In reg. to my post here.
My friend Tommy in Japan informs me that the dvd carries the English dub, has Japanese subtitles... and that the picture quality sucks!
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Saturday, 30 March 2013
update: WONDER WOMEN dvd
I've just updated the info about EXTRAS in yesterday's post about WONDER WOMEN (scroll down). Fred Olen Ray posted info that was more detailed on his Facebook page. One of the new bits of info is that the dvd is going to contain footage from a never finished sequel from 1983 that was going to be called WARRIOR WOMEN. On the FB page someone also asked about the possible Code Red dvd to which Olen Ray replied, "I'm not really able to discuss that at this time. All I can say in, good conscience, is I warned them." I guess lawyers are at play now.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Battle of the Wonder Women
I bought Something Weird video's dvdr release of the Filipino/US film WONDER WOMEN (1973) and wrote about it in February 2011. Bruce Holecheck commented that Code Red were going to give the film a proper release on dvd and blu-ray.
I quite like the film and have been waiting impatiently for Bill Olsen to get his finger out his arse and release this cool Filipino film (along with the wild Filipino/US production RAW FORCE which Code Red also announced many, many moons ago!). Then about a month ago, Bill Olsen posted on his blog that Code Red were going to chuck everything else aside because they (i.e. he) were going to concentrate only on the WONDER WOMEN release! And the reason? Apparently another video label in the US, Fred Olen Ray's Retromedia, were also planning to release the film!
I've been trying to follow this confusing mess on Facebook and where ever else in Cyberspace there's been news about it, and it appears that both labels somehow have gained copyrights for the film! So as of right now, it seems we can expect a dvd release of WONDER WOMEN from both Retromedia and Code Red! The cover posted here is for the Retromedia release. I haven't seen a cover for the Code Red dvd yet. I must admit Retromedia's cover looks pretty fucken awesome! The extras sound great too:
"Commentary Track with director Robert V. O'Neil
On set Super 8mm Home Movies
Radio Spots, TV Spots, Theatrical Trailers
Missing Scenes from European Version
Video Interview with 2nd Unit Director Erik Cord
Scenes from the uncompleted sequel, WARRIOR WOMEN (1983)
Still Gallery from the original color Slides and BW negatives
Media Gallery and maybe a few more surprises"
The only Code Red extras that I'm aware of is the commentary track that was mentioned on their blog and which features director O'Neil with Nathaniel Thompson (it's a different track than the one for the Retromedia dvd).
Here are some screen grabs from the SWV dvdr:
Monday, 25 March 2013
WONDER WOMEN over at Lost Video Archive
Recently I wrote about the Filipino movie WONDER WOMEN (aka The Deadly and the Beautiful) and I'd just like to draw your attention to a recent review of the film by The Goodkind over on his blog Lost Video Archive. Check it out!
JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE on dvd
A friend of mine in Japan has just bought this brand new dvd release of the wild Indonesian film JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE (1983) aka Perawan Rimba (on vhs in Denmark as "Jungleritualer"). I don't know anything about the format, picture quality or dubbing but this is a great piece of news! I'll post more info as I get it.
EDIT: My friend Tommy in Japan informs me that the dvd carries the English dub, has Japanese subtitles... and that the picture quality sucks!
Monday, 11 March 2013
WHEELS OF FIRE - trailer
Dir: Cirio H. Santiago (Philippines, 1984).
NB: The Scandinavian VHS from Juno Media is heavily censored!!! The Japanese and Dutch video tapes are uncut. EDIT: There is now a reg. 1 blu-ray.
AMERICAN NINJA - trailer
I see you're scratching your head! ^_^
You're confused now, aren't you? Hahaha.
Yes, AMERICAN NINJA on this our website which is dedicated to obscure Asian films!! How? Why? I mean... how??? The answer is quite simple really, altho the film is an American production, and has an American in the lead role, it was actually filmed in the Philippines and a lot of the actors that we know so well from Filipino films are in AMERICAN NINJA; Bert Spoor, Nick Nicholson, Jim Gaines, Henry Strzalkowski, Richard Norton, Eric Hahn, and more. So, yes, it fits the bill.
EBONY, IVORY AND JADE (full film + trailer)
dir: Cirio H. Santiago (Philippines)
Trailer:
NB: Not to be confused with another Filipino film called SAVAGE SISTERS (directed by EDDIE ROMERO) which IMDb also has listed under this title as a re-release title. Obviously, the IMDb have a hard time distinguishing between these strange "foreign" films!
