More titles from MYA and new kid on the block One 7 Movies:
Showing posts with label Eurotrash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eurotrash. Show all posts
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
DVD Review: Without Trace
Without Trace (aka ...A Tutte Le Auto Della Polizia)
Italy 1975
Director: Mario Caiano
Writers: Fabio Pittorru & Massimo Felisatti
Starring: Antonio Sabato, Luciana Paluzzi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Gabriele Ferzetti, Elio Zamuto.
DVD Released: April 27th 2010
Cert: NR
Running Time: 99 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Distributor: Mya Communication
Region: 0 NTSC
The Film:
A bunch of filthy rich snobs relax around the massive swimming pool at the palatial estate of Professore Andrea Icardi as his precocious teenage daughter Carla strips down to her undies and takes a dip, to the delight of quite a few of the male onlookers. Yup she's a bit of a Lolita this one, no sooner has she finished teasing her father's friends than she's sneaking off after school for an illicit hook up with...well who knows? Coming home late Professore Icardi finds that his daughter still hasn't returned home and after checking around it's soon apparent she's missing 'Without Trace'. Better call in the local coppers then, led by 70's Italian Burt-Reynolds-a-like Antonio Sabato as Commissario Fernando Solmi; a loose cannon cop who lives on the edge and doesn't play by the rules. As you'd imagine Solmi isn't particularly fond of the upper class and especially doesn't like the inequality shown by the massive police mobilisation to find the (probably just runaway) daughter of a rich bloke. However when Carla's body is discovered in a lake, weighted down with her Vespa (nice!) it's not long before Solmi's getting too close to the case (probably because of his wife's unexplained briefly mentioned death) and verbally showering his contempt for perverts and hustlers at anyone within earshot. Especially that bloke running the skeezy bordello full of underage girls where Carla's schoolfriends all seem to work! With the evidence building via tyre tracks, bullet casings, a suspicious packet of Benson & Hedges and the testimony of a sweaty peeping tom that witnessed Carla's final moments the cops get ever closer to nailing their target which leads the diabolical villain to start killing all those that know anything about him in a desperate and bloody attempt to evade capture.
For it's first hour or so this is a steadily entertaining Italian police procedural flick (or poliziotteschi as this particular sub-genre might be classified). Despite it's 70's trappings and obligatory occasional flashes of full frontal female nudity it's held up well over the years. It even features an eerily familiar forensics lab scene; funky music plays as various white-coated geeks look through microscopes and process evidence - CSI Lazio anyone? Seemingly unable to hold this dramatic tension any longer however the film reverts to Giallo-tinged black gloved throat slitting's and garroting in it's final act which pretty much spurts arterial blood all over it's carefully built up storyline and rushes things to an action packed car chase of a conclusion that leaves you feeling somewhat let-down. The reveal of the killer is well handled however and surprisingly (for this genre) he turns out not to be a complete nut job but an almost sympathetic character. Another in the line of "schoolgirl gialli" then that were so popular round about this time (thanks to Massimo Dallamano and the likes of What Have You Done To Solange and What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, etc) - films that usually managed to be hypocritically moralistic as well as sexually exploitative. To be fair though this one is far less sleazy than it could be and all the better for it. The film also benefits greatly from an excellent turn by Sabato as the hard-nosed cop and the criminally underused ex-Bond girl Gabriele Ferzetti as his partner! Oh and the film's original Italian title A Tutte Le Auto Della Polizi (Calling All Police Cars) is a far more fitting one than Without Trace really given the nature of the plot.
The Disc:
Very nice anamorphic transfer, colours look well saturated and the image is clean and well detailed overall. Audio is the original Italian mono with optional English subtitles, it's a clean and clear track. More like this please Mya!
An odd but entertaining combination of Italian 70's hard-boiled cop flick and serial killer slasher movie!
