[quote=“PutneySwope”]
Bio: I forgot, we already have a NOTLD review, but we still need the other Dead film reviews. Thanks!
[/quote]
Yeah but you can add more than one review on a page right?
[quote=“me”]
Yeah but you can add more than one review on a page right?
[/quote]
Well theres no point in having 2 reviews of the same film really. I figured one is enough. I guess if you really want to you can.
Oh. I thought a long time ago you wanted to do like imdb does and have as many reviews as possible.
Long Weekend(mini review)
Year:1978
Writer:Everett De Roche
Director:Colin Eggleston
Tagline: Their crime was against nature…Nature found them guilty
Long Weekend Trailer(dvd promo): Long Weekend (1978) Original Theatrical Trailer - YouTube
An Australian couple go to a deserted beach to try to save their failing marriage but when they mistreat nature things start to go wrong.
The relationship between Peter and Marcia are quite odd, everytime Marcia seems to be getting happy it doesn’t take long for her snotty attitude to be right back were it was. Long Weekend is obviously inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds but what is different is that you see various animals attack the humans instead of just birds. What I really like about Long Weekend is that the animals really don’t kill Peter and Marcia but they do scare them to the point where accidents happen.
Here’s some trailer dvds you need to add to the page:
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9632 … rseod9.jpg”>http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9632/ghuniverseod9.jpg</LINK_TEXT>
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/cover_ … verxxx.jpg”>http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/cover_art3/42ndstreetforeverxxx.jpg</LINK_TEXT>
pinky violence
Sex & Fury (Furyo anego-den: Inoshika Ocho) (1973)
The film that originally made me a pinky violence fan hasn’t lost its charm. Norifumi Suzuki’s visually gorgeous mix of sex, gambling and highly stylized action is still one of the most entertaining films in the genre. Sex & Fury stars genre queen Reiko Ike as a 17th century gambler and pickpocket who’s after the three men who killed her father when she was a kid. Supporting roles feature several genre veterans such Yoko Mihara, Rie Saotome and most notably the Swedish cult actress Christina Lindberg as a British spy… which doesn’t make much sense since she speaks english with a heavy Swedish accent. But it’s a cute accent and that’s what matters more than common sense. It should also be noted that some of the dresses she wears in the film don’t exactly belong to Meiji Era but who cares.
Sex and Fury would seem to have it’s roots on traditional yakuza/gambling genre. Those films were very popular in the late 60’s and Suzuki himself was the man behind several legendary Red Peony Gambler (Hibotan bakuto) movies. Not having seen those film myself (yet) I can’t say how much Sex & Fury lifts from that genre. Gambling however is not the main theme in Sex and Fury and Suzuki gives more room to action and exploitation. Also, probably not for the first time and definitely not for the last time Suzuki once again borrows some religious imagery that works very nicely.
If there’s a problem in the film it’s the amount of sex scenes. It may bother some but Suzuki’s direction saves a lot. The scenes are very colourful and artistic and usually there’s more about them than just the sex and nudity. I managed view most of them without getting bored so they’re not a huge problem. Besides, small flaws like that will be forgotten as soon as Suzuki turns the action gear on. The bath house / snow garden fight where naked Reiko Ike takes on a group as gansters holds up as possibly the best choreographed sword fight ever shot on film. The scene as incredible, cinematic poetry from start to finish. The rest of the fights don’t reach the same level of excellence but they’re a lot of fun too. Always a pleasure to see half naked Reiko slaughter a roomful yakuzas.
And how is the R1 dvd by Panik House? There’s a couple of minor flaws. The usual Toei first frame print damage is there to be found and this time I actually noticed it once or twice. The english dialogue is also unneededly subtitled. Some shots appear slightly soft however some others show plenty of detail and there’s also the slightest amount of grain so it’s probably due to the original source material. Other than those very minor flaws, the disc is absolutely gorgeous. A Toei beater even. Great colours and contrast and very, very little edge enhancement (depending on your setting you may not be able to notice it at all). Subtitles seemed great to me (with all signs translated). Extras include commentary by Chris D, photo and poster galleries, original trailer, production notes, Toei’s Bad Girl Cinema essay and biographies for Suzuki, Ike and Lindberg. These also feauture some nice photos of persons and film artwork. And finally, the menus are very nice and anamorphic. Original pressing (probably OOP by now) came with a sticker and nice see-through case. Overall excellent work from Panik House.
Toei
Norifumi Suzuki
Cast: Reiko Ike, Ema Ryoko, Tatsuo Endo, Yoko Mihara, Christina Lindberg
Female Yakuza Tale (Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi) (1973)
Teruo Ishii’s sequel to Sex & Fury is often considered the better of the two. I don’t quite agree but I do admit Female Yakuza Tale is a pretty damn good sequel. Ishii’s movie is less about cinematic poetry and more about outrageous fun. Ishii has added some hilarious humour, a totally off the wall plot and amped up the level of sex and violence. In terms of visuals the film is even more colourful than the original. A friend of mine described Female Yakuza Tale as the most colourful movie he has ever seen. He of course had not seen Bohachi Bushido but what he said wasn’t too far from the truth.
