Blu-ray Review: THE EXTERMINATOR (1980)

THE EXTERMINATOR (1980)

Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: 18 Certificate
Duration: 102 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1), 1080p HD
Audio: Uncompressed LPCM Mono Audio with Option Subtitles
Director: James Glickenhaus Cast: Robert Ginty, Christopher George, Steve James, Samantha Eggar, David Lipmann
Tagline: If You're Lying I'll Be Back

THE EXTERMINATOR opens during the Vietnam war with a fiery explosion, it's an enormous APOCALYPSE NOW worthy fireball that sends soldier John Eastland (Robert Ginty, COP TARGET) tumbling through the air. Eastland's on patrol with his squad when they come under fire from heavily-armed VC troops. John and the other soldiers, including Michael Jefferson (Steve James, VIGILANTE), are taken hostage by the Viet Cong who tie the men to wooden stakes. They're interrogated for information about a forthcoming strike and when the answers don't come as easily as one VC commander would like he takes a razor-sharp machete and slices the throat of one of the men as if it were warm butter, it's nearly a complete decapitation, his head flops to one side as if on a hinge, it's almost comical in it's gruesomeness, his mouth agape in silent scream. Major props to the late great special effects man Stan Winston who created an entire animated human body for that one, it's jaw-dropping stuff.

During the commotion Michael is able to slip free of his binds and get the better of a VC soldier, commandeering his firearm and mowing down the enemy captors. It's a great pre-credit 'Nam sequence complete with napalm strafing and machine gun fire, it's chaos and it makes for a briefly epic intro that really amps up the film right from the get-go. A helicopter evacs the soldiers and the film seamlessly transitions to an arial view of the New York skyline sometime later. John and Mike are now employed at a warehouse, it ain't the good life but it's a life, the pay is shit but as they say - it's a job. When John and Michael catch a trio of punks from the Ghetto Ghouls gang attempting to heist some beer from the warehouse they intercede and kick some major ass, the punks just don't stand a chance against the seasoned 'Nam vets. However, the punks have their revenge later that day when they ambush Michael on his way to have a brewski with Eastland. They brutalize him with chains and a meat-hook which they sink into his spine leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

While Michael convalesces at the hospital Eastland cannot simply abide this injury to his best friend, the man who saved his life in 'Nam, and swears vengeance against the thugs who crippled Michael. Kidnapping one of the gang he interrogates hims with a flamethrower, after squeezing the info from the punk he tracks the remaining trio to abandoned building where they're partying with whores to the beat of The Trammps "Disco Inferno". Eastland blasts one of 'em dead and quickly incapacitates the remaining two, leaving them tied to a garbage strewn floor where the infamously large NYC rats make quick work of 'em, killing one outright and horribly disfiguring the other.

His streak of vigilante justice doesn't end with the Ghetto Ghouls and he next sets his sights on Gino Pontivini, a mafioso who collects protection money from the warehouse Eastland works for. In an elaborate scheme Eastland awaits the mobster in the bathroom trashcan of a restaurant, drugs Pontivini and takes him to a warehouse where he suspends him from the ceiling with chains directly over an industrial sized meat grinder. Pontivini desperate for his life after a quick demonstration of the machine, tells Eastland the location of the safe at his home and gives him the keys to the security alarm. Eastland tells the mobster "If you're lying I'll be back" and leaves him suspended in the warehouse. He enters the kingpin's property and is promptly attacked by a vicious Doberman barely escaping with his life by carving the canine with an electric knife. After securing the cash, which he intends to give to Michael's family, he returns to the warehouse and he wordlessly lowers the shrieking mafioso into the grinder feet first, apparently pissed that Pontivini neglected to mention the ravenous canine surprise that awaited him.

