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Thursday, September 6, 2018
The World Ends with MOLLY on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD October 2nd
THE BABY (1973) (Arrow Blu-ray Review/Comparison)
Release Date: September 25th 2018
Region: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 84 Minutes
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1), Full Screen (1.33:1)
Audio: English Uncompressed LPCM Mono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Ted Post
Cast: Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianne Hill, Suzanne Zenor, Rod Andrews, Michael Pataki, Beatrice Blau, David Manzy
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray Widescreen 2018
MIDDLE: Arrow Video Full Frame Version
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
The 1970's unleashed very some strange cinema upon the world and The Baby (1973) is definitely one of the WEIRDEST - it's one of those strange brews you won't soon forget after taking it in. Coming to us from Ted Post, the director of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and Magnum Force (1973), the plot concerns a social worker named Ann (Anjanette Comer, Night of a Thousand Cats) who's been assigned to the bizarre case of the Wadsworth family. The head of the clan is the intensely creepy Mrs. Wadsworth (Ruth Roman, Strangers on a Train), who along with her two knockout but nutty daughters Germaine (Marianna Hill, Messiah of Evil) and Alba (Susanne Zenor), care for a strange child named only "Baby".
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
This "Baby" is no ordinary infant, in fact he's a 21 year old young man with what seems to be severe mental retardation. He wears adult sized diapers, has a crib and a playpen, bottle feeds, and of course soils himself. Social worker Anne is concerned by the man-child's lack of development and suspects that years of cruelty and negative reinforcement at the hands of the family have stunted his natural development. Anne tries to teach Baby rudimentary words and to stand and walk on his own, but the family wants nothing to do with furthering his development which leads to a bitter war of words. Eventually Anne becomes more and more obsessed with the child for her own demented reasons and takes Baby from the home which sparks a vicious battle for the infant-minded man.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Not surprisingly there are indeed some odd things happening at the household and it's not just relegated to the women of the house either. One of the oddest moments in a film drenched in oddity is when a teen babysitter gets in on the freaky action in a weird scenario that ends with Baby suckling her breast! Quite a sexually confusing scenario, that babysitter is gonna be fucked-up for life just like everyone else in the film. Ruth Roman's mother character is a mix of Mommy Dearest (1981) intensity and John Waters' Serial Mom (1994) insanity, but not campy, this is played straight, which only makes it weirder. The sisters are an odd pair, Germaine is a creepy beauty - with quite the hair-do - whom lends some implied incestuous overtones to the proceedings by shedding her nightgown and crawling into Baby's crib while Alba is a cruel blond vixen who enjoys punishing Baby with an electric cattle prod while screaming "Baby doesn't talk! Baby doesn't walk!". The film is offbeat from the get-go but only gets weirder, from a bizarre psychedelic birthday party for baby right up to a bizarre crescendo that defies expectations with a series of unexpected ax murders that had me screaming what-the-fuck with demented glee, this is a film that's sure delight seekers of the strange and demented exploitation.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Audio/Video: The Baby (1973) was previously released on Blu-ray from Severin Films in 2014, and now four years later the fucked-up film gets a special edition Blu-ray from Arrow Video, presenting the film in 1080p HD, with the option to view in in 1.85:1 widescreen or 1.33:1, the fullscreen version offering more image on the top and bottom of the frame. The Severin release suffered from weak blacks that were more grey than deep black and colors that seemed muted and soft with poor contrast. Not sure what the lineage of the new Arrow transfer is but it's a marked improvement in all areas. Colors are more vibrant, the blacks are deeper and more natural looking, and contrast is much improved with more detail evident throughout. The lone audio option is English uncompressed LPCM Mono that sounds fine with both the dialogue and the Gerald Fried (Paths of Glory) score coming through with clarity, optional English subtitles are provided.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Along with the improved PQ we get some tasty new goodies from Arrow Video, beginning with a brand new audio commentary from film journalist Travis Crawford who gives a nicely detailed and thorough commentary on the film.
There's also a new interview with actor Marianna Hill who speaks about wanting to work with director Ted Post after her friend Clint Eastwood talked so highly about him, and her willingness to do just about anything on film, aside from sex stuff, and playing her character like she's trapped in a fairytale per the director's suggestion. She also speaks what it was like working with Anjanette Coomer who she felt protective of, and Ruth Roman who she says was a real an Joan Crawford type, and how sweet David Mooney was.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Hippy-artist/set decorator Stanley Dyrector who created the creepy paintings seen in the nursery shows up for a six-minute interview, he talks about his process and how he ended with a screen credit for the film, in addition to saying he felt a lot of tension between Ruth Roman and Anjanette Comer on the set which fueled their character dynamics. He even showcases some of the paintings he kept from the film, he's a real character.
