April 4, 2006

This time around, I've got a jumbo-sized batch of B-movie and cult TV goodness for you. So many great, entertaining trash films are coming out on DVD these days (who says the format's dying?), that it's tough for one guy – especially one with poor time management skills – to keep up with them all. But I'm doing my best.

Let's warm up the Sony (or DVD player of your choice) and get on with it, shall we?

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Dark Sky Films is rapidly becoming one of my favorite companies working in the genre of B-movies and exploitation films on DVD. Among their recent gems is the classic Del Tenney drive-in double bill of HORROR OF PARTY BEACH/THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE (1963).

Independently produced on a low budget (less than $70,000 combined!), the films were picked up by 20th Century Fox for distribution in order to compete with American International Pictures' teen-oriented fare, and were huge hits for the company.

HORROR OF PARTY BEACH is an astounding amalgam of rock 'n roll beach movies and sea monster schlock. While leather jacketed bikers crash the beach party, toxic waste dumped offshore creates "zombie" sea creatures with a taste for human blood – especially that of shapely females. Some fun 60's rock 'n roll by the Del Aires, surprisingly gory death scenes and some of the most ludicrous rubber-suit monsters ever committed to celluloid (ping pong ball eyes and mouths full of what appear to be hotdogs instead of teeth) make for a fun, fast-paced drive-in experience.

CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE, made the same year by the same director and crew, is a Gothic horror film set in 18th Century New England. When wealthy family patriarch Rufus Sinclair dies, his uncaring family callously ignores the provisions of his will. Soon, they start dying – each according to their greatest fear. Featuring a very young Roy Scheider (JAWS) in his first screen role, CURSE is an effective little chiller, that foreshadows in some ways the Italian giallo cycle, with it's black-clad killer and surprisingly gory deaths.

Dark Sky Films presents both films in damn near perfect black and white anamorphic widescreen transfers, matted at 1.78:1. Both films are presented in Dolby 2.0 Mono sound, and are clear and free of background hiss. Director Tenney provides separate commentary tracks for each film, and appears in an on-screen interview, where he shares his memories of the two films' back-to-back production and exhibition. Dark Sky fills out the already excellent package with a photo gallery, and the original theatrical trailers.

Kudos to Dark Sky Films, for bringing these two drive-in/late night staples to DVD in fine form, with the participation of the original filmmaker. Highly recommended.

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Another great double feature from Dark Sky Films, PRINCE OF SPACE/INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN (1964/1965) presents two black and white Sixties' Japanese "space hero" films in one deliriously camp package.

In PRINCE OF SPACE (YUSEI OJI), beak-nosed aliens from the planet Krankor invade Earth, only to have their invasion foiled by masked super-hero Prince of Space (Tatsuo Umemiya) with his flying saucer, barbecue lighter raygun and posse of Japanese children in short pants. Little does anyone know that Prince of Space is actually Wally the shoeshine boy! A favorite of the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 crew, PRINCE is a deliriously entertaining weekend afternoon diversion.

INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN (UCHU KAISOKU-SEN) features a very young Sonny Chiba (THE STREETFIGHTER, KILL BILL) as the masked avenger Space Chief, who battles clunky robotic invaders from Venus with some killer karate moves and a flying sports car. Like the Prince, he also has a hero-worshipping cadre of small children. It's not quite as much fun as PRINCE OF SPACE, but it has its cheesy charms.

This first volume in Dark Sky Films' "Drive-In Double Feature" line offers both films in nearly pristine 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, absolutely rock-solid black & white transfers, with virtually no visible specks or scratches. Both films are dubbed into English and presented in 2.0 Dolby mono. Dark Sky has the disc set up so you can watch the two films as one long drive-in program – complete with vintage trailers and snack bar intermission promos – or individually. The packaging is cool, too.

