MANHATTAN BABY (1982) (Blu-ray Review)

MANHATTAN BABY (1982)

3-Disc Limited Edition 

Label: Blue Underground 
Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 89 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD Mono , Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX; Dolby Digital Mono with Optional English, French and Spanish Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Lucio Fulci
Cast: Christopher Connelly, Martha Taylor, Brigitta Boccoli, Giovanni Frezza, Cinzia de Ponti, Cosimo Cinieri, Andrea Bosic, Carlo De Mejo, Enzo Marino Bellanich, Mario Moretti, Lucio Fulci, Tonino Pulci

Ten-year old Suzie Hacker (Martha Taylor) is on vacation in Egypt with archaeologist father Professor George Hacker (Christopher Connelly, 1990: The Bronx Warriors) when she a weird blind woman approaches her in the city bazaar and gifts her with an ancient Egyptian amulet cursed with evil power. While this is happening her father is excavating a cursed Egyptian tomb and is struck blind when zapped with an 80s awesome laser blast to his eyes, the optical effect is dated but still fun for an old time like myself. These opening scenes in Egypt are fantastic, though perhaps not a shocker to Lucio Fulci fans they are a bit confusing. Fulci was at top of his visual game at the time and the creepy Egyptian tombs with secret passages are loaded with venomous serpents, trap doors and deadly spiked booby traps look magnificent on screen. 

The Hackers returns to New York City where the professor is told that the sudden blindness is only temporary, which is great for him but things just get weirder for his young daughter who becomes possessed by the evil Egyptian amulet. Suzie's brother Tommy is played by child actor Giovanni Frezza, whom you will not be able to forget as that spooky creeper kid Bob from Fulci's The House by the Cemetery (1981),who is not quite so annoying here.

Manhattan Baby doesn't have the best reputation in the Fulci canon, coming off as a bit of Fulci knock-off of The Exorcist (1973) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) with a nod to Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), but Fulci and cinematographer Guigliemo Mancoro (Spasmo) manage to create a memorable movie with loads creepy images which make it a fun watch, with the oodles of Egyptology and ancient mysticism on display. Some of the dated optical effects such as glowing doors and the 80's laser lights do come off as very hokey, but there are some of the practical gore effects we've come to expect from this era of Fulci, just toned down quite a bit considering this is coming right on the heels of New York Ripper which was mean-spirited and sleazy. With Manhattan Baby the director was aiming for more atmosphere and mysticism over gore for whatever reason, while it is a mixed bag it is also a fascinating watch. 

There's a lot of weird and totally unexplained stuff happening, you don't walk away from this one with a lot of answers but the movie is suspenseful enough and loaded with enough cool imagery to keep you watching. I think Fulci gets hammered for poor storytelling and this head-scratcher, penned by longtime collaborator Dardano Sacchetti (Zombi, New York Ripper), certainly won't dissuade that line of criticism, but I always find his movies enthralling. If you have a love for Fulci's supernatural weirdies of the same era I think you will have a great time with this one, sure it is slim on gore, but it's thick with creepy atmosphere and schlocky supernatural fun, which is always awesome. 

Audio/Video: Manhattan Baby arrives on Blu-ray from Blue Underground restored in 2K from the original uncensored camera negative and the results are very pleasing all the way around. Properly framed in the original widescreen scope (2.35:1) aspect ratio the image looks more solid than ever before. It does have that usual 80s softness to it that the Italians loved a bunch but the new transfer looks pristine with a nice layer of film grain and an abundance of detail throughout. Yet another eye-popping platter from Blue Underground who continue to wow with their string of Eurocult titles on Blu-ray. Audio on the disc come by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX and Dolby Digital Mono. I prefer the original mono mix which sounds great uncompressed but I think the Fabio Frizzi score sounds terrific with the surround option, though there's not a whole lot of use of the surround otherwise. 