The gambling theme is almost fully gone and what remains is just the historical yakuza roots. Ishii however introduces an interesting and maybe a little bit insulting (feminists beware) mystery plot. There’s also several characters who’s motives aren’t revealed until at the end which makes the story unexpectedly catchy. Less unexpectedly there’s an overload of sex but thankfully Ishii keeps things moving fast and never stops to waste too much time for a single scene.
One scene that has to be mentioned is the incredible, insane finale (slight spoilers in this paragraph). An army of naked women armed with swords, guns and hand granades takes on a group of yakuzas. There’s blood, guts and naked swordswomen literally flying through the screen. Something you’re unlikely to ever see again. After the massacre we get to hear the film’s theme song performed by Reiko Ike herself. This was another 70’s exploitation film trend, with Miki Sugimoto singing a Meiko Kaji inspired theme in Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs and Meiko Kaji herself of course singing several classic themes. And speaking of Kaji, Female Yakuza Tale also feautures a certain hilarious Sasori reference.
The Panik House dvd is quite similiar to Sex & Fury disc, except that this time the brightness level is even more optimal. I think I noticed some slight edge enhancement twice during the films but it’s forgivable as the transfer seems sharper than Sex & Fury. Damn near perfect work. Extras offer the usual Chris D commentary, bio and filmographies, bad girl essay, production notes, artwork galleries and original trailer. Sticker and special case were limited to first press as before.
Toei
Teruo Ishii
Cast: Reiko Ike, Emi Jo, Tatsuo Endo, Kanjuro Arashi, Ryohei Uchida
one more pinky
Blind Woman’s Curse (Kaidan nobori ryu) (1970)
This is my first touch to pinky horror so I’m even less of an expert this time than usual. But, what we have here looks like a traditional yakuza film spiced with some horror elements. It’s also the concluding part in the Rising Dragon series. The first two films starred Hiroko Ogi who however was busy with another series at the time of the third instalment and Nikkatsu decided to award their new rising star Meiko Kaji with her first lead role. Teruo Ishii, who had directed the first part returned to helm the piece. According to Ishii the horror elements were not in the original scrip and and they were already shooting when Ishii recieved the order to blend in the horror imagery. You might wonder if this could lead to anything good but watching the finished film you don’t really notice it. Which on the other hand is not very surprising. This is a Teruo Ishii film after all. In the Ishii universe anything could and would happen.
The opening scene is wonderful. Meiko Kaji and the gang fighting the rivalry yakuza group in rain. Ishii would later use the almost exact same opening for Female Yakuza Tale, although it’s better handled here. Soon after the opening you’ll notice that the film doesn’t look quite as gorgeous and visually striking as the Toei’s productions of the time. I would assume this is due to lower budget. Several single scenes such as the extremely satisfying ending still look jaw dropping but many others have more casual look. On the other hand it’s in line with the film’s style as the roots of Blind Woman’s Curse lie firmly on traditional period yakuza genre. That old school spirit was one of the things I liked about the movie. If you’re expecting a wild Female Yakuza Tale kind of over the top sex and violence fest you’ll be sorely disappointed.
The horror elements in the film work nicely. Blind Woman’s Curse doesn’t classify as pure horror by any means, it’s more of a yakuza film with horror imagery appearing throughout. Among these elements is the classic sad and creepy hunchback character played by Tatsumi Hijikata of Horror of the Malformed Men. The rest of the supporting cast feautures familiar faces like Yoshi Kato, Toru Abe, Ryohei Uchida (the male lead of Female Yakuza Tale) and Makoto Sato whom Sonny Chiba fans know from his roles in The Executioner and Karate Inferno (both directed by Ishii). In the lead role Meiko Kaji once again reminds what a glamorous actress she was. I love Reiko Ike and especially Miki Sugimoto but Meiko Kaji is in a whole different league.
Discotek’s region free US release is a decent effort at least. The picture quality varies between excellent and poor. Many scenes look a bit raw and boosted, however the most important scenes look mostly pristine. One great thing about the transfer is that it’s very sharp, even if it displays some minor edge enhancement. The transfer is not progressive. Bonus material consists of Chris D commentary, filmographies, original trailer, bonus trailers (including a horrifying new trailer for Red Handcuffs), photo gallery and a very informative text essay. The dvd cover uses the original poster art which is of course a big plus. The menus are nice but spoil the end setting so I recommed blind browsing.
Nikkatsu
Teruo Ishii
Cast: Meiko Kaji, Ryohei Uchida, Makoto Sato, Toru Abe, Tatsumi Hijikata
Me: Got your review posted under Ozploitation section. Thanks again!
HF: Your reviews are posted. Thanks!
Q: Do you guys think I should add screencaps to each page too? Would you rather see one photo or two or three?
I wouldn’t mind seeing some screencaps
As for the amount three would be pretty good I think (two being the minimum IMO).
What size pics are you thinking about (approximately)?
