Arrow Video Picks Mar. 24 For The Blu-ray Release Of Director Ovidio G. Assonitis' Beyond The Door

You go outside and you are in San Francisco.  You go inside and you are on a set in the De Paolis Studios in Rome, Italy.   Ah, the magic of filmmaking.

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 2K-film restoration of this bit of cinematic magic ready for a double-disc Blu-ray release on Mar. 24.

The film in question is producer/director Ovidio G. Assonitis’ 1974 (1975 for domestic consumption) horror tale, Beyond the Door (aka: The Devil Within Her), starring Juliet Mills (Emmy-winner for her performance in the 1974 mini-series production of QB VII, but perhaps best known as Nanny in Nanny and the Professor) as the possessed wife and mother, who is pregnant … will the baby be the devil’s spawn?  

It’s amazing that American International Pictures, which was the king of the exploitation films for years, turned Beyond the Door down (that had a first-look deal with Assonitis) … it fell to Film Ventures International to distribute it theatrically.   Despite the film being successful, it got tied up in a legal battle with Warner Bros. over the claim that it was a rip-off of The Exorcist.    A no-fault settlement was eventually reached.

Another quirk, simply because it was Film Ventures and not AIP, Beyond the Door opened in Texas and other venues in the south in May of 1975, but did not reach the Los Angeles market until August. 

As mentioned, this is a double-disc Blu-ray release, featuring both the domestic theatrical release of Beyond the Door and the UK version, which was titled The Devil Within Her.

Other bonus goodies include the feature-length documentary titled Italy Possessed, and five newly-prepared featurettes — “The Devil and I,” “Barrett’s Hell,” “Beyond the Music,” “The Devil’s Face” and “Motel and Devils.”

Wolfe's 5B Documentary To Be Released On DVD On Mar. 10

Wolfe announced this past week that the documentary filmmaking team of Dan Krauss and Oscar-winner Paul Haggis’ (his first non-fiction film) insightful look at the history of the first AIDS care unit, 5B, will be available on DVD on Mar. 10.

The ARR is a leisurely 270 days and the film’s limited arthouse box office take currently stands at $72,968.

5B, made the festival rounds, including the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, had a brief arthouse theatrical in mid-June and then went back out on the festival circuit.   Unless you were near one of the major metro screenings or happened upon one of the festival screenings, 5B is likely an unseen entity for most … Wolfe to the rescue with a DVD push in the New Year.

It is an interesting dynamic — and very effective — teaming a two-time Oscar nominee for his documentary work, Dan Krauss (Extremis, The Life of Kevin Carter) with an Oscar-winning filmmaker for his dramatic storytelling (Oscar winner for his Crash script and as producer of the film, he shared the Oscar with Cathy Schulman for Best Picture).

The film is not a deep dive into the early days of the first AIDS ward in the United States — Ward 5B (hence the title) at San Francisco General Hospital — but a look back down the long corridor of time.   The early days are presented in quick order and then the film shifts to the present day and a series of decisive interviews with those who live through the hellish days when there was no cure; no treatment, just compassion as people came to die.

Among those who talk about their experiences is Cliff Morrison, a nurse on Ward 5B, who saw the need and convinced others at San Francisco General to open a kind and welcoming place for victims of the disease to find a safe harbor.   Others sharing their memories are fellow nurse Alison Moed and singer Rita Rockett who raised money for the suffering and for her efforts was vilified.

Wolfe’s 5B DVD release on Mar. 10 is well-worth a viewing.   A reminder that a “Gay Disease” became a viral pandemic that touched all segments of society … so much time was lost and wasted by stigmatizing HIV and not looking for ways to fight it.

Bayview Entertainment Tabs Feb. 4 For The DVD Debut Of Moscow Days, L.A. Nights

Bayview Entertainment will be bringing the feature film version of actor/director Rodion Nahapetov’s Moscow Days, L.A. Nights, co-starring Sean Young and Nahapetov, to the DVD arena on Feb. 4.

The film started off as a 12-part Russian television series, even winning awards, but access to the domestic market, by its very nature, would have been limited.   So, Nahapetov did the only reasonable thing and cut the ten hours worth of episodic action, suspense and mystery into a tightly-woven feature film.

We are introduced to Moscow police detective Andrei Somov (Nahapetov), who has an American wife, Rachel (Sean Young — Blade Runner, No Way Out), who is a bit sketchy in her day to day affairs in Moscow, so she decides to head back to Los Angeles.   Andrei will follow, but not before his best friend ends up dead and the chief of police is murdered.

Once in Los Angeles, Andrei tries to obtain a position with the Los Angeles police department, but to no avail.   Odd jobs to make ends meet follow … it is those odd jobs (often turning into crimes involving Russian ex-pats) and the continuing mystery with his wife that frame the story of Moscow Days, L.A. Nights.

Vinegar Syndrome Announces Its Jan. 28 Blu-ray Release Slate

Vinegar Syndrome will open the New Year with a five-strong slate of new film restorations that will be available for film fans to savor on Jan. 28.

