CHARLEY VARRICK (1973) (Indicator Blu-ray Review)

CHARLEY VARRICK (1973)
Limited Blu-ray Edition (Region B)

Label: Indicator 

Region Code: B

Rating: 18 

Duration: 111 Minutes 

Audio: English LPCM Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Don Siegel

Cast: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North, John Vernon

Charley Varrick v(1973) was directed by the great Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), it's an action-packed crime thriller that somehow has managed to elude me for forty years! The movie stars the always great Walter Matthau (Grumpy Old Men) as the titular middle-aged bank-robber, a former aerial stuntman turned crop-duster/small time bank robber. The film starts off with Charley and his getaway-car driver wife Nadine (Jacqueline Scott, Empire of the Ants) pulling into the rural bank of sleepytown USA Tres Cruces, New Mexico. Once inside Charley and two men already on the inside pull out the guns and rob the place, in the process the cops are tipped off and one of the two accomplices in the bank are shot dead, the survivor is Harman Sullivan (Andrew Robinson, Dirty Harry), and the trio get in the car and make a run for it. During the escape Nadine is fatally wounded, and the high-speed race out of town involves several metal twisting car-crashes. In the aftermath Nadine dies from her wounds, leaving Charley and Harman to blow her corpse up in the getaway car in an effort to hide the evidence, they make their way back to their trailer park domicile to count the loot and are very surprised when the haul totals up to over three-quarter of a million dollars, way too much money to have been stashed away in a Podunk bank. 

The somewhat dim and greedy Harman is delighted by the windfall of cash but wiser Varrick is rightfully suspicious of it, believing that they have involved themselves in some dirty mob money, which is later verified when radio reports indicate the crooks got away with less than two grand in cash. Enter the bank president, the mob-connected Maynard Boyle (80's bad-man John Vernon, Curtains), now that he's on the line for the  stolen mob money he calls in mob clean-up guy Molly (Joe Don Baker, Joysticks) to sleuth the identity of the bank robbers and to get that money back where it belongs. Baker is great, he's cool and calm, a practiced torturer and very wily in his own right, charming and prone to violent outbursts, but he's got to contend with the quiet, disarming smarts of Varrick, which we learn will be no easy task.   

Walter Matthau seemed at first an unlikely candidate for the smooth criminal operator for this 70's crime-thriller, but I warmed up to him right away. He first appears onscreen made-up to look older, it was a bit off-putting, but he turns out to be a hard-edged character, not a flashy sort of guy, very even tempered and he wears his emotions close to the vest - he's hard to read, after his wife's sudden and unexpected death he doesn't seem to mourn much at all, but he gets it across that he did love her, but then he beds a stranger without much thought soon after. Sure, Varrick's likable, but that's not to say he's a great guy, he does some truly cold and despicable things throughout the movie, such as setting up his fool partner, but he's clever and makes for the perfect sort of 70's anti-hero for this economical and thrilling caper.  The cat and mouse game he embarks on with hitman Molly is endlessly entertaining, methodically setting up his exit strategy, all the while the movie never full-on explaining what the end-game is, but there are nods and nudges hinting at the plan, I respect the movie for not just hitting you over the head with it.

Audio/Video: Charley Varrick arrives on Blu-ray from the UK's Indicator in a region-B locked Blu-ray presenting the film in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The image is very strong, the source looks clean as cab be without any print damage and only some very minor white speckling. Grain is present and looks natural, colors are nicely saturated and look accurate - this looks wonderful. The sole audio optional is a LPCM Mono 1o with optional English subtitles, the track is clean and crisp, well-balanced, the score from Lalo Schifrin is A generic TV crime drama sounding, but it suits the movie, and I guess it isn't too surprising, at the time he was scoring loads of TV stuff. 

Onto the extras we get a 75-minute making of doc from 2015b produced by Fiction Factory, this features interviews with director Don Siegel’s son, Kristoffer Tabori, Howard A. Rodman, the son of one of the screenwriters, actors Andy Robinson and Jacqueline Scott, stunt driver Craig R. Baxley, and composer Lalo Schifrin. It's a great doc, if you're a fan of the film this one is loaded with great stories about the cast and crew and making of it. Also included are two audio lectures that ca be played like an audio commentary during the movie, the first is with Director Siegel from 1973, the second is with Matthau from 1988. The disc is finished up with a super 8 digest version of the film - I love it when these are included as extras, an image gallery and the theatrical trailer plus a Trailers from Hell trailer commentary from Josh Olson. 

This release also includes a 40-page booklet with a new essay by author and critic Richard Combs, Don Siegel on Charley Varrick, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits - this booklet is limited to the first run of 3000 copies.