Onto the extras we have a smorgasbord of Fulci-centric awesomeness from Blue Underground whom carry over the eight-minute interview with screenwriter
Dardano Sacchetti and add loads of new stuff. The new stuff produced by David Gregory is quite good, beginning with the nearly hour-long Fulci & I interview with composer Fabio Frizzi who walks us through his whole career as a composer, from the early days on through to his wonderful collaborations with Fulci. There's also a nine-minute interview with star Cosimo Cinieri, plus an11-minutes with legendary make-up effects artist Maurizio Trani. My favorite of the new stuff is a 13-minute conversation with Stephen Thrower the author of "Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci" who offers candid and honest recounting of the movie within the context of Fulci's career working with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti and producer Fabrizio De Angelis, Thrower notes the odd abundance of optical special effects and the lack of the typical Fulci-gore in the movie. 

The disc also features a wonderful performance of Frizzi and his touring band playing the "Manhattan Baby Suite" live in-studio which is wonderful for fans of the composer - t sounds great and is fun to see performed. Additional extras on the disc include a theatrical trailer for the film and a poster and still gallery containing images from the movie in addition to various home video and soundtracks releases through the years. The three-disc set includes a DVD with the same main feature and bonus content in standard-def, in addition to a third disc containing the original motion picture soundtrack composed by Fabio Frizzi, a haunting and atmospheric score that contains both music composed for the film and some borrowed cues he composed for Fulci's The Beyond and City of the Living Dead. 

Away from the disc extras we have a 20-page booklet with writing on the movie from author Troy Howarth, plus cast and crew information, the CD track listing. The three-disc set comes housed in a clear Criterion-style keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork containing the alternate Eye of The evil Dead artwork.

Special Features: 
- Fulci & I - Interview with Composer Fabio Frizzi (An Hour-Long Career Overview Of the Soundtrack Collaborations of Fabio Frizzi & Lucio Fulci) (56 Mins) HD 
- For The Birds - Interview with Star Cosimo Cinieri (9 Mins) HD 
- 25 Years With Fulci - Interview with Make-Up Effects Artist Maurizio Trani (11 Mins) HD 
- Beyond The Living Dead - Interview with Co-Writer Dardano Sacchetti (8 Mins) 
- Stephen Thrower on MANHATTAN BABY - Interview with the author of "Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci" (13 Mins) HD 
- "Manhattan Baby Suite" - Live Studio Performance by Fabio Frizzi (9 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (3 Mins) HD 
- Poster & Still Gallery (52 Images) HD 
- BONUS 20 Page Collectible Booklet featuring new writing by author Troy Howarth
- BONUS CD - MANHATTAN BABY Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi (33 Mins) 

Manhattan Baby comes towards the end of a prolific period for Fulci, it does feel slightly lesser when compared to what came before but the movie is loaded with atmospheric visuals and weird Egyptian mysticism - making this a notable entry in the Fulci canon. The three-disc set from Blue Underground is nothing less than definitive with superior A/V and nearly two hours worth of video extras and very nice packaging, this is a real treat for Fulci fans. 

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (1982)

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (1982) 

Label: Blue Underground

Release Date: June 30th 2015 

Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 92 Minutes
Rating: R

Audio: English DTS-HD Mono, Dolby Digital Mono with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Enzo G. Castellari
Cast: Vic Morrow, Christopher Connelly, Fred Williamson, Mark Gregory, Stefania Girolami, George Eastman, Massimo Vanni

I can just imagine director Enzo G. Castellari (THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS) walking out of a double-feature of THE WARRIORS and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and putting in a phone call to producer Fabrizio De Angelis just a few moments minutes later announcing he had a great idea for a film. Surely, this must have been the birth of 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS, a low budget Italian knock-off that gleefully exploits both of those aforementioned slices of cult cinema. 

In the futuristic year of 1990 the Bronx has been declared a No Man's Land, which in 1982 probably didn't seem that far fetched to be honest. Various gangs have declared territories throughout the Burroughs, with the controlling gangs seems to be a group of motorcycle toughs known as the Riders, whom are lead by the dark-maned Trash (Marc Gregory, ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX). While on patrol they encounter a rival gang named the Zombies who are harassing a young woman named Ann (Stefania Girolami)). The Zombies are a group of roller-skating weirdos whom wear cartoonish outfits and carry metal hockey sticks as weaponry, exactly like a zombie... uh-huh. Anyway, the Riders make mince-meat of the Zombies and Anne becomes an honorary member of the gang. 

