Mill Creek Entertainment Targets Nov. 17 For 10-Disc • 20-Film Blu-ray Release Of Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection

Certainly, they must be kidding.   That was the first impression, it is just too good a deal, but on checking with Mill Creek Entertainment’s home site, it is all true!!

 

The first Blu-ray announcement from Mill Creek Entertainment for the month of November was nothing short of being a blockbuster.   Grab something so you don’t get knocked down, but on Nov. 17 there will be a 20-film collection on Blu-ray titled Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection.   Ten discs, 20 films … all on Blu-ray.

 

And get this, Mill Creek Entertainment has this priced-to-collect at $5.50 per film — on Blu-ray.   You cannot find a better deal out there.

 

What treasures from the Hammer Films library are included in this collection?   We begin with, in chronological order, the 1958 release of director Terence Fisher’s The Revenge of Frankenstein, starring Peter Cushing as “Doctor Stein,” with Michael Gwynn (Some People, Village of the Damned, Dunkirk, The Camp on Blood Island, etc.) as the new “monster,” with the late Eunice Gayson (as Sylvia Trench in both Dr. No and From Russia With Love) as the woman the “monster” loves.

 

It’s murder most-foul in director Guy Green’s The Snorkle, which was also released theatrically in the United States in 1958, and then the action shifts to World War II and the horrors of director Val Guest’s The Camp on Blood Island (also release theatrically in 1958).

 

Shifting to 1960, we find another World War II thriller, director Val Guest’s Yesterday’s Enemy, and then Terence Fisher is back with another horror tale The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll starring Christopher Lee, Dawn Addams and Paul Massie as Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll.

 

Also, from 1960 is Terence Fisher’s The Strangler’s of Bombay.  Although produced in 1960, director Cyril Frankel’s film adaptation of the Roger Garis’ controversial stage play “The Pony Cart” — released theatrically as Never Take Candy from a Stranger — did not arrive in the United States until 1961.

 

It’s a “haunted house” thriller from director Seth Holt with the 1961 horror tale, Scream of Fear, starring Susan Strasberg, and filmmaker Val Guest returns with the 1961 horror mystery, Stop Me Before I Kill.

 

Christopher Lee is the evil Chung King in director Anthony Bushell’s The Terror of the Tongs, he’s back in John Gilling’s The Pirates of Blood River and once again he stars in director Don Sharp’s The Devil-Ship Pirates … Christopher Lee could be more than just Dracula!!

 

Rounding out this stunning collection of Hammer Film hits are: These are the Damned, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, The Old Dark House, The Gorgon, Maniac, Die! Die! My Darling and Creatures the World Forgot.

 

Mark it down on your calendar now … Nov. 13, 20 films, 10 discs all on Blu-ray, the Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection from Mill Creek Entertainment.

 

 

 

Writer/Director James Cullen Bressack's Blood Craft On DVD From MVD Entertainment Group On Nov. 24

MVD Entertainment Group has targeted Nov. 24 as the DVD debut date for writer/director James Cullen Bressack’s revenge horror tale, Blood Craft.

 

Minister Hall (Dave Sheridan — A Haunted House, Scary Movie, The Devil’s Rejects) has died and that should be that, but his daughter, Grace (Madeleine Wade — Sweet Madness, Age of Summer), returns home for the burial with an anger and a lust for vengeance that seems unfulfilled.  It is here that she hooks up with her sister, Serena (Augie Duke — Necropolis: Legion, Burning Kentucky, etc.), who she hasn’t seen in years.

 

If you thought that Grace was angry, wait until you get a load of what Serena has planned … she will need a little help from Grace to get things going, but once that happens, just get out of the way!!

 

There is history with some of the locals, including Sheriff Waters (Mark Rolston) and the family home seems a little ostentatious for a religious figure, but those are just little teasers planted by director Bressack as the story unfolds.   We also learn that Grace and Serena were abused by dear old dad … horrible things and their hatred for him is something of an itch that can’t be scratched now that he’s dead.   You can easily see why Serena wants what she wants … and how willing Grace can in carrying out her sister’s wishes.

 

The young women, it seems, can get a measure of revenge even though their father is dead and buried.   There is a little something else tucked away in the family history, witchcraft.    A spell, resurrect Minister Hall, torture him and Grace and Serena will finally extract a measure of revenge that is, in their minds, long overdue.   

 

A reasonable person might think twice about raising the dead through a magical spell.   Doesn’t that usually go south?   What might be the consequences of such an action, even if such a “witchcraft” spell did work?   But when blinded by hate, such things are easily dismissed; perhaps not even considered.

 

What horrors await?   And what of Minister Hall’s “other” secrets … perhaps this one corpse, and the experiences of the of the past, that should be left buried.   Nov. 24, writer/director James Cullen Bressack’s Blood Craft on DVD from MVD Entertainment Group, a horror lesson of what can go wrong when the past, now buried, is dug up out of hatred. 

