BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 4/22/2020

 

Filmmaker Al Adamson made a lasting name for himself by creating lurid low-budget exploitation movies with that indefinable "so bad it's good" greatness that many strive for but few achieve.  A well-made documentary about his lively career would be interesting enough, but even more so if his personal life ended on a note that was way more fascinating, mystifying, and downright creepy than any of his actual films ever came close to being.

BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON (Severin Films) is that documentary, and it's well-made indeed. It's tricky to construct a documentary with just the right balance of talking heads and informative narration, along with movie clips and other audio-visual elements, while maintaing our interest to the same degree as a fictional narrative, and this one does so in a way that's utterly involving.

Any collection of clips from Adamson's films would be fun to watch, and here we get plenty of footage from such trash classics as "Satan's Sadists", "Horror of the Blood Monsters", "Brain of Blood", "The Female Bunch", "Blazing Stewardesses", and of course what some might consider his magnum opus, the immortal "Dracula vs. Frankenstein."

These are augmented by interview clips with the most important players in the Al Adamson saga, including (besides Al himself) such familiar names as Vilmos Zsigmond, Russ Tamblyn, Fred Olen Ray, Gary Graver, and many others who offer a wealth of personal stories about working with a man whom most remember very fondly, some with gratitude for helping them begin successful careers in the film business.  (Celebrated cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs also started out with Adamson.)

Best are the stories of Adamson's endearing eccentricities and his devotion to making films not to win awards but simply to entertain the masses, using his imagination and ingenuity to overcome meager budgets and resources that would severely daunt other struggling filmmakers.

His exploits in the field serve as a primer for others wishing to follow in his footsteps and are scintillating stuff for those of us who simply love hearing about such adventures.

Adamson's efforts to knock together these films, usually offering his cast and crew valuable experience rather than money, also include the fascinating field of promotion and distribution in which such commodities were sold to the public in whatever form and by whatever means would be most exploitable.

Thus, a film about outlaw bikers might, if trends suddenly changed, be transformed through editing, reshoots, and a new title into a horror or crime thriller.

Conversations with Oscar-winner Russ Tamblyn are fun since he takes an amusedly lighthearted view of his association with the B-movie maven. Like many stars persuaded to participate in these films, Tamblyn was a big name on his way down who was happy for the work since Hollywood was no longer calling. Others included the likes of John Carradine, Kent Taylor, Broderick Crawford, Yvonne DeCarlo, J. Carroll Naish, and Lon Chaney, Jr.

The latter two joined Tamblyn for what may be Adamson's most celebrated classic, "Dracula vs. Frankenstein", which underwent drastic thematic changes during its creation (the original script didn't even include the title monsters).

Dealing with an alcoholic Chaney and a wheelchair-bound Naish, with his noisy dentures and inability to remember his lines, are just two of the interesting elements of this film's production.I had the pleasure of seeing it on a double bill with "Horror of the Blood Monsters" back in the 70s, a movie-going experience that I still treasure.

Long-time producer and partner Sam Sherwood adds invaluable personal knowledge of everything including Adamson's devotion to his wife Regina Carrol, a blonde bombshell who starred in many of his later films until her untimely death from cancer, and a strange project he undertook concerning UFOs and aliens which Sherwood believes was discontinued under shady circumstances involving the government.

But most mysterious of all are the circumstances surrounding Adamson's death, the details of which are fully explored in the film's final third and have all the morbid fascination of an Ann Rule true-crime book.

Even the director's previous association with Charles Manson and his flaky followers at Spahn Movie Ranch pales in comparison to the story of his disappearance from his desert home and the following investigation which uncovered a grisly fate that's right out of a horror movie.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films consists of not only this film but a bonus feature, Adamson's 1971 sleazefest "The Female Bunch" which co-stars a hard-drinking Lon Chaney, Jr. as well as Russ Tamblyn and Regina Carrol.  Pieced together from the best available elements, the print has a delightful grindhouse feel.

The disc also offers some irresistible--one might even say essential--outtakes from the documentary including an in-depth look at Adamson's western movie star father Denver Dixon, Russ Tamblyn's mysterious melted TV, some more creepy stuff about Charles Manson, and a promo reel for that eerie, unfinished project about aliens and UFOs.

Regardless of the man's gruesome demise, however, what lingers most for me after watching BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON is his joyous devotion to making exploitation movies and, we discover, his delight that after many years they were still being enjoyed and even revered by fans old and new.  That many of his most fervent fans include the very people who knew him best is a testament that this documentary so richly conveys.



Buy it from Severin Films

Special Features:

    Outtakes – The Cowboy Life Of Denver Dixon, Russ Tamblyn’s Melted TV, Manson & Screaming Angels, and The Prophetic Screenplay Makes Gary Kent Testify
    Beyond This Earth Promo Reel
    Trailer
    BONUS FILM: The Female Bunch
    The Bunch Speaks Out
    THE FEMALE BUNCH Trailers

WATCH THE TRAILER:

BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

MANKILLERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted 9/14/2016

 

In 1984, Sybil Danning led a group of female merceneries called THE PANTHER SQUAD, and in '86 a bevy of Las Vegas showgirls went commando as the HELL SQUAD.  It was as though SCTV's Johnny LaRue (John Candy) had become a real person producing his own special brand of cheap exploitation flicks combining improbable action with generous amounts of T & A.

The pinnacle of this wonderful little distaff genre, in my opinion, is the 1987 anti-epic MANKILLERS.  Not only does it have a cast that includes Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, "Mannix" co-star Gail Fisher, and eternal starlet Edy Williams of Russ Meyer fame--as well as beautiful HELL SQUAD star Bainbridge Scott and Andy Sidaris regular Julie K. Smith--but it also has the most kickass babes and badass bad guys (if you use your imagination a bit) as well as waves of exquisite unintentional hilarity.

Pretty blonde Lynda Aldon is intense as Rachael McKenna, a top government agent whose partner and boyfriend Mickland (William Zipp) betrayed her and left her for dead to become a South American drug kingpin. Years later, Rachael is offered the chance to put together her own commando squad to go down there and clean out Mickand's operation.