Full film:
Trailer:
NB: Not to be confused with another Filipino film called SAVAGE SISTERS (directed by EDDIE ROMERO) which IMDb also has listed under this title as a re-release title. Obviously, the IMDb have a hard time distinguishing between these strange "foreign" films!
Full film:
Sunday, 10 March 2013
FILIPINO A BETTER TOMORROW (1992) - dir: Willy Milan, Philippines (full film)
The film is on YouTube again!!!
aka Dalawa Man Ang Buhay Mo, Pagsasabayin Ko (original title)
Today, Jesus Manuel mention to me that a Filipino remake of John Woo's awesome breakthru film, A BETTER TOMORROW, had been made back in 1992 and had been posted on YouTube. Needless to say, A BETTER TOMORROW is the film that kicked off a thousand movies in that genre a lot of us came to love as the "heroic bloodshed" genre.
I've just finished watching the movie and, wauw, just... wauw!!! It's not just a remake of the first film, it remakes BOTH #1 and 2 all in one! The film runs for 109 minutes and it's just as explosive and shoot-em-out'ish as the Hong Kong original versions! And altho the film is spoken in Tagalog there's enough English dialogue to follow the plot (which we know already anyway).
A lot of the well known scenes from the original films are copies frame by frame but there's also minor differences; Chow Yun Fat's character isn't the brother of the younger policeman but his dad, and there's quite a few scenes with the young policeman's mum and his girlfriend. And of course half way thru, Chow Yun Fat's character's brother arrives from the States (and does an over the top rendition of a Filipino having been brought up in the USA. OVER THE TOP I tell you!!! LMAO). The one thing that probably stands out as being different it's the fact that the Filipino version isn't as stylish as John Woo's masterpiece; it's a more crude film.
The well known music score from the original film is used all throughout this remake as well. Actually, the few times they used some different music I wish they hadn't as it's just bland rock music.
The version posted on YouTube is from a video tape but it looks great most of the way thru. There's some unfortunate drop-outs half way thru and towards the end but nothing serious, and this may very well be the only way to watch this film anyway. I downloaded the film with the Firefox downloader which gives you the option to DL in different formats and qualities. I downloaded it in the best possible quality and made a dvd-r of it (as I much dislike watching films on a computer, I'm old-skool I wanna watch my films on a TV set!!). The quality of the dvd-r is actually better than most HK VCD's so I can recommend downloading it (who knows when YouTube will remove these films again). Highly recommended!
Recognise this scene? Yes, the "Chow Yun Fat walks into restaurant and shoots everyone" scene. Just in this film the gunman is slightly older.
The full film:
PS: I should point out "Filipino A Better Tomorrow" is our own fan-title, not the film's real title. Duh!
UNFORTUNATELY THE FILM HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN FROM YOUTUBE DUE TO A CLAIM BY WHAT APPEARS TO BE A ONE-MAN "COMPANY" IN ITALY (!!!). FUCK 'EM!!! HOPEFULLY SOMEONE ELSE IS GONNA UPLOAD IT SOMEWHERE.
WHY DOES THIS ONE-MAN LABEL EVEN ASK TO HAVE IT TAKEN DOWN. I BET THEY **DON'T** OWN THE COPYRIGHTS AND THEY ***DON'T*** INTEND TO RELEASE THE FILM!!! CUNTS!
Today, Jesus Manuel mention to me that a Filipino remake of John Woo's awesome breakthru film, A BETTER TOMORROW, had been made back in 1992 and had been posted on YouTube. Needless to say, A BETTER TOMORROW is the film that kicked off a thousand movies in that genre a lot of us came to love as the "heroic bloodshed" genre.
I've just finished watching the movie and, wauw, just... wauw!!! It's not just a remake of the first film, it remakes BOTH #1 and 2 all in one! The film runs for 109 minutes and it's just as explosive and shoot-em-out'ish as the Hong Kong original versions! And altho the film is spoken in Tagalog there's enough English dialogue to follow the plot (which we know already anyway).
A lot of the well known scenes from the original films are copies frame by frame but there's also minor differences; Chow Yun Fat's character isn't the brother of the younger policeman but his dad, and there's quite a few scenes with the young policeman's mum and his girlfriend. And of course half way thru, Chow Yun Fat's character's brother arrives from the States (and does an over the top rendition of a Filipino having been brought up in the USA. OVER THE TOP I tell you!!! LMAO). The one thing that probably stands out as being different it's the fact that the Filipino version isn't as stylish as John Woo's masterpiece; it's a more crude film.
The well known music score from the original film is used all throughout this remake as well. Actually, the few times they used some different music I wish they hadn't as it's just bland rock music.