As MGM seems to have discontinued its line of Midnight Movie double features, it's great to see Dark Sky step up to the plate with their own high quality, vintage cult film line. PRINCE OF SPACE/INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN is a great shot of Saturday afternoon nostalgia and strongly recommended for fans of Japanese fantasy and high camp super heroics.

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While we're still on the theme of masked do-gooders, Buena Vista has just re-released Roger Corman's original super-hero flick BLACK SCORPION (1995) starring Joan Severance as a female Batman, complete with customized car and black rubber costume (only in this case, the nipples seen onscreen are real).

Severance (TV's WISEGUY) plays lady cop Darcy Walker, who turns her back on the law when her father is murdered by a mind-controlled agent of the Darth Vader-esque super-villain Breathtaker. Crafting a fetishistic costume (complete with black fishnet stockings and whip! Yeah!) and persuading one of her criminal contacts (Garret Morris, SNL) to build her some gadgets (including a high-tech mighty-morphin' Scorpionmobile) she soon sets out to exact justice as a super-vigilante – which puts her into conflict with her ex-partner (Bruce Abbot, RE-ANIMATOR).

Featuring a kinky masked sex scene – which, let's face it, is surely a familiar fantasy for lonely comic book fans – good fight scenes, a cast of familiar character actors, tongue-in-cheek humor, and decent production values and FX (especially for the time and budget), Jonathan Winfrey's R-rated romp is more entertaining than some recent big-studio super-hero spectaculars. In fact, the film was popular enough as a cable and VHS rental title that it spawned a sequel film with Severance and a short-lived Sci-Fi Channel series with a different lead.

The Buena Vista DVD is presents the made-for-cable/video movie in its original 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio with a Dolby Digital Surround mix. The print is in good shape, with only a very little evident dirt or damage, and the transfer is sharp and full of detail. The disc includes a commentary track by Severance as well as a video interview with the attractive actress, who reminisces about the making of the film. There's also a handful of text cast biographies and the original VHS trailer.

Hey, I liked it better than I thought I would. You might, too.

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"Chuck Norris sweats actual bullets. He never uses them, he doesn't have to."

I spent a lot of quality theater time with Chuck Norris' action movies in the Eighties, and while I wasn't a regular viewer of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, I was glad to see Chuck's success on television, season after season, at a time when action shows were thought to be passe. Now that his TV sojourn has ended, aging ass-kicker Norris has returned to features with THE CUTTER (2006) and while the movie works as a mild diversion, it's no CODE OF SILENCE… or even an INVASION U.S.A.

An 80-year-old Jewish gem cutter and Auschwitz survivor (Bernie Koppel, THE LOVE BOAT) is abducted by agents of the Nazi overseer who tortured him in the infamous prison camp during WW II. The war criminal wants him to cut two large stolen diamonds, which happen to be Israeli national treasures and religious artifacts. Chuck plays a Spokane, Washington private eye hired by the cutter's niece (Joanna Pacula, DINOCROC) to find him.

The action sequences are few and far apart, and Chuck's noticeably slower than he used to be – which makes the stunt doubling more obvious. The direction by Bill Tannen is flat and uninspired, giving the film a made-for-TV look and pace. The cast is pretty good overall, though, and it's always good to see the still-tasty Tracy Scoggins (TV's BABYLON 5, DEMONIC TOYS), even if she's wasted in a thankless, minor role. Oddly enough, she figures prominently in the packaging, while female lead Pacula is nowhere to be seen.

Sony presents THE CUTTER in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The movie is brand new, so of course, it looks perfect. The only extras are about a dozen trailers for other Sony DVDs, including three of Chuck's 80's films (THE DELTA FORCE, EYE FOR AN EYE and MISSING IN ACTION), which can only remind the viewer how much goofy shoot-em-up/kick-em-in-the-head fun his films used to be.

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I was thrilled to discover that MGM has recently unearthed and released on DVD one of my favorite animated films, Will Vinton's little-seen THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN (1984). Produced entirely in Vinton's patented "Claymation" process, it's a unique film that deserves to be better known.

