Wednesday, January 31, 2018

‘PRIMAL RAGE,’ a Terrifying Bigfoot Tale, Receives Nationwide Theatrical Release for One Night on February 27


‘PRIMAL RAGE,’ a Terrifying Bigfoot Tale, Receives Nationwide Theatrical Release for One Night on February 27

Fathom Events and Blue Fox Entertainment Bring the Chilling Tale to Big Screens With an Exclusive Q&A and Behind-The-Scenes Footage


If you thought you knew the Bigfoot legend, think again as Fathom Events and Blue Fox Entertainment are set to bring “PRIMAL RAGE – Bigfoot Reborn” to movie theaters nationwide on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:00pm local time. Directed by special effects master Patrick Magee (“Men in Black 3,” “Spider-Man,” “AVP: Alien vs. Predator”), the movie follows a newly reunited young couple as their drive through the Pacific Northwest turns into a hellish nightmare. After viewing the bloodcurdling feature, moviegoers will be treated to an exclusive Q&A and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film with Magee and producer Angela Lee, hosted by a special guest. Additionally, attendees will receive a free commemorative mini poster (while supplies last).

Tickets for “PRIMAL RAGE – Bigfoot Reborn” can be purchased beginning Friday, January 26, online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in nearly 350 select movie theaters. A complete list of theater locations is available on the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

“PRIMAL RAGE” follows Ashley (Casey Gagliardi) and Max Carr (Andrew Joseph Montgomery) as they, lost deep in the forest, are stalked by a terrifying creature that just might be Bigfoot. Soon, they find themselves embroiled in a strange land of Native American myth and legend turned all too real. Hopelessly trying to survive, with a handful of unsavory locals, they must fight against the monster in a desperate battle of life or death.

“We are pleased to partner with Blue Fox Entertainment to bring ‘Primal Rage’ to big screens nationwide,” said Fathom Events VP of Programming Kymberli Frueh. “Fans of the horror genre are going to love this scary and suspenseful movie.”

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Chuck Berry's "The Great Twenty-Eight Super Deluxe Edition" Vinyl Box Set Out Today Ahead of GRAMMY Tribute Performance



In the firmament of rock 'n' roll's first-generation creators, no artist looms larger than Chuck Berry. In a consistently innovative recording career that spanned more than 60 years, the iconic singer-songwriter-guitarist, who passed away on March 18, 2017, laid much of the groundwork for modern rock 'n' roll, while creating some of rock's most distinctive and enduring anthems, from “Johnny B. Goode” to “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music” to “Reelin and Rockin’,” and many more.



Geffen/UMe are paying tribute to the immortal spirit of Chuck Berry with the ultimate vinyl version of his landmark greatest hits compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight, with The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition.

Available today, the five-disc vinyl box set housed in a textured box, complements the original two-LP, 28-song compilation with an additional LP, More Great Chuck Berry, containing 14 more hits, rarities and B-sides missing from the original, as well as a rare live album, Oh Yeah! Live in Detroit, available on vinyl for the first time. The collection also include a newly created bonus ten-inch EP Berry Christmas, featuring four holiday-themed classics on "Rudolph-Red" vinyl, with one song on vinyl for the first time as well. A limited edition version on “Chess Blue” vinyl, limited to 500 copies, is available exclusively via UDiscoverMusic.com. Order The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition now: https://lnk.to/Great28SDE



Berry's recordings for Chicago's seminal Chess label have been extensively anthologized in the CD era. But for many Berry devotees, the two-LP vinyl collection The Great Twenty-Eight remains both a sentimental favorite and a definitive document of Berry's musical genius. It's no wonder that The Great Twenty-Eight was ranked number 21 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," the highest-ranking hits compilation on that list. For those interested in the original 28-track edition of The Great Twenty-Eight, it is now back in print in its original two-LP format for the first time since its initial release in 1982. Order The Great Twenty-Eight here: https://UMe.lnk.to/Great282LP



The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition also includes a handsome 12" x 12" book featuring a special introductory essay by Keith Richards, a new essay by best-selling author and SiriusXM host Alan Light, complementing Michael Lydon's liner notes from the original version of The Great Twenty-Eight, and reminiscences from DJ Lee Alan, plus complete U.S. single, album and EP discographies. The text is enhanced by reproductions of Berry's original LP cover art and rarely-seen photographs.



As Light writes, "When The Great Twenty-Eight was released in 1982, it was immediately recognized as one of the essential albums in rock 'n' roll history... Enter this edition of The Great Twenty-Eight, with thirty more Chuck Berry recordings—the Great Fifty-Eight, as it were—fleshing out the story of rock 'n' roll's poet laureate while also demonstrating, through the addition of a riveting live album from 1963, his power as a stage performer...  The opportunity to spotlight additional facets of his music is the greatest contribution to his history that this collection offers."



A survey of Berry's first decade of recording on Chess, the original The Great Twenty-Eight contains 21 singles along with six of their b-sides and one album track from Chuck Berry in London. Of those singles, eleven were top ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart and ten were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. During his Chess years, Berry created a massive—and massively influential—body of work that includes countless beloved classics, from "Maybellene" to "Roll Over Beethoven" to "Johnny B. Goode" to "Memphis, Tennessee" and beyond. Indeed, Berry's music is so deeply ingrained into our culture that NASA launched "Johnny B. Goode" into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft as a representation of the sounds of the human race for the benefit of our cosmic neighbors. All of these songs are included on The Great Twenty-Eight, which also includes the ubiquitous hits "Rock and Roll Music," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "No Particular Place To Go" and many others that have become part of the collective consciousness.



More Great Chuck Berry comprises 14 classic Berry tunes not included on The Great Twenty-Eight, including the sultry, simmering number "Wee Wee Hours," the original flip side of "Maybellene"; "My Ding-A-Ling," Berry's only No. 1 pop single; "Too Pooped To Pop (Casey)," the top 20 R&B A-side of "Let It Rock"; the Top 10 R&B hit "No Money Down"; the celebratory "Promised Land"; and the rollicking "You Never Can Tell," which earned cinematic immortality as the accompaniment to John Travolta and Uma Thurman's twist in the film Pulp Fiction.



Oh Yeah!: Live In Detroit is a thrilling, rare concert performance from October 1963, celebrating Berry’s return to the stage after a break from performing. With support from local DJ and TV host Lee Alan, Berry, backed by Motown's Funk Brothers rhythm section and horn players, recorded the live album during a series of performances at Detroit's Walled Lake Casino.



