DVD Review: Women in Prison Triple Feature

Women in Prison: Triple Feature
Escape from Hell; Women in Cell Block 7; The Hot Box

DVD Released: June 30th, 2009
Approximate Running Time: 92mins; 100mins; 88mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles: None
DVD Release: Retro Shock-o-Rama
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95 Click to Buy at HK-Flix

Escape from Hell

"The explosive tale of nubile women forced to work as slave labor in the jungles of Brazil. Beaten and tortured by their heartless captors, they endure every humiliation imaginable. Only the snake-infested jungle offers a glimmer of hope for survival. A super hardedge WIP by the legendary Edward Müller and starring transsexual bombshell Ajita Wilson."

This was a Spanish-Italian co-production and it has all the necessary traits for a WIP movie, sweaty nubile women, evil sadistic prison guards and of course a transsexual (Ajita Wilson) biting the head off a snake! Director Edoardo Mulargia is at the helm here, able supported by Anthony Steffens and Luciano Pignozzi. This is an extremely rare piece of exploitation cinema with no MPAA rating to it's name and play dates for the film has proved impossible to nail down!

Women in Cell Block 7

"A Mafioso’s daughter goes undercover in a women’s prison to clear her father’s name. Stripped of all human dignity, the inmates submit to terrible tortures and sell their souls for a few hours of lesbian lust. A legendary Italian WIP featuring the super-sexy Anita Strindberg (The Eroticist) and the lovely Jenny Tamburi."

This flick actually has a great plot with the Italian mafia double crossing the New York mob and as a result a huge score of drugs has gone missing and in order to find out where it is, the suspects girlfriend is put in prison to jog his memory so to speak. But, there is more as the Interpol agent who is investigating the case becomes even more involved when his daughter is put in the same prison to get close to the girlfriend and hopefully find the truth!

Released in 1973 in Italy and directed by Rino di Silvestri and with good turns from Anita Strindberg and Jenny Tamburi, it was an exploitation favourite during the 70's with it being released in many countries under many different titles!

Like most Italian exploitation flicks, this delivers the goods!

The Hot Box

"Four hot American nurses are kidnapped by guerrillas and forced to join the cause. As the junta strikes back, the ladies are caught in a deadly crossfire. A classic American WIP produced by Jonathan Demme (Caged Heat) and drive-in legend Roger Corman and starring the seductive Laurie Rose. The revolution never looked so sexy!"

With Roger Corman producing with Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs") and Joe Viola directing this very loose Women in Prison movie is the most accessible of the 3 included in this package and the most fun! Four US nurses volunteering in South America are captured by rebels and forced to look after their fallen colleagues and fellow mercenaries! However nakedness still ensues and we get an eyeful of their charms as well as copious amount of guns, explosions and car chases!

Although more a "sexy nurses" movie, this is a solid production that belies its low budget roots, with Charles Dierkop being perhaps the most well known actor involved and will be recognised from playing Santa Claus in "Silent Night, Deadly Night"

A really enjoyable flick even if not a proper WIP title!


Transfer and Audio

Unfortunately full frame transfers are the name of game here with equally uninspiring mono tracks that prove difficult to listen to. Add to this the lack of subtitles and it can prove a little difficult at times to understand what is transpiring! However given their rarity, this can be forgiven and it's great to have these movies on DVD at all!

Extras

This is a 2-disc release with Disc 1 housing "Escape from Hell" and "Women in Cell Block 7" while Disc 2 has "The Hot Box" and a "Retro Shock Trailer Vault". The collection also comes with a very well researched 8 page booklet with loads of info on all 3 movies!

Trailer

Italian Weekend of Terror - The Aftermath

Italian Weekend of Terror – The Aftermath

Finally, Glasgow! After many years of two of Italy’s finest cult directors travelling the world to meet and greet their many, many fans, it was the turn of Glasgow to get the Deodato and Bava double act! The GFT was the venue for the Italian Weekend of Terror in partnership with Arrow Films , where a sold out audience were treated to Lucio Fulci’s “House by the Cemetery” on the Saturday followed by Deodato’s “Cut and Run” and Bava’s “Macabre” on the Sunday!

