Meanwhile … CRASH!

10/22/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

Who would have thought that after years of no high definition release of David Cronenberg‘s Crash, we will have three releases (Germany, UK, and the US) by the end of the year! And, of course, all three have different special features.

Crash Mediabook from Turbine Media (New 4K Restoration!)

Bonus Materials:
40-page Booklet – HD-Trailer – US-NC-17-Trailer – New interviews in HD (ca. 140 Min.): Talk with Viggo Mortensen & David Cronenberg (ca. 52 Min.), Peter Suschitzky (DoP – ca. 20 Min.), Jeremy Thomas (Producer – ca. 17 Min.), Howard Shore (Composer – ca. 23. Min.), Deirdre Bowen (Casting Director – ca. 27 Min.) – Archive: Theatrical Release Interviews with Cast & Crew (ca. 22 Min.) – Behind the Scenes (ca. 11. Min.) – David Cronenberg’s Short Films: The Nest (ca. 9 Min.), Camera (ca. 6 Min.), At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World (ca. 4 Min.)

Crash 4K UHD Limited Edition from Arrow Video

Brand new 4K restoration of the uncut NC-17 version from the original 35mm camera negative, supervised by writer-director David Cronenberg and director of photography Peter Suschitzky
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
5.1 and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin
Cronenberg Challenge – new interview with the director of photography Peter Suschitzky
Mechanical Animals – new interview with executive producer Jeremy Thomas
The Shore Thing – new interview with composer Howard Shore
License to Drive – new interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen
Archival “Behind the Scenes” featurette
Archival interviews with David Cronenberg, J.G. Ballard, and actors James Spader, Holly Hunter, Deborah Kara Unger, and Elias Koteas
Cronenberg: Concrete Cowboy – brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg’s use of Toronto as a filming location
Original Trailers
Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Vanessa Morgan and Araceli Molina, alongside a reprinted excerpt from Cronenberg on Cronenberg
Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Limited edition packaging with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

Crash Blu-ray from the Criteron Collection

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

New 4K digital restoration supervised by cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray, both approved by director David Cronenberg
Audio commentary from 1997 featuring Cronenberg
Press conference from the 1996 Cannes Film Festival featuring Cronenberg; Suschitzky; author J. G. Ballard; producers Robert Lantos and Jeremy Thomas; and actors Rosanna Arquette, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, James Spader, and Deborah Kara Unger
Q&A from 1996 with Cronenberg and Ballard at the National Film Theatre in London
Behind-the-scenes footage and press interviews from 1996
Trailers
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Jessica Kiang

And guess which consumerist sucker is going to own all three?

Things ‘n Stuff

9/14/20209/14/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

The arrival of The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray has been the best thing that has happened in the past few weeks. Seriously. Psycho and Vertigo look insanely beautiful in 4K (Rear Window and The Birds aren’t too bad either).

And to balance out all that cinematic awesomeness, I grabbed a copy of the Rob Zombie Trilogy. Trash-tastic! (Plus, you can’t beat three movies for $13.)

One of the other things I have done recently has been to separate my regular Twitter from my porn Twitter. Now my regular followers won’t see when I like or comment on some really hot porn tweet. Ha, ha.

Meanwhile, I am obsessing over remixes of Madonna’s Erotica.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

8/27/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

Even being down in income, I still bought all these movies over the course of the summer. Priorities, right?

Even More Wants!!

5/27/20205/27/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

I lost my second job at the end of April … yet all I can think about is all the cool shit I want to purchase. I need to start pimping myself out! Any takers out there?

It Couldn’t Happen Here (Limited Dual Format Edition) from the BFI

The first feature-length film starring the Pet Shop Boys alongside Joss Ackland, Gareth Hunt and Barbara Windsor finds Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe on an extraordinary adventure from the coast to London, encountering a curious array of eccentric characters along the way. Pop surrealism meets classic road movie, the film is peppered with hits from the duo’s first two studio albums, including ‘West End Girls’, ‘It’s a Sin’ and ‘Always On My Mind’.

Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
Limited Edition 48-page Digi-book includes a new interview with Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and previously unseen excerpts from his personal on-set production diary, as well as an introduction to the film by director Jack Bond and writing on the film by Anthony Nield, Jason Wood, Omer Ali, John Ramchandani, William Fowler and Vic Pratt
Comprehensive feature commentary by Jack Bond, James Dillon and Simon Archer (2020)
West End Boy: Jack Bond (2020, 27 mins): the director discusses his eclectic career as a filmmaker and his enterprising approach to the making of It Couldn’t Happen Here
It Can Happen Here: Arlene Phillips (2020, 26 mins): the renowned choreographer reflects upon a life in dance – and the trials and tribulations of working on It Couldn’t Happen Here
Always on My Mind (1987, 5 mins): the full-length promotional video for the Pet Shop Boys’ acclaimed ‘Christmas Number One’ hit, featuring Joss Ackland and footage from It Couldn’t Happen Here
Actually: an unfilmed early version of the script for the film, included here in its entirety for the first time anywhere
As it Happened: Image galleries including the complete final version of the script, the director’s shot lists, Pet Shop Boys reference lyric sheets and promotional materials for It Couldn’t Happen Here
Original theatrical trailer (digitally reconstructed for this release)

Dawn of the Dead Limited Edition 4K UHD from Second Sight Films

With the U.S. in the grip of a zombie apocalypse, four desperate survivors find refuge in a shopping mall. But the flesh-eating hordes, still possessed by an instinctive desire to consume, are drawn to the same destination. What follows is a nail-biting fight for survival. George A Romero’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’ remains one of the greatest horror films ever made, often imitated but never equaled, and is now presented in a brand new restoration.

UHD DISC 1: THE THEATRICAL CUT

New 4K scan and restoration of the Original Camera Negative by Second Sight at Final Frame New York and London supervised and approved by DoP Michael Gornick
Presented in HDR10+
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono – New restoration of the original OCN Optical / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Commentary by George A Romero, Tom Savini, Christine Forrest
NEW commentary by Travis Crawford
New optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired

UHD DISC 2 – THE EXTENDED (‘CANNES’) CUT

Produced using 4k scan of the Theatrical Cut Original Camera Negative and 4K scan of the Extended Cut Colour Reversal Internegative
DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
Presented in HDR10+
Commentary by Richard P Rubinstein
New optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired

UHD DISC 3 – THE ARGENTO CUT

4K scan of the Interpositive by Michele De Angelis at Backlight Digital, Rome
Audio: DT-HD Master Audio Mono 1.0 / Surround 5.1 / Stereo 2.0
Commentary by Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Emge
New optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired

BLU-RAY DISC 4: SPECIAL FEATURES

NEW Zombies and Bikers: with John Amplas, Roy Frumkes, Tom Savini, Christine Forrest, Tom Dubensky, Tony Buba, Taso Stavrakis and a whole host of zombies and bikers! (59 mins)
NEW Memories of Monroeville: a tour of the mall with Michael Gornick, Tom Savini, Tom Dubensky and Taso Stavrakis (34 mins)
NEW Raising the Dead: The Production Logistics: with Michael Gornick, Christine Forrest, John Amplas, Tom Dubensky (23 mins)
NEW The FX of Dawn with Tom Savini (13 mins)
NEW Dummies! Dummies!: An interview with Richard France (12 mins)
NEW The Lost Romero Dawn Interview: previously unreleased archive interview (20 mins)
Super 8 Mall Footage by zombie extra Ralph Langer with option of archive commentary by Robert Langer and new commentary by Ralph Langer (13 mins)
Document of the Dead: The Original Cut with optional commentary by Roy Frumkes (66 mins)
Document of the Dead: The Definitive Cut (100 mins)
The Dead Will Walk 2014 Documentary (80 mins)
Trailers, TV and Radio Spots (TBC)

Limited Edition Contents

AUDIO CD DISC 1

The Goblin Soundtrack – 17 tracks including Alternate and Bonus Tracks

AUDIO CD DISC 2

The Complete De Wolfe Library Cues Part 1

AUDIO CD DISC 3

The Complete De Wolfe Library Cues Part 2

Rigid box with lid featuring the original iconic artwork
2 inner digipaks
150 page hardback book featuring 16 new essays, archive article, archive George A Romero interview and rare Behind-The-Scenes stills
Dawn of the Dead: The novelization book by George A Romero and Susanna Sparrow with exclusive artwork

More Wants!

