MESSALINA (1960) (Twilight Time Blu-ray Review)

MESSALINA (1960)

AKA MESSALINA VENERE IMPERATRICE

Label: Twilight Time

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 94 Minutes 

Video: 1080p High Definition (2.35:1)

Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono, Italian LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Director: Vittorio Cottafavi

Cast: Belinda Lee, Carlo Justini, Giulio Donnini, Arturo Dominici, Arianna Galli, Gian Carlo Sbragia, Spiros Focas

Messalina (1960) an Italian-made "peplum" melodrama directed by Vittorio Cottafavi (Hercules and the Captive Women) starring the ethereal beauty of Belinda Lee (The Goddess of Love) as historical Roman seductress Valeria Messalina. Valeria  is a gorgeous Vestal Virgin, a niece to the Augusts Caesar, who is handpicked to marry the new Emperor, Claudius (Marcello Giorda), after she conspires with an aristocrat named Sulpitius (Mino Doro, Hercules and the Captive Women), who hopes to use her beauty to usurp the power of the throne. Shortly before her wedding night she meets a handsome Roman soldier while walking in the Vestal temple garden, Lucio Maximus (Spiros Focas, Shaft In Africa), and later they meet in a forest to consummate their love, but the soldier does not realize until much later who she really is, but she makes a lasting impression on him, and he her. After her marriage to Claudius she poisons Sulpitius with a glass of poisoned wine, right after toasting to their success, no longer needing him andnot wishing to share her newfound power. 

Now an Empress, Messalina uses her stunning beauty and sexual charms to form alliances with the high-born aristocrats under the nose of her somewhat foolish husband, the Emperor. Soon after the soldier Lucius find themselves stationed abroad for a period of two years fighting in the Armenian War, while the scheming Messalina continues to consolidate her power at home, winning the citizenry over with her generosity, that is until it is discovered that this generosity comes at the expense of displacing rural farmers and selling off their land to the highest bidder. As she falls out of favor with the  aristocrats they hire an assassin to murder her while she sleeps in her bedchamber, but her appeal is so great that she seduces her would-be killer and in the morning has him decapitated, personally delivering the head of her would-be assassins to the aristocracy who hired him!

Eventually Messalina's plotting and conniving catches up to her when she hatches a scheme to have Claudius murdered and usurp the throne for herself, but a returned Lucio has comes to see her for the debauched Empress she truly is, with a nicely dramatic wrap-up at the end that was quite satisfying. Messalina (1960) is more a historical-based melodrama filled with treachery and political intrigue than a sword and sandal epic chock full of musclebound gladiators and mayhem, but the dramatic Shakespearean elements are solid and the doomed Belinda Lee is indeed an alluring lead with plenty of ginger-hair and green-eyed charms. It also benefits from the lavish Roman sets pieces with opulent period costuming, plus we get a couple of well-staged skirmishes including the typical peplum drink-house fisticuffs brawl. I am not a huge sword and sandal, peplum fan, but for me its the salacious underpinnings and beguiling beauty of star Belinda Lee that makes this such a memorable watch, and sadly she died just a year later in a horrific car accident in Southern California. 

Audio/Video: Messaline (1960) arrives on Blu-ray from Twilight Time in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. There's no information about the source of the scan here,  but it is a solid shape, there's a bit of white speckling and minor scratches but overall its very clean. The Technicolor hues look solid, the reds particularly have a nice pop to them. I could only get a handful screenshots from the Blu-ray before my drive suddenly conked out on me, but they're representative of how the film looks, and you can see them at the bottom of the review. 

Audio on the disc comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 dual-mono and Italian LPCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, both options offer clean, uncompressed representation with clear dialogue and a perfectly fine score from Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (The Colossus of Rhodes). The subtitles are presented in white lettering on a black background, which I was not a fan of, too intrusive in my opinion. 

Sadly, there are no disc extras on this release, not even a trailer, but I would have enjoyed a commentary from someone like Tim Lucas who commentator on The Film Detective Blu-ray of Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women. What we do get is a illustrated booklet with writing on the film from Twilight Time's Mike Finnigan that gets into the various adaptations of the Messalina story, this production, and the tragic death of star Belinda Lee. I do miss having the isolated scores that TT were known for, but this new iteration of the distributor has not yet revived that formerly signature extra with their first four releases. 