With introductions from each director followed by “Q & A”’s moderated by journalist Calum Waddell, with myself doing any necessary translations, the weekend was a great success with fans clamouring for autographs and photos afterwards with the two great men who were genuinely touched by the love still shown to their movies! A big thank you as well to all those who attended and hopefully the success of the event will mean that Glasgow can host many more like it in the future!

(That's me on the far right, looking sleepy!)

From a personal point of view it was pretty cool, if a touch surreal to have, in my eyes anyway, two legends of Italian cinema in the back of my car on the way back from Edinburgh Airport as we headed towards Glasgow!

They both turned out to be both utterly charming and very friendly and the weekend was very much the highlight of my short time of writing about movies via this site and I’d like to thank Calum Waddell and the GFT for letting me be a part of it all!

For fun here are five facts about Ruggero and Lamberto that I learned over the course of the weekend!

Ruggero Deodato: Five Fun Facts!

1. His Scottish Kilt clan is McKenzie

2. He does not like Irn-Bru

3. Or Scottish Tablet for that matter!

4. Thinks David Hess is a lovely man but a bit crazy!

5. Speaks very little English but fluent Arabic!

Lamberto Bava: Five Fun Facts!

1. His Favourite Horror film is Bambi!

2. Thought Loch Lomond was beautiful!

3. Is thinking about maybe using 3D in his next project!

4. Also did not like Irn-Bru!

5. His favourite movie of his father Mario was Black Sabbath.

The Roundtable: Week 9

"Since I've just spent the weekend in the company of Ruggero Deodato and Lamberto Bava (more on this later!), then the question is easy this week: What is your favourite films of both these fine directors?"

Answers by email or comment by Thursday! Thanks again!

The Roundtable: Week 8 - Your Contributions

"After enjoying a strange double-bill of Cliffhanger and Critters 4 the other evening, what would be or has been your ideal messed up Grindhouse/Horror/Arthouse/Cult/Whatever movie combo? Give me as many as you like!"

Matthew Bradford (Double0Section)

Having recently seen Tiptoes, it occurred to me that that would make a weirdly excellent double feature with The Sinful Dwarf. Or maybe Tiptoes and The Terror of Tiny Town.

I think Cobra and Reds would have a wonderful dialogue with each other.... although you'd be in for a long night. The great thing about Cobra is that it works with just about anything (especially when there's enough liquor on hand) and produces odd, interesting results.

The Seventh Seal and Deathstalker 2 would be a pretty mindblowing combo, too, albeit a tad pretentious. I think I'll try that one!
Once completely by accident I watched the last two episodes of The Prisoner and then went to see 2001 in 70mm. That turned out to be an amazingly perfect combination. I recommend it.

Kingmob (Dear Bastards)

I guess I'm going for the more oddball pairings with this answer, because consulting my list of watched films tell me that in the past few months I've ended up watching, either by choice or by the chance arrival of Netflix films, the following double bills, either back to back or within the same 24 hour period:

Laid To Rest (contemporary slasher/special effects extravaganza) backed with Wong Kar Wai's sublime love story, Chungking Express

as well as:

The Good, The Bad And The Weird (Korean Western actioner from director Kim Ji-woon that must be seen by everyone) followed up with a long delayed look at a Hollywood classic, All About Eve.

What can I say? I wanna make sure I'm not missing out on stuff from all genres.

Holger Haase (Hammer and Beyond)

I recently watched THE BLUE DAHLIA followed by DRIVE IN MASSACRE. That should qualify as a strange mix. ;-)

Kit Nygaard-Gavin

Les Bronzés / Goodbye Emmanuelle (both have a soundtrack by Gainsbourg) sort of connected.

Exorcist the Beginning / Dominion ( an interesting double bill, of two very flawed movies. I do like the set design too of the early church.

Emanuelle's Revenge / Conversation Piece. Balancing sleaze with Visconti's masterpiece (with a somewhat trashy edge)

Savage Streets / a 60s British Hammer film. After sleazy violent trash, worth clearing the mind with some silly tongue in cheek horror.

The Candy Snatchers / The Wicker Man - both excellent multi-textured movies.

Divine Emanuelle / Beyond the Valley of the Dolls - love the kitsch feel and music for both these films.

Story of O / the Nun of Monza,two of my favourite actresses appear naked. And frequently...

