THE PICK-UP, a Long Lost "Roughie" Available Restored and Uncut for the First Time Ever, Debuts from Severin Films on 1/27

SEVERIN RESTORES LOST FROST/BISHOP ‘ROUGHIE’

THE PICK-UP FOR WORLDWIDE BLU-RAY PREMIERE

Webstore Exclusive Bonus Disc Features Acclaimed Exploitation Pioneers Documentary MAU MAU SEX SEX  

AVAILABLE AT SEVERINFILMS.COM ON JANUARY 27, 2025

Severin Films – in collaboration with Something Weird Video – today announced The Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere of the Lee Frost/Wes Bishop ‘roughie’ THE PICK-UP. Though writer/director/

cinematographer Frost and co-writer/producer/star Bishop’s films included such exploitation classics as HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN, LOVE CAMP 7, THE THING WITH TWO HEADS and RACE WITH THE DEVIL, this 1969 crime shocker was thought lost for decades. But with the recent discovery of its original camera negative in a Paris vault, it can now be seen restored and uncut for the first time ever.

Legendary producer Bob Cresse (HOT SPUR, THE SCAVENGERS), sexploitation icon David F. Friedman, Lynn Harris (THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ZORRO) and mysteriously disappeared folk singer Jim Sullivan co-star in this extreme ‘roughie’ about two bagmen for the L.A. syndicate who are robbed of $1 million in Las Vegas mob money by a seductive pair of con artists, leading to a desperate frenzy of carnal violence and brutal vengeance. THE PICK-UP is newly scanned in 4K and features a Webstore Exclusive Bonus Disc that includes the “fascinating” (Austin Chronicle) and long-out-of-print 2001 documentary MAU MAU SEX SEX starring Friedman and fellow exploitation pioneer Dan Sonney, plus filmmaker/historian Frank Henenlotter, Something Weird founder Mike Vraney and more.

THE PICK-UP is available for pre-order at The Severin Films Webstore beginning January 27.

Special Features for THE PICK-UP

BLU-RAY:

- Sirens On The Road: Post-Noir Vision And Beatnik Glory In THE PICK-UP – Video Essay By Filmmaker Stephen Broomer

- Photo Gallery With Commentary By Something Weird Video's Mike Vraney And Exploitation Legend David F. Friedman

- Trailer

DISC 2: MAU MAU SEX SEX (Limited Edition webstore exclusive)

- Audio Commentary With Director Ted Bonnitt And Severin Films' David Gregory

- Archival Audio Commentary With Exploitation Legends David F. Friedman And Dan Sonney

- Archival Audio Commentary With Director Ted Bonnitt And Writer Eddie Muller

- Trailer

Feature Specs for THE PICK-UP

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Audio: English Mono

Closed Captions: English SDH

Runtime: 90 mins

About Severin Films

Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring and releasing the works of Oscar nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006, their distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Mike Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish & Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco. Severin has also produced the award-winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”.

Severin Unleashes Two More Huge Releases from RUSS MEYER with MOTORPSYCHO & UP! - Available Starting TODAY

SEVERIN UNLEASHES TWO MORE HUGE RELEASES FROM RUSS MEYER’S BOSOMANIA! WITH MOTORPSYCHO & UP!

Both Films Now Available for the First Time in 20+ Years,

Pre-order Begins at SeverinFilms.com on January 27, 2025

“The films of Russ Meyer must be seen to be believed – exploitation entertainment that not only transgresses but achieves artistic transcendence.”

-Variety, 1/7/25

Following their celebrated release of The VIXEN Trilogy, Severin Films – in collaboration with The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust – today announced the UHD/Blu-ray Premieres of two more landmark films from the vaults of iconic American auteur Russ Meyer: 1965’s action-and-violence saga MOTORPSYCHO, and the erotic comedy RUSS MEYER’S UP! co-written by Roger Ebert. Both titles have been restored and scanned in 4K from their original negatives with hours of new and archival Special Features and will be available for pre-order on January 27 at the Severin Webstore.

“PLENTY OF ACTION AND BUXOM WOMEN…

A companion piece to FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! packed with
all the sex and violence Russ Meyer could get away with in 1965.”