The version posted on YouTube is from a video tape but it looks great most of the way thru. There's some unfortunate drop-outs half way thru and towards the end but nothing serious, and this may very well be the only way to watch this film anyway. I downloaded the film with the Firefox downloader which gives you the option to DL in different formats and qualities. I downloaded it in the best possible quality and made a dvd-r of it (as I much dislike watching films on a computer, I'm old-skool I wanna watch my films on a TV set!!). The quality of the dvd-r is actually better than most HK VCD's so I can recommend downloading it (who knows when YouTube will remove these films again). Highly recommended!
Recognise this scene? Yes, the "Chow Yun Fat walks into restaurant and shoots everyone" scene. Just in this film the gunman is slightly older.
The full film:
PS: I should point out "Filipino A Better Tomorrow" is our own fan-title, not the film's real title. Duh!
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
EXTRAS: big Greek subs
Recently, I mentioned the upcoming dvd of THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT (aka Terror Serpent) from ATTACKAFANT ENTERTAINMENT and also mentioned that I was going to order a bootleg off eBay since the official dvd might still take a while to get released. I've finally received the dvd and as I expected the disc is a bootleg off a vhs and... yes, it's off a Greek video tape. LMAO. The picture quality looks like a second generation vhs dupe. I wish I could have got a dvd from that guy from Global in South Africa (as his dvd is probably off a real film print) but, oh well, at least I get to watch the film. I'm still looking forward to the official dvd, of course. It's bound to look better than this.
Friday, 1 March 2013
VINEGAR SYNDROME to issue director's cut of mysterious CIRIO H. SANTIAGO film!
The info I have on this is more insufficient than insufficient but... it's just been posted on AVManiacs film forum that the new video label VINEGAR SYNDROME will be releasing *a* CIRIO H. SANTIAGO film and the version they have is a long director's cut version.
No hint at which film it is. Could this be the unrated version of NAKED VENGEANCE???
This is the exact text from AVManiacs:
No hint at which film it is. Could this be the unrated version of NAKED VENGEANCE???
This is the exact text from AVManiacs:
VINEGAR SYNDROME's Drive-In Collection!
Was wondering when Jack J would make the scene ;-)
Feast your eyes on this...
"We have a few [Cirio films], including an ultra, ultra long version of one of his less seen epics [. . .] we'll be issuing it in its original director's cut and under its original title!"
fighting femmes, fiends, and fanatics: SAVAGE (Philippines, 1973)
Video documentary by Steve Mayhem (2010) 11 minutes
Here's the second episode of Steve Mayhem's fun video documentary series FIGHTING FEMMES, FIENDS, AND FANATICS that covers a film from the Asian backyard; Cirio H. Santiago's Filipino film SAVAGE from 1973.
It was one of the films that SHOUT! FACTORY had announced they were going to release on dvd but eventually decided not to put out. Fortunately, it's out on a fullscreen vhs but a new dvd release presenting the film in its correct letterbox format direct from a 35mm print or the original negatives would have been awesome. Oh well, maybe some other time. Until that happens I urge you to check out Mr. Mayhem's cool video doc (and find one of the vhs releases of the film!).
PS: and thanks to Steve Mayhem for advertising my other blog at the end of his video, When the Vietnam War Raged... in the Philippines. Much appreciated!
Here's the second episode of Steve Mayhem's fun video documentary series FIGHTING FEMMES, FIENDS, AND FANATICS that covers a film from the Asian backyard; Cirio H. Santiago's Filipino film SAVAGE from 1973.
It was one of the films that SHOUT! FACTORY had announced they were going to release on dvd but eventually decided not to put out. Fortunately, it's out on a fullscreen vhs but a new dvd release presenting the film in its correct letterbox format direct from a 35mm print or the original negatives would have been awesome. Oh well, maybe some other time. Until that happens I urge you to check out Mr. Mayhem's cool video doc (and find one of the vhs releases of the film!).
PS: and thanks to Steve Mayhem for advertising my other blog at the end of his video, When the Vietnam War Raged... in the Philippines. Much appreciated!
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
fighting femmes, fiends, and fanatics: LUNATIC FROG WOMEN (Taiwan, 1980-something)
Video documentary by Steve Mayhem (2010) 9 minutes
Here's Steve Mayhem's first episode of his cool video documentary series on fun, wild, and crazy world-weird films, Fighting Femmes, Fiends, and Fanatics! Steve starts off in grand style with a presentation of the crazy Taiwanese movie LUNATIC FROG WOMEN.