Rachael heads straight for Supermodel Prison and chooses an all-female attack force made up of hardened criminals in a sequence that blatantly borrows from THE DIRTY DOZEN, complete with a rebellious "Victor Franco" type in the form of sassy Maria Rosetti (Christine Lunde), who we just know will eventually get with the program and start being all heroic and stuff.  But not before she tries to escape from the training camp and is forcibly restrained by two of her cohorts, who pull the old "she slipped on a bar of soap" routine with Sergeant Edy.

After we get to watch these uncoordinated big-haired bimbos jiggling through their accelerated training program for awhile, it's time to hit the jungle trail where they engage in the first gunfight with Mickland's men.  This consists of Rachael's girls posing cutely behind trees and firing off hundreds of rounds while the guys stand around like idiots waiting for their squibs to go off.  Rachael and Maria get in some cool hand-to-hand contact as well, and of course there's the obligatory kick to the groin here and there.

Meanwhile, Mickland's back at his compound doing dastardly stuff like raping and killing his female captives for fun while taking care of drug and sex-slavery business, which also involves killing people and generally being all scowly and evil.  When he hears about his men being wiped out by a bunch of women, he takes matters into his own hands and leads a counterattack in which he and "Kookie" manage to capture Rachael.

With their leader in the hands of the bad guys, the now-repentant Maria gives the rest of the Mankillers a stirring pep talk and they invade the compound, using their feminine wiles to seduce and then overcome Mickland's men.  This leads to a low-budget free-for-all with lots of gunfire and even some small-scale explosions, and finally a showdown between Rachael and Mickland in which he proves harder to kill than Chucky. 

Several moments stand out during the film, such as the scene in which Rachael can't sleep and gets up to enjoy a cool bottle of brand-name seltzer water which she displays for the camera in a comically blatant case of product placement.  In another memorable moment, one of the Mankillers comes on to Edd Byrnes' vile "Jack" character before pulling a knife and giving him an impromptu vasectomy that will have male viewers crossing their legs.  And then there's the dialogue, which includes this deathless exchange:

MICKLAND: "Well, if it ain't Rachael McKenna.  After all these years I thought you were dead."
RACHAEL: "I'll bet you did."
MICKLAND: "This time...you're gonna die."
RACHAEL: "No...YOU are."

The budget is so low that the Mankillers' training camp and Mickland's compound appear to be virtually the same set, consisting of nothing more than a small array of corrugated tin sheds.  This is par for the course, however, when we learn that the writer-director of MANKILLERS is none other than David A. Prior (KILLER WORKOUT, DEADLY PREY), who gave us the early shot-on-video classic SLEDGEHAMMER (1983) and was used to creating something out of nothing.

The DVD from Martini Entertainment and Slasher Films (a division of Olive Films) has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is window-boxed.  Apparently the best available copy of the film for transfer is in PAL Beta SP format, which gives it quite an appropriate 80s videotape ambience that will stoke feelings of nostalgia in many viewers.  There are even the usual videotape imperfections in the picture here and there. 

The Blu-ray/DVD covers continue this theme by resembling videotape boxes right down to the "Action" label and "Please Be Kind--Rewind" tags. In addition to the trailer, a photo gallery also emphasizes the film's home video origins. 

Whether you rented it when it first hit video stores way back when or happened to catch the edited version on "USA Up All Night", this is your chance to enjoy MANKILLERS again in all its sleazy, cheezy glory.  Sure, it's junk--but it's a good junk. 

Buy it at Amazon.com:
Blu-ray
DVD

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NOTE: Stills shown are not taken from the DVD.

MANKILLERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE -- DVD review by porfle

 Originally posted on 9/11/2011

 

An irresistible treasure trove of blood red Lewis-abilia, Image Entertainment and Something Weird Video's HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is just about the most absorbing and utterly delightful documentary that fans of the pioneering filmmaker could hope for.  Covering his entire career in exhaustive detail, we're treated to first-hand insider accounts along with a wealth of film clips, outtakes, press materials, and other goodies. 

"Part filmmaker, part carny" describes both Lewis and his longtime partner, producer/distributor David Friedman, who take an active part in the production and supply us with most of the behind-the-scenes information.  A teacher of English and Humanities, Lewis drifted into advertising before buying half interest in a film studio and making his first erotic exploitation film, "The Primetime" in the late 50s.  ("It wasn't the greatest film in the world," says Friedman, "but it had sprocket holes and could run through the machine.")  For his next one, "Living Venus", he discovered frequent star William Kerwin and a young Harvey Korman in a home economics film called "Carving Magic." 

Self-distribution led to screenings in burlesque houses, which then got Lewis and Friedman started making "nudie cuties" (which the documentary's co-director Frank "Basket Case" Henenlotter calls "the stupidest movies ever made.")  Russ Meyer's "The Immoral Mr. Teas" inspired them to expand these short films into nudist-camp features such as "The Adventures of Lucky Pierre" (shot for $8,000) with Lewis and Friedman serving as the entire film crew.



Just about any film or individual mentioned during the narrative is accompanied by clips and/or photos--even "Carving Magic" is briefly seen.  The first part of the film is a concise history of nudie cuties and nudist camp features in the 50s and early 60s, with generous feature clips and behind-the-scenes footage.  Even a nude and surprisingly fit Mal Arnold, who would later play villain Fuad Ramses in "Blood Feast", can be spotted in shots from "Goldilocks and the Three Bares." 

As the novelty value of these films began to wear off, Lewis and Friedman moved on to the next logical frontier of exploitation--gore.  Here we get into the real meat, so to speak, of the documentary, with detailed accounts of the making of "Blood Feast" (1963), "Two Thousand Maniacs" (1964), "Color Me Blood Red" (1965), and other horrors that were extremely shocking at the time and brought the ire of local censor boards down upon anyone connected with them.  Again, this segment is packed with highlights and outtakes from each film, with an enthusiastic Lewis speaking at length about what went on during production and Mal Arnold adding his own recollections about "Blood Feast"--which was shot in four-and-a-half days for $24,500.

Lewis non-gore efforts are covered as well, including the ripped-from-the-headlines "The Girl, the Body, and the Pill" and a delightfully lame rock'n'roll comedy called "Blast-off Girls" (both from 1967), which featured, of all people, Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame (who supplied the cast and crew with free chicken in return for some product placement).  We also see scenes from Lewis' director-for-hire film "The Magic Land of Mother Goose" and the outrageous bad-girl biker flick "She-Devils on Wheels."