Review by Giuseppe Rijitano
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
DVD Review: Crime of Passion
Crime of Passion (aka Delitto Passionale)
Italy 1994
Director: Flavio Mogherini
Writers: Flavio Mogherini & Daniele Stroppa
Starring: Serena Grandi, Florinda Bolkan, Fabio Testi, Paul Martignetti, Vesela Dimitrova.
DVD Released: April 27th 2010
Cert: NR
Running Time: 103 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame NTSC
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Italian, Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: N/A
Distributor: Mya Communication
Region: 0 NTSC
The Film:
Peter Doncev (the fabulous Fabio Testi) has a slag for a wife. She may be a famous writer and a bit posh but she has a tendency to sneak out for a spot of after hours extra-marital rumpy pumpy with the English Ambassador whenever she gets the chance and not even her wheelchair bound daughter Anna can guilt mommy into staying at home when she's got the horn. On her latest carnal excursion however she is brutally (luckily post-coitally) murdered in her cheap hotel room. Enter young rookie detective Ivan Zanova (Paul Martignetti) and his crinkly beret wearing Wilford-Brimley-moustached partner/mentor to investigate. There are plenty of suspects to go around, including Peter's randy sister-in-law Tania (Serena 'bad boob job' Grandi), his secretary Milena (Anna Maria Petrova), his wife's professional rival alcoholic aging bint Giulia (Florinda Balkan), the list goes on and on. The aforementioned cops spend most of the film chatting leisurely to these people, in no great hurry to find the killer. Hell Inspector Ivan even finds time to take crippled Anna out on the town, well to a local gypsy encampment anyway, for an impromptu jam session (he plays saxophone) with the creepy gypos. While his partner Brimley-tache spends most of the film hairy stark bollock naked in a bath house/spa where Ivan also has to shed his clothes and grab his limp member to report in on a regular basis. Eventually the killer strikes again and is almost immediately caught...THE END!
It's a 90's giallo apparently, not the genre's best decade it seems. Featuring quite a few familiar genre faces but none of the charm, mystery or style of it's predecessors. Why the director/writer's thought it would be a good idea to have this Italian production set in Russia (presumably) is something of a mystery in itself - I kept having Nam-style flashbacks to Police Academy 7: Mission To Moscow, spookily also filmed in 1994, and wishing occasionally that I was watching that movie instead. Martignetti is the films protagonist, the main copper, the performance that really does make or break a film like this and he is a truly irritating screen presence unfortunately; the weediest, wettest, woefully inept screen detective ever. Even the lure of Serena Grandi's criminally underutilized dirty pillows couldn't save this film.
The Disc:
1.33:1 Full frame transfer looks a bit soft but is generally OK for a VHS transfer. Audio options include; a dubbed English stereo track that sounds fine (the accents are all over the place though from Russian to English to American) and an original Italian stereo track with no optional English subtitles, that's right NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES, what's the point in that? Another disappointing Mya presentation.
Ultimately this plays like a low budget Italian TV thriller.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
DVD Review: Sweet Teen
Sweet Teen (aka L’adolescente)
Italy 1976
Director: Alfonso Brescia
Writers: Alfonso Brescia (writer), Aldo Crudo (screenplay & story), Piero Regnoli (writer)
Starring: Tuccio Musumeci, Daniela Giordano, Sonia Viviani, Raffaele Sparanero, Malisa Longo, Dagmar Lassander DVD Released: April 27th 2010
Cert: NR
Running Time: 97 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame NTSC
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Italian
Subtitles: English
Distributor: Mya Communication
Region: 0 NTSC
The Film
Welcome to scenic Sicily in the politically incorrect mid-1970s. Hapless little weasel Vito Gnaula (Tuccio Musumeci) has made the big move down from Northern Italy and spends his days sitting around al fresco with his best buds ogling the passing totty over an espresso and a well trimmed pencil moustache. When he spots the gorgeous Grazia Serritella (Daniela Giordano) wiggling her way through the market the middle-aged horndog is smitten and heads off in pursuit. Turns out she works at her father's pharmacy and is heiress to her grandfather's fortune (and company), which will be legally hers when she finally gets married. Trouble is she's a bit of a puritan so Vito has to make do with getting a sly peek at her knickers by requesting the medicine bottle from the top shelf and sending her up the ladder to fetch. Not one to give up so easily however, Vito throws himself into courting Grazia and his efforts eventually pay off somewhat with a furtive if violently frustrating sexual encounter in a cheap hotel room that ends in a shotgun wedding.
