Showing posts with label Arrow Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arrow Video. Show all posts
Monday, 31 July 2017
PULSE - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Profound Kurosawa J-Horror Classic gets Arrow Blu-Ray
Pulse/Kairo (2001)
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Starring: Kumiko Aso, Haruhiko Kato, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka, Koji Yakusho
Review By Greg Klymkiw
About 15 years ago I saw Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse. It's stayed with me these many long years. I just finished watching the Arrow Films Blu-ray. I hadn't seen the movie since it scared the living shit out of me first-run on the big screen in 2002 and this recent viewing was like seeing it for the first time. Upon its conclusion and for some time afterwards I continued to shudder and weep. Not only because of the content of the movie, its profundity and deeply moving qualities, but because I felt so grateful that cinema exists to have afforded a genuine artist like Kurosawa the opportunity to unleash it upon us. And of course, when I see a picture this great, it reminds me, yet again, that I love cinema so very, very much. No matter how bad movies are these days, work like this exists and can continue to be made in spite of everything going against the medium now.
Pulse (aka Kairo) is a ghost story, but unlike any ever made. It deals with the notion that there's no more room in that place whereever the spirits of the dead go and now they are crossing over into our world, our living world. As people slowly begin to realize what's happening, it causes mass despair because what the ghosts communicate to the living is that death is eternal loneliness. People in the billions begin to commit suicide.
We follow two people who eventually find each other and realize that the only way they can survive is to be with each other, to never be alone. Of course, it takes some time and plenty of creepy and often downright shocking scares for this to happen.
Michi (Kumiko Aso) works in a plant shop. One of her co-workers has been missing for days. She goes to investigate and what she witnesses is ghastly. Her other co-workers become afflicted with a depressive malaise and she's eventually left to fend for herself.
Kawashima (Haruhiko Katô) is a university student who signs up for the internet (when the film was made, remember these were still relatively early days for the world wide web) and he discovers something online that's both ghoulish and more than a little disturbing. He befriends Harue (Koyuki), a computer science student, to help him get to the bottom of this ominous mystery. What they slowly begin to discover is truly shuddersome.
Yes, Michi and Kawashima's stories converge and as Tokyo's population dwindles to virtually nothing, they find each other. As Tokyo burns, covered with a thick, soupy haze (at one point, a flaming jet crashes into the middle of the city) they flee, pledging to go as far as they can go.
Throughout the film, Kurosawa assails us with moaning, wailing, desperate apparitions. A strange website called "The Forbidden Room" offers curious advice involving red duct tape (never has red duct tape been as hair-raisingly nightmarish as it is here). Recently departed humans turn into grim ectoplasmic black shadows on walls, floors and sidewalks (creepily conjuring images of similar shadows after the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings). At times we hear these shadows crying out, "Help me." All of this is delivered with a slow, macabre pace. dread ever-mounting.
At one point, it's explained:
"Ghosts won't kill people, because that would just make more ghosts. Instead they will try to make people immortal by quietly trapping them in their own loneliness."
This provides little solace to both the viewer and the characters.
Pulse has a truly unique look via cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi (gorgeously captured on the Arrow Films' Blu-Ray). Film grain is readily apparent and dances upon the screen ever-so delectably. The colour palette is made up of greys, pale browns and sickeningly bleached greens. Shadows and darkness run rampant - at times it seems like we can see virtually nothing, but shots will hold long enough to reveal tiny dollops of light and detail.
Kurosawa presents a world of loneliness, disconnection and deep, numbing and increasing pain. To say the film is prescient, would be an understatement. And yes, Pulse moves us to tears. When a character eventually declares:
"Now I'm alone with my last friend in the world and I have found happiness;"
We simply don't believe it. We can't.
THE FILM CORNER RATING: *****
Pulse/Kairo is available on a tremendous Special Edition from Arrow Films (this company is truly the Criterion Collection of genre cinema). It includes a High Definition digital transfer on Blu-ray (1080p) and a Standard Definition DVD, the Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD on the Blu-ray), New optional English subtitle translation, New interview with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, New interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi, "The Horror of Isolation": a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett (Blair Witch, You’re Next), an Archival ‘Making of’ documentary, four archival behind-the-scenes featurettes, Premiere footage from the Cannes Film Festival, Cast and crew introductions from opening day screenings in Tokyo, Trailers and TV Spots.