Disclaimer: I do not wish to take any credit for this video and I'm only re-posting it here as I want to share this cool video with you. I urge you to check out Todd's blog DIE, DANGER, DIE, DIE, KILL! You'll find the original posting here.
Here's Steve Mayhem's first episode of his cool video documentary series on fun, wild, and crazy world-weird films, Fighting Femmes, Fiends, and Fanatics! Steve starts off in grand style with a presentation of the crazy Taiwanese movie LUNATIC FROG WOMEN.
Disclaimer: I do not wish to take any credit for this video and I'm only re-posting it here as I want to share this cool video with you. I urge you to check out Todd's blog DIE, DANGER, DIE, DIE, KILL! You'll find the original posting here.
Steve Mayhem presents... FIGHTING FEMMES, FIENDS, AND FANATICS - introduction
One of my favourite world-weird blogs is Todd Statman's fantastic DIE, DANGER, DIE, DIE, KILL! blog and in 2010 Todd teamed up with my friend Steve Mayhem to produce an equally fantastic video documentary series on fabulous world-weird films. The series is called FIGHTING FEMMES, FIENDS, AND FANATICS.
The first video documentary came out in late 2010 and 11 episodes later it was all over. Why Steve Mayhem decided to end the series I don't know. Rumour has it he wandered into the jungle somewhere and last I heard he was seen trying to create a race of atomic supermen. But, man, those 11 episodes that we DID get are all totally rad and wonderful and highly recommended. You should watch them!
I'm including the trailer for the series in this post; It only runs for about a minute or so. Do check it out! All episodes cover fun world-weird films but since DIE, DANGER, DIE, DIE, KILL! covers world-weird films from a wider range of countries than I do on BACKYARD ASIA I'll just post the Asian episodes here (at least to begin with). The first one is on LUNATIC FROG WOMEN!!! The episodes run for about 10 minutes each. Oh, and one more thing, Steve has one of the nicest, deepest voices in YouTube home video, that's for sure!
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
VIRGIN APOCALYPSE to be released on dvd - fully uncut from 35mm print
aka Angels with Golden Guns / Terror in a Woman's Prison / Anger
Back in 2009 (almost to the date!) well known HK film aficionado Spannick mentioned on Cinehound forum that the German label he's working for, CINECLUB, was planning a DVD release of the rare VIRGIN APOCALYPSE. Now, 4 years later, it seems it's finally on its way! Yay! Spiffy!!
Spannick's info from today says the upcoming DVD is from a 35mm print and the film is presented in 2.35 anamorphic!! That's very good news indeed. It's well known that Joseph Lai's IFD company can't provide proper prints for most of their films. In fact, according to Spannick the print for VIRGIN APOCALYPSE was, "the IFD Master delivered was in Fullscreen and horribly framecut".
And Spannick adds the IFD master was also 4 (four!) minutes shorter than the uncut print. Although not quite as butchered as IFD's fullscreen master the 35mm is missing about a minute's worth of footage. On the DVD the missing footage has been replaced by a few inserts from a German VHS (also presented in widescreen). Fortunately there's no need to worry about English friendliness! The DVD will contain both a German and an English dub!
In the extras department we find the English language trailer and an entire extra movie: COMMANDO FURY! This film is included (in the extras) as it's sourced from a Japanese video tape (2.35 widescreen). Spannick's label wanted to release the film on its own but the master from Joseph Lai was "unwatchable Fullscreen".
This is certainly great news! VIRGIN APOCALYPSE is very difficult to find. The cover scan here is from the UK label 4-BIDDEN ASIA who released it in Holland (most likely cos they weren't allowed to release it uncut in the UK due to harsh censorshit regulations there at the time) many years ago. I don't know how many different VHS releases that exist but they are indeed all very rare.
The web isn't exactly spilling over with reviews. The one I did manage to find says about the plot: "Sound's pretty simple right? Well, it took me two sober viewings to figure this thing out."
No final release date has been published yet.
Back in 2009 (almost to the date!) well known HK film aficionado Spannick mentioned on Cinehound forum that the German label he's working for, CINECLUB, was planning a DVD release of the rare VIRGIN APOCALYPSE. Now, 4 years later, it seems it's finally on its way! Yay! Spiffy!!
Spannick's info from today says the upcoming DVD is from a 35mm print and the film is presented in 2.35 anamorphic!! That's very good news indeed. It's well known that Joseph Lai's IFD company can't provide proper prints for most of their films. In fact, according to Spannick the print for VIRGIN APOCALYPSE was, "the IFD Master delivered was in Fullscreen and horribly framecut".
