PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) (Scream Factory Blu-ray Review)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) 

Label: Scream Factory 

Region Code: A
Rating: PG

Duration: 92 Minutes 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Cast: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Harold Oblong, George Memmoli, Archie Hann, Jeffrey Comanor

Director: Brian De Palma

Rock n' roll musicals just don't get any better than Brian De Palma's cult-classic Phantom of the Paradise (1974) starring William Finley (The Funhouse) as awkward composer Winslow Leach. A gifted songwriter who's Faustian rock opera is stolen by the sinister music producer Swan (played Paul Williams) . 

The  composer assumes this theft is just a misunderstanding and arrives at the producer's mansion to straighten things out.  While there he meets the sweet-voiced singer Phoenix (Jessica Harper, Suspiria)  whom he falls for right away after hearing her sing one of his songs. Moments later Leach is beaten by Swan's goons and toss him out of the mansion and he's framed for drug possession. Now in the slammer Winslow's teeth are extracted and replaced with metal chompers (don't ask why) while Swan plans to use pilfered songs to open his new music club, the Paradise. When Leach learns that Swan's bubble-gum band the Juicy Fruits have recorded his song he snaps and manages to escapes the prison in a fun vaudevillian scene. In an effort to stop the music from being released he breaks into Swan's record pressing plant to destroy the album before it can see the light of day. But destroying the albums Leach clumsily falls into the record press and the LP's grooves are seared in his flesh destroying his face and voice. 

Deformed and desperate Leach throws himself into the river and is presumed dead though his body is not recovered. Very much alive the scarred songwriter is bent on revenge, gaining access to the Paradise he dons a bird-of-prey styled helmet and haunts the club where he causes the death of the Juicy Fruits in a fiery explosion during a video shoot. Somehow Swan convinces Leach to work for him, promising that only Phoenix will sings his songs from now on. Once again the producer betrays him by hiring a new shock-rock singer named Beef played with delicious flamboyance by Gerrit Graham (Used Cars) who steals every scene as he struts around the stage like glam rock diva. Once Leach discovers this new betrayal he sets out to exact revenge on beef beginning with a shower attack with a plunger! . 

Phantom of the Paradise is dripping with camp and perfectly overacted with a fantastic set of songs - which are truly fantastic and subversive. William Finley as the nerdy Leach is a sympathetic character and you want to see him have his revenge against the sleazy producer, he to convey a lot of pain through that one-eyed mask. Paul Williams is pretty great as the pint-sized producer who may just be the Devil incarnate, sinister and smooth. Jessica Harper is also quite good as the ingenue Phoenix, her voice is surprisingly strong when she belts out a few numbers which sound great, I definitely picked up a Karen Carpenter vibe from her performance.. 

Love that De Palma satirizes the crooked music industry scenarios through the filter of Faust and Phantom of the Opera with some fun commentary about artists rights but it's not too on the nose, this is a great satire. De Palma's fingerprints are all over this with his particular wink at the audience and the visual style you've come to expect including extensive use of the split-screen. Visually Phantom of the Paradise is one of De Palma finest films, great set pieces scenery and an amazing set of songs. 

A lot of great touches fill the screen, back-up singer auditions quickly turn into orgies, the fun send-up of corporate rock, the sleaziness of the music industry and some memorable musical performances. When the Juicy Fruits sing "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye" is a fun time, love it when the singer mimes shooting heroin into his arm. Then there's the amazing shock rock concert with the band ripping body parts from the audience members which they stitch together the create singer Beef - it's quite an fun time and Beef's exit is a memorable one. Jessica Harper's performances of "Special to Me" and "Old Souls" are soulful and sincere moments, the latter song reminding me a bit of the Carpenter's "Superstar", gave me goose bumps. . 

The Screams Factory transfer has a natural layer of film grain and a fair amount of fine detail with a pleasing amount of depth  and clarity. Skin tones are accurate and the color reproduction is great - the colors really pop. Audio options include both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Stereo 2.0 with Paul Williams musical numbers sounding superb, dialogue and effects are nicely balanced. Unfortunately there is not an option to listen to the isolated score as found on the Arrow UK Blu-ray. 

Disc one features brand new interviews with director Brian De Palma, Make-up effects wizard Tom Burman  and songwriter Paul Williams.Tthe music genius speaks at length about the process creating music for the film and the freedom of crafting satirical versions of songs in the style of the Beach Boys and glam rock excesses. Mentioning that the legacy of Phantom of the Paradise  continues to  give him gifts, including  the collaboration with Guillermo del Toro on Pan's Labyrinth and teaming-up with Daft Punk. 

Make-up Effects wizard Tom Burman speaks very briefly about the design of the Phantom's helmet design and then we get a brand new interview with director Brian De Palma who touches on his unique shooting style, Hitchcock influences, locations used during the shoot and his view of television versus cinema. He also goes into the lawsuits over the Swan Song logo and what a pain in the as that was - this is a great interview. 

There are two brand new audio commentaries to accompany the film. The first with stars Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and the Juicy Fruits (Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor and Harold Oblong aka Peter Eibling). The commentary is actually three separate commentaries that are scene specific stitched together for the duration of the film. We begin with a fun video introduction from the Juicy Fruits and then into the commentary which is a lot of fun - a real fun bunch of guys who speak about filming the scenes and working with Paul Williams and how they came to the project. Harper speaks about getting the part and really flying by the seat of her pants as it was her first film though thankfully she had William Finley to guide her along. Gerrit Graham also chimes in from time to time with a few Beef-centric anecdotes. 

 The second commentary is from is Production Designer Jack Fisk who's work on this film is amazing - the sets and design are visually dazzling - especially love the backdrops for the musical performances. Fisk who did work on David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001) and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (2007) offers up a scene specific commentary pointing out specifics of the production design and the inspiration for the Death Records. At the time of filming Fisk was dating actress Sissy Spacek, star of Badlands (1973) and whom would go onto star in De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie (1976) a few short years later, apparently she did a lot of painting on the sets of Phantom. 