Special Features:
- Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of ‘Charley Varrick’ - 2015 feature-length documentary containing interviews with actors Andy Robinson and Jacqueline Scott, stunt driver Craig R. Baxley and Siegel’s son, Kristoffer Tabori (75 mins)
- The John Player Lecture with Don Siegel: 1973 archival audio recording of an interview conducted by Tony Sloman at London’s National Film Theatre (75 min)
- The Guardian Lecture with Walter Matthau: 1988 archival audio recording of an interview conducted by Tony Sloman at London's National Film Theatre (89 min) 
- Super 8 Version: original 'Universal Eight' cut-down home cinema presentation (18 min) 
- Original theatrical trailer (2 min) 
- Trailers from Hell: Josh Olson and Howard Rodman trailer commentary (6 min)
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 40-page booklet with a new essay by author and critic Richard Combs, Don Siegel on Charley Varrick, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited Edition of 3,000 copies

Charley Varrick (1973) is definitely a 'where have you been all my life?' sort of discovery for me, this is an instant top 20 film for me. Indicator give this classic crime thriller a wonderful presentation with some fantastic extras, if you haven't seen it you need to, get on it, this is a sorely under seen gem from the 70's, I have no problem placing it right up there with Chinatown (1974) and Night Moves (1975) - it's that good. 

CURTAINS (1983) (Synapse Films Blu-ray Review)

CURTAINS (1983)

Label: Synapse Films

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 90 Minutes 

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

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Jonathan Stryker
Cast: John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Lesleh Donaldson, Lynne Griffin


CURTAINS is a true slasher classic from the land of bacon and maple syrup starring John Vernon (CHAINED HEAT) as pompous film director John Stryker and Samanatha Eggar (THE BROOD) stars as Samantha his aging muse who just cannot seem to nail the mental state of 'Audra', the lead part in Strker's next film'. She is such a method actor that she has herself committed to an asylum so she can research the role - only she and Stryker are aware that she is not crazy... not yet anyway While there she soaks up the insanity but when she awakens to find that her screaming roommate has been lobotomized she thinks that maybe this was not such a smart move on her part. Her own sanity starts to crumble and she becomes non-responsive during Stryker's regular visits. Instead of informing the doctors that this was just research for a role he stops visiting. Afterward he announces via the trades that he will be auditioning for the role of 'Audra'. 

Hoping to land the role are comedian Patti O'Connor (Lynne Griffin, BLACK CHRISTMAS), seasoned actress Brooke Parsons (Linda Thorson, TV's THE AVENGERS),  dancer Laurian Summers (Anne Ditchburn), musician Tara DeMillo (Sandee Currie), and professional ice-skater Christie Burns (Lesleh Donaldson, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME). That's only five, the sixth unfortunate young woman is stabbed to death before she can make it to the audition. This first kill is a lot of fun - not only do we get some kinky sex but a prescient waking nightmare with some echoes of Argento's DEEP RED with a creepy doll! 

Once Samantha discovers that Stryker is recasting the role of 'Audra' she escapes from the asylum showing up at the mansion which causes a bit of friction as she and Stryker trade barbs back and forth. Things heat-up as the Stryker puts each of the actresses through auditions playing mind-games with each which they suffer through intent on landing a role worth killing for. The smooth talking director ends up bedding several of the actresses which further enrages his former lover Samantha, pretty soon thereafter the actresses are murdered one by one by someone wearing a creepy old hag mask which leads up to a shocker finale. 

A particular scene that has stuck with me through the years since I initially saw this on TV is the surreal ice skating sequence, a very weird scene which has an almost Lucio Fulci nightmare quality about it. Christie the skater is performing a routine on a frozen when the killer in that frightful hag mask skates up in slow-mo and slashes Brook with a razor-sharp sickle - it's a classic scene and one that you must see as the description I offer does not do it justice in anyway.

One of the other memorable scene is the final cat and mouse chase through a prop room with some cool Mario Bava-esque lighting with a few good moments of pulse pounding suspense, ll of which leads up to a champagne toast and a shocker ending which does feel like it was tagged on - because it was. . 

The set-up for each kill is pretty decent with some nice suspenseful moments even if the kills themselves are pretty bloodless. The film was a very troubled production with more than one director and at times can feel a bit piece meal with some glaring plot holes and sub plots that are not followed through on - including a possible co-conspirator who is only glimpsed once. Somehow the film manages to overcome these issues with a prevailing sense of dread and suspense - the original director Richard Ciupka wanted to make an art house psychodrama while the producer Peter R. Simpson - who took over the production when Ciupka was removed from the project - wanted to do more of a straight-up slasher film. And you can feel the it as they try to marry to the two together but it results in some strange tonal shifts. 

Considering how long the production went on for including re shoots many months later the performances throughout are strong. For starters we have character actor John Vernon as the pompous, mind-fucking director and Samanatha Eggar as the unhinged actress - if you've seen her in Cronenberg's THE BROOD you know she does crazy just right, plus she has a lot of presence. After that we have a nicely vulnerable performance from Lesleh Donaldson as the ice skater and a pretty good turn as comedian turned actress from Lynne Griffin from BLACK CHRISTMAS. 

