Thursday, August 28, 2025

ANOTHER BATCH OF WARNER ARCHIVE CLASSIC CINEMA BLU-RAY COLLECTIONS ARRIVE 9/2!


Arriving September 2nd from Warner Archive we are getting three multi-films Blu-ray collections highlighting the iconic work of Hollywood screen legends Errol Flynn and Greta Garbo, plus a 4-film '50s science fiction set. These titles have all been  previously been issued on Blu-ray as single editions from Warner Archive, but have bever been made available bundled together. These have been repackaged with the same great transfers and extras as those previous releases, and are great budget-minded, and space-saving editions for movie-lovers. Each set arrives in an oversized keepcase with flipper trays housing the individual discs, the artwork for each collection featuring a collage of the original artworks. I think any of these would make terrific Christmas gifts, it's only 4 months away, for your classic cinema loving friends and family members! They are available for pre-order from all major online retailers, including Amazon, MovieZyng and Physical Media Land - I have provided purchase  links below!

Looking ahead towards October we will have more multi-film set from Warner Archive, including sets from Judy Garland and Bette Davis, plus a 6-film vintage Hollywood horror set! 

ERROL FLYNN 6-FILM COLLECTION (1938-1948) 

Warner Bros.' man of action and romance stars in 6 classic favorites including swashbuckling adventures THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE SEA HAWK and ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN, as well as takes of action and war: SANTA FE TRAIL, EDGE OF DARKNESS, and OBJECTIVE, BURMA.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: PG
Duration: 102 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: William Keighley, Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper, Una O'Connor, Eugene Pallette, Patrick Knowles, Ian Hunter, Herbert Mundin, Montagu Love

Dashing Errol Flynn triumphs in this lavish, fast-paced version of the Robin Hood legend, a winner of three Academy Awards * in ravishing Technicolor . Doing many stunts himself, Flynn is at his athletic, romantic best in a role originally intended for James Cagney. Olivia de Havilland (as Maid Marian), consummate screen villains Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains, and a boisterous who's who of character actors costar. Welcome to Sherwood!

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer, 
- Alternate Viewing 
- Welcome to Sherwood: The Story of "The Adventures of Robin Hood"
- Glorious Technicolor
- Robin Hood Through the Ages
- Video Archive
- A Journey to Sherwood Forest
- The Robin Hood Radio 
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold Score
- Gallery: Splitting the Arrow
- Rabbit Hood--Warner cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny: Robin Hood Daffy
- Two Short Films--Cavalcade of Archery and The Cruise of the Zaca.
- Theatrical Trailers

THE SEA HAWK  (1940)
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 127 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director:
Cast: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson, Alan Hale, Henry Daniell, Una O'Connor, James Stephenson, Gilbert Roland, William Lundigan, Julien Mitchell, Montagu Love, J.M. Kerrigan, David Bruce, Clifford Brooke, Clyde Cook, Fritz Leiber, Ellis Irving, Francis McDonald, Pedro de Cordoba, Ian Keith, Jack La Rue, Halliwell Hobbes, Alec Craig, Victor Varconi, Robert Warwick, Harry Cording

Cannons thunder, blades clatter and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's incomparable music swirls and flourishes in The Sea Hawk. In one of his best roles, Errol Flynn plays Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe, who commandeers a 40-gun galleon, endures captivity, then boldly escapes to warn England of Spain's armada. Working on his 10th of 12 movies with Flynn, Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) masterfully directs the film's blend of royal intrigue and derring-do heroics -- made on a then-lavish $1.7-million scale that included construction of two full-sized ships. The film was stirringly topical in its day. When Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) exhorts her country to maintain fighting readiness against tyranny "now and forever," audiences knew forever had come: Hitler had launched his World War II air siege of England.