The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a dual-sided, non-reversible sleeve of artwork.

Special Features: 

- 12-Page Illustrated Collector's  Booklet with essay by Mike Finnigan

Messaline (1960) is an engaging bit melodramatic peplum with intriguing Roman political intrigue and an engaging turn from Belinda Lee as the seductive Empress, who is full of greedy aspiration and murderous intention. You can purchase Messalina directly from Screen Archives HERE. 

Screenshots from the Blu-ray: 

SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (1971) (Twilight Time Blu-ray Review)

SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (1971) 

Label: Twilight Time

Region Code: Region Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 97 Minutes

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: Italian 1.0 DTS-HD MA, English 1.0 DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles 

Director: Aldo Lado

Cast: Ingrid Thulin, Jean Sorel, Mario Adorf, Barbara Bach, Fabijan Sovagovic, Jose Quaglio, Piero Vida

 

Synopsis: Short Night of Glass Dolls (La Corta Notte delle Bambole di Vetro, 1971) is a mystery-heavy giallo film, the début of director Aldo Lado. It stars Jean Sorel as an American reporter, trapped inside his apparently dead body, but still trying to decipher the disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Bach). Set in a Prague depicted as remarkably depraved, the film also stars the great Ingrid Thulin, and is highlighted by a stunning score from the one and only Ennio Morricone, available on this Twilight Time release as an isolated track.

 

Short Night Of Glass Dolls (1971) is the auspicious giallo-thriller that marked the directorial debut of Aldo Lado (Night Train Murders), a slice of Euro-cult that opens in  Prague with the discovery of a young man's body found in a park. The body is that of American journalist Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel, Fulci's Perversion Story), his body taken by Ambulance through the streets of Prague to the city morgue where the coroners plan to autopsy the corpse. The twist is that we discover that he's not really dead, somehow he is trapped inside his own body unable to speak or move, his mind racing as he tries to remember how he ended up on a cold slab in the morgue, with him narrating the movie. 

 

As he narrates the film we flash back and forth in time as he tries to piece together the events that landed him here, we go back a few week to a time when his girlfriend Mira (Barbara Bach, Black Belly of the Tarantula) has gone missing, vanished without a trace. He alerts the authorities but in typical giallo tradition they are neat useless, concluding that she's probably just run off with another man. Unconvinced he begins his own investigation into her whereabouts, which leads him to connect the dots between Mira's disappearance with those of other young women around the city, whose disappearances are all seemingly connected by an underground club called Klubb 99, an elite society membership with strange occult leanings. 

 

The film moves back and forth in time, alternating between Moore's investigation and the medical examiner's own examination of his corpse. There's a medical angle here that seems almost science fiction in nature, with a cardiologist being called in when peculiarities about the body arise, such as the fact that the temperature of it has not dropped, and there are no signs of rigor mortis setting in even hours after the presumed time of death.

 

The film is a wonderful European thriller with plenty of giallo-style, but it's not quite the black-gloved whodunit we've come to expect from the genre, forgoing the usual black glove killer for a compelling mystery that is steeped in the corruption of elite society, obsession and occult paranoia, all wrapped up in a nicely lensed film that holds up to repeat viewings. This is a great film to watch when you're having a multi-film giallo spree, the one you throw on right in the middle of the marathon when you're a bit tired of the typical black glove shtick, because it's a unique film that both fits in as a gialli but is also something quite a bit more.

 

I always find the ending of Short Night of Glass Dolls to be a proper shocker, the whole film has creepy vibe with an insidious occult element, but you're really rooting for Sorel's character to pull through and come out on top in some way, and where it goes always feels like a punch right in the gut, a classic downer ending.  

 

Audio/Video: Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Twilight Time presented in 1080p HD and framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. The source looks fantastic with hardly a blemish to report, grain is well-managed and uniform, the visuals are rich and nicely detailed. Skin tones can look a bit cool at times, but overall this is a very filmic and pleasing transfer.

 

Audio on the disc comes by way of Italian and English 1.0 DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English subtitles. The Italian track is slightly more robust than the the English option, but both are solid, with dialogue being clean, crisp and natural sounding. The score from Ennio Morricone (What Have You Done To Solange?) is definitely a highlight. 