5/11/20205/11/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

What else is there to do during “stay at home” excitement but goof off on the internet and drool over pretty things that you want to purchase?

The Game Limited Edition from Arrow Academy

Limited to only 3,000 units
Deluxe packaging including a 200-page hardback book housed in a rigid slipcase, illustrated with newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
200-page book exclusive to this edition includes a newly-commissioned full-length monograph by Bilge Ebiri, and selected archive materials, including an American Cinematographer article from 1997, a 2004 interview with Harris Savides by Alexander Ballinger, and the chapter on the film from Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher by James Swallow
Arrow Academy Blu-ray including new bonus features and UK home video premiere of director-approved 2K restoration
Universal Special Edition DVD featuring archive extras with cast and crew

Flash Gordon 5-Disc Limited Edition (New 4K Restoration!) from Studio Canal

DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY

BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, SUPERVISED AND APPROVED BY DIRECTOR MIKE HODGES
New Lost in Space: Nic Roeg’s Flash Gordon (also iTunes extra)
Audio commentary with Mike Hodges
Audio commentary with Brian Blessed
Behind the scenes of Flash Gordon
Stills gallery (also iTunes extra)
Storyboards gallery (also iTunes extra)
Original theatrical trailer

DISC TWO – BLU-RAY

Interview with Mike Hodges
Interview with comic book artist Alex Ross TBC
Interview with screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. TBC
Episode 24 of Flash Gordon (1979-1982): The Survival Game / Gremlin’s Finest Hour
Sam Jones’s acting start
Entertainment Earth on Flash Gordon merchandise
Bob Lindenmayer discusses deleted scenes and original endings
35th Anniversary Greenroom
35th Anniversary reunion featurette
Renato Casaro extended interview
Brian Blessed anecdotes
Melody’s musings
On the soundtrack (Brian May & Howard Blake)
Easter Eggs

THE FIVE-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION INCLUDES

The 4K Blu-ray plus two Blu-ray discs
BONUS BLU-RAY DISC OF LIFE AFTER FLASH, the 2017 feature documentary celebrating the film and it’s star, directed by Lisa Downs
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK CD by Queen & Howard Blake
32 page booklet
16 page Titan mini book (The Story of Flash Gordon)
Reproduced booklet of the first strip of original comic books
Poster of original artwork
4 artcards of various incarnations of Flash film posters across the years
1 sew on ‘Flash patch’

Crash Mediabook from Turbine Media (New 4K Restoration!)

Bonus Materials:
40-page Booklet – HD-Trailer – US-NC-17-Trailer – New interviews in HD (ca. 140 Min.): Talk with Viggo Mortensen & David Cronenberg (ca. 52 Min.), Peter Suschitzky (DoP – ca. 20 Min.), Jeremy Thomas (Producer – ca. 17 Min.), Howard Shore (Composer – ca. 23. Min.), Deirdre Bowen (Casting Director – ca. 27 Min.) – Archive: Theatrical Release Interviews with Cast & Crew (ca. 22 Min.) – Behind the Scenes (ca. 11. Min.) – David Cronenberg’s Short Films: The Nest (ca. 9 Min.), Camera (ca. 6 Min.), At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World (ca. 4 Min.)

Trivial Pursuit: Horror Ultimate Edition

Trivial Pursuit: Horror Ultimate Edition from The OP Games

There’s no turning back from TRIVIAL PURSUIT: HORROR ULTIMATE EDITION! Explore the darkest corners of pop culture in this fact-based challenge where survival skills are a must! 1800 blood-curdling questions from across all horror genres will test your mastery of the macabre. Rely on your skill and luck to make it out alive through six comprehensive categories: Gore & Disturbing, Psychological, Killer, Monster, Paranormal, and Comedy.