Briefly flirting with a more mainstream appeal, Lewis made the less violent "A Taste of Blood" in 1967 before delving back into gore with a vengeance.  As is demonstrated by the numerous clips, films such as "The Wizard of Gore", "The Gruesome Twosome", and 1972's horrendous "The Gore-Gore Girls" (his final film, which featured legendary comedian Henny Youngman) are some of the most cheerfully depraved forays into graphic violence Lewis ever directed.

Despite his reputation, however, Lewis comes off as an earnest and personable guy whose excitement and sense of fun are infectious.  In addition to the talking head stuff (which in no way dominates the film) we see him at the home he shares with wife Margo and addressing a direct-market advertising conference, which is his current passion.  We also follow him and Friedman to St. Cloud, Florida, the location for "Two Thousand Maniacs", where they're warmly received by the town's current citizens (in a funny re-enactment of the film's opening scenes) and reunited with longtime junior partner Jerome Eden. 

Best of all, the film ends with Lewis appearing along with "Blood Feast"'s Mal Arnold and Connie Mason at the 2005 Chiller Theater Expo, where he performs a rousing rendition of his "Two Thousand Maniacs" theme. "Ya-HOOO!  The South will rise again!" he croons with boyish glee as the crowd goes wild.

Also appearing in the film are Lewis devotees Joe Bob Briggs, John Waters, and Frank Henenlotter, whose insights into the maverick filmmaker's career are invaluable, and a host of Lewis associates with extensive personal experience in the making of these films.  Lewis' son Robert gives us the lowdown on the fine art of squeezing an eyeball for the camera.  Actor Ray Sager enhances his comments with a spot-on Lewis impersonation, while cinematographer Steven Poster admits, "I don't know if I've ever actually seen one of his movies."  Andy Romanoff, who accurately opines that these films are memorable "for their lack of craft" and "because they're so terribly made", inspires this exasperated remark from Lewis: "The problem I had with Andy Romanoff was that he wanted to make a good movie!"



Fans of the great Bill Kerwin (probably best known as the star of "Blood Feast" along with the non-Lewis trash classic "Playgirl Killer aka Decoy For Terror") will be happy to discover much behind-the-scenes footage and information about this legendary actor.  In addition to "Carving Magic", we also get to see a scene from an industrial short which actually shows Kerwin involved in a happy, shiny song-and-dance routine.  Described as a hard-working, hard-drinking go-to guy who proved invaluable to Lewis on the set, Kerwin is showcased in footage from the unfinished "An Eye for an Eye", which was unearthed and partially assembled by Something Weird to give us an idea of what this lost film might have been like.

The DVD from Image Entertainment and Something Weird Video is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby stereo.  No subtitles.  Extras include H.G. Lewis trailers (with taglines such as "It's tantalizing, titillating, and tantamount to tremendous!"), a Lewis nudie short entitled "Hot Night at the Go-Go Lounge!", and a photo gallery.  Best of all is a full hour of deleted material from the documentary, which is practically a whole extra feature in itself.  One of the highlights is the sight of Bill Kerwin punching out a plate glass window with his bare hands.

H.G. Lewis fans can't go wrong with HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE, which captures the excitement of making underground films about forbidden subjects which shocked and horrified contemporary sensibilities.  As Lewis tells us, "That was the entire intent, to make something outrageous.  And in that respect, yes, we did succeed."  To which Friedman adds: "We had fun."


Buy it at Amazon.com
Read our coverage of the "Blood Trilogy" Blu-Ray collection

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE -- DVD review by porfle

VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE -- DVD review by porfle

  Originally posted 6/25/2014

 

For those unfamiliar with the story, Severin Home Video's new 3-disc DVD set VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE should serve as a more than adequate recap of one of the strangest cultural battles ever to take place on English soil. And even if you already know all the information imparted by the collection's first disc documentary, "Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape" (2010), the barrage of trailers on discs 2 and 3 should keep you entertained for hours.

The 2010 documentary, directed by Jake West, begins as the home video craze is heating up in the early 80s. One of the hottest attractions is what would become known as the "video nasty", namely those cheap but extremely gory horror flicks that had many of us haunting our local mom 'n' pop video stores looking for anything with some of that good ol' shock value.

But when societal watchdogs in England such as aging activist Mary Whitehouse noticed that these gruesome films were bypassing theatrical age restrictions and being watched on home VCRs by little kids, something was bound to hit the fan.

With something new to censor, various members of Parliament joined Ms. Whitehouse and an indignant press in stirring up public outrage against the "sadist videos" (which Whitehouse admitted to never having watched) along with some heavy legal backlash. The first step was a widespread confiscation, with 32,000 tapes such as DRILLER KILLER and DEATH TRAP being seized and burned in London's Metropolitan area alone.

As righteous anger over these videos grew, so did the penalties for distributing and renting them, with several offenders paying large fines and even going to jail. Newspapers and police began using the films to conveniently explain all sorts of criminal behavior, accusing them of potentially "corrupting and depraving" anyone who watched them.

It wasn't long before Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher jumped on the bandwagon in order to attain some much-needed moral cred, coming up with a list of 72 banned titles that could get you into big trouble if caught renting or distributing them. This list, of course, became a "must-see" menu for fans of the genre although the films were becoming increasingly difficult to find.

The documentary describes how the banned video nasties got copied and passed around by fans, and how these multi-generation tapes had a fuzziness which helped obscure bad FX and make the images seem more mysterious and realistic. One of my favorite things about "Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape", in fact, is how it delves into the nostalgia those of us from the VCR era still have for those big, clunky machines and often battered tapes that we ran through them.

The documentary--and, in fact, the DVD packaging and menus themselves--display an almost fetishistic regard for VCRs, VHS, videotape imperfections, and other quirks of the medium with which I could strongly identify. There's also a fond remembrance of those hole-in-the-wall video stores that seemed to pop up just about everywhere in the 80s, each of which had its own individual ambience and unique variety of titles both familiar and obscure.

What I didn't like so much about the documentary--and it's a small gripe--is that it leans rather heavily on talking heads (politicians, filmmakers, critics, and other interested parties from the era) and not enough film clips. However, since discs 2 and 3 more than make up for this, then disc 1 can be forgiven for being more of a history lesson than anything else.