The crimes eventually catch the attention of the NYPD and detective James Dalton (Christopher George, PIECES, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) whom takes a particular interest in the string of vigilante crimes. He starts to piece together that the acts are the work of a singular man, but he's not the only one to put two and two together. A CIA spook named Shaw (Patrick Farrelly, TH NESTING) is brought in to dispose of the could-be political threat discreetly when local politician's fear Eastland's one-man crusade to burn the scum off the streets of NYC will have an adverse affect on incumbent politicians re-election campaigns. In the 80's it was either crooked politicians or toxic waste and usually both, gotta love it.

THE EXTERMINATOR is a film I recall seeing on the VHS shelf many times at my favorite mom and pop video store as a youth but somehow it's eluded my grasp until now. I guess in hindsight I was more into zombie and slasher films at that age, not so much the revenge exploitation or action stuff but if I knew then what I'd be depriving my future self of all these years later I goddamn well would have picked it up. It's not so much that this is an original film, but it is a well-crafted actioner with some real horror elements, it's a very complete exploitation package.

The film is really one of the grittiest exploitation actioners I've ever seen, it's downright disturbing, particularly when Eastland lays the pain down on a child prostitution ring featuring a pervy senator played by David Lipman (TV's LAW AND ORDER) who get his kicks by dipping a hot soldiering iron into a vat of vaseline and burning the flesh of prostitutes and young boys, it's pretty disgusting stuff and we don't even see him actually doing it, just the setting up of the pre-burn scenario made my skin crawl. It's pure revenge nirvana as Eastland takes down the ring with extreme prejudice.

Robert Ginty didn't seem an immediately obvious choice for someone on a one-man revenge streak, it seemed more likely that the badass character of Michael played by Steve James would be but it's a nice twist and Ginty turns out to be one of the silver screens most memorable one-man revengers. Also making a great appearance is the always enjoyable Christopher George as Detective Dalton. The man sweetens every film he's ever been in, and his performance here is no different. He's got a few fun foibles like a jury-rigged lamp wired to two forks that he cooks up hotdogs with, fun stuff. Dalton is given a love interest in the film by way of Dr. Megan Stewart (Samantha Eggar, THE BROOD) and while the two enjoy a Stan Getz concert in the park it is revealed that he too served in 'Nam and his character seems to serve as view of a 'Nam vet whose life has gone a bit differently in contrast to his driven-to-vengeance counterpart.

Eventually we know that the paths of Dalton, Shaw and The Exterminator must converge and you just know it's packed with squib rupturing exploitation action with 'Nam sized explosions - it does not disappoint. The film is not perfect by any means, structurally there's some rough narrative shortcuts, funky editing and the occasional bad bit of dialogue but for the most part, and where it counts, this is a visceral stunner of a revenge film.

Director James Glickenhaus has created not just a gory and violent revenge film but an authentic slice of New York City cinema that evokes a darker, meaner city that's long gone, the golden age of the 42nd street grindhouse, pimps, prostitutes and rampant drug use. See it here and in films like Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER because it just ain't there anymore, for better or worse. It's a great looking film and Arrow Video's  HD transfer does it proper justice.

Just a few years later producer Mark Buntzman would write and direct a sequel to the film starring Robert Ginty but without the assistance of director Glickenhaus who would only direct six more films before settling into the role of producer on such films as William Lustig's MANIAC COP (review HERE)  and Frank Henenlotter's FRANKENHOOKER (review HERE) and BASKET CASE 2, 3 before leaving the film industry all together. I would highly recommend you also take in a viewing of Glickenhaus's 'Nam vet actioner MCBAINE (review HERE) starring the one and only Christopher Walken, it's a thing of absurd beauty. This viewing has really whet my appetite to also check Glickenhaus's THE SOLDIER with Ken Wahl. If you dear reader have seen any of his others films and have any strong suggestions please send 'em my way.

Blu-ray: Arrow Video's Blu-ray of THE EXTERMINATOR presents the film in glorious 1080p in it's original aspect ratio of 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1). I'm quite happy to tell you that for a 31 year old film the transfer is clean and mostly free of print damage, colors are vibrant, flesh tones appear accurate and the black levels are typically very good. It doesn't look like much if any DNR has been applied either and the grain is quite noticeable during the darker scenes, particularly the pre-credit and opening credits sequence but it's not problematic. I always say give me some grain; I prefer it to the plasticine effects of a shitty DNR scrubbing.