Considering the schizophrenic shifts in tone I was quite entertained by CURTAINS and seeing it again restored on Blu-ray was a blast - not a perfect film but a perfectly entertaining slasher that I would place on par with HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME or APRIL FOOL'S DAY as a not-too-gory slice of cinema with some great atmosphere and a tagged-on shocker ending.

Blu-ray: Synapse present CURTAINS in HD widescreen in the original aspect ratio which has remastered in 2K resolution from original vault materials which sat  virtually untouched for over thirty years. Previous the films was only available on a budget DVD set from Echo Bridge which looked awful.The new restored transfer is a stunner. Colors are vibrant, there's a nice layer of film grain with some decent fine detail and a level of clarity that is beyond what I could have imagined for this one. 

Audio option include the original mono mix and a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option. Glad they included the original mono for the purists but I'm quite a fan of the newly created 5.1 which exports the sound effects and the Paul Zaza (MY BLOODY VALENTINE) score to the surrounds with the dialogue kept to the front, creating a nice atmospheric presentation. There are English subtitles provided on the disc. 

Onto the extras we have brand new retrospective featuring interviews with Director Richard Ciupka, Stars Lesleh Donaldson and Lynne Griffin, Editor Michael MacLaverty, Special Make-Up Effects Creator Greg Cannom, and Composer Paul Zaza. This Red Shirt Pictures produced extras is fantastic with some great discussions about the troubled production and on-set anecdotes. We also have a vintage making-of featurette with some cool behind-the-scene video on the set of the film before the director was yanked off the production - this is exclusive to the Blu-ray version.

There are two commentary options on the disc, the first is with actresses Lesleh Donaldson and Lynne Griffin moderated by Edwin Samuelson as the ladies reminisce about their experiences on set and making the film. The second is not a scene specific commentary but actually two separate audio interviews with producer Peter R. Simpson and star Samantha Eggar conducted via telephone for The Terror Trap website which play over the film. The audio quality is not the greatest but both offer some decent insights, particularly Simpson who speaks at length about his relationship with Ciupka and the problems on the troubled production. The interviews end at just under an hour and do not play for the entirety of the film. 

Special Features
- THE ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE: THE MAKING OF “CURTAINS” – An All-New retrospective featuring interviews with Director Richard Ciupka, Stars Lesleh Donaldson and Lynne Griffin, Editor Michael MacLaverty, Special Make-Up Effects Creator Greg Cannom, and Composer Paul Zaza (35:52) HD
- CIUPKA: A FILM-MAKER IN TRANSITION - Vintage documentary short featuring rare, behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "CURTAINS" (165:09) HD (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- Audio Commentary with Stars Lesleh Donaldson and Lynne Griffin
- Audio Interview with Producer Peter R. Simpson
- Audio Interview with Star Samantha Eggar
- Theatrical Trailer (1:44) HD 

Synapse have continually raised the bar for hi-def transfers and their release of CURTAINS is a stunner - after years of cruddy home video viewings I dared not dream we would see such a loving restoration. This just might be the release of the year for slasher fans who have long suffered with inferior versions of the beloved title. Coming up next from Synapse is the Blu-ray restoration of the classic American/Canadian slasher classic PROM NIGHT (1980)!

DVD Review: SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

LABEL: Arrow Video
REGION CODE: Region 0 PAL
RATING: 18 Certificate
DURATION: 93 mins
VIDEO: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Mono
DIRECTOR: Danny Steinmann
CAST: Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Robert Dryer, John Vernon

TAGLINE:What they did to her little sister was worse than a crime... Now witness the ultimate execution!

Brenda (Linda Blair, CHAINED HEAT) is the tough as nails leader of the L.A. girl-gang The Satins, a tight knit group of bad ass high schoolers; Francine (Lisa Freeman, BACK TO THE FUTURE), Stella (Ina Romeo, ESCAPE FROM LA) and Stevie (Marcia Karr, KILLER WORKOUT). Brenda's a smart mouth queen of the streets with only one weakness, her mute younger sister Heather (Linnea Quigley, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) whom she's fiercely protective of. While strutting down Hollywood Blvd. Heather is nearly rundown by a gang of drug-peddling thugs calling themselves The Scars, led by Jake (Robert Dryer), whom is joined by Red (Scott Mayer), Fargo (Sal Landi, SWEET REVENGE) and the snivelling Vince (Johnny Venocur, LORD OF ILLUSIONS). Incensed by The Scars nearly killing Heather the ladies retaliate by taking the Scars prized 50's convertible for a joyride down the strip and giving it a trashy make-over. The Scars thirsty for revenge after the shaming vent their anger by gang raping Brenda's disadvantaged sister Heather.

