TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK - COLLECTION FOUR (1977-1983) Imprint Films Blu-ray Review

TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK - COLLECTION FOUR (1977-1983)

3-Disc Limited Edition Hardbox. 1500 copies only.

CONTRACT ON CHERRY STREET (1977)

TO KILL A COP (1978)

COCAINE AND BLUE EYES (1983)

Bonus Film: A KILLING AFFAIR (1977) 

I love TV movies, a s a kid of the 70s/80s I grew up watching them on the regular, I am old enough to remember there only being four channels, and made for TV movies were a big deal, my earliest horror memories of movies go back to seeing Gargoyles (1973), Don't be Afraid of the Dark (1973) and Salem's Lot (1979) on TV with my mom. and I always tell the tale of being scared witless after seeing a rebroadcast of Gargoyles, and how I thought Bernie Casey's gargoyle character was under my bed waiting o get me, and how I screamed out for my mother in terror one night. I would say that the horror and supernatural TV flicks were my favorites, but the networks made all manner of TV films in every genre, including crime thrillers and cop procedurals, which is what Imprint Films' TV Movie Of The Week - Collection Four (1977 / 1978 / 1983) delves into, vintage prestige made-for-TV crime-thrillers, the latest set include crime-thrillers Contract on Cherry Street (1977), To Kill a Cop (1978) and Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983), all three films making their worldwide Blu-ray debuts, newly restored in 2K from the original 35mm film elements. 

CONTRACT ON CHERRY STREET (1977) 

Imprint Television #27 Blu-ray 

Label: Imprint Films 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 145 Minutes 14 Seconds, 110 Minutes 

Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 

Director: William A. Graham 

Cast: Frank Sinatra, Martin Balsam, Jay Black, Johnny Barnes, Marco St. John, Martin Gabel, Henry Silva, Robert Davi, Harry Guardino, Michael Nouri, Lenny Montana

Made-for-TV cop-thriller Contract on Cherry Street (1977), is directed by prolific TV movie director William A. Graham (TV movie Shark Kill), a gritty NYC-set crime-thriller, based on the novel of the same name by Phillip Rosenberg, starring Frank Sinatra, Martin Balsam (Psycho) and singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans). When Inspector Frank Hovannes (Sinatra) partner Captain Ernie Weinberg (Balsam) is gunned down by unstable killer Otis Washington (Johnny Barnes, The Warriors) during a chop shop bust, with Hovannes snapping and double-barrel shotgunning the unhinged killer to death,. In the aftermath he and other officers tale the law into their own hands to ensure the gang responsible are eradicated, with extreme prejudice, by turning the crime families lead by Manzaro (Marco St. John, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning) and Waldman (Martin Gabel, Marnie) against each other. It's a surprisingly violent slice of TV movie mayhem, this one is chock full of familiar faces, too - we have Henry Silva (Almost Human), Robert Davi (The Goonies), Keith Davis, (Across 110th Street) Harry Guardino (Dirty Harry), Michael Nouri (The Hidden), and Lenny Montana (Luca Brasa from The Godfather). The TV movie is well-made, lots of location's shooting around NYC give this one a filmic quality, plenty of tense moments as the vigilante cops target mobsters, and the informant Fran (Steve Inwood, Night of the Juggler, Cruising) is a freaking hoot, totally whacked out on smack and worth the price of admission alone. While the TV flick does have some grit and a surprisingly visceral edge at over two hours it does get pacey and languid in spots, but just this is still a high recommend, especially for film buffs who are nostalgic for this era of made-for-TV films and all the face-spotting happening onscreen. 

TO KILL A COP (1978) 

Imprint Television #28 Blu-ray 

Label: Imprint Films 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: Pt. (1:36:40), Pt. 2:  (1:35:04)

Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 

Director: Gary Nelson

Cast: Joe Don Baker, Louis Gossett Jr., Patrick O'Neal, Joyce Van Patten, Diana Muldaur, Desi Arnaz Jr., Christine Belford Eartha Kitt, Julius Harris, Alan Fudge

