Icarus Films Brings Documentary Filmmaker Hauke Wendler's Monobloc To DVD On Aug. 23

You don’t notice them, but they are everywhere.   Indeed, it is only when “they” are called to your attention that you begin to see them in seemingly countless numbers, literally, everywhere, which caught the fancy of German documentary filmmaker Hauke Wendler, who set off on an eight-year odyssey — covering five continents in the process — on the subject.

What is it?   It is the Monobloc.   About now you are asking yourself, what the hell is a “Monobloc.”  That’s the thing that caught Wendler’s fancy and set him on his film odyssey, which was finally completed in 2021 … the thing; the Monobloc, is a polypropylene chair that has been produced by the 100s of millions since the early 1970s.   Simply put, molten plastic is injected into a mold of a chair and voilà you have a Monobloc.

Icarus Films announced this past week that Wendler’s serendipitous adventure, which is titled simply, Monobloc, will be available on DVD this coming Aug. 23.

Wendler gives you a bit of the history, a show-and-tell on the manufacturing process (a plant in India) and some creative uses of the Monobloc.   There are even some man-on-the-street opinions on the thing … and opinions and insights on the countless millions of Monoblocs … are they good for the planet!?

Monobloc, on DVD from Icarus Films on Aug. 23, is presented in a blend of German, Portuguese and English, with English subtitles where appropriate.

 

 

 

 

The Film Detective Tabs Oct. 25 For A Special Edition Blu-ray Of Vincent Price Starring In Director Wilbur Cranes' 1959 Film Release Of The Bat

When the bat flies … someone dies!!  

The Film Detective announced this past week that Oct. 25 has been carved-out as the street date for a special edition of writer/director Wilbur Crane’s 1959 film adaption of the Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood’s 1920 stage play, The Bat.

It was originally adapted for the screen in 1926 by writer/director Roland West, and then again in by West as a sound version titled The Bat Whispers in 1930.  While both were wildly popular at the time, it was this 1959 production starring Vincent Price that has really stood the test of time.  

Price had scored well as Prof. Henry Jarrod in André De Toth’s 1953 horror film, House of Wax, but didn’t follow it up with additional genre work until The Fly in 1958, which was quickly followed by House on Haunted Hill, Return of the Fly, The Tingler and then The Bat in August of 1959.   As if by magic — screen magic — he had become a horror icon, which would come to full blossom in the 1960s with a series of seven film collaborations with Roger Corman.

Here he plays Dr. Malcolm Wells, who has come into a piece of information that sets everything in motion.   He is, yes, a murderer, but is he the mysterious serial killer that has been on the prowl in the quaint country town of Zenith?  

Author Cornelia Van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) and her assistant Lizzie Allen (Lenita Lane) have taken up residence in “The Oaks,” which is owned by the local bank president, John Fleming (Harvey Stephens).   The bank VP, Victor Bailey (Mike Steele), finds that to be something of a mystery, but he has bigger issues at hand … it seems that the bank is short a cool million dollars and he confides this bit of information to one of the board members, who just happens to be with the local police, Lieutenant Andy Anderson (Gavin Gordon).

Meanwhile, Fleming and the good doctor, are up at the lake fishing and there is a proposal, Fleming confesses that he has robbed the bank and is willing to split the money with the doctor if he can fake his death.   Shocked, Dr. Wells seems to find such a scheme reprehensible, that is until he picks up the hunting rifle and blows Fleming away.

One problem, where’s the money?   Before you know it, Bailey is arrested for the theft and Cornelia and Lizzie are suddenly living in a haunted house, which appears to be the lair of The Bat, the serial killer.   WOW, what a great opportunity for Cornelia, she’s going to write about the mystery and murders … and be an amateur detective while she’s at it!!  

Murder, another murder … and then … no, no, no, we are not giving away all of the surprises; the twists and turns in this wicked mystery/horror gem.   Check it out on Blu-ray or DVD from the Film Detective on Oct. 25.

Bonus goodies include commentary by professor and film scholar, Jason A. Ney, as well as the featurette titled “Ballyhoo Motion Pictures on Director: Crane Wilbur.”

 

 

 

 

Arrow Video Sets The Blu-ray Debut Of Writer/Director Pierre Tsigaridis' Two Witches For Oct. 18

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has snagged the distribution rights to writer/director Pierre Tsigaridis’ 2021 award-winning horror film, Two Witches.

The Blu-ray debut will happen on Oct. 18 on the ramp-up to the annual Halloween promotional season … horror, Halloween, of course!

One is reminded of the Robert Frost poem with the line “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I … “ when viewing Two Witches. 

We begin the journey with the first path, “Chapter 1: The Boogeyman,” which finds Sarah (Belle Adams — This World Alone, The Calling) on a night out for dinner with and her lover, Simon (Ian Michaels — Love is on the Air, Easy Targets).

We learn two things quickly, she is pregnant, and some old hag of a woman is giving her an evil gaze through the window of the restaurant, which unnerves Sarah.   Simon is somewhat dismissive, but since she is pregnant and spooked by the events of the evening, he decides that a visit to their friends Dustin and Melissa might be a good idea.   They appear to know a thing or two about witchcraft.