The rape occurs at school while Heather awaits her sister in the gymnasium. She is approached by Red who gains her trust with flattery and feigning interest in sign language. It's an almost touching scene of bad boy meets nice girl, almost, but not quite. Actor Scott Mayer has a twisted darkness about hims a great villain, very surprised he didn't go on to do more. His character's a seething psychotic and his attentions for the naive Heather surely don't bode well. Sure 'nuff the interaction turns dark when Red begins "signing" the in-out-in-out finger in the hole routine and forces himself on her as the remaining members of the Scars enter the gymnasium and drag her into the restroom. It's there that they brutally gang-rape Heather on the dingy floor next to a row of urinals. The encounter is quite harrowing and not played for sleazy titillation by any means, this is just sadistic violence. Adding to the disgust of an already vile act is that Quigley appears quite young, physically, this is before your breast augmentation which we saw on display in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Vince, the newest and arguably least scuzzy of the four gets first dibs after being coerced by Jake, leaving Red and Fargo to argue over who's up at bat next, so to speak The squirm inducing scenario is oddly juxtaposed with  Brenda's own skirmish in the shower, a WIP-styled bitch fight with a cheerleader nemesis to the backdrop of a dozen naked and wet women, yay exploitation. As Brenda arises victorious from the shower room brawl it's contrasted by the sight of Heather, unconscious on the floor, receiving a nasty kick to the head from Jake.

Heather is discovered by The Satins and taken to the hospital having fallen into a coma. That night, unaware of who the culprits are, Brenda and The Satins are at a club drowning her frustrations when the soon to be married (and pregnant) Francine has an violent encounter with the Scars resulting in her slashing Jake's face with a switchblade. The next day Jake and the Scars encounter Francine on her way from the bridal store, you know this won't end well for the young lady, right? They give chase and eventually catch up to her on a bridge. Ever defiant she spits in Jake's face, enraged he picks her up over his head and throws her from the bridge to her death. The snivelling Vince already remorseful over the brutalization of Heather defies the gang and escapes to the hospital where Brenda overhears him confessing the rape to a comatose Heather. Vince flees the hospital after Brenda attacks him following his confession. 

Bloodthirsty for vengeance Brenda returns home to smoke a cigarette while laying nude in the tub, it's a glorious bit of gratuitous nudity to be sure, she's looking intense while contemplating her next move. With revenge on her mind she dons a badass black leather jumpsuit during a sweet 80's montage and arms herself with a switchblade, crossbow and an assortment of bear traps because, well, why the Hell not? She arrives at Vince's house to deal out some sweet vengeance after convincing Vince's father she's there to do homework, yeah right! Surprising Vince in his bedroom she gets the better of him with a switchblade to his throat, the snivelling shit informs her that Jake has killed Francine and where she can find the rest of gang. Despite the fact that he raped her sister she spares his life, but fear not for Jake runs his ass over a short time later. The finale features Blair in full on 80's vigilante mode as she squares off against the trio, she's a complete and total bad ass with some very sweet one liners, my favorite being a quip directed towards Fargo just before she sends a crossbow bolt through the neck, "Too bad you're not double-jointed... if you were, you'd be able to bend over and kiss your ass goodbye", very sweet indeed.
 

Speaking of awesome one-liners John Vernon (CURTAIN, ANIMAL HOUSE) appears as the hard-assed principal of the high school, one of the few adult presences in the film, these teen-revenge film rarely featured adult figures and it's no different here. While Vernon's not quite as sleazy as his character in CHAINED HEAT (also with Blair) he's not exactly a saint either. His role was pared down quite a bit once director Steinmann took over for DeSimone and he's relegated to only a few choice scenes, just enough to utter the immortal line "Go fuck an iceberg!". I definitely wanted to see more John Vernon here, but we get what we get. It's amazing that the film holds up as well as it does given it's troubled production which included director Tom DeSimone (HELL NIGHT) stepping down from the film after creative differences with the producer. He was replaced by Danny Steinmann (THE UNSEEN) only 24 hours prior to the start of filming and set about streamlining the script and dropping a few extraneous subplots only to have production screech to a halt just a few days into shooting when the financing fell through. The film was resurrected once producer John Strong (SUMMER HEAT) came on board but he and Steinmann became adversarial when Strong became intertwined in nearly every aspect of the production. Check out the commentaries for more on this, it's makes for a great listen. The nutty production in part explains the film's bipolar feel which goes from delicious camp to brutal exploitation, but it works it makes for quite an entertaining watch.

