RICCARDO FREDA'S OBSCURE GIALLO GETS A NEW 2K RESTORATION AND EXTRAS COURTESY OF ARROW VIDEO!
I am a neophyte when it comes to giallo films, but I'm always willing to give them a watch. (Argento's DEEP RED remains my all-time favorite, just in case you were wondering.) That being said, THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (which is a totally bad-ass movie title) sounds like something I'd love to see! And thanks to Arrow Video, we can all experience this oft-forgotten giallo for the first time in crystal clear HD!
Synopsis: One of several 'animal-in-the-title' cash-ins released in the wake of Dario Argento's box-office smash THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE is a gloriously excessive giallo that boasts a rogues gallery of perverse characters; violent, fetishized murders, and one of the genre's most nonsensical, red-herring laden plots (which sees almost every incidental character hinted at potentially being the killer).
Set in Dublin (a rather surprising giallo setting), IGUANA opens audaciously with an acid-throwing, razor-wielding maniac brutally slaying a woman in her own home. The victim's mangled corpse is discovered in a limousine owned by Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring - WHERE EAGLES DARE) and a police investigation is launched, but when the murdering continues and the ambassador claims diplomatic immunity, tough ex-cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli - A BAY OF BLOOD) is brought in to find the killer…
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Color | 96 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English & Italian DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Extras:
NEW! 2K RESTORATION FROM THE 35MM CAMERA NEGATIVE!
Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits.
NEW! Audio commentary by giallo connoisseurs Adrian J. Smith and David Flint!
NEW! Of Chameleons and Iguanas - A newly filmed video appreciation by the cultural critic and academic Richard Dyer!
NEW!Considering Cipriani - A new appreciation of the composer Stelvio
Cipriani and his score to The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire by DJ and
soundtrack collector Lovely Jon!
NEW!The Cutting Game - A new interview with Iguana's assistant editor Bruno Micheli!
The Red Queen of Hearts - A career-spanning interview with the actress Dagmar Lassander!
Original Italian and international theatrical trailers!
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys!
First pressing only: Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andreas Ehrenreich.
THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE has gotten a new lease on life, and to celebrate you should snap up a copy ASAP! This Arrow Video title should cost between $24 - $28 and is easily obtainable from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from ARROW VIDEO'S online store!
Greetings my friends! We're two weeks into April 2019 and all of our favorite genre labels have been pretty good to us thus far. While this week is a bit light on new releases, there's still plenty of cool stuff that you'll definitely want to add to your growing movie collection!
Cult Epics gives us a Limited 3-Disc Edition of MOON CHILD, the AGFA brings BLOOD LAKE to DVD, Arrow Video unleashes the obscure giallo THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE to Blu-ray, and Scream Factory gives us a pretty kick-ass release of THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES, which includes two cuts of the film, mastered in 2K with new extras!
The remainder of this week's new titles are the usual mix of anime and indie flicks - to see them all, be sure to keep scrolling Vault Dwellers!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY
The Amityville Murders Boruto: NarutoNext Generations - Set 1
Brain of Blood (Severin Films)
Cold Sweat (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
Curse of the Vampires (Severin Films)
Emmanuelle 2 (Special Edition - Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
Enigma
The God Inside My Ear
The Golden Job
Goodbye Emmanuelle (Special Edition - Kino Lorber Studio Classics) Grace is Gone
Mega Time Squad (Dark Sky Films)
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: 4-Movie Collection Rider on the Rain (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
NEW TO BLU-RAY
Black Clover: Season 1 - Part 4
The Blood Drinkers (Severin Films)
Devil Hunter (88 Films - Region B)
Emmanuelle (Special Edition - Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
Hemisphere Box of Horrors (Limited Edition - Severin Films)
The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire (Arrow Video)
Is It Wrong to Expect a Hot Spring in a Dungeon?
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (Scream Factory)
Moon Child (3-Disc Limited Edition - Cult Epics)
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (Limited Edition Steelbook)
Princess Resurrection: The Complete Collection Sky Wizards Academy: The Complete Series Strange Nature
Sword of the Stranger
NEW TO DVD
8 Ball Clown
Apocalypse Day One
At the Drive-In
Blood Lake (AGFA)
Ichabod! The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The La Llorona Curse
The Last House on Dead End Street
Matriarch
Pixy Dragons
The Power (Cheezy Flix) Rust
Toxic Tutu
Virus of the Dead
BLACK BELT VS. BLACK MAGIC IN "THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES!"