While Vinton's studio produced a lot of commercials in the Eighties – the California Raisins spots being the best remembered – he really wanted to prove himself with a feature. The result was this odd, dark slice of Americana that visually interprets some of the famed author's writings with appropriately irreverent humor and surprising melancholy. Even the frame upon which these adaptations are hung is amusing and oddly morbid. The movie begins as Mark Twain (voiced by veteran character actor James Whitmore) is about to launch his fabulous airship, upon which he intends to meet Haley's Comet and his own death. Three of his most famous characters – Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher – stow away on the craft, and soon find themselves unwilling participants in the old man's suicide mission.

The animation is amazing, and entirely done in clay. While I admire Aardman Studios' (WALLACE & GROMMIT, CHICKEN RUN) recent work in the field, even they don't build every single miniature set out of plasticine. Vinton's crew does, and the results are spectacular. The characters are astoundingly expressive, and the malleable nature of the medium allows the animators to create some amazing effects.

MGM has slipped this one out onto DVD with no fanfare and little effort. Fortunately, they did issue it in its correct, 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, with anamorphic enhancement, which, considering that they consider it a catalog kid's film, is a pleasant surprise. There are no extras whatsoever, but at least it looks good.

Although it is rated G and marketed as a children's movie, I suspect that adults will get more out of it. For anyone interested in quality animation, I highly recommend the film, despite the bare bones presentation.

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VCI recently sent me their latest cliffhanger serial release, the comic strip-inspired TIM TYLER'S LUCK (1937), starring Frankie Thomas and the lovely Frances Robinson.

The 37th sound serial made by Universal Pictures, and directed by veterans Ford Beebe (FLASH GORDON) and Wyndham Gittens, TIM TYLER'S LUCK is 12 action-packed chapters of exciting jungle adventure, based on a newspaper strip by cartoonist Lyman Young. Tim Tyler is a 16-year-old kid who sets out into the African brush in search of his missing scientist father. Over the course of his quest, he becomes involved with a criminal known as "Spider" Webb, befriends a young heiress, rides with the Ivory Patrol, battles the most ridiculous gorillas ever seen on film, and is nearly run down repeatedly by the villains' armored "jungle cruiser."

It's great stuff… hell, I got hooked and actually watched all twelve chapters in one day! Serial fans tend to think that Republic Studios made the best cliffhangers, and in terms of production value and stunts, they're probably right. But I find that Universal's chapter plays had better scripts and more variety to the action, and TIM TYLER'S LUCK is a good example of that studio's high quality.

VCI's two-disc presentation is okay. The source material is in rough shape, looking pretty bleached out and battered. There's a lot of debris and damage, but considering the age and rarity of the material, they've done the best they could. The sound is Dolby mono, but there's considerable distortion and hiss. Dialogue is mostly clear, though. VCI also includes a 2005 video interview with star Thomas, the original theatrical trailer, and bonus trailers for a handful of other VCI serials.

It may not look as good as I'd like, but for cliffhanger fans and collectors, it's definitely worth picking up.

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In my youth, not a single science fiction or fantasy show hit the airwaves without my noticing it. Of course, there wasn't all that much genre stuff on the air back in the pre-cable Dark Ages known as the Seventies. Twenty-five years later, of course, it's a different story. Science fiction and fantasy shows are everywhere – on the networks, on cable and in syndication. I have to admit that in this abundance of riches I've missed a few, and GENE RODDENBERRY'S ANDROMEDA (2000) was one of them.

I mean, I knew it existed, but I also figured that it sucked. After all, I worked for a company a few years back that had dealings with the widow Roddenberry, and I saw what sort of "Gene Roddenberry creations" Majel was peddling around. But I also should have realized that in the right hands, even the weakest of concepts might have some potential.