Returning to the spotlight after a year-and-a-half brought out an energy and intensity in Berry that can be heard clearly in this historic 12-song set, which launches with "Guitar Boogie" and includes "Let It Rock, "Too Much Monkey Business (available for the first time in the U.S.)," "Johnny B. Goode," Sweet Little Sixteen" and a lengthy, edge-of-chaos medley, as Berry feeds off an audience that sings along with nearly every track. Throughout the show, Berry tells jokes that slyly address racial tensions. But the record was scrapped at the time and has been previously only available as part of a limited-edition CD set; this marks its first time on vinyl, and as any kind of standalone release.



The bonus EP Berry Christmas collects together four Christmas classics on "Rudolph-Red" vinyl. The 10-inch disc features Berry's chestnuts, "Run Rudolph Run" and "Merry Christmas Baby" along with "Christmas" and "Spending Christmas," the latter making its vinyl debut as it was previously available only in a limited-edition CD box set.



Bob Dylan once called Berry "the Shakespeare of rock 'n' roll." John Lennon stated, "If you tried to give rock 'n' roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.'" As Keith Richards writes in the booklet intro, "Chuck Berry is the gentleman who started it all.”



And if those testimonials aren't convincing enough, one listen to The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition will make the case for Chuck Berry's singular, timeless rock 'n' roll brilliance.



LP 1 & 2: The Great Twenty-Eight

The original classic 2-LP compilation



Side 1

1. Maybellene

2. Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)

3. You Can't Catch Me

4. Too Much Monkey Business

5. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man

6. Roll Over Beethoven

7. Havana Moon



Side 2

1. School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)

2. Rock And Roll Music

3. Oh Baby Doll

4. Reelin' And Rockin'

5. Sweet Little Sixteen

6. Johnny B. Goode

7. Around And Around



Side 3

1. Carol

2. Beautiful Delilah

3. Memphis, Tennessee

4. Sweet Little Rock And Roller

5. Little Queenie

6. Almost Grown

7. Back In The U.S.A.



Side 4

1. Let It Rock

2. Bye Bye Johnny

3. I'm Talking About You

4. Come On

5. Nadine (Is It You?)

6. No Particular Place To Go

7. I Want To Be Your Driver



LP 3: More Great Chuck Berry



Side 1

1. Wee Wee Hours

2. No Money Down

3. Drifting Heart

4. La Jaunda (Español)

5. Blue Feeling

6. Vacation Time

7. Joe Joe Gun



Side 2

1. Too Pooped To Pop "Casey"

2. Our Little Rendezvous

3. You Never Can Tell

4. Promised Land

5. Little Marie

6. Dear Dad

7. My Ding-A-Ling (live single version)



LP 4: Oh Yeah! Live In Detroit

Recorded at the Walled Lake Casino, October 25 & 26, 1963

First time on vinyl

*First U.S. release



Side 1

1. Guitar Boogie

2. Let It Rock

3. Almost Grown

4. Chuck Berry Dialogue 1

5. Too Much Monkey Business*

6. Johnny B. Goode

7. Introduction / Instrumental

8. Sweet Little Sixteen



Side 2

1. Wee Wee Hours

2. Chuck Berry Dialogue 2

3. Maybellene

4. Medley: Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite/Johnny B. Goode/Let It Rock/School Day



Bonus: Berry Christmas EP



Side 1

1. Run Rudolph Run

2. Merry Christmas Baby



Side 2

1. Spending Christmas (first time on vinyl)

2. Christmas

Monday, January 29, 2018

Arrow US - Massive February 2018 Release Schedule


New from Arrow Video US and Arrow Academy US


HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO [Blu-ray] (2/6)

THE GRUESOME TWOSOME [Blu-ray] (2/6)

THE CAT O' NINE TAILS - LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray + DVD] (2/13)

ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL [Blu-ray] (2/13)

SEIJUN SUZUKI: THE EARLY YEARS VOL. 1 LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray + DVD] (2/13)

 RE-ANIMATOR [Blu-ray] and [DVD] (2/13)

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE [Blu-ray] & [DVD] (2/13)

SCALPEL [Blu-ray] (2/20)

BASKET CASE - LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray] (2/27)

JEAN-LUC GODARD + JEAN-PIERRE GORIN: FIVE FILMS, 1968-1971 [Blu-ray] (2/27)


Dive head first into the month with three new releases from Arrow Academy beginning with legendary French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot. In 1964, backed with an unlimited budget from Columbia Pictures, Clouzot set out to film L'Enfer. From the start the production was beset from a number of severe problems. Ultimately the film was never finished, but in 2009 directors Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea pieced together what footage there was and detailed the film's problematic journey in the semi-documentary Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno.

Shift gears from semi-documentary to pseudo-documentary with Federico Fellini's made-for-Italian-TV film, Orchestra Rehearsal. This satirical look at politics has a bickering orchestra in the role of a governing body. Like many of Fellini's films, Orchestra Rehearsal is just as relevant today as it was upon its initial release. The film is presented with a brand-new 2K restoration from the original film elements.

For a deeper look at politics there's the pairing of director Jean-Luc Godard and filmic critic Jean-Pierre Gorin. The duo worked together to shake up cinema all while exposing political ideas. This stretch of filmmaking has come to be known as Godard's "radical years." Arrow Academy has collected five films that Godard and Gorin released together in one boxset - Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971.

Not to be outdone, Arrow Video has seven releases of their own starting with the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis and his late 60's entry, The Gruesome Twosome. The work of Lewis isn't for everyone, but fans of the Godfather's macabre madness will surely appreciate this high definition presentation. Included as a nice little bonus is Lewis' foray into the world of vampires with A Taste of Blood.

From the Godfather to Diamond Guys, Arrow Video will release Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years Vol 1. This boxset features five films from the B-movie maverick with a focus on youth. Fans of Suzuki's later work will certainly get a kick out of watching his career evolve of the course of these earlier films.

Arrow Video will also be releasing the splatter classic Re-Animator. Adapted from a short story from fame horror author H.P. Lovecraft, this 80's film was responsible for making Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton horror legends. Re-Animator is presented in an unrated 4K restoration and is loaded with special features.

Keeping the icons coming, Arrow Video will release two films from the maestro Dario Argento - The Cat O' Nine Tails and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. The later film reinvented the 'giallo' and put Argento on the map. The former proved he was here to stay. Both films are presented with brand-new 4K restorations.

