Wild Eye Releasing Selects June 26 For The Domestic DVD Debut Of Aussie Filmmaker Dave Jackson’s Cat Sick Blues

Wild Eye Releasing, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, will be going Down Under for a trip — a very, very weird trip — into the bizarre world of pet cat grief during the month of June.

The film in question is writer/director Dave Jackson’s award-winning Cat Sick Blues, which will be making its domestic DVD debut on June 26.

We are first introduced to the underground network of cat-grief support groups with Claire (Shian Denovan), whose internet darling, Imeida — lots of worldwide fans; web fame, etc. — met with an untimely death.   Claire is trying to cope with her loss.   

Who knew that cat-grief support groups even existed — like AA, 12 steps, sharing, etc. — but there you have it.  Joining the group one evening is Ted (Matthew C. Vaughan), who seems ever so odd, even by cat-grief support group standards — which is exactly why the film works (he is indeed ever so odd).   

Ted has also lost his beloved cat, Patrick, which, as it turns out, has been more traumatic than he has been able to cope with.   The support group, where he develops a friendly relationship with Claire — they can share their experiences and grief over a meal — is, as we soon will find out, not really going to get Ted past his current issues.   He tells Claire that he doesn’t have to get through the steps of grieving Patrick’s loss, because Patrick is coming back!!!

Oh boy, Ted is one strange ranger, who has constructed a cat suit — a cat mask and razor-sharp kitty cat claws — and has gotten it into his head that if he can slaughter nine human beings (hint: a cat has nine lives) Patrick, who is stashed away in Ted’s freezer, will magically come back to life.

The local Melbourne news outlets are full of a slasher-on-the-prowl news as our boy Ted is out and about working on getting the body count up to nine.   Will Claire make the connection?   Will Claire join Ted’s “nine lives” campaign?   Will Patrick come back from the dead?   These questions, and more, will be answered to the delight of genre fans on June 26.

Cat Sick Blues is a wicked mix of deadpan/black humor — you just got to love Matthew C. Vaughan, he’s perfect as Ted — and all-out slasher flick. 

Icarus Films And The KimStim Collection Team For The Seven-Disc DVD Release Of Six Films By Nikolaus Geyrhalter On June 12

Icarus Films will be teaming up with the KimStim Collection on June 12 for the release of the seven-disc set titled Six Films by Nikolaus Geyrhalter.

This is a sweet deal that Icarus and KimStim have prepared for film affectionados, especially for those who enjoy the provocative film works of award-winning Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter.   Three of the films in the collection — Homo Sapiens, Our Daily Bread and Elsewhere — have been released individually on DVD by Icarus Films over the years.   

The cost of the entire collection, which includes three new films making their DVD debuts here — Over the Years and Abendland (both in German with English subtitles) and Pripyat (in Russian with English subtitles) — has an SRP that is less than the original purchase price of Homo Sapiens, Our Daily Bread and Elsewhere combined.

And, as a bonus, if you already have Our Daily Bread in your home entertainment library, you get an upgrade to Blu-ray with the Six Films by Nikolaus Geyrhalter collection.

Geyrhalter’s films are different, and that is an understatement.   Unlike many documentary filmmakers, he does not recruit celebrities to do voice-over narration, instead he prefers to let the films “speak for themselves.”   Our Daily Bread, as an example, is chilling in its view of animal slaughterhouses and massive chicken breeding “factories.”   Words are simply not needed.

When the world — the industrialized world; the computer-driven world — was melting down over the Y2K hysteria, Geyrhalter took to the road (actually, “off the beaten path” roads) to film Elsewhere, which is a dozen 20-minute segments of human beings living in the remotest places on the planet who are completely oblivious to the Y2K phenomenon.   Each segment stands on its own, which means that Elsewhere is really 12 short films that can be enjoyed as an armchair travelogue (or escape) dealing with the daily lives of people unconnected to the terrors of the web.

As to the three new films being released as part of the Six Films by Nikolaus Geyrhalter collection, we have Over the Years, a three-hour documentary that took Geyrhalter ten-years to film — he follows the workers of a textile mill in a remote corner of Austria that lost their jobs (income) when it closed up.   How they cope, how things both changed … and sadly, remained the same.