DVD: The now out-print BCI/Eclipse 2-disc DVD of SAVAGE STREETS fetches some truly sleazy prices online so I'm quite pleased that Arrow Video have resurrected the film on DVD with a NTSC-PAL port of the BCI edition. UK 80's sleaze enthusiasts should rejoice as this marks the first time the film has been presented uncut in the UK, previous editions were heavily cut by 12 minutes. This is a port of BCI's SD master presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) with English language Dolby Digtal mono, no subtitles are offered. The image is flawed owing in part to the NTSC-PAL conversion, what we get is pretty soft, colors are muted, it's dark and there's stutter and combing issues during scenes of movement, and let's be honest, a film by definition is a series of moving images so this is no small distraction. The original mono audio is decent but not great with audible hiss and pops during the quieter scenes but while there's not much depth to the proceedings the soundtrack and dialogue fare pretty well overall.

If I was in the UK I would be quite happy with this release, even with the hiccups of the NTSC-PAL conversion, but here in the US I found the conversion issues a bit distracting. US Cult title distributor Code Red announced a few months back that they had acquired the North American rights to the title with a new 2011 HD transfer. The Code Red SAVAGE STREETS DVD has no street date at this time but screenshots for the release on the label's blog appear to be an improvement with superior colors, brightness and contrast though I would temper my excitement with caution until I see the release with my own two eyes.

Arrow Video have also ported over the special features from the BCI/Eclipse release which includes three audio commentaries, the first with director Danny Steinmann moderated by DVD producer Michael Felsher and I would say this is essential listening, a candid affair covering many facets of Steinmann's filmography, including the stylish XXX film HIGH RISE. He speaks to how the film came to him, the troubled history of the production, remembrances of the cast and crew, some not so kind remembrances of producer John Strong and the wiseguys that financed the film. Numerous anecdotes of  his time directing FRIDAY THE 13th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, a very underrated and awesomely sleazy entry in the series. Sadly, there's no mention of THE UNSEEN, a pretty obscure little slasher gem featuring a nutty Sydney Lassick performance, that Steinmann disowned following producer or studio interference. There's also speak of the nasty bicycle accident that effectively derailed his career. This is one of the better commentaries I've heard, it's right up there with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell on THE THING, no lie.

The second commentary with cinematographer Stephen Posey (BLOODY BIRTHDAY, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE) and actors Sal Landi and Robert Dryer is moderated by the host of Comedy Central's BEAT THE GEEK TV game show, a humorous listen with some amusing anecdotes. The third commentary with producer John Strong features eight participants. It is moderated by filmmakers Kenneth J. Hall (EVIL SPEAK), David DeCoteu (CREEPOZOIDS) and Eric Spudic (DEAD CLOWNS) who sits in alongside Stephen Posey, Sal Landi, Robert Dryer whom return from the second commentary plus the addition of Johnny Venocur. Whew, I'm tired just typing that let alone listening to it. It's another decent listen but there's way too many voices to be completely listenable. Venocur commandeers most of it, he's a bit annoying honestly and to hear Strong you would think he directed the film not Steinmann and he makes several allusions to the film's social commentary - nope - not buying Mr. Strong, this is just sleazy vigilantism straight-up.

Then we have two Red Shirt Pictures produced featurettes; beginning with Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) featuring star and genre legend Linda Blair looking pretty good these days. She speaks about working with Linnea Quigley, John Vernon, Robert Dryer and the other members of The Satins. She also addresses the meatier roles that the 80's exploitation films offered women actresses, the film's legacy and her involvement. Fun stuff with clips and music from the film. The second featurette Heather Speaks (10:45) features bona fide scream queen Linnea Quigley on the infamous gang-rape scene, that THE RUNAWAYS lead singer Cherie Currie was originally cast in the role of Brenda but was fired during the troubled production and recalling Johnny Venocur wanting to get together to rehearse the scene wherein he confesses to her comatose character. Finishing off the supplements are three video-interviews with producer John Strong (14:03), Johnny Venocur (14:15) and actor Robert Dryer (5:54) plus a theatrical Trailer (3:21).

Now onto Arrow Video's notoriously sweet packaging extras beginning with a nifty reversible sleeve featuring the original US one-sheet plus newly commissioned artwork by Tom Hodge aka The Dude Designs, it's a gorgeous candy colored imagining of a Vestron Video VHS cover, check out Tom's blogpost about creating the cover HERE. We also get a sweet 14x17" fold-out poster of the artwork with an Arrow Video DVD cover gallery on the reverse side plus an 8 page booklet Justice For One: Getting Even in Savage Streets featuring writings from Kier-La Janisse, author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi. Great stuff, a pretty stuffed edition no doubt that will please fans and newcomers alike.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Savage Streets by Kier-la Janisse, author of ‘A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi’ and ‘House of Psychotic Women’

- Audio commentary with stars Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and Director of Photography Stephen Posey moderated by Marc Edward Heuck
- Audio commentary with director Danny Steinmann moderated by Michael Felsher
- Audio commentary with producer John Strong and stars Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur moderated by filmmakers David DeCoteeau, Kenneth J. Hall and Eric Spudic
- Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) 16x9
- Heather Speaks (10:45) 16x9
- Video interviews with Johnny Venocur (14:15), Robert Dryer (5:54), and John Strong (14:03) 4x3
- Original Trailer (3:21) 4x3

VERDICT: I have to wonder how I missed out on this delicious slab of sleazy exploitation for so long, this was just an awesome watch bursting at the seams with 80's cheesiness, 70's sleaziness and enough gratuitous nudity to please any women-in-prison enthusiast. This would make a mighty fine double feature with the Linda Blair/John Vernon WIP film CHAINED HEAT. Despite some annoyance with the NTSC-PAL conversion hiccups this is still a high recommend, particularly for our UK readers.