Special Features:
- Warner Night at the Movies
- Introduction by Leonard Maltin (4:04) 
- "Virginia City" Theatrical Trailer (2:01) 
- Newsreel (1:50) - 1940 Movietone News Short
- Short: Alice in Movieland (21:42) - 
Looney Tunes Short: Porky's Poor Fish (6:49) 
- The Sea Hawk: Flynn in Action (17:34) 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:16)

ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN (1948) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 110 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale

Errol Flynn made his name portraying dashing heroes who clasped a sword in one hand and a maiden in the other. Audiences loved Flynn's devil-may-care bravado as much as they admired his athletic grace and astonishing good looks. Adventures of Don Juan was his first swashbuckler in nine years -- and a glorious reprise it is, directed with gusto by Vincent Sherman. In the title role, Flynn is a wiser, warmer, wittier version of his earlier characters as he rescues the Spanish queen (Viveca Lindfors) from the snares of an evil duke. Oscar -winning* costumes and superb sets (including a knockout grand staircase) create a lavish atmosphere for dalliances with married beauties, narrow dungeon escapes and duels aplenty. En garde!

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary with director Vincent Sherman and film historian Rudy Behlmer
- Warner Night at the Movies (37:13)
- Newsreel (1:07) 
- Joe McDoakes Short: So You Want to Be On the Radio (10:47) 
Warner Bros. Short: Calgary Stampede (1948) (18:10)
- Warner Bros. Cartoon Short: Hare Splitter (7:09) 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:29) - 

SANTA FE TRAIL (1940) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 109 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: Michael Curtiz 
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, William Lundigan, Van Heflin, Guinn Williams

Bright young lieutenants Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer are assigned to Kansas Territory to guard the Santa Fe Trail. There, they clash with the fanatical abolitionist John Brown. On a more romantic side, they also vie for the hand of 'Kit Carson' Holliday. But the pursuit of Brown leads the army to the pivotal battle at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, which strikes the spark that hastens the Civil War.

Special Features:
- Theatrical Trailer (2:11)

EDGE OF DARKNESS (1943)
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 119 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon

In 1930, director Lewis Milestone won an Academy Award * for his eloquent anti-war masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front. But with Edge of Darkness, made in 1943 during the dark days of the German blitzkrieg, Milestone displays no such pacifist sentiments. Indeed, this remarkable drama, set in a small Norwegian village, pays tribute to the heroic spirit of common people taking up arms against the Nazi invaders. Errol Flynn delivers a fine, understated performance as a common fisherman who leads the town's resistance efforts. Ann Sheridan's strong character reflects the strength of all womankind. And featured in the superb ensemble cast are Walter Huston, Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson.

Special Features:
- Vintage Short: "Gun to Gun" (1944) (17:37) .
- Looney Tunes Short: "To Duck or Not to Duck" (1943) (6:40) - 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:17)

OBJECTIVE, BURMA (1945) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 142 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: Eaoul Walsh 
Cast: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, John Alvin, Mark Stevensr, Richard Erdman

Mission accomplished! Errol Flynn, who brought boyish bravado to The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, Gentleman Jim and other screen yarns, turns in a mature, acclaimed performance as the leader of a paratrooper patrol stranded in Burma. It's "one of the few features of which I am proud," Flynn later said. There's reason for pride. "This is one of the finest World War II films made during the war," The Movie Guide says. "One of the best war movies," Guide for the Film Fanatic's Danny Peary wrote, "and among the grimmest." Raoul Walsh directs the hard-hitting action, shot in rugged California locations so similar to Burma that veterans of that campaign refused to believe the crew hadn't somehow sneaked into Asia.

Special Features: 
- The Tanks are Coming (1941) (20:05) 
The Rear Gunner (1943) (20:29) 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:16
Buy It!
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GRETA GARBO 4-FILM COLLECTION (1930-1939)  

THE BEAUTY. THE PASSION. THE MYSTIQUE. THE LEGEND. Four of Greta Garbo's most beloved classics are gathered in this treasured collection: ANNA CHRISTIE (1930) Her first sound film, adapted from the great Eugene O'Neill play in two versions, both English and German, CAMILLE-Garbo stars with Robert Taylor in George Cukor's timeless love story, NINOTCHKA-Garbo's landmark romantic comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and QUEEN CHRISTINA which reunited Garbo with John Gilbert, directed by Rouben Mamoulian.