Then onto 26 minutes of alternate and extended scene from the film  - my favorite is Jessica Harper belting out "Special to Me" from the audition scene and Beef's shower attack scene - these are presented with split screen comparisons of the final film and the alternate take or extended sequence. We also get an 8-minute featurette chronicling the Swan Song fiasco. Just before the release of the film one Led Zeppelin's manager created Swan Song Records and threatened litigation if all references to Winslow's Swan Song Production company were not removed. It chronicles the many changes that had to made to the final film to mask the Swan Song logo with a split screen presentation of the original and final scenes.  The last extra on disc one is a still gallery of poster art and promotional stills, the press book and program. 

Onto the second disc - a standard def DVD - we begins with the 50-minute documentary Paradise Regained which has been available on at least two foreign releases including Arrow's Blu-ray. This makes it no less interesting - the doc featuring interviews with director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham among others. Truly a feast for fans of the film and Brian De Palma's the cast and crew peel of anecdotes about the making of the film. Graham conducts some of his interview in French and he seems like a wonderful weirdo while Finley speaks about nearly having his head crushed for real in the record pressing scene. 

Carried over from the Arrow Video release is a 70-minute interview with actor Paul Williams conducted by director Guillermo DE Toro with the musician/actor discussing his career, being offered the role of Winslow and working with De Palma plus his own addiction and recovery. The two jovially discuss the songs and lyrics of the film and del Toro's fan boy enthusiasm is infectious. 

Scream Factory once again go the extra mile here adding 40-minutes of new interviews with Rosanna Norton (10 minutes), producer Edward R. Pressman (15 minutes) and drummer Gary Mallaber (15 minutes) plus the featurette Alvin's Art Technique (15 Minutes) with the artist John Avin's  widow speaking about her late husband's airbrush style and his creative process, it. Alvins also created the iconic posters for Blazing Saddles, The Color Purple and Blade Runner among others. A very cool extra is the Phantom of the Paradise Biography by Gerrit Graham - 1974 Publicity Sheet written by and read by Graham (10 minutes) who is such a fun guy. At the time of the films release Graham was allowed to write the biography for the press kit and here he reads it - a very nice extra for fans. 

The extras on disc 2 are finished-up with a short segment of William Finley showing off a Phantom action-figure plus the usual array of theatrical trailers, TV spots, radio spots and another still gallery with poster art, promotional stills, and the press book for the film. 

Additionally the set comes with a slipcover with a new illustration by Justin Osbourne and a reversible sleeve of artwork. Scream Factory have pulled out all the stops in an effort to give fans the definitive version of this film and the definitely have achieved that goal - this release is a love letter to the film on every level - there are over eight and a half hours of bonus content on this 2-disc set!  If I were to nitpick I would have enjoyed an isolated score or a three disc set that included a CD of the soundtrack but that's just nitpicking - I love this set. 

Special Features:

DISC ONE (BLU-RAY)

NEW Audio Commentary with Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and the Juicy Fruits (Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor and Harold Oblong aka Peter Eibling)

NEW Audio Commentary with Production Designer Jack Fisk

NEW Interview with director Brian DePalma (36 minutes)

NEW Interview with Paul Williams talking about the music of PHANTOM (35 minutes)

NEW Interview with Make-up Effects wizard Tom Burman discussing the Phantom Helmet (4 minutes) 

Alternate Takes (26 minutes)

Swan Song Outtake Footage (7 minutes)

Still Galley (13 Minutes)

DISC TWO (DVD):

Paradise Regained – documentary on the making of the film featuring director Brian DePalma, Producer Edward R. Pressman, William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and more… (50 minutes)

Interview with Paul Williams moderated by Guillermo Del Toro (72 minutes)

Interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton (10 minutes)

NEW Interview with producer Edward R. Pressman (15 minutes)

NEW Interview with drummer Gary Mallaber (15 minutes)

NEW Alvin’s Art and Technique – a look at the neon poster (15 minutes)

NEW Phantom of the Paradise Biography by Gerrit Graham - 1974 Publicity Sheet written by and read by Graham (10 minutes)

William Finley and Toy (1 minute) 

Radio Spots (2 minutes) 

TV Spots (5 minutes) 

Theatrical Trailers (5 minutes) 

Still Gallery (52 images) 

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is a rock n' roll cult-classic that's immensely entertaining.  A fun retelling of Faust with elements of the Phantom of the Opera infused with satire and memorable musical numbers, this is a rock n' roll fantasy that you need to own and Scream Factory's 2-disc Blu-ray is the one to own. 

DVD Review: REPLIGATOR (1996)

REPLIGATOR (1996)

Label: Whacked Movies
Duration: 84 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Director: Bret McCormick
Cast: Gunnar Hansen, Brinke Stevens, Keith Kjornes, T.J. Meyers, Carl Merritt

Synopsis: An army experiment gone awry turns burly brutes into gorgeous nymphets who morph into gators when they reach orgasm. This crazy, erotic sci-fi romp tells the story of a top secret military experiment that turns burly soldiers into sexy nymphomaniac babes who turn into gators when they reach orgasm! The film stars Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and scream queen Brinke Stevens who reveals her finest assets. A cult classic ripe for rediscovery, Repligator offers non-stop fun and plenty of topless babes.