Cut to one year later and Vito's suffering from a serious case of blueballs, his marriage hasn't yet been consummated. Grazia however is fully satisfied as she's sneaking off to meet her secret lover Antonio. It seems she only married poor Vito so she could get her hands on the inheritance. But let's not cry too hard for Vito seeing as he's now living in luxury, director of a big company and has a red-headed secretary called Katia (Dagmar Lassander) who just can't get enough of the diminutive ferret, although she is a bit high maintenance to the extent that Vito's now ducking her calls and heading off for a break in the countryside. But with the introduction of his wife's niece, 19 year old Serenella (Sonia Viviani, the titular Sweet Teen) he's soon walking funny again as she parades around his house in her skimpies playing with her pussy - that's a wee kitten you dirty minded perverts! Will Uncle Vito succumb to temptation? Will he ever discover Grazia's infidelity? Will there be a Carry On style bedroom swapping runaround that ends in two naked men sharing a bed? You'll just have to watch it and see won't you!
These are low-end Italian sex farce shenanigans. Minimal budget, maximum sleaze. Not all that different from the UK output of the same period - think Confessions Of A Window Cleaner and the like. Tuccio Musumeci comes across like a human cartoon character with his excessive gurning, eye-popping and rapidly bobbing adam's apple. That's not to say it doesn't have it's funny moments though - for example Malisa Longo's all too brief appearance as a rug munching nutjob sex therapist is great but unfortunately these moments are few and far between. The interim made up of copious amounts of bare flesh may assuage your funny bone to some extent but if it doesn't stiffen your other bone then you're probably in for a long night here.
The Disc:
1.33:1 Full frame transfer looks a bit dodgy with faces sometimes being halved off screen suggesting that it really should be a slightly wider ratio. Image is a little fuzzy due to this obviously being a VHS based transfer, colours are fine if a little muted. Audio is Italian (there is quite a bit of background noise throughout) with optional English subtitles (there are quite a few little errors in the track). Bit of a disappointing presentation really.
There are better Italian sex comedies of this period but then if you're a fan you've probably seen them all, if not best start with them and leave this one for later!
Review by Giuseppe Rijitano
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Inglorious Bastards sells big in the UK!
Wow, a Castellari movie sells over 300,000 copies in the UK! Similar in name alone compared to Tarantino's movie that is still impressive!
From the Guardian:
"An obscure dubbed Italian film from 1978 titled Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato has become a surprise hit on DVD in Britain, selling more than 300,000 copies.
This success is explained by the film’s English title - Inglorious Bastards. Fans of Quentin Tarantino have rushed to buy the movie whose name alone inspired his misspelled second world war fantasy Inglourious Basterds.
Distributor Optimum Releasing picked up the UK rights for next to nothing four years ago, as soon as Tarantino announced plans for his film. It released the DVD last August after Tarantino’s movie premiered in Cannes but before its UK opening.
The strategy clearly paid off. Even at a budget price of £4, Inglorious Bastards has grossed well over £1m. Its sales of over 300,000 units must make it one of the bestselling Italian films ever on DVD in the UK. By way of comparison, Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds has sold 788,000 units, albeit at a higher price.
Yet Tarantino has made clear that the title is the only real connection between the two films. Both are set in the second world war, but Enzo G Castellari’s original is about a group of arrested soldiers who escape when their prison train is bombed in Italy, and decide to fight their way to freedom in neutral Switzerland.
The question is, did anyone buy the Italian movie by mistake? There’s no evidence of that from the comments on Amazon. Most say they bought the film out of curiosity to see the “original” on which Tarantino based his opus. While some admit to disappointment, there are also many reviewers willing to praise its cheap and cheerful charms. The DVD extras include Tarantino interviewing Castellari.