Disc 2 features trailers for "The Final 39", or the films that were successfully prosecuted in UK courts and "deemed liable to deprave and corrupt." Retailers and distributors could be heavily fined and even imprisoned for handling these hot-button horrors. The trailers range all the way from something called ABSURD to ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS, with some of the titles in-between including: THE BEAST, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, THE DRILLER KILLER, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN (I think I rented this under the shortened title NIGHTMARES), and the infamous fake-out SNUFF.

Disc 3 contains trailers for the 33 films that were initially banned but later removed from the "leper list" (as I just now decided to call it). Are they truly milder than the notorious 39 and less likely to turn viewers into gibbering sadists? It's your call as the line-up includes such blood-soaked fare as THE BOGEY MAN, DEATH TRAP, DEEP RIVER SAVAGES, THE EVIL DEAD (that one definitely warped MY mind), THE FUNHOUSE, HUMAN EXPERIMENTS, THE TOOLBOX MURDERS, and ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH.

The trailers on Discs 2 and 3 can be viewed in all their uninterrupted glory, or with introductions and reviews (some pretty in-depth) from some of the talking heads seen in Disc 1's feature documentary. Cult horror presenter Emily Booth greets us at the start of each disc. Other extras include VHS box art and video logo galleries. The discs are in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby digital sound. No subtitles.

"Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape" is an interesting but slow-moving and occasionally dull account of a fascinating time in British history. Lots of yakkity-yak and not enough video clips slow things down to a creep even though this is a valuable historical document that should be seen by anyone interested in the subject. But it's that collection of "must-see list" trailers that really rates VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE a nasty niche in your own video library.

Buy it at Amazon.com

Read our review of Part Two

 

VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE -- DVD review by porfle

THE BLOOD DRINKERS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(This Blu-ray disc is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, and BRAIN OF BLOOD.)


Another fun horror outing from Philippines-based Hemisphere Pictures, THE BLOOD DRINKERS (1964) is also another superlative low-budget thriller from prolific, talented director Gerardo de Leon (CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, TERROR IS A MAN, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BRIDES OF BLOOD).

His visual style here is pleasingly old-school, taking his limited resources and fashioning a Gothic horror tale which, like his later CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, eschews gore and cheap sensation in favor of mood, fever dream visuals, and an atmosphere of growing claustrophobic dread.

This time we meet Dr. Marco (Ronald Remy), the bald, black-caped head vampire of a small group who, in their crypt headquarters, are trying to revive Marco's one true love Katrina (Amalia Fuentes, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES).

 

But to do so, they need the heart of Katrina's twin sister Charito, who was raised by foster parents and is unaware of her twin.

Meanwhile, the tragically-conflicted mother of the girls (Mary Walter, who would give such an impressive performance as a raving vampire in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES), is forced by the lovestruck Marco into betraying one daughter so that the other may live.

This basic plot serves as a springboard for a prolonged clash between good and evil with a venerable old local priest and a circle of loyal friends helping Charito battle not only Marco but her foster parents who were murdered by Marco's vile hunchback henchman and have risen from the grave as bloodthirsty vampires themselves.

Director De Leon pours on the consistently engaging visuals complete with spooky cemeteries and crypts shrouded in swirling fog.  Marco's lackeys are a repulsive lot, including a huge bat who growls like a wild animal and looks creepy in its frequent close-ups even though it's utterly fake-looking. 

The vampire attacks and other action, including some furious fistfights between Marco and his gang and Charito's staunch, oily-haired admirer Victor (Eddie Fernandez), are staged with flair and keep the movie moving along at a good pace between the slower dramatic scenes. 

Interestingly, Marco isn't played with the usual vampire mannerisms we're so used to from actors such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.  He's actually more of a Bond villain type, although his only motivation is a tragic love for his dying Katrina (who, technically, is already undead, but we won't go into that).

As in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, the eternal clash between the diabolical forces of evil and the power of religious faith, as represented by the old priest and his congregation, is conveyed in no uncertain terms as a very real and ongoing thing in which monsters such as Marco and his ilk must be conquered.

One thing which must be noted on the technical side is an interesting visual conceit, being that the film is shot mostly in black-and-white which has been tinted various colors--blue for night time scenes, red for scenes depicting vampiric activity, and so on--with the odd scene here and there in color.  Some may find this effect jarring, while others will no doubt be captivated by it.

The print is good, presumably the best one available.  Dialogue is dubbed into English, with English subtitles available.  As usual, Severin Films offers a full menu of enjoyable extras which are listed below.

THE BLOOD DRINKERS comes to a head in the exciting conclusion with Marco's final desperate push to vanquish Charito's allies and get his hands on her precious heart.  It's all wonderfully old-fashioned in a classic horror sort of way but with touches of the more garish Hammer influence of the 50s and early 60s, and horror fans should find this a pleasingly novel confection.


Buy the Stand-alone Blu-ray at Severin Films

Buy the Hemisphere Box of Horrors Collection


Special Features:

    Manong of the Philippines: Interview With Script Supervisor and Gerry De Leon’s AD Dik Trofeo
    Hemisphere Appreciation by Filmmaker David Decoteau
    Audio Commentary With Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
    Partial Audio Commentary With Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
    Deleted Scenes
    Blood Drinkers Trailer
    Vampire People Trailer
    Radio Spot

THE BLOOD DRINKERS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 (This Blu-ray disc is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with THE BLOOD DRINKERS, THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, and BRAIN OF BLOOD.)


Somber and absorbing, with the old-school Gothic atmosphere of a classic horror film, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES (Severin Films, 1966) is satisfying stuff for those who enjoy the spirit of the old Hammer vampire flicks.

Not as top-drawer as the early Hammers or as visually sumptuous, this earnestly-told vampire tale, shot in the Philippines with Filipino actors, takes advantage of its Spanish villa location for added production value as well as a fine cast and able direction by Hemisphere Pictures veteran Gerardo de Leon (THE BLOOD DRINKERS, TERROR IS A MAN, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BRIDES OF BLOOD).

The stately pace allows us to appreciate every element of the story as it unfolds around two aristocratic Spanish families, with fervent lovers Leonore Escudero (Amalia Fuentes) and Daniel Castillo (Romeo Vasquez) denied permission to marry by Leonore's dying father.