-The Spinning Image

Just prior to FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, producer/director/co-writer and cinematographer Russ Meyer first unleashed his singular vision of full-throttle violence and vengeance with this 1965 shocker: When a trio of psycho bikers launches a sexual assault and murder spree in a desert town, the local veterinarian (Alex Rocco of THE GODFATHER fame in his screen debut) teams with a rage-ravaged vixen (the incredible Haji in her own first film role) to settle the score. Steve Oliver (WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS), Lane Carroll (THE CRAZIES), Timothy Scott (THE FARMER) and Russ himself co-star in this “slick, violent and well made” (Variety) Meyer milestone, now scanned in 4K from the original negative restored by The Museum of Modern Art with new and archival Special Features curated by Severin Films in association with The Russ Meyer Trust.

Special Features for MOTORPSYCHO
UHD:
- Audio Commentary With Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell And Filmmaker Zach Clark
- Trailer
BLU-RAY/DVD:
- Audio Commentary With Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell And Filmmaker Zach Clark

- Desert Rats On Hondas – Interviews With Actors Haji And Alex Rocco

- Trailer

Feature Specs for MOTORPSYCHO
Runtime: 74 mins
Audio: English Mono
Closed Captions: English SDH
Region: A/B/C
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

“AN EROTIC COMEDY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS…

It’s campy, violent and wallowing in a sea of carnality, but effective

in its mission of unrefined eroticism and gung-ho extravagance.”

--Gone With The Twins

No fairy tale…this! In 1976, producer/director/cinematographer/editor Russ Meyer delivered his penultimate feature film – co-written by BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert – hailed as “jaw-droppingly perverse” (Entertainment Weekly), “Meyer at his most outrageous” (Images Journal) and “definitely not to be confused with the Pixar cartoon” (The Spinning Image): Welcome to a sex-blasted burg in Northern California where sodomized Führers, ravenous piranha, sapphic ecstasy, murder mystery, Shakespearean appropriation and the remarkable Raven De La Croix collide, with Kitten Natividad – in her RM Productions debut – as The Greek Chorus of it all. Janet Wood (THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS) co-stars in “one of Russ Meyer’s best films” (We Are Movie Geeks), now scanned in 4K from the original negative by Severin Films with new and archival Special Features curated in association with The Russ Meyer Trust.

Special Features for RUSS MEYER’S UP!
UHD:
- Audio Commentary With Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell
BLU-RAY/DVD:
- Audio Commentary With Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell
- No Fairy Tale... This! – Interview With Actress Raven De La Croix
- Radio Spot

Feature Specs for RUSS MEYER’S UP!

Run Time: 80 mins
Audio: English Mono
Closed Captions: English SDH
Region: A/B/C
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

MOTORPSYCHO (1965)

RUSS MEYER'S UP! (1976)

About the Severin Films / Russ Meyer Estate Partnership
He’s been called “a one-man film industry” (The Guardian), “the first feminist American director” (B. Ruby Rich), “practically an American institution” (The Washington Post) and “the ultimate auteur” (Roger Ebert). His films include such classics as LORNA, UP!, MUDHONEY, FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and the legendary VIXEN Trilogy. His creative vision and maverick spirit changed the trajectory – and shape – of cinema forever.

But when writer/producer/director/cinematographer/distributor Russ Meyer – who famously retained all rights to the films he produced – passed away in 2004, the fate of his landmark catalog became shrouded in mystery and clouded by rumor while remaining virtually unseen and unattainable by modern audiences.

In 2023, Severin Films approached The Russ Meyer Charitable Trust by reaching out to his longtime Executive Assistant Janice Cowart – who by then was the last remaining Trustee and responsible for herculean preservation efforts in the years following Russ’ death – with a passionate pitch to restore and release many of his films. Severin promised to spare no expense, archeological effort or technical wizardry to present these works via the gold standard they richly deserve and celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Russ Meyer.

About Severin Films
Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring and releasing the works of Oscar nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006, their distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Mike Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish & Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco. Severin has also produced the award-winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”.

TOM AND JERRY: THE COMPLETE CINEMASCOPE CARTOON COLLECTION (1954-1958) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review + Screenshots)

TOM AND JERRY: THE COMPLETE CINEMASCOPE CARTOON COLLECTION (1954-1958) 

Label: Warner Archive

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 175 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Directors: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

Cast: William Hanna, Daws Butler, Red Coffey, Sandy Descher, June Foray, Sara Berner, Julie Bennett, Janet Waldo, Paul Frees

Another animated treat from Warner Archive has arrived to revive your childhood, this time we get the complete Tom and Jerry CinemaScope collection, presented in the extras-wide 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, collected together on one set for the very first-time ever, plus three bonus CinemaScope shorts that include Oscar-nominated "Good Will To Men" and the two standalone Spike & Tyke toons "Give & Tyke" and "Scat Cats", about the English bulldog Spike and his son Tyke. 