Labels:
*****
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2001
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Arrow Films
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Arrow Video
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Blu-Ray
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DVD
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Ghosts
,
Greg Klymkiw
,
Horror
,
Japan
,
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Monday, 26 June 2017
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Argento Debut on Arrow
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The birth of a horror master, and it was a good birth. |
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Dir. Dario Argento
Starring: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Reggie Nalder
Review By Greg Klymkiw
Why do beautiful women insist upon walking home alone at night, especially when the city's been plagued by a serial killer targeting beautiful women walking home alone at night? Well, in the movies, the answer is simple. So we get to watch a potential victim furtively step into occasional pockets of light, surrounded mostly by pitch-black shadows whilst being spied upon and followed by a butcher-knife-wielding psychopath adorned in black leather and an oh-so-stylish wide-brimmed hat until eventually, she's followed home and then, once resting easy in her see-through nightie, the whack-job stalker enters her boudoir and exacts some vicious handiwork.
Why, you ask?
That's why!
And so it is that the entire aforementioned stalk-and-slash sequence is accompanied by the following bon bons:
- a creepy Ennio Morricone score that veers from off-kilter nursery-rhyme tones to discordant jazz riffs;
- the sumptuously scintillating incandesce of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and;
- in his debut feature as a director, the gloriously fetishistic mise-en-scène of Dario (Suspiria) Argento.
Add to all of this, a gorgeous smash cut from the first appearance of the killer to an extreme closeup of the insides of the victim's moist screaming maw as the camera then pulls out of its intimate perch, the lens like some penis withdrawing from a delectable orifice of penetration.
Oh yes, we are most definitely in Argento Land!
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage is a first-rate giallo classic of the highest order and though it's a bit light on Argento's later trademark cerebral qualities in favour of more standard mystery thriller tropes, there's plenty of dazzling visual nuttiness on display to signal the arrival of one of horror cinema's true masters. (And, there are plenty of fetishistic Argento closeups of the psycho's black-leather-gloved hands, cradling steely implements of death and performing divinely appetizing acts of violence.)
Loosely based, and oddly uncredited, upon "The Screaming Mimi", a lurid 1949 pulp novel by Fredric Brown, Argento's screenplay details the adventures of American writer Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) who's been residing in Rome with his gorgeous squeeze Julia (Suzy Kendall). When he witnesses the attempted murder of Monica (Eva Renzi), a beautiful (naturally) redheaded art gallery employee, homicide detective Morosini (Enrico Maria Salerno) scoops Sam's passport, preventing him from leaving the country, not because he suspects any nefarious activities, but because he's convinced our hero might hold a key to the investigation, buried (of course) in his psyche. For his part, Sam's having some troubles in the manly-performance department and thinks he'll be able to get "it" back up again if the murders can be solved. Needless to say, he begins to play detective all on his lonesome. Conveniently, for the film, this places both him and his dazzlingly gorgeous girlfriend in peril.
These are characteristically delightful giallo twists and turns, all served-up marvellously by the tasty side-dishes of Argento's baroque crazy-ass styling. The suspense set pieces are genuinely scary and the whole affair not only signals what was eventually to come from the great auteur, but works perfectly well as a dazzling, horror thriller all on its own. The absurdity of the narrative doesn't disappoint and even offers up some wonderful red-herrings to spice up a few surprising revelations that most of us should see coming from a mile away. (And even if you do, you won't quite spot them coming exactly the way they do.)
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Any movie with Reggie Nalder is worth its weight in gold. |
As a tasty side note, any film that features the magnificent character actor Reggie Nalder as a yellow-jacket-adorned hired killer who disappears within a convention of former prize-fighters after a scary stalk-and-chase sequence, is almost, in and of itself, worth the price of admission.
Luckily, the movie itself has a lot more to offer.
My first taste of The Bird With The Crystal Plumage was on film during a dusk-to-dawn show at a drive-in movie theatre in the late 70s and my memories were fond enough of the picture that I was eventually disappointed and disgusted by the poor video transfer I eventually caught up with on VHS in the 80s.