The lone audio option is an English language Uncompressed LPCM mono track with optional English subtitles. While not overly dynamic the mono fares quite well with no distortion and is free of hiss, snap, crackle and pop, dialogue, score and effcets sound quite good.

Special features begin with a short video introduction from director James Glickenhaus. After that we get more fom Glickenhaus with the Fire and Slice: Making The Exterminator featurette, an 18 min interview with the director with clips from the film. The director discusses his inspiration for the film,the treatment of 'Nam vets returning from the war, casting the film, Christopher George and even compares his films to the songs of Bob Dylan - huh?

Next up is 42nd Street Then and Now: A tour of New York's former sleaze circuit from director Frank Henenlotter. Henenlotter, the director of BASKET CASE, FRANKENHOOKER and BAD BIOLOGY, the man is such a character as he guides us through the former sleaze circuit known as 42nd Street. He guides us through the history of the location's infamous from their golden age of grand theatre productions to burlesque houses, grindhouse cinema and hardcore pornography outlets right on through to the Disney-fication of the area in the 90's. It's fun stuff, the man's enthusiasm for sleaze is awe inspiring and were even treated to an impromptu blockhead routine, awesome stuff.

The last feature is an audio commentary with producer Mark Buntzman moderated by Calum Waddell who really keeps the conversation going, great stuff. The Synapse disc of the film features an commentary with Glcikenhaus so it was nice to hear another fine track for the film. Buntzman is also the writer/director of THE EXTERMINATOR II and his insights into both productions are pretty great and as usual High Rising Productions extras only serve to enhance the enjoyment of the film.

My early screener of the Blu-ray did not include the ephemeral wonderment that Arrow Video are known for, including the reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Tom 'The Dude Designs' Hodges, a double-sided fold-out artwork poster or collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by critic David Hayles. That said, I love the Tom Hodges artwork for the release, it's mighty magnificent and vibrantly appropriate.

Special Features:
- Introduction to the film by director James Glickenhaus (0:18) 16:9 HD
- Fire and Slice: Making The Exterminator - An interview with James Glickenhaus (18:36) 16:9 HD
- 42nd Street Then and Now: A tour of New York's former sleaze circuit from director Frank Henenlotter (15:07) 16:9 HD
- Audio commentary with Mark Buntzman, producer of The Exterminator and writer/director of The Exterminator II, moderated by Calum Waddell.

Verdict: THE EXTERMINATOR is simply one of the most enjoyable early-80's revenger I've seen in some time - it's pretty fantastic stuff. A seriously gritty exploitation-revenge actioner that deserves a place in the collection of any cult, exploitation or horror enthusiast worth their salt. This is a recommend of the must-have variety, you need to own this! Need further proof? The typically hysterical 80's era Roger Ebert once called the film as a "sick example of the almost, unbelievable descent into gruesome savagery in American movies"... shit, I couldn't have said it better myself. 4 outta 5

Blu-ray Review: THE EXTERMINATOR (1980)

THE EXTERMINATIOR (1980)

Blu-ray/DVD Combo

Label: Synapse Films
Release Date: September 13th 2011
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 102 mins
Video: 1080p 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: DTS-HD MA English 2.0, DTS-HS MA English Mono
Director: James Glickenhaus
Cast: Christopher George, Robert Ginty, Corky O'Hara, Samantha Edgar
Tagline: If You're Lying I'll be Back

THE EXTERMINATOR opens in Vietnam with quite literally a bang - an explosion in fact, an enormous APOCALYPSE NOW worthy explosion that sends a soldier through the air. That airborne man is John Eastland (Robert Ginty, COP TARGET) who's on patrol with his squad when they come under fire from heavily-armed VC troops. John and the other soldiers, including Michael Jefferson (Steve James, VIGILANTE), are taken hostage by the Viet Cong who tie the men to wooden stakes. They're interrogated for information about a forthcoming strike and when the answers don't come as easily as he would like the VC commander takes a razor-sharp machete and slices the throat of one of the men as if it were warm butter, it's nearly a complete decapitation as if his head was on a hinge, it's almost comical in it's gruesomeness, his mouth agape in silent scream. Major props to the late great special effects man Stan Winston who created an entire animated human body for that one, it's jaw-dropping stuff. 

