Hey Vault Dwellers! As I stated last week, June is NOT a great month for new releases, and will be pretty light overall. Just look at this week's release slate for proof! That being said, this week's thin release roster actually contains a few hidden gems.
But this week's champ is hands-down Severin Films. Along with DVD releases of THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH and CARNIVAL MAGIC, Severin finally unleashed their impressive AL ADAMSON: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION boxed set. Featuring thirty-two films and a slew of extras, this is likely the definitive release for the (almost) entirety of the late exploitation filmmakers' directorial career!
There's honestly not much else worth mentioning this week gang (just a bunch of direct-to-DVD junk and anime), but if you want to see the full roster, just scroll on down!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY
The Dinner Party
Doctor Who: The Complete Twelfth Series
The Hunt We Summon the Darkness
NEW TO BLU-RAY
Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition - Severin Films)
Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple Bungo Stray Dogs: Season Three
The H-Man & The Battle in Outer Space (Toho Double Feature - Mill Creek Entertainment)
Heroic Age: The Complete Series
Michiko & Hatchin: The Complete Series
Mob Psycho 100 II (Limited Edition - Funimation)
ReZERO: Starting Life in Another World - The Complete Series
White Crane Chronicles: Kung Fu Killer & Kung Fu Killer II (Mill Creek Entertainment)
NEW TO DVD
Arcana (Rogue Video) The Astral Factor
Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (Severin Films)
The Candy Witch
Carnival Magic (Severin Kids)
A Deadly Place: 10 Frightening Films (Mill Creek Entertainment)
One Piece: Season 10 - Voyage One
Outback (2019)
Remy's Demons
Return of the Evil Dead (Rogue Video)
Spider Baby (Rogue Video)
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (Severin Films)
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (Rogue Video)
Stupidman
Sweating Bullets: 10 Action-Packed Movies (Mill Creek Entertainment)
NEW MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON BLU-RAY Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema III (Kino Lorber Studio Classics) Contains: Abandoned, The Lady Gambles, and The Sleeping City.
SEVERIN FILMS ASTOUNDS COLLECTORS WITH THEIR NEW BOXED SET OF AL ADAMSON FLICKS!
Note: There is an issue with Disc #8 in this set - Severin Films is working hard to get replacement discs out to those of you who already purchased this!
2020 has been an awful year: We've got widening political divides, a global pandemic, and have lost so many great artists & entertainers. And yet, this has been one of the most amazing years as far as Blu-ray releases are concerned. Criterion is bringing us an amazing BRUCE LEE COLLECTION, Arrow Video is bringing us all of the GAMERA films in one set, and then there's Severin Films' incredible 32-film AL ADAMSON: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION, which not only boasts (almost) the entire directorial filmography of the late exploitation filmmaker, but a feature-length documentary about his career plus numerous bonus features!
If you ordered from SEVERIN FILMS directly, you probably already have your set (like I do!) but for those of you who haven't ordered yet (likely because of its pricing), let's dig into this set and see if I can tempt you!
About this Set: Severin Films is proud to present the most comprehensive Blu-ray box set ever dedicated to the works of a single genre filmmaker with Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection, featuring 31 remastered Adamson films on 14 discs, plus trailers, audio commentaries, a 126-page book, the 2019 documentary feature BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON and more. Exhaustively compiled for the first time ever, Adamson’s ouvre spans a wild beyond belief world of bloody brains, vicious cowboys, naughty nurses, decrepit actors, sexy stewardesses, mad scientists, brutal bikers, Blaxploitation mayhem, kung fu killers and “scenes so SICK the Movies could never show them before!”
The life and career of B-movie maverick Adamson – known for such low budget classics as SATAN’S SADISTS, DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN and THE NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES (as well as his own grisly 1995 murder) – reveals perhaps the most bizarre career in Hollywood history!
DISC ONE Synopses: BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON (2019): 'Horror Film Director Found Slain, Buried Under Floor,' screamed the August 1995 headline in the Los Angeles Times. But the whole truth behind Al Adamson's strange life and gruesome death reveals perhaps the most bizarre career in Hollywood history. From his early years as the son of a silent screen cowboy, through the production of some 30 lurid low budget pictures including SATAN'S SADISTS, DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN and THE NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES, to his grisly demise, the Al Adamson story remains wild beyond belief in!
THE FEMALE BUNCH (1971): After a string of bad times with men, Sandy tries to kill herself.