Next up is To Kill a Cop (1978), an epic three-hour two-part telemovie event directed by Gary Nelson (The Black Hole), starring Joe Don Baker (Joysticks) as Earl Eischied, the cigar-chomping Chief of Detectives in New York City, who is trying to break up a group of black militants (F.E.A.R.), lead by Everett Walker (Louis Gossett Jr., Firewalker) that are on a crime spree, robbing banks and killing killing of a police officers. He is also battling the Mayor and his own police commissioner (Patrick O'Neal, The Stepford Wives), both of who want him out of his job, The initially quite strong police procedural premise is hampered by a lengthy three hour run time that is heavy with dialogue and messy domestic melodrama via the needs of his ex-wife Betty (Joyce Van Patten, Monkey Shines) and kid and his current girlfriend Florence (Diana Muldaur, The Swimmer. Another subplot involvesthe first ever male/female cop patrol car partnering via Desi Arnaz Jr. and Christine Belford (Christine), who find themselves the targets of F.E.A.R.. The face-spotting entertainment value here is pretty high, especially as a kid of the 70s/80s, we also get crooner Eartha Kitt, Julius Harris (Black Caesar), and Alan Fudge (Airplane!). I liked it, the police procedural elements are pretty engaging, and it's long enough to flesh out a couple of the characters, with both Lou Gossett Jr. and Joe Don Baker shining here, but I did find that the racial stereotypes and casual sexism of the era were rather unfortunate. That said, even at three hours long I found this quite an engaging watch. 

COCAINE AND BLUE EYES (1983) 

Imprint Television #29 Blu-ray 

Label: Imprint Films 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 101 Minutes 36 Seconds 

Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 

Director: E.W. Swackhamer 

Cast: O.J. Simpson, Cliff Gorman, Candy Clark, Irena Ferris, John Spencer, Leonardo Cimino, Cindy Pickett, Eugene Roche, Key Luke

Made-for-TV noir Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983) stars O.J. Simpson as San Francisco based private eye Michael Brennen who after encountering Joey Crawford (John Spencer, WarGames) on Christmas Eve at a roadside cafe he is posthumously hired by the guy to find his girlfriend Dani (Irena Ferris, Looker) aka Blue Eyes, his investigation

uncovers evidence that a drug-smuggling operation is being run by the prominent Anatole family, including the wheelchair-bound patriarch Orestes Anatole

(Leonardo Cimino, Freckled Max and the Spooks) and his adult children Riki  (Cliff Gorman, Night of the Juggler) and Catherine (Cindy Pickett, Ferris Bueller's Day Off). The 80-s set private eye flick seems to want to channel vintage noir in an 80s setting but the script and O.J. Simpson are not up to the task. We even get OJ stiffly reciting voice-over narration which falls flat, every time. It doesn't work, but seeing OJ in a Santa suit being chowed down on by an ankle-biter dog and navigating a punk rock club is not without it's entertainment value. We also get plenty of fun cameos, including Candy Clark (StarCrash), Eugene Roche (Foul Play) as Sgt. KhourI, and Key Luke from Gremlins as mobster Tan Ng.

Special Features:

- Bonus Film: A Killing Affair (1977, 1:34:07) SD

All three films are presented in 1080p HD fullscreen (1.33:1), the original television broadcast aspect ratios, looking very solid. These look like fresh scans from film elements, grain is appreciable resolved with pleasing textures and fine detail. Colors look terrific, lots of earthy 70s vibes all over the place, strong primaries and rock solid black levels, with pleasing depth and clarity. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 dual-mono, the tracks are clean and well-balanced, free of age-related hiss or distortion. The scores are full-bodied, with Contract on Cherry Street having a noticeably grander than usual (for a TV movie) score by Jerry Goldsmith (The Omen)!

Extras include a longer 110-minute version of Contract on Cherry Street, plus the bonus film A Killing Affair (1977), presented in SD with lossy Dolby Digital audio. Another solid extras is the bonus made-for-TV film The Killing Affair (1977) starring Elizabeth Montgomery (TV's Bewitched) and O. J. Simpson in SD 1080i 1.33:1 fullscreen with lossy audio, running about 94 minutes in length, This is a L.A.-based cop thriller with secret-lover cop partners Montgomery and Simpson, on the trail of serial killer Kenneth Switzer (Dean Stockwell, The Dunwich Horror).  A solid bit of made-for-TV fare, be on the lookout for John P. Ryan (It's Alive), Todd Bridges from Different Strokes, and the lovely Rosalind Cash (Tales from the Hood) in this one. 

The 3-disc set arrives on region-free  Blu-ray from Via Vision Entertainment in three keeepcases housed inside a top-loading Rigid Slipbox, each keepcase features it's own unique artwork, with a wrap that features interior artwork. 

Another solid set of made-for-TV flicks from Imprint Films, all three of them making their worldwide Blu-ray debuts, which is just very cool. Personally, I am more drawn toward the supernatural and horror made-for-TV terrors than I am of the cop and crime thrillers, and I would look forward to an all-horror edition of the TV Movie of the Week series from Imprint. I am just saying, the first company to finally give us Gargoyles (1973) on Blu-ray will have my horror-loving heart forever, any one out there up to the challenge? 

