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LOVECRAFT: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
- U.S.A. (2008)
Cinevolve
Studios
Not Rated |
Color |
90 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD released October 27, 2009
.........
Howard Phillips
Lovecraft (1890-1937) is the subject of this superficial but interesting
documentary. Lovecraft, a socially maladjusted recluse who died
in near poverty, is a tricky subject to analyze. He was very much
a product of his time and breeding
a would-be "New England gentleman" who seethed with racism. The
documentary illustrates his complicated background, his inability
to really connect with most people (which resulted in an ill-fated
marriage) and his refusal to lower himself to getting a job in
order to support himself when his writing failed to do so. The
problem facing the documentary is one of brevity
even at 90 minutes, it feels too short to really come to grips
with such an interesting and enigmatic figure. Director Frank
H. Woodward is to be commended, however, for assembling an interesting
group of interviewees, all of whom have been touched by Lovecraft's
writing to one degree or another: filmmakers John Carpenter and
Stuart Gordon, authors Peter Straub and Ramsey Campbell, and many
more. Their insights into Lovecraft's work
including his Cthulhu mythos
are interesting and thought-provoking. Ultimately, however, the
documentary fails to come to grips with its subject and it remains
more superficial than one would like.
Cinevolve
brings Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
to DVD in a fine special edition. The feature itself is presented
1.85/16x9 and it looks and sounds just fine. Extras include extended
interview segments, covering a wide variety of topics there's
well over an hour of extra insights on display here, and one can't
help but think that the film itself would have been enriched by
including some, if not all, of this material. Other extras include
trailers and Lovecraft-inspired art work. (This title is also
available in a Blu-ray
edition.)
- T. Howarth
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THE
ASPHYX -
U.K. (1973)
Hen's
Tooth Video
PG |
Color |
99 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD released October 27, 2009
.........
19th Century
scientist and social advocate Sir Hugo Cunningham (Robert Stephens)
finds a way to attain immortality... Based on an idea by Lawrence
and Christina Beers, The Asphyx is
a low key, intelligent horror-fantasy. The ingenious concept allows
its protagonist to discover a way of isolating the "Asphyx"
a Greek legend, it is supposed to represent the soul leaving the
body
thus allowing a human subject to live for eternity. Though shot
on a low budget, the production was able to lure some top talents.
Stephens (later Knighted for his distinguished stage work) essays
the lead role. Once regarded as the heir apparent to Laurence
Olivier, his film career never really took off, despite playing
the lead for Billy Wilder in The Private
Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Here he gives a low-key,
heartfelt performance as a basically decent man whose research
spirals out of control. The production design is by John Stoll
and the cinematography by Freddie Young, both of whom netted Oscars
for their work on David Lean's Lawrence
of Arabia (1962). Their combined efforts help to make The
Asphyx look like an A-level production. The screenplay
is a bit too wordy, but the dialogue is generally sharp and incisive,
and it has the benefit of fine acting to back it up. Compared
to some of the Hammer, or even Amicus, productions of the same
time frame, the film seems a bit quaint and old fashioned
but it offers a thoughtul and compelling take on a familial tragedy.
The special effects work are generally effective as well, with
the visualization of the Asphyx itself looking pretty convincing.
Peter Newbrook's direction is competent on the whole, though he
makes one unfortunate lapse when Sir Hugo films what ends up being
his son's death
after developing the film and screening it, the image cuts to
close-up of the son, thus enabling a better view of the Asphyx
captured on film; given that Sir Hugo was utilizing a stationary,
primitive camera of his own design, it's a bit much to believe
that he was able to capture the action both in long shot and in
close-up! Quibbles to one side, The Asphyx
is an earnest and well crafted film.
All
Day's original DVD release was most welcome back in the day. Since
the film was shot in the widescreen Todd A0 35 process, previous
VHS versions were badly panned and scanned. The All Day disc restored
it to its widescreen glory, but the transfer was not anamorphically
enhanced and looks a bit primitive by today's standards. Alas,
this repackaged release from Hen's Tooth hasn't gone the extra
mile by enhancing the transfer for widescreen TVs; as such, it
is of value chiefly for those who missed the earlier edition,
but it brings nothing new to the table. The 2.35 image is properly
framed and is in generally good shape, but it looks rather soft
and undefined without the benefit of 16x9 enhancement. Print quality
is good one the whole, with only some minor speckling and scratches
in evidence. The English mono soundtrack is in excellent shape.