Next up is Scalpel, a grisly film about a surgeon that isn't afraid of malpractice. Original known as False Face, Scalpel was the first film to be directed by future Blood Rage director John Grissmer, Robert Lansing stars as the doctor while daytime soap paragon Judith Chapman plays the deranged doctor's "patient."

Bringing February to a close is Basket Case, the often intimated but never duplicated film about conjoined twins from the twisted mind of Frank Henenlotter. This film will still give you the creeps, but no, your mind is not playing tricks on you, Basketcase does come with a brand-new 4K restoration courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO [Blu-ray] (2/6)


In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot, the acclaimed director of thriller masterpieces Les Diaboliques and Wages of Fear, began work on his most ambitious film yet.

Set in a beautiful lakeside resort in the Auvergne region of France, L'Enfer (Inferno) was to be a sun scorched elucidation on the dark depths of jealousy starring Romy Schneider as the harassed wife of a controlling hotel manager (Serge Reggiani). However, despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed under the weight of arguments, technical complications and illness.

In this compelling, award-winning documentary Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea present Inferno's incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot's original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavor through interviews, dramatizations of un-filmed scenes, and Clouzot's own notes.

FEATURES
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* Optional English subtitles
* Lucy Mazdon on Henri-Georges Clouzot, the French cinema expert and academic talks at length about the films of Clouzot and the troubled production of Inferno
* They Saw Inferno, a featurette including unseen material, providing further insight into the production of Inferno
* Filmed Introduction by Serge Bromberg
* Interview with Serge Bromberg
* Stills gallery
* Original trailer
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Ginette Vincendeau

SPECS
* Production Year: 2009
* Running Time: 102
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: French
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
* SRP: $34.95


THE GRUESOME TWOSOME [Blu-ray] (2/6)

OH, YES... OUR WIGS ARE MADE FROM GENUINE HUMAN HAIR... AND HOW!


After dabbling in the unlikely world of children's entertainment with the likes of Jimmy, the Boy Wonder and The Magic Land of Mother Goose, in 1967 "Godfather of Gore" Herschell Gordon Lewis returned to genre he helped create with the delightfully depraved The Gruesome Twosome!

The young women of a small-town American college have more than just split-ends to worry about... Down at the Little Wig Shop, the batty Mrs. Pringle and her socially-inept son Rodney are procuring only the finest heads of hair - by scalping the local co-eds! Can they be stopped before they clear the entire campus of luxuriant-haired ladies?

Also including HG Lewis' Dracula-inspired vampire epic A Taste of Blood as a bonus feature, this is one Gruesome Twosome that's well worth flipping your wig over!

FEATURES
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Bonus Feature! 1967's A Taste of Blood
* Introductions to the films by HG Lewis
* Archive audio commentaries for both films by HG Lewis
* Peaches Christ Flips Her Wig! - San Francisco performer Peaches Christ on The Gruesome Twosome
* It Came from Florida - filmmaker Fred Olen Ray (Scalps, The Alien Dead) on Florida Filmmaking
* HG Lewis vs. the Censors - HG Lewis discusses some of the pitfalls of the blood-and-guts business including local censorship and angry moviegoers
* Trailers and radio spot
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

SPECS
* Production Year: 1967
* Running Time: 72
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
* SRP: $34.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon



THE CAT O' NINE TAILS - LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray + DVD] (2/13)



Following the success of his debut feature, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, distributor Titanus tasked writer/director Dario Argento with delivering a follow-up in short order. The resulting film, granted a greatly enhanced budget and heralded in its US marketing campaign as "nine times more suspenseful" than its predecessor, was The Cat O' Nine Tails.

When a break-in occurs at a secretive genetics institute, blind puzzle-maker Franco Arnò (Karl Malden, Patton, One-Eyed Jacks), who overheard an attempt to blackmail one of the institute's scientists shortly before the robbery, teams up with intrepid reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus, Beneath the Planet of the Apes) to crack the case. But before long the bodies begin to pile up and the two amateur sleuths find their own lives imperilled in their search for the truth. And worse still, Lori (Cinzia De Carolis, Cannibal Apocalypse), Franco's young niece, may also be in the killer's sights.

This second entry in the so-called "Animal Trilogy" found Argento further refining his distinctive style and cementing his reputation as the master of the giallo thriller. Co-starring Catherine Spaak (Il Sorpasso) and Rada Rassimov (Baron Blood), and featuring another nerve-jangling score by the great Ennio Morricone (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), The Cat O' Nine Tails remains one of Argento's most suspenseful and underrated films.

FEATURES
* Presented from a brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
* Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
* Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
* New audio commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
* New interviews with co-writer/director Dario Argento, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti, actress Cinzia De Carolis and production manager Angelo Iacono
* Script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English for the first time
* Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp
* Double-sided fold-out poster
* 4 lobby card reproductions
* Limited edition booklet illustrated by Matt Griffin, featuring an essay on the film by Dario Argento, and new writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes

SPECS
* Production Year: 1971
* Running Time: 112
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: Italian, English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
* SRP: $49.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon


ORCHESTRA REHEARSAL [Blu-ray] (2/13)


Made in 1978 for Italian television, Orchestra Rehearsal is possibly Fellini's most satirical and overtly political film.

An allegorical pseudo-documentary, the film depicts an Italian television crew's visit to a dilapidated auditorium (a converted 13th-century church) to meet an orchestra assembling to rehearse under the instruction of a tyrannical conductor. The TV crew interviews the various musicians who each speak lovingly about their chosen instruments. However, as petty squabbles break out amid the different factions of the ensemble, and the conductor berates his musicians, the meeting descends into anarchy and vandalism. A destructive crescendo ensues before the musicians regroup and play together once more in perfect harmony.

Abounding with its director's trademark rich imagery and expressive style, Orchestra Rehearsal marks the last collaboration between Fellini and the legendary composer Nino Rota (due to the latter's death in 1979) who provides one of his most beautiful themes in the film's conclusion.

FEATURES
* Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Original 1.0 mono sound
* Optional English subtitles
* Richard Dyer on Nino Rota and Orchestra Rehearsal, the film scholar talks about the great composer and his last collaboration with Fellini
* Orchestrating Discord, a visual essay on the film by Fellini biographer John Baxter
* Gallery featuring rare poster and press material on the film from the Felliniana collection of Don Young
* Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Martin

SPECS
* Production Year: 1978
* Running Time: 80
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: Italian
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
* SRP: $34.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon



SEIJUN SUZUKI: THE EARLY YEARS VOL. 1 LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray + DVD] (2/13)

YOUTHS ON THE LOOSE AND REBELS WITHOUT CAUSES IN THE UNRULY SEISHUN EIGA YOUTH MOVIES OF JAPANESE ICONOCLAST SEIJUN SUZUKI


Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).