ANNA CHRISTIE (1930) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 89 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: 
Cast: Greta Garbo, Marie Dressler

When it was learned that Greta Garbo, was cast as a disillusioned prostitute in Anna Christie, even her most devoted admirers were skeptical. Not only was it an unglamourous role for the 24-year-old actress, but it was also to be her first talking picture. Garbo's answer was to play it with superbly. With her first, and now famous spoken line ("Gimme a whiskey, ginger ale on the side. And don't be stingy baby") Garbo conquered the world of sound films.. Based on Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Garbo give a fascinating performance as an embittered prostitute who returns home to her father, a barge captain. She finds sympathy in the gruff, but kindly Marthy (Marie Dressler), but when a sailor (Charles Bickford) falls in love with Anna, she is forced to reveal her tarnished past to both him and her father, leading to a riveting climax. Among the Special Features on this disc is the German-language version of the scenario, starring Garbo with a different cast and director. Filmed on the same sets after the original English version was completed, this alternate version is a uniquely different take of the source material, one which Garbo allegedly preferred to the more-widely-known English language version.

Special Features: 
- German-language alternate version of Anna Christie, directed by Jacques Feyder (85:53) 
- Garbo early career retrospective episode of the "MGM Parade" TV series (29:23) 
- 2/7/1938 Lux Radio Theater broadcast of Anna Christie with Joan Crawford (audio only) (54:52)
- Classic 1930 Looney Tunes cartoon "The Booze Hangs High" (6:11) 

CAMILLE (1936
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 109 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor (I), Lionel Barrymore, Henry Daniell, Elizabeth Allan, Jessie Ralph, Lenore Ulric, Laura Hope Crews, Rex O'Malley

Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo), the Camille of this sumptuous romance based on the enduring Alexandre Dumas story. Garbo's aloof mystique and alabaster beauty illuminate this George Cukor-directed film featuring what many call her finest performance. Her Camille is a movie paragon of true love found (in suitor Armand Duval, memorably played by Robert Taylor), then sacrificed for a greater good. Garbo earned an Academy Award nomination and the New York Film Critics Best Actress Award for her memorable work.

Special Features: 
- 1921 Silent Version (69:53)
- "Leo is On the Air" Radio Promo (14:13)
Theatrical Trailer (2:25)

NINOTCHKA (1939) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 110 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi, Sigfried Rumann, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, Gregory Gaye, Rolfe Sedan, Edwin Maxwell, Richard Carle

Garbo Talks! proclaimed ads when silent star Greta Garbo debuted in talkies. Nine years and 12 classic screen dramas later, the gifted movie legend was ready for another change. Garbo Laughs! cheered the publicity for her first comedy, a frothy tale of a dour Russian envoy sublimating her womanhood for Soviet brotherhood until she falls for a suave Parisian man-about-town (Melvyn Douglas). Working from a cleverly barbed script written in part by Billy Wilder, director Ernst Lubitsch knew better than anyone how to marry refinement with sublime wit. "At least twice a day the most dignified human being is ridiculous," he explained about his acclaimed Lubitsch Touch. That's how we see Garbo's lovestruck Ninotchka: serenely dignified yet endearingly ridiculous. Garbo laughs. So will you.

Special Features: 
Prophet Without Honor (1939) (10:49)
- The Blue Danube (7:18): 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:19)

QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 99 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Young

Greta Garbo stars in one of her greatest roles, as the 17th century Swedish queen fiercely devoted to her country who fights at the head of her army like a man but who loves like a woman--Queen Christina. Crowned queen when she was five years old, the beautiful Christina (Garbo) leads a sexually ambiguous life as she fights to defend her Protestant country against the Counterreformation, dressing as a man and vowing to live as a bachelor. Christina has built her country into a formidable military power, defeating the armies of the Vatican and threatening Russia, and she has agreed to wed the King of Spain--not for love, but to guarantee her country's peace and security. But Christina loses her heart to the King's ambassador (John Gilbert)--and she must choose between her duty to her country and the man she loves.

Special Features: 
- Theatrical Trailer (2:16) 
- MGM Parade: Episode 31 (29:22)

Buy It!
Physical Media Land - use code: MOVIEDEAL at checkout to get 5% off your entire order! 