By the way, the Italian title literally translates as That Damned Armoured Train. The Inglorious Bastards was just one of several titles under which the film was released at various times in the US, including Counterfeit Commandos, GI Bro, Deadly Mission and Hell’s Heroes.
Optimum has a track record of releasing DVDs with similar titles to high-profile movies. It pulled the same stunt with Zodiac and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Posters: 80's Horror, Italian Trash and Christy Canyon
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
DVD Review: Agent 69 Jensen
Another updated review of mine is up at Cinema Nocturna, this time for the vey funny and bawdy Danish crime and smut capers starring Torbin Bille and Anna Bergman.
Monday, March 22, 2010
DVD News: Kreola and Blind Date
More Mya madness on March 30th with Kreola and Blind Date both from Director Antonio Bonifacio and writer Daniele Stroppa, who was also responsible for Fabrizio Laurenti's "Witchery" and Lamberto Bava's "Delirium: Photos of Gioia"
Clicks the Pics to order from Amazon.com now!
DVD News: La Orca
New Austrian DVD outfit, Camera Obscura, are to release "La Orca" onto DVD, which is a cool followup to their previous eurocult release "Terror Express" Definitely a label to look out for!
La Orca:
"Camera Obscura will be releasing Eriprando Visconti's La Orca (1976) as No. 4 of their Italian Genre Cinema Collection in the second quarter of 2010.
They will use a new anamorphic transfer and the DVD will feature German and Italian audiotracks with German and English subtitles. Extras are tba."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Horror Icon Edinburgh Extravaganza
The Jekyll & Hyde bar (112 Hanover St Edinburgh) and Cult Fiction Movies would like to invite you all to an evening in the company of Mr David Hess, the iconic horror baddie who headlined Wes Craven's debut classic The Last House on the Left.
Unlike last time (where we screened in the Cameo), we're holding this one in the close comfort of the actual Jekyll and Hyde pub! That's right - on SUNDAY MARCH 14TH from 6pm onwards you can come to the pub and watch movies/ eat food from a specially prepared buffet/ drink some nice drink offers/ hang out with David and partake in a special question and answer session. Pub will be open from 6pm - 1am (trying for a 2am extension though!) to TICKET HOLDERS only.
Please note: David will also be playing a set of music, including tracks from The Last House on the Left, which he composed.
Tickets are priced at £6/£5 concessions - for which you can come in, hang out, chat to Mr Hess and maybe even share some beers with the great man (please note: David will also be charging £10 for autographs). The concessionary price is offered to students, members of the Edinburgh B-Team and The Edinburgh Zombie Club. Tickets are available NOW from the following outlets.
The Jekyll & Hyde, Cult Fiction Movies and Ticket Scotland.
And if THAT isn't enough the evening will also host GIOVANNI LOMBARDO RADICE...
Yeah, the iconic star of CANNIBAL FEROX/ HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK/ CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD will also be there, socialising and generally being a pleasant sort.
And what's that? You want MORE for your £5/ 6?
Well we have one more icon to confirm for this dazzling event - expect confirmation soon!
And for Glasgow residents: Fear not, we're hoping to announce something in association with the GFT very soon... (pssst, keep the 12th and 13th of March FREE).
In the meantime Edinburgh residents - fucking get a move on and secure your ticket to an evening of genre legend fun!
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
DVD News: Mya Non-Stop
More MYA Dvd goodness on the way on the 12th January with the following titles being slated for release:
However, as usual with MYA, street dates are not always firm, and if you click the covers, all the above titles are available to order right now via Amazon.com.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Blu-Ray News: Italian Trash on Blu!
Blu-Ray is picking up speed in Italy now, not only Hollywood blockbusters, but now bonafide classic Italian Trash!
First we have, "Delitto al Ristorante Cinese" starring Tomas Milian and Bombolo, which has already been released by Cecchi Gori.