During the commotion Michael is able to  slip free of his binds and get the better of a VC soldier, commandeering his firearm and mowing down the enemy captors. It's a great pre-credit 'Nam sequence complete with napalm strafing and machine gun fire, it's complete chaos and it makes for a briefly epic intro. A helicopter evacs the soldiers and the film seamlessly transitions to an arial view of the New York skyline. It's sometime later and both John and Mike are employed at a  warehouse, it ain't the good life but it's a life, the pay is shit but as they say - it's a job. When John and Michael catch a trio of punks from the Ghetto Ghouls gang attempting to heist some beer from the warehouse they intercede and kick some major ass, the punks just don't stand a chance against the seasoned 'Nam Vets. The punks have their revenge however when they later ambush Michael on his way to have a brewski with Eastland. They assault him with chains and a meat-hook which they sink into his spine leaving him paralyzed from the neck down unable to speak.

While Michael convalesces at the hospital Eastland  can't simply abide this injury and swears vengeance against the thugs who crippled the man who saved his ass back in the 'Nam. Kidnapping one of the gang he interrogates hims with a flamethrower, after squeezing the info from the punk he tracks the remaining trio to abandoned building where they're partying with whores to the beat of The Trammps "Disco Inferno". Eastland blasts one of 'em dead and quickly incapacitates the remaining two, leaving them tied to a garbage strewn floor where the infamously large NYC rats make quick work of 'em, killing one outright and horribly disfiguring the other.

His streak of vigilante justice doesn't end with the Ghetto Ghouls and he next sets his sights on Gino Pontivini, a mafioso who collects protection money fom the warehouse Eastland works for. In an elaborate scheme Eastland awaits the mobster in the bathroom trashcan of a restaurant, drugs Pontivini and takes him to a warehouse where he suspends him from the ceiling with chains directly over an industrial sized meat grinder. Pontivini desperate for his life after a quick demonstration of the machine, tells Eastland the location of the safe at his home and gives him the keys to the security alarm. Eastland tells the mobster "If you're lying I'll be back" leaving him suspended in the warehouse.  He enters the kingpin's property and is promptly attacked by a vicious Doberman barely escapes with his life by carving the canine with an electric knife. After securing the cash, which he intends to give to Michael's family, he returns to the warehouse and he wordlessly lowers the shrieking mafioso into the grinder feet first, apparently pissed that Pontivini neglected to mention the ravenous canine surprise that awaited him.

The crimes eventually catch the attention of the NYPD and detective James Dalton (Christopher George, PIECES, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) takes a particular interest in the string of crimes.  He starts to piece together that the acts are the work of a singular vigilante, but he's not the only one to put two and two together. A CIA spook named Shaw (Patrick Farrelly, TH NESTING)  is brought in to dispose of the could-be political threat discreetly when local politician's fear Eastland's one-man crusade to burn the scum off the streets of NYC will have an adverse affect on incumbent politicians re-election campaigns. In the 80's it was either crooked politicians or toxic waste and usually both, gotta love it.

THE EXTERMINATOR is a film I recall seeing on the VHS shelf many times at my favorite mom and pop video store as a youth but somehow it's eluded my grasp until now. I guess in hindsight I was  more into zombie and slasher films at that age, not so much the revenge exploitation or action stuff but if I knew then what I'd be depriving my future self of all these years later I goddamn well would have picked it up. It's not so much that this is an original film, but it is a well-crafted actioner with some real horror elements, it's a very complete exploitation package.