There are no extras, not even a trailer.
- T. Howarth |
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Update
In April 2012 Redemption is releasing a remastered anamorphic
transfer of The Asphyx on both DVD
and Blu-ray.
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STEPFATHER II -
U.S.A. (1989)
Synapse
Films
R |
Color |
88 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD released September 29, 2009
.........
There is no
good reason for Stepfather II to
exist. The first film was a surprisingly effective thriller, with
a pretty good script, made a near-classic by a brilliant central
performance. Terry O'Quinn does such a good job as Jerry Butler
the psychotic
man in a constant search for the perfect family for which he can
become the patriarch
that even the
crappier actors in the film don't ruin it. But since the first
movie ended with an amount of violence that would've put anyone
in their graves a sequel seems not just unnecessary but ridiculous.
So why is it so damned good? The fact that Jerry is still alive
and living in a mental asylum is silly enough. That the scars
on his chest don't really match up to the knife thrust we are
shown from the first film in flashbacks is amusing too. That he's
able to escape and resume his pattern of hunting for the TV perfect
family of his dreams is nuts. So why did I enjoy this unneeded,
silly sequel? Once again: Terry O'Quinn. The man is just that
good. While onscreen he makes the crazed plotline believable simply
by virtue of his performance. And the combination of his smoothness
and the plot grinding toward his eventual discovery as a homicidal
madman makes Stepfather
II almost
as fun to watch as the original. After Jerry escapes from his
incarceration he sets up a new life in another new town, changes
his name to Gene, rents a house near recent divorcee Carol (Meg
Foster, looking a bit haggard) and is back in business. Using
his experience in the nuthouse as a template, he somehow presents
himself as a psychiatrist (this is never explained), setting up
a private practice in his home. He begins a group therapy session
with several women from the area, including neighbor Carol, and
starts worming his way into her life by befriending her skateboarding
son. But just as things seem to be going his way the ex-husband
reappears, trying to reconcile. Dammit! And then one of his group
patients (Caroline Williams) becomes suspicious of him, intercepts
some incriminating mail and tells Gene that if he doesn't come
clean she'll inform Carol that he isn't who he claims to be. What's
a psychotic killer to do? Start whacking folks and covering up
their deaths, that's what! Thus begins his slide downhill into
the inevitable missteps that make one murder become several and
blows his carefully constructed life apart... I can barely believe
I enjoyed this movie as much as I did. It has so many things going
against it and yet O'Quinn, a straightforward (if familiar) script
and a steady hand on the tiller (director Jeff Burr) make for
a fun movie. Burr had a hand in making several unneeded horror
sequels in his career but in each case (Leatherface,
Pumpkinhead 2) he managed to craft
a movie that didn't feel like it was made by hacks. I've not seen
all his work and I doubt he could have ever been a great filmmaker,
but damn if he doesn't do a fine job here showing an ability to
overcome dubious material.
Synapse
has gone out of their way to bring Stepfather
II
to DVD in an edition that will make any fan proud. A sharp widescreen
transfer enhanced for 16x9 TVs looks great with only hints of
grain and the Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is extremely clear. Extras
are copious, starting with a fantastic 30 minute mini-doc on the
film entitled The Stepfather Chronicles: Daddys New Home
that blends interviews with Burr, the editor, a producer, the
screenwriter, the cinematographer and actress Caroline Williams
to relate the tale of the movie's production. This is a very well-done
piece that answered several questions about the film in an entertaining
way. Director Burr and producer Darin Scott also turn up in a
full-length audio commentary that goes into great detail and lays
out some of the changes forced on the film when Miramax picked
it up for release. Also, several deleted and alternate scenes
are included that can be watched with or without commentary from
the director. Rounding out the extras is a gallery of stills from
the production, VHS box covers and posters as well as the teaser
and final trailers. The only thing that could have improved this
release would have been an interview with the Stepfather himself,
but OQuinn is sadly absent.
- R. Barnett
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THE HAIRDRESSER'S HUSBAND
- France (1990)
Severin
Films
Not Rated |
Color |
82 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD released April 28, 2009
.........