Michael McKenzie (Land of Whimsy)

Hmm... so many possibilities, so little time. Here's a few I'd get a kick out of:

I think I'd like to see a back-to-back combo of a really trashy giallo and a more artsy one - perhaps one of Sergio Martino's Edwige Fenech jaunts followed by Argento's DEEP RED. Or alternatively, Antonioni's BLOWUP followed by DEEP RED, as a sort of "David Hemmings investigates..." double bill.

BAY OF BLOOD followed by FRIDAY THE 13TH, as a sort of expose on the origins of the American 80s slasher movie phenomenon.

And, just for a laugh, Disney's version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND followed by the X-rated version directed by Bud Townsend and starring Kristine DeBell.

Douglas Waltz (Divine Exploitation)

I call mine the disillusioned double feature.
Many moons ago I used to order a lot of video from a grey market vendor whose name escapes me for the moment.
Anyway, I used to order a lot of them purely by title and this didn't always work to my advantage. So, my two flicks in my double feature would have to be.

Insert drumroll.

SOMETIMES AUNT MARTHA DOES DREADFUL THINGS
&
TOWER OF THE SCREAMING VIRGINS

With Aunt Martha I really had no idea what to expect. I figured some crazy lady who did dreadful things. No brainer, right? Yeah, wrong. Instead what I got was a bizarro flick about this guy who dresses up like a woman and is in hiding with his gay lover Stanley who likes to seduce young women, but then not do the deed. That's when 'Aunt Martha' shows up in a bad wig and whacks these young ladies.
Shot in Florida back in the seventies, this is the epitome of sleaze. You want drug culture? Check. You need a ton of nudity from lots of ladies? Check. How about a crazed transvestitie chasing her/his boyfriend around the house, cackling like a madman? Yeah, we got that to. Aunt Martha is so densely packed that most people can't get through it in one sitting. I, on the other hand, have watched it numerous times. Why? Not sure.
Then we wind it down with a good old fashioned horror flik, right?
Nope.
Tower OF The Screaming Virigns is actually based on an Alexander Dumas story. This means a lot of swash for your buckle. Seems that the Queen of France is a sexual beast and The King of France is impotent. Her and her lady friends get together and have their faithful guard round up some young studs for a night of pleasure. Then the studs get slaughtered.
That's right, the virgins in the title? It's the dudes? How misleading is that? With that being said, this is actually pretty damned entertaining. The lead swashbuckler whose name sounds like they are saying Prairie Dawn, is your basic blonde haired, bluie eyed womanizer. There are acres of suplle female flesh and many more acres of horrid period costumes. Really, really bad period costumes. One guy even looks like Phil Collins and his name sounds like 'laundry'. That's really what they call the poor bastard throughout the flick. Hilarious and the potential for MST3K style riffing is abundant.
So, there ya go. SOMETIMES AUNT MARTHA DOES DREADFUL THINGS & TOWER OF THE SCREAMING VIRGINS is my vote for best Grindhouse style double feature ever.

Mike Den Boer (10k Bullets)

My strange double bill would be Richard Rush’s Color of Night and Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break.

DVD Review: In the Sign of Taurus

In The Sign Of The Taurus

DVD Released: 2009
Approximate Running Time: 81 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Danish
Subtitles: English
DVD Release: Smirk
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $21.95

The Film

The will of an eccentric millionaire plainly states that there must be a party on the night of his death. In addition a baby must be born out of wedlock under the sign of Taurus, 9 months and 14 days from the time of his death. If this happens, then the town inherits his millions. If not. They get nothing.

Now, in this little town that is going to be a bit of a problem because all of the prim and proper ladies and gentlemen know nothing of sex. The town council wants the money for themselves so they convince the town hussy to keep it a secret and she will have the child.

Then the news breaks out and all the young ladies want to know how sex works and then the young men get involved and it isn’t long before the entire town is one, huge rutting mess.
Not familiar with Danish erotica, I had no idea what to expect. While there is some hardcore sequences in the film and they are there for no other reason than titillation, I hardly think this could be referred to as a porno. It is a very funny comedy however and a definite joy to watch.