Abendland is an interesting look at what happens when the day-shift workers — office jobs, retail, etc. — head home and the nighttime shift takes over — clean-up, delivery, emergency services and so on.

And lastly, Pripyat is his 1999 documentary on the lives of four workers in the area left uninhabited by the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.   It’s a wasteland — a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic world gone mad.  

Bonus features include Alejandro Bachmann’s booklet titled “Space in Time” (first time translated into English) and video clips with Geyrhalter on his films.

Vinegar Syndrome Announces Its May 29 Release Slate — Headed By Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song

It is the film that launched a movie genre.   It got an X-rating from the MPAA for its violence and graphic sexual content (which was used to the film’s benefit in more ways than the obvious X-rating itself).   Some theatre owners even did their own censoring of the film, which prompted at least one major lawsuit.  

It was political and exploitative at the same time.  It was a monster box office hit — all without studio financing — and a sequel was promised, but it never happened.

Vinegar Syndrome has It!   A new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative will be released as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on May 29.

And exactly what is “It?”   The film that launched the Blaxploitation genre was none other than writer, director, producer and star Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 film release of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.

Melvin Van Peebles pre-Sweetback biography is the sort of thing that a crafty publicist might create … college-educated, Air Force vet, San Francisco cable car gripman and maker of short films.  He then went to Europe, taught himself French and wrote novels and plays in that language and made more short films, only this time in French, which got noticed in Hollywood.   

He gets hired to direct writer Herman Raucher’s racial satire, Watermelon Man, because the studio (Columbia Pictures) felt they needed “cover” and wanted a black man to direct the film.   He was of the opinion that the film didn’t go far enough, but was prevented from taking artistic license by the powers that be.

Which leads us to Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and the genius of Melvin Van Peebles.  The making of the film, it’s script, the timing of the release and the follow-through, which was all documented in Mario Van Peebles’ 2003 film Baadasssss!, is a story of indie filmmaking that is likely taught to this day in film schools.  If that’s not the case, it should be.

As to bonus features, there is a vintage commentary track featuring Sergio Mims (AD on Penitentiary), a vintage video session with filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, a pair of featurettes  — “One Baadasssss Woman!” and “The Real Deal” — and a 2013 Q&A session from the Black Panther Film Festival.

Also on the May 29 DVD and Blu-ray release schedule from Vinegar Syndrome is a new 2K restoration (from the original 16mm negative) of writer/director Glen Coburn’s 1984 indie direct-to-video horror comedy, Blood Suckers From Outer Space, will be available as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack release. 

Making its debut on Blu-ray, Blood Suckers From Outer Space comes packed with new bonus goodies.   Writer/director Glen Coburn provides commentary, and he is joined by actor Thom Meyers and cinematographer Chad D. Smith, plus there is a feature-length documentary titled 34 Years Later and a pair of featurettes — “Back To Bloodsucker Town” and “Bloody Arm Rip 101.”

On the adult-themed front, Vinegar Syndrome has a 2K restoration (from the original 35mm camera negative) of writer/director Roger Watkins’ 1980 film teaming Vanessa del Rio and Samantha Fox, Her Name was Lisa.   This crossover adult film — an inventive script to go with the sexual content — will be available as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack product offering.   

Bonus nuggets include a featurette titled “His Name was Roger,” which features the editor of Ultra Violent Magazine, Art Ettinger, discussing the film career of Roger Watkins, whose 1977 (1974 as The Fun House) horror shocker, Last House on Dead End Street, remained an enigma for two decades as true identities of the cast and filmmaker were a mystery.

On the DVD front, the next installment in Vinegar Syndrome’s popular “Peekarama” adult film series arrives on May 29 and it will showcase adult filmmaker Leonard Kirtman and Seka starring in The Seduction of Cindy (1980, with Veronica Hart and Serena) and Tera Tera Tera Tera (1981, with Veronica Hart and Samantha Fox).

Lastly, there is a new 2K restoration (from the 35mm camera negative) of director Edwin Brown’s 1983 adult comedy, Naughty Girls Need Love Too, showcasing the ample talents of Hyapatia Lee, Honey Wilder, Rachel Ashley and Tina Marie.