50s SCI-FI 4-FILM COLLECTION (1953-1958)
 
A quartet of Sci-Fi thrillers from the 1950s make up this enticing collection! Allison Hayes is the big attraction in the original ATTACK OF THE 50 FT. WOMAN, Ray Harryhausen's amazing special effects bring forth THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, A frenzied invasion of giant ants are the protagonists in THEM!, and astronauts returning from Mars get caught in a time-wap in WORLD WITHOUT END

ATTACK OF THE 50FT. WOMAN (1958) 
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: 
Duration: 66 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Nathan Juran, Eugene Lourie, Gordon Douglas, Edward Bernds
Cast: Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers

One woman -- 25 pairs of shoes?!? It's impossible not to have fun with this all-time kitsch classic which, as fans know, is actually about a very big woman with a very bad attitude. The woman is wealthy Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes), fresh from the loony bin and ticked off. Her rat of a husband (William Hudson) has been at play while the feline's away, putting the moves on Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers, Playboy's Miss July 1959) and scheming about the day when Nancy's fortune will be theirs. That day will never come -- not after Nancy has an alien encounter that zaps her metabolism into overdrive. Soon, Nancy's size matches her rage. She'll prove big girls don't cry; they get even.

Special Features:
- Archival Audio Commentary with Yvette Vickers and Film Historian Tom Weaver (2007)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 

THEM (1954)
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Gordon Douglas
Cast: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens, Sean McClory, Chris Drake, Sandy Descher, Mary Alan Hokanson, Don Shelton, Fess Parker, Olin Howlin

Man has split the atom and ushered in a new era. But how could he know he would also create Them? Them! is a landmark movie about giant radiation-mutated ants that gets better with age and boasts remarkable, Academy Award -nominated special effects. Starring James Whitmore, James Arness and Edmund Gwenn, Them! begins in New Mexico with a child wandering in shock, a ransacked general store -- and a battered corpse full of enough formic acid to kill 20 men. It ends with an epic struggle in the 700 miles of storm drains under Los Angeles, where the insect hordes are beaten. But they're not conquered, because they spawned a generation of films about radioactive creatures. Some approximate the terror, but few have equalled the artistry of Them!

Special Features: 
- Ants (3:06)
- Theatrical Trailer (3:19) 

WORLD WITHOUT END (1956)
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 80 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Edward Bernds
Cast: Rod Taylor, Nancy Gates, Hugh Marlowe, Nelson Leigh, Shirley Patterson, Lisa Montell, Christopher Dark, Booth Colman, Everett Glass

"CinemaScope's first science-fiction thriller" sees four intrepid astronauts (Hugh Marlowe, Nelson Leigh, Rod Taylor and Christopher Dark) successfully complete mankind's first Mars mission, only to run afoul of a warp in space. Tossed centuries into the future, they discover an Earth devastated by nuclear war, where mutant beast-men rule the surface. Underground is a society marked by listless males and lustful ladies (future- wear designed by Vargas!). Trapped in a tomorrow they never made, the four astronauts take on the mutant and the malicious while fighting to bring humanity back to the surface.


THE BEST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953)  
Label: Warner Archive 
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 80 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Eugene Lourie
Cast: Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Jack Pennick, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef

Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This fearsome experiment disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus encased in ice over 100-million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage! The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a film of firsts. It spawned a new era of atomic-age creature features. It was the first screen adaptation of a work by fantasy fiction titan Ray Bradbury. And it marked the first time Ray Harryhausen had total control over special effects. He came up with a fantastic creature (constructed at full scale, all 50 tons of it) that swims down from the north to run amok through New York City before being conquered in a spectacular Coney Island roller-coaster finale. Take a classic ride. Unleash The Beast.

Special Features: 
- The Rhedosaurus and the Rollercoaster: The Making of "Beast" (6:12)
- Harryhausen & Bradbury: An Unfathomable Friendship (16:51) 
- Armatures (0:59)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:34)

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15th Anniversary Retro-Review #12: AUDREY ROSE (1977)

Review #12 on the blog from fifteen years ago was for the haunting past-life thriller Audrey Rose (1977), directed by Robert Wise (ThecHaunting), and written by Frank De Felitta, who would go onto direct the terrific made-for-TV terror Dark Night of the Scarecrow, which I will also be highlighting in this first-fifteen reviews 15th Anniversary look back! This is sill a terrific watch to this day, fun to see at the time of the review I referenced the ventriloquist terror Magic (1978), also starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, being woefully out-of-print, thankfully it's much easier to find on disc these days! This film has since been reissued on Blu-ray several times, once from the now defunct Twilight Time and Arrow Video here in the US, and more recently by the Australian outfit Imprint Films. 