 

He gives no reason for his denial, but we soon find out that there's a history of vampirism in the Escudero family.  Very recent history, in fact, since a hidden underground chamber contains the coffin of Papa's living dead wife (Mary Walter in a stunning performance).

Mama, it turns out, is a snarling, bloodthirsty vampiress who will eventually escape her captivity and start spreading her hideous disease amongst her own family members, one bloody bite at a time.

Leonore and her headstrong brother Eduardo (Eddie Garcia) clash over their father's dying wish that the house be burned to the ground upon his death.  Eduardo also butts heads with Daniel, a clash that is intensified when Eduardo turns into a vampire, attacks Daniel's sister, and then forces her to marry him.

The whole "family vampire curse" thing also leads Leonore to call off her own marriage to Daniel, further adding to the film's enjoyably rich sense of pure melodrama. How their story resolves itself leads to a satisfying conclusion that reminded me a bit of "Wuthering Heights" of all things.

It's all quite lively and suspenseful, yet CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES maintains its old-school atmosphere by holding back on the blood and violence while offering plenty of stunningly staged vampire action. 

Mary Walter makes a particularly effective vampire (closeups of her during the opening titles are chilling), while Garcia's Eduardo comes to the fore as the film's chief purveyor of undead villainy.

The print itself looks good, especially for an old Eastmancolor film.  Dialogue was filmed in Filipino and dubbed into English, with English subtitles available.  As usual, Severin Films offers a full menu of enjoyable extras which are listed below.   

CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES eventually finds Eduardo and his creepy vampire progeny beseiged by an army of crucifix-carrying townspeople in a final clash between good and evil.  For those who enjoy their vampire tales in the Hammeresque old-school style, featuring snarling, fang-baring bloodsuckers stalking the living amidst classic Gothic trappings, this is one you'll definitely want to indulge in.


Order the stand-alone disc from Severin Films

Order the Hemisphere Box of Horrors From Severin Films

Special Features for Curse of the Vampires:

    Cursed Vampire: Interview With Actor Eddie Garcia
    The Market Of Hemisphere: Interview With Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
    Audio Commentary With Philippine Genre Documentarian Andrew Leavold
    Partial Audio Commentary with Sam Sherman
    Deleted Scenes
    Trailer
    Beast of Blood / Curse of the Vampires radio spot

 

CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

BRAIN OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(BRAIN OF BLOOD is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, THE BLOOD DRINKERS, and THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM.)


Al Adamson fans who can't get enough of such films as DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES, and HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS should take special interest in Severin Films' new Blu-ray release of the 1971 Adamson horror-thriller BRAIN OF BLOOD. 

Originally released by Hemisphere Pictures, it was intended to resemble their quickie Philippines-lensed flicks which had been so successful for them. Adamson managed to pull this off, giving it much the same sleazy, gore-drenched ambience as previous Hemisphere horrors such as BEAST OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, and BRIDES OF BLOOD.

 

Still, it looks and feels enough like his work to please his fans.  Shot quickly and cheaply with a script that doesn't always make sense, BRAIN OF BLOOD ranges from competent (Adamson's staging of the brain transplant sequence is particularly good, and there's a nifty car chase ending in a fiery crash down the side of a cliff) to slapdash, as in some of the later scenes of the monster's pursuit which tend to drag.

The story involves the dying ruler of a Middle Eastern country who plans to have his brain transplanted into a healthy young body. The American surgeon who performs the operation, Dr. Trenton, turns out to be a mad doctor with a dungeon stocked with captive young girls to experiment on and a sadistic dwarf assistant named Dorro who enjoys tormenting them. 

When no other suitable donor body can be found, Dr. Trenton removes the brain (in the film's most gruesome sequence) and pops it into the body of his other assistant Gor, a seven-foot-four acid-scarred galoot with the mind of a child (John Bloom of THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT).

This not only upsets the ruler's blonde bombshell wife Tracy (Adamson's own wife and frequent star Regina Carrol) and their associates Bob (Grant Williams) and Mohammed (Zandor Vorkov), but proves disastrous when the confused behemoth escapes from the laboratory and runs loose.

Meanwhile, dungeon captive Katherine (Vicki Volante) manages to shed her shackles, her subterranean ordeal giving the film a bit of a medieval flavor.  She'll later hook up with Bob as they battle the pathetic brain-beast that Gor has become, as two personalities battle for dominance within his own skull.

The cast is terrific, led by venerable stars Kent Taylor (BRIDES OF BLOOD, THE CRAWLING HAND, PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES) as Dr. Trenton and Reed Hadley (THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, "Racket Squad") as the stricken ruler, Amir.

Also on hand are THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN himself, Grant Williams, plus Adamson regulars Zandor Vorkov and John Bloom of DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN and the aforementioned Regina Carrol. The mad dwarf Dorro is played by genre stalwart Angelo Rossitto (FREAKS).

BRAIN OF BLOOD isn't the most insane Al Adamson movie I've seen, but there are times when it gets pretty darn close.  With such a delightfully eclectic cast and nutty plot, not to mention a 7'4" monster who looks like a jar of Grey Poupon blew up in his face, it pushes the needle pretty high on the fun scale. 


Order it from Severin Films
Order the Hemisphere Box of Horrors From Severin Films

Special Features:

    Memories Of Blood: Interviews With Director Al Adamson, Producer Samuel M. Sherman, Associate Producer J.P. Spohn, Actor Zandor Vorkov, Actor Sean Graver, and Filmmaker Fred Olen Ray
    Partial Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer Samuel M. Sherman
    Trailer
    Radio Spot
    English Captions

Brain of Blood trailer:



Hemisphere Box of Horrors trailer:

BRAIN OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (2010) -- DVD review by porfle

 Originally posted on 1/30/2011

 

As with Meir Zarchi's 1978 original, the 2010 remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE tells the simple story of a woman named Jennifer Hills who gets savagely gang-raped at her summer home in the country and then goes on a brutal revenge spree against her attackers.  I found the new version somewhat less satisfying as a film, but as an eyeballs-deep wallow in utter, sadistic depravity, it takes the bloody brass ring.