An
older man (Jean Rochefort) fulfills a childhood fantasy in marrying
a luscious hairdresser (Anna Galeina)... Writer/director
Patrice Leconte's tale of love and sexual obsession has all the
markings of a softcore sex extravaganza, but viewers looking for
sleaze are bound to be disappointed. The
Hairdresser's Husband is a sweet, genteel, delicately rendered
film, rife with the promise of sexual fulfillment, but it is anything
but a graphic flesh fest. Jean Rochefort (the star of Terry Gilliam's
ill-fated Don Quixote) gives a touching performance as the older
man living out his sexual/romantic fantasy life. Rochefort manages
to make the character believable and human throughout, resisting
the easy way out by turning him into a dirty old man caricature.
Beautiful Anna Galeina (Fade To Black)
is every bit his equal as the seductive younger woman, also steering
clear of cheap stereotype and rising to the challenge of realizing
a very complex character. It's difficult in watching the film
to figure out whether the entire thing is merely a fantasy on
Rochefort's part, and Leconte stages the action with an eye towards
making the viewer believe that it could actually be really happening.
The sexual encounters are gracefully handled, with very little
actual nudity on display, and the film is all the more effective
because of it. The pace is slow and measured, the cinematography
impossibly dreamy and the flashback structure actually adds to
the forward momentum. Thanks to the palpable chemistry between
its two admittedly oddly paired stars, The
Hairdresser's Husband is genuinely romantic without indulging
in maudlin sentimentality.
Severin's
release marks the film's debut on R1 DVD. The 2.35/16x9 transfer
is sharp and colorful. Print damage is limited to minor speckling
in a handful of shots. There are no compression defects or other
mastering flaws to report. The stereo French soundtrack is clean
and clear. Music and sound effects have plenty of presence, and
dialogue is never lost in the mix. Removable English subtitles
are provided, and they are also clear and easy to read. Extras
include a theatrical trailer and two in-depth featurette-length
interviews with Leconte and Galeina. Leconte speaks in French
English subtitles are again included and
goes into great detail about his career in the cinema, while the
still-lovely Galeina speaks in fluent English about her involvement
in the film.
-
T. Howarth
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Film:
7 |
DVD: 8 |
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THE CHICK'S ABILITY
- Brazil (1984)
Impulse
Pictures
Not Rated |
Color |
90 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD released April 28, 2009
.........
Pure
telenovela soap opera hooey, only with lots and lots of
full-frontal nudity and steamy "NC-17" sex.
Petite Vanessa Alves is Cristina, a lovely young country lass
who is disowned by her father when she's caught shagging a local
boy and refuses to marry him. Penniless, she travels to the big
city where the only person she knows, her prostitute stepsister,
quickly tires of her problems and turns her out as well, even
though Cristina is now pregnant. By
chance Cristina finds a friend in streetwise transsexual hooker
"Lili Marlene" (Romeu de Freitas),
who provides shelter for the homeless girl. Unfortunately
her child is born with medical problems
problems that can only be cured by a very expensive operation.
Desperate for cash, Cristina almost goes
through with Wicked Stepsister's plan to turn tricks but, disgusted
by her first (elderly) john, chickens out at the last moment.
With little hope of saving her newborn
son, a
promise of salvation miraculously appears in the form of Marcos
(Andrι Loureiro), a well-to-do artist who sees in Cristina his
perfect erotic portrait model. She's introduced to him by his
girlfriend (Helena Ramos), the kind, MILFishly hot doctor treating
the sick child. Marcos is willing to pay extremely well for modeling
sessions, enough to cover the lifesaving surgery. As work begins
on the painting, Hot Doc jealously senses that Marcos could be
falling in love (definitely
in lust) with his subject. Meanwhile, the
stepsister's thuggish, violent pimp starts hunting for Lili with
a score to settle... These turgid melodramatics are played very
earnestly by the uninhibited cast, who
women and men are quite comfortable letting it all hang
out. Their lengthy, acrobatic sex scenes occasionally bump up
against the line between softcore and hardcore but never stray
over. All of the (biological) ladies spend a great deal of their
screen time buck naked, which I admittedly didn't have a problem
with. If this film leaves one with but a single impression of
Brazil, it's that Brazilian gals are deliciously lithe, sizzlingly
supple and have the most wonderful golden brown tans... preferably
seen dripping with water or glazed with a sheen of sweat.