There's not a lot I can add to that synopsis. If I did you just might go cross-eyed trying to make sense of it all and I certainly couldn't. In fact, that's probably why they stuffed it with glorious amounts of naked woman, just to turn the thinking part of the brain off so you could just enjoy how deliciously campy and fun this cornball b-movie is. It stars Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) as Dr. Kildare and 80's scream queen Brink Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre) as Dr. Goodbody, oh the names in this movie are something else. Both are scientist working for the military industrial complex. Goodbody has tapped into the horny thoughts of men and Kildare has invented a frikkin' laser beam that turns hard-nosed male soldiers into horny babes, now tell me what's not to love about that? There is however one very unfortunate side effect to all of this, once these horny babes are sexed-up they turn into alligator-women - that's right - glorious no budget alligators! 

So, yeah this is a pretty awful film but it's certainly entertaining in an eye-rolling sorta way, the comedy is juvenile and the sci-fi techno babble is mind certainly ridiculous but these guys did something that's rarely done well, they made a bad movie by design and it actually worked, for me anyway. 

The special effects are laugh-out-loud bad but the cast are just awful enough in that special way to make the screwball script work it's schlocky magic. Imagine if Frank Henelotter (Frankenhooker) penned a retro science fiction script and Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall) directed it with Roger Corman producing, the bad movie making firing on all cylinders right there! To give credit were credit is due the film was actually written by Keith Kjorned and produced/directed by Texas b-movie auteur Bret McCormick and while I enjoyed this one I have so very little interest in watching any of his other films. I get the feeling this was sort like capturing lightning in a bottle and for others it might just be a jar full of piss.

The DVD from Whacked Movie features a a cool Behind the Scenes Featurette documenting the fun/problems of working on a low budget productions plus an Interview with Director, Bret McCormick who speaks about Roger Corman's influence on his career.

This is not quite a broad recommend to everyone because you have to seriously love bad cinema to get through it but if what you've read so far intrigues you seek it out. 2 Outta 5  

Blu-ray Review: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986)

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) 

Label: Arrow Video

Region Code: B

Duration: 99 Minutes 

Rating: Certificate 15
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 Audio with Optional English SDH Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Cast: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong, Kate Burton, Donald Li, Carter Wong, Peter Kwong, James Pax
Director: John Carpenter

It must have been the summer of 1987 when I first saw John Carpenter's cult-classic comedy projected on the big screen at Hadley Hall in Willard, NY. Hadley Hall was an auditorium at the Willard Psychiatric Center which opened it's doors to the divergent masses in 1869 . Twenty-four years later a 500 seat auditorium opened and the space was used for performances and lectures. In 1920 a cinema screen and projector were added and on Monday nights movies were projected for the enjoyment of patients and staff. 

Sixty-five years later my father was employed at the psychiatric center working and one day informed me that they screened movies at the asylum on Saturday mornings and that I could attend if I wanted. Now the nearest theater as thirty miles away and a pretty rare experience for me so of course I wanted to go! Nearly every Saturday afterward from about 1986-'87 found me at the psyche center watching projected movies with the crazies.

Hadley Hall photo courtesy of Louis Q Photography
http://louisqphotography.com/

Dad would drop me off in front of Hadley and I would walk up the stairs into the main auditorium and find a seat among the patients in fold-up chairs. Typically I would chose to sit on the exercise equipment that lined the rear of the auditorium if possible or in the balcony area which was usually roped off for some reason. I reasoned it was because the patients might be tempted to jump off and injure themselves. There would be a handful of other kids my age enjoying the movies, most likely the offspring of other employees such as myself. The psych center was an open campus and it seemed that many of the patients were free to wander the grounds as long as they were back in time for bed check.  I was no stranger to the facility and would frequently visit my father while he was at work and I had a familiarity with being around the patients, knowing several by name. In retrospect it may seem odd but at the time I wasn't alarmed to be watching movies with the nutters. Sure a few were a bit peculiar and prone to tourettic outbursts but it wasn't anymore distracting than a typical Friday at the cinema today with annoying chatty teens texting away. 

The programming was pretty eclectic, a nice mix of repertory and second-run showings of comedies, fantasy-adventure and drama. A few of the movies I watched there include Armed and Dangerous, Spies Like Us, Cloak and Dagger, King Solomon's Mines, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, King Kong Lives, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, Foul play (1982), 2001: A Space Odyssey and I shit you not - a screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest which was all sorts of wrong and the delicious irony was not at all lost on me even at the young age of thirteen. I look back on these magical screenings with a true sense of nostalgia and my love of Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd  comedies started here. I would love to meet the programmers who brought these movies to Willard Psychiatric Center and helped shape my cinematic tastes during these  formative teen years and just say thank you for saving me from boredom for ninety-minutes at a time. .

That long winded tangent brings me to my first viewing of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986) a classic slice of cult-cinema screened at the psyche center sometime in 1987. Probably not too very long after it bombed at the box office. I don't recall having seen any advertising or promotion for the film prior to watching it and if you know the story of how the studio dropped the ball promoting the film that may not be a surprise. At that point I hadn't started identifying directors as the creators of movies. I'd watched Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980) and The Thing (1982) hadn't connected the dots and attributed them to the work of one man. When it came to directors I pretty much knew who Steven Spielberg was and that was about it. As it happened Carpenter was coming off the success of the science fiction romance Starman (1984) following the box office failure of The Thing - a movie that has since evolved into one of the most revered fright flicks of all time. Having redeemed himself the studio offered Carpenter this project and after reading the W.D. Richter (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) penned script jumped on board. A lifelong fan of kung fu cinema Carpenter was pretty stoked to bring a big budget chop socky fantasy-adventure-comedy to the screen.

At it's heart Big Trouble in Little China is a goofy fantasy-adventure romp loaded with Chinese mysticism and crazy over-the-top martial arts action. Kurt Russell is a truck driver Jack Burton who becomes entangled in the bizarre when his friend Wang's (Dennis Dun) soon-to-be wife Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) is abducted from the airport by the Chinese gang Lords of Death at the request of the dreaded sorcerer Lo Pan, played by actor James Hong (BladeRunner) who is is fantastic as the squealing and conniving sorcerer.

