Dark Star - Thermostellar Edition (1974) VCI Entertainment Blu-ray Review

DARK STAR (1974)

 Thermostellar Edition Blu-ray  

Label: VCI Entertainment
Region: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated  
Duration: 83 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Audio: English Uncompressed LPCM 2.0, Enhanced LPCM 5.1
Cast: Brian Narelle, Dre Pahich, Dan O'Bannon, Cal Kuniholm  
Director: John Carpenter

Synopsis: In the mid twenty-first century, mankind has reached a point in its technological advances to enable colonization of the far reaches of the universe. DARK STAR is a futuristic scout ship traveling far in advance of colony ships. Armed with Exponential Thermosteller Bombs, it prowls the darkest reaches of space on a mission to seek out and destroy unstable planets ahead of the colonist. But there is one obstacle that its crew members did not count on -- one of the ship's thinking and talking bombs is lodged in the bay, threatening to destroy the entire ship and crew! 

The Film: DARK STAR was originally intended to be a sixty-eight minute student film from two uber-talented University of Southern California film school students. Maybe you've heard of them? We have John Carpenter who went on to direct HALLOWEEN (1978), THE THING (1982) and THE FOG (1980) just to name a few and the other half of this dynamic duo is Dan O'Bannon whom would go on to pen screenplays for ALIEN (1970), DEAD AND BURIED (1981), and LIFEFORCE (1985) plus directing the iconic punk rock zombie horror-comedy RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985). Shooting the film on the cheap it came to the attention of b-movie producer Jack H. Harris, whom produced EQUINOX (1960) and THE BLOB (1958), who then convinced the aspiring filmmakers to shoot an additional fifteen minutes of extra footage and released the expanded version theatrically in 1975. Now thirty-seven years later the film is a certified cult classic and Carpenter and O'Bannon are legends of genre cinema, clearly something special was brewing during the filming of this no-budget sci-fi satire with nods to Stanley Kubrick's DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) and the visionary space epic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). Shot on a shoe-string budget with massive amounts of heart, passion, and creativity the film is a testament to the young filmmakers who made it, a spaced-out comedy about boredom and madness in space.

For some this lo-fi sci-fi satire might be a bit of slog for those unable to look beyond the confines of it's limited production, a space suit that prominently features a muffin pan definitely draws attention to itself, no doubt, as does the pet alien that is quite just an over-sized beach ball with the Creature from the Black Lagoon's feet attached to the bottom, but in the spirit of the film's satirical tone it somehow works, the effects are dated but tolerable. 

We have four stoned space truckers suffering through the monotony and madness of space hurdling through cosmos detonating "unstable" planets armed with a cargo bay with a self-aware, smart-bombs, one of which develops a few philosophical quirks after a meteor shower strikes the ship.

It's a fun cast of characters and the highlight for me was Dan O'Bannon's  acerbic  Pinback who keeps a video diary becoming more and more unhinged with each entry, he's joined by Talby (Dre Pahich) who spends his time zoned out on the ship's observation deck, Boiler (Cal Kuniholm) who enjoys blasting scrap metal with a laser blaster when bored and a homesick surfer dude named Doolittle (Brian Narelle) all of whom are joined, sort of, by Captain Powell (Joe Saunders) who was electrocuted during a fatal seat malfunction but somehow kept "alive" frozen in a block of ice in a state of suspended animation

Blu-ray: VCI's Thermostellar Edition of John Carpenter's DARK STAR (1974) claims to be a new HD master sourced 

from a 35mm theatrical print that's benefited from a frame by frame digital restoration. Presented in it's original widescreen aspect ratio (1.78:1) the anamorphic image is certainly not 1080p perfection but it's quite clearly the best it's ever looked. Colors are a nice but muted, fine detail is wanting and the image is a bit soft, not offer much in the way of clarity or crispness, for a film shot primarily on 16mm it's not as grainy as one might expect. I suspect some digital noise reduction has been applied and with it some of the detail has been -scraped from the image. DARK STAR was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm for theatrical presentation, not sure if the original 16mm elements have survived but perhaps a better image could have been sourced if so, not that I would know but it seems doubtful that anything other than theatrical prints would exist and what we have here is probably the best we will ever see. 

Audio options include uncompressed LPCM Mono 2.0 and a newly created "enhanced" LPCM 5.1. Either option is fraught with some distortion in the form of minor crackle, pop and hiss, the 5.1 mix opens it up a bit but I preferred the original mono mix myself. There are optional English and Spanish subtitles

Lovers of the film will enjoy the supplemental materials which are ported over from the 2010 Hyper-Drive Edition from VCI, at the top of the set we have a pre-feature Written Intro by writer/actor Dan O’Bannon which warns viewers of the poor video quality, I am assuming this was written for the initial VHS release for the feature. 