Buy it HERE!

JESS FRANCO: FROM BANGKOK WITH BULLETS (1985) Severin Films Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

JESS FRANCO: FROM BANGKOK WITH BULLETS (1985) 

TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED (1985)

&  BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH (1985)

Severin's 2-film Blu-ray set Jess Franco: From Bangkok collects two of the prolific Spanish director's lesser seen, and previously quite difficult to see, eurospy/action thrillers. Trip To Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death, were both filmed back-to-back in 1984 and released in 1985. These film see Franco moving away from his usual horror and erotic exploitation fare for a more adventure-set pair of flicks. Both are set in Bangkok, but shot in Franco's homeland of Spain, both featuring exterior footage shot in Thailand after Franco sent cinematographer Juan Soler to Thailand to shoot a few days on his own, which in and of itself is pretty novel for Franco, typically he would just shoot in Spain without even having establishing shots from the actual country the film were set in. The 2-disc set from Severin is well-stocked with extras, we get over two hours of newly produced bonus features, including two lengthy appreciations from Stephen Thrower, two more entries in the long-running In The Land of Franco location visit featurettes with Thrower and special guests, plus an interview with Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil and Film Writer/Assistant Director Carlos Aguilar, with both films making their worldwide Blu-ray debuts, now scanned and restored in 4K from the OCN.

TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED (1985)

Label: Severin Films 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 92 Minutes 

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

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Howard Vernon

In Trip To Bangkok, Coffin Included (1985), which is very loosely based on an Edgar Wallace story, cantankerous British by way of Ireland agent Colonel Daniel J. Blimp (Franco favorite Howard Vernon, How To Seduce A Virgin), with a wonderfully wild moustache, arrives in Bangkok to get to the bottom of a series of political assassinations carried out by blind men. There he teams up with younger Bangkok cop, the handsome Philip Sanders (José Llamas, Angel of Death), to to get to the bottom of it, eventually discovering it is connected to a creepy cult leader, the blind Professor Tao (Trino Treves, Bahía blanca), who has very real psychic abilities.

It's a colorful spy-thriller with exotic locations, shot in Madrid with inserts of actual footage from Bangkok we get some tasty looking local scenery and locations, gorgeous women- at least one of them naked, and some fun spy/assassin machinations with some ropey make-up effects to create the visage of blinded men. While the plot has some interesting elements Franco's style is a bit lackadaisical and slowly paced, with not enough kinetic energy to it to be effective, plus the lack of voyeuristic eroticisms is a bit of a disappointment. Speaking of which, where the heck is Fraco muse Lina Romay? Well, she shows up in a blink and you'll miss it cameo, and it's nothing scintillating, so temper your expectations. That's not to say it's not fun, it is, especially if you're a Franco-phile, we get the zoom-in, the languid artsy shots, and a couple of fun Franco regular like Howard Vernon and José Llamas, they have good chemistry so we get some enjoyable buddy-cop shenanigans, and I love Vernon face-making here, he gets to mug it up quite a bit, and that unkept moustache might be worth the price of admission. 

BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH (1985)

Label: Severin Films 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 87 Minutes 41 Seconds 

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

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Jess Franco 

Cast: Lina Romay

Next up on the crime-spree docket is Franco's Bangkok, Date with Death (1985), this one kicks up the action a bit, less a spy-thriller and more of a gumshoe-thriller We have world-famous private eye Panama Joe (Christian Borck) who is hired by millionaire (Eduardo Fajardo, The Killer Must Kill Again) to track down his daughter Marta Flanagan (Helena Garret, The Beast and the Magic Sword), who has been kidnapped by a group of cutthroats, lead by Aminia (Lina Romay (Hot Night of Linda) and Akuto. Marta's wealthy boyfriend Riao (José Llamas, Angel of Death) sets out to rescue Aminia himself, getting caught up with the cutthroats, meanwhile gumshoe Panama Joe does his thing. Feeling underpaid, Aminia and Akuto unwisely decide to double and then triple-cross their sleazy playboy employer, Malko (Antonio Mayans, Night of Open Sex), which proves fatal for both. Again, there's some interesting ideas here, but it meanders wildly, but we get attractive locations in madrid standing in for Bangkok, as well as some actual insert footage shot in Bangkok, so it's colorful and exotic, we get beaches, nightlife and seaside vitas, but again the violence and erotica is nearly non-existent. We do get some scenes of Romay, looking plump and rounded in her middle years here in a leopard print leotard, shaking her booty in front of a Decap automated dance organ, which to be honest was the most interesting thing about the film, not so much Romay shaking her plus-sized ass or getting shot in the back, but the automated orchestrated music machine behind her was very cool, I found myself going down the rabbit-hole of researching it after watching this flick. The second most interesting thing about this is recognizing  just how bad Franco was at editing action scenes, it was certainly not his forte. Evidenced by the penning scene of the kidnapping of Marta from a  yachty, everything about it is preposterous, everything. Then, a king fu fight on a scenic beach is a total disaster, missed punches, kicks that's don't connect, oof, it's bad. So what's good? Honestly not much, the few interesting kernels are squandered, and then it just falls apart, it's a hot mess. I did quite like Christian Borck as the world-famous gumshoe Panama Joe, love the name, but it turns out this is the only movie credit for him. 