DVD Review: Mr. Skin presents Women in Prison Triple Feature (1983-1985)

Mr. Skin Presents
WOMEN IN PRISON TRIPLE FEATURE

Panik House Entertainment [PH1012] 
Release Date: July 12th 2011

Celebrity skin legend Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment have teamed-up to bring you what is considered by many to be the Unholy Trinity of Women in Prison Films: CHAINED HEAD (1983), RED HEAT (1985) and JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984)! It's a triple-threat of 80's behind bars exploitation featuring Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST), Sybil Danning (HOWLING II) and John Vernon (CURTAINS) in three films guaranteed to slap, tickle and titillate those brave enough to bare witness to the depraved depictions of life behind bars 80's style. This triple feature is only available for a limited time so snatch it up while you can.   

CHAINED HEAT (1983)

Label: Panik House Entertainment
Region Code: All Regions NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 98 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Paul Nicholas
Cast: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, John Vernon, Henry Silva, Tamara Dobson
Tagline: What these women did to get into prison, is nothing compared to what they'll do to get out!

CHAINED HEAT is considered the ultimate Women in Prison film and I would have to agree, though my experience in the genre is actually quite virginal and relegated to the three films found on this set, so take that as you will. Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST) stars as Carol Henderson, a naive suburban teenager who is sentenced to 18 months in a women's prison for vehicular manslaughter. The "prison virgin" is in for a rather rude awakening to the realities of L.A. prison life. While being matriculated into the prison system Carol befriends a repeat offender meets named Val (Sharon Hughes, THE LAST HORROR FILM) and unfortunately also catches the attentions of the perverted Warden Backman (John Vernon, DIRTY HARRY) who always has an eye for fresh meat. Once settled in on her cell block she has an encounter with Ericka (Sybil Danning, THE HOWLING II), the leader of the white faction who along with Captain Taylor (Stella Stevens, THE MANITOU) are dealing cocaine within the prison walls.

Warden Backman is portrayed with delicious sliminess by the great John Vernon, the guy has a pimp office with a friggin' hot tub which he utilizes when making homemade porn with surveillance cameras. His current inmate playmate is the smokin' hot snitch named Debbie (Monique Gabrielle) whom he not only gives the double-secret penetration to but also enlists to sniff out who's selling the nose candy as it cuts into his own drug peddling activities, of course. Ericka finds out about the snitch and decides that the bitch has to go but this doesn't sit well with Duchess (Tamara Dobson, CLEOPATRA JONES), the empowered leader of the black faction, who fears that the heat will come down on the black inmates given that racial tensions are already at the breaking point. The shit going on on this prison is pretty epic; Captain Stella is smuggling girls outta the prison to pimp them out to L.A.'s sleazy elite, there's a shit ton of double crossing going on and the the coke-addled Warden rapes poor Carol when she comes to him for help, not knowing any better,  which leads to a scheme by which Val plans to seduce the Warden to get the videotape of him raping Carol and expose him to the authorities, but the hot tub seduction is interrupted by Captain Stella and the frightful red-haired guard Paula (Edy Williams, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) who drown the Warden and then kill Val by beating her with a billy club. Captain Stella then turns on Ericka and pins the murders on her - I told you this is Shakespearean, well maybe not all that but it is pretty awesome. Carol discovers Val dying and with her last breath she reveals the identities of her killers which transforms Carol from naive rape-victim to vengeful bad ass.  The waring factions join forces and riot in an effort to get the VHS tape which now has the murder of the Warden, Val and Carol's rape which leads to a satisfying finale stuffed with violence, revenge and mayhem.

I've long heard of this film's legend and I gotta say it lives up to the hype on every level, it's a fantastic cavalcade of lesbians in prison stereotypes, tough chicks, sleazy jailers, rampant drug use, rape, revenge and the all important nude shower scenes. The performances from Blair, Danning, Stevens, Dobson and Vernon range from grimly dramatic to pure delicious campiness and it's makes for the perfect balance of sleaziness and good campy fun, it's a great watch and highly recommended.