Professor Rebekah McKendry from Blumhouse.Com's awesome Shock Waves Podcast shows up for a fun remembrance of her discovering this bat-shit insane film, walking us through the plot mechanics and bizarreness of the film.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Carried-over from the Severin release are two archival interviews, the first a 20-min audio interview with the director who was 93 years old at the time of the interview and was still quite lucid in respect to the development of and the odd nature of the subject matter. We also get a 15-min archival audio interview with star David Mooney who portrayed the titular baby character, at the time of the interview he was a high school teacher in San Antonio, Texas and fondly recalls his career beginning a a few Disney movies, plus the audition experience for The Baby, and working with the women on the film.
The special edition from Arrow Video is buttoned up with a trailer for the film, for this review we were only sent a "check disc" without artwork or the packaging extras, but retail copies include a sleeve of reversible artwork and a limited edition first-pressing booklet with notes on the film from Kat Ellinger. This is a pretty sweet upgrade from Arrow Video, this is far and away the definitive edition of the movie.
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
Special Features:
- Family Affair - An interview with actor Marianna Hill, Filmed July 2018 (6 Min)
- Nursery Crimes - An interview with nursery painting creator Stanley Dyrector, filmed in July 2018 (6 min)
- Down Will Come Baby - a new retrospective with film professor Rebekah McKendry (12 min)
- Tales from the Crib - archival audio Interview with director Ted Post
- Baby Talk - Archival audio Interview with Star David Mooney from January 2011 (15 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min)
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Reversible sleeve featuring artwork by The Twins of Evil
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Kat Ellinger
TOP: Arrow Video Blu-ray 2018
BOTTOM: Severin Films Blu-ray 2014
This is one seriously strange slice of 70's exploitation cinema, it will leave you dumbfounded as you wonder just how the Hell did this demented film get a PG rating with all that twisted sexual tension and odd predatory tendencies? You may think you seen it all but you haven't seen it ALL unless you've seen The Baby! The new special edition from Arrow is the best looking version of the film with the most comprehensive set of extras, this is the one to own, highest recommendation to seekers of strange 70's cinema.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
EYEBALL (1975) (88 Films Blu-ray Review)
EYEBALL (1975)
Dual-Format Blu-ray
Label: 88 FilmsRegion Code: B
Rating: Cert.15
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English and Italian, DTS-HD MA Dual Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Cast: Martine Brochard, John Richardson, Ines Pellegrini
Umberto Lenzi's madcap giallo Eyeball (1975) has the wonderful tag line "A Blinding Vision of Horror", a nicely tongue-in-cheek advert for a delightfully daft Italian whodunit that opens with a busload of American tourists travelling throughout Barcelona Spain on a tour-bus, taking in the sights, nevermind that an eye-plucking killer seem to be among them, killing off and stealing an eyeball from one victim after the other on almost every stop of the tour! As where a level-headed you or myself might just end our vacation after the first murder and count our blessing for our lives these hardcore vacationers push on despite the danger to themselves, never once thinking they should get off that damn bus.
While not as ultra-stylish as a Dario Argento whodunits Eyeball is still a wonderfully entertaining slice of eye-plucking insanity with fun set-pieces and some stylish lensing, plus a fun cast of characters that include a priest and a lesbian couple who are more nude than not throughout the whole movie. Lenzi seems to be having fun deviating from standard giallo tropes with a killer who is decked out in a red raincoat with red-gloves, not the typical black ensemble we've come to expect from the genre.
As we follow our carefree bunch of travellers the bodies start piling up at each of the stops, each of the victims found stabbed to death with an eyeball missing, and the red-herrings are layed on nice and thick throughout. The could-be culprits could be any one of the tourist or guides, could it be the oddball leering tour guide? Maybe the secretive priest, or the tightly permed ginger-haired secretary (Martine Brochard, The Violent Professionals)? Or maybe the secretaries boss/lover (John Richardson, Torso) who shows up out of the blue right after the first murder, hmm, but when suspicion begins to build on him we are thrown yet another red-fish, his mentally unstable wife complete with incrimiating flashbacks. The possible list of suspects is near endless, the film drops clues along the way, but when they reveal who it is and why you will not forget it, you might not believe it, but you definitely won't forget it!