Anne's backstory goes as such, she's the daughter of the President of the Manhattan Corporation, and is set to inherit the multi-billion dollar arms manufacturer on her eighteenth birthday. However, she is turned off by the corruption f the corporation and flees Manhattan for the Bronx to live with the scum. Her father enlists the help of a mercenary named The Hammer, played by veteran actor Vic Morrow, in his last finished film prior his tragic death on the set of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. So far we have various costumed gangs and the daughter of a president in a bad part of town, you can taste the influences coming together here already. 

For a film that borrows so freely from other (better) movies it manages to become overly convoluted with a mish-mash of ideas and a poorly conceived tragic romance, Anne and Trash have zero chemistry onscreen and when they try to push that arc it goes nowhere fast. So we have Hammer who begins as every bad ass character who comes onto the scene dressed as a postman with cool shades carrying a deadly package, infiltrating the territory of the Riders where he murders two members of the gang before planting evidence meant to implicate rival gang the Tigers of the crime. The Tigers are lead by the Ogre (Fred Williamson) and dress dapper while cruising around in vintage cars. It made me laugh that Fred "The Hammer" Williamson was in a movie with a character named Hammer and it was not him, I imagine that might have drove him crazy.

Anyway, back to the convoluted storyline we have the Hammer joining forces with a devious semi-truck driver named Hot Dog (Christopher Connelly, MANHATTAN BABY) and Trash's turn-coat second in command, the power-hungry Ice (John Sinclair). When Anne is kidnapped by the Zombies on behalf of the Hammer. Now Trash must journey to the far side of the Bronx and through the different gang territories to seek the aid of the Ogre in returning Anne. During the journey he must face-off against primitive subterraneans and a group of vicious of tap-dancers in what appears to be Ultimate Warrior make-up. None of these manage to measure up to the Baseball Furies from The Warriors but you can see what they're going for here, each gang having their own wacky costumes and identity, none of which manage to come across as scary or intimidating. As the movie comes to a close we build-up to the Riders teaming-up with the Tiger's versus the mutual rival the Zombies and the death squad sent by the Manhattan Corporation lead by the now inexplicably maniacal Hammer, who was once a cool-cucumber of a bad ass with a plan but now just goes completely over-the-top cackling like a madman during the siege, thought we'd get something a bit more from him, but nope. 

Director Enzo G. Castellari could definitely stretch a dollar and get the most bang for his Italian financiers buck, and it shows with Bronx Warriors, shot partially on location in the Bronx it does have a somewhat post-apocalyptic feel about it, if you;re able to suspend disbelief and ignore the traffic in the background in nearly every scene. Castellari enlisted the NYC chapter of the notorious biker gang the Hell's Angels as stand-ins for the Riders and I have to wonder what the set was like and what they thought of the wooden Marc Gregory as the character of Trash. Gregory had a great physique but it was more the body of a dancer than a street-tough, the way he carried himself reminded me of the re-animated Patty Mullen from Frank Henenlotter's FRANKENHOOKER. His movement was uncomfortable and unnatural and he comes across slightly effeminate to me, seems a strange choice for the role, though I will say he is slightly better in the sequel. 
Probably not a surprise to anyone familiar with Italian exploitation but the dialogue is awful, it is crammed with deliciously awkard English-dubbing which for someone like myself who can appreciate an entertainingly awful movie is a lot of fun. 

In regard to the action sequences Castellari rarely disappointed and crammed the film with good action moments to get the blood pumping, the finale is particularly effective. There's a nice array of weaponry on display, each gang have their own weapon of choice, the Riders have a club-spear, the Zombies have the metal hockey sticks and Trash elbow-spikes are awesome. One of the motorcycles has a set of blades that pop-up from the front wheel which enables the rider to take out two enemies at once, cool stuff. Fred Williamson as the superbly moustached Ogre wears sweet satin shirts and carries a cane, loved his character but I wanted more scenes with him. I was not pleased with how easily his character was dispatched, though he does get a decent death scene with some gravitas, only further proving how cool he was. 