In January, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill hit the High Def road with "I Due Superpiedi quasi Piatti" from Koch Media Italia!
I think "Delitto al Ristorante Cinese" shall be ordered pronto to see if the step up to Blu has been met with success! How many formats will I ultimately own this film on???
Sunday, November 15, 2009
DVD Review: Craving Desire
CRAVING DESIRE
Italy 1993
Dir: Sergio Martino
Screenplay: Sergio Martino, Maurizio Rasio, Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Vittoria Belvedere, Ron Nummi, Simona Borioni, Andrea Roncato, Serena Grandi, Hal Yamanouchi
Cert: NR
Running Time: 101 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono Italian, Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Released: Mya Communications
Region: 0 NTSC
The Film
Skeletons like their closets. For when exhumed they are liable to collapse, shattering the surrounding silence with their spare secrets. Craving Desire opens with the disinterment of a wealthy family’s grand matriarch, as she is moved from tomb to grave. A pair of undertakers tie the yellowed shoulder blades to the ribcage, the long-buried framework now held together by thin strips of ribbon. Once they unravel there will be hell to pay; expect a few broken bones and splintered sockets.
Luigi (Nummi) would appear to be a robust example of youthful bourgeoisie with an executive job, rich fiancée (Cinzia, played with gusto by Borioni), and privileged family spurring him forward. So far, so slick, until his cousin Sonia (Belvedere) shows up at his apartment and begins to insinuate herself into his life, first casually flashing her endowments at him during breakfast, before interrupting our hapless yuppie mid-flow with his bride-to-be. Sonia’s soft, attentive charms prove to be far more appealing than Cinzia’s nitrous nagging and hedge-trimmed hair, and it is not long before Luigi is fully greased in her oily charms and ready to produce genetically-deficient offspring. He promptly dumps Cinzia and publicly declares new love, much to the disgust of his stern parents. To celebrate, our kissin’ cousins go to a nightclub and bring back a reveller, Francesca, to join them in a kinky threesome. Luigi’s once staunch foundation is disintegrating. The twine is beginning to fall apart.
As is Sonia, her motives gradually unfurling as Luigi sinks further into her seductive thrall. Once Francesca discovers a book of witchcraft belonging to her lusty hostess, the film veers from erotic soft-core thriller to something altogether more demented and unpredictable. Ricocheting between sweet sexiness and bitter, destructive desire, Vittoria Belvedere plays Sonia as a Michelin-starred bunny-boiler. A lot of the fun to be had in this pulpy slice of fiction is in seeing to what extremes she will go to in degrading her cousin’s ivory-white reputation; shoplifting, robbery, and even a spot of swinging with a woman who sports a hairstyle like the pop singer Yazz once had. The only way is no longer up for Luigi- brittle and spiritually jaundiced; he is close to breaking point.
Director Martino underlines the empty sterility of Luigi’s well-heeled lifestyle, allowing his camera to prowl through the dry, neutral tones of the character’s penthouse apartment with its décor at once nondescript and vulgar, a brashly turquoise floor exposed by the grey illumination from an ostentatious skylight. Any other colour that is present threatens the bland comfort of his existence: the ruby lips and flame hair of his boss’s wife, a temptation that would spell career suicide; the bright, flattering costumes worn by Sonia, a candy-coated cyanide pill to be greedily gulped down. Despite the character’s presentation as a spoilt rich kid, Nummi manages to imbue Luigi with enough childish naïveté to make us see him as a victim. Towards the end of the film, Sonia splays Luigi against the domed skylight, which bristles under his weight; it is as if he is being crucified on his own bourgeois livelihood, so transparent and fragile. A bubble of lofty affectation ready to be burst, Sonia strikes at its tainted root.
If her appearance rekindles a repressed attraction between the two cousins from their youth, there are other hidden fractures to be unearthed from this family vault. Craving Desire’s denouement is gloriously over-the-top, dripping with violence and macabre revelation. Sonia, clad in black PVC and high heels as a deathly dominatrix, brutally tortures Luigi and delivers a lengthy piece of exposition divulging grim childhood trauma. The skeletal spectre now hauled out of the cupboard, it can only be dashed against the ground.