Jack Burton is a sort of half-ass John Wayne type who peels off some of the most quotable one-liners in all of cinema. Full of tough-talking bravado but with absolutely nothing to back it up. Barely rising to the status of anti-hero he's just a big-mouthed jackass who'd be dead twice over of not for the heroics of his diminutive ass kicking friend Wang. 

As the plot unfolds we discover that the sorcerer Lo Pan requires Wang's green-eyed girl to perform a ritual sacrifice which will free him from a centuries old curse. Lo Pan has three henchmen known as The Three Storms, a trio of supernatural warriors that would be right at home in a Mortal Kombat video game. There's Thunder (Carter Wong), Rain (Peter Kwong) and the phenomenal Lightning (James Pax) who each control an elemental power. Burton and Wang enlist the help of an eccentric Chinese mystic, the squinty-eyed sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong, Prince of Darkness) to help rescue Miao Yin from Lo Pan's underground labyrinth.  Along for the ride is a nosy and obnoxious reporter Gracie Law (Kim Catrall) who tags along providing a difficult love interest for Burton . the two have a fun adversarial chemistry as Gracie defends herself against Jack's clumsy come-ons.

Big Trouble is a special effects and martial arts extravaganza with some great effects work from Richard Edlund and the Boss Film Studios crew who worked on a ton of 80's classics  including Ghostbusters (1983), Poltergeist (1982), Fright Night (1985) and the Star Wars trilogy. For this one they created some creepy mystical creatures including a Chinese Wildman, a multi-eyed floating sentinel and a weird fish-lizard monster which we see for just a moment - blink and you'll miss it. A small complain about the effects would be I wanted more of 'em onscreen for longer! Particularly the wildman since the ending hints at a continuing story , where's the sequel John Carpenter?. 

The chop socky battles sequences are fantastic, a kinetic blend of martial arts styles and some sweet gravity-defying wire work - it's a trip. We have no shortage of flying fists of fury the clanging of weaponry and various implements of impalement -  fun action packed stuff. The film has a great pace that never lets up, moving forward at a quick pace that never leaves you time to question reality, logic or reasoning - which is good because all three are in short supply. 

The set from production design from John Lloyd is simply amazing, it was hard to believe the Chinatown sequences were not shot on location. Once our heroes descend into the labyrinthine underworld of Lo Pan it's particularly fantastic as the film takes a dark fantasy feel as they progress through the sewers into the palace like interiors and the underwater torture chamber right up to a bizarre neon-lit room, a visual stunner.  

The tone of the film is a bit off-kilter right from the start. Big Trouble doesn't take itself too serious and the cast are game to make fools of themselves , this definitely doesn't come off as the usual cliched adventure romp. They set out to make a zany actioner that subverts many of the usual stereotypes and he succeeds on all fronts in my opinion. Big Trouble in Little China is a strange and wonderful watch and one of the most quotable movies of all time, a cult-classic in the truest sense of the word and unique unto itself. 

The film bombed big time at the box office recouping just over half of it's budget in part due to poor promotion and ad campaign. The studio were unhappy with the finished product having wanted a more traditional Indian Jones type movie, but with a script co-penned by the writer/director of Buckaroo Banzai what did they expect?  The post-production hassles from the studio turned Carpenter off future studio productions for quite awhile and despite the initial poor reception Big Trouble has since gone on to develop quite a rabid fan base not unlike. What can you say, John Carpenter was a man ahead of his time. 

Blu-ray: Arrow Video's transfer of the John Carpenter cult-classic looks great with a nice natural layer of film grain with some decent fine detail, depth and clarity. Colors are bright and the image is modestly crisp all things considered. I threw on my 20th Century Fox Blu-ray and was hard-pressed to notice much of a difference except to note that the Arrow release is perhaps a tiny smidgen brighter.

Audio options include English language DTS-HD Master Audio 51 and Uncompressed PCM 2.0 with optional English SDH subtitles. It's a lively presentation with some modest audio depth, perhaps not the most dynamic surround experience one could hope for but there's some effective use of the surrounds. Mirroring the 20th Century Fox release we have the option of listening to the John Carpenter and Alan Howarth original score via DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Onto the special features we have all of the extras from the 20th Century Fox Blu-ray including deleted scenes, an extended ending, a vintage featurette, music video, the isolated score, a behind-the-scenes gallery, trailers and TV spots, Richard Edlund interview plus the fantastic audio commentary with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. When these two get together for an commentary is always a blast and this is one of my favorites. 

Arrow come through with new extras with over an hour of brand new Severin Films produced interviews with Director John Carpenter, star Kurt Russell, stuntman Jeff Imada, producer Larry Franco and cinematographer Dean Cundey.

Carpenter talks about being offered Big Trouble in Little China following the success of Starman after the box office failure of The Thing, loving W.D. Richter penned script and how  the project evolved from a Western into a contemporary setting. He speaks about the studio's disappointment with the film - they wanted something more akin to Indiana Jones - and the cult-status of the movie. 

Reversible Art Option 

Kurt Russell remembers working with Carpenter beginning with TV movie Elvis (1979) then onto Escape from New York and The Thing right up to Big Trouble, describing his character as a half-assed John Wayne and the film's poor performance at the cinema and cult-status. 

Dean Cundey who worked on many of the signature Carpenter films discusses the his b-movie roots, the origins of Halloween (1978)as a babysitter killer movie and his other collaborations with Carpenter plus the tone of the Big Trouble, the production design from John Lloyd and the joys of working with Kurt Russell. 

Producer Larry Franco was Russell's brother-in-law at the time and recounts Kurt bringing him into the Carpenter fold beginning with the Elvis TV movie and his other collaborations with Carpenter ending with Big Trouble. Interestingly he talks about a few properties that Carpenter nearly directed including the comedy Armed and Dangerous and Firestarter - the latter of which seems to have affected Carpenter quite a bit and further fueled his desire to work outside the studio system. .