Judging from the "Dukes of Hazzard" accents, the location seems to have been switched from Yankie Land to somewhere way down South, where most of the demented yokels of moviedom seem to live these days.  (Naturally, one of them wears a Confederate flag bandana on his head.)  Another big difference is that Zarchi's film took the time to establish a deceptively tranquil mood before shattering it, with Jennifer's sense of security and well-being robbed along with everything else. 

Here, the music sets an ominous tone right off the bat, and Jennifer (Sarah Butler) is edgy and uncomfortable with her surroundings as soon as she arrives in the remote community.  Johnny the gas pump jockey (Jeff Branson) reveals his crudeness immediately rather than deceiving her with a folksy fascade (which this version of the character would be incapable of doing anyway) and the two start off on bad terms.


In addition to the interchangeable Stanley and Andy characters, the slow-witted Matthew (Chad Lindberg) returns as a plumber who fixes Jennifer's toilet and goes ga-ga when she gives him a friendly peck.  Johnny and company find such provocative behavior intolerable and, as they drool over Stanley's peeping-Tom videos of her, resolve to teach the uppity city gal a lesson while helping their mentally-challenged mascot lose his virginity.

What follows is the nocturnal home invasion which becomes the basis for Jennifer's inevitable revenge, with writer Stuart Morse pulling out all the stops to make these guys as unforgivably reprehensible as possible.  As with Zarchi's film, the sequence is designed to justify the filmmakers' indulgence in extreme violence against the rapists later on.  Still, it lacks the lingering impact and immediacy of the original (not to mention Camille Keaton's searingly realistic performance) and seems almost by-the-numbers, as though the film can't wait to get it over with and fast-forward to the juicy revenge stuff. 

At this point, the remake starts to throw in some new wrinkles, such as the introduction of a not-so-helpful sheriff (Andrew Howard), which makes it easier to judge on its own terms.  In fact, once Jennifer disappears from the film for what turns out to be quite a spell (which, unfortunately, means that we're not nearly as engaged with her character this time around), it's almost a completely different story.  When she finally returns, she has become a hardcore killing machine who stalks and dispatches her prey like a cross between Jason Voorhees and Rube Goldberg.

 
The second half of the original movie is positively sedate compared to this one, which is pretty much a torture porn free-for-all.  The filmmakers go all out to surpass the 1978 version by taking it to a new level that's beyond gratuitous.  "What are the most ghastly things you could do to a guy?" they seem to be thinking.  "Whatever they are, we get to show them, hee-hee, because by gum, these scumbags raped Jennifer!"  As such, the execution scenes are diabolically elaborate and profoundly depraved--so much so, in fact, that you might even start feeling sorry for these guys after awhile.

The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  Subtitles are in English and Spanish.  Extras include a director-producer commentary, a "making of" featurette, deleted scenes, trailers, and a radio spot.

Whether you're rooting for Jennifer or just turned on by this kind of stuff, the cumulative payoff is pretty intense.  If you fit into neither category, then you're probably watching the way wrong movie.  Hard to believe that anything could make the 1978 I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE look like a model of restraint in comparison, but the no-holds-barred (and, let's face it, repulsive) remake manages to do so.  While it fails to surpass the original in some ways, fans of brutal cinematic sadism and extreme gore definitely won't be disappointed. 


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I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (2010) -- DVD review by porfle

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) -- DVD review by porfle

 Originally posted 1/28/11

 

No doubt about it--rape has always been a prime motivator for the revenge movie.  Whether by the victim herself or a husband, lover, or relative, audiences tend to excuse whatever horrendous acts they commit in the name of vigilante justice, and even cheer them on.  Open with a rape scene, and the filmmakers are free to make with the bloody violence.

Such is the case with the infamous I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, aka "Day of the Woman" (1978), one of the most extreme examples of this unsettling subgenre.  (One of its alternate titles is the built-in spoiler "The Rape and Revenge of Jennifer Hill.")  To me, the debates about the "deeper meaning" that this film has stirred up since its release are all a bunch of hogwash--depending on who you ask, it's either virulently misogynistic or "the ultimate feminist movie."  I think it's really just a case of cooking up a scenario in which the bad guys are so irredeemably vile that the filmmakers are free to depict the most violent and gruesome revenge sequences their hearts desire, and if people read more into it then so much the better.



Although writer-director Meir Zarchi's inspiration for the script was a real incident in which he gave aid to a woman who'd been raped in the park, the film is hardly a "Lifetime" special.  What it does, though, and quite effectively, is to present one of the screen's most convincing depictions of the physical and emotional devastation endured by a victim of violent rape.  The film is no less exploitative for this, yet the fact that Zarchi treats this aspect of it so seriously prevents it from being anywhere near the irredeemable trash it might have been.

Big city girl Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) sets things into motion when she drives to a rented summer home in the country to commune with nature and work on her novel.  The attractive stranger draws the attention of four unsavory locals, led by pump jockey Johnny (Eron Tabor).  Turned on by her looks but resentful of what they imagine to be a teasing and superior attitude, they begin to harrass Jennifer and then brutally rape her in a marathon ordeal, setting the stage for her bloody revenge.

These guys are the most cartoonishly sexist pigs that Zarchi could cook up--they're even vile and offensive when they're fishing.  Jennifer, on the other hand, is as sweet and innocent as the heroine in a dark fairytale, which this somewhat resembles.  We see enough of her friendly and open demeanor in the early scenes to sense it being destroyed during her dehumanizing assault.

The early part of the film is very slow, almost tranquil, as Jennifer is lulled into a false sense of security in her hammock under the trees or floating on sun-dappled water in a canoe.  Twenty minutes in, the assault begins and doesn't end until over half an hour later.  The utter simplicity of the story gives Zarchi time to dwell on the key events and explore them fully enough to make us feel as though we're experiencing them too--not as one of the rapists, as some contend, but through Jennifer's eyes.  The fact that almost the entire story is told from her point of view, and never encourages us to identify with her tormentors, is what makes it tolerable.



The almost cinema verite feeling of the film is largely due to the complete lack of music (ambient sounds and silence establish the mood) and the director's matter-of-fact, near documentary style.  This gives the harsher events an inexorable quality and a sense of immediacy.  There's so little film artifice to hide behind that viewers can't distance themselves from the terrible things that are happening, and there are no timely cutaways to relieve the tension.  When the final and worst attack occurs in Jennifer's own house, it's as though we're in the same room.  This is probably one of the things that bothers some people so much about this movie.