A taut, twisted psycho-thriller, Craving Desire hits its mark with a bone-crunching thud.
The Disc
Presented in the original full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio, the transfer is, for the most part, immaculate. Neutral tones are rendered with clarity, whilst the explosions of colour are richly saturated (check out Luigi’s glowing green telephone for truly alarming kitsch value). Two audio mixes in English and Italian; both presented in Dolby Digital mono, which does not quite do justice to Natale Massare’s electro-flecked score, although the dialogue is free from surface noise. And for those purists who prefer subtitles to dubbing, there is no need to fear as the English dub is of top quality and unobtrusive, with dialogue delivered sincerely. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the disc is a little, ahem, bare-boned in terms of extras: a small documentary on Belvedere might have been nice. But maybe that’s just my own desirous craving…
Reviewed by James Kloda
BUY From Amazon.com
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
DVD Review: Italian Sex (Sesso in Testa, 1974)
ITALIAN SEX (SESSO IN TESTA)
Italy 1974
Dir: Sergio Ammirata
Screenplay: Sergio Ammirata, Marino Onorati
Starring: Pilar Velázquez, Didi Perego, Mario Carotenuto, Toni Ucci, Lino Banfi, Sergio Ammirata
Cert: NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Released: Mya Communications
Region: 0 NTSC
The Movie
“The vernacchio is produced by the vibration of the tongue on the lips,” demonstrates the sweaty teacher to his (scantily-clad) student with gusto. If you thought the above referred to a lewd deed, you are symptomatic of the condition affecting most of Italian society according to this 1974 film- a dirty mind, or ‘Sex In The Head’ as the title literally translates. For the gentleman is referring to the creation of a certain type of fart noise, acceptable to be used in the presence of ladies and archbishops. The innuendo is apt: not only does it court a sex-addled imagination but the lip-smacking trumpeting could be seen as an auto-erotic substitute for an oral act of coitus. (If you think I’m delving too deep into the film’s unconscious, feel free to practice your own vernacchio now.) Italian Sex is thus a surreal exposé of the prurient psyche of modern life, the feisty fantasies and pulsing perversity that seep beneath a routine bit of how’s-yer-father. Homoeroticism, sex with nuns, incest, necrophilia; it’s all here in a film that would make Alfred Kinsey blush.
Similar to that prominent sexologist, sociology student Diana Tornetti (Velázquez) has decided to research the wanton desires of Italian men for her PhD dissertation. Her methodology is one of strenuous fieldwork, going undercover as a prostitute for three eventful months. Before she can be awarded her doctorate, she must relate her exploits to an academic board, comprised of a flustered vicar, a monocled aristocrat and one prudish woman who chokes violently at the mere mention of the word “enticement”, presided over by the great Italian smut star Lino Banfi. Consequently, her encounters are presented as episodic vignettes as if they were chapters from her thesis. Brimming with colourful characters and bawdy burlesque, Sergio Ammirata’s only film as director (with veteran Fernando Vacanze Per Un Massacro Di Leo providing uncredited ‘academic’ supervision) plays like an Italian version of a British sex romp; heck, it could be called Confessions Of A Post-Grad. Or Carry On Swotting.
Inevitably, the content of her thesis is hit and miss. Some sequences are very funny, if based around a single punch-line: a camp hotel waiter (played by Ammirata himself) only poses as a homosexual so that women will crave sex with him in order to cure him of his ‘deviance’; an impotent Mafioso, Frank, has to slap his women around to protect his macho image; and a decidedly ugly man, who looks like a cross between Frank Zappa and Bruce Forsyth, reveals only after he has had sex with our heroine that the money he proffered was a gift from her mother.