Stuntman Jeff Imada goes into his martial arts background and perusing his acting/stuntman career in Hollywood. He speaks about his time on the set of Big Trouble and performing multiple roles, the mixed martial arts style of the film and the tech and wire-work utilized to perform the stunts. The stuntman fondly recalls working with Russell, James Hong and Dennis and how he started his career as a second unit director in Carpenter's They Live (1988).

Limited Edition SteelBook™

The check disc sent for review from Arrow Video unfortunately did not include the cover art the booklet but the retail version of the release includes a reversible sleeve with new artwork from artists Jay Shaw and a booklet featuring new writing on the film by John Kenneth Muir, author of The Films of John Carpenter, a re-print of an article on the effects of the film from American Cinematographer, illustrated with archive stills and posters - it's a top notch release. There is also a sweet looking Limited Edition SteelBook™ available from Arrow Video with the same AV presentation and features.  

It's been a bang-up year for John Carpenter fans with a slew of definitive reissues on Blu-ray from Scream Factory and now from Arrow Video. Would love to see Arrow continue down this path with more Carpenter on Blu-ray along the lines of what they've done with the movies of Brian De Palma, Lucio Fulci, George A. Romero and Dario Argento.

Special Features:
- High Definition presentation from a digital transfer prepared by 20th Century Fox
- Optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and uncompressed Stereo 2.0 Audio
- Isolated 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Isolated Score
- Audio Commentary with director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell- Return to Little China – A brand new interview with John Carpenter (12:16)
- Being Jack Burton – A brand new interview with Kurt Russell (20:59)
- Carpenter and I – A brand new interview with cinematographer Dean Cundey (15:40)
- Producing Big Trouble – A new interview with producer Larry Franco (15:23)
- Staging Little Trouble – A new interview with stuntman Jeff Imada (12:30)
- Interview with visual effects producer Richard Edlund(13:27)
- Vintage Making-of featurette featuring cast and crew (7:28)
- Extended Ending (3:17)
- 8 Deleted Scenes
- Music Video (3:28)
- Gallery of behind-the-scenes images (4:23)
- 3 Original Trailers(2::47)
- 6 TV Spots (2:57)
- Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw
- Booklet featuring new writing on the film by John Kenneth Muir, author of The Films of John Carpenter, a re-print of an article on the effects of the film from American Cinematographer, illustrated with archive stills and posters

Verdict: Big Trouble in Little China (186) is a cult-classic and one Hell of a fun watch, this bizarre comedy-fantasy actioner may not be the best film in the Carpenter canon but it's without a doubt the one I revisit the most. When I'm having a shit day there's a short-list of 80's comedies I can pop in to cheer me up and this at the top. On a technical AV level this edition mirrors the 20th Century Fox release but Arrow Video go the extra mile and amp it up with over an hour of brand-new interviews on-top of carrying over the extras from the region A release. If you're a serious fan of the film this is an essential item. 4 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: PRINCE OF DARKNESS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION (1987)

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)

Label: Scream Factory / Shout! Factory

Release Date: September 24th 2013

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 102 Minutes

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Donald Pleasance, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Dennis Dun, Alice Cooper, Susan Blanchard, Peter Jason 

Tagline: Before man walked the Earth... It slept for centuries. It is evil. It is real. It is awakening.

Fresh of making Big Trouble in Little China (1986) director John Carpenter was a bit put-off by the big studio system and it's constraints and set out to make a smaller independent horror film and the results were a neat little Satanic slice of cult cinema, Prince of Darkness (1987) starring Donald Pleasance (Halloween) as a troubled priest who reaches out to noted physicist Professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong, Big Trouble in Little China) and his most gifted students to help unravel the mysteries of an ancient cylinder that's been kept hidden away from humanity in the basement of a decaying L.A. church where it has remained under the watchful of of a secret sect of priests, inside it is a strange, ominous green liquid that swirls around supernaturally. 

The team arrive at the church unsure of what it is exactly they are there for but they set up their equipment and set about doing what they do while their 80's technology pings away in the background as they attempt to translate an ancient book of text which talks about a fallen angel or some such thing. John Carpenter's film about ultimate evil is painted in very broad strokes with some rather laughable dialogue about how evil lives in the atoms of all things, unseen but ever present. Corny Sunday school-esque teachings but then it's spiced up with talk about Jesus's extraterrestrial origins and the anti-God and how religion is a myth perpetrated by the Church - now that's just awesome!

The film starts off with what must be one of the most extended opening credit sequence ever as we met the principal players and set-up their characters, including physicist Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker, TV's Simon and Simon) who meets the cute redheaded physicist Catherine (Lisa Blount, Needful Things) and offers her a cup of coffee, practically the next scene features the two in a state of post-coital exhaustion laying in bed, Brian finally offering her that promised cup o' coffee - does that ever really happen? 

Studying the cylinder the team discover that there's something sentient in the inside, something malevolent. Green liquid seeps from the cylinder and defying gravity pools along the ceiling of the basement crypt and one by one possess the students, it's slightly sexual as the evil liquid spews into women's mouths, at least to me but I am a confirmed pervert. Outside the church the dirty vagrants of L.A., lead by Alice Cooper, start to converge upon the unholy place like a small horde of zombies, pretty soon a small body count is underway as the possessed homeless prevent the inhabitants of the church from escaping what's festering in the basement.

The deaths are pretty decent, particularly when Alice Cooper takes out the nerdiest of the science-geeks with a jagged bike frame, spearing him through the chest as a geyser of blood erupts, apparently the gore-gag is taken right out of Alice Cooper's stage show and it's a keeper. Another notable death features an elderly homeless woman stabbing a scientist to death with pruning shears, I don't know what it is about that scene but the way the shears slice through the air has always had an effect on me, it's pretty neat. The victim is resurrected for a later scene wherein he delivers a warning to the students inside the Church before crumbling into a creepy pile of beetles, it's creepy stuff. 