Meanwhile, things in Sarah’s life become darker and darker … spooky events.  Maybe the visit with Dustin and Melissa — and that session with the Ouija board — wasn’t such a good idea after all.

The next path on our things-that-go-bump-in-the-night journey is titled “Chapter 2: Marsha,” which jumps right in with an introduction to a clearly disturbed young woman by the name of Marsha (Rebekah Kennedy — Limbo, To the Bone, House Hunting), who has a roommate, Rachel (Halloween, The Kiss of a Killer, Killer Mermaid), but more importantly, that old hag (played by Marina Parodi) who was putting the evil-eye on poor Sarah in the first chapter, is the crazy-woman’s grandmother.

Marsha has a “man fetish” (I guess you can call it that), in that she wants the “perfect” relationship, but being unhinged that’s not likely.   In any case, the first chapter of Two Witches begins to intertwine with the second chapter as Marsha comes in contact with “someone” that we’ve already met (no spoilers here) … and all hell breaks loose.

Two Witches is a total genre creep-out and the timing of Oct. 18 for the Blu-ray debut from Arrow Video is spot-on.

Bonus features include two commentary options — the first with filmmaker Pierre Tsigaridis (his feature-film debut) and the second features producer and co-writer Maxime Rancon.  

Other bonus goodies include test footage, a two-part “Behind the Movie” presentation, a video session with actor/producer Dina Silva (Melissa), three additional featurettes — “The Boogeywoman,” “The Original Score” and “The Piano Score” — and the Grimmfest 2021 Q&A with Pierre Tsigaridis and Maxime Rancon.

 

 

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment Expands Oct. 4 "Retro VHS Collection" Blu-ray Slate With The Addition Of Both Shadowlands And The Cure

Mill Creek Entertainment has doubled-up on its Oct. 4 “Retro VHS Collection” of films heading home as new Blu-ray product offerings with the additions of both director Richard Attenborough’s 1993 film adaptation of William Nicholson’s television film and subsequent stage play, Shadowlands — starring Debra Winger and Anthony Hopkins — and director Peter Horton’s 1995 film release of The Cure.

Already in place on Oct. 4 are The Paper and Replacement Killers.

Shadowlands is a biopic based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) and Helen Joy Davidman (Gresham) … Nicholson was nominated for an Oscar for his adaption of his previous stage play and television version of the story, while Debra Winger received her third acting Oscar nomination (previously nominated for An Officer and a Gentleman and Terms of Endearment).

The Cure stars Brad Renfro (fresh from his performance in The Client) as the new kid in town — he has a horrible relationship with his mother (played by Diana Scarwid) — who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a younger neighbor who is suffering from AIDS as the result of a contaminated blood transfusion (Joseph Mazzello — ironically, plays Debra Winger’s son, Doug in Shadowlands … other films include Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and as John Deacon in Bohemian Rhapsody).   When they hear of a cure, they set out on a quixotic journey … bring Kleenex.

 

 

 

Writer/Director Tom Sheets' Moonchild Set For Blu-ray Debut On Oct. 11 From Visual Vengeance

Visual Vengeance, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a hi-def transfer of writer/director Todd Sheets’ 1994 futuristic thriller, Moonchild, lined up for its Blu-ray debut on Oct. 11.

Prolific genre-themed filmmaker Todd Sheets came up with a head-spinning direct-to-video gem where the werewolf, Jacob Stryker (Auggi Alvarez — Bloodthirsty Cannibal Demons, Zombie Bloodbath), is the hero of the story. 

It’s a grim dystopian future and renegade Stryker is “sentenced” to the meat-pile of the United Nations of America’s fighting force … he’s genetically mutated into a werewolf soldier; the perfect fighting machine.   But, being a renegade, he joins forces with the resistance and uses his new super predator powers to fight the tyrants.

Bonus treasures include two newly-prepared commentary options … the first with filmmaker Todd Sheets and Jacob Stryker himself, Auggi Alvarez; the second commentary option teams Sheets with the Visual Vengeance masterminds.

The original VHS cut of Moonchild is also included here, along with the deleted ending, a music video, the short film titled Sanguinary Desires, plus archival cast video sessions, and the making-of documentary titled Wolf Moon Rising: The Making of Moonchild.

As an added bonus, Visual Vengeance is including a CD of the Moonchild soundtrack. 

 

 

 

 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Picks Sept. 20 As The Release Date For 4K Ultra HD Editions Of The Lost Boys And Poltergeist

With the Halloween promotional season just over the horizon, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced this past week that two film vault horror features will be getting the 4K Ultra HD treatment as their contribution to the genre-themed viewing festivities.

Arriving on Sept. 20 is director Joel Schumacher’s summer of 1987 vampire gem, The Lost Boys, which didn’t quite start out as what it ended up.   Which is all to the good.

Janice Fischer and her screenwriter partner, James Jeremias, came up with their first feature film script and it was immediately snatched up for a mid-six figures sum and was originally slated as an indie production.   However, Warner Bros. got wind of it and stepped in with Goonies director, Richard Donner, to do a similar-themed kids adventure (think: grade-school kids) on a much-much bigger budget.