The film is really one of the grittiest exploitation actioners I've ever seen, it's downright disturbing, particularly when Eastland lays the pain down on a child prostitution ring featuring a pervy senator played by David Lipman (TV's LAW AND ORDER) who get his kicks by dipping a hot soldiering iron into a vat of vaseline and burning the flesh of prostitutes and young boys, it's pretty disgusting stuff and we don't even see him actually doing it, just the setting up of the pre-burn scenario made my skin crawl. It's pure revenge nirvana as Eastland takes down the ring with extreme prejudice. 

Robert Ginty didn't seem an immediately obvious choice for the man on a one-man revenge streak, it seemed more likely that the badass character Michael played by Steve James would be but it's a nice twist and Ginty turns out to be one of the silver screens most memorable one-man revengers. Also making a great appearance is the always enjoyable Christopher George as Detective Dalton. The man sweetens every film he's ever been in, and his performance here is no different. He's got a few fun foibles like a jury-rigged lamp wired to two forks that he cooks up hotdogs with, fun stuff. Dalton is given a love interest in the film by way of Dr. Megan Stewart (Samantha Eggar, THE BROOD) and while the two enjoy a Stan Getz concert in the park it is revealed that he too served in 'Nam and his character seems to serve as view of a 'Nam vet whose life has gone a bit differently in contrast to his driven-to-vengeance counterpart.


Eventually we know that the paths of Dalton, Shaw and The Exterminator must converge and you just know it's packed with squib rupturing exploitation actionwith giant 'Nam sized explosions - it does not disappoint. The film is not perfect by any means, structurally there's some rough narrative shortcuts, funky editing and the occasional bad bit of dialogue but for the most part, and where it counts, this is a visceral stunner of a revenge film.

Director James Glickenhaus has created not just a gory and violent revenge film but also a gritty New York City film that evokes a darker, meaner city that's long gone, the golden age of the 42nd street grindhouse, pimps, prostitutes and rampant drug use. See it here and in films like Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER because it just ain't there anymore, for better or worse. It's a great looking film and Synapse's HD transfer does it proper justice.

A few years later producer Mark Buntzman would direct a sequel also starring Ginty without the assistance of Glickenhaus who would only direct six more films before settling into the role of producer for a William Lustig's MANIAC COP and Frank Henenlotter's FRANKENHOOKER and BASKET CASE 2, 3 before leaving the industry altogether. This film has definitely whet my appetite to seek out Glickenhaus's other film like MCBAINE with Christopher Walken and THE SOLDIER with Ken Wahl. If you've seen his others films and have any strong suggestions please send 'em my way.

Blu-ray: Synapse Films are on a winning streak of stunning Blu-ray releases and the hot streak continues with their presentation of THE EXTERMINATOR which has been restored in HD from original vault elements and the transfer looks pretty sharp. The film is presented in 1080p 1.78:1 16x9 widescreen. Upon submitting the film for classification to the MPAA for theatrical release they demanded that 47 seconds of gore and violence needed to be excised to achieve an R-rating, now we have it here fully incorporated into the running time with all the gore and more violence - YES! I'm pleased to say that for a 31 year old film the transfer is clean and mostly free of print damage, colors are vibrant, flesh tones appear accurate and the black levels are typically very good. It doesn't look like much if any DNR has been applied either and the grain is quite noticeable during the darker scenes, particularly the pre-credit and opening credits sequence but it's not problematic. I say give me some grain any and every time; I prefer it to the plasticine effects of a DNR scrubbing.

Audio options include English language DTS-HD MA mono and DTS-HS MA stereo. The mono fares quite well with no distortions and is free of hiss, snap, crackle and pop. It's not overly dynamic and neither is the newly restored, previously thought lost forever, original stereo soundtrack but it ain't bad either. No subtitle options are included.