Co-waitress Libby saves her and takes her to meet some female friends of
hers who live on a ranch in the desert. Grace, the leader of the gang,
puts Sandy through her initiation and they get on with the real job of
running drugs across the Mexican border, hassling poor farmers, taking
any man they please, and generally raising a little hell. Soon Sandy
becomes unsure if this is the life for her, but it may be too late to
get out.
Disc Specs: BLOOD & FLESH
Not Rated | Color | 100 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio - English Dolby Digital 5.1
& 2.0 Stereo
THE FEMALE BUNCH
Rated R | Color | 86 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
German & Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Extras: BLOOD & FLESH
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
THE FEMALE BUNCH
Extended Scenes
The Bunch Speaks Out
Trailers
DISC TWO Synopses: PSYCHO A GO-GO (1965): Jewel thieves quickly dispose of the loot when the alarm is raised, then track down the family upon whose truck they threw them, meanly interrogating them in the hope of getting them back.
FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN (1967) & BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR (1971): A mad scientist implants an electronic device into the brain of an injured soldier, which turns him into a psychotic killer. Both films are essentially PSYCHO A GO-GO with added subplots and gore!
Disc Specs: PSYCHO A GO-GO
Not Rated | Color | 85 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN
Rated PG | Color | 98 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR
Rated PG | Color | 86 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Extras: PSYCHO A GO-GO
Trailer
FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN
Alternate Title Sequence: Man with the Synthetic Brain
Trailer
BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer Samuel M. Sherman
Trailer
DISC THREE Synopses: HALFWAY TO HELL (1960): Prior to the revolution, Senorita Maria San Carlos, the only daughter of a wealthy landowner, was betrothed to Escobar, a General, but Maria believes in marriage for love and runs away with her friend Joanne. Soon they are in the desert between the border and Joanne's California home. They are intercepted by a gang of American cutthroats sent by Escobar to bring Maria back, as Escobar cannot leave his fight for Mexican freedom.
FIVE BLOODY GRAVES (1970): A former Civil War soldier returns to take revenge from a Yaqui chief
who killed his wife on their marriage night. Death plays with both men,
plus gun-runners and gold-runners, looking to make a large harvest of souls.
Disc Specs: HALFWAY TO HELL
Not Rated | Black & White | 67 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.77:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
FIVE BLOODY GRAVES
Rated R | Color | 87 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: HALFWAY TO HELL
None.
FIVE BLOODY GRAVES
Outside of Tucson: Interview with Actor/Screenwriter Robert Dix!
Partial Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Alternate Title Sequence: Five Bloody Days to Tombstone
Radio Spots
Trailer
DISC FOUR Synopses: BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE (1969): Count Dracula and his wife capture beautiful young women and chain them
in their dungeon, to be used when they need to satisfy their thirst for
blood.
HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS (1970): In the near future with a intergalactic vampire plague threatening
earth, an expedition is sent to a distant galaxy in hopes of discovering
the plague's source.
Landing on a mysterious planet they discover that
Spectrum radiation has turned the atmosphere into a one-color tint.
Exploring further, the group discovers living dinosaurs, a race of
vampire cavemen, and other strange creatures.
Disc Specs: BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE
Rated M | Color | 84 & 91 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS
Rated PG | Color | 85 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE
Two cuts of the film: Theatrical (84 minutes) & TV (91 minutes)
Partial Audio Commentary with Expert Brian Albright
Audio Interview Excerpt with Alex D’Arcy
Trailer
HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS
Partial Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Alternate Title Sequence: Space Mission of the Lost Planet
Trailers
TV Spots
Radio Spot
DISC FIVE Synopses: THE FAKERS (AKA SMASHING THE CRIME SYNDICATE - 1968) & HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS (1970): A government agent tries to break a Neo-Fascist group in California. This is another case of Al Adamson taking a mostly finished project and shooting new footage to alter the story.
Disc Specs: THE FAKERS
Rated PG | Color | 95 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS
Rated PG | Color | 90 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: THE FAKERS
Alternate Title Sequence: The Fakers (Original Title)
HELL'S BLOODY ANGELS
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Sam Sherman Interviews Actor John Gabriel!
Trailer
TV Spots
DISC SIX Synopses: DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1971): Dracula conspires with a mad doctor to resurrect the Frankenstein Monster, and eventually has a duel to the death with the mighty construct!