When it comes down to it Tom and Jerry are easily my most beloved animated shorts, these are the ones I grew up watching re-runs of, and while I love all the different era, from Hanna-Barbera, to the Gene Deitch era, and onto the  Chuck Jones era in the 60's, and that's about where my love stops to be honest, I love 'em all though, and this HB era is where all that love began, so this is close to the nostalgic heart for me. 

There is so much good stuff here, we get several shorts also featuring Spike & Tyke, the classic Mouseketeer episodes, "Southbound Duckling" with Quackers the duck was a childhood favorite as well, with Tom trying to trick the little guy into stewing himself for a meal! There are several Quackers shorts on this set, and they are all terrific fun. Another one that is sure to raise eyebrows for the uninitiated is "Blue Cat Blues" with Tom so depressed over losing out on love that he contemplates suicide, plus we get some fun supernatural witchy-ness with "The Flying Sorceress". This is a terrifically fun set, and easily the most fun I have had watching anything at home so far this year, and seeing these shorts in the correct extra-widescreen format, restored and looking better than ever nearly brought a joyful tear to my eye. You can pick this set up for under $25 right now, but the animated joy it will bring you and kids of all ages is absolutely priceless. 

 

Shorts: 

1. Pet Peeve (1954) (6:26) 

2. Touché Pussycat (1955) (6:43) 

3. Southbound Duckling (1955) (6:16) 

4. Pup on a Picnic (1955) (6:56) 

5. Tom and Cherie (1955) (6:40) 

6. That's My Mommy (1955)(6:05) 

7. The Flying Sorceress (1956) (6:37) 

8. The Egg and Jerry (1956)(7:39) 

9. Busy Buddies (1956)(6:17) 

10. Muscle Beach Tom (1956)(6:42)

11. Down Beat Bear (1956)(6:26) 

12. Blue Cat Blues (1956)(6:48) 

13. Barbeque Brawl (1956)(6:44) 

14. Tops With Pops (1957) (7:34) 

15. Timid Tabby (1957)(6:55) 

16. Feedin' the Kiddie (1957)(7:19) 

17. Mucho Mouse (1957)(7:06) 

18. Tom's Photo Finish (1957)(6:19) 

19. Happy Go Ducky (1958)(6:12)

20. Royal Cat Nap (1958) (6:40) 

21. The Vanishing Duck (1958) (7:08) 

22. Robin Hoodwinked (1958) (6:23) 

23. Tot Watchers (1958) (6:37) 

Bonus Shorts 

24. Good Will To Men (1955) (8:29) 

25. Give & Tyke (1955)(6:38) 

26. Scat Cats (1957) (6:29) 

Audio/Video: All 26 shorts on this set are presented in 108op HD in the original extra-wide 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio. I could not find any information regarding the source of the HD masters used, but they generally look terrific. The sources are in fantastic shape, there are varying degrees of grain present on all all the shorts, which is pleasing to see, but there does look to be some filtering applied, nothing too egregious though, it certainly has not been digitally scrubbed by any means. The image detail and textures look wonderful, and the colors look marvelous. Watching these shorts that I grew up with on TV but seeing them fully blushed with vibrant color and in the correct aspect ratio was like travelling back in time to my youth. No lie, I poured myself a big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch just like I did when I was a kid, only this time with oat milk, and watched these with a big ol' smile plastered on my face! I did limit myself to just one bowl, I am a middle-aged man after all, but as a kid I would have kept pouring cereal into the bowl until I used up all the sugary-milk. 

Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. I know that these were originally presented in CinemaScope with with "Perspecta Stereo", not a true stereo track from what I know, but a gimmicky mono sound systems that was more directional sound that truly stereo, Anyway, the only four Perspecta Stereo tracks were considered usable for these restorations, so the firts four shorts on this set have  "stereo" audio while the remaining shorts get the dual-mono treatment. The tracks sound excellent to my ears, largely clean and free of issues, the stereo tracks having some pleasing separation and use of the stereo directionals, and the music cues still bring a smile to my face. 

There are no documentary/commentary extras for this release, other than the three restored  Hanna-Barbera CinemaScope shorts that have been restored, these include  Good Will To Men (1955), Give & Tyke (1955), and  Scat Cats (1957). The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork. 

Special Features:

- Three Bonus Shorts: Good Will To Men (1955) (8:29), Give & Tyke (1955)(6:38), Scat Cats (1957) (6:29) 

Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray: 

Buy it: 

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