The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of "Nikkatsu Diamond Guys" and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past.

The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe.

Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his community from the extortions of mobsters from a neighboring city. The Incorrigible (1963) and Born Under Crossed Stars (1965), both based on Toko Kon's novels about young love, represent Suzuki's first films set in the 1920s era later celebrated in his critically-regarded Taisho Trilogy.

FEATURES
* Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [3000 copies]
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation and Standard Definition DVD presentation
* Optional English subtitles
* New introduction to the films by critic Tony Rayns
* 60-page illustrated collector's book featuring new writing by critics and author Jasper Sharp

SPECS
* Production Year: 1958-1965
* Running Time: 450
* Number of Discs: 4
* Language: Japanese
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
* SRP: $69.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon



RE-ANIMATOR [Blu-ray] and [DVD] (2/13)


HERBERT WEST HAS A GOOD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS... AND ANOTHER ONE ON HIS DESK.

One of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon's enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features!

When medical student Dean Cain advertises for a roommate, he soon finds one in the form of Dr. Herbert West. Initially a little eccentric, it some becomes clear that West entertains some seriously outlandish theories specifically, the possibility of re-animating the dead. It's not long before Dean finds himself under West's influence, and embroiled in a serious of ghoulish experiments which threaten to go wildly out of control.

Based on H.P. Lovecraft's classic terror tale Herbert West Reanimator and featuring a standout performance from Jeffrey Combs as the deliciously deranged West, Re-Animator remains the ground-zero of 80s splatter mayhem and one of the genre's finest hours.

FEATURES
* Presented from a 4K restoration of the Unrated version
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Mono, Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA Surround Audio Options
* Isolated Score
* Audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and actors Graham Skipper and Jesse Merlin of Re-Animator: The Musical
* Audio commentary with Stuart Gordon
* Audio commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott and Robert Sampson
* Re-Animator: Resurrectus - feature-length documentary on the making of the film, featuring extensive interviews with cast and crew
* Interviews with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band and former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone
* Music discussion with composer Richard Band
* Barbara Crampton in Conversation - the Re-Animator star sits down with journalist Alan Jones for this career-spanning 2015 interview
* The Catastrophe of Success: Stuart Gordon and The Organic Theater - director Stuart Gordon discusses his early theater roots and his continued commitment to the stage
* Theater of Blood - Re-Animator: The Musical lyricist Mark Nutter on adapting the cult classic for musical theatre
* Extended Scenes
* Deleted Scene
* Trailer & TV Spots
* Still Gallery
* Screenplay (BD-ROM Content)
* Reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork by Justin Erickson

SPECS
* Production Year: 1985
* Running Time: 101
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
* SRP: $34.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon



THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE [Blu-ray] & [DVD] (2/13)

 In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - a film which redefined the 'giallo' genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia (Suzy Kendall, Spasmo).

A staggeringly assured debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage establishes the key traits that would define Argento's filmography, including lavish visuals and a flare for wildly inventive, brutal scenes of violence. With sumptuous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and a seductive score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West), this landmark film has never looked or sounded better in this new, 4K-restored edition from Arrow Video!

Blu-ray SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
* Presented from a brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative produced by Arrow Video exclusively for this release
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
* English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
* New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
* The Power of Perception, a new visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexanda Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil's Advocates: Suspiria and Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study
* New analysis of the film by critic Kat Ellinger
* New interview with writer/director Dario Argento
* New interview with actor Gildo Di Marco (Garullo the pimp)
* Eva's Talking, an archival interview with actor Eva Renzi (Monica Ranieri)
* Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp

DVD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
* Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative produced by Arrow Video exclusively for this release
* Standard Definition DVD presentation
* Original mono Italian and English soundtracks
* English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
* New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
* The Power of Perception, a new visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexanda Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil's Advocates: Suspiria and Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study
* New analysis of the film by critic Kat Ellinger
* New interview with writer/director Dario Argento
* New interview with actor Gildo Di Marco (Garullo the pimp)
* Eva's Talking, an archival interview with actor Eva Renzi (Monica Ranieri)
* Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp

SPECS
* Production Year: 1971
* Running Time: 98
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: Italian, English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
* SRP Blu-ray: $39.95
* SRP DVD: $29.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon


SCALPEL [Blu-ray] (2/20)


HE LOST THE FACE OF THE WOMAN HE LOVED... SO HE GAVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE.

US television staple Robert Lansing (Star Trek, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone) stars as a deranged surgeon in this twisty-turny psychological thriller from Blood Rage director John Grissmer.

In Scalpel, Lansing plays Dr. Phillip Reynolds, a man whose daughter Heather (Judith Chapman, As the World Turns, General Hospital) has run away from home a year prior following the suspicious death of her boyfriend. When he happens across a young woman one night, her face beaten beyond recognition, the unhinged Reynolds sees his an opportunity to put his trusty scalpel to use - hatching a plan to "reconstruct" her face in the image of his missing daughter, and so claim her sizeable inheritance.

Photographed by celebrated cinematographer Edward Lachman, who would go on to serve as DP on the likes of Erin Brockovich and The Virgin Suicides, Scalpel is an exemplary slice of Southern-fried gothic, finally rescued from VHS obscurity in this revelatory new Blu-ray edition from Arrow Video.

FEATURES
* Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Original Uncompressed Mono Audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Brand new audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
* Brand new crew interviews
* Original Theatrical Trailer
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Bill Ackerman

SPECS
* Production Year: 1977
* Running Time: 95
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
* SRP Blu-ray: $39.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon


BASKET CASE - LIMITED EDITION [Blu-ray] (2/27)

THE TENANT IN ROOM 7 IS VERY SMALL, VERY TWISTED, AND VERY MAD.

The feature debut of director Frank Henenlotter (Brain Damage, Frankenhooker), 1982's Basket Case is perhaps his most revered - a riotous and blood-spattered midnight movie experience, now immortalized in a lavish new 4K restoration by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Duane Bradley is a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed, fleshy lump whom he carries around in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at the seedy Hotel Broslin, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation. But tensions flare up when Duane starts spending time with a pretty blonde secretary, and Belial's homicidal tendencies reach bloody new extremes.