After the halfway mark, Jennifer's long, contemplative healing process gives way to her resolve to get revenge herself rather than go to the police.  At this point the film shifts noticeably from realism to improbable fantasy, with Jennifer becoming a fearless, seductive femme fatale with almost supernatural cunning and luck.  Those looking for the charnel-house massacre promised by the film's famous tagline may be disappointed--while Jennifer's killings display showmanship, only the cringe-inducing bathtub scene is truly shocking.  These scenes do, however, provide the necessary cathartic resolution to all that has gone before.  

Keaton (who later married director Zarchi) is a good enough actress for the most part, but during the rape scenes she becomes harrowingly convincing.  At times it's as though she isn't even an actress performing for the camera but someone who's being caught on film during an actual event.  The actors playing Johnny's friends give broad performances, especially Richard Pace as the semi-retarded Matthew, which serve the story while distancing us from them as human beings.  Eron Tabor as Johnny is a better actor and his character is fleshed out more--he has a family and talks fondly about his kids--giving an added dimension to the film's notorious latter-half setpiece.



The Director's Cut DVD from Anchor Bay is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and is definitely a step up from the Wizard Video VHS edition I bought back in the 80s.  Extras include a half-hour interview with Meir Zarchi, a poster and stills gallery, trailers, TV and radio spots, a clip of the alternate main title "Day of the Woman", and two commentary tracks.  Zarchi's is informative while the one with drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs is delightfully entertaining.

Despite the horrified misgivings of a number of critics, including an aghast Roger Ebert, I can't imagine very many people besides the truly twisted few who would identify with the rapists in this story and vicariously enjoy their actions.  As for myself, I find I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE to be a meticulously well-made film that's too sympathetic to its female protagonist to be as reprehensible as it's often made out to be.  An interesting thing to consider is that, after the more realistic events of the first half, what happens in the rest of the movie is so wildly improbable that it might simply be Jennifer's own revenge fantasy. 


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Read our review of the 2010 remake here

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) -- DVD review by porfle

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray/DVD review by porfle

  Originally posted June 12, 2014

 

(THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, perhaps Jerry Lewis' most celebrated comedy, is now available on Blu-ray [as of June 3rd] in a brand-new 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION. The set also includes DVDs of THE ERRAND BOY and CINDERFELLA, along with the CD "Phoney Phone Calls 1959-1972.")

Mention Jerry Lewis and you get some extreme reactions, and likely a few remarks along the lines of "Well, the French love him." This is mainly because some of the best French filmmakers, such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard , have recognized and appreciated Jerry's talent, even comparing him favorably with the great screen comedians of yore. But you don't have to be French to do that, as I and many millions of his fans worldwide have found out for ourselves over the years.

With his lavish Technicolor comedy THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963), writer-director-star Jerry Lewis made his bravest and most wildly imaginative statement as a film comic. This outlandish variation on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"--particularly the film adaptations starring Frederic March and Spencer Tracy--finds him abandoning his familiar child-friendly comic persona of "The Kid" to take on two totally different, and at times even unlikable, personalities.

As college chemistry professor Julius Kelp, he's a gawky, ineffectual uber-nerd bullied by his burly jock students and totally lacking in confidence. This prompts him to create a chemical formula to enhance his personality and physique, turning him (in a frightening transformation sequence) into the handsome, cool, and extremely debonair Buddy Love. In this guise he's able to become popular singing and playing piano for the young crowd at a local nightclub while wooing a gorgeous student, Stella Purdy (an incandescently beautiful Stella Stevens), with whom Kelp is smitten.

The trouble is, Kelp's a nice guy and Buddy Love is arrogant, vain, and insensitive. There's been much speculation over the years as to whom Lewis based the character on--is he former partner Dean Martin, or is he Lewis' own dark side? (Or, as some believe, Frank Sinatra?) Jerry himself says Buddy is simply a combination of bad traits he's seen in several showbiz types. The important thing is, however, that his performance as Buddy is so fascinating to watch, especially when brief flashes of Kelp show through whenever the formula begins to wear off.

While Lewis is definitely "saying something" about human nature here, what has always drawn me to THE NUTTY PROFESSOR are his hilarious antics as the supremely geeky Professor Julius Kelp. This, in my opinion, is his greatest comic creation, one which he would reprise in later films such as THE BIG MOUTH and THE FAMILY JEWELS.

He is most similar to the great silent comics when performing his imaginative sight gags (while working out in a gym, a heavy barbell stretches his arms all the way to the floor) but his use of sound is also brilliant. In one scene, while Kelp is sneaking into the university lab at night to continue his experiments, he removes his squeaky shoes only to discover that it is his feet which are squeaking. In another sequence, Kelp suffers the hangover from one of Buddy's drinking binges as every tiny sound in his classroom--chalk on a blackboard, gum-chewing, water dripping--is amplified to gargantuan proportions.

Besides Lewis and Stevens, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR is brimming with Lewis stock company members and other familiar faces such as Kathleen Freeman, Del Moore (hilarious as the harried college dean Dr. Warfield), the great Howard Morris (who, in a nightmarish flashback, plays Kelp's horribly henpecked father), Norm Alden, and Buddy Lester, whose performance as a bartender encountering the abrasive Buddy Love gives the film one of its most memorable comedy bits. (Lester would also score big laughs in Lewis' other truly great film THE LADIES' MAN.)

 If you look quick, you'll catch Gavin Gordon of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (in the p.o.v. introduction to Buddy Love which Lewis copped from the Frederic March version), Francine York, "Laugh-In" castmember Henry Gibson, and a young Richard "Jaws" Kiel.

The story comes to a head when Kelp is enlisted to serve as a chaperone at the senior prom where Buddy has been hired to perform. Here, Lewis stages his most daring and emotional scene yet (with some Oscar-worthy acting), skirting the boundaries of bathos without going over (which he has been known to do frequently). It's the perfect and ultimately quite cathartic capper for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, Lewis' greatest film. Others may cringe at the sound of his name, but I consider Jerry a national treasure--no matter what nation one might happen to live in.