Next is the feature-length documentary Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of “Dark Star” (116mins) produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures whom also brought us the fantastic The Bloodiest Show on Earth: The Making of Vampire Circus documentary for Synapse Films' Blu ray edition of  VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972). The documentary features recent interviews with art director Tommy Lee Wallace, actor Brian Narelle, voice actor Cookie Knapp, Bill Taylor, Dianne O’Bannon, cinematographer Doug Knapp, producer Jack H. Harris, and archival interviews with Dan O’Bannon and John Carpenter plus more, the Carpenter interview is audio only, a more recent video interview would have been fantastic. It's a mighty exhaustive effort and it's hard to imagine that any stone related to the film has been left unturned, in fact, I might watch this several more times before I even think about watching the feature again, honestly. 

Interview With Sci-Fi Author Alan Dean Foster (35mins) features the King of Adaptations, whom also wrote the Dark Star novelization, discussing the difficulties adapting a film, getting into the head of the characters to expand the story to get the novel to the proper length given the shortness of the source material. 

Interview With Brian Narelle (40mins) who portrayed Lt. Doolittle discusses the cast of the film, the ease of  working with Carpenter and in contrast the fiery nature of Dan O'Bannon, his own career and recognition by fans of the film, it's cult status and a few fun anecdotes.
 
Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Super Fan Andrew Gilchrist is a bit dry, he's a Brit and his voice tended to have me drifting off into space appropriately enough as he rattled off bits of trivia and his personal connection to the film. How I wished for a John Carpenter of Dan O'Bannon commentary but it's not to be.

The last features and least notable are a 3D Guide to the Dark Star Ship, a CGI model of the ship which allows you to explore a few levels of the ship and a simple screen text trivia track.

Special Features: 
- Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of “Dark Star” (1:56)
- Interview With Sci-Fi Author Alan Dean Foster (34:44)
- Interview With Brian Narelle (40:08)
- 3D Guide to the Dark Star Ship
- Full-Length Audio Commentary by Super Fan Andrew Gilchrist: 
- Written Into by Dan O’Bannon
- Trivia:

Verdict: DARK STAR (1974) is not a masterpiece of science fiction nor a genius comedy but it's an interesting film, an absurd and quirky science fiction satire that while dated is quite a fun watch. Fans of John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon's  should take notice, it's a shame that their partnership fizzled after it's release, they were an inspired pairing and I cannot help but wonder what the collaboration might have wrought. 3.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: SNUFF BOX - THE COMPLETE SERIES (2006)

SNUFF BOX - THE COMPLETE SERIES (2006)
DVD/CD

LABEL: Severin Films
RELEASE DATE: October 11th 2011
REGION CODE: 1 NTSC
DURATION: 168 mins
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
DIRECTOR: Michael Cumming
CAST: Matt Berry, Rich Fulcher

SNUFF BOX was a short-lived British cult comedy series starring Matt Berry (THE IT CROWD) and Rich Fulcher (THE MIGHTY BOOSH) which premiered in the UK on BBC3 in 2006 and though it ran only briefly has garnered a loyal cult fan base via YouTube clips and word of mouth.

The series follow the exploits of the High Executioner to the King of England Matt Berry and his American assistant Rich Fulcher as they spend their down time at the exclusive Hangmen’s Club. The two occasionally venture out into the world make strange attempts to charm the opposite sex, stab each other in the back and randomly burst into song, which is usually a variation on the shows main theme composed and sung by Matt Berry.

A bit if a odd sitcom that devolves into warped sketches which are strange, bizarre and plenty offensive with a heavy sprinkling of words like "fuck" and "cunt" thrown in to pepper the warped sketches. The paunchy leads are acerbic, dark and often mean-spirited to each other with Berry stealing most of Fulcher's romantic pursuits .

The sketches run together like a foul-mouthed Lynchian nightmares punctuated by re-occurring bits like Matt Berry's "Boyfriend" sketch in which he meets attractive ladies, befriends them performing some chivalrous act and then at the mention of a boyfriend literally drops (or kicks) what he's doing, mutters "fuck off" and walks away. Their are also musical sketches like Rich Fulcher's YouTube sensation "Rapper with a Baby", Matt Berry's "Suicide IV" which riffs on the Edgar Winter group (of "Frankenstein" fame) and the offensively awesome "The Fuck Song".

The show doesn't readily feel derivative of anything but sitting here watching the show and reveling in my discovery of it I am reminded of a time a friend handed me two VHS cassettes marked MR. SHOW sometime in the late 90's which I took home and for two days straight laughed myself stupid with the genius of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, it's a lot like that.
DVD: Severin's DVD contains all six half-hour episodes presented in 16:9 widescreen (1.85:1) and it looks good if not overly sharp. I would imagine that the series is an PAL-NTSC conversion and that may account for some of the image softness and lack of detail. The Dolby Digital stereo audio does it's job well and dialogue, effects and Matt Berry's score come through winningly.