Now, my life is complete
The Arrow Films Blu-Ray deluxe edition not only serves up a lovely 4K digital restoration, but comes complete with a bevy of superb extra features including a Gold Standard audio commentary from Troy Howarth who jams his sprightly presentation with everything you always wanted to know about the making of this film, and then some - his delightful delineation of every arcane piece of Italian giallo lore is a genre geek's wet dream. It's really a pleasure to listen to someone who knows his shit and displays his "wares" with intelligence and passion.
THE FILM CORNER RATING:
**** 4-Stars (for the film)
***** 5-Stars for the Arrow Films Blu-Ray.
Labels:
****
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1970
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Arrow Films
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Arrow Video
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Blu-Ray
,
Dario Argento
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DVD
,
Giallo
,
Greg Klymkiw
,
Horror
,
Italy
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
MADHOUSE (1981) - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Notorious Video Nasty Gets Arrow Lovin'
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Arrow, the Gold Standard of Genre Home Entertainment, serves up delectable Blu-Ray/DVD of notorious "nasty"! |
Madhouse (1981)
Dir. Ovidio G. Assonitis
Scr. Assonitis, Stephen Blakeley, Peter Sheperd. Roberto Gandus
Starring: Trish Everly, Dennis Robertson, Allison Biggers,
Michael Macrae, Morgan Hart, Edith Ivey, Jerry Fujikawa
Review By Greg Klymkiw
A little girl gently rocks another little girl in a big old chair whilst a somewhat dissonant nursery rhyme is crooned. It's the dissonance of the ditty that prepares us for the worst. As the camera pushes in slowly upon the action, we're eventually treated to a brick being smashed repeatedly in the face of the lulled child. And so begins one of the most notorious "video nasties" of the the early 80s, so named because it was one of numerous pictures that were outright banned in Britain for their attention to excruciatingly graphic violence.
Directed by the prolific Italian producer-director-distributor of such works as The Exorcist rip-off Beyond The Door, James Cameron's debut feature Piranha II: The Spawning (which the Titanic director was fired from) and the compulsively, brilliantly godawful Jaws rip-off Tentacles, Ovidio G. Assonitis might well have managed to barf up something resembling, by his standards, a masterpiece.
Madhouse is one marvellously entertaining Giallo slasher picture and though Assonitis will never be mistaken for the likes of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci or Mario Bava, he acquits himself handily here with this fun, surprisingly well-acted (especially by its leading lady), super-creepy gore-fest (that is also blessed with a totally bonkers Riz Ortolani score).
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Glorious Gore-Galore in MADHOUSE. Yummy-yum-yum! |
And the narrative itself? It took four screenwriters to generate the plot, and while there's no writing here that's ever going to be acclaimed for its virtuosity, it manages to juggle a whole passel of strange jaw-droppers, many bordering on originality, in addition to all the requisite tropes the genre demands.
Julia (Trish Everly) teaches deaf kids in Savannah, Georgia and rents a room from the eccentric Amantha Beauregard (Edith Ivey) who owns a sprawling old house that was once a funeral parlour. The caretaker of this sumptuous manse is Mr. Kimura (Jerry Fujikawa), an Asian-American who manages to give Mickey Rooney's Mr. Yunioshi from Breakfast at Tiffany's a run for the money in the grotesquely-racist-portraits-of-Asians Department - quite a feat considering he's played, not by a short white dude in "yellow-face", but a real Asian-American actor.
It seems Julia is the twin sister of Mary (Allison Biggers), a completely bunyip psychopath who lies suffering from a degenerative skin disease in a nuthouse. Julia suffered horrible abuse at the hands of her sister as a child and seeing as their mutual birthday is just round the corner, she is more than a little creeped-out after a harrowing hospital visit in which the batty sis promises to celebrate with some extra-vicious lovin'.
Making matters worse is that the ladies' Uncle James (Dennis Robertson) seems to think that bonkers Mary is simply "misunderstood" and that the seemingly together Julia is unhinged. That the "kindly" Uncle is a Catholic priest does not bode well and though some might consider this a "spoiler", it's pretty damn obvious from the second we meet him that he might be even more off his rocker than the deformed abusive sister. (And yeah, one of the more delightful set pieces involving our wing-nut Priest is a birthday party replete with cake, candles and corpses.)