Cleopatra Music And Film To Release DVDs Of Director Hugo Prata’s Elis (May 1) And Egyptian Filmmaker Amr Salama's Sheikh Jackson (May 22) During The Month Of May

Cleopatra Music and Film, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has two foreign-language imports lined-up for DVD release during the month of May.

Kicking off the month on May 1 is director Hugo Prata’s 2016 biopic, Elis, which follows the life and career of Brazil’s most famous recording star, Elis Regina (played by Andréia Horta).

Elis was an amazing singer — a true force of nature — who began her recording career at eleven, but it wasn’t until she collaborated with, and eventually married, César Camargo Mariano (played by Caco Ciocler), that she became a legend.   Complicated, political and blessed with enormous talent, Prata’s Elis has it all … and the sadness too — she died at just 36 years of age.

Bonus feature include the featurette titled “The Making of Elis,” documentary footage of Elis and a slide show … Elis is presented in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Shifting to May 22 we have Egypt’s official submission for this past year’s Best Foreign Language Film from famed Egyptian filmmaker Amr Salama … the oddly titled Sheikh Jackson.

One has to wonder how this film ever got made in a Muslim country, much less chosen as the country’s official entry for Oscar consideration.   Imam Khaled Hany (Ahmad El-Fishawi) is a by-the-book hardliner who is wound tight, perhaps too tight.   Which makes it all the more remarkable when he receives the news that American pop icon, Michael Jackson, has died … you would think that would be something to rejoice (an evil influence of the West, etc., etc.), but for Khaled Hany it is the undoing of years of repressed feelings.

Soon the ghost of Michael Jackson is haunting — played brilliantly by Jackson impersonator Carlo Riley — our fire-breathing Imam, which is really a nuisance during one of his “kill the infidel” sermons.

Once the chaos in Khaled Hany’s life is established by the presence of the ghost of Michael Jackson, we get the backstory of a repressive father, a young love interest and his fondness of Michael Jackson as a recording icon.

Sheikh Jackson is a fun, off beat film that certainly adds to the legend of Amr Salama as a filmmaker with both wit and courage.  

Bonus features include behind-the-scenes footage and a photo gallery.  Sheikh Jackson is presented in Arabic with English subtitles.

SOFA Entertainment To Release Treasure Trove Of Elvis Presley's Live Performances On The Ed Sullivan Show On DVD This Cominb May 25

SOFA Entertainment, with sales and distribution expertise provided by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), has tabbed Friday, May 25 as the street date for a six-strong collection of music-themed DVD releases culled from the legendary live broadcasts of The Ed Sullivan Show.

Collectors and music fans in general will have their rabbit antenna up for these stunning collections featuring three SKUs that showcase the talents of Elvis Presley, a double-disc collection spotlighting The Beatles appearances and one each for The Temptations and The Supremes.   

So let’s get to it.   The 3 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring Elvis is a double disc collection of all three of Elvis Presley’s show-stopping appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show — Sept. 9, 1956, Oct. 28, 1956 and Jan. 6, 1957.

Each one of these is the complete broadcast (with commercials), not just the Elvis Presley’s songs … for example, the Sept. 9 show — which was watched by an estimated audience of 60 million people (a share rating of 82.6, an all-time record) — features Charles Laughton as the guest host doing comedy stand-up to open the show, opera soprano Dorothy Sarnoff singing “Something Wonderful” from The King and I (which had opened theatrically in June), singer and actress Amru Sani (with a very checkered biography) delivered “I'm In The Mood For Love” and “My Bolero,” The Vagabonds (Pete Peterson, Al Torriere, Attilio Risso and Dominic Germano) doubled with comedy bits and a trio of songs — “The Queens Ruler,” “I Wonder” and “How You Gonna Keep Em' Down on the Farm” — and you had tap dancers (Conn and Mann) and acrobats (The Amin Brothers).   It’s a wonder that Elvis was able to compete with this line-up … Ed really had the deck stacked against him!!!