Special features are slim by Synapse Blu-ray standards but potent including a 16x9 enhanced "redband" Theatrical Trailer (1:24) and six 4x3 TV Spots (3:12) all of which are presented in 1080p HD. There only other feature is a commentary with director James Glickenhaus moderated by Chris Poggali from the Temple of Schlock blog, it's a fine listen with Glickenhaus recalling the production and filming of the independent feature, discussing the selection of actors, shooting locations and a bunch of anecdotal remembrances. He speaks about the helicopter scenes from the film 'Nam pre-credit sequence and how the pilot was the unfortunate soul who also piloted the helicopter that sadly took the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two small children during the filming of John Landis's TWILIGHT ZONE THE MOVIE segment, he revisits the story several times during the commentary. He also points out that the actor Dick Boccelli (ALICE SWEET ALICE) who portrayed mafioso Gino Pontivini was in fact an original member of the rock n' roll group Bill Haley and the Comets. A standard definition DVD of the film is also included as a nifty feature. Slim though the bonus content may be the commentary is a very good supplemental.

Special Features
- The Original Director's Cut Featuring More Gore and Violence
- Newly restored original Stereo Soundtrack Mix
- Audio Commentary with Director James Glickenhaus
- Theatrical Trailer (1:24) 16x9 HD
- Television Spots (3:12) 16x9 HD
- DVD Version of the Film with Features

Verdict: A seriously gritty exploitation-revenge actioner that needs to be seen by any cult, exploitation or horror enthusiast. Synapse Films do it again with a powerhouse revenge film with a knockout transfer. A recommend of the must-have variety, you need to own this! Need further proof? Here's a quote from the typically hysterical Roger Ebert found on the DVD decrying the film as a "sick example of the almost, unbelievable descent into gruesome savagery in American movies"... Shit, I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

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: I Saw the Devil (2010)

I SAW THE DEVIL (2010)

Label: Magnet Releasing
Region: Region 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 142 mins
Video: 1.85:1 Widescreen 16x9
Audio: English and Korean 5.1 Dolby Digital with optional English subtitles
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Choi Min-Sik,
Tagline: Evil Lives Inside

Film: Kim Jee-woon's I Saw the Devil begins with a  pretty young woman named Joo-yeon (San-ha Oh) pulling off a countryside road with a flat tire. She calls for a tow truck and passes the time  speaking with her fiance Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun, The Good, The Bad, The Weird) who is an Elite Special Agent which I assume is equivalent to the FBI. A man named Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy) arrives on scene in a van and asks if she would like assistance with the tire which she politely declines. Once she ends her conversation with her fiance she notices the man's vehicle still has still not left the area. Turning on her car's headlights she is startled to discover the man is standing outside her car with a pipe in hand. He smashes his way into the vehicle, beats her unconscious and drags her bleeding body through the snow to his van. She awakens in his lair wrapped in plastic, weak and terrified. She pleads for her life and that of her unborn child. It is in van though as he cuts her into pieces and days later her remains are discovered by a group of children at play in a field.

Not content to let the authorities handle the investigation Kim Soo-hyeon seeks his own vengeance with the aide of her father, a retired police chief. With the identities of four suspects in hand Kim Soo-hyeon begins a revenge spree that threatens to not only destroy the psychopath but consume himself as well. His bloody quest puts him on the trail of Kyung-chul whom as portrayed by Oldboy's Choi Min-sik is as vile a killer as the silver screen has ever seen. During their first encounter Kim Soo-hyeon gets the better of Kyung-chul but instead of killing him opts to play a twisted game of cat and mouse which not only puts others in harm's way but threatens to turn Kim Soo-hyeon into a monster as well. It's a startling look at the lengths a good man will goes to revenge the death of a loved one. It's not a new concept but it's one of the best and most violent revenge-thrillers since Park Chan-Wook's Oldboy. The acting is solid throughout from everyone but it's the lead performances from Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik that are gonna be burned into your mind for quite a while.