Filmed on a shoestring budget against the backdrop of 1980s New York (where the movie would become a staple of the infamous 42nd Street grindhouse circuit), Basket Case has clawed its way from its humble origins to become one of the most celebrated cult movies of all time.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
* Presented from a brand new 4K restoration from the original 16mm negative by MoMA
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
* Original Uncompressed Mono Audio
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Brand new audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin Van Hentenryck
* Basket Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley - Frank Henenlotter revisits Duane Bradley decades after the events of the original Basket Case
* Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins - a brand new interview with Florence and Maryellen Schultz, the twin nurses from Basket Case
* Brand new making-of featurette containing new interviews with producer Edgar Ievins, casting person/actress Ilze Balodis, associate producer/effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
* Blood, BASKET and Beyond - a brand new interview with actress Beverly Bonner
* Belial Goes to the Drive-In - a brand new interview with film critic Joe Bob Briggs
* Outtakes Featurette
* In Search of the Hotel Broslin - archive location featurette
* Slash of the Knife (1972) - short film by Frank Henenlotter
* Belial's Dream (2017, 5 mins) - brand new Basket Case-inspired animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
* Behind-the-scenes of Belial's Dream
* Trailers, TV Spots and Radio Spots
* Extensive Still Galleries
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Michael Gingold

SPECS
* Production Year: 1982
* Running Time: 91
* Number of Discs: 1
* Language: English
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
* SRP Blu-ray: $39.95

Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon


JEAN-LUC GODARD + JEAN-PIERRE GORIN: FIVE FILMS, 1968-1971 [Blu-ray] (2/27)


After finishing his film Weekend in 1967, Jean-Luc Godard shifted gears to embark on engaging more directly with the radical political movements of the era, and thus create a new kind of film, or, as he eventually put it: "new ideas distributed in a new way." This new method in part involved collaborating with the precocious young critic and journalist, Jean-Pierre Gorin. Both as a two-person unit, and as part of the loose collective known as the Groupe Dziga Vertov (named after the early 20th-century Russian filmmaker and theoretician), Godard and Gorin would realize "some political possibilities for the practice of cinema" and craft new frameworks for investigating the relationships between image and sound, spectator and subject, cinema and society.

A superlative box set, with five innovative film collaborations from the legendary French director Jean-Luc Godard and maverick film writer Jean-Pierre Gorin, shot in a revolutionary style in an attempt to disseminate explosive political ideas, and shake up cinema. Included here are five films, all originally shot in 16mm celluloid, that serve as examples of Godard and Gorin's revolutionary project.

INCLUDES
* Un film comme les autres [A Film Like Any Other]
* British Sounds, aka: See You at Mao
* Vent d'est [Wind from the East]
* Lotte in Italia / Luttes en Italie [Struggles in Italy]
* Vladimir et Rosa [Vladimir and Rosa]

FEATURES
* High-definition digital transfer
* High-definition Blu-ray (1080p) and standard-definition DVD presentations
* Original uncompressed monaural audio
* Optional English subtitles
* A conversation with JLG - Interview with Jean-Luc Godard from 2010 by Dominique Maillet and Pierre-Henri Gibert
* 100-page full-colour book containing English translations for the first time of writing by, and interviews with, Godard and Gorin, and more

SPECS
* Production Year: 1968-1971
* Running Time: 456
* Number of Discs: 6
* Language: French, English, Italian
* Subtitles: English
* Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
* SRP Blu-ray: $99.95


Order on MVDshop.com or Amazon

Arrow Video Official Channels

Arrow Academy Official Channels

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Lionsgate's THE EXECUTIONERS Coming to Digital and DVD


Lionsgate's THE EXECUTIONERS 

Coming to Digital and DVD



Don’t miss the intense horror-thriller The Executioners, arriving on DVD, Digital, and On Demand March 27 from Lionsgate.

When four friends go on a retreat to a secluded lakeside cabin, they soon realize they’re not alone. Masked intruders try to take them hostage, but as they fight back, the friends get a taste for something more than the will to survive. Will their fate be as victim or executioner? Find out when The Executioners arrives on DVD for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

Directed and written by Giorgio Serafini, the film stars Jemma Dallender, Natalie Burn, Rachel Rosenstein and Justin Fischer.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Get Trapped In Danielle Harris' INOPERABLE on DVD and VOD February 6th


Horror Icon Danielle Harris Races Against TimeChristopher Lawrence Chapman's Inoperable Pits Her Against a Hurricane and a Time LoopAvailable on DVD and Digital HD Nationwide February 6th



Zorya Films, Millman Productions and ITN Distribution are putting scream queen Danielle Harris under the knife with the February 6th DVD and VOD release of Christopher Lawrence Chapman's Inoperable.  Harris (Halloween 4 & 5, Rob Zombie's Halloween, the Hatchet franchise) stars as Amy, a hospital patient who must battle nature and the supernatural before she ends up trapped for eternity.  Chapman directed from a script he co-wrote with producer Jeff Miller following their collaboration on Clowntown.   Inoperable will be available nationwide on DVD, Cable VOD and Digital HD on February 6th.



A young woman wakes up in a seemingly evacuated hospital with a hurricane approaching. She realizes the storm has awakened malevolent forces, trapping her in a time loop. She must escape the hospital before the storm passes or she will be trapped in its halls forever.


Saturday, January 20, 2018

Sorry Jack, Chucky's Back with New Fright-Rags Apparel - Plus Stephen King's Misery


Sorry Jack, Chucky's back with new Fright-Rags apparel - plus Stephen King's MiseryOn sale now at Fright-Rags.com


2018 marks Fright-Rags' 15th anniversary, and the company is celebrating the only way it knows how: by releasing even more unique horror apparel!

Sorry Jack, Chucky's back! Fright-Rags' new Chucky collection includes four T-shirts, five enamel pins, and two pairs of socks. Various incarnations of the killer doll from throughout the Child's Play franchise are represented by artists Eddie Holly, Nathan Milliner, Jason Edmiston, Matthew Skiff, Matt Ryan Tobin, and Sara Deck.

Fright-Rags also has a special treat for "cockadoodie" Stephen King fans. As with the recent IT release, they've teamed original artist Robert Giusti to bring the Misery dust jacket art to T-shirts and hoodies.

The Chucky and Misery collections are on sale now at Fright-Rags.com.