I stumbled across THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES decades ago when I purchased an Anchor Bay double feature disc on a whim, and it blew my mind! And I count myself very fortunate to have watched a rare 35mm print of its shorter alternate cut, THE 7 BROTHERS MEET DRACULA! Needless to say, I'm a fan of this film and naturally Scream Factory's new Blu-ray disc is a definite must-have for yours truly!
Synopsis: Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) and Count Dracula (John Forbes-Robinson) meet again in this spectacular kung fu horror thriller set in the village of Ping Kuei. After learning about the seven golden vampires of the village, Hsi Ching (David Chiang), Vanessa Buren (Julie Ege), and Mai Kwei (Szu Shih) offer to guide Van Helsing and his son to Ping Kuei to free it from the curse of Count Dracula.
Throughout their journey, the group encounters several unwanted attackers until they arrive at the golden vampires' derelict temple, inhabited by Count Dracula. In the temple, Van Helsing and the count begin a fearsome battle to the death – an ultimate clash between good and evil! Presented here for the first time in high definition is Hammer's original uncut version. It was released in the US in an edited version called The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula which is also included here in high definition as a bonus feature.
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Color | 83 & 81 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio - ?
Extras:
NEW! 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements!
NEW! Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck!
NEW! When Hammer Met Shaw – An Interview With Actor David Chiang!
NEW! Kung Fear – An Interview With Hong Kong Film Expert Rick Baker!
Alternate U.S. Theatrical Version – The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula (In HD With Some Standard Definition Inserts)
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spot
Still Gallery
How can you NOT want this Blu-ray Vault Dwellers?! Two cuts of the film (remastered in 2K!) plus newly created extras?! Sign me up! THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES is now available wherever Blu-rays are sold and should cost between $24 - $27! Order a copy now from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from SHOUT! FACTORY.
BUSH RANGERS, MAD SCIENTISTS, & MEDIEVAL QUESTS AWAIT YOU IN UMBRELLA'S LATEST BATCH OF BLU-RAYS!
After a slow February and a decent March, Umbrella Entertainment is bringing the thunder from Down Under with a decent batch of new DVDs & Blu-rays that you'll want to add to your collections this month! As of April 3rd, you can watch Dennis Hopper terrorize South-Eastern Australia as MAD DOG MORGAN, witness a deranged killer wreak vengeance upon the man who experimented on him in DEATH WARMED UP, or go on a cinematic journey to save a village from the ravages of The Black Death in NAVIGATOR: A MEDIEVAL ODYSSEY!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
* On May 1st, Umbrella is bringing KRULL to Blu-ray with new cover art, cast & crew audio commentary, making-of featurette, and more! And as an added bonus, this is THE first time KRULL has been featured in its original theatrical aspect ratio!
* Also due out on May 1st is SIDECAR RACERS which is part of Umbrella's Ozploitation Classics line. Also be on the lookout for the fantastic anime adventure STEAMBOY, which is packed with special features!
* With Rob Zombie's 3 FROM HELL coming to theaters later this year, Umbrella is putting out TWO FROM HELL: HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES & THE DEVIL'S REJECTS! This title has new cover art and a ton of extras, including audio commentaries, cast & crew interviews, making-of featurettes, trailers, and more!
Synopsis:BEFORE DEATHGASM...BEFORE BRAINDEAD... BEFORE BAD TASTE... THERE WAS DEATH WARMED UP!
Locked away in a psychiatic hospital for the murder of his parents, no one believed Michael Tucker when he told them he was programmed by a genetic surgeon. Released into the world, he wants revenge.
Dr Archer Howell has been experimenting on humans at Trans Cranial Applications, drilling the skulls of his patients and injecting drugs into their brain to create psychotic killing-machines. Isolated on an island and left to his own devices, Dr Howell is about to have a deadly visitor...