Coming from the American diet of what makes an adult film I was flabbergasted at the stunningly gorgeous women who submit to these onscreen carnal pleasures. Especially from a film made in the seventies. American pornography, for the most part, was much grittier than this polished production.

Transfer And Audio

This film is crystal clear and even though I couldn’t understand a word out of their mouths, the sound transfer sounded immaculate as well. The subtitles seemed comprehensive and were always clear to read.

Extras

Not much. Some stills and a trailer.

Overall

This was a wonderful introduction to Danish erotica. A lighthearted comedy with a lot of silliness coupled with some of the more erotic, hardcore sequences I had seen in some time. It was a little weird to get used to seeing sex scenes that never follow through to their natural conclusion, but after a while I got the hang of it.

Review by Douglas Waltz

DVD Review: Llik Your Idols

Llik Your Idols

DVD Released: 2007
Approximate Running Time: 75 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Rating: NR
Sound: DD Stereo
Subtitles: None
DVD Release: MVD Visual
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $19.95

The Film

It was the eighties and punk was becoming New Wave. A group of film makers decided to set the world on its ear and auteur Nick Zedd coined the phrase ‘transgressive cinema’. With names like Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch and Nick Zedd, these people took the standards of film making and threw them out the window. It was more of getting a reaction in a world that was fighting an uphill battle against the calming effects of Reaganomics. These were people who had something to say and weren’t afraid to say it.

Llik Your Idols was the five year project of French film director Angelique Bosio. She immersed herself in the counter culture that still exists in New York today. Became a part of it and gave us this document of people who changed the way that people would look at cinema forever.

With lengthy interviews with the aforementioned along with the likes of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Joe Coleman, to name a couple, Bosio shows us a group of people who knew what they wanted to say, had a partial grips on the basics of film making and wanted to shock the world. Now, they look back on what they have done and see if it made a dammed bit of difference.

I have always been a fan of Transgressive Cinema. I can remember seeing Richard Kern’s Hardcore and being amazed at what was on screen. I sat through Zedd’s Geek Maggot Bingo and while most people revile that film, I see what he was doing. They shot their films cheap and dirty. Just the filming process alone gave the film a look that would be impossible to replicate today.

Sure, there are a lot of people out there doing things that rebel against the norm of society today. People like William Hellfire, Bill Zebub and many more. But they have it easy. Shooting on videotape and having the internet to ply their wares and get the message out there on a much grander scale. These people had to shoot in the worst conditions, get the film developed and peddle their asses out on the street to get their films seen. And the works shows. They seem more emotionally invested in what they have created and this documentary shows some of that fire that still lies with them.

Bosio has created the definitive documentary on a genre of cinema that goes largely ignored by the masses of today.

Transfer And Audio

This was probably shot on video so it looks as good as you would come to expect for that kind of thing. The huge amount of clips look as grimy as the day they were made and that’s how they should look.

Extras

We get two Nick Zedd shorts. The Infamous Police State and the bizarre and incomprehensible War Is Menstrual Envy. Also a nice interview with the director is included.

Overall

If you are a fan of Transgressive Cinema, then this is a must have for you. If the names Lydia Lunch and Nick Zedd ring a bell then this is something you might want to check out. But, be warned, this stuff will either enthrall you or repel you. There is no middle ground with Transgressive Cinema.

Review by Douglas Waltz

The Roundtable: Week 8

"After enjoying a strange double-bill of Cliffhanger and Critters 4 the other evening, what would be or has been your ideal messed up Grindhouse/Horror/Arthouse/Cult/Whatever movie combo? Give me as many as you like!"

Answers by email or comment for Thursday at the latest! Thanks again!

Blu-Ray News: The New York Ripper

Italian director Lucio Fulci's controversial investigative slasher The New York Ripper is coming to Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 29 courtesy of indie publisher Blue Underground.

The raw and bloody 1982 cult classic comes to Blu-ray in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with 1080p video and Blue Underground's signature double audio dip: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD.

The New York Ripper bonus features include"I'm an Actress!" – Interview with Zora Kerova; NYC Locations Then and Now; and the Theatrical Trailer

Retail list pricing for The New York Ripper on Blu-ray has been set at $29.95.

Source: The HD Room

Italian Poster for Inglorious Basterds!

Nice poster that really echoes the sleazy exploitation feel of the original movie by Enzo Castellari, and as the saying goes Italians really do it better!