Needless to say, as the movie creeps ever closer to the celebratory date of birth, Assonitis gives us one vomit-inducing display of violence after another. It's a glorious thing, really! We not only get one butcher-knife hacking after another, but just to keep things interesting we're treated to bludgeoning, Rottweiler attacks, a truly magnificent hatchet wielding and, in one of the more inspired moments, you will jump out of your seat and fill your drawers when something/someone smashes through a door and is then dispatched with a power drill to the skull.
And if this doesn't tickle your fancy, allow me to remind you that you'll actually revel in an oh-so-yummy scene in which a sweet, little deaf boy gets his throat torn out.
That'll teach the little nipper to stay away from strange Rottweilers.
THE FILM CORNER RATINGS: ***½ (film), **** (Blu-Ray/DVD)
Madhouse is brought to us on a first-rate two-disc Blu-Ray/DVD by Arrow Films (these dudes really set the Gold standard for genre home entertainment releases) that not only offers a gorgeous 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative, but a whole whack of wonderful extra features including an entertaining audio commentary with genre podcasters The Hysteria Continues, some extremely informative, in-depth interviews with cinematographer Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli, veteran actress Edith Ivey and, the man himself Ovidio G. Assonitis. Add a trailer, alternate opening titles, a lovely booklet and terrific box-cover art, and this is one worthy addition to any horror fan's home entertainment collection.
Labels:
****
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***½
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1981
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Arrow Films
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Arrow Video
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Blu-Ray
,
DVD
,
Greg Klymkiw
,
Horror
,
Italy
,
Ovidio G. Assonitis
,
Video Nasty
Friday, 19 June 2015
MARK OF THE DEVIL - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Arrow Video Restores Deliciously Vile 70s Witchfinding Torture Shocker to its Original Glory on a sumptuous Blu-Ray equivalent to Criterion Collection standards
Mark of the Devil (1970)
Dir. Michael Armstrong
Starring: Udo Kier, Herbert Lom, Reggie Nalder,
Olivera Katarina aka Olivera Vuco, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs
Review By Greg Klymkiw
Translated from Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält into the Queen's English from German, the exquisitely Teutonic appellation of this classic 1970 shocker is Witches Tortured Until They Bleed.
Our ultra-Catholic friends in Italy affixed an equally tantalizing monicker: La Tortura Delle Vergini, or, in lingua inglese, The Torture of Virgins.
We, of course, know and love the picture as the far more genteel Mark of the Devil, but ultimately, whichever way one comes to appreciate this infamously vile shot-in-Bavaria German-UK co-production, it's guaranteed to bring joy to all eyes bearing witness to it. Well, "all" eyes with a clear path to that tainted chunk o' brain matter which can truly appreciate this sickeningly effective answer to Michael Reeves' 1968 cult masterpiece Witchfinder General -- those lucky souls will be the true beneficiaries of the delights found within the fully restored Arrow Video edition of it.
Though it might not have the borderline art-house credibility of Witchfinder General, Mark of the Devil is, in its own right, a fine addition to all the magnificently entertaining Euro-Trash witch torture exploitation items from the 60s and 70s. Not only is the torture of the highest standards, but the movie is damn compelling from a story standpoint.
Count Christian von Meruh (a character with a name like this could only be played by Udo Kier), a handsome young apprentice witch finder, accompanies his learned experienced mentor, the dastardly Lord Cumberland (Herbert Lom) to clean up the corruption in a small town, not so much to stop torture and executions, but to make sure the proper guilty parties are rooted out. The Count falls for the comely barmaid Vanessa (played by the famous Serbian acting and singing sensation known alternately as Olivera Katarina and Olivera Vuco).
Unfortunately, the vicious local witchfinder, the Albino (the brilliant Reggie Nalder whose grotesque appearance was a result of massive burns to his face), has designs upon her (as he does with most women in the town) and when she refuses to put out, she's accused of witchcraft (as are most of the gals who don't put out). A family of innocent travelling puppeteers are also singled out as witches, especially the gorgeous blonde daughter (Gaby Fuchs, German star of numerous horror and sex films).
A whole whack of sickening tortures and executions are carried out until the handsome Count realizes the insidiously corrupt nature of the whole affair and leads a revolt against the witchfinders.