Fright-Rags' 15th year is poised to be a landmark one. The Silence of the Lambs, Ash vs Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Stephen King's Pet Sematary, Die Hard, and The Cabin in the Woods are just a few of the licenses with which they'll be working in 2018. As if that weren't enough, 15 "classick" out-of-print designs will receive limited edition re-prints throughout the year, beginning on January 20!

Friday, January 19, 2018

Sony's HOUSE OF DEMONS Coming to Digital and DVD


Terror Finds a New Home in the Supernatural Horror-Thriller


Starring Amber Benson (TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)      



HOUSE OF DEMONS




Available on DVD and Digital February 6



~ Bonus Features Include Deleted Scenes, Director’s Commentary,

and 3 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes!  ~



 Terror finds a new home in the supernatural horror-thriller HOUSE OF DEMONS, which is being distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on digital and DVD February 6. Amber Benson (TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) leads a hot cast of up-and-coming actors in this chilling tale of four old friends who reunite at a remote rental house once used by a Manson Family-like cult and which now has the power to manifest its inhabitants’ deepest fears and darkest demons.

Written and directed by Patrick Meaney (Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously) and co-starring Dove Meir (TV’s “NCIS: Los Angeles”), Chloe Dykstra (TV’s “Heroes of Cosplay”), Morgan Peter Brown (Ouija), Tiffany Smith (TV’s “Attack of the Show”), Taliesin Jaffe (TV’s “Critical Role”), Whitney Moore (Birdemic 1 & 2), Jeff Torres (TV’s “Pitch”), and Kaytlin Borgen (Text), HOUSE OF DEMONS opens its doors on DVD with frighteningly fun bonus features, including deleted scenes, director’s commentary, and the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Meet the Cast & Crew,” “Bringing the Story to Life,” and “Composers of House of Demons.”

     

Synopsis: Gwen, Matthew, Katrina, and Spencer were best friends for years, until a terrible tragedy tore them apart. Ten years later, they reunite in a rented house for a destination wedding. What they don't know is that in the late ‘60s, the house was home to a Manson Family-like cult run by Frazer, a charismatic former scientist pushing the boundaries of human consciousness. His experiments echo through time and manifest everyone's darkest fears and memories, blurring time as Frazer's cult and the present day collide over the course of one long night, where everyone must confront their darkness or be destroyed by it.

From Smith Global Media, HOUSE OF DEMONS was produced by Patrick Meaney, Jordan Byrne (Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts), Jordan Rennert (Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously), and Brian Townes. Executive producers are Tom Blair, Michael Parness, and William Robert Webb III.   



DVD Bonus Features Include:

·        Meet the Cast & Crew

·        Bringing the Story to Life

·        Composers of House of Demons

·        Deleted Scenes

·        Director’s Commentary



HOUSE OF DEMONS has a run time of approximately 90 minutes and is rated R for violence/bloody images, drug content, language and some sexuality.


ABOUT SMITH GLOBAL MEDIA

L.A.-based Smith Global Media, founded by Harry Smith, is now assembling a domestic theatrical release slate that will see the company bring 10-12 films, spanning all genres, to theaters over the next year and half.



Priding itself on operating as a nimble, intensely filmmaker-focused distributor, Smith Global Media is dedicated to working with both world-renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to servicing a still vibrant and meaningful sector of the theatrical marketplace that studios have largely abandoned.



Smith Global Media markets and distributes key-branded films with high-production value, and related branded products, cast with worldwide recognizable talent, and strong commercial appeal with broad audiences.



Smith Global Media maintains an exclusive output distribution deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, under which all Smith Global Media films are distributed.



ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. SPE is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., which is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group includes film labels Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

The Powers of Hell Grab a Bride of Christ in the First Trailer for SULPHUR FOR LEVIATHAN


Sulphur for Leviathan to Haunt the Festival CircuitSodom & Chimera Productions Debuts Trailer & StillsFeaturing a Nun in the Battle for Her Soul


Sodom & Chimera Productions has debuted the first trailer and new stills for Sulphur for Leviathan, the 13 minute companion piece to last year's The Temple of Lilith.   

Sulphur for Leviathan is the newest blending of arthouse and horror from experimental filmmaker James Quinn, who proudly stated, "Sulphur for Leviathan is a film that started out purely as an idea of rage. An outcry of anger against the anti-rationalism of the Catholic church, in this case not the more widely discussed controversies such as reoccurring cases of pedophilia and abuse, but rather the many moral codes they like to preach, like the commonly known 'turn the other cheek'. While that may sound like a rather aggressive reason for a film, it is in its essence nothing but a piece of food for thought, intended to raise some questions about tough moral decisions that would be executed in a vastly different way outside of the religious concept."


Sulphur for Leviathan stars Susan M. Martin as The Nun, known for Plank Face and Space Babes from Outer Space, as well as Jerry Larew as Lucifer, widely known for his portrayal of Alfie in the She Was So Pretty films. Other roles include Craig Long as Satan, and Joseph Knapik, head of the Columbus Zombie Walk, as a demon priest.

The score was created by composer Leanna Primiani, who recently worked on the award winning horror short The Daughters of Virtue. The film also features music by the band Come to Grief, a Doom/Sludge Metal band from Boston, whose song Killed by Life was used for the end credits.


Sulphur for Leviathan revolves around a nun, who suddenly finds herself progressively fantasizing about things that shouldn't be in her head, increasingly having to face her own doings of blasphemy, all leading up to something demonically dark and sinister. Portrayed in a surreal manner both in color and black and white, with a heavy focus on elegant cinematography, the film tells a satanic tale of unfulfilled desires, lust, blasphemy and existential dread, packed in a controversial and disturbing, but calm and poetic experience that is heavily inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky, with a touch of satanism.


Wednesday, January 17, 2018

What Happens to Art in the Internet Age? Find out in the Provocative Doc #artoffline, Arriving on DVD on 2/13


WHAT HAPPENS TO ART IN THE INTERNET AGE?


INDIEPIX FILMS EXPLORES THE CONTEMPORARY
ART WORLD'S CRISIS IN A TIMELY, REVEALING DOC


#artoffline


Street Date: February 13, 2018

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Are technology and the internet changing the art world forever?