Elvis delivered four numbers on Sept. 9 — “Don't Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog,” which were released as the A and B sides of a 45 in mid-July (11 week run at number one, which means “Don't Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog” were number one on the charts when they were performed live on Sept. 9) … “Love Me Tender” (would be released on Sept. 28 and rocket to number one) and “Ready Teddy” (a cover of a Little Richard hit  — the B-side of “Rip it Up” released earlier in the year) were the other two songs performed that night.

That’s just one of the three broadcasts, so put The 3 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring Elvis on your DVD shopping and gift list for May 25.  There are a total of 15 live broadcast song performances by Elvis in this collection.

For those who don’t want all of the other “stuff,” SOFA Entertainment and UMe have you covered with the DVD release of Just Elvis: All His Ed Sullivan Show Performances.

Regardless of which (or both) you select, a great companion release heading home on May 25 as a double-disc DVD presentation is Elvis: The Great Performances.   This collection includes director/producer Andrew Solt’s documentaries, Elvis: The Great Performances, Volume One: Center Stage and Elvis: The Great Performances, Volume Two: The Man and the Music (both from 1990) and Elvis: The Great Performances, Volume Three: From the Waist Up (1997).   There are also stand-alone performances and interviews with the likes of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips and contemporaries Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

The three other collections on May 25 from SOFA Entertainment and UMe are new restorations of previously released material … these are: The Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles, The Best of The Supremes on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Best of The Temptations on The Ed Sullivan Show.  If you have older editions, this might be the perfect time to upgrade your collection … and if this is all new to you, you will definitely want to check out The Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles double-disc collection on DVD.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Targets May 15 For Writer/Director Ryan Coogler's Black Panther

Before the official press announcement could be circulated, the Disney Store began taking orders for writer/director Ryan Coogler’s Marvel Comics mega-hit, Black Panther.  According to the retail web site maintained by Disney, the film will street on May 15 as at least a Blu-ray release (more on that in a second).

That puts the ARR at a swift-to-market 88 days (which puts product on retailer shelves prior to Memorial Day and the kick-off of the summer theatrical season — that’s a savvy move) and box office receipts currently stand at an eye-popping $665.6 million (a successful launch of a new film franchise series to be sure).

You can’t blame Disney for serving their loyal customer base first before letting the rest of the retail pack — including Amazon.com (which is notorious for jumping the gun) — get in on the action, but the jump on Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s official announcement may actually lay at the doorstep of Marvel.com.    

They (the ubiquitous “they” at Marvel) have muddied the release waters a bit by seeming to indicate that a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition will actually street one week prior (May 8) to the official home entertainment launch of Black Panther.   That would be a first and is likely not the case.

In addition to the Disney Store’s Blu-ray presentation of Black Panther, both Target and Best Buy will have “special edition” versions of their own.

It would be nice if the PR department at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment was given the chance to do their job before everyone and their mother stomped all over the crime scene, but that is probably too much to ask for.

As the business week grew to a close on Friday the 13^th of April, still no press release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment … but retailers were busy taking orders nonetheless for delivery on May 15.

Bonus features — according to both the Disney Store and Marvel.com — include commentary from director Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitvale Station), deleted scenes, a gag reel, five production featurettes — “From Page to Screen: A Roundtable Discussion,” ”Crowning of a New King,” “The Warriors Within,” “The Hidden Kingdom Revealed” and “Wakanda Revealed” — a sneak peek at director Peyton Reed’s July theatrical release of Ant-Man and The Wasp and a Marvel.com promo titled “Marvel Studios the First Ten Years: Connecting the Universe.”

Director Johannes Roberts' The Strangers: Prey at Night On DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment On June 12

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has picked out June 12 as the street date for DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo editions of director Johannes Roberts’ horror prequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night — a screen cousin to writer/director Bryan Bertino’s 2008 horror hit, The Strangers.

The ARR is 95 days and currently domestic box office receipts stand at $24.1 million.

Genre fans will have two viewing options — the original R-rated theatrical cut and an unrated presentation.  Bonus features include an alternate ending, a trio of featurettes — “A Look Inside The Strangers: Prey at Night,” “Family Fights Back” and “The Music of The Strangers: Prey at Night” — and the music video “Prep for Night.”