AUDREY ROSE (1977)
“A Haunting Vision of Reincarnation”

RATED: PG
RUN TIME: 113 Min.
DIRECTOR: Robert Wise
CAST: Marsha Mason, Anthony Hopkins, John Beck, Susan Swift

I’ve always heard mention of this film in the same breath as the George C. Scott classic The Changeling. So, it’s been on my radar a while, then I discovered it was directed by Robert Wise, and that really caught my attention. Let me spin off just a few of this man’s films: The Curse of the Cat People (1944), The Body Snatcher (1945) – which is one of my favorite Karloff films, the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Haunting (1963), The Sound of Music (1965), The Andromeda Strain (1971), and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) – what a body of work! Considering the comparison to The Changeling, his body of work, and the appearance of Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) I thought it was high time I took in a viewing. I picked it up from a SwapaDVD.Com trade, if you’re not familiar with the site, check it out, it’s awesome. FYI, the film is based on a same-titled novel from Frank De Felitta, which I’ve not read.

SYNOPSIS: The parents of 11-year-old girl are approached by a stranger who tries to convince them that their daughter is the reincarnation of his deceased daughter.

THE FILM: Audrey Rose opens during a rainstorm, a mother and daughter are driving to an unspecified location; a car heading the opposite direction veers into oncoming traffic, striking the car resulting in a rollover and the fiery death of the title character and her mother. The scene closely mirrors a scenario in The Changeling, a very similar introduction, indeed. We’re then introduced to Janice and Bill Templeton and their daughter Ivy played by Susan Swift (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Meyers). Ivy suffers from tormented dreams of a fiery death, they’re getting progressively worse as time goes by, eventually manifesting themselves in the form of violent waking nightmares. About this time her parents notice a strange man following them on several occasions, he seems unusually interested in their daughter. The stranger is actually Elliot Hoover, the father of the title character who was killed in the fiery car crash, played by Anthony Hopkins. It eventually comes to light, though convoluted it may be, that Elliot believes the day his daughter died her soul was reincarnated into the body of the newly born Ivy. Hopkins plays the role with such sincerity, albeit a bit demented, that you don’t believe he’s out to harm the girl, but you’re not quite sure he’s there to help, either. The parents, of course, balk at the idea, though, eventually Janice (Marsha Mason) comes around to the notion, while Bill (John Beck) becomes increasing hostile towards Elliot, frustrated by his powerlessness to help his own daughter.

I think I may have come into this film with a bit too much enthusiasm or expectation. I’d the preconception that it would be eerie thriller, ala Wise’s amazing film The Haunting or the aforementioned The Changeling. In reality, its presented in a docudrama style, very antiseptic and dry, not haunting in the least, or visually alluring, and it’s probably not meant to be. At its heart the film is less a supernatural thriller than an examination of religious beliefs.

What saved the film for me were the performances of Hopkins and Swift. Swift, truly an odd looking adolescent at the time, was pretty great. The night terrors she suffered were convincing, particularly the regressive hypnotherapy session during the films finale, frightening stuff. The most chilling scenes involved Ivy running through the house clawing at the windows, in an attempt to escape the fiery car of her dreams, very effective. Hopkins portrayal of Mr. Hoover is not over-the-top, it’s tense and demented but never does he chew on the scenery as he’s prone to do these days, The Wolfman anyone?

DVD: Audrey Rose is presented in its original 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio. This DVD came out back in 2001, pretty early on in the DVD age, as was the case with a lot of the early MGM releases it’s a bare bones affair, the only special feature being a trailer. Yawn.

VERDICT: While I don’t think that Audrey Rose is a classic film along the lines of The Haunting or The Changeling, it’s an effective and striking examination of the idea of reincarnation. Seeing Hopkins in this film, in that era, reminded me of his 1978 film Magic, I saw when I was 7 and it scared me something fierce, I need to revisit that film, I mean it’s been 30 years, it’s about time, right? It’s out of print and expensive, so If you have a spare copy send it my way. ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)




Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Severin Reveals Upcoming New Box Sets and Restored Features

SEVERIN’S SUPER-SHOCK POP-UP FESTIVAL REVEALS NEW SLATE OF BOX SETS AND RESTORED FEATURES!