The film is at its best with scenes that rock with a dark undertow below the comic bounce of the carnal capers: a recent widower attempts to seduce Diana while his wife lies embalmed in a coffin next door- when she scarpers he looks at his ex and proclaims, “You’re ruining me even in death, huh? Go to hell twice.” This evidence leads our student to surmise that men take pleasure “to profane every sacred thing”. In another episode, what appears to be a traffic jam turns out to be a queue of men waiting to drill a nun; as she lifts her habit, Ammarita shoots through her legs capturing the look of nervous excitement on the punter’s face. Not only does this link voyeurism with forbidden privilege, but the camera position also reflects Diana’s desire to examine the world from a different angle, one that sprouts from the loins.
The licentious fantasy and libidinous technique on display is crystallised in the performance of Velázquez. Donning multi-coloured wigs and negligees like a hyperactive cabaret star, her energy and humour toward her predicaments is what gives Italian Sex its distinctive honours. As the horrified splutters of the judging panel transform into approving coos, the film itself further loosens up and plunges into manic surrealism: one of the clients is a deranged man in a Mickey Mouse jumper who, it is claimed, has wandered in from another film; Ms. Torrentini acts as a stage manager to a bizarre piece of physical theatre with thriving naked lesbians accompanied by wild animal noises, all watched by a horde of ageing critics, scrutinising the participants through opera glasses and taking detailed notes. Sex is a theatre of the absurd, full of exaggerated role-play, styled (and stylised) perversity, and performed with a cheeky self-awareness.
After Frank has executed his wife-beating charade, he looks into a mirror and blows a raspberry at his own spurious image. Likewise, Italian Sex irreverently trumps a cloud of spittle on the cultural portrait of a wholesome, chaste society. We all secretly enjoy a healthy vibration of the tongue on the lips.
The Disc
Presented in 1.85:1 letterboxed widescreen, the transfer is decent with colours bright and suggestive. Only minor pops and scratches evident from the source material. Contrast is good, with the stylish black and white décor of Diana’s apartment room looking particularly ravishing; however, some of the detail in the darker scenes is fuzzy. Audio-wise, the Dolby Digital mono mix is in Italian with removable subtitles in English. Some of these are riddled with grammatical errors, which add to the sense of chaos: “He took me in a desert place” (she’s not referring to bedding Bedouins). No extras, perhaps unsurprisingly for a release of a fairly niche title.
Reviewed by James Kloda
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Monday, September 28, 2009
DVD Capsule Review: Return of the Gladiator (1971)
DVD released: May 19th, 2009
Approximate running time: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English, Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Mya Communication
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95
The Movie:
Rome, 310 A.D. The Roman Empire is beginning to collapse, and Proconsul Tullius Valerius (Albert Farley) fears that provincial governor Gaius (John Barracuda) has been secretly working with those Germanic barbarians seeking to end Roman rule. Valerius then orders to former gladiator Marcus (Brad Harris) to go undercover and investigate this situation. In Gaius' territory also lives Lycia (Maria Pia Conte), the beloved of Marcus. Gaius soon learns of Marcus' plans, and has him captured and unfairly accused of murder. Led to believe that Marcus is guilty, Lycia turns against him, and Gaius condemns the gladiator to be pulled apart by teams of horses.
Bitto Albertini (Yellow Emanuelle) directs this average Peplum epic that although no great shakes, will definitely let you while away an afternoon snoozing in front of the TV without needing to pay too much attention to the plot! Throw in some unintentional comedy and dodgy acting and you have yourself some classic Italian Peplum action!
The Disc:
The 2.35:1 image is fine and in good condition, with very little in the way of any print damage. The mono Italian and English audio are both fine, but I recommend Italian with English subs for a more enjoyable presentation with the English dub none too clever! Once again no extras for a fairly rare title is perhaps not surprising!