A lot of strange things seem to have been spurred or effected by the entity inside the cylinder, we get strange swarming behavior not just from beetles but from earthworms and ants plus there's an odd sun and moon configuration in the sky, perhaps signaling the end for humanity, it should be noted that this is part of John Carpenter's unofficial apocalypse trilogy alongside The Thing (1982) and In the Mouth of Madness (1995), check 'em out.

John Carpenter excels here at crafting a creepy and tense environment, the church setting is effective and spooky, plus we get some great moody lighting and cinematography from Gary K. Kibbe (They Live), it's a great looking film. The effects work is pretty decent, if not on par with The Thing (1982). There are some very nicely executed in-camera and make-up effects, some of it definitely feels low-budget, a sequence involving an otherworldly portal comprised of liquid mercury is a bit schlocky, but it does the job I guess. 

Donald Pleasance plays it pretty straight here as the priest, he doesn't chew up too much scenery in a "I shot him six times!" sort of way, pretty low-key. Victor Wong is awesome as the physicist, that guy makes everything better, giving you the eye the way he does, it's just awesome. Dennis Dun from Big Trouble in Little China has a great scene trapped in a confessional, he just loses his shit screaming "I don't wanna die!" as possessed zombie try to claw their way inside, that's just good stuff. 

The film definitely has some shortcomings (no nudity), and while it has some rather intriguing ideas they're not particularly well executed, the worse offender being the quasi-science/religion based dialogue which is not among Carpenter's best work and the cast struggle to work with it but there's only so much you can do, not for lack of trying. What saves it for me is the dense atmosphere of the film, there's some wonderful kin-crawling touches peppered throughout; a crucified pigeon and the massing swarms of insects, there's an unnerving sense of dread building-up and while I don't think it delivers a satisfying end it's still a decent watch with some nice eerie moments, just grab a few brews, kick back and enjoy, don't be afraid to laugh at it every once in a while, and for goodness sake don't try to make sense of it, that's just asking for trouble, not a film to dissect, one to watch.

Blu-ray: This John Carpenter cult-classic comes to Blu-ray from Shout!Factory imprint Scream Factory with a AVC encoded 1080p transfer and it looks quite stunning, very surprised just how great this looked on Blu-ray, damn I love Scream Factory! Sourced from a near pristine print it showcases a layer of fine film grain with a surprising amount of fine detail reproduction in textures and facial details. Colors are reproduced wonderfully and the contrast is fantastic, a very strong visual presentation from Scream Factory with very nice black levels and shading, quite a significant upgrade from the 2003 Universal DVD edition. 

Audio options include both English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The 5.1 is quite strong with a nice low-end rumble, Carpenter and Howarth's awesome synth score gets most of the surround action, it makes for quite a fun experience, a very dynamic presentation.

Reversible Artwork 

Onto the special features we a very nice selection of Red Shirt produced plus the commentary from the Region 2 DVD, here in the US we have suffered with a bare-bones standard-def DVD for a decade so it's nice to get some cool bonus content and a stunning 1080p presentation. The commentary with Carpenter and actor Peter Jason who portrayed Dr. Leahy in the film is quite good, the two reminisce on the film and are quite talkative, they definitely seem to be enjoying their viewing of the film, not a particularly technical commentary but an enjoyable listen. There's over a half hour of new interviews with John Carpenter, Alice Cooper, composer Alan Howarth and actor/special visual effects supervisor Robert Grasmere, the alternate opening from the TV version, a trailer and 2 radio spots plus a very cool entry of Horror's Hallowed Grounds with Sean Clark, I think this and The Fog entry of the entertaining series are two of the best they've done. There's also a very cool Easter Egg featuring John Carpenter worth searching for. 

Packaging extras include a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the original theatrical poster and newly commissioned artwork from Justin Osborne who also did the great artwork for Scream's edition of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), it also comes with a cool slipcover featuring the new artwork. Yet another stellar Blu-ray edition of a beloved horror classic from Scream Factory who breath new life into some dusty gems with a great audio/video presentation and some quality extras. 

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary with John Carpenter and Actor Peter Jason
- Sympathy For The Devil – An all-new Interview with Writer/Director John Carpenter (10:28)
- Alice at the Apocalypse – An all-new interview with Actor/Rock Legend Alice Cooper (9:27)
- The Messenger – All-new interview with Actor/Special Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Grasmere (12:41)
- Hell On Earth – A look at the film’s score with Co-Composer Alan Howarth (10:14)
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds with host Sean Clark (13:44)
- Alternate Opening from TV Version (6:55)
- Original Theatrical Trailer and 2 Radio spots (2:48) 

- Easter Egg (12:10) 

Verdict: I think Prince of Darkness (1987) gets put aside as a minor Jon Carpenter entry and I actually agree, it is a lesser effort, but it's just so damn fun, the clunky joining of science and religion wrapped up in an effective cloak of unnerving creepiness, it's a Satanic-infused haunted house story that's not completely successful but it definitely gets by on pure entertainment value. An atmosphere heavy schlocky cult-classic and a very sweet Blu-ray edition from Scream Factory who continue to impress with each new release. 3 Outta 5 

Coming soon from Scorpion Releasing!

Some great stuff on the way from Scorpion Releasing in the coming months! We have Blu-rays of GRIZZLY, DAY OF THE ANIMALS, and the horror anthology THE MONSTER CLUB - very exciting genre titles plus we're getting the Steve Buscemi cult classic ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER among others. No artwork or release dates yet but stay tunesd...

ALLEY CAT (1984)

After a beautiful young martial arts expert's grandparents are killed by a vicious street gang, she sets out to seek the truth and get revenge.