DVD: According to DVD this marks the films first-time available uncut and remastered in it's original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and I gotta say it looks pretty great, no doubt helped by Mac Ahlberg's great cinematography. Transferred from a clean source print with very minimal print damage of any kind, it's quite hard to pinpoint any issues with the print and the film's grain structure is nicely intact, bonus, the colors are strong and black levels are good. The English language Dolby Digital mono suffices, it's clean and free of hiss, crackle and pop plus Joseph Conlan's droning score sounds pretty sweet. No subtitles are offered.

Special features include an video introduction from Mr.Skin recapping the film's sleazier skintilating highlights, an anamorphic theatrical trailer and video interviews with both Stella Stevens and Sybil Danning

DISC 1 Special Features:
- Introduction for film by the Legendary Mr. Skin
- Captain Taylor Unchained: Interview with Stella Stevens (11:14) 16:9
- Ericka in Heat: Interview with Sybil Danning (11:23) 16:9
- CHAINED HEAT Theatrical Trailer (2:08) 16:9

RED HEAT (1985)

Label: Panik House Entertainment Region Code: All Regions NTSC


Rating: Unrated
Duration: 94 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Robert Collector
Cast: Linda Blair, Sylvia Kristel, Sue Kiel, William Ostrander
Tagline: Only one film could top the intensity of CHAINED HEAT. This is it!

Linda Blair returns to the women in prison sub genre just two years later with RED HEAT as red-headed American college student Christine Carlson who comes to West Germany to visit her fiance, Mike, a serviceman in the US Army stationed in Germany. After an argument over dinner Christine goes for a walk when she stumbles upon abduction of a suspected spy by the East German Staasi who in turn kidnap her as a CIA accomplice. She's interrogated and deprived of sleep until exhausted she breaks down and confesses to the accusations. She is sentenced to imprisoned in an East German prison where she encounters the East German version of Ericka from CHAINED HEAT, Sofia (Sylvia Kristel, EMMANUELLE), who is the sadistic lesbian-rapist lover of the warden Einbeck (Elizabeth Volkmann, VERONIKA VOSS). Her fiance Mike at first assumes she's left him following the argument but when her passport is discovered in the parking lot outside he realizes something terrible has happened. Not getting satisfaction through regular channels Mike enlists the help of his military buds and stages a daring prison bust to free Christine. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, it's not as great as it could have been, the prison break-out is pretty anti-climactic but like I said, it's a good watch it's just not CHAINED HEAT.

It lacks that proper balance of sleaziness and camp that made the former so much fun, I think we needed John Vernon here to alleviate some of the oppressive atmosphere. This is a very dark film, it's not easy to digest the sleazier WIP elements when they aren't offset by some campier shenanigans, at least in my experience.  


DVD: Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen with English language Dolby Digital Mono, no subtitles offered. Not a bad looking print but it's a dark and grainy affair, the film seems a bit underlit. Not sure if the film was going for a dark look or if the production couldn't afford decent lighting, either way it's a drab film but it suits the film's grim tone. The Dolby Digital mono handles the dialogue, effects and Tangerine Dream's kind of bland score pretty well. Special features include a fullscreen trailer and a Mr. Skin introduction for the film.

JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984)

Label: Panik House Entertainment
Region Code: All Regions NTSC

Rating: Unrated
Duration: 95 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Ernst R. Von Theumer
Cast: Sybil Danning, John Vernon, Paul L. Smith, Nina Van Pallandt, Marjoe Gortner, Kai Wulff 

Interestingly the third feature is not really a women in prison film at all. JUNGLE WARRIORS is in fact a jungle/action film with some minor WIP elements. That's kind of cheating but since it brings both Sybil Danning and John Vernon from CHAINED HEAT back together I'll allow it.

This time out five gorgeous American models along with pretentious art director Larry (Marjoe Gortner, THE FOOD OF THE GODS) and photographer Joanna (Nina Van Pallandt, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER) charter a plane piloted by Ben (Kai Wulff, ASSASSINS) to fly them to some exotic jungle locations in South America for a sexy fashion photo shoot.

Enter the always entertaining John Vernon (ANIMAL HOUSE) whom appears as the American drug lord Mastranga who along with his second in command Spilotro (Alex Cord, THE DEAD ARE ALIVE) have arrived to trade 50 million in gold for cocaine with drug lord Cesar Santiago. Whiler scouting for some scenic locations the plane encroaches on the drug lord's compound and is shot down. After escaping the crash unscathed the group are left to fend off pythons, cayman and the drug lord's mercenaries who are in pursuit. When the soldiers of fortune catch-up to them the usually uppity Larry momentarily turns bad ass and takes out a few mercs until he is impaled by a nasty trap. After being captured the group are taken to Cesar Santiago (Paul L. Smith, PIECES, POPEYE) doing what he does best, being awesomely odd, his delivery is quite weird but always fun. He invites them to dinner were he introduces his half-sister Angel (Sybil Danning, CHAINED HEAT). During the uncomfortable meal things go awry and Ben is decapitated and the girls are imprisoned in a dungeon. Hanging by chains from the ceiling the girls  are interrogated by Angel who gives 'em the once over and a nice titty squeeze for good measure and then throws them to the typically savage mercenaries who squeeze, grope and rape the women though what we see onscreen is pretty tame. Later the models escape from the dungeon with the help of a sympathetic elderly woman, they arm themselves and make a break for it. Hot babes with guns in the jungle, it's not quite WIP but I'm not gonna complain, this is a fun watch. At about the same time Santiago double crosses Mastranga and everything goes south with the three armed-to-the-teeth factions engaging in an intense gun battle as the CIA moves in further complicating matters. The remainder of the film climaxes as an 80's jungle-action flick and in the end it's all a bit slightly goofy but still a pretty damn entertaining action flick. It's not on the same level as CHAINED HEAT but I prefer it's trashiness to RED HEAT's rather grim aesthetic. If you enjoyed Brian Trenchard-Smith's CUT AND RUN I think this will be a fun watch. Plenty of violence and a tiny smattering of the WIP tropes.