The Roundtable: Week 7 - Your Contributions

"Outside of 007, what is your favourite Spy/Eurospy movie? If you have more than one then give us a top 3!"

Ian Price

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
The Ipcress File
The Mackintosh Man

Keith Brown (Giallo Fever)

For me the 007 part of the question is pretty much irrelevant: I do not like Bond films, maybe because I associate them more with Roger Moore and beyond.

Perhaps because of this the Spy / Eurospy film is something I'm more aware of in the breach than the observance; I'd recommend that anyone who has an interest in the cycle gets a copy of Matt Blake's Eurospy Guide ASAP.

These caveats aside, I can still give a top three:

First, Jess Franco's Lucky the Inscrutable, a charming little film with good humoured performances from Ray Danton and Rosalba Neri and a cool Bruno Nicolai pop soundtrack.

Second, Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse, the late Mabuse entry from the man who laid the foundations for the genre pre-Hitchcock with Spione.

Third, Joseph Losey's Modesty Blaise. In truth, it's not that good a film and Losey seems ill-suited to the material, but it's got Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp and I'm a big fan of the comic strip and novels; tellingly the filmmakers pretty much threw away Peter O'Donnell's script.

Kit Nygaard-Gavin

For me it has to be:-

1. Le tigre se parfume à la dynamite
Roger Hanin and the luscious Margaret Lee, directed by Chabrol - need I say more??
http://www.cinema-nocturna.com/le_tigre_se_parfume_a_la_dynamit_review.htm
(A review I wrote back in the day)

2. Pas de roses per OSS 117
This is the best of the 1960s OSS 117 movies, the cast and ambience really add something to the movie. The poster art is on the cover of the fantastic French coffret containing all the 1960s films.

3. OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions
[One of the most recent Euro Sy movies proving that the genre is not completely dead and buried - I believe a sequel is on it's way]
The mood and ambience is spot on to the 1960s and a worthy successor to the earlier "Jean Bruce" movies. It also pays hommage and credit to it's predecessors.

Douglas A. Waltz (Divine Exploitation)

Being a huge Franco fan I am going to go ahead and cast my vote for the lovely ladies of the Red Lips Detective Agency. That means that my favorite Eurospy flick would have to be KISS ME MONSTER.

KingMob (Dear Bastards)

How much would it show my age if I said the Bourne stuff? I'm just not a huge fan of spy material, but I have really enjoyed that series of films, and in spite of the diminishing returns, the Austin Powers stuff was amusing for what it is.

I would also mention being a big fan of The Avengers television show from my childhood, but I think that had more to do with Diana Rigg than with an interest in spies.

Matthew Bradford (Double O Section)

Great question! But, my God, it's a hard one! This is exactly what my whole blog is devoted to, so it's really tough for me to pick just three! I'll solve that by limiting myself to just Eurospy titles, thus disqualifying some sublime mainstream fare like Billion Dollar Brain and The President's Analyst and making it easier to pick... My very favorite is Deadlier Than the Male, with its astonishingly sexy speargun-toting, bikini-clad killer duo of Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina. Besides them, you've got great locations, a solid hero in Richard Johnson, a finale on a giant chessboard, a terrific score and that wonderful Walker Brothers theme song! It's bliss.

Some people might quibble with the notion of Danger: Diabolik as a spy movie, but it is, through and through. It may not have a spy hero, but it's got all the trappings, which are far more important to the genre: the cars, the girls, the setpieces, the lair! I'll venture into more obscure territory for my third pick and choose Otley, with Tom Courtenay. This one's an incredibly fun example of the regular-guy-mistaken-for-a-spy subgenre, and it all takes place in Swinging London at the height of its swing! A woefully overlooked Sixties gem. These are all classy films, though, so they're not really representative of sheer Eurospy sleaze. If that's what you're after, you can't go wrong with any of the Kommisar X films. Now could I possibly stretch your three-film limit any further?

Holger Haase (Hammer and Beyond)

My favourite is definitely the Bulldog Drummond movie DEADLIER THAN THE MALE. I actually much prefer this one to a lot of the James Bond movie.

Guilty pleasure: MODESTY BLAISE. I know it doesn't get a lot of love and has little to do with the original novels, but it's so much fun!!!