In the timely and revealing documentary, #artoffline - an Official Selection at the Rotterdam International Film Festival - director Manuel Correa documents the crisis facing the contemporary art world.  Can the internet change the way art is controlled in terms of reception, production and distribution?  Leading artists, curators, philosophers and art critics interviewed believe that endless reproduction liberates artwork from a muddled marketplace and an undemocratic exhibition circuit, while wondering whether the urge for physical objects is just a nostalgic fetishism.  During #artoffline, it becomes apparent that despite enormous resistance, digital technologies have  effectively transformed the experience of art forever. Shot in Vancouver and in Berlin during the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, this provocative documentary takes audiences behind the scenes, and inside the ideas that are already shaping the art of tomorrow.
#   #   #

#artoffline

Running Time: 60 Minutes
Genre:  Art/Documentary
Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9
Audio: Stereo

About IndiePix Films®
Since 2004, New York-based IndiePix Films® has delivered a highly-curated collection of the best independent films from around the world.  Offering a singular catalog of nearly 2,000 films across genres, the IndiePix team selects singular titles from the international festival circuit.  Avenues for distribution include their newly-launched streaming service, IndiePix Unlimited, their dedicated commerce site, IndiePixFilms.com, which offers download-to-own, streaming rental and physical media direct to consumers, and via national retail channels and select theatrical exhibition.  IndiePix also owns Festival Genius, the premier platform for connecting film festivals to audiences through online ticketing, calendars, iphone apps, and more.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

After 50 years, LO-FI SCI-FI Spoof BUCKY AND THE SQUIRRELS Comes to Theatres Starting January 26

DAUNTLESS STUDIOS RELEASES LONG-AWAITED SCi-FI ROCKUMENTARY BUCKY & THE SQUIRRELS

"The Greatest Rock Band Ever Frozen Alive for 50 Years"


WHAT IF Your Favorite Pop Band from 1968 Came Back To Life in 2018?

Find Out When Slapstick Feature by Writer/Director Allan Katz Arrives in Theatres Beginning January 26

Features Cameos by Jason Alexander, Richard Lewis, Mike Ferrell, and Raquel Castro

New Trailer Released



Dauntless Studios has announced the imminent theatrical release of their recent acquisition, the Lo-Fi, Sci-Fi spoof BUCKY & THE SQUIRRELS from Emmy®-nominated director, prolific writer/producer Allan Katz. The film will begin a 45-screen theatrical run beginning in the Midwest and spreading west on January 26, 2018. A national digital/DVD release will follow later in the spring.

From the college town of Appleton, Wisconsin (and his own imagination) comes a story 50 years in the making. Katz explains,


“Back in 1968, a one-hit wonder rock band from Appleton, Wisconsin vanished in a plane crash somewhere in the Swiss Alps. Now, 50 years later, the aircraft has just been discovered with the Squirrels still inside - frozen alive. After they've returned home, thawed, and are struggling to return to their former selves, the IRS arrests them for owing a half century of back taxes. To stay out of prison, the Squirrels have to prove they can pay the money back by convincing the government they're capable of performing once again. Unfortunately, they're not.”

Suspended animation is a rich seam in science-fiction lore. If you've seen LATE FOR DINNER, FOREVER YOUNG, GENESIS II or even SLEEPER, well, BUCKY AND THE SQUIRRELS is nothing like them. Never has the trope been deployed--with clever, creative uses of budget and execution--for artists as famously obscure as Bucky and The Squirrels.



Told as an extended news report (by obviously Appleton-proud newscaster “Steve Schmidt” (Mike Dittman) the film stars Josh Duvendeck, Kyle S. More, Matt Cook and Matt Shively as band mates Doug, Bucky, Randy and Phil, respectively. Lawrence University alumna Jill Lover plays a therapist who is charged with helping the Squirrels recover their physical and mental capacities—and musical chops—after five decades on ice. The film also features cameos by Jason Alexander, Richard Lewis, Mike Ferrell, and Raquel Castro recollecting THEIR fondest, if not always clear, memories of the Squirrels. The film made extensive use of Appleton’s Lawrence University Campus. A number of students served on the production, and former Lawrence University film studies director Catherine Tatge, has a producer credit on the film.

For his part, Allan Katz has a prodigious roster of writing, producing, and EP credits going back to Rowan Martin’s Laugh-In and other classics like Sanford and Son, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*AS*H, Rhoda, Roseanne and Blossom. He garnered an Emmy Nomination for writing for M*AS*H in 1977. In addition to writing, directing and producing BUCKY & THE SQUIRRELS, he has a supporting role as Mort Fishbeck, the Squirrels’ onetime and current manager.



Katz says, “The great part about making a film is getting to make it. The not so great part is the possibility of not having anyone see it. That’s why I was thrilled when Mark Sonoda of Dauntless Studios approached me and both loved and understood the film. So, we agreed to go into business with him to distribute it. When you write, direct and produce a film it’s like giving birth to a child. And when you hand your child off to a distributor, it’s like letting someone else raise it. Mark co-parented Bucky with me and my baby turned out way better than it would have if it were raised by a single parent.”



On Friday, January 26th, the film will open in theatres across Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. The following week, February 2nd, roll-out continues in Arizona and California. Check out the new trailer for the film here on YouTube and on Vimeo.

“We’re proud to shepherd BUCKY & THE SQUIRRELS to the screen,” concludes Dauntless’ co-founder Mark Sonoda. “The Squirrels have succeeded against all odds to battle their way back to relevance after an absence of five decades. Their legions of fans have demanded it, and now, we can finally tell their story.”

Social Sites



Monday, January 15, 2018

The Horror & SciFi Prop Preservation Association Announces New Book


The Horror & SciFi Prop Preservation Association Announces Second Book

The HSPPA: Volume Two - Planet of the Props up for pre-order: bit.ly/HSPPA2

The Horror & SciFi Prop Preservation Association (HSPPA) is a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve filmic history by bringing screen-used props and wardrobe from genre movies to public settings for fans to see up close and in person.

While tens of thousands of patrons have seen HSPPA's impressive collection on display at conventions and theaters around the country, not everyone has had the opportunity to experience the exhibition. The upcoming book The HSPPA: Volume Two - Planet of the Props will bring the exhibition to you.

The 150-page, full-color paperback, signed by author/curator James Azrael, can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter until January 23, after which they will go into production. Limited edition shirts, enamel pins, buttons, coasters, and book plates signed by all of the contributors - including the special guests mentioned below - are also available.

The book contains high-resolution images of props from the HSPPA collection and featured exhibitors, along with anecdotes about the items. Halloween H20, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X, Silent Hill, Punisher: War Zone, Spawn, and Batman Returns are just some of the films from which rare items are on display in the book.