Due to considerable friction twixt director Michael Armstrong and producer Adrian Hoven (who also acts in the film), a considerable portion of the movie includes added sequences directed by the latter. In spite of this, the film has a relatively smooth mise-en-scene and ultimately works as a genuinely fine addition to this sub-genre of 70s exploitation. The performances, especially by Kier, Lom and Nalder are top of the line and the movie, even in its longer unexpurgated form, moves along at a speedy clip.
Though ultimately an exploitation film meant to capitalize on the success of the aforementioned Witchfinder General, Mark of the Devil holds its own very nicely and due to its superb locations and attention to certain historical details, it feels as disgustingly representative of this horrendous period of history as one could/would want.
Have I mentioned yet that the movie opens with nuns being raped? I thought not.
Look, there's just no getting around how foul this picture is, but aficionados of vile Euro-Trash will find themselves in a constant state of orgasm.
One cannot deny such pleasures to anyone.
Can one?
THE FILM CORNER RATING: ***½ (film) & ***** (Blu-Ray/DVD)
Mark of the Devil is available on a sumptuous Arrow Video Blu-Ray. In addition to the restoration of the full version and superb transfer from existing elements, the added treat are the bountiful extras. Arrow continues to be the gold standard for genre films in the home entertainment market and this particular package is on par with any fully loaded Criterion Collection release. Extras include a wonderful commentary track with Michael Armstrong, expertly moderated by Calum Waddell. Exclusive to this package is Mark of the Times a one-hour documentary on the British new wave of genre directors during the 60s and 70s. Hallmark of the Devil is an amazing little 12-minute doc about Hallmark Releasing (of Hallmark greeting cards fame) and their vile brilliant marketing campaign which ensured a huge return when the film played theatrically in the USA. There are a whack of great interviews with composer Michael Holm, actors Udo Kier, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schöner and even an audio only chat with Herbert Lom. A very entertaining short entitled Mark of the Devil: Now and Then takes us on a then-and-now tour of the film's locations. Additionally, one will find the usual bevy of outtakes, picture galleries, trailers and Arrow's impeccably high standards in package design and supplements with reversible sleeve and a lovely booklet featuring wonderful articles including David Del Valle's interview with the immortal Reggie Nalder.
This one is a keeper, folks
Labels:
***½
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1970
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Arrow Films
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Arrow Video
,
Blu-Ray
,
DVD
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Germany
,
Greg Klymkiw
,
Horror
,
Michael Armstrong
,
Torture
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UK
,
Witches
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
ARROW FILMS is becoming the GOLD STANDARD for the home entertainment packaging of Genre Pictures: THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MISS OSBOURNE by Walerian Borowczyk - Review By Greg Klymkiw
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981)
Dir. Walerian Borowczyk
Starring: Udo Kier, Gérard Zalcberg,
Marina Pierro, Patrick Magee, Howard Vernon, Clément Harari
Review By Greg Klymkiw
This might not be the ultimate film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's literary masterpiece "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (that, for me, belongs to 1968's astounding Dan Curtis and Charles Jarrott shot-on-2-inch-video production for ABC-TV, starring Jack Palance in the dual role), but Walerian Borowczyk's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne deserves an oblation of the most emphatically laudatory kind for easily being the strangest, creepiest and most visually diverse version.
On the surface, it's a relatively straight-forward rendering of the alchemy-obsessed Dr. Jekyll and his discovery of a secret potion which allows the normally mild mannered scientist to conjure up his most base instincts and turn into a foul murderous psychopath. Where the adaptation parts company with most is on several levels.
First of all, Borowczyk has quite brilliantly chosen to split the acting duties of Jekyll and Hyde twixt two actors, Udo Kier and Gérard Zalcberg respectively. Kier adds a sexy, almost reptilian quality to the good doctor and quite capably evokes the more subtle qualities of Jekyll's obsessive "addiction" to both the potion and the brutal qualities of his alter-ego Mr. Hyde. Zalcberg resembles Kier in face and stature (albeit with a grotesquely deformed visage), but he takes the horrific Hyde to demented levels of psychopathy and sexual deviance not quite exploited as overtly as they are here.