This South Korean revenge-thriller from director Kim Jee-woon  is truly one of the most unrelenting films I've ever seen. Even at well over two hours in length there's enough tension and gut-wrenching intensity to keep you slack jawed and in awe right up until the film's unhinged finale. Seriously, every 10 minutes of this film plunges you deeper into a nightmare of revenge and operatic violence that never lets up and only get more fucked-up by the minute.


DVD: The film comes to DVD in it's 16x9 enhanced 1.85:1 original aspect ratio and looks stunning with strong colors and deep blacks. This director's films are always sumptuous visual delights with fantastic cinematography and this is no different, very stylish and gorgeously shot. For the purpose of this review I only listened to the Korean 5.1 (with optional English subtitles) and it was robust a  listen that gave the surrounds quite a workout. I should give a shout out to the film score's composer Mowg who provided an outstanding score that sounded super-sweet in 5.1. Supplemental materials include 24 minutes of deleted scenes which aren't throwaway either, there's some meaty stuff here including a prologue and an epilogue not in the film, a super-sleazy sex scene totally cut from the film all together and a lot of stuff that was just re-edited and cut to tighten the film up but all of it is worth a look. The other feature is 'Raw and Rough: Behind the Scenes of I Saw the Devil' in which we get a breakdown of the film's many action and stunt sequences.

Special Features:

- Deleted Scenes (24:11) Letterboxed
- Raw and Rough: Behind the Scenes of I Saw the Devil (24:05) 1.33:1

Verdict: Kim Jee-woon is hands down one of the most exciting filmmakers in the cinema right now. This is a thriller that if you can stomach it's ugliness is a stunner on the level of The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. I cannot recall a film that put me through the wringer the way I Saw the Devil did, a tour de force of violent cinema. Definitely the best of 2011 so far. 4.75 outta 5

Cult classic SAVAGE STREETS gets competing releases from ARROW VIDEO and CODE RED

It was back in April that we posted the news that the Linda Blair revenge cult classic 'Savage Streets' (1984) was coming back to DVD via the UK's Arrow Video. It's no secret we're Arrow Video enthusiasts but we're also quite enamored with the releases of Code Red who've just announced a US release of the film. That's pretty fantastic news for fans of the long out-of-print cult classic. The way I see it the more options for the consumer the better.


Code Red announced via it's blog last week that it had acquired the North American rights to the cult classic 'Savage Streets' (1984). Code Red's release will feature a brand new HD transfer of the film that will be progressively scanned unlike the previous BCI release. The special features will be ported over from the previous BCI release and will include some yet unannounced extras. It will be the first release to feature the complete uncensored commentary track which was edited on the previous edition. Thus far no release date has emerged for the DVD.


Here's a quick comparison of the two titles special features. Typical with Code Red titles there's some controversy around the internets in regard to the transfers. Code red states there's is a new HD transfer while Arrow Video's press materials only claim a new transfer and some have speculated it's from a standard-definition master. Don't look at me, I don't have the answers but I've included some screenshots courtesy of the Code Red blog for your enjoyment. No screenshots from the Arrow Video edition were available at this time. The Arrow DVD os Region 0 PAL while I suspect that the Code Red DVD is Region 1 NTSC.

[This is the BCI artwork. No Code Red artwork available yet.] 

SAVAGE STREETS
Code Red Edition

Release Date: TBA

SPECIAL FEATURES

- New interviews with stars Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Johnny Venocur, Robert Dryer and producer John Strong

-  Commentary One with actors Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and director of photography Stephen Posey

- Commentary Two with director Danny Steinmann

- Commentary Three with producer John Strong, actors Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur

- Trailers

- More TBA

SAVAGE STREETS

Arrow Video Edition

Release Date: June 20th 2011

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’
- Brand new transfer of the film presented in original 1.85:1 anamorphic aspect ratio
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with stars Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and Director of Photography Stephen Posey
- Audio commentary with director Danny Steinmann
- Audio commentary with producer John Strong and stars Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur
- Video interviews with Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Robert Dryer and John Strong
- Original Trailer