I thought each one could be approx 300px across. Not sure if I should put them in the center or on the right side. We dont want to make it too crammed up.
pete im writing a movie review now, is there anyway we could use some sort of rating system like
() out of (*******) or whatever something in that sort?
JJP: Maybe when the site opens and you can log in, you guys can add ratings to your reviews. I really cant do that right now myself. I’m still working on setting it up (categorizing, etc)
Also, theres no point in having one review with a rating and 100 others with no rating. Its gonna take a bit to get all that stuff fixed right.
I appreciate your help and ideas though! Thanks!
Sleep Away Camp
Writer-Robert Hiltzik
Director-Robert Hiltzik
Starring- Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten and Karen Fields
Year-1983
Distributors-
* Anchor Bay Entertainment
* CBS/Fox (UK)
* Creswin Distribution (1984) (Canada)
* Filmways Home Video (Australia) (video)
* Legacy Entertainment (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
* Media Home Entertainment (video)
* United Film Distribution Company (UFDC)
* Video Treasures
* Pro-Active Entertainment
Tag line-…you won’t be coming home!
Dedications-The Directors Mother
Availability- DVD-Yes
VHS-Yes
Other-Boxed Set
Image Locations For It(It would be cool to put them up top across like you said above)
Poster Art.
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://images.amazon.com/images/P/63058 … ZZZZZZ.jpg”>http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6305841985.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg</LINK_TEXT>
Scenes from the film.
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.horror-fanatics.com/sitebuil … 59x241.jpg”>http://www.horror-fanatics.com/sitebuilder/images/Sleepaway_Camp-_02-459x241.jpg</LINK_TEXT>
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/n-z/s … shot1l.jpg”>http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/n-z/scamp/scamp_shot1l.jpg</LINK_TEXT>
http://www.fast-rewind.com/sleepawaycamp3.jpg
Sleepaway Camp definitely stands out from the other slasher ripoffs, for many reasons that will be included in this review. On initial release of the film the original art work, which can be seen on the Anchor Bay released Sleepaway camp box set, was recalled because of the Red Cross.
The film starts off with a family having a good time, swimming in a lake. Then we see a careless couple, fooling around with each other, driving a speed boat around the lake. Not seeing where they are going the couple accidentally drives into the family swimming, resulting in death for all but Angela.
Now Jump to present day. Four-teen year old Angela now lives with her aunt Martha and cousin Ricky. Aunt Martha is sending Angela and Ricky off to a summer camp (Camp Arawak). When they arrive most of the girls and boys are picking on Angela because of her shyness, all except for paul who is starting to become close friends with Angela. Her cousin Ricky has to pick up for her. Ricky’s aggression towards the other campers for picking on Angela is unnatural at times.
So now the killings begin. People start dropping like flies and are killed in all sorts of creative ways, like being boiled alive, stung to death by bees and even killed by a hair curler! Is it Angela? Is it Ricky? Or could it even be aunt Martha? Watch the film to see one of the most shocking endings in slasher History!
I’m going to start off by saying the film is worth watching just for the ending alone. The movie becomes slow at times but overall is very entertaining. Most of the kills where written and shot well and over all work out very suspenseful.
I have seen two versions of the film on DVD. The Anchor Bay and Pro-Active versions. By far the Anchor Bay version is much better, the enhanced picture quality is so much more watchable then the shitty Pro-Active one, which looks like a really horrible VHS direct transfer. The Pro-Active DVD is bare bones where as the anchor bay includes a Trailer and an Audio Commentary with Director-Robert Hiltzik, Star-Felissa Rose and Moderator, Jeff Hayes. Anchor Bay’s version is presented in Anamorphic Wide screen 1:85, and looks much clearer compared to the full screen of Pro-Active. I have never seen the box set version, but it was released by anchor bay also, so it is probably equally as good if not better than the original release of it on dvd.
trailer Sleepaway Camp Trailer - YouTube
A classic!! Great pick!! 8)
The review: <LINK_TEXT text=“http://exploitation.tarantino.info/inde … paway_Camp”>http://exploitation.tarantino.info/index.php/Sleepaway_Camp</LINK_TEXT>
Im gonna try to figure out a good set up for screencaps.
I will try and contribute something myself when i find some time, hopefully this coming weekend. 
Scar: That would be awesome! Cant wait to see what you pick.
Do you guys think I should make the screencaps bigger or have more? How many pics do you think is good enough? Cuz I just dont want the site to be based on DVD quality, just the films themselves.
I put two screencaps with JJps Sleepaway Camp review. It looks pretty good.
yea the two look really good, i think the poster art should be included with the reviews also.
also would video reviews be ok? i have one for mothers day.
JJp: Sure! Any reviews are welcome. The video spec stuff really isnt necessary, but if its in your review already, thats cool.
I actually have a section esp for all cool Exploitation poster art. I can put it in there for ya. Ill let ya know when its added. If you wanted you could also write a little blurb on the poster itself. Telling what you like about it, etc.
Here is the mothers day video review Obscure Movie Review Episode 1: Mother's Day - YouTube. I will write a little blurb for the sleep away comp one in a little while.