1 Custom Game Board
6 Custom Movers – Monster Hand, Doll Head, Straitjacket, Goat Head, Cleaver in Brain, and Table Saw
300 Cards with 1800 Questions
36 Wedges
Rules

**********
And, of course, these are all very pricey items. Good Grief. I really need to get out of the house and off the internet.

Movie Madness

4/22/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

Thanks to all the “stay at home” induced free time that I now have, I am finally making my way through the backlog of movies that I have purchased but have not watched. First up was the five Hammer film sets from Indicator in the UK. The sets have a pretty diverse range of films from Hammer … gothic horror, crime thrillers, adventure, and war movies. Out of the 20 movies, there was only one that I really disliked (Visa to Canton) with the rest all being solid. The ones that I consider to be favorites are listed in bold.

Hammer Volume One: Fear Warning!
1. Maniac (1963)
2. The Gorgon (1964)
3. The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964)
4. Fanatic (1965)

Hammer Volume Two: Criminal Intent
1. The Snorkel (1958)
2. Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960)
3. The Full Treatment (1960)
4. Cash on Demand (1961)

Hammer Volume Three: Blood & Terror
1. The Camp on Blood Island (1958)
2. Yesterday’s Enemy (1959)
3. The Strangler’s of Bombay (1959)
4. The Terror of the Tongs (1961)

Hammer Volume Four: Faces of Fear
1. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
2. The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
3. Taste of Fear (1961)
4. The Damned (1962)

Hammer Volume Five: Death & Deceit
1. Visa to Canton (1960)
2. The Pirates of Blood River (1962)
3. The Scarlett Blade (1963)
4. The Brigand of Kandahar (1965)

Upcoming

3/23/2020 Chas.Leave a comment

To say that I am stupid excited about Criterion‘s upcoming release of Elem Klimov‘s Come and See would be a huge understatement.

This legendary film from Soviet director Elem Klimov is a senses-shattering plunge into the dehumanizing horrors of war. As Nazi forces encroach on his small village in Belorussia, teenage Flyora (Alexei Kravchenko, in a searing depiction of anguish) eagerly joins the Soviet resistance. Rather than the adventure and glory he envisioned, what he finds is a waking nightmare of unimaginable carnage and cruelty—rendered with a feverish, otherworldly intensity by Klimov’s subjective camera work and expressionistic sound design. Nearly blocked from being made by Soviet censors, who took seven years to approve its script, Come and See is perhaps the most visceral, impossible-to-forget antiwar film ever made.

Special Features

New 2K digital restoration by Mosfilm, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New interview with cinematographer Roger Deakins
New interview with director Elem Klimov’s brother and frequent collaborator German Klimov
Flaming Memory, a three-film documentary series from 1975–77 by filmmaker Viktor Dashuk featuring firsthand accounts of survivors of the genocide in Belorussia during World War II
Interview from 2001 with Elem Klimov
Interviews from 2001 with actor Alexei Kravchenko and production designer Viktor Petrov
How “Come and See” Was Filmed, a 1985 short film about the making of the film featuring interviews with Elem Klimov, Kravchenko, and writer Ales Adamovich
Theatrical rerelease trailer
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: Essays by critic Mark Le Fanu and poet Valzhyna Mort

Movie Madness!

12/16/201912/16/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

I think the annual November/December movie buying madness is over. I think …

More Pretty Things to Purchase

8/13/20198/13/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

Moloko’s Do You Like My Tight Sweater Limited Edition Turquoise Vinyl!

Moloko’s I Am Not a Doctor Limited Edition White Vinyl!

Hollow Man I & II Collector’s Edition 2-Disc Blu-Ray

An American Werewolf in London Limited Edition Blu-ray

Bloody Terror: The Shocking Cinema of Norman J. Warren 1976-1987 Limited Edition 5-Disc Blu-ray Set

I Just Died [Criterion Edition]

7/25/20197/25/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

This is quite possibly the greatest news ever!!!