 

 

 

Icarus Films Selects Oct. 6 For The Domestic DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Cedric Klapisch's Someone, Somewhere

Icarus Films will be joining forces with France’s premiere film production and distribution company, Distrib Films, on Oct. 6 for the domestic DVD debut of writer/director Cédric Klapisch’s Parisian teasing, taunting love story, Someone, Somewhere.

 

Rémy (François Civil — As Above, So Below, Love at Second Sight, Back to Burgundy) is a thirtysomething living in Paris.   He works in a warehouse. — a cavernous, never-ending warehouse — lays awake nights and knows little of the social graces.   Indeed, he seems to have but one friend in the world, a cat that he didn’t want, but got stuck with just the same.  

 

Mélanie played by the enchanting Ana Girardot (Escobar: Paradise Lost, Sunbeat, Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart), has a career, lots and lots of “friends,” but as Klapisch’s film unfolds, we see that she is as alone in Paris as Rémy.   For all of her social media skills, she is lonely.

 

It is here, once the characters are established that we see where the story is playfully taking us.   Mélanie and Rémy are neighbors, we see them crossing paths again and again, the local market, the pharmacy down the street, the Metro … it is a game that Klapisch is playing with us. 

 

Will they meet?   Are they the couple that destiny is toying with?   The answer to that is … no, no, no, not so fast.   Oct. 6, Someone, Somewhere on DVD from Icarus Films to find that answer.

 

Also being announced for the DVD marketplace this past week by Icarus Films is the Sept. 29 release of documentary filmmaker Daniel Traub’s Ursula Von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own.

 

Born in occupied Poland during the summer of 1942 (right around the time that Hitler decided to attack his “ally,” the Soviet Union), Ursula Von Rydingsvard somehow managed to survive the war, survive refugee camps and then got the “golden ticket” to the United States, where she earned multiple college degrees … and by the mid-1970s was becoming artist of note.

 

Traub’s film walks us through her life and explores her unique standing in the world of monumental scripture, with insights in the process.   Ursula Von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own is an intimate portrait of the artist, with access to her creative process and a review of some of her many accomplishments.

 

Included with the DVD is the short film titled Xu Bing: Phoenix.  

 

 

 

 

 

Cinema Libre Picks Oct. 6 For The DVD Debut Of Director Megan S. Smith's Boobs: The War on Women’s Breasts

Documentary filmmaker Megan S. Smith’s exploration on the controversial test of mammography, Boobs: The War on Women’s Breasts, will be makings its way to the DVD marketplace courtesy of Cinema Libre on Oct. 6.

 

Dr. Otis Brawley, who was the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society when interviewed by Smith for her film, was blunt and to the point, “Mammography is a suboptimal test” … “we need a better test.”

 

And that “better test,” according to Smith’s film, is actually a combination of testing protocols, thermography in conjunction with ultrasound.   She contends that, “These two non-radiative tests used side-by-side could end in earlier detection for breast cancer, as well as increased accuracy for those women with high breast tissue density.”  

 

Smith’s documentary started as a planned short film on the subject (with a tentative release date last year), but during its production it became clear that there was so much material to cover, plus interviews with physicians and health care experts that needed to be included in the film, as well as input from those most impacted by breast cancer.  

 

A better treatment, no radiation … why not?   It becomes clear as Smith’s film unfolds that there is a “corporate” mindset (read: profit motive) to maintain the status quo.   The media, as Smith discovered, under-reports, even ignores the hard evidence that thermography in conjunction with ultrasound is a better way to go.   

 

Oct. 6, from Cinema Libre, Boobs: The War on Women’s Breasts on DVD … be sure to check it out, your life might very well depend upon what you learn.

 

 

 

 

Bayview Entertainment Looks To Oct. 27 For The Golden Reel Collection Release Of Director Maggie Greenwald's Sophie And The Rising Sun

Bayview Entertainment announced this past week that Oct. 27 will be street date for the “Golden Reel Collection” DVD release of director Maggie Greenwald’s 2016 film adaptation of Augusta Trobaugh’s 2001 novel, Sophie and the Rising Sun.

 

The film opened at the Sundance Film Festival on a cold day in January in 2016 and then proceeded to work the festival circuit for a solid year, with stops at the Munich International Film Festival and Stockholm International Film Festival, among others, before getting a very limited arthouse theatrical run in January of 2017 … playing here and there for two full months before dropping out of sight.  This all changes on Oct. 27!!

 

It is the fall of 1941, and we know that the world is about to change, but for this quiet moment we find ourselves in Salty Creek, a small town in South Carolina where a mysterious Japanese man by the name of Grover Ohta (Takashi Yamaguchi — Letters from Iwo Jima, The Last Samurai) is dumped at the bus station, badly beaten.   He is a mystery.   Although an American, he is viewed with suspicion … perhaps Chinese, but certainly a foreigner.