Dark Horse as it doesn't get talked about much is LE MAGNIFIQUE/THE MAGNIFICENT ONE, a wonderful French homage/parody with Jean Paul Belmondo and an absolutely stunnning Jacqueline Bisset.

I am also a great fan of the JERRY COTTON and KOMMISSAR X series that are constantly mentioned as part of the Eurospy phenomenon, but I could never quite figure out why as none of them actually feature spies! Jerry Cotton is an FBI agent, Kommissar X a Private Eye.

Eurocrime: The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that Ruled the 70's

New documentary from Mike Malloy on the great crime movies that ruled 70's cinema in Italy! It looks fantastic and it has Henry Silva in it! Thats me sold!

The Roundtable: Week 7

Here we go again, the start of another week!

"Outside of 007, what is your favourite Spy/Eurospy movie? If you have more than one then give us a top 3!"

Ok, replies as soon as you can, either by comment or email Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, thanks again!

The Roundtable: Week 6 - Your Contributions

"What is your favourite horror/cult movie tagline?"

Joshua Lew (CinemaCafePodcast)

It's a toss up between a slew of really, well, I'll let the lines speak for themselves:

"Man is the warmest place to hide"
- The Thing (1982)

"Can a full grown woman truly love a midget?"
- Freaks (1932)

"Take the stairs. Take the stairs. For God's sake, take the stairs!!!"
- The Lift (1983)

"You have the right to remain silent. Forever."
- Maniac Cop (1988)

"Are you heterosexual?"
- Orgy of the Dead (1965)

Kingmob (Dear Bastards)

I feel that my choice may be a little obvious/easy, but the first thing that springs to mind is 1982's Pieces, if only because it sports two great taglines: You Don't Have To Go To Texas For A Chainsaw Massacre! as well as the equally awesome Pieces... It's Exactly What You Think It Is!

Plus it has that crazy gal screaming "Bastard! Bastard! Baaastard!" in one scene, which always makes me laugh.

Matthew Bradford (Double O Section)

It's not a horror movie, but I think anything directed by Ken Russell qualifies as "cult." One of my favorite taglines ever is for Russell's spy flick Billion Dollar Brain, in which Michael Caine's Harry Palmer takes on a supercomputer with the simple yet effective tagline, "Caine vs. Brain!" (The poster is actually loaded with taglines, and the other one's pretty good too: "It's taken man thousands of years to do what the brain can do in seconds... destroy the world! What are you going to do about that, Michael Caine?") For stricter horror, I'm going to go with Dracula AD 1972: "The Count is back with an eye for London's hotpants... and a taste for everything!" Both posters in question hang on my wall, as much for their taglines as for their artwork.

Louis Fowler (Damaged 2.0)

PREDATOR 2: "He's in town with a few days to kill!"

Keith Brown (Giallo Fever)

I like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's "Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of them" and "What Happened is true. Now the motion picture that's just as real" one-two combo.

Totally untrue, of course, but it drew the audiences in.

Ian Price

TRAPPED IN TIME.
SURROUNDED BY EVIL.
LOW ON GAS.

Army of Darkness

Holger Haase (Hammer and Beyond)

Simple....

Love means never having to say you're ugly. (Abominable Dr. Phibes)

I am ashamed to admit that I have quoted this time and again.

Erin

Invasion of the Blood Farmers: They plant the living and harvest the dead!

This is due to my love of watching schlock trailers from the 60s and 70s.

2nd runner up: Teenage Mother: Means 9 months of trouble!

Douglas Waltz (Divine Exploitation)

Probably the one I hear the most because it is one of my favorite flicks of all time;

"When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth" Kind of lame, but I think that line just has a lot of pop to it and sticks in your head.

DVD Competition!

To coincide with my new found love of Danish spy movies, I have some very special prizes up for grabs courtesy of MVD Entertainment with 2 copies of the Agent 69 Double Feature and a copy each of Agent 69 "In the Sign of Scorpio" and Agent 69 "In the Sign of Sagittarius" - so you have 4 chances to win, and all you need to do email me and tell me who plays Agent 69 in the the above films! Easy peasy!