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DVD Capsule Review: Revenge of the Crusader (1964)
DVD released: April 28th, 2009
Approximate running time: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
DVD Release: Mya Communication
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95
The Movie:
Seriously wounded in a skirmish with a group of bandits, Count Sigfrido of Treviri (Alberto Lupo) is taken to the nearby castle of the Duke of Brabant, where he is tended by Duke’s daughter Genoveffa (María José Alfonso). The two gradually fall in love and marry shortly after. Once back in Treviri, Sigfrido leaves for the Crusades and asks to his counsellor Golo (Stephen Forsyth) to look after his wife while he’s away. Attracted to Genoveffa, Golo tries to force his attentions on the Countess who rebuffs him. Golo then has her imprisoned and accused of adultery, until she is condemned to death...
This medieval epic borrows from the Peplum or Sword & Sandal movies that were being made in Italy at the time with some nice action scenes and loads of scenery being chewed by the cast. However it's a perfect Sunday afternoon movie if you fancy some swashbuckling action!
It is also interesting to note that the score was done by Carlo Rustichelli who worked on many a Mario Bava movie!
The Disc:
The 1.85:1 image is fine if unremarkable but overall in pretty good shape with no major problems to speak of! The Italian mono audio track is also very clear and concise and comes with removable English subtitles! No cracks, pops or hiss. There are no extras, but given the relative obscurity of this title, perhaps not surprising!
BUY from Amazon.com
DVD News: Bronx Warrior Trilogy
In November, UK outfit Shameless Films will release the Bronx Warriors trilogy in a fantastic tin boxset, harking back to the days of the fantastic Anchor Bay Tins, definitely a set to look out for! More specs when they are available!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Book Review: Taboo Breakers
Title: Taboo Breakers
Author: Calum Waddell
Publisher: Telos
Buy it now from Amazon.co.uk
The 1980’s in the UK was a time of political unrest coupled with recession and strikes, so pretty much like 2009, however some politicians had decided that we could not think for ourselves and watch some movies that had been unleashed onto the fledgling home video market. Along with the 1984 Video Recordings Act (which has been in the news recently), some films such as Cannibal Holocaust and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre became taboo, and as a result , like anything that is banned, they became much more interesting and sought after. Calum Waddell’s “Taboo Breakers” delves deep into the background of these and many other movies in an attempt to discover why these cinematic treats stood out at the time and why they are still relevant today.
The author has chosen 18 films to scrutinise and they range from genres such as blaxploitation (Coffy) to classic XXX (Behind the Green Door) and Video Nasties (Cannibal Holocaust) to modern day shockers (Hostel).
The films covered are:
Blood Feast, Night of the Living Dead, Behind the Green Door, Fritz the Cat, The Tenderness of Wolves, Coffy, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ilsa – She-Wolf of the SS, Candy Tangerine Man, Halloween, Cannibal Holocaust, Maniac, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, The Plague Dogs, The Evil Dead, House of 1000 Corpses, Oldboy and Hostel.
Each film is tackled with the outline and basic plot of the movie, the controversies they caused and a very in depth analysis of the film followed by a “what happened next” detailing what the cast and crew did after the movie’s release, did they disappear or breakout to even greater success? Each chapter is then rounded off with one to one interviews with many of the main protagonists of each feature that help to give a deeper understanding of the film and what really happened behind the scenes!
If you are a fan of controversial and challenging genre movies this extremely well researched and well written book cannot fail to enlighten and entertain. We learn that despite opinion at the time these movies did leave a mark and stimulate the creativity in up and coming directors, such as Eli Roth for example, whose love of Italian genre cinema sparked him into creating Hostel. Indeed, Hostel if released during the 1980’s would surely have become a famed Video Nasty!
While horror fans will undoubtedly enjoy the chapters on Halloween or Maniac, the author’s style will seduce you into reading about another type of genre you had not considered and by the end you will be heading to Amazon to order it on DVD!
However, take note, this is not a genre movie love fest with the author spouting plaudits with the films he has chosen, he is fearless in his criticism for some films and does not hold back, but at the same time he is astute enough to pinpoint and appreciate why they came to the fore in the first instance.
A clever and analytical foray into another side of cinema but most of all a hugely enjoyable read! An essential edition to your cinema library!
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