The film goes out in spectacular fashion with the Manhattan Corp. death squad arriving in riot gear on horseback with an arsenal of machine guns and flame-throwers. I loved the very simple effect they used of shielding the actors behind plated of glass and then blasting a real flame-thrower in their direction. The reverse point-of-view shots of the flames is cheap and effective.

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS is a knock-off and a mish-mash of ideas but at least it's a fun knock-off. The plot might be overwrought but Castellari keeps the momentum moving forward with enough cheap action onscreen to merit a watch. Compared to something like EXTERMINATORS OF THE YEAR 3000 this was a pretty spectacular slice of Italian exploitation with good production value, not every Italian knock-off can make such a boast, but Castellari had high standards and wrung every ounce of value he could muster from the anemic budget provided to put more bang onscreen. 

Audio/Video: 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS arrives on Blu-ray from Blue Underground with a new HD transfer that is very pleasing on the eyes, colors are vibrant with some decent depth and clarity with a surprising amount of fine detail evident throughout. Cinematographer Sergio Salvati (THE BEYOND) did the lensing on this one, he makes the most of the dilapidated building and subterranean settings, and the transfer does it justice. The Englisg language DTS-HD MA Mono audio as solid as the dubbing will allow, with well-balanced dialogue and score, English subtitles are provided, because you do not want to miss out any of these verbal nuggets. 

Onto the extras we have a brand-new audio commentary with the director and Enzo G. Castellari and Fabrizio De Angelis In Conversation Part 1 with the director and producer reminiscing about how they came to work together with Castellari turning down the chance to direct ZOMBI 2, which went on to be directed by Lucio Fulci. They also speak about shooting in te Bronx and what it was like working with Vic Morrow and Marc Gregory, both speaking about how the actor has slipped into obscurity. There's also a featurette with Castellari visiting the Italian Weapons Rental House of Paolo Ricci where he sourced many of his movie weapons from, displaying guns, knives and flamethrowers. Additionally there is an interview with Actor/Stuntman Massimo Vanni who speaks about his career with the director and visiting the US for the first time during the filming of this one. 

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director Enzo G. Castellari
- Enzo G. Castellari and Fabrizio De Angelis In Conversation Part 1 (14 Mins) HD
- Sourcing The Weaponry - Enzo G. Castellari visits the Italian Weapons Rental House of Paolo Ricci (12 Mins) HD
- Adventures In The Bronx - Interview with Actor/Stuntman Massimo Vanni (7 Mins) HD
- Italian Trailer (3 Mins) HD 
- International Trailer (3 Mins) HD 
- The New Barbarians Trailer (3 Mins) HD 
- Escape from the Brox Trailer (3 Mins) HD
- Poster and Still Gallery

Blue Underground have done a great job with the transfer and a putting together a bunch of new extras for 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS. They're also releasing the sequel ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (1983) and the ROAD WARRIOR knock-off THE NEW BARBARIANS (1983) on the same day, if you are a trash-cinema enthusiast with a predilection for Italian post-apocalyptic knock-offs then mark June 30th on your calender, it's gonna be a glorious day.  3/5

DVD Review: MANHATTAN BABY (1982)

MANHATTAN BABY (1982)

Label: Shameless Screen Entertainment 

Region Code: 0 PAL

Duration: 85 Minutes

Rating: 18 Certificate

Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Lucio Fulci

Cast: Christopher Connelly, Martha Taylor, Brigitta Boccoli, Giovanni Frezza, Cinzia de Ponti, Cosimo Cinieri, Andrea Bosic, Carlo De Mejo, Enzo Marino Bellanich, Mario Moretti, Lucio Fulci, Tonino Pulci

Ten-year old Susie Hacker (Martha Taylor) is on vacation in Egypt with archaeologist father George Hacker (Christopher Connelly) when she meets a strange, blind woman in the city bazaar whom gifts her with an ancient amulet with weird, inter dimensional powers. While excavating a cursed Egyptian tomb George is struck blind when an ancient jewel emits a blue laser-blast to his eyes, the effect is pure 80's awesomeness, it's fun stuff, even if dated. These opening scenes in Egypt are fantastic, perhaps a bit confusing, but Lucio Fulci was at top of his game in '82, these shots are atmospheric and creepy, particularly the gorgeously shot and spooky Egyptian tombs with secret passages, serpents, trap doors and spiked booby traps. 