All entries to be sent to DVDTrash@another.com with Agent 69 in the subject line! Closing date is a week today, Wednesday 17th June! Good Luck!

NOW CLOSED - WELL DONE TO THE WINNERS - LOOK OUT FOR MORE PRIZES SOON

DVD Review: Agent 69 Jensen

Agent 69 Jensen: "In the Sign of Scorpio" & "In the Sign of Sagittarius"

DVD Released: May 19th, 2009
Approximate Running Time: Scorpio 87 minutes; Sagittarius 88 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Danish
Subtitles: English
DVD Release: Smirk
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $21.95 for Individual Titles or $34.95 for the Double Feature

The Film

Being of both Italian and Scottish parentage, I’ve been a fan of the delights of the sexy bawdy comedies that both countries have produced over many years. With Britain I suppose being infamous for the “Carry On” films made popular by Sid James and Kenneth Williams and Italy for producing a myriad of sexy comedy classics which were brought to the fore by Lino Banfi, Edwige Fenech and Alvaro Vitali to name but a few! However Danish sexy spy movies (with added very naughty scenes) were not even on my radar until these new releases by Smirk DVD fell into my lap!

In “Scorpio” we meet Agent 69 Jensen (Ole Søltoft) who is working undercover in a local health food shop. His superior upstairs informs him that he is to get a new mission and help protect a US CIA agent who is transporting a secret microfilm and to ensure the evil Scorpio does not get his hands on it! Unfortunately, after a case of mistaken identity, an innocent guy, Andersen, is entrusted with the microfilm hidden in a bread role and subsequently all types of chaos ensues! This film really has to be seen to be believed, it’s genuinely funny, has engaging characters, lovely scantily clad girls and a game of pool that has to be seen to be believed. Also watch out for Anna Bergman (yes Ingmar’s daughter!) as Penny who plays very willing chamber maid and the Sinful Dwarf himself Torbin Bille as a midget karate expert!

In “Sagittarius” Agent 69 Jensen is now undercover in a hot dog stall until his boss calls on him as another international incident is underway! The Albanians have stolen some top secret blueprints and the Danish Secret Service must get their first at the expense of the Chinese and the Russians, however Agent 69 is as inept as ever and another agent Arnold is sent in his place with an equally useless sidekick Knud. Cue more hilarious shenanigans and cock-ups (!) as the plot unravels! Perhaps not as clever or well constructed as “Scorpio” this is still lots of fun and very much worth tracking down especially for the fabulous eye candy on display, the girls do not waste time in losing their clothes. Much of the cast from “Scorpio” are here again with Torben Bille and Anna Bergman both back reprising their roles! What both films have going for them is the inventive use of sex scenes and they never feel tacked on for the hell of it and for a film to be both sexy and funny while keeping your interest should be applauded!

Transfer and Audio

Smirk DVD should be congratulated for the effort they have put as the uncut 1:78:1 Anamorphic transfers for two films this obscure are fantastic. Colours are bright and clear and there is no print damage at all, importantly flesh tones are perfect! Audio wise we have a clear DD Danish Stereo soundtrack that is clear with no pops or hisses and the English subtitles are good and have been well translated.

Extras

The only extras on both discs are a stills gallery with some of the more arousing images from the films on display. A little disappointing but given their obscurity perhaps understandable!

Overall

If you are a fan of Eurotrash movies and Scandinavian girls, you could do worse than pick up these great little titles! A great effort from Smirk DVD and hopefully the rest of their releases will be just as enjoyable!

NF

DVD Reviewers Required!

I have a small batch of recently released DVD's which require homes in return for them being reviewed and the review being posted here on DVD Trash, so if you are willing and preferably in the UK (although not essential!) then please get in touch at dvdtrash@another.com. I've reviewed some of what I've received but due to work and life cannot get through them all, so thats where you all come in! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hensons 11

Oceans 11 + The Muppets= FUN!

The Roundtable: Week 6

Right, as promised The Roundtable returns, so let's go!

"What is your favourite horror/cult movie tagline?"

Ok, replies as soon as you can, either by comment or email Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, thanks again!

Roundtable Back!

After, what seems like a month of loads of work interspersed with lots drinking due to Stag nights and birthdays, the Roundtable will return this Sunday! Looking forward to your many and varied responses!