And Spannick adds the IFD master was also 4 (four!) minutes shorter than the uncut print. Although not quite as butchered as IFD's fullscreen master the 35mm is missing about a minute's worth of footage. On the DVD the missing footage has been replaced by a few inserts from a German VHS (also presented in widescreen). Fortunately there's no need to worry about English friendliness! The DVD will contain both a German and an English dub!
In the extras department we find the English language trailer and an entire extra movie: COMMANDO FURY! This film is included (in the extras) as it's sourced from a Japanese video tape (2.35 widescreen). Spannick's label wanted to release the film on its own but the master from Joseph Lai was "unwatchable Fullscreen".
This is certainly great news! VIRGIN APOCALYPSE is very difficult to find. The cover scan here is from the UK label 4-BIDDEN ASIA who released it in Holland (most likely cos they weren't allowed to release it uncut in the UK due to harsh censorshit regulations there at the time) many years ago. I don't know how many different VHS releases that exist but they are indeed all very rare.
The web isn't exactly spilling over with reviews. The one I did manage to find says about the plot: "Sound's pretty simple right? Well, it took me two sober viewings to figure this thing out."
No final release date has been published yet.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
CANNIBAL MERCENARY REDUX
Check this out! It's a new VHS bootleg release of a composite print of the insane Thai Vietnam flick CANNIBAL MERCENARY!! And yes, I did say V-H-S. As in video tape. How cool is that! It's a very limited release and, lo and behold, it's already sold out! I've never watched this particular composite print and I have no idea what extra is in it compared to the uncut international print; I'll let you know when I receive my copy. I'm told there's some stuff from the Tomas Tang Hong Kong version (but I believe there's no scenes of gwilos!). Oh, and check the liner notes on the back! I thought being asked to do liner notes for this particular film was pretty cool (and they're my first ever so that's cool too). ^_^
When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines is my other blog.
The label behind the release is KING OF THE WITCHES that are located in Brockton, Massachusetts, USA. Check their Facebook page here.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
SHOUT! FACTORY to cancel last three Filipino movies
All three films are released on VHS but it would have been pretty spiffy to get proper releases off the original negatives and in their original ratio aspect. Hopefully another company will pick them up and give them the same fine treatment that SHOUT! gave the other films. And maybe monkeys will fly out my butt. :(
THE TEN THAT MADE IT
Throughout the last couple of years SHOUT! Factory have released a whole range of ROGER CORMAN produced films in their "Roger Corman's Cult Classics" series. A few of those are of interest to this blog as they were filmed in the Philippines and have a number of regular Filipino actors in them.
So far SHOUT! have released...
THE BIG BIRD CAGE
BIG DOLL HOUSE
WOMEN IN CAGES
FLY ME
FIRECRACKER
TNT JACKSON
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
COVER GIRL MODELS
UP FROM THE DEPTHS
DEMON OF PARADISE.
Ten movies in total! And all of them in great shape and form (well, okay maybe except FLY ME which came off an old worn print but it was either that or no print at all so that's perfectly alright).
As a fan of these films I can't thank SHOUT! enough for finally give them their day in the sun. No longer do we have to settle for fullscreen reg. 1 public domain dvd's or old worn video tapes. So a big round of applause fly out to Cliff Mac and SHOUT for releasing these 10 films. I wish the last three could have been released as well but big kudos to SHOUT for the ones we did get. xD
THE WOMAN HUNT on vhs from Denmark
If you wish to check the old posts about SHOUT!'s releases just click the "Shout factory releases" label at the bottom of this post.
A DAY WITHOUT POLICEMAN (HK, 1993)
Director: Johnny Lee Gwing-Gaai
SIMON YAM in a completely whacked out gore fest. In lunatic cinema there are two names you should write on your wall - and they are both hongkongese! Anthony Wong and Simon Yam! If you like RUN AND KILL then... track down DAY WITHOUT POLICEMAN at any cost. It's on VCD/VHS/LD and there's an okay reg. 1 DVD from Tai Seng.
This is definitely one of my favourite Simon Yam films and it's sadly an overlooked one - even by genre film fans. Yam plays a cop but in contradiction to most other cop flicks the main character in this one isn't a heroic tough one. He is in fact a coward! So altho the "hero" gets thrown into one violent scene after another it's a very different film. However, that doesn't keep the second half form becoming one long ride into bloodshed.