Developed by STAR TREK franchise veteran Robert Hewitt Wolfe, ANDROMEDA tells the story of Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo, TV's HERCULES THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, KULL THE CONQUEROR), commander of the sleek warship Andromeda Ascendant. Hunt serves in the High Guard (Starfleet) of the Systems Commonwealth (United Federation of Planets), a benevolent intergalactic union. Just as a race of genetically engineered humans known as Nietzcheans betray the Commonwealth and trigger a Civil War, the Andromeda Ascendant and her captain are trapped in the event horizon of a black hole.

300 years later, the crew of the tramp freighter Eureka Maru manages to pull the Andromeda out of the black hole and find Hunt alive and unchanged. Unfortunately for the stalwart spaceman, the universe has changed, and drastically. The Commonwealth has fallen, replaced by a freewheeling cosmic anarchy. Through sheer charisma and Kirk-like oratory, Hunt persuades the rag-tag crew of the Maru to join him on a noble quest to re-form the Commonwealth, and bring peace and order to the galaxy. It isn't as easy as it sounds.

Despite low-rent costumes, alien makeups and sets that occasionally remind one of the 70's BUCK ROGERS show, ANDROMEDA is a surprisingly smart and literary sci-fi series. Wolfe has created a show that bridges the gap between idealistic TV sci-fi like STAR TREK and the grittier, anarchistic sensibilities of shows like FARSCAPE, and manages to extract the best of both worlds. The cast is appealing, the special effects are excellent, and with only a few exceptions, the stories are surprisingly thoughtful and exciting.

ADV Films brings the first season to DVD in fine form in a box set containing all 22 episodes. The episodes are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, and look perfect. Each disc contains two or three episodes, bloopers, alternate takes, deleted scenes, text histories that elaborate upon the show's characters and backstory, the original syndication promos, and trailers for other ADV titles. No complaints at all about the presentation – ADV has more than done the show justice with theses discs.

I don't know if I'd recommend plunking down the cash for the full first season if you haven't ever seen the show, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was more entertaining than the last couple of STAR TREK spin-offs, and am looking forward to Season Two and beyond. If you have access to someplace that rents TV shows on DVD, you might want to check it out for yourself.

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When I was in art school back in the early 80's, working through the night on my assignments with the B&W portable on the corner of my desk, the rousing theme music of THE RAT PATROL was my cue that it was time to hit the sack. Not because I didn't like the show, but because the local TV station aired it at 4:30 A.M., and if I was still up at that hour, I knew I was going to be dragging my ass all day long.

In fact, I liked the show, which made it tough to turn off the TV and go to bed. But thanks to Sony/MGM, I now have all of THE RAT PATROL SEASON ONE (1966-67) to view on DVD anytime I like, and I couldn't be happier.

Set in North Africa during World War II (although shot in Spain), PATROL chronicles the adventures of four Allied soldiers – three American, one British – as they race over the desert dunes in a couple of jeeps equipped with heavy caliber machine guns. Loosely based on the exploits of the real-life Long Range Desert Group, the half-hour show is action-packed – with endless commando raids, chases, gunfights and plenty of explosions – which doesn't leave much time for melodrama. The rugged cast – Christopher George (GRIZZLY, THE EXTERMINATOR), Gary Raymond, Lawrence Casey, Justin Tarr and TV veteran Eric Braeden as their Nazi nemesis – are uniformly good (no pun intended) and play their limited roles with gung ho conviction.

The DVD transfers are remarkably good. The colors on the pilot episode look a little washed out, but the rest look probably better than they did when it originally aired, with only the slightest bit of speckling. The show is presented full-frame with mono sound (it was a product of the 1960s, after all), with no extras except for a selection of trailers for other MGM war titles on the first disc.

In terms of military history, the show's a complete mess – the real Long Range Desert Group was entirely made up of New Zealanders – but as a fun, manly action-adventure entertainment, it can't be beat.

Next week (hopefully), I'll be taking a long, lingering look at the bikini-clad spies of Andy Sidaris, TV's sexy SHE SPIES and everyone's favorite Hawaiian eye. Be there!

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