In 1954, an enormous beast clawed its way out of the sea, destroying everything in its path—and changing movies forever. The arresting original Godzilla soon gave rise to an entire monster-movie genre (kaiju eiga), but the King of the Monsters continued to reign supreme: in fourteen fiercely entertaining sequels over the next two decades, Godzilla defended its throne against a host of other formidable creatures, transforming from a terrifying symbol of nuclear annihilation into a benevolent (if still belligerent) Earth protector. Collected here for the first time are all fifteen Godzilla films of Japan’s Showa era, in a landmark set showcasing the technical wizardry, fantastical storytelling, and indomitable international appeal that established the most iconic giant monster the cinema has ever seen.

This October, we’re celebrating the arrival of spine number 1000, and it’s a collector’s set fit for the granddaddy of all movie monsters! Our landmark edition gathers for the first time all the Godzilla films from Japan’s Showa era:

Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Die Aktualisierung

4/10/20194/10/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

So, yeah. This week. Too busy and not a great mental health week. Oh, well.

The weekend was pretty busy as well.

I bought a new string trimmer and spent all day Saturday mowing, trimming and cleaning up the yard. Yay, Spring is finally here. I also watched a crappy found footage horror movie (The Frankenstein Theory). I might have fallen asleep during it.

Sunday, Short Legs and I went and drank (and kiki-ed) at Noble Cider. We love this place!

Flights are a great way to sample their small batch ciders.

Blue Bard (their seasonal blueberry cider) is the bomb!

Monday, several of us went and saw the new movie version of Pet Sematary. It does a better job of capturing the dark tone of the novel, but the the whole thing falls completely apart in the third act. Skip it. I don’t think there is ever going to be an adaptation that will do the novel justice. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Meanwhile, rampant consumerism is in effect (as always).

Here is the new Pet Shop Boys live album, Inner Sanctum. It’s two CD’s, one Blu-ray, and one DVD of synth pop goodness.

I went a little crazy on the Vinegar Syndrome website last Monday and bought five Blu-rays containing 21 movies full of 70’s/80′ sleaze, exploitation, and horror. Woot! Woot!

I told you I had jock straps on the brain a week and half ago. Well, new fashion jocks from PUMP were bought and have arrived.

And, I couldn’t resist ordering this shirt! Hopefully I won’t be too fat to wear it by the time it gets here. 😛

A visit to Charleston is imminent. It’s been too long.

[No links ’cause I am lazy.]

Bad Design [Batman Edition]

4/3/20194/3/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

The original four Batman movies are coming to the 4K UHD format. Exciting!

And, the art for the covers? Terrible!

It looks like the design decisions were turned over to a 19-year-old intern that didn’t give a shit. Ugh. C’mon, guys. There are plenty of talented graphics designers out there that would love to take a crack at something like this … and would do a much better job.

Slogging Through

3/19/2019 Chas.Leave a comment

What’s been happening, you might ask?

– Finally saw Captain Marvel. It was pretty good. Now I want a flurken.
– Celebrated David’s (33rd) birthday.
– Went to a St. Patrick’s Day bash and drank too much beer.
– Saw the 80th Anniversary screening of Gone With the Wind.

I have been keeping up with my daily exercise … maybe even obsessively so. So, it was thoroughly depressing to get on the scales this morning and see that I have gained back 10 of the 20lbs. that I lost last year. I could tell that I had put on some weight over the holidays but I didn’t imagine it was that bad. Ten fucking pounds! This make me feel like giving up and just becoming a fat slob again. Ugh. I guess I need to be better about snacks/fast food/eating out and cut down on the alcohol intake.

Spring is around the corner and I am itching to get out and hike. It’s been way too long since I have treked through the woods. Who wants to go along?

Meanwhile … this bad boy arrived yesterday. It’s Arrow Video‘s (now sold out) Limited Edition The Ring Collection featuring the original Japanese movie (Ringu) and all its sequels. You had me at “Limited Edition.” Plus, I do loves me some J-Horror.

The Boy Wonder

Menu

Blu-Ray