The sets bonus content is nearly as lengthy as the entire six episode run  beginning with Taking Control of Your Body (31:47) featuring appreciations of the series and it's creator's from Paul Rudd (KNOCKED UP), Rob Schrab (THE SARAH SILVERMAN SHOW), Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD) and "Weird Al" Yankovic (UHF) among others, the series definitely has a strong following.

Locations Walking Tour With Berry and Fulcher (12:36) features the shows stars returning to the East London streets where five years previously many of the series sketches were filmed. The street tour is fun with Berry seemingly not able to recollect much through the fog of intoxication aside from the location at 29 Hamburg St, where Annie Chapman, Jack the Ripper's 2nd victim, was killed over a century ago. Along the way they visit an art gallery where they shot one of the sketches, Fulcher pulls alongside a gallery visitor and asks of she's aware of the show, embarrassingly she is not.

Inside the Snuff Box (17:58) is nearly eighteen minutes of behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the series with lots of Python kissing, rehearsing the "Rapper with a Baby" musical sketch among others.

The Score With Matt Berry (4:50) features the musician slash writer/actor speaking about the composition of the series main theme and breaking it down into it's two main chords then performing it. I find this song so addictive that I've slipped it into several of my iPod playlists of late.

Testimonials (14:58) is a collection of riffs in the series from Andrew Daly (YOGI BEAR) who sumbits the idea that Rich Fulcher's mere presence may be a turn off to American viewers and should therefor be edited out of the show altogether and replaced via green screen with Daly, of course. Steve Agee (SUPER) offers up series specific trivia including the nugget that the show is based on the German sketch comedy program "Ich Bein Asshole" and Jeaninie Garafolo goes into a spiel on why her star has fallen since the 1990's and her soft midsection before praising the show's genius. It's a fun, sarcastic bit of promotion.

Rounding out the well-stuffed disc are Outtakes (7:54) and three audio commentaries from Berry and Fulcher for episodes one, two and six which offer some insight into the show's particular brand of humor as well as just being funny in and of itself. Aside from the fun testimonials the sets' best feature is a separate disc featuring 23 tunes and incidental music from the series including the toe-tapping main theme, "Rapper with a Baby" and "The Fuck Song".

EPISODES:
1."Rich's Mother"
2."Matt's Diary"
3."Punchline"
4."Oh Brothers"
5."Love Triangle"
6."Wedding"

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Taking Control of Your Body Exclusive New Interview Featurette With Simon Pegg, Paul Rudd, Noel Fielding, Rob Coddry, Rob Schrab, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Paul Scheer And More! (31:47) 16:9
- Locations Walking Tour Exclusive New Featurette With Berry and Fulcher (12:36) 16:9
- The Score Exclusive New Featurette With Matt Berry (4:50) 16:9
- Inside the Snuff Box Featurette (17:58) 4:3
- Testimonials Exclusive New Featurette With Janene Garofolo, Steve Agee And More! (14:58)16:9
- Outtakes (7:54) 16:9
- Commentaries For Three Episodes Featuring Berry, Fulcher And Director Michael Cumming
- Easter Egg (1:30) 16:9

BONUS DISC: CD Of Music From The Show (23 songs, 36 mins)

VERDICT: SNUFF BOX just does not seem like a series that could ever have been greenlit let alone unleashed upon late-night TV audiences but somehow through a confluence of timing, place and impeccable taste it did in fact air on BBC 3 for six week in 2006. Like most great things it went away far too quickly but it's here on DVD where it's cult status will continue to grow. Definitely not for everyone but if you enjoy the irreverent and warped comedy of MR. SHOW and THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMAN this short-lived series will reward repeated viewings for years to come. A classic cult-comedy series and a high recommend for you comedy-cunts out there.

DVD Review: Stripperland (2010)

Stripperland (2010)

Label: Cheezy Flicks
Rating: R
Duration: 90 mins
Video: Widescreen 16x9
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Director: Sean Skelding
Cast: Ben Sheppard, Jamison Challeen, Maren McGuire, Ileana Herrin, Hank Cartwright, Daniel Baldwin, Lloyd Kaufman, Shel Bailey, Brad McCray, Linnea Quigley, Boyd Banks
Tagline: First They Dance, Then They Kill!