Onto the extras Twilight Time offer a brand new audio commentary from film historians David Del Valle and Matteo Molinari, the track offers some excellent insight into the film. Both commentators offering a wealth of knowledge about the film, there's never a moment when they lag, they are on it from start to finish, filling every minute with loads of information, with Molinari having interviewed the still-living Lado prior to the commentary, so there;s some great info here. We also get both the English and Italian trailers for the film, plus an 8-page booklet with an appreciation of the film from TT's in-house writer Julie Kirgo, plus an isolated lossless music track spotlighting the excellent score from Ennio Morricone (A Bullet for the General).

 

The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase - TT usually ship with a clear case but due to a manufacturer error it was produced with a blue case - but if you order from TT direct they are offering to send you a clear keepcase free of charge, which is a stand-up thing of them to do. 

 

Special Features: 

- Isolated Music Track (DTS-HD MA 2.0) 

- Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Matteo Molinari 

- Original English Theatrical Trailer (3 min) 

- Original Italian Theatrical Trailer (3 min) 

- 8-Page Booklet with New Writing on the Film by Julie Kirgo 

 

Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) is a thriller I've watched several times these past few years, with every viewing it's quickly becoming one of my favorite non-Dario Argento giallo, a stylish entry that eschews the black-gloved killer for a strange Kafka-esque paranoia with occult leanings. This release from TT is a limited edition release with only 3000 copies being made, if you're a giallo connoisseur I think this is a must-own release, highly recommended. 

McBASTARD'S BEST OF 2013

McBASTARD'S TOP 10 OF 2013

1. MANIAC  - when I found out a remake of the depraved 80's slasher was on the way my first instinct was 'fuck that' but gotta say that this creepy and brutal entry that made my skin crawl, truly excellent.
2. EVIL DEAD  - another remake, wtf. This was brutal and unrelenting and was one of the best theater going experiences I had in 2013, awesome. 
3. THE CONJURING - a first-rate creepy chiller with some genuine scares, another great theater experience, quality haunter that made me jump a few times. 
4. V/H/S/2 - was not a fan of the first V/H/S entry, the sequel amps up the thrills with a bit more creativity and way better execution, loved the doomsday cult segment 'Safe Haven' directed by Timo Tjahanto (The ABCs of Death) and Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid) and Jason Eisner's 'Slumber Party Alien Abduction' was great fun, the wrap-a-around still blows. 
5. JOHN DIES AT THE END - any entry from Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep, Phantasm) is a cause for celebration in my opinion and this acid-tinged slice of surrealism was a blast - give this guy more money Hollywood! 
6. JUG FACE  - a well crafted indie about simple wood folk worshiping a Lovecraftian demon that lives in the bottom of a muddy pit. Thrown in a little incest and you have one of the best surprises of the year. 
7. ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE - Jonathan Levin's shelved slasher
finally gets a region 1 release after sitting in a vault for six years, the aesthetic falls somewhere between The Virgin Suicides and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, a hypnotic slice and dicer.
8. INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 - Seriously, this film and it's predecessor feel like an unofficial remake of the Poltergeist series and I am totally okay with that, poor voice-dubbing aside this was a blast, not perfect but a great theater experience with a fun crowd. 
9. THIS IS THE END - I love this comedy crew and I laughed non-stop, one of the year's best comedies with some fun apocalyptic gags.
10. SIGHTSEERS - Ben Wheatley up to this point was an interesting film maker but I wasn't in love with what I'd seen (Kill List, Down Terrace). This one was different, the humor worked for me and the interactions of this demented murderous couple pleased me to no end, quite a wonderful love story. Looking forward to his new one A Field in England (2013) in the near future, I'm a believer.  

HONORABLE MENTION:
BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO - this one appealed to my arthouse tendencies but didn't wrap up satisfyingly, unfortunately. 
GRABBERS - a fun, drunken romp streaming on Netflix, watch it

When it came to dragging myself to the cinema to support horror in 2013 I fell pretty short of the mark and have not yet watched MAMA, WORLD WAR Z, YOU'RE NEXT, CARRIE, and THE PURGE yet somehow I managed to watch TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D (GROAN)...