Topping the list — and certainly that is always a subjective evaluation — is director James Martin’s 1988 direct-to-video suburbia chomp-fest, Flesh-Eating Mother.   A viral infection turns philandering housewives into cannibals … so lock up your children, it could get ugly!!

This new 2K film restoration features commentary from filmmaker James Martin (I was a Teenage Zombie), who is joined by film historian and author Michael Gingold (former editor of Fangoria Magazine), plus there are a pair of featurettes — “Blood and Laughs” and “Hungry to Make Movies.”

Also getting a new 2K film restoration — from the original 35mm camera negative — is John N. Carter’s haunted house thriller (without a house), Zombie Island Massacre.   You go on vacation in the Caribbean, take a side tour to a remote island, and presto, you’re stuck in the jungle and picked off one by one … by one!   No zombies, but maybe that’s just the name of the island and not a massacre on an island by zombies (it does have a twist).

Rounding out the selection of new Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs from Vinegar Syndrome on Jan. 28 are three classic adult selections, two of which are double-features.   Adult filmmaker Bob Chinn gets 2K restorations for his Hard Soap, Hard Soap (1977) and Disco Lady (1978), which features the film debut of Rhonda Jo Petty.

The other adult double-bill is director Edwin Brown’s (aka: Stephen Lucas; aka: Edwin Durell) A Thousand and One Erotic Nights (1982) and the 1986 follow-up, A Thousand and One Erotic Nights, Part II.   Both were shot on 35mm film.

And last, but certainly not least (also shot on 35mm with a new 2K restoration), is the adorable Hillary Summers (Silky, Hot Dallas Nights, Urban Cowgirls) starring in director Roberta Findlay’s 1980 film release of Justine (aka: Justine: A Matter of Innocence).   Bonus features here include a newly-prepared commentary with filmmaker Roberta Findlay (Glitter, Liquid A$$ets, Teenage Milkmaid).

Nozomi Entertainment's A.D. Police: To Protect And Serve On Blu-ray On Feb. 4

Nozomi Entertainment, with sales and distribution support provided by Bayview Entertainment, has tabbed Feb. 4 for the Blu-ray release of director Hidehito Ueda’s A.D. Police: To Protect and Serve.

All 12 episodes in this anime series about the treacherous Packer Syndicate and their crime-robots, the Boomers, are included here.    Standing against the Syndicate is Kenji Sasaki (voiced by Randy Sparks) and Hans Kleif (voiced by Jason Douglas).

Features include clean openings and closings and two image galleries.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Looks To Feb. 4 For The Home Entertainment Release Of Director Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has selected Feb. 4 for the release of a three-SKU helping of director Mike Flanagan’s film adaptation of the Stephen King’s 2013 novel, Doctor Sleep, a sequel to the The Shining.

The ARR is a quick-to-market 88 days and box office revenues came in at $31.4 million.

Planned for distribution are Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD presentation.

The big bonus nugget here is a director’s cut of the film, which clocks in at 152 minutes.

Other bonus goodies, which are limited to the Combo Packs, are three featurettes — “Return to the Overlook,” “The Making of Doctor Sleep: A New Vision” and “From Shining to Sleep.”

The Criterion Collection Announces Its March Of 2020 Film Restoration Calendar

The Criterion Collection announced its March of 2020 slate of new film restorations being released as both Blu-ray and DVD product offerings during the course of the month.

At the front of the pack is the Mar. 24 2K film restoration of director John M. Stahl’s 1946 film noir (ish) adaptation of the Ben Ames Williams’ 1944 novel, Leave Her to Heaven.   It is difficult to fully embrace the film noir aspects when the film is in Technicolor and there’s a happy ending (20^th Century-Fox was “warned” on several times by the Production Code Administration to be careful with the film adaptation of Williams’ novel).

This carping aside, Leave Her to Heaven, starring Gene Tierney as the manipulative Ellen received her only Best Actress nomination … yes, her only Oscar nomination, which is shame when you consider her performances in such films as Laura, The Shanghai Gesture, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Whirlpool … seriously, only one nomination.   She almost didn’t get the role, as both Ida Lupino and Tallulah Bankhead were mentioned in the trades at the time as being considered.

The film is told in flashback as Richard (Cornel Wilde) is released from prison after spending the last two years of his life there.   During the course of the movie we will come to learn of his relationship with Ellen, with her sister, Ruth (Jeanne Crain) and just how twisted and manipulative Ellen becomes in controlling Richard … even to the point of murder and a frame-up so sinister that it is both breathtaking and appalling in equal measures.

There is only one bonus nugget here, a newly prepared video session with film critic Imogen Sara Smith (author of: “In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City”).

Also on the March 2020 release calendar from Criterion are: Salesman (Mar. 10); Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (a new 2K restoration on Mar. 17 … with commentary); The Cranes are Flying (in Russian, Mar. 24 … with vintage commentary from director Mikhail Kalatozov) and arriving on Mar. 31 are both The Prince of Tides (directed by and starring Barbra Streisand) and director James Whale’s 1936 film adaptation of the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein musical, Show Boat.