Barry Forshaw
HANNIE CAULDER, SHOUT AT THE DEVIL and ISLAND OF TERROR, various directors/88
Three films for which I provided booklet essays. The unusual Western Hannie Caulder (1971) is famous for its poster showing Raquel Welch sporting a poncho that suggests she is wearing nothing else but a gun belt, but the films also demonstrate the guiding hand of one of the most reliable directors in the history of the Western genre, the talented craftsman Burt Kennedy. The director of Shout at the Devil (starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore) was the accomplished Peter Hunt, celebrated for the now-classic Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), but the second unit director also had a 007 connection: he was the equally gifted John Glenn, who would go on to direct five Bond films. Island of Terror was produced by British expat Richard Gordon, also responsible for Fiend without a Face (directed by Arthur Crabtree in 1958), which similarly featured hideous – and murderous – mutations laying waste to a community. The finding of finance for Island of Terror was relatively easy, particularly with the confirmed presence of Hammer Films’ top horror star Peter Cushing, and the facilities of Pinewood Studios were made available along with the nearby forests of Black Park.
NOTHING IS SACRED: VIRIDIANA (1961), THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL and SIMON OF THE DESERT, Luis Buñuel, director/Radiance
Radiance has under its belt a bushel of reissues of cherished films, but this collection of three blistering classics directed by Luis Buñuel bids fair to be the company’s chef d’ouevre – and at least two of the Buñuel trio are generally considered to be among the provocative Spanish director’s greatest masterpieces, Viridiana and The Exterminating Angel. There was a time when admirers would go to the cinema for each new film from the Spanish master Buñuel (in his late period), assured of something highly sardonic and original. It’s good to report that – viewed in the 21st century – these provocative and irreverent slices of social satire remain as delightful as ever. The director’s partnership with producer Gustavo Alatriste and actress Silvia Pinal furnished forth three of his key masterpieces: Viridiana(1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Simon of the Desert (1965). Presented here in new restorations, these films remain as sublime as ever, showcasing Buñuel’s gift for startling imagery and a thoroughgoing surrealist sensibility. The discs include appreciations from Richard Ayoade, Alex Cox, Guillermo del Toro and Lulu Wang, an archival interview with Buñuel, as well as three feature documentaries. Radiance’s Nothing Is Sacred: Three Heresies from Luis Buñuel is a crucial buy for cinéastes.
COLUMBIA HORROR: BEHIND THE MASK, John Francis Dillon, director (1932)/BLACK MOON, Roy William Neill, director (1934)/AIR HAWKS, Albert S Rogell, director (1935)/ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN, Charles Barton, director (1940)/CRY OF THE WEREWOLF, Henry Levin, director (1944)/THE SOUL OF A MONSTER, Will Jason, director (1944)/Indicator
Once again, the enterprising Indicator outfit has come up with a truly tempting array of horror (and horror-related) rarities, collected in a handsome box. On this occasion there has been a raid on the vaults of Columbia Pictures, and the result is a disparate assemblage of items starring such luminaries of the genre as Ralph Bellamy, Nina Foch and a trio of horror film greats: Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Fay Wray. This three-disc set heralds the UK Blu-ray premiere of all six films and sports a brace of tempting extras, including newly recorded commentaries. Another winner for Indicator.
COOKING PRICE-WISE: VINCENT PRICE/BFI
While many actors fade from view as the years since their death increase, others remain utterly iconic – and few more so than the great horror actor Vincent Price, as this disc attests. Price’s well-remembered TV cookery show deserves to find a new audience, even among those who may not share Price’s culinary tastes. Previously unreleased in any format, it arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of BFI Flipside. The copious extras include a new interview with the actor’s daughter Victoria Price, new audio commentaries, Jenny Hammerton preparing classic Price dishes and more. In the 1970s, while Vincent Price was on a sojourn in England making a variety of films, the actor found time to work on this six-part television series, with his genial and civilised presence making him the perfect host for a show designed to lead British cooking in a more innovative direction.
VIXEN, SUPERVIXENS and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTARAVIXENS, Russ Meyer, director/Severin
This trio of tongue-in-cheek erotica is shot through with the sardonic humour that is so characteristic of its taboo-busting director, and apart from the charms of the pneumatic actress Erica Gavin, this set includes nine hours of bonus materials illuminating each film’s historic critical and commercial fortunes, nationwide censorship battles and notoriety as landmark American independent films.
EL VAMPIRO: THE VAMPIRE (El vampiro, 1957)/THE VAMPIRE’S COFFIN (El ataúd del vampiro, 1958), Fernando Méndez, director/Indicator
El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico collects a vampiric duo drawn from the under-explored field of Mexican Gothic, directed by Fernando Méndez (Black Pit of Dr. M) and starring one of the best-known names in the field, Abel Salazar (celebrated for such films as The Curse of the Crying Woman). These films appeared a year before Hammer’s Dracula, so cannot be said to be inspired by that groundbreaking take on Bram Stoker’s evil count. Restored from the original negatives, these films finally receive their Blu-ray world premieres.
HORRIBLE HISTORY: MARCO POLO, THE PIRATE, BOXER REBELLION and FOUR RIDERS, Chang Cheh, director/Eureka
Long celebrated as the godfather of Hong Kong cinema, Chang Cheh was responsible for nearly a hundred films for the celebrated Shaw Brothers Studio, and the four historical epics collected here are a testament to his versatility. The director’s trademarks are kinetic action and eye-popping production design – both characteristics well to the fore in this selection of films.
THE ESCAPEES, Jean Rollin, director/Indicator
Once dismissed as a purveyor of softcore porn horror, the director Jean Rollin has acquired an ever-growing army of admirers, seduced by his bizarre and surreal mix of erotic and the macabre, and this venture into a Parisien demimonde will increase their number. As two young women encounter a series of increasingly disturbing adversaries, Rollin’s trademark visuals are given a thorough workout. In this pinprick-sharp 4K transfer, Rollin’s work has never been shown to such good advantage.
DEMOLITION MAN, Marco Brambilla, director/Arrow
Aficionados of the all-stops-out action film might be forgiven for expecting that this Sylvester Stallone outing would be standard material for the genre, but this witty and futuristic entry proved to be something special – not least for its direction and production design. In terms of casting, the real achievement of the film is not its leading man (Stallone on standard form as a relentless cop) but its relishable supporting players: Wesley Snipes as the psychopathic villain released from cryogenic freezing in the future – Snipes plays the character at a manic level not a million miles away from various iterations of Batman’s nemesis the Joker – and Sandra Bullock in a star-making role as the quirky future policewoman working with Stallone’s character. It’s great fun.
THE SECRET OF NIMH, Don Bluth, director/Eureka
This ambitious attempt to steal the animation crown from market leader Disney has acquired a cult following over the years with its affecting tale of love and courage utilising eye-popping cell animation. The voice cast, too, adds lustre, with everyone from British character actress Hermione Baddeley to American master of the macabre John Carradine.
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, directors/Second Sight
A recommendation for this groundbreaking found-footage chiller is totally redundant – it’s the film that launched an entire genre, and it has never looked better than in this new 4K transfer.
TANK GIRL, Rachel Talalay, director/Eureka
This adaptation of the celebrated British comic charcter was controversially received on its first appearance, but this splendid transfer gives you the chance to decide if the film was initially undervalued. Certainly, the package presented here could not be more impressive, with Lori Petty’s punky heroine and the megalomaniac villain played in his ripest style by Malcolm McDowell.