BRAIN OF BLOOD (1971): Amir, the benevolent ruler of Kalid, is dying, but there is the hope of transplanting his brain into another body. Freshly deceased, he is flown to the United States where Dr. Trenton, having unwisely put off acquiring another body until the last minute, transplants Amir's brain into the body of the disfigured simpleton assistant who failed in said chore.
Disc Specs: DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN
Rated PG | Color | 91 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
BRAIN OF BLOOD
Rated PG | Color | 87 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN
Zandor and Friends: Interview with Cast & Crew!
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Feed Your Head! Lose Your Head!: An Appreciation by Cult Film Historian Howard S. Berger!
Monster Protest Home Movie Footage
Sam Sherman Interviews Forry Ackerman
Outtakes
Trailer
TV Spot
Audio Spots Including Triple Feature of Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror, and Horror of the Blood Monsters!
BRAIN OF BLOOD
Partial Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Memories of Blood: Interviews with Director Al Adamson, Producer Samuel M. Sherman, Actor Zandor Vorkov, and More!
Trailer
Radio Spots
DISC SEVEN Synopses: SATAN'S SADISTS (1969): The "Satans" are a very cruel biker gang led by Anchor. The gang goes to
a diner in the middle of nowhere in the California desert where they
begin to terrorize Lew, his customers, and his waitress, Tracy. After a
little killing, some of the patrons manages to escape into the desert in an attempt to reach a nearby town before the Satans
catch up to them and kill them.
ANGELS' WILD WOMEN (1971): Rowdy biker women get more than they bargained for after joining a commune.
Disc Specs: SATAN'S SADISTS
Rated R | Color | 87 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
ANGELS' WILD WOMEN
Rated R | Color | 85 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: SATAN'S SADISTS
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
TV Spots
Outtakes
Radio Spots
Trailers
ANGELS' WILD RIDE
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
TV Spot
Radio Spots
Trailer
DISC EIGHT Synopses: THE NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES (1974): Four naughty female flight attendants become
involved with a wealthy womanizer, and live
out their wildest sexual softcore nude fantasies.
BLAZING STEWARDESSES (1975): This sequel to NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES, finds a planeful of
oversexed airline attendants touching down on a ranch. Little do they
know, however, about the masked bandit lurking in the sagebrush, who
just might ruin their plans for some lusty fun.
BLAZING STEWARDESSES features Al Adamson's wife, cult scream queen Regina
Carrol, and Yvonne DeCarlo, best know as TV's Lily Munster!
Disc Specs: THE NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES
Rated R | Color | 105 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
BLAZING STEWARDESSES
Rated R | Color | 98 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: THE NAUGHTY STEWARDESSES
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Fly Girls: The Stewardess as Lifestyle Icon in The Golden Age of Exploitation
TV Spot
Radio Spots
Trailer
BLAZING STEWARDESSES
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
DISC NINE Synopses: GIRLS FOR RENT (1974): A politician's mistress flees after he is assassinated, but the killers aren't done with her yet!
JESSI'S GIRLS (1975): Jessica has been raped and left for dead by a sadistic villain and his henchmen, but survives and goes on a quest for revenge.
NURSES FOR SALE (1976): A group of nurses are taken hostage by jungle bandits, and only a brave sea captain and his crew can rescue them!
Disc Specs: GIRLS FOR RENT
Rated R | Color | 91 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
JESSI'S GIRLS
Rated R | Color | 84 minutes| Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
NURSES FOR SALE Rated R | Color | 67 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: GIRLS FOR RENT
Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Alternate Title Sequence: I Spit On Your Corpse
Trailer
Radio Spot
JESSI'S GIRLS
Trailer
NURSES FOR SALE
TV Spot
DISC TEN Synopses: BLACK HEAT (AKA THE MURDER GANG - 1976): Kicks Carter, a streetwise Las Vegas cop, is out to shut down an upscale
hotel that is actually a front for a host of illegal activities including gun-running, loan-sharking, prostitution and drug-dealing! And as if that weren't enough, a beautiful (but nosey) reporter keeps getting in Kicks' way!
THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS (1974): A young black man teams up with a Chinese kung-fu expert to fight a drug ring!
Disc Specs: BLACK HEAT
Rated R | Color | 95 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS
Rated R | Color | 90 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: BLACK HEAT
Partial Archival Audio Commentary by Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Alternate Title Sequence: Girls Hotel
Alternate Title Sequence: The Murder Gang
Trailers
THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS
TV Spots
DISC ELEVEN Synopses: MEAN MOTHER (1972): Two Vietnam deserters go their separate ways, become criminals and are eventually reunited.
