman Windy Weebe (Jack Carson, Mildred Pierce) to swim the English channel as a publicity stunt and to win the prize money to help with money issues on their farm. Travelling to England the family begin their training, swimming the English Channel, where looker Katie (Esther Williams, Neptune's Daughter) has a meet-cute with French Champagne entrepreneur André Lanet (Fernando Lamas, The Violent Ones) who sort of rescues her when she becomes lost while swimming the channel during a heavy fog. A reluctant romance ensues, but the attention from the Frenchman threatens to deter her swim-champion chances. 

The lovely Arthur Schwartz-Johnny Mercer musical numbers are bright and peppy, starting off with the jaunty “I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side,” which introduces the family at the top of the film, “I Like Men”, “In My Wildest Dreams” and “Ain’t Nature Grand”, each one a winner, if you're a fan of musical this is fun stuff. While I am not honestly a huge musical fan I am happy to report that this offers more romantic-comedy than musical numbers. The film is arguably best known for a dream sequence wherein William's swim under the sea with Hanna-Barbera’s Tom and Jerry, a wonderful and whimsical animated detour in the film that looks wonderful restored on Blu-ray. 

Audio/Video: Dangerous When Wet (1953) makes a splash on Blu-ray from Warner Archive with a new 2023 1080p HD master from 4K scan of Original Technicolor Camera Negatives, looking quite grand. The source is in flawless shape and has been lovingly restored, the Technicolor is vibrant and well-saturated, fine detail is wonderful and black levels are solid. The animated dream sequence with Tom & Jerry is also quite lovely in HD restored and looking better than ever. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. There's no age-related issues or hiss, dialogue is crisp and the musical numbers sound quite pleasing.

All the archival extras from the Esther Williams Vol. 1 DVD are carried over here, these include a 3-min Unused Musical Outtake "C'est La Guerre" with Darcel and Lamas, the 8-min Tom & Jerry cartoon "The Cat the Mermouse" which thematically is quite a nice tie-in, the 9-min B&W Smith Specialty short "This is a Living?", 11-min Audio-only demo recordings by Lyricist Johnny Mercer, a 5-min Audio-only interview with Esther Williams and Dick Simmons, 3-min Original Theatrical Trailer, and from the menu there's a Song Selection option that allows you can navigate straight to your favorite musical numbers. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie artwork.


Special Features:
- "C'est La Guerre "- Unused musical outtake with Darcel and Lamas (2:52)
- Classic Tom & Jerry cartoon "The Cat and the Mermouse" (7:40) HD
- Classic Pete Smith Specialty short "This Is A Living?" (9:19)
- Audio-only demo recordings by Lyricist Johnny Mercer (11:04)
- Audio-only interview with Esther Williams and Dick Simmons (4:51)
- Original Theatrical Trailer(3:10)
- Song Selection

Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:

Extras: 

Also available from www.Movieznyg.com