During pre-production, Donner switched over to the direction of Lethal Weapon and so Donner’s wife, Lauren Shuler Donner, who had just produced writer/director Joel Schumacher’s St. Elmo’s Fire, brought him on board to take over the director’s duties.   Screenwriter Jeffrey Boam (The Dead Zone, Straight Time, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, The Phantom), who was attached with Donner to Lethal Weapon, transferred over to this production and took Fischer and Jeremias’ script and completely re-worked it to give it a much sharper edge … worked like a charm.

One other Goonies connection was Corey Feldman, who was recruited for the role of Edgar Frog, with the rest of the “teenage” cast being relative newcomers — Feldman’s nemesis from Stand by Me, Keiffer Sutherland, got a huge break here as David, the leader of “The Lost Boys.”   

The “Goonies” equivalent group included Jason Patric, Corey Haim (with Silver Bullet and Lucas under his belt) and Jamison Newlander, with the mysterious Star, Jami Gertz, seemingly connected to David’s vampire clan — Alex Winter, Brooke McCarter and Billy Wirth were David’s vampires … however there is one above them all!!   That’s the mystery that the “Two Coreys” must solve.

Bonus features are all vintage featurettes on the companion Blu-ray disc, with the 4K Ultra HD disc featuring the archived commentary track from the late Joel Schumacher.

Also arriving on Sept. 20 is the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition of director Tobe Hooper’s 1982 chiller, Poltergeist.  

The companion Blu-ray disc includes a trio of vintage featurettes — “They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Pt. 1- Science of the Spirits,” “They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Pt. 2- Communing with the Dead” and “The Making of Poltergeist.”

Not done yet.  September also brings two new-to-Blu-ray releases culled from the vast Warner Bros. film library.   Sept. 6 look for the Blu-ray debut of Paul Newman directing his wife, Joanne Woodward, in the 1968 film adaptation of Margaret Laurence’s novel, “A Jest of God,” which was retitled for the screen as Rachel, Rachel.

Paul Newman was Oscar-nominated as the producer of the film, which was in the Best Picture running (losing out to Oliver!) and both Joanne Woodward (Best Actress) and Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Actress) also received Oscar nominations, as did Steward Stern for his adapted script.

The following week, Sept. 13, look for the new 4K scan of director John Cromwell’s 1940 film adaptation of Robert E. Sherwood’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize winning play, Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

Raymond Massey portrayed Lincoln in Sherwood’s play and was rewarded by Sherwood — who refused to sell the screen rights without Massey attached.   Of note, Howard Da Silva (as Armstrong) and Herbert Rudley (as Seth Gale) also made the transition from Broadway to the silver screen.

Massey, for his performance, was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar … it was a top-notch field that year, with James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story), Henry Fonda (The Grapes of Wrath) Sir Laurence Olivier (Rebecca) and Charles Chaplin (The Great Dictator) all vying for Oscar gold (Stewart won).

Bonus features include the 1940 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast featuring Massey, Fay Bainter and Otto Kruger.

 

 

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment's Jurassic World Dominion Smashes Speed Mark By Two Full Weeks With Aug. 16 Street Date

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, in something of a surprise move, made it official this past week that director Colin Trevorrow’s latest addition to the Jurassic Park film franchise, Jurassic World Dominion, will be arriving home on Aug. 16 as a three-SKU home entertainment packaged media product blitz.

With $372.4 million in domestic box office receipts, the ARR of just 67 is unprecedented.   Of the 86 films that have surpassed the $300 million mark since 1997 (the launch year of the DVD format), the 67-day spin from theatrical venues to the home entertainment marketplace eclipses the previous 81-day record by two full weeks (and two of those record-setters arrived earlier this year — Warner’s The Batman on May 24 and Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hit home on July 26 … back in 2017, Disney moved the live-action Beauty and the Beast in just 81 days as the other member of that exclusive club.

Obviously, the quick-turn is being driven by the streaming platforms.   We’ve made the point before, so we won’t belabor it, but this strategy seems counter-productive to the century-long dominance of the theatrical distribution marketplace by the “Hollywood” studio system.   But, the “Hollywood” studios will do what the “Hollywood” studios do … we are just a humble observer and historian of release trends.

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

Bonus features for all three release configurations include the short film titled Battle at Big Rock.

Exclusive to the Combo Pack presentations are an extended viewing option of the film (running an addition 14 minutes — it is likely that trims were made for theatrical exhibition reasons).

Bonus nuggets exclusive to the Combo Pack SKUs are the featurette titled “A New Breed of VFX,” plus two multi-part featurette bundles.   The first of these is titled “Dinosaurs Among Us: Inside Jurassic World Dominion” and includes three separate featurettes — “Together for the First Time,” “Underground Dino Market” and “Mayhem in Malta.”

The second grouping is titled “Scary Real” and sports six featurettes — “Spit Take: The Return of the Dilophosaurus,” “Inside the Dimetrodon,” “Creating a Plague,” “Passing the Bata … N,” “Giga-Bite” and “Final Night.”