The vcd and dvd that I have both carry crappy English subs that are even worse than what we're used to but it doesn't distract all that much from the excitement of watching this cool flick. I would advise that you don't read the capsule reviews on HKMDB as most of them (three out of four if I remember correctly) piss all over the film. They don't seem to enjoy all that many Hong Kong films on HKMDB - which is kinda odd seeing as it's, well, you know, Hong Kong Movie Data Base!! Maybe most of the reviewers are Hongkongese and they simply don't get the same thrill out of their local cinema as gwilos like me do. o_O
I tried to find a trailer but there doesn't seem to be one anywhere. But anyhoo, if you're into old-skool heroic bloodshed movies from HK then you need to check this one out. Highly recommended!
I just checked YesAsia and they still have the Tai Seng dvd in stock.
SIMON YAM in a completely whacked out gore fest. In lunatic cinema there are two names you should write on your wall - and they are both hongkongese! Anthony Wong and Simon Yam! If you like RUN AND KILL then... track down DAY WITHOUT POLICEMAN at any cost. It's on VCD/VHS/LD and there's an okay reg. 1 DVD from Tai Seng.
This is definitely one of my favourite Simon Yam films and it's sadly an overlooked one - even by genre film fans. Yam plays a cop but in contradiction to most other cop flicks the main character in this one isn't a heroic tough one. He is in fact a coward! So altho the "hero" gets thrown into one violent scene after another it's a very different film. However, that doesn't keep the second half form becoming one long ride into bloodshed.
The vcd and dvd that I have both carry crappy English subs that are even worse than what we're used to but it doesn't distract all that much from the excitement of watching this cool flick. I would advise that you don't read the capsule reviews on HKMDB as most of them (three out of four if I remember correctly) piss all over the film. They don't seem to enjoy all that many Hong Kong films on HKMDB - which is kinda odd seeing as it's, well, you know, Hong Kong Movie Data Base!! Maybe most of the reviewers are Hongkongese and they simply don't get the same thrill out of their local cinema as gwilos like me do. o_O
I tried to find a trailer but there doesn't seem to be one anywhere. But anyhoo, if you're into old-skool heroic bloodshed movies from HK then you need to check this one out. Highly recommended!
I just checked YesAsia and they still have the Tai Seng dvd in stock.
HAUNTED COP SHOP - trailer
NB: the trailer does work even if there's no avatar!
Here's the trailer for the wild, crazy and funny HAUNTED COP SHOP. It stars RICKY HUI so you know what you're in for, hahaha. And the sequel is even better! (I couldn't find a trailer for that one tho). HAUNTED COP SHOP is released on HK dvd (there are several releases and the latest Fortune Star dvd is sadly a bit cut but it's nothing that'll distract from the overall entertainment). HAUNTED COP SHOP II is only released on vhs and vcd (the vcd being the better option as it's fully letterboxed while the vhs is fullscreen). The sequel is on YouTube and the quality seems as good as the vcd that I have. It's subbed in English.
Monday, 18 February 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT - trailers
Great picture quality and original aspect ratio trailer on IFD's own Youtube channel!!!
Alternative, shorter trailer (bad PQ unfortunately).
Attackafant SERPENT dvd not cancelled
The headline for yesterday's post originally read, "Thunder of Gigantic Serpent on its way - and cancelled!" - but Joachim Andersson informs me that the dvd hasn't been cancelled; it's just coming along very, very slowly. You can say that again! The dvd was scheduled for release in 2011. But in any case that is certainly good news. Thanks to Joachim Andersson and do check his own film blog here.
UPDATE (07.03.2016) - Unfortunately, the above turned out to be nonsense. After the fiasco of the first DVD Fred Anderson chucked his second release in the trash. THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT is NOT going to be released from Attackafant. The label doesn't exist any longer. Unfortunately, Fred Anderson also removed his trailer for the film from YouTube (and unfortunately I didn't download it, otherwise I would have re-uploaded it). Too bad.
UPDATE (07.03.2016) - Unfortunately, the above turned out to be nonsense. After the fiasco of the first DVD Fred Anderson chucked his second release in the trash. THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT is NOT going to be released from Attackafant. The label doesn't exist any longer. Unfortunately, Fred Anderson also removed his trailer for the film from YouTube (and unfortunately I didn't download it, otherwise I would have re-uploaded it). Too bad.
THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT on its way - and [edit] not cancelled after all - EDIT EDIT EDIT CANCELLED CANCELLED CANCELLED!!!!!
UPDATE (2016) - Attackafant doesn't exist any longer and the release of THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT is cancelled for good! Dead!! Gone!!! Not coming out!!!! Back in 2011 I wrote about Fred Anderson's (then) new video label, Attackafant Entertainment, and its first two releases; KILLER ELEPHANTS and THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT.