Audio/Video: Both of the Franco flicks have been scanned in 4K from the OCN, they both look filmic with tight-knit grain fine detail and textures look wonderful, colors are splendid, and black levels are very pleasing. The sources are in very nice shape, there's some minor blemishing evident in spots, but overall i was quite surprised how fantastic these spy-thrillers look on Blu-ray, with modest depth and clarity. Audio comes by way of Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, the Spanish dialogue is never hard to discern, music cues sound wonderful as well.  

Extras for Trip To Bankok, Coffin included start off with the 19-min Filmmaking On The Run – Interview With Film Writer/Bit Player/Assistant Director Carlos Aguilar, he  describes this as Jess Franco attempting to make a higher caliber film, even striking a script for it which was unusual, and basing it on an an Edgar Wallace character, Agent Sanders, noting the plot similarities with Franco's Attack of the Robots. He notes that Franco originally wrote the role for his frequent musical collaborator Daniel White, but gave it to Howard Vernon in the end. Vernon never got to read the script and had to deliver his lines in Spanish, which he did not speak well. He also points out that Franco regulars Lina Romay and Antonio Mayans were notably not in the film, though Romay has a brief blind-and-you'll-miss-it onscreen cameo. He goes onto describe the cash-strapped shoot in May '84 as "horrific", a very stressful experience, with Franco funding it himself. He also tells tales of Panther Squad being filmed at the same motel and some production weirdness between the two productions. 

Next is the 29-min Colonel Blimp In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco, who speaks of how these two films were made back to back, that it was a return to crime thrillers for Franco, and just where Franco's career was at in '84. Next is the 18-min In The Land Of Franco Part 14, the latest installment of the long-running location visit series from Thrower/Severin, with  Stephen Thrower, actor Antonio Mayans, and actress Katja Bienert visiting various filming locations. 

Extras on disc two include the 25-min Carrara In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco, which is another candid and astute "appreciation:" of the film chock full of production notes and tidbits that made me enjoy the flick quite a bit more, then onto the 36-min Bangkok Back To Back – Interview With Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil - not well known, working with Golden Films who have him much freedom, the end of the script classification, beginning of a new era, the casts and production issues faced during the shoot. Last but certainly not least  is the 16-min In The Land Of Franco Part 15 featuring Stephen Thrower, actor Antonio Mayans, and actress Katja Bienert. Watching these wonderful excursions to Spain the past few years on these Severin releases has really made me want to charter a trip to Spain when I next get the chance to travel, it's truly a gorgeous place.

The 2-disc Blu-ray release arrives in a dual-hub black keepcase housing the disc, we get a single-sided wrap with cool illustrated artwork. This release also includes a Slipcover with new artwork by artists Drazen Kozjan

Special Features:

Disc 1: TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED:

- Filmmaking On The Run – Interview With Film Writer/Bit Player/Assistant Director Carlos Aguilar (19:23)

- Colonel Blimp In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco (28:82) 

- In The Land Of Franco Part 14 (18:20) 

Disc 2: BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH:

- Carrara In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco (24:47) 

- Bangkok Back To Back – Interview With Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil (35:23) 

- In The Land Of Franco Part 15 (15:34) 

Neither of these are top-tier Jess Franco flicks for me, but the former obscurity of these rarities combined with the fun, albeit half-cocked euro spy/crime thriller action, make these rather entertaining curios from the prolific Spanish director. Severin have really gone all-out for these Franco flicks on Blu-ray with terrific, colorful scans, and oodles of tasty extras, if you are a Franco-fan and are even a little bit curious I say just jump in, you won't regret buying this set.  

Screenshots from the Severin Films Blu-ray: 

TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED

Extras: 

BANGKOK: DATE WITH DEATH 

Extras: 

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