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Also included in this collection are two more Lewis solo comedies on separate DVDs, THE ERRAND BOY and CINDERFELLA. THE ERRAND BOY (1961) recalls the previous year's THE BELLBOY in that we find writer-director-star Jerry shooting a low-budget black-and-white feature which is simply a plotless series of gags set in one location (in THE BELLBOY it was a busy Miami Beach hotel, while this takes place in and around a bustling movie studio).

There's a semblance of plot involving studio head Brian Donlevy and his obsequious toady, played with verve by Howard McNear (Floyd the barber from "The Andy Griffith Show") but it's just an excuse to give Lewis the run of the place once again, packing each scene with as many imaginative gags as he can devisewith a cast that also includes Stanley "Cyrano Jones" Adams, Kathleen Freeman, Doodles Weaver, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld, Iris Adrian, and some surprise guest stars.

Much of it is as laugh-out-loud funny as you'd expect, while the rest is rather hit-and-miss. Jerry, of course, disrupts the orderly filmmaking process at every turn, at one point dubbing his own ear-splitting vocals into a lovely young actress' song interlude and elsewhere attempting to eat a quiet sidewalk lunch on the set of a war film.

The usual bathos occurs when the errand boy befriends some cute little puppets which come to life for him in a dusty storeroom--it's in these moments that Lewis tries too hard to be charming when we really want him to keep making with the funny. This he does in one of his most celebrated sequences, in which he pretends to be the chairman of the board non-verbally chewing out his underlings while broadly pantomiming the instruments in a blaring big band tune. For this scene alone THE ERRAND BOY is well worth a look for Lewis fans, but it has much more to offer as well.

1960's CINDERFELLA, as you might guess, is a gender-reversed take on the famous fairytale "Cinderella" with Jerry as the gentle soul ("Fella") harrassed by a wicked stepmother out to steal his inheritence (Dame Judith Anderson, giving the film much added class) and two hateful stepbrothers played wonderfully by exploitation film mainstay Henry Silva and Robert Hutton of THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY and THE SLIME PEOPLE.

When Dame Judith hosts a ball for a visiting princess (cute Anna Maria Alberghetti), Fella's fairy godfather Ed Wynn makes it possible for him to attend and steal the young girl's heart. The ball sequence is best known for Jerry's amazing first-take dance down the massive staircase and also includes some genuinely charming choreography as he and the princess enjoy a spirited dance together.

(There seems to be a scene missing before this, however, since we never see his goldfish being turned into a chauffeur or his bicycle into a limosine, or find out why he must flee the ball at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind one of his Italian loafers.)

Much of the rest of CINDERFELLA is of the "charming" variety, yet there's plenty of the old Lewis hilarity to enjoy as well. The film is directed by Frank Tashlin (of the superb Martin and Lewis hit ARTISTS AND MODELS as well as other of Jerry's solo ventures) and thus we get to see where some of Jerry's own directorial influences came from.

There's another musical pantomime bit, and one great sequence which has Fella trying to eat his own supper at the end of a mile-long dinner table while also scrambling to serve as waiter for his stepmother and stepbrothers. The sets and costumes are opulent, and, like THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, CINDERFELLA is in dazzling Technicolor.

Finally, this collection comes with a CD entitled "Phoney Phone Calls 1959-1972", which finds Jerry displaying his unparalleled talent for prank phone calls years before The Jerky Boys came along. Some of the gags are a little flat, but several are screamingly funny. In "The Lost Watch", he answers an ad from a woman searching for a misplaced heirloom and by the end of the track almost has her believing that it's his ad and that she called him.

One phone gag was recorded live during an appearance on "The Steve Allen Show" with an appreciative audience reaction. But it's the final cut, "Bill Lynch", in which Jerry pretends to be his own thick-headed private secretary while thoroughly exasperating some hapless guy calling for a favor, which had me almost breathless with laughter.

All three films in this collection feature some wonderfully warm and chummy (and sometimes even informative) commentary tracks with Jerry and his old pal, singer Steve Lawrence. For THE ERRAND BOY, commentary is included for selected scenes only, along with bloopers, promo spots, and theatrical trailer. CINDERFELLA comes with bloopers as well.

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR Blu-ray is packed with extras, including:
•Jerry Lewis: No Apologies NEW! An intimate look at the artist who has entertained and educated audiences for more than eight decades

•Directors Letter NEW! A letter specially written by Jerry to present this new collection

•Recreated "Being A Person" book: 96-pages made up of drawings and quotes inspired/written by Jerry Lewis and drawn by his personal illustrator. 250 copies of this book were originally made and distributed to members of the cast and crew of The Nutty Professor after the director heard of general conflicts among them.

•CD: Phoney Phone calls 1959-1972: Years before the Jerky Boys were harassing unwitting shop clerks, housewives and businessmen, Lewis perfected the art, as these recordings show. Released in 2001 on the Sin-Drome label, this is a collection of private prank calls secretly recorded by Jerry Lewis over the years.

•48-Page Storyboard Book

•44-Page Cutting Script with Jerry’s notes

•Commentary by Jerry Lewis and Steve Lawrence

•The Nutty Professor: Perfecting The Formula Behind-The-Scenes Footage

•Jerry Lewis at Work

•Jerry at Movieland Wax Museum with commentary by son Chris Lewis

•Deleted Scenes

•Jerry and Stella Promos

•Bloopers

•Screen Tests

•Outtakes

•Original Mono Track

•Trailers

(Pictures shown are not stills from the actual discs.)

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WB update: Warner Bros. and Jerry Lewis celebrated the 50th Anniversary of The Nutty Professor this past week in New York. Jerry Lewis, the consummate entertainer, world-renowned humanitarian, cultural icon and motion-picture innovator was celebrated in an entertaining laugh-filled tribute by his friends and peers. In attendance were Jerry Lewis, Brett Ratner, Larry King, Richard Belzer, Kerry Keagan, Danny Aiello, Ed Norton, Russell Simmons, Rosario Dawson, Dominic Chianese, Ron Raines and more.

The event took place in honor of the Blu-ray release of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION which Lewis personally supervised, helping to compile loads of entertaining extra content for the release.

Event Sizzle Reel
  

THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray/DVD review by porfle