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN (1976): Broken and beaten to the point of no return, a sadistic plantation owner pushes his slaves to the point of rebellion.
Disc Specs: MEAN MOTHER
Rated R | Color | 87 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
Rated R | Color | 98 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: MEAN MOTHER
Partial Archival Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
The Joy of Marilyn Joi: Interview with Actress Marilyn Joi!
Trailer
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
TV Spots
Radio Spots
DISC TWELVE Synopses: BLACK SAMURAI (1976): Robert Sand, agent of D.R.A.G.O.N. (Defense Reserve Agency Guardian Of Nations), is on his vacation when his commanding officers ask him to save the daughter of a top Eastern Ambassador. The search takes him from Hong Kong to California through Miami, and plenty of action, against bad men, bad girl, and bad animals!
DEATH DIMENSION (1978): Professor Mason, who invented a powerful freezing bomb for a gangster leader nicknamed "the Pig" but changes his mind and kills himself in order to not let his secret fall into the wrong hands. The scientist's assistant runs away with the plans, but is chased by the gangster's henchmen. The local police chief, Capt. Gallagher, gets put on the case an investigator, martial arts expert Detective Ash.
Disc Specs: BLACK SAMURAI
Rated R | Color | 84 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
DEATH DIMENSION
Rated R | Color | 88 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: BLACK SAMURAI
Trailer
DEATH DIMENSION
None.
DISC THIRTEEN Synopses: SUNSET COVE (AKA SCHOOL'S OUT AT SUNSET COVE - 1977): Teenagers band together to keep their beach from being bulldozed to build condominiums.
CINDERELLA 2000 (1977):
In the year 2047, sex is forbidden and Big Brother
uses robots to keep on eye on everyone. One young girl tries to outwit
the government so she can be with the man she loves.
NURSE SHERRI (1971): A hospital nurse is possessed by an evil spirit, and proceeds to kill off the hospital's patients.
Disc Specs: SUNSET COVE
Rated R | Color | 87 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
CINDERELLA 2000
Rated R | Color | 103 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
NURSE SHERRI
Rated R | Color | 84 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (?)
Extras: SUNSET COVE
Sunset Toolbox: Interview with Producer Tony DiDio
TV Spot
Trailers
CINDERELLA 2000
Partial Audio Commentary with Producer/Distributor Samuel M. Sherman!
Trailer
Radio Spots
NURSE SHERRI
Dr. Dracula: Selected Scenes Directed by Al Adamson!
TV Spot
Radio Spot
Trailer
DISC FOURTEEN Synopses: CARNIVAL MAGIC (1983): A magician in a carnival--who actually has the power to read minds and levitate
people and objects--works with a superintelligent talking chimp named Alex. The magical duo soon become the stars of the
carnival, drawing in big crowds.
However, the wild-animal trainer, who
has been displaced by the team as the carnival's top act, decides to
kidnap Alex and sell him to a medical laboratory for experimentation,
thereby getting rid of his competition!
LOST (1983): A little girl runs away from home with her dog and gets lost in the wilds of Utah.
Disc Specs: CARNIVAL MAGIC
Rated G | Color | 86 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
LOST
Not Rated | Color | 92 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Extras: CARNIVAL MAGIC
A Boom To Science – A Critical Appreciation by Zack Carlson & Lars Nilsen!
Audio Commentary with Producer Elvin Feltner!
Outtakes
TV Spot
Trailer
LOST
The Happy Hobo – Rushes for Promo From Unproduced Adamson Kids Film!
Trailer
Congratulations! You made it to the bottom! This limited edition set from Severin Films is a real monster isn't it?! It basically has everything Al Adamson ever directed - All it's missing an X-Rated Western called LASH OF LUST, a film Adamson co-directed called DOOMSDAY VOYAGE, the new footage he shot for 1969's THE BEDROOM, and the intros and conclusions to 1982's CHUCK CONNORS' GREAT WESTERN THEATRE! Even with those omissions, this is probably the most comprehensive boxed set devoted to a film director that I have ever seen!
Severin Films is currently selling AL ADAMSON: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION for $170 (plus tax & shipping) on their site, and there are still some copies in stock! Otherwise, you'll have to pay more (approximately $235) and wait until Tuesday, June 2nd to procure a copy from other retailers, such as AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, and DIABOLIK DVD! I know this is a big decision to make as a collector gang, but don't wait too long to make up your mind, because this set is going to go fast! And once it's gone - IT IS GONE!