 

Anne Morrison, or just plain, Miss Anne (Margo Martindale — six time Emmy nominee, with wins for Justified and two for The Americans) takes Ohta in and during his recovery we learn that he had journeyed to New York to purchase trees, but was attacked and beaten and “put on a bus out of town.”   She makes good use of his horticulture skills and befriends him, despite the animosity of the “town folk.”

 

 Her neighbor, Sophie (Julianne Nicholson — August: Osage County, Tully, I, Tonya, etc.), is a widow, her husband died on the battlefield of Europe in World War I.   She also befriends Ohta, and finds that they share a common interest in painting.   The two bond and an odd romance begins to bloom, but that day, that December day, finally arrives and everything changes in Salty Creek.

 

Bayview Entertainment release of Sophie and the Rising Sun on Oct. 29 is a powerful, well-told, story of prejudice, racism and the power of friendship and love to overcome even the most horrific of events.   This is a “Golden Reel Collection” treasure that is certainly welcome as it becomes available on DVD on Oct. 27.

 

 

 

Full Moon Features Targets Nov. 10 For A Nine-Title DVD Remastered Promotion

Full Moon Features, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a bonanza of freshly remastered vault classic ready for delivery to fans as priced-to-own DVD product offerings on Nov. 10.

 

Nine film treasures have been selected for this DVD promotion and it can be safely said that genre fans will not be disappointed.  This is the perfect opportunity for Full Moon and filmmaker Charlie Band fans to upgrade existing holdings or fill in library gaps at very attractive price … each of the nine films heading to DVD carry a SRP of just $14.95 each.

 

So, without further ado, let us get to the film treasures that are included here.   On vintage side are the early theatrical hits, director Michael Rae’s 1978 sci-fi thriller, Laserblast: Remastered Edition and director John Cardos’ 1980 alien/timing-traveling gem, The Day Time Ended: Remastered Edition.

 

The other seven films in this DVD promotion from Full Moon Features are: Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death: Remastered Edition, Creepozoids: Remastered Edition, Robot Wars: Remastered Edition, Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity: Remastered Edition, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama: Remastered Edition, Dark Angel: The Ascent: Remastered Edition and Meridian: Remastered Edition.  

 

 

 

  

 

 

The Criterion Collection Announces Its November Slate Of New Film Restorations Destined For Release As Both DVD & Blu-ray Product Offering During The Month

This past week the Criterion Collection announced its November slate of new film restorations that will filter out during the course of the month as both Blu-ray and DVD product offerings.

 

Leading the way is a new 4K digital restoration (source material not specified) of director Norman Jewison’s 1988 Best Picture candidate, Moonstruck, starring Cher (who won Best Actress laurels) and Nicolas Cage, with Olympia Dukakis (Best Supporting Actress) and Vincent Gardenia (nominated for Best Supporting Actor) in supporting roles.   The street date is Nov. 17.

 

A turn-around in studio fortunes for MGM during the late 1980s was in no small measure due to Alan Ladd, Jr.’s very commercial film production slate, which included Moonstruck, plus the likes of Spaceballs, Overboard, A Fish Called Wanda and Rain Man ... and many more.  With Lee Rich as chairman and Ladd head of production, it proved to be a winning combination that was ultimately betrayed by Kirk Kerkorian, who used the studio’s robust recovery to arranged a billion-dollar sale of the studio to an Italian waiter by the name Giancarlo Parretti … who, of course, had no money.

 

Ah, but that’s another story.   When Moonstruck was first released on VHS, the only “extra” was a “PSA” for Snickers … these new Blu-ray and DVD editions from Criterion are a whole lot sweeter than that.

 

We begin with a vintage commentary track (circa 1998) featuring Cher, filmmaker Norman Jewison and writer John Patrick Shanley (who won the Oscar for his script).   There are also vintage video sessions with Norman Jewison and cast members Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis from 1987, a video session with Danny Aiello (2002), and with John Patrick Shanley in 1989.

New material includes a newly-prepared with session Shanley and film scholar Stefano Albertini.   There also two featurettes — “At the Heart of an Italian Family” and “The Music of Moonstruck.”

 

Also on the November release calendar from the Criterion Collection is director Martin Scorsese’s multi-million box office bomb, The Irishman.   Film production estimates for this bloated vanity piece range from $150 million to well over $200 million.   An inept theatrical release and a meltdown war with major exhibitor saw just an estimated $7,000,000 in box office receipts before going to Netflix as an “event” film.

 

Streeting on Nov. 24 are double-disc DVD and double-disc Blu-ray editions, that yields an ARR of 389 days.

 

The Irishman is a new 4K digital master (approved by Scorsese).   Bonus features include a Making-of documentary, the featurette titled “The Evolution of Digital De-aging” and a video session with film critic Farran Smith Nehme.

 

Also on the release calendar from Criterion in November are filmmaker Claudia Weill’s 1978 film release of Girlfriends (Nov. 10), director Jim Jarmusch’s 1999 film release of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Nov. 17) and a 14-film salute to director Federico Fellini on Nov. 24.