I won't spoil the big reveal but the strangely oddball revelation was a startle, I was laughing so damn hard, the visual of it is absolutely unforgettable. I don't know if Lenzi intended this one to be as comedic as it is, but I have to think he did, it's just too lunatic from start to finish to be an accident.
Trashy though it may be Eyeball offers oodles of odd dubbed dialogue, titillating gratuitous nudity and some stylish set-pieces, including a fun score from Bruno Nicolai (All the Colors of the Dark) which has a recurring theme that seems to pop-up every few minuted ad nauseam, which also enhances the humor if the film.
Audio/Video: Lenzi's Eyeball (1975) arrives on region-free Blu-ray with a fresh new 2K transfer restored and regraded from the original camera negative, the 1080p HD image is framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. It looks solid on Blu-ray, the source looks solid with just some white speckling and a tiny few scratches you have to be looking for, grain is uniform and well-managed, skin tones look natural and the colors are nicely saturated with decent blacks. Audio comes by way of English or Italian dubbed DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The audio is a bit flat and boxy as you would expect from a film made without live audio, everything has been dubbed afterward. Something I love about watching these Italian films is the recognition of voice actors who regularly dub these films they start sounding so familiar and recognizable once you start watching Italian cinema of this era, there should be a documentary about the voice actors who worked in this era, that would be awesome... or maybe not, but maybe yeah! Anyway, the score from Bruno Nicolai (All The Colors of The Dark) sounds great, even though the main theme seems to be repeated adnauseum throughout the film.
Onto the extras we begin with a feature-length doc, 'All Eyes on Lenzi' which has interviews with the late director plus author/critics John Martin, Manlio Gomarasca and Rachael Nisbet, director Calum Waddell and actors Danilo Mattei and Giovanni Lombardo Radice, filmmaker Scooter McCrae and more. It's a loving tribute the the genre-hopping director covering all facets of his career, there's a lot of love here for the man, but not so much from actor Lombardo Radice who not only loathes the film he made with Lenzi, Cannibal Ferox, but the man himself, though Lenzi does go onto say that he got along with the actor very well during shooting and that this loathing seemed to manifest in the years since they worked together.
We also get a new 2018 interview with the still-lovely star Martine Brochard who speaks about her career and working with Lenzi on the film, there's also a 2-min location extra comparing the locations then and how they are now. The last but certainly not least of the extras is an audio commentary from the Hysteria Lives! podcast crew who do the film justice. They actually have an episode of the podcast about the film (doubled with Argento's Deep Fred!), the commentary here is a bit more subdued with slightly less innuendo and double-entendres, but still funny and jam-packed with witty insight and observation, very well researched. This limited edition of 2000 version also comes with a DVD with the same extras
The 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo comes housed in a clear oversized Blu-ray with a sleeve of reversible artwork and a limited edition sturdy slipcover. Opening it up you will find 4 original “Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro” lobby card reproductions, plus a massive limited edition booklet covering Umberto Lenzi's entire career penned by Dr. Calum Waddell, plus an interview with Lenzi and notes about the 88 Films restoration.
Special Features:
- Brand New 2K Transfer of the Film restored and regraded from original elements
- ALL EYES ON LENZI: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ITALIAN EXPLOITATION TITAN - Brand new feature length documentary (80 minutes) detailing the work and legacy of Rome’s most prolific grindhouse nightmare-maker. Features never-before-seen interview footage with Lenzi himself and comments from critics John Martin, Manlio Gomarasca and Rachael Nisbet, academics Calum Waddell and Mikel Koven, actors Danilo Mattei and Giovanni Lombardo Radice and director and writer Scooter McCrae!! (84 min)
- Eyeballs on Martine Brochard: 2018 Interview with Actress Martine Brochard (16 min)
- Eyeball Locations Featurette (2 min)
- Audio Commentary by the Hysteria Continues
- Eyeball Trailers (6 min)
- Reversible sleeve featuring alternative artwork
- 4 original “Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro” lobby card reproductions
-Limited edition booklet featuring All About Umberto: an extensive and intricate 6000 word look back at the work of an Italian genre-bending legend... by Calum Waddell
- Additional booklet copy - Cats and Eyeballs: An interview with Umberto Lenzi by Eugenio Ercolani
Eyeball (1975) is a stalk ‘n’ slash shocker from Umberto Lenzi that will please fans of the Italian whodunit and 80's slasher variety, while the gore is not overly visceral the off-beat stock characters characters and fun set-pieces are a blast, a fun giallo with loads of re-watch value. 88 Films really went all-out for this release with the A/V presentation and deluxe packaging, easily one of my favorite releases of 2018.
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