ANGELS' BRIGADE (1979)
Wearing form-fitting fatigues, seven females join together as highly trained avengers. Their mission: to wipe every drug dealer off the face of the earth. To accomplish this, they drive around in a custom-built van, decked out with the latest in high-tech weaponry. Stars Jack Palance, Peter Lawford, Jim Backus, Neville Brand, Pat Buttram, Alan Hale Jr., and Arthur Godfrey.

CELIA CHILD OF TERROR (1989)
An imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia

DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977)
A group of hikers are victims of an ironic twist of fate when wildlife reigns terror over them in this fang-baring suspense film. The hikers have convened in the woods of Northern California for a two-week camping trip. Soon, they are attacked by wild animals that have gone insane due to the depletion of the ozone layer. Now see this cult classic from a brand new HD master in 2.35:1 16x9 widescreen, from the original IP, for the first time in its proper presentation anywhere in the world! This title will be available in both BD and SD.

ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER (1993)
Though it's been a year since her death, Ed (Steve Buscemi) is still pining over his deceased mother (Miriam Margolyes). Enter a firm called Happy People Ltd, which for a hefty fee will bring Ed's mom back to life. He ponies up the money, and miracle of miracles, mother returns. At first all is bliss. But eventually dead old mom begins acting very strangely. Her habit of eating bugs is only the tip of a bizarre iceberg. Can things get any weirder? The supporting cast includes the likes of Ned Beatty and John Glover.

GRIZZLY (1976)
Giant, killer grizzly terrorizes a state park! This horror classic will be available in both BD and SD.

THE MONSTER CLUB (1981)
Horror anthology loosely based on the works of horror novelist R. Chetwynd-Hayes. A horror author is invited by a suave vampire (Vincent Price) to accompany him to the title establishment, where he observes the secret social customs of various species of monsters -- which apparently include drinking, dancing, and watching undead strippers remove more than just their clothing. He is also made privy to the mating patterns of these creatures, and three bizarre tales are told over the evening. Also starring Donald Pleasence, Richard Johnson, Simon Ward, Britt Ekland, John Carradine, Anthony Steel and Stuart Whitman. This will be vailable both BD and SD.

THE POWER (1984) 

A man comes into possession of an ancient Aztec doll. However, the doll is possessed by an evil spirit, which takes over his body.

TOWER OF EVIL (1972) 
When a nude, crazed woman slaughters a sailor who visits the island. When she is taken back to civilization and an ancient relic is discovered, an expedition is mounted to solve the mystery of the island which leads to a series of psycho-sexual murders. This title will be available both in BD and SD.

ABOUT SCORPION RELEASING: Specializing in some of the most sought-after indie and studio movies out there, Scorpion Releasing will focus on state-of-the art definitive editions of films spanning every genre imaginable. From HBO family classics to award winning foreign films, from arthouse and drive-in escapist fun to the most infamous horror and sci-fi, Scorpion will present each of these eclectic and unique films in a restored and remastered transfer from the original elements, and also incorporate insightful bonus extras as well. Scorpion is here to add a much-needed sting to the DVD industry, and the buzz has only just begun...

http://www.scorpionreleasing.com/

Blu-ray Review: FRANKENHOOKER (1990)

FRANKENHOOKER (1990)

Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1) 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Frank Henenlotter
Cast: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Louise Lasser, Joseph Gonzalez, Joanne Ritchie, J.J. Clark
Tagline: Some Assembly Required

Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz, THE SWEET LIFE) is a medical school drop-out and aspiring mad scientist who at the start of the film gives life to an aquatic brain with a cyclopian eyeball that he keeps in a fish tank. When his fiance Elizabeth (Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen) is massacred by a remote-controlled lawnmower of his own design he sets out resurrect her using only the most quality body parts sourced from NYC's finest prostitutes. He comes to the conclusion that the cities crack epidemic is already killing the prostitutes so he creates an even deadlier form of "super-crack" that will get the job done just a little bit quicker.

When he encounters the musclebound pimp Zorro (Joseph Gonzalez) Jeffrey reserves his finest selection of whores and sets about choosing the perfect woman with the perfect parts in a fun montage of measuring breasts, arms and legs to decide which street walker has the finest ass-sets. However, when the whores prematurely discover his stash of super-crack it has the unfortunate side effect of causing the ecstatic ladies to literally explode, not in a guts flying everywhere sorta way but in a hilarious mannequins filled with firecrackers kinda way, awesome. Making the most of the unfortunate event Jeffery picks the best parts off the floor (each conveniently marked with an "X") and takes them back to his converted car garage slash laboratory where he puts his dubious medical knowledge to the test, resurrecting his beloved Elizabeth in true Mary Shelly's Frankenstein style during an especially intense lightning storm, more awesomeness.


Once resurrected however things don't quite go as planned and it becomes clear that Elizabeth has picked-up many of the lusty personality traits of the whores that comprise her voluptuous franken-body, including the stock phrases "wanna date.. got any money?". When Jeffrey tells her he has no money she knocks him out cold and makes her way to, where else, 42nd Street to turn tricks. Her first john is a horny pear-shaped sleaze (David Lipman, THE EXTERMINATOR) who gets a deadly dose of the Frankenhooker's high-voltage discharge.

What's so great about Henenlotter's campy retelling of Frankenstein is how wonderfully absurd it is, never taking itself seriously it revels in the ridiculous but Henenlotter somehow stops the film fropm careening outta control. James Lorinz is fantastic as the amateur mad scientist who occasionally performs trephination upon himself with a power drill. He looks quite a bit like Andrew McCarthy (PRETTY IN PINK) and his line deliveries are spot-on with witty dialogue and a great monologue acting opposite the always great Louise Lasser (HAPPINESS) as his well-meaning but clueless mother. Next to him it's Patty Mullen's (DOOM ASYLUM) adorable performance as the tit-ular character that drives this one home for me, so cute, even when decked out as the purple nippled trick turner.