Secondly, more emphasis is placed upon the love story between Jekyll and his fiancé. As such, the entire action of the film takes place over the course of one long, horrifying evening devoted to celebrating the couple's engagement. Delving into Mario Bava stalker territory of such works as Bay of Blood and providing a far more compelling precursor to the slasher movie craze of the period than those of the Friday the 13th ilk, Borowcxyk does not shy away from explicit perverse sexual activity and this, coupled with some truly sickening violence and humiliation, is what serves up a genuinely original take on the twisted tale.
Borowczyk's gorgeously skewed compositions, lighting and camera moves are a big treat in this respect as are his attention to numerous fetishistic lingerings over a variety of inanimate objects (and not to neglect his evocative mirror imagery), the movie is a dazzler to the eye. Enjoying Hyde decimate the assembled celebrants one by one is truly joyous. Coupled with a first rate cast (Patrick Magee as a prudish aristocrat forced to watch his comely daughter succumb to Hyde's huge and prodigious sword of manhood is especially engaging)
Throughout the film, one is both shocked and tantalized with how far Hyde goes during his evening of slaughter and general debauchery. Ultimately, it's a parade of delicious serial killings, but crafted with a great deal of artistry and vision. Throughout most of the movie, you'll be agog at its subversive nature. Your jaw will drop as regularly as Mr. Hyde's deadly, loutish knuckle dragging.
It's cause for celebration!
THE FILM CORNER RATING:
***** 5 Stars for both the film and Arrow's Special Edition
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne is available in a sumptuous special edition on Arrow Video with the following special features: A new 2K restoration, scanned from the original camera negative and supervised by cinematographer Noël Véry, a High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD of the movie released on both formats for the first time anywhere in the world, English and French soundtracks, Optional English and English SDH subtitles, Introduction by critic Michael Brooke, Audio commentary featuring archival interviews with Walerian Borowczyk, Udo Kier, Marina Pierro and producer Robert Kuperberg, and new interviews with cinematographer Noël Véry, editor Khadicha Bariha, assistant Michael Levy and filmmaker Noël Simsolo, all moderated by Daniel Bird, Interview with Marina Pierro, Himorogi (2012), a short film by Marina and Alessio Pierro, made in homage to Borowczyk, Interview with artist and filmmaker Alessio Pierro, Video essay by Adrian Martin and Cristina Alvarez Lopez, Eyes That Listen, a featurette on Borowczyk’s collaborations with electro-acoustic composer Bernard Parmegiani, Jouet Jouyeux (1979), a short film by Borowczyk based on Charles-Émile Reynaud’s praxinoscope, Interview with Sarah Mallinson, former assistant to Borowczyk and fellow animator Peter Foldes, Returning to Méliès: Borowczyk and Early Cinema, a featurette by Daniel Bird, Theatrical trailer with optional commentary by editor Khadicha Bariha, Reversible sleeve with artwork based on Borowczyk’s own poster design, Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Daniel Bird and archive pieces by Walerian Borowczyk and Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues.
There's not a single item on this Special Edition that a Borowczyk fan, nor for that matter, any serious horror aficionado will not want to pore over. My personal favourites included Michael Brooke's wonderful video in which he tells the familiar tale of all grind house denizens - discovering the work of a great director in a delectable dive devoted to flat-rental specials on triple and quadruple bills, offering hours of entertainment for one low admission, as well as providing a safe haven for the homeless, the indigent and those seeking a nice spot to get a blow job from a hooker. Brooke's superbly spun tale of first viewing Borowczyk's Dr. Jekyll film in just such an establishment is replete with a detailed analysis of the filmmaker's style and career and the history of this astoundingly vile and quite brilliant film. Actress Marina Pierro's interview is full of illuminating observations on Borowczyk's working methods as well as her own erudite assessment of his work. I also loved the extra involving composer Bernard Parmegiani which provides great insight into the world of 70s/80s Euro-Trash electronic/acoustic scoring. Again, these are just personal favourites and, ultimately, I found the entire package eminently fascinating and beautifully produced. It was this package in particular that led me to decide that Arrow was indeed providing a Criterion Collection-styled Gold Standard to the packaging of genre films.
Labels:
1981
,
Arrow Films
,
Arrow Video
,
BluRay
,
DVD
,
Euro-Sleaze
,
Euro-Trash
,
Greg Klymkiw
,
Horror
,
Walerian Borowczyk
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