With
this, its first volume in the Classic Latin Erotica Collection,
Impulse adds South American T&A to its fleshy roster of Scandinavian
(Maid
in Sweden) and German (Schoolgirl
Report series) fare. Given the film's origins and
obscurity it comes off fairly well via this DVD, presented fullframe
(the original AR) and in Portuguese with excellent, easy-to-read
optional English subtitles. It's grainy-looking and exhibits occasional
print damage but is eminently watchable.
The mono audio track has some minor issues as well; nothing too
distracting, however. Beyond a single
page of liner notes (briefly describing Brazil's pornochanchada
genre of erotic films), no extras are offered.
-
B. Lindsey
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Film:
4 |
DVD: 4 |
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COLD EYES OF FEAR -
Italy - Spain (1971)
Redemption
Films
Not Rated |
Color |
91 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD released April 28, 2009
.........
The
opening sequence of this thriller makes one believe that a 'psycho
sex killer stalks naked babes'-type giallo is in the offing, but
it's all a gag a nightclub performance being watched by two
of the main characters.
Instead we're treated to a suspense drama
about a vengeance-obsessed criminal (Frank Wolff) out to destroy
the judge (Fernando Rey) who sent him to prison for 15 years.
Caught in the trap are the judge's nephew (Gianno Garko) and a
high-class prostitute (Giovanna Ralli) he picks up in swingin'
London. He takes her to his uncle's mansion
for a bit of fun (the judge is still in the city, working late
at the office), only to find the butler dead and Wolff's punk
henchman (Juliαn Mateos) waiting in ambush... Cold
Eyes of Fear
(shown on American TV as Desperate Moments)
is the most visually stylish film I've yet seen by Enzo G. Castellari,
the Italian director best known for his energetic spaghetti westerns
and action flicks. Too bad it's also the
dullest. He
gives it considerable flair (for just one example: a shot of Ralli
dialing a phone number is
made from the 'inside' of the telephone) and gets good performances
from his actors, but it's just not enough to lift the film out
of its talky torpor. Bearing responsibility
for this failure lies squarely with the writers, who don't provide
us with any characters or plot elements to care about. For a thriller,
moments of tension and suspense are much too few and far between.
The 'home invasion' aspect of the story
screams of exploitation/sleaze potential that is never taken advantage
of; violence is limited to rough fistfights and the only
nudity comes courtesy of Karin Schubert (Black
Venus) as a stripper in the aforementioned nightclub act.
Partially lensed in London and offering a dissonantly jazzy Ennio
Morricone score (reminiscent of his work for 1970's Cat
o' Nine Tails), Cold Eyes
would seem to have a lot going for it on the surface... only to
fall disappointingly flat. With a thud.
A
nice-looking 1.85:1 transfer comes to naught, since it isn't anamorphic
in 2009 this is simply unacceptable. The mono audio track (English
dubbed) also disappoints; sound effects and music are so loud
they easily overwhelm the nearly omnipresent hiss, crackles and
pops, but dialog levels are weak and get lost in the mix. (Having
to constantly adjust the volume throughout a film is not my idea
of fun.) The only extras are an image gallery and a slate of trailers
for other Redemption titles.
-
B. Lindsey
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Film:
3 |
DVD: 3 |
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HERCULES
THE AVENGER -
Italy - France (1965)
Retromedia
Not Rated |
Color |
85 Min. |
R0 - NTSC | 4-Disc set
DVD released March 31, 2009
.........
More
or less 'Reg Park's Greatest Herc Hits', since huge chunks of
this film are lifted lock, stock and barrel from Hercules
in the Haunted World and Hercules
and the Captive Women (both 1961). A wraparound story
is concocted about Hercules questing for his missing son Xanthus,
who is imprisoned in the supernatural domain of Gia the earth
goddess. Meanwhile,
Gia's evil son Antaeus himself
a demi-god, like Hercules impersonates
Herc and takes over the city-state of Syracuse with the help of
its ambitious queen. Ruling as a mad, barbarous tyrant, Antaeus
(Giovanni Cianfriglia) starts exiling
and slaughtering people at whim, generally soiling the name of
Hercules something fierce. Naturally Herc manages to rescue Xanthus
and punish Antaeus for his crimes, although Syracuse is destroyed
by volcanic eruption in the process... If you've already seen
Haunted World and/or Captive
Women then there's really no point in watching this
one. All of Avenger's
monster action and special effects
scenes are borrowed from those films, only with different
dialog dubbed in. Its main cheesy pleasure
is Gianfriglia's Antaeus. A schoolyard bully in a he-man's
body, he's such a cruel, arrogant prick that you keep watching
for the moment when Herc finally kicks his ass. He's
at least good for a few laughs, as when barking commands like,
"Drive them into the Valley of Agony and
block the way out!"