Shot in Auckland and Waiheke Island, New Zealand at the end of 1983, DEATH WARMED UP was reviled by conservatives but adored by fans around the world, becoming a cult hit in the home video era. Directed by David Blyth (ANGEL MINE) and written by Michael Heath (NEXT OF KIN), DEATH WARMED is a relentless assault of bold and startling images, unimaginable horror and driving soundtrack.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 80 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0 Surround Sound
Extras:
Audio commentary with Director David Blyth and Writer Michael Heath.
I'LL GET YOU ALL: Interview with actor David Letch.
Deleted/Missing scenes with optional audio commentary.
Original New Zealand 4:3 VHS cut
Interview featurette with David Blyth and Michael Heath
Theatrical trailer
VHS Trailers
TV Spot
Image gallery
ORDER "DEATH WARMED UP" FROM AMAZON.COM OR UMBRELLA ENTERTAINMENT (DVD | BLU-RAY)!
FREEDOM (1982)
Synopsis: From the award-winning director of Shine, Scott Hicks, comes this seminal Australian road movie tracing one man's search for speed..and freedom. Ron (Jon Blake - ANZACS, THE LIGHTHORSEMEN) is an angry young man with few work prospects having been sacked from his latest factory job. Rebelling against a society that offers him little hope, he lapses into fantasies of driving the highway in a sports car with a beautiful girl and decides finally to steal the Porsche of his dreams.
Ron escapes onto the open road and along the way meets the errant Sally (Jad Capelja - PUBERTY BLUES), who wants to retrieve her baby sent to live with foster parents. Chased by the law and their own demons, both risk all in a last attempt to fulfil their dreams. This retro Australian film classic features an all-star cast including Charles Bud Tingwell (INNOCENCE), Chris Haywood (JINDABYNE) and Candy Raymond (DON'S PARTY), while the fast-paced soundtrack was composed by Cold Chisel's Don Walker.
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Color | 98 minutes | Region Free
Video - 480p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 2.0 Dolby Digital
Synopsis: Set in gold rush-era Victoria, and based on a true story, this violent, rollicking portrayal of infamous Irish outlaw Dan Morgan, a bravura performance from an intense Dennis Hopper (EASY RIDER, APOCALYPSE NOW) is a classic of Australia's '70s cinema renaissance. A prospector who turns to crime and opium after failing at gold mining, Dan Morgan spends six brutal years in prison before terrorizing country Victoria with a young Aboriginal, David Gulpilil (WALKABOUT, THE TRACKER).
Having escaped into NSW, the bush ranger and his accomplice easily dodge the police and mercilessly intimidate the wealthy land owners but wracked by madness and a lust to avenge an earlier attack from an irate squatter, the notorious Mad Dog makes a perilous journey back into Victoria. Combining an all-star Australian cast, including Jack Thompson, Bill Hunter and John Hargreaves, with a brilliant Dennis Hopper who called the role one of his great life experiences - director Philippe Mora (COMMUNION, HOWLING III) creates one of the great period action dramas.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 98 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Extras:
All-new audio commentary with Director Philippe Mora and Jake Wilson, author of Australian Screen Classics: MAD DOG MORGAN!
Alternate audio commentary with Director Philippe Mora.
TO SHOOT A MAD DOG: Making MAD DOG MORGAN.
HOPPING MAD: Looking Back on Mad Dog Morgan.
Extended interviews from NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: Philippe Mora, producer
Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale and cast members Jack
Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell.
MAD COUNTRY: SHOOTING LOCATIONS REVISITED with optional commentary.
Synopsis: A visionary boy, Griffin (Hamish Gough - AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE) leads five men from the 14th Century into a 20th Century city. Their quest: to save their village before sunrise. It is Cumbria 1348, the year of the Black Death. A medieval mining village lives in fear of the advancing plague. Griffin's older brother, Connor (Bruce Lyons) returns from the outside world in a state of despair, until Griffin tells of his dream – and reveals the only hope of survival. Make a tribute to God. Place a spire on a distant cathedral. Do it before dawn or the village is lost.
Disc Specs:
Rated PG | Color | 91 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 2.0 Dolby Digital
Extras:
Audio commentary with actor Paul Livingston and Production Designer Sally Campbell!
