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The Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video
Issue #42-November/December 1997Videos: The Astounding She-Monster, The Cable Guy, De Sade(1969), Eastern Condors, Freeway, Kiss Me Deadly, Malenka The Niece of the Vampire, Man Wanted, Stephen King's Thinner, Zato Ichi. Tapes from the attic: Lion Man, Lion Man 2: The Witchqueen, Terror on Tape. Hammer has risen from the grave: Tim Lucas reviews all the recent Hammer releases from Anchor Bay, Elite Entertainment and MGM/UA! Plus producer William Lusting tells the story behind the restoration of these classic films for his ''Hammer Collection'' series. Seven horror classics on tape and disc, restored, letterboxed with never-before-seen footage: Dracula Prince of Darkness, The Hound of Baskervilles, The Lost Continent, The Plague of the Zombies, The Reptile, Quatermass and the Pitt, Rasputin the Mad Monk. The two faces of Doctor X: When Michael Curtiz directed this early two-strip Technicolor horror classic for MGM, a second version was made at the same time - in B&W! For over 40 years the B&W version was the most widely seen, until MGM/UA issued the Technicolor version on tape and disc - now the B&W version is almost impossible to see. In this VW exclusive, Richard Harland Smith documents and compares both versions of Doctor X with surprising results. Crash: An indepth review of David Cronenberg's shocking movie. Laserdiscs/DVD: Ghost Story, The Magic Sword, Mars Needs Women, The Satan Bug, Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure, UA Sci-Fi Matinee Vol 2: The Magnetic Monster/The Quatermass Xperiment/The Beast of Hollow Mountain/Invisible Invaders, Blade Runner: The Director's Cut, The Exorcist, Last Hero In China, Project 5, Mars Attacks. Biblio Watchdog: Fragments Of Fear: An Illustrated History of British Horror Films by Andy Boot. |
Issue #41-September/October 1997Video Tapevine: Calling Dr Death/Strange Confession, Dead Man's Eyes/Pillow of Death, Weird Woman/The Frozen Ghost, Dream Breaker, Precious Find, Spectre, Last Hurrah for Chivalry, Mars Attacks, Scream, SSSSSSS, Vampirella, Young Master. Biblio Watchdog: The Fist That Shook The World: The Cinema Of Bruce Lee by Lou Gaul. Edgar G. Ulmer: Visions from the second kingdom: Bret Wood presents a fascinating analysis of the career and directorial style of Edgar G. Ulmer, who rose from a production designer of the Max Reihardt school to become a co-founder of German Expressionism at UFA, and to direct such inventive American classics as The Black Cat (1934), Detour, Ruthless, The Man From Planet X and The Naked Dawn. Her father's keeper: Arianne Ulmer Cipes interviewed: Tom Weaver interviews the daughter of Edgar G. Ulmer and Shirley Castle Ulmer, who reminisces about life with her illustrious parents, playing juvenile and adult roles in her father's films, and the founding of the Edgar G. Ulmer Preservation Corporation. Laserdiscs: Atlantis the Lost Continent/The Power, A Chinese Ghost Story 3, The Comedy of Terrors/Die Monster Die, Dead Man, Dragonheart: Signature Collection, Lady in White, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, Lone Wolf And Cub-Baby Cart At The River Styx, Lone Wolf And Cub-Baby Cart To Hades, The Razor-The Snare, The Moon Warriors, Poverty Row Horrors: The Mysterious Mr Wong/The Monster Maker/King of the Zombies, Supercop, The Tomb of Ligeia. |
Issue #40-July/August 1997Video Tapevine: Ah Kam, Black Scorpion II, Blood Song, Rumble In The Streets, Les Demoniaques, Ellcia Part One: The Legend Begins, Ellcia Part Two: Ghost Ship, Glissements Progressifs Du Plaisir, Jamaica Inn, Lone Wolf And Cub TV Series: Vol. 1, The Man Who Lies, Mongkok Story, Roujin Z, Space Marines, Who's The Woman Who's The Man. Tapes From the Attic: The Barbarians, Conquest, Messiah Of Evil, Shock. Closed rooms in the House Of Dark Shadows; Illuminating Night Of Dark Shadows: In these two articles, Darren Gross examines the extensive cuts imposed on House Of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night Of Dark Shadows (1972), Dan Curtis' feature film adaptations of his legendary ABC-TV Gothic daytime drama. Laserdiscs: Alice Sweet Alice, Chungking Express, Dragon Inn, Firestarter, Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword Of Vengeance, The Razor - Sword Of Justice, Sleepy Eyes of Death - The Chinese Jade, Message from Space, One Million Years B.C., Russ Meyer The Vixen Collection: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Vixen, SuperVixens, Faster,Pussycat, Kill! Kill!, The Vampire Lovers, Vertigo. Vertigo before Hitchcock: Was Vertigo really Alfred Hitchcock's most ''personal'' film? Tim Lucas goes back to the forgotten source novel - D'Entre Les Morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcijac - to discover how much of the film was derived from the book, and how much came from Hitch. Biblio Watchdog: Golden Horrors: An Illustrated Critical Filmography 1931-1939 by Bryan Senn, The Men Who Made The Monsters by Paul M. Jensen. |