So far only KILLER ELEPHANTS has been released and a few months ago Anderson posted on Facebook about chucking in the video label due to very few sold copies. I asked about an official statement in regards to the label's future but Anderson's reply was that nobody would be interested anyway. I assume that means the label has been laid to rest. EDIT: although I have no info in regards to the future of the label as such there is a correction in regards to the release of SERPENT in the post after this one. Go here or scroll up.
Maybe a better distro would have helped or a direct sales option. Code Red is surviving altho Bill Olsen has chosen to only sell his releases via direct sales from his eShop. Bill Barounis kept his Onar Films label afloat altho at one point only one store wanted to distribute his dvd's. Like Bill Olsen, Bill Barounis also chose to do the direct sales thing (via eBay and a web-shop).
Anyhoo, I'm tired of waiting so today I've ordered the (seemingly) cancelled film, THUNDER OF GIGANTIC SERPENT, via a bootleg dvd from eBay. I'm aware Global Video in South Africa used to sell a dvd of the film at some stage but it seems it's completely impossible to order anything from that label nowadays. Their communication skills leave a lot to be desired (i.e. there is none!) which is a pity as their print is probably from a real film print. The eBay bootleg might very well be off a vhs.
EDIT: The eBay bootleg is sure enough off a vhs - and comes with big Greek subtitles, haha.
Monday, 4 February 2013
update
I noticed YouTube took down the TNT JACKSON trailer! Their reason was the usual retarded "third party has complained" baloney. Needless to say, I don't know if SHOUT! Factory complained about it (as they own the copyrights for the film) but in any case it's stupid to take down a trailer. I mean I fully understand the problem if someone had uploaded the full movie but a trailer is like an advertisement for the film. If people watch the trailer and then get so interested in the film that they go out and buy SHOUT's dvd or blu-ray where's the fucken harm? I fail to see the logic behind this.
Anyway, fortunately I had downloaded the trailer and have now uploaded it to another host. I see someone else has already uploaded it to YouTube again but if *someone* asked for it to be taken down once I'm sure they'll do it again. Check the trailer here.
Anyway, fortunately I had downloaded the trailer and have now uploaded it to another host. I see someone else has already uploaded it to YouTube again but if *someone* asked for it to be taken down once I'm sure they'll do it again. Check the trailer here.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
FIREFIST OF INCREDIBLE DRAGON - uncut French dvd versus cut UK dvd
I've written about the longer French DVD release of the wild Korean film FIREFIST OF INCREDIBLE DRAGON before but I've never compared it to the shorter English dubbed version found on UK DVD. Fortunately, Cinehound member Resonator05 has done it for me now:
by RESONATOR05
I have now compared the French and UK DVD's of Firefist of Incredible Dragon and here are some infos:
The French DVD (French audio only) is a joke. The cover claims the picture has been restored - there is even a short featurette about the restoration (lol) - but the quality is extremely bad. Even if fully letterboxed (but 4:3), the picture is extremely dark (yes, so dark that sometimes you can hardly see anything), very corny and simply very bad, it looks like crap. The guys who restored this fucked it up big way.
Anyway the French DVD runs 87:58min, which is 12 minutes longer then the full screen UK cheapo disc (76:02). There are quite some dialogues and other stuff cut (maybe to save dubbing costs for the English export version), but also cuts to sexual violence (thanks to the BBFC I guess).
The main censorship cuts are at minute 30 (French DVD) when a woman is forced to sex and the biggest cut at around minute 39 (French DVD) when some women are bound and tortured, involving lots of nudity, full frontal nudity and women suffering. The torture is not seen in a gory way, it is mostly off-screen (a pin moved to a naked woman's body), but this scene which lasts 1-2 minutes has been removed completely.
So, that is it. I would prefer the UK DVD any day, simply because of the hilarious dubbing and the picture being much brighter (even if still shitty). Also it moves faster and all the gory scenes are intact. Have a nice day :-)
Big thanks to Resonator05!
When bootleg covers go wrong
The argument that China has now taken over Hong Kong isn't valid either as altho Peking has final say-so Hong Kong is a territory of its own with own Government, currency and flag. Oh, and the flag on this bootleg is the wrong one, hahaha. China's flag isn't used in Hong Kong. Not surprisingly the Hong Kong flag is used in Hong Kong.
Also, even IF we were to label Hong Kong film as being from China it would still be an invalid argument as these films were made before the Peking takeover in 1997. In other words they should be called BRITISH films as Britain ruled Hong Kong prior to 1997. But of course no one would do that.