Film: Sean Skelding's straight-to-video Stripperland is a rather blatant send-up of the zombie apocalypse comedy Zombieland (2009) that injects some Zombie Strippers (2008) sleaziness into the proceedings. When a mysterious virus called "zimbo" turns women everywhere into slutty man-eating tramps it's every man for himself. "Idaho" (Ben Sheppard) is an awkward guy who meets up with ass-kicking "Frisco" (Jamison Challeen) after a chance encounter at a grocery store. The dork has an established set of rules that help him evade the slutty hordes while Frisco is  a man on a quest to obtain baked confections made from scratch, not Twinkies which you can get anywhere, fuck that shit. After a brief introduction they team-up and set out on the road where they soon encounter two more survivors; Virginia (Maren McGuire) and West (Ileana Herrin). Together the quartet head towards the West Coast where lies the promise of relative safety.  Wow, this film isn't so much a send-up of Zombieland as an indie remake injected with some tits and ass. Don't get me wrong though for the film is actually quite entertaining. I suggest a few beers just before and continuing throughout for maximum enjoyment, it seemed to work for me.


Ben Sheppard is obviously riffing on Eisenberg's dorky guy persona and his whiny narration and dialogue grated on me at times but he did have a nice delivery with good comedic timing. Jamison Challen steps in for Woody Harrelson with some fun dialogue but his flat delivery stunted some rather witty one liners. Our female protagonists do well for themselves but don't seem to get much in the way of decent dialogue. While they're not relegated to eye-candy status (except for one scene) they just don't get enough to do, though they do kick some ass once or twice. We also get some nutty cameos throughout the film that I thought were pretty entertaining. When the group head to the mall they meets a pimp named Maestro played by Boyd Banks who's appeared in George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (2005) and Diary of the Dead (2007) as well as Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004) remake, that's quite  zombie pedigree.  The group also encounters the rapper "Double D" played by Daniel Baldwin who survives by rapping to the stripper zombies who just can't get enough of his mad MC skills. Make sure to check out the music video in the special features. Troma impresario Lloyd Kaufman appears in a flashback scene as Idaho's father while actor Thom Bray, perhaps best known for getting run-thru with a bicycle by Alice Cooper in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (1987), makes an appearance as a nutty scientist that's a tip of the hat to Dr. Logan from Day of the Dead. Perhaps the nuttiest cameo comes from 80's scream queen Linnea Quigley of Savage Streets (1984), Return of the Living Dead (1985) and Night of the Demons (1988) as "Grambo" a heavily armed ass-kicking Grannie. .


There's a lot to enjoy with this film if you can get by the derivative nature. This is a good looking low budget production with some sharp editing and a lot of blood n' guts. With a title like Stripperland I was expecting more sluts than guts but to my delight we get some very well done practical effects, it's quite a bloody affair. Sure, there are quite a few digital effects shots too but they are tastefully done and don't draw too much attention to themselves. The comedy is actually quite witty with some funny homages to Star Trek, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, a rocking soundtrack and some fun cameos.


On the downside, the film is a bit long and the gags do start to wear out their welcome towards the end, I think there's at least 10 minutes that could be excised without detriment. Another critique would be that the film too slavishly adheres to the Zombieland formula. The comedic writing was strong enough I think the film could have departed from it's source material and branched out a bit. A scene meant to replicate the Bill Murray cameo is a bust for me, it didn't work at all and feel extraneous.  


DVD: Stripperland comes to DVD from IMD Films and Cheezy Flicks with a 16x9 widescreen presentation. It'a low budget film and while that can't be denied I think the film is pretty sharp looking. We only get 2.0 stereo audio but it handles the dialogue and soundtracks quite well. We get 2 audio commentaries, some deleted scenes, a blooper reel, 2 music videos, 3 featurettes, 3 trailers and a fun collection of drive-in concession/intermission reels including an Orange Shasta advert narrated by Mr. Cunningham himself, the late Tom Bosley.


Special Features:
- Commentary with the Writer, Director and Editor
- Commentary with SF/X
- Blood Guts and More Blood - SFX (4:46) 16x9
- The Kickass Begins with the Celebrities of Stripperland (6:47) 16x9
- First They Dance, Then They Kill! - The Girls of Stripperland (12:31) 16x9
- Music Video: Daniel Baldwin aka Double D "Club Life" (3:33) 16x9
- Music Video: Smoochknob "Weirdo" (4:21) 16x9
- Deleted Scenes (9:31) 16x9
- Blooper Reel (3:50) 16x9
- Drive-In Fun (5:17)  1.33:1
- 3 IMD Trailer (5:16) 16x9


Verdict: I came to Stripperland with very low expectations having had some knowledge of director Sean Skelding's previous film, an erotic send-up of I Am Legend and what I knew of it wasn't very good.  Stripperland simply is what it is - an entertaining send-up of Zombieland chock full o' sluts and guts, no more no less. If you enjoyed Zombie Strippers (2008) or  Jake West's Doghouse (2009) this film will definitely appeal to your
particular tastes.  2.75 outta 5

http://stripperlandthemovie.com/