TOP 10 RE-ISSUES OF 2013 
1. SCREAM FACTORY! - maybe a bit of a cheat, but hands down the bulk of my most anticipated re-issues in 2013 came from Shout! Factory horror imprint Scream Factory and their outstanding slate releases this past year. What a year with four John Carpenter classics in 1080p, Tobe Hooper's space-vamp epic LIFEFORCE and THE FUNHOUSE, Stuart Gordon's gooey classic FROM BEYOND, the camp-slasher classic THE BURNING, Don Coscarelli's PHANTSM II, a fantastic VINCENT PRICE COLLECTION plus bringing TERRORVISION, THE VIDEO DEAD and THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN to Blu-ray for the first time. What a banner year and I've chosen to recognize their body of work over a singular title which would have been just too difficult. What's to come in 2014? Read our preview of Scream factory's 2014 roster HERE. 
2. ARROW VIDEO: Arrow's Brian DePalma re-issues this past year have been fantastic with awesome new special features from Fiction factory and sweet 1080p presentations. If you love DePalma you need to pick-up DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT and THE FURY - these are must-own editions and there's more to come in 2014 - read about it right HERE. 
3. THE TELEPHONE BOOK (Vinegar Syndrome) - Vinegar Syndrome's 1080p edition of this kinky slice of art house cinema is gorgeous, an oddball sexpoitation film that's both cute and smutty. 
4. HOW TO SEDUCE A VIRGIN (Mondo Macabro) - Jess Franco's wild-eyed orgy of lurid depravity and lesbian delights starring Euro-cult goddesses Lina Romay, Alice Arno and Tania Busselier plus a sweet transfer, drool. 
5. THE HOT NIGHTS OF LINDA (Severin) - a deeply satisfying slice of 70's voyeuristic sleaze with all the depravity and eroticism you've come to expect from Jess Franco and this Severin Blu-ray is double-stuffed with extras.
6. ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS (Arrow Video) - a gorgeous edition with some fantastic special features, a gut-munching, eye-gouging slice of 1080p from gore-master Lucio Fulci.
7. POSSESSION (Second Sight) -  this video nasty is a taut, paranoid psychological thriller with horrific elements, an uncomfortable watch from start to finish. A phenomenal Blu-ray with some great value-added extras, 
8. STREET TRASH (Synapse) - a true cult classic, this is a nasty slice of 80's splatter-comedythat looks stunningly good in 1080p from Synapse.
9. CORRUPTION (Grindhouse Releasing) - it's Peter Cushing as you've never seen him before in this surgical proto-slasher, a first-rate edition from Grindhouse Releasing, a stunner.
10. MANIAC COP 2 (Blue Underground) - a kick-ass revenger with supernatural elements and brutal deaths plus a fantastic action-slammed finale that's engulfed in flames, a sweet 1080p presentation. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS
THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN (Distribpix)
THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (Full Moon Features)
HALLOWEEN (Anchor Bay)
BODY DOUBLE (Twilight Time)

Blu-ray Review: DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954)

DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954)

The Limited Edition Series

Label: Twilight Time

Region: NTSC Region FREE

Duration: 102 mins

Rating: Unrated

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.55:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0

Director: Delmer Daves

Cast: Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Richard Egan, Ernest Borgnine, Susan Hayward, Debra Paget, Jay Robinson

Niche film label Twilight Time showed up on my radar a few months back when they licensed the iconic 80's vamp feature Fright Night (1985) from Columbia Pictures for what can only be described as a criminally limited edition Blu-ray run of 3,000 units. It would seem a no-brainer, right? Fright Night on Blu-ray seems like it would be a license to print money, at least in my mind. Twilight Time's limited edition run is now out of print and if you weren't quick on your point n' click to snag one it's now fetching upwards of $140 on amazon.com . Obviously there's a much larger demand for this beloved title and still there's not a more widely available 1080p release anytime in the near future is beyond me, it just strikes me as odd at a time when both Fred Dekker's cult classics Night of the Creeps (1986) and Monster Squad (1987) enjoy well-stuffed special edition Blu-rays not to mention the theatrical and DVD release of the remak but I digress, I'm really here  today to spiel about any of these films. Let it suffice it to say that I give high praise be to Twilight Time for having brought at least 3,000 of us Fright Night fans what we've been craving for some time now. 