The film's special effects are pretty great but may not be what you're expecting from the man behind BASKET CASE and BRAIN DEAD, they're totally campy, nearly bloodless and not played for realism. In the aforementioned exploding whores on super crack scene the bodies are obviously dressed-up mannequins as per Henenlotter's vision and it totally works. Patty Mullens's make-up effects are fantastic, she absolutely looks like the hottest whore comprised of body parts you'll ever see, great work from effects man Bartalos. The film's finale features the unused remnants of Zorro's whores recombining in odd configurations with effects that would not look out of place in Henenlotter's BASKET CASE sequels fun stuff.

Blu-ray: For the second time this year Frank Henenlotter's cult classic gets a sweet region-FREE Blu-ray release, the first came from US distributor Synapse Films and now a new edition from the UK's Arrow Video. The film is presented in 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1) in 1080p HD. The transfer looks mighty sharp, too and on par with Synapse's presentation. There's a fair amount of fine detail, the natural grain is intact, the black levels are decent and the neon colors are vivid, the neon nearly pops of the screen at times. There are the occasional small scratches and specks here and there but nothing to freak out about, it's sourced from a very fine print. The lone audio option is English language DTS-HD MA mono which sounds pretty good with crisp dialogue, score and effects. The Synapse disc offered up a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix which was nice but honestly FREANKENHOOKERS not a film that necessarily cries out for 5.1 honestly.

The Synapse BD offered an pretty great audio commentary with director Frank Henelotter and make-up effects creator Gabe Bartalos and Arrow Video have matched that and some with a commentary from Henenlotter and star James Lorinz, it's a great listen from two guys with a great chemistry, it's good stuff. If you already own the Synapse BD you should know that Arrow, with the exception of the Henelotter/Bartalos commentary, have ported over all the special features from that release plus thrown in a few exclusives of their own courtesy of High Rising Productions. We'll begin with the carry overs which includes three very cool interview featurettes; A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth (8:43) with actress and former Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen who's still a knockout, what a sweetheart too, reflecting on her favorite and least favorite scenes, driving home in the full Frankenhooker make-up, working with Lorinz and her crush on special effects advisor Gabe Bartalos. A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker (21:00) has SF/X man Gabe Bartalos introducing some cool behind-the-scenes footage of not just FRANKENHOOKER but also BRAIN DAMAGE and he really heaps the praise on Patty Mullen. Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker (19:32) features the ginger-haired wild woman Delora, she oozes insanity and it makes for a fun interview as she speaks of going from an '87 beauty queen to working on BAD GIRLS DORMITORY and then dishing some dirt from the set of FRANKENHOOKER, disparaging James Lorinz and telling of strong arming difficult strippers on the set of the film. Definitely a fun woman but not one you wanna piss off, know what I mean? Delora's Frankenhooker Scrapbook featuring behind-the-scenes pics round out the carry-over features found on the Synapse disc.

Now onto the UK-exclusive features from Arrow co-conspirators High Rising Productions who've created several tasty treats for this release, we start of with an introduction by star James Lorinz and director Frank Henenlotter, it's typically short and sweet. Next up is a Tour of the Gabe Bartalos effects lab in Los Angeles, California (19:26) hosted by Bartalos who takes on a fun trip through his effects lab, it's wall to wall movie history as he takes us through several projects he's worked on including the "Surgeon General" from his own film SKINNED DEEP, the zombie horse from CREMASTER 3, "Belial" from BASKET CASE 2, the mask he created for FRIDAY THE 13th PT. 6, some effects work from Kevin Tenney's BRAIN DEAD and an actual mummified cat which was just creepy, and I almost forgot the best part, a decapitated mold of Robert Loggia's head! Your Date’s on a Plate: The Making of Frankenhooker (39:22) is an exclusive 'making of' documentary featuring director Frank Henenlotter, star James Lorinz and special effects artist Gabe Bartalos whom talk about pretty much everything you will ever wanna know about this film. Henelotter talks about his terrible experience making the film which was not helped by hostility with the director of photography, pitching the film to producer James Glickenhaus while Lorinz spins a tale of porn stars vs. centerfolds on set and Bartalos talks creating the Patty Mullen effects and the exploding hookers, it's a great watch with video clips, behind-the-scenes pics and interviews.

Unfortunately my screener didn't come with a sleeve or booklet so I cant comment but the menus did feature Graham Humphries awesome artwork, very sweet and appropriately neon. It's a fantastic set of features that compliment an already stellar audio-video presentation that surpasses even the very fine Synapse Blu-ray, not just mirroring the features but bringing with it an hour more of newly created content.

Special Features:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphries
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Exclusive collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Calum Waddell
- UK exclusive audio commentary with director Frank Henenlotter and star James Lorinz
- UK exclusive introduction to the film by actor James Lorinz and Frank Henloter (1080p)
- Your Date’s on a Plate: The Making of Frankenhooker: UK exclusive 'making of' documentary featuring director Frank Henenlotter, star James Lorinz and special effects artist Gabe Bartalos (39:22) 16:9 (1080p)
- A personal UK exclusive tour of the Gabe Bartalos effects lab in Los Angeles, California (19:12) 16:9
- A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth: Patty Mullen Remembers
Frankenhooker  (8:43) 4:3
- A Stitch In Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker (21:00) 4:3
- Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker (19:32) 4:3
- Original theatrical trailer (1:26) 4:3

Verdict: FRANKENHOOKER is a wonderfully absurd cult-comedy and one of the funniest takes on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein since Mel Brooks YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, it reeks of the 80's with an irreverent sense of humor and neon-glow. It's just a blast, if you love camp, sleaze and naked ladies you must own FRANKENHOOKER! 4 outta 5