Retromedia's Hercules Collection
is a repackaging of nine previously-released sword & sandal
pics (flipper discs, now housed in space-saving slimline cases),
with the 4th disc containing three of the films. Avenger
is one of the titles presented in its proper 2.35 AR and given
an anamorphic transfer. (Half of the movies are cropped fullscreen
and beat all to hell.) It's in fairly decent shape, albeit overly
dark and grainy and marred by occasional damage, but nothing too
terribly distracting. Likewise the mono audio
track, which is a trifle tinny but serviceable enough. All told,
the attractive packaging and cheap price of this collection
help offset the woeful condition of some of the titles in the
set.
NOTE: My DVD Rating of "5" applies to the entire collection.
-
B. Lindsey
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Film:
3 |
DVD: 5 |
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NEVER
SAY NEVER AGAIN -
U.K. - U.S.A. - West Germany (1983)
MGM/Fox
Home Entertainment
PG |
Color |
134 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD released March 24, 2009
.........
It
seems impossible, but in at least one instance Sean Connery as
James Bond actually made Roger Moore look good. Coming just a
few months after the release of Octopussy,
this non-canonical 'rogue' 007 production brought Connery back
to the role some twelve years after Diamonds
Are Forever. He needn't have bothered.
Since it's a remake of 1965's Thunderball
the film ironically suffers from both a 'been there, done that'
tiredness and a lack of the familiar, beloved Bond staples, notably
the gun barrel opening and distinctive James Bond theme. Once
again the suave secret agent vies with ruthless SPECTRE operative
Largo (this time played by Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer)
for possession of two stolen nuclear warheads. Some
of the major locations are the same
the English health clinic, the Bahamas
although there's far less underwater action than in the original.
NSNA tries a more humorous approach,
but the campy script by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (the '60s Batman
TV series, Flash
Gordon) usually misses the mark; you'll be groaning rather
than chuckling in most instances. Irvin Kershner's journeyman
direction
fails to add any zip to the proceedings, falling flat in the sparse,
perfunctory action scenes. Composer Michel Legrand contributes
a dreadful score (complete with excruciatingly awful theme song)
which definitely drags the film down a few notches. At least the
cast is enjoyable, especially Brandauer's
quirky psycho-villain and Barbara Carrera
(Lone Wolf McQuade) as his glamorous
and lethal henchwoman, Fatima Blush. Edward Fox is a younger
but even stuffier (and more exasperated) M; blaxploitation vet
Bernie Casey is a cool Felix Leiter and the great Max Von Sydow
an ideal Blofeld, but disappointingly they're given very little
to do. A 29-year old Kim Basinger is on hand for some nice eye
candy. And Connery, although up to the challenge and quite fit
for his age, is slathered with so much makeup and skin bronzer
that he looks like a wax mannequin of himself and his Q Branch-issue
toupee definitely fails the field test.
(You really should have said "Never!" again,
Sir Sean.)
Previously released on DVD by Warner Home Video, the new MGM/Fox
disc is touted as a "collector's edition". Its anamorphic
2.35:1 transfer could perhaps be sharper looking but I suspect
the softness of some scenes is due to the way the film was originally
shot; this movie's just never going to look as good as the remastered
"Ultimate" DVDs of the official Bond series. The
5.1 audio track sounds great. Along with the theatrical
trailer and a photo gallery, three featurettes are on hand: The
Big Gamble (16:00), Sean is Back (8:00) and The
Girls of Never Say Never Again (10:00). In
tandem these do a decent job of providing the story behind the
film and its production, although Connery doesn't participate.
An audio commentary with director Kershner is rather boring and
prone to lengthy gaps despite the efforts of moderator Steven
Jay Rubin to keep things moving. (This title is also available
on Blu-ray.)
-
B. Lindsey
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Film:
4 |
DVD: 9 |
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