Now Twilight Time have licensed the 20th Century Fox gladiator epic Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) a sword and sandal sequel to The Robe (1953) a film I cannot claim to have ever seen but that didn't dampen my enjoyment one bit. In the film Demetrius (Victor Mature, Kiss of Death) is a former slave turned Christian during the reign of the mad Emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson, Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula) who is imprisoned after assaulting a Roman guard and forced to train and battle in the Roman gladiator arena for sport and spectacle where despite his initial refusal to take a life based on his Christian beliefs he rises through the ranks. His faith is tested though when his adoring and virtuous wife Lucia (Debra Paget, The Haunted Palace) covertly makes her way into the gladiator school to meet with her husband but the two become separated and she is killed during an attempted rape by Dardanius (Richard Egan), During the attack Demetrius is prevented from interfering and he prays to the Lord to protect his wife but when his words seem to go unanswered it fuels his eventual corruption and rejection of Christianity.

Meanwhile the demented Emporer Caligula becomes increasingly obsessed with evading the cold tendrils of death by obtaining the robe that Jesus wore during The Crucifixtion which he believes will grant him life everlasting, the pursuit of immortality further unravels his already frayed grasp on reality. Actor Jay Robinson as the erratic emperor is a sight to behold, chewing up the magnificent scenery with demented zeal. Let's just say that in a film also featuring the legendarily overwrought Ernest Borgnine (Escape from New York)  somehow Borgnine pales in the shadow of Robinson's deliciously over-the-top performance, it's wonderful. Anyone looking for Ernest Borgnine at his Razzie nominated best look no further than Wes Craven's supernatural thriller Deadly Blessing (1981) it's truly something unforgettable, oh sweet  Lord. 

Anyway, following Demetrius' fall from faith he carries on an affair with Senator Claudius's (Barry Jones, A Study in Terror) famously unfaithful ginger-haired wife, the stunning Isis priestess Messalina (Susan Hayward, Valley of the Dolls), who unbeknownst to Demetrius was the driving force that lead to his wife's demise albeit unintentionally. Demetrius's success in the arena soon garners him entry into the Praetorian Guard where once he renounces Christ to Caligula he is bestowed with the title of Tribune setting the stage for his return to Christianity.

The Christian themes from The Robe are present but not overwrought, in my mind they're sort of overcome by a wonderful sense of perversity and betrayal. The film at it's heart is definitely about Demetrius's test of faith but it's also wonderfully corrupt and wrought with sexual thirsts and insanity, it's enthralling stuff that makes for a keen watch with the added attraction of some magnificent old school Hollywood sets and costuming plus spectacular gladiator battles one featuring the muscle bound Demetrius battling three fierce tigers, it makes for a highly entertaining watch.

The film was shot in CinemaScope and is an opulent affair with grand set pieces and action sequences that make full use of the CinemaScope format, it's stunning stuff. Twilight Time's 1080p HD presentation is very attractive if not exactly stunning with a transfer sourced from superior elements showing only minor scratches and blemishes. The transfer is not particularly crisp or vibrant and appears a  bit soft at times, the color palette is very brown-centric. It's an attractive image but it's just not the eye-popping 1080p experience it could have been with some tender love and restoration.

Audio options include English DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 which sounds quite pleasant with some nice use of the directionals. Pretty standard for the Twilight Time Blu-rays there's an isolated music track presenting Franz Waxman's sweeping score in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, it's a grand score and sounds great. I listened to it while cleaning the house and let me tell you mopping the floors never felt so epic. 

Special features on the disc include the aforementioned isolated music track, an original theatrical trailer and some very fine liner notes from Twilight Time's Julie Kirgo whose writing really adds to the viewing experience particularly if like me you know very little about the film in question, it's a wonderful appreciation. 

Watching Demetrius and the Gladiators I was totally transported back to the early 80's when I would camp out in front of the TV watching monster move matinees and sword and sandal epics all day Saturday, it's a golden feeling. As with all of Twilight Time's Limited Edition Series the Blu-ray is kept to a painfully small run of 3,000 units and available exclusively from http://www.screenarchives.org/ If you love sword and sandal epics this is a no-brainer must-buy and I say get it before it's out of print and fetching exorbitant prices online. 4 outta 5