DVD: Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with English language Dolby Digital mono with no subtitles. Of the three films on this set it's the softest looking image of the bunch, but despite some lack of fine detail, heavy grain, truly poor black levels and some super-hazy cinematography it does come from a clean source print and is quite watchable. The special features include a 16x9 enhanced trailer and a Mr. Skin introduction for the film.  

DISC 2 Special Features:
- Introduction for each film by the Legendary Mr. Skin
- RED HEAT Theatrical Trailer (2:08) 4:3
- JUNGLE WARRIOR Theatrical Trailer (1:37) 16:9

Verdict: As my introduction to WIP films I think this was a great set that I would recommend to devotees of the subgenre as well as newbies like myself. Good sleazy slammer exploitation nastiness, chock full of nude babes, vile jailers and every other stereotype you could hope for with an exploitation flick. When it comes to WIP films I can tell that for my own enjoyment I need a certain amount cheesiness, camp, kitch or whatever you wanna call it to offset the the heinous rape scenarios.  

CHAINED HEAT 4 outta 5
RED HEAT 2.75 outta 5
JUNGLE WARRIORS 3.5 outta 5

CHAINED HEAT Screen Caps

RED HEAT Screen Caps

 

JUNGLE WARRIORS Screen Caps

Mr. Skin and Panik House release the unholy trinity of WOMEN IN PRISON films

Panik House Entertainment will be releasing a limited edition run of classic mid 80's women in prison exploitation films completely uncut and remastered under the title Mr. Skin Presents Women in Prison. Super-psyched for these as I know next to nothing about the women in prison exploitation films. Two of these WIP films feature the extreme hotness of Linda Blair       (The Exorcist, Savage Streets) and the always awesome John Vernon (Curtains) plays a perverted warden in Chained Heat, what's not to love?

WOMEN IN PRISON TRIPLE PACK DVD

Chained Heat (1983) - Red Heat (1985) - Jungle Warriors (1984)

 Release Date: July 12, 2011

LABEL: Panik House Entertainment

DURATION: 287 minutes

LANGUAGE: English

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 Widescreen 1.78:1

REGION CODE: NTSC ALL
DIRECTOR: Paul Nicholas, Robert Collector, Ernst R. Von TheumerSYNOPSIS: Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment Present the Unholy Trinity of “Women in Prison” Films! CHAINED HEAT, widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time.

CAST: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, Stella Stevens, Sylvia Kristel, John Vernon

CHAINED HEAT (1983), widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time. CHAINED HEAT – Linda Blair (The Exorcist) stars as Carol Henderson, a woman sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after accidentally killing a man. With the perverted warden (John Vernon, Animal House) seducing the inmates and two rival gangs fighting a race war, Carol struggles to survive her remaining days in the sleazy slammer. Also stars cult film favorites Sybil Danning, Tamara Dobson and Stella Stevens. Newly re-mastered in anamorphic widescreen and presented totally uncut for the first time in North America!

RED HEAT (1985) – Linda Blair heads back to prison as American tourist Christine Carlson, a woman wrongly sentenced to three years in a brutal East German penitentiary after being forced to admit to false charges of espionage. Tormented by the evil prisoner Sofia (Sylvia Kristel, Emmanuelle), Christine must fight for her life as her fiancée tries to rescue her from the sadistic hell behind bars. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984) – A group of gorgeous models flies to a South American country to scout locations for a photo session. When their plane is shot down, the models are imprisoned and subjected to horrible torture and rape by an evil drug lord. In an effort to escape, the girls grab some firepower, take revenge, and try to shoot their way to freedom! Stars Sybil Danning and John Vernon. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Features Introductions for each film by the Legendary Mr. Skin!

- Video Interviews with Actresses Stella Stevens (CHAINED HEAT) and Sybil Danning (CHAINED HEAT, JUNGLE WARRIORS)

- Theatrical Trailers