I commented about it in connection with the cover on the bootlegger's Facebook page but I didn't get a reply (somehow I'm not surprised).
Check my first post about a crappy bootleg cover here (that one is almost surreal!).
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Screen grabs from the lost* LEWD LIZARD
*basically
Here are screen grabs from maybe the sleaziest HK horror film!! LEWD LIZARD!!! It's not hard getting hold of a 4'th or 5'th generation dupe from a trader, a bootlegger, or a torrent site. However, I have just got hold of a fantastic looking DVD-R off a 1'st generation vhs dupe!! I believe it's the best copy there is anywhere!!! Well, "beautiful" compared to the washed-out 5'th generation dupes that is. The only release that ever existed in this world on home cinema format is a VHS in the US. I got my DVD-R from a collector who rented the tape many years ago. He made a VHS copy (i.e. a dupe) off the original tape and put his dupe in a box and forgot about it. It wasn't till last year when I made an online search for the film (after having got hold of two different WASHED-OUT 4-5'th generation dupes!) that he remembered his tape. Needless to say he couldn't find it and I've been bugging him about it for a full year. He finally found it and made the DVD-R that you seen screen grabs from here. If you read this, buddy, then: THANKS!!!
LEWD LIZARD (1985 - I think!) is the story about this guy, David, who goes overseas to study. His girlfriend says she'll wait for him and promises to marry him on his return. But after four years of studying he returns to an unpleasant piece of news; His girlfriend has married a local two-bit crook. David starts to hate women - and to cut to the chase as this isn't a proper review - he steals a handful of women's knickers and teaches venomous lizards to smell the women's "love juices" after which they get a "taste" for it. He proceeds to attack women he especially hates, sets the lizards lose on them and, well, you figure it out! Yes, the lizards sniff their way to the women's "love channels", slip in, the women write and moan in brief orgasms after which they die. LEWD LIZARD is so uber-sleazy I don't remember having seen anything remotely similar. It's a masterpiece in degradation. It's a crime to humanity (or horror fans anyway) that this isn't released in a proper version. The world needs to see this. The tape is dubbed in Mandarin, the picture is fullscreen, and the English subtitles are falling below the screen in three quarters of the film. And in the last quarter where you CAN see the subs they are cut off left and right, hahaha. But it doesn't matter much as the plot is almost as cartoon thin as a Turkish cult film from the 70s (and I'm not saying that in a critical way AT ALL).
Here are screen grabs from maybe the sleaziest HK horror film!! LEWD LIZARD!!! It's not hard getting hold of a 4'th or 5'th generation dupe from a trader, a bootlegger, or a torrent site. However, I have just got hold of a fantastic looking DVD-R off a 1'st generation vhs dupe!! I believe it's the best copy there is anywhere!!! Well, "beautiful" compared to the washed-out 5'th generation dupes that is. The only release that ever existed in this world on home cinema format is a VHS in the US. I got my DVD-R from a collector who rented the tape many years ago. He made a VHS copy (i.e. a dupe) off the original tape and put his dupe in a box and forgot about it. It wasn't till last year when I made an online search for the film (after having got hold of two different WASHED-OUT 4-5'th generation dupes!) that he remembered his tape. Needless to say he couldn't find it and I've been bugging him about it for a full year. He finally found it and made the DVD-R that you seen screen grabs from here. If you read this, buddy, then: THANKS!!!
LEWD LIZARD (1985 - I think!) is the story about this guy, David, who goes overseas to study. His girlfriend says she'll wait for him and promises to marry him on his return. But after four years of studying he returns to an unpleasant piece of news; His girlfriend has married a local two-bit crook. David starts to hate women - and to cut to the chase as this isn't a proper review - he steals a handful of women's knickers and teaches venomous lizards to smell the women's "love juices" after which they get a "taste" for it. He proceeds to attack women he especially hates, sets the lizards lose on them and, well, you figure it out! Yes, the lizards sniff their way to the women's "love channels", slip in, the women write and moan in brief orgasms after which they die. LEWD LIZARD is so uber-sleazy I don't remember having seen anything remotely similar. It's a masterpiece in degradation. It's a crime to humanity (or horror fans anyway) that this isn't released in a proper version. The world needs to see this. The tape is dubbed in Mandarin, the picture is fullscreen, and the English subtitles are falling below the screen in three quarters of the film. And in the last quarter where you CAN see the subs they are cut off left and right, hahaha. But it doesn't matter much as the plot is almost as cartoon thin as a Turkish cult film from the 70s (and I'm not saying that in a critical way AT ALL).
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