Special guests Christopher Durand (Michael Myers in Halloween H20), Nicholas Vince (Chatterer in Hellraiser), Nick Benson (special effects artist on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4), and Daniel Emery Taylor (actor in The Return of Swamp Thing) are among those who share props from their collections - and the personal stories that accompany them.

The HSPPA: Volume Two is due for release in May. In the interim, The HSPPA: Volume One - The Props Awaken is available now.

For more information on The Horror & SciFi Prop Preservation Association, visit facebook.com/TheHSPPA.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Velvet Underground's 50-Year Legacy Celebrated With Career-Spanning Vinyl Box Set Featuring Lost "1969" Album

VELVET UNDERGROUND’S 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED WITH CAREER-SPANNING VINYL BOX SET
 
THE VELVET UNDEGROUND INCLUDES DEFINITIVE STEREO EDITIONS OF SIX CLASSIC ALBUMS INCLUDING ALL FOUR STUDIO RECORDS, THE “LOST” 1969 ALBUM AND NICO’S DEBUT LP



To celebrate the Velvet Underground’s 50th anniversary, Verve Records/UMe is releasing The Velvet Underground, a limited-edition career-spanning box that collects all four of the pioneering band’s studio albums, Velvets collaborator Nico’s debut LP, Chelsea Girl, and a reconstruction of the fabled “lost” 1969 album, making it available on vinyl for the first time. The six albums housed in a special black slipcase will be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and feature stereo mixes and meticulously reproduced original cover art. The box will also include an exclusive 48-page booklet, featuring vintage photos, lyrics and a new foreword penned by founding member Maureen “Moe” Tucker. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide, the box set, which will be released February 23, is available for pre-order now exclusively at uDiscover:  https://UMe.lnk.to/TVULPBox



Assembled by Grammy-winning reissue producer Bill Levenson, The Velvet Underground incorporates six classic records from the band's vintage heyday including 1967's The Velvet Underground and Nico, their landmark debut, produced by the band's mentor Andy Warhol and includes such Velvets classics as “Sunday Morning,” “I'm Waiting for the Man,” “Venus in Furs” and “Heroin;” Nico's 1967 full-length solo debut Chelsea Girl, featuring songwriting and instrumental contributions from Velvets members Reed, Cale and Morrison as well as a young Jackson Browne; 1968's explosive White Light/White Heat, the group's final album with co-founder Cale; 1969's relatively restrained, introspective The Velvet Underground; and 1970's Loaded, which was the band's commercial breakthrough as well as its final studio album, with such beloved Reed anthems as "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll."



To honor the band’s half a century legacy, Levenson has loving recreated the Velvet Underground’s much-mythologized “lost” album, 1969, specially for this set. Nearly 50 years later, much remains unclear about these mysterious recordings. While there’s been reports that the album was intended to be the band’s fourth record only to be rejected by MGM, it’s also possible they were scrapped by the band or possibly shelved by them for being ahead of its time. Whatever the real story is, these songs, recorded just after their lauded self-titled album, which include many gems like “Foggy Notion,” “Ride Into The Sun,” and “I Can’t Stand It,” help to tell the band’s enigmatic story and shine a light on their creative restlessness and rapid evolution. For this new vinyl recreation, Levenson has assembled the album using 1969 and 2014 mixes. Although these recordings have been previously released, they’ve never been represented on vinyl in this expansive 2LP format. Side four of the second LP is rounded out with bonus tracks recorded in 1968 including “Hey Mr. Rain” and “Stephanie Says.”



The Velvet Underground's gritty, fearless creative vision remains unique and unmatched. Although the band met with little commercial acceptance during its existence, the seminal New York foursome of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker, along with Doug Yule, is now considered one of most important rock and roll bands of all time, laying the groundwork in the ‘60s for punk, alternative, avant-garde, psychedelic rock, post-punk and shoegaze. The Velvets' revolutionary body of work stands as a one of rock's most distinctive catalogs and today their influence looms larger than ever.



The Velvet Underground and Nico (March 1967)

Side One

1. Sunday Morning

2. I’m Waiting For The Man

3. Femme Fatale

4. Venus In Furs

5. Run Run Run

6. All Tomorrow’s Parties



Side Two

1. Heroin

2. There She Goes Again

3. I’ll Be Your Mirror

4. The Black Angel’s Death Song

5. European Son



Nico: Chelsea Girl (October 1967)

Side One

1. The Fairest of the Seasons

2. These Days

3. Little Sister

4. Winter Song

5. It Was A Pleasure Then



Side Two

1. Chelsea Girls

2. I’ll Keep It With Mine

3. Somewhere There’s a Feather

4. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

5. Eulogy To Lenny Bruce



White Light/White Heat (January 1968)

Side One

1. White Light/White Heat

2. The Gift

3. Lady Godiva’s Operation

4. There She Comes Now



Side Two

1. I Heard Her Call My Name

2. Sister Ray



The Velvet Underground (March 1969)

Side One

1. Candy Says

2. What Goes On

3. Some Kinda Love

4. Pale Blue Eyes

5. Jesus



Side Two

1. Beginning To See The Light

2. I’m Set Free

3. That’s The Story Of My Life

4. The Murder Mystery

5. After Hours



1969 (recorded May – October 1969)

Side One

1. Foggy Notion (original 1969 mix)

2. One Of The Days (2014 mix)

3. Lisa Says (2014 mix)

4. I’m Sticking With You (original 1969 mix)

5. Andy’s Chest (original 1969 mix)



Side Two

1. I Can’t Stand It (2014 mix)

2. She’s My Best Friend (original 1969 mix)

3. We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (2014 mix)

4. I’m Gonna Move Right In (original 1969 mix)

5. Ferryboat Bill (original 1969 mix)



Side Three

1. Coney Island Steeplechase (2014 mix)

2. Ocean (original 1969 mix)

3. Rock & Roll (original 1969 mix)

4. Ride Into The Sun (2014 mix)



Side Four – Bonus Tracks

1. Hey Mr. Rain (version one)

2. Guess I’m Falling In Love instrumental version)

3. Temptation Inside Your Heart (original mix)

4. Stephanie Says (original mix)

5. Hey Mr. Rain (version two)

6. Beginning To See The Light (early version)



Loaded (November 1970)

Side One

1. Who Loves The Sun

2. Sweet Jane

3. Rock & Roll

4. Cool It Down

5. New Age



Side Two

1. Head Held High

2. Lonesome Cowboy Bill

3. I Found A Reason

4. Train Round The Bend

5. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’