Issue #39-May/June 1997Video tapevine: All the Colors of Darkness, Big Bullet, The Blind Swordsman's Fire Festival, David and Goliath, Duel to the Death, Faust, Heart Of Dragon, Kindar The Invisible, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Portrait Of Terror, She, Tales Fom The Crypt Presents Bordello Of Blood, Werewolf (1995). Anime Watchdog: Violence Jack: Evil Town Part 1, Violence Jack: Hell's Wind Part 2, Violence Jack: Slumking Part 3. Tapes from the attic: Blood Beach, Devil Doll, Manhattan Baby, Twilight People. What are those strange drops of blood in the scripts of Ernesto Gastaldi: Even if you don't recognize his name, your heart leaps at the mention of the films he wrote: The Vampire And The Ballerina, The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock, Werewolf In A Girl's Dormitory, What!, The 10th Victim, What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood On Jennefer's Body?, My Name Is Nobody and more than 100 other examples of classic Italian delirium! Tim Lucas presents a career-length interview - the first ever in English - with one of the original architects of Italian horror and suspence cinema! Laserdiscs: Butterfly And Sword, God Of Gamblers' Return, Heathers, Independence Day, The Island of Dr Moreau, Scanners, Straw Dogs, Spirits Of The Dead, Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, Tombs Of The Blind Dead, The Trigger Effect. Biblio Watchdog: The BFI Companion To Horror Edited by Kim Newman, Bizarre Sinema: Horror All' Italiana 1957-1979. |
Issue #38-March/April 1997Video tapevine: The Blade, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Dagora The Space Monster, Evil Ed, Nico, Nightwatch, The Quatermass Xperiment, Raw Deal, T-Men, Riti Magie Neri E Segrete Orge Nel Trecento, Sci-Fighters, Sex And Zen 2, So Sweet... So Perverse, Tai Chi II, The Time Travelers, Ultraman Special 30th Anniversary Collection, The Untold Story. Anime Watchdog: Blue Seed, Patlabor: The Mobile Police. E.T. The scenes left behind: MCA Universal has issued a new laserdisc boxed set of Steven Spielberg's beloved film - limited to 8,000 units - containing scenes deleted from the final cut. James Cole tells us what they are, and describes some filmed scenes that remain unreleased! With exclusive comments from director of photography Allen Daviau! Biblio Watchdog: Boris Karloff Edited by Gary J. and Susan Svehla. Night Of The Living Dead: Sure, E.T. died and came back to life, but first there was George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead! Don May, Jr. of Elite Entertainment tells the behind-the-scenes story of how this horror classic was restored for its acclaimed 1995 laserdisc release. Dawns of the dead: Tim Lucas takes the occasion of Elite's new ''Director's Cut'' of George A. Romero's splatter classic to compare this expanded 140m version with the 126m theatrical cut and the 119m European version supervised by Dario Argento! Plus reviews of all the film's new and previous laserdisc incarnations! Laserdiscs: Brazil, Cemetery Man, Crimes of Passion, The Edgar Wallace Horror Collection: The Human Monster and Chamber Of Horrors, Enemy Mine, Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers, Flash Gordon: Trip To Mars, Flash Gordon: Conquers The Universe, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser: Bloodline, Necronomicon: Book Of The Dead, Peace Hotel, Royal Tramp, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Young Frankenstein. |
Issue #37-January/February 1997Video tapevine: The Addiction, The Black Cat, Crossings, The Curse Of The Hidden Vault, The Death Artist, Piranha, Wasp Woman, The Demolitionist, Laurin, Love & Sex Among The Ruins, The Ninth Configuration, The Romance Of The Vampires, Sawbones. Anime Watchdog: Ghost In The Shell. Highlander: There have been more than one: Don May, Jr. proves it with this in-depth article, which compares the original version of Russell Mulcahy's epic fantasy with the choppy US theatrical cut and the newly-restored ''Director's Cut!'' Highlander II: Healing the cuts: Sean Murphy does likewise with Highlander's misunderstood sequel, comparing its original version, the confusing US version, and the new, exclusive-to-video ''Renegade Version!'' Laserdiscs: The Climax / The Strange Door, Dementia 13, Flesh For Frankenstein, Blood For Dracula, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Green Snake, The Haunted Strangler / Corridors Of Blood, MGM Horror Classics: Mark of the Vampire, Mad Love, The Devil Doll, The Mask of Fu Manchu, Mommy, The Night Stalker, The Nutty Professor, Painted Faces, Spider Baby, Toy Story. |
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