The family returns to New York City where Professor Hacker is told by doctors that the blindness is only temporary, which is great for him but things just get weirder for his poor daughter Susie, strange things begin happening to those around her, there's some connection between the amulet and the tomb her father was exploring, you never quite comprehend just what the fuzz is actually going on, you might, but it's never explained to any satisfactory degree, which is just fine by me. A fun note,  Susie's younger brother Tommy is played by Giovanni Frezza, that spooky creeper kid Bob from Fulci's The House by the Cemetery (1981), the one with that awful dubbing, but worry not for he's not quite so annoying here.

Manhattan Baby really does come off as a head-scratching schlocky rip-off The Exorcist (1973) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) with a nasty nod to Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) but it's a bit more than just that, there's also a poorly conceived rip-off of the elevator death scene in Damien: Omen II (1979). Lucio Fulci and cinematographer Guigliemo Mancoro put some great images on-screen, sure some of the effects are super schlocky, the glowing doors, birds on wires, and the 80's laser effects come immediately to mind, but there's some decent gore effects, too. An early scene in Egypt features a great impalement and late in the film a roomful of stuffed birds wreak exquisite suffering on a para-psychologist, in the gore department it's not a complete disappointment, just a bit restrained by Fulci standard of the time. 

Story wise there's a lot of weird and unexplained events transpiring, you won't walk away from this with any real understanding of what you've just seen but the connective tissue of the film are suspenseful and intriguing, or at least pleasantly confusing. I think Fulci gets hammered on, perhaps not unjustly, for poor storytelling and this head-scratcher, penned by longtime collaborator Dardano Sacchetti (Zombi, New York Ripper), certainly won't dissuade that line of criticism.  However, if you have love for Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (1981) and City of the Living Dead (1980) or other Italian supernatural weirdies you will enjoy this one, it's pretty slim on the gore, quite restrained for this period of Fulci, but it's thick with creepy atmosphere and schlocky supernatural fun. 

DVD: Shameless Screen Entertainment present Lucio Fulci's Manhattan Baby (1982) in it's anamorphic original widescreen aspect ratio (2.35:1)  on a region 0 PAL formatted DVD. The print looks quite nice, there's a fine layer of film grain and the print is mostly free of minor scratches and damage. The transfer features strong vibrant colors and decent black levels. The English language Dolby Digital mono audio is well balanced and clean, dubbed dialogue and effects come through clear and  Fabio Frizzi's recycled score from The Beyond (1981) and City of the Living Dead (1980) sound fine, there's the usual odd English-dubbing funkiness but that's par for the course with  80's Italian features. There's not much by the way of special features unfortunately, no commentary or featurettes, but we get a selection of trailers and a reversible sleeve of artwork, but that's it. 

Special Features:

- Shameless Trailer Gallery (13:33): New York Ripper (1982), The Black Cat (1981), Torso (1973), Frightened Woman (1969) , Night Train Murders (1975)  
- Theatrical Trailer (3:03) 
- Sleeve of Reversible Artwork

Verdict: Not on par with Lucio Fulci's The Gates of Hell Trilogy but this supernatural scholcker is nothing to sneeze at, this is fun 80's schlock and it definitely gives me hope as to what I might discover further exploring Fulci's post-New York Ripper (1982) filmography. Prepare yourself for a "what the fuck did I just watch" sorta experience, you might never quite understand many of Lucio Fulci's films, you just sorta get a feel for 'em, and this one feels just about right for the period, a medium recommend. 3 Outta 5