PATH OF THE NAVIGATOR: VINCENT'S ODYSSEY (40-minute interview featurette with Director, Vincent Ward).
Welcome to April 2019 fellow collectors of physical media! The month is starting off slow with a slew of indie and direct-to-DVD titles, plus some anime offerings and a handful of big releases!
Paramount comes out swinging with BUMBLEBEE, their enjoyable reboot of the TRANSFORMERS franchise! The 4K release comes with a Blu-ray and digital copy of the film, plus a mini comic book, tons of deleted scenes, and other cool extras!
There's not much else to point out this week (except maybe the new mockbuster PET GRAVEYARD), but be sure to scroll down to see all of this week's newest DVD and Blu-ray titles!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY
A Breath Away
Bumblebee
Dragon Ball Super: Part Seven
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (The Criterion Collection)
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot
A World of Worlds
NEW TO BLU-RAY
Adventures at the Chocolate Factory
Anyone You Can Do I Can Do Better
Basilisks: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls - Part One
Bumblebee & The Transformers: 6-Movie Collection
Chaos Dragon: The Complete Series
Dances With Dragons: The Complete Series
The Golden Head (Flicker Alley - 4/5)
Golden Kamuy: Season One
Hellboy Animated Double Feature (4K UHD)
Help I Shrunk My Teacher
An Innocent Man (Special Edition - Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
Pledge (Scream Factory)
Rust Creek (Scream Factory)
Space Battleship Tiramisu: Season One
Terra Formars (Arrow Video)
NEW TO DVD
Archer: Danger Island - The Complete Ninth Season
The Banished
Burning Kiss
The Criers of Lorena
Discarnate
Film Noir Collection: Vol. 1 (Sony Pictures Classics)
Hellgirl
The Isle
The Man With the Magic Box
The Mummy Reborn
No Surrender
Pet Graveyard
Red Island
Scare BnB
Seven in Heaven
Terror 5
Tooth Fairy
SCREAM FACTORY RELEASES TWO NEW IFC MIDNIGHT TITLES TO BLU-RAY TODAY!
I know I've said this before, but Scream's IFC Midnight titles seem to be getting better and better with every batch, and these two latest additions to their catalog are no exceptions! PLEDGE looks to put a fun collegiate spin on "torture porn" films, while RUST CREEK is a survival thriller that features a young woman evading meth-head rednecks in the woods! Both films are now available on Blu-ray - add them to your collections today!
PLEDGE (2019)
Synopsis: Three friends get the chance to live their college dream when they're invited to join an elite fraternity — but first they'll have to survive the hazing from hell. Freshman social misfits Ethan (Phillip Andre Botello), David (Zack Weiner), and Justin (Zachery Byrd) are desperate to improve their terminally uncool reputations by pledging to one of their university's prestigious Greek houses.
When every frat on campus turns them down, they are unexpectedly recruited by a shadowy social club offering them access to an exclusive world of raging parties, eligible coeds, and VIP social status. The catch? A sadistic initiation ritual that goes from depraved to deadly over the course of forty-eight booze-and-blood-soaked hours.
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Color | 78 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.40:1)
Audio - ?
Extras:
Commentary With Director Daniel Robbins, Producer Mark Rapaport,
Co-Producer Michael Gelfand, And Actors Zachery Byrd, Zack Weiner, And
Aaron Dalla Villa!
Synopsis: An ordinary woman must summon extraordinary courage to survive a nightmare odyssey in the backwoods of Rust Creek in this harrowing survival thriller. Sawyer (Hermione Corfield) is an ambitious, overachieving college senior with a seemingly bright future.
While on her way to a job interview, a wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the frozen Kentucky woods. Suddenly, she finds herself facing her own mortality as she’s punished by the elements and pursued by a band of ruthless outlaws. With nowhere left to run, Sawyer is forced into an uneasy alliance with Lowell (Jay Paulson), an enigmatic loner with shadowy intentions... and perhaps her only chance to escape Rust Creek alive.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 108 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (2.40:1)
Audio - ?
Extras:
Cast & Crew Interviews
Rust Creek – Behind the Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
RUST CREEK is also now available on Blu-ray (and DVD), and goes for between $18 - $21. You can order it today from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from SHOUT! FACTORY.