4K EMMANUELLE Collection, 10-Disc EXORCISMO Box, New Grand Guignol Documentary & Mario Bava’s BAY OF BLOOD Among Upcoming Releases 

At their annual Super-Shock Pop Up Festival, Severin Films treated a sold-out crowd of nearly 200 fans at Brain Dead Studios to an exclusive reveal of more than a dozen upcoming titles via mystery screenings, sneak preview trailers and surprise teasers. The announced future releases from “The King of Esoteric Horror Boutique Companies” (Video Watchblog) include: 

The first-ever 4K UHD restoration of horror maestro Mario Bava’s genre-defining 1971 shocker A BAY OF BLOOD (aka TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and CARNAGE).

SAGA EROTICA: THE EMANUELLE COLLECTION, which includes 4K UHD Premieres of EMMANUELLE, EMMANUELLE 2, GOODBYE EMMANUELLE and the  rarely seen 1969 Italian production I, EMMANUELLE.  

The new landmark box set EXORCISMO: DEFYING A DICTATOR & RAISING HELL IN POST-FRANCO SPAIN, a 19 film/10 disc collection featuring the award-winning 2024 Severin documentary EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”.

The classic 1960 UK teensploitation crime drama BEAT GIRL (aka WILD FOR KICKS) starring Christopher Lee as a predatory Soho strip-club owner, with Oliver Reed, Gillian Hills (BLOW-UP) and a milestone soundtrack by The John Barry Seven.

The 1982 ‘Indiana Jonesploitation’ favorite HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA from famed Italian horror/action director Antonio Margheriti.

 The infamous 1979 martial arts jaw-dropper THE CRIPPLED MASTERS.

The biblically questionable 1983 Italian epic ADAM & EVE (aka ADAM & EVE VS. THE CANNIBALS) starring Mark Gregory of 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS infamy. 

The classic MTV sketch comedy series THE IDIOT BOX created by Alex Winter & Tom Stern, featuring performers that include Winter, Ricki Lake, Academy Award nominee John Hawkes and GWAR. 

1986’s delightfully bizarre high-school drama STUDENT CONFIDENTIAL from writer/producer/director/star Richard Horian, co-starring Marlon Jackson and Eric Douglas. The title was introduced at the event by filmmaker Nic McCarthy, whose upcoming six-part podcast ‘Vanity’ explores the film and its legacy.

The rarely-seen 1960 French production of THE HANDS OF ORLAC starring Mel Ferrer and Christopher Lee.

The new Severin Films’ documentary THEATRE OF HORRORS: THE SORDID STORY OF PARIS’ GRAND GUIGNOL from producer/director David Gregory, set to premiere September 6th at L'Etrange Festival in Paris. The project’s trailer played alongside rare Grand Guignol shorts accompanied by live music, THE JEST and CUTTER OF HEADS.

Severin Films’ original documentary THE DEGENERATE: LIFE & FILMS OF ANDY MILLIGAN from co-directors Josh and Grayson Johnson, which has been selected to play at both Sitges Film Festival and Sydney Underground Film Festival during September.

For more information on Severin Film’s rich vault of “entertainment with sharp edges” and upcoming releases, visit SeverinFilms.com 

About Severin Films
Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring and releasing the works of Oscar® nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006, their distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Peter Medak, Paul Morrissey, Mike Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish & Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco. Severin has also produced the award-winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”. 
 


Monday, August 25, 2025

WHEN WE WENT MAD (2025) Gravitas Ventures Blu-ray Screenshots

WHEN WE WENT MAD (2025) 

Label: Gravitas Ventures
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 107 Minutes 40 Seconds 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Alan Bernstein
Cast: Quentin Tarantino, Bryan Cranston, Judd Apatow, Howie Mandel, Gilbert Gottfried

MAD Magazine redefined humor with fearless satire of politics and pop culture. Featuring icons like Quentin Tarantino, this doc celebrates its wild legacy, free speech and the "Usual Gang of Idiots" who helped shape comedy forever.

Special Features: 
- None 

Screenshots from the Gravitas Pictures MOD Blu-ray: 










































































































Buy it!
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