Dull vampire pix were once as ubiquitous as zombie pix are now, but when a good one came along we’d certainly take notice. The predatory Fran and Miriam are a wholly new twist on the ‘Wicked Lady’ highwayman theme — the picture transcends the softcore horror genre with class and style. Fringe director José Ramón Larraz found himself filming in England, and his output outclassed what were passing for Eurotrash horror epics across the channel. How did he do it? The answers become clear in Arrow’s special edition. Although only available in a boxed set, it’s reviewed here separately.
Vampyres
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March 26, 2019 / Available in the collection Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz, from Arrow Video / $72.89
Starring: Marianne Morris, Anulka (Dziubinska), Murray Brown, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner, Michael Byrne, Karl Lanchbury, Bessie Love.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Film Editor: Geoff R. Brown...
Vampyres
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March 26, 2019 / Available in the collection Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz, from Arrow Video / $72.89
Starring: Marianne Morris, Anulka (Dziubinska), Murray Brown, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner, Michael Byrne, Karl Lanchbury, Bessie Love.
Cinematography: Harry Waxman
Film Editor: Geoff R. Brown...
- 4/2/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This obscure 1972 thriller features excellent performances by Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed, and marks the feature debut of the great director Michael Apted. The wartime home front drama takes a surprisingly precocious and sensitive view of a bizarre incident that probably happened in real life: to escape his military service, a reluctant soldier cross-dresses as a woman.
The Triple Echo
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color / 1:85 / 94 min. / Soldier in Skirts / Street Date March 25, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £18.36
Starring: Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Brian Deacon, Anthony May, Gavin Richards, Jenny Lee Wright.
Cinematography: John Coquillon
Film Editor: Barrie Vince
Original Music: Mark Wilkinson
Written by Robin Chapman, from the story by H.E. Bates
Produced by Graham Cottle
Directed by Michael Apted
Billy Wilder would have given the makers of The Triple Echo cautioning advice about putting male actors in drag and passing them off as women: it’s a...
The Triple Echo
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1972 / Color / 1:85 / 94 min. / Soldier in Skirts / Street Date March 25, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £18.36
Starring: Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Brian Deacon, Anthony May, Gavin Richards, Jenny Lee Wright.
Cinematography: John Coquillon
Film Editor: Barrie Vince
Original Music: Mark Wilkinson
Written by Robin Chapman, from the story by H.E. Bates
Produced by Graham Cottle
Directed by Michael Apted
Billy Wilder would have given the makers of The Triple Echo cautioning advice about putting male actors in drag and passing them off as women: it’s a...
- 3/26/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Blood Hunger: The Films Of Jose Larraz will be available on Blu-ray March 26th From Arrow Video
One of the most underrated and oft-neglected genre filmmakers of his generation, Spanish-born director José Ramón Larraz (Symptoms) finally receives his due with this collection of his work, the first of its kind, bringing together a fascinating cross-section of films from the first half of his lengthy cinematic career.
In Larraz s debut feature, the hitherto ultra-rare Whirlpool (1970), Vivian Neves stars as Tulia, a young model invited to a photographer s secluded country home for what purports to be a quiet weekend retreat – but soon transpires to be anything but. 1974 s Vampyres – perhaps the best known and most widely-released of all José Larraz s films – sees a duo of blood hungry female vampires prowling the British countryside, from where they lure unsuspecting male motorists back to their imposing, dilapidated mansion for draining… in more ways than one.
One of the most underrated and oft-neglected genre filmmakers of his generation, Spanish-born director José Ramón Larraz (Symptoms) finally receives his due with this collection of his work, the first of its kind, bringing together a fascinating cross-section of films from the first half of his lengthy cinematic career.
In Larraz s debut feature, the hitherto ultra-rare Whirlpool (1970), Vivian Neves stars as Tulia, a young model invited to a photographer s secluded country home for what purports to be a quiet weekend retreat – but soon transpires to be anything but. 1974 s Vampyres – perhaps the best known and most widely-released of all José Larraz s films – sees a duo of blood hungry female vampires prowling the British countryside, from where they lure unsuspecting male motorists back to their imposing, dilapidated mansion for draining… in more ways than one.
- 3/6/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"To find our place in the universe, we must venture beyond our boundaries." Gravitas Ventures debuted this full trailer for the space sci-fi The Beyond, one of the first features from Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull, who got his start making cool sci-fi short films on Vimeo. We featured a teaser trailer for this earlier in the year, but the film has undergone extensive reshoots and re-edits, and this new trailer is a better look at what HaZ has cooked up. The Beyond is a low-budget sci-fi somewhat based on the idea first introduced in his short Project Kronos - first contact. It's about astronauts going through a wormhole ("The Void") to another part of the universe, who return early, and now everyone wants to know what they found on the other side. The cast includes Nigel Barber, Jane Perry, Brian Deacon, and David Bailie. Sci-fi geeks need to see this. Here's...
- 10/25/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Chicago – José Ramón Larraz’s 1974 cult classic “Vampyres” isn’t about vampires any more than “Troll 2” is about trolls. It’s a flat-out porn flick with fangs, or at least very unnatural teeth. The filmmakers harbor no artistic aspirations apart from terrifying and titillating their audience. Perhaps I’m merely jaded by the plethora of sex and violence in our modern media, but I found the film to be a complete snooze, even in its much-ballyhooed uncensored version.
Three minutes of the picture have been routinely cut by censors, primarily because of its lesbian content, and this Blu-Ray release restores the missing footage. This will mean quite a lot to fans of the film, and not much to anyone else. Though the film is competently made, and holds a certain campy charm, its repetitive plot grows quickly tiresome. It mainly consists of characters wandering around in the darkness, inching...
Three minutes of the picture have been routinely cut by censors, primarily because of its lesbian content, and this Blu-Ray release restores the missing footage. This will mean quite a lot to fans of the film, and not much to anyone else. Though the film is competently made, and holds a certain campy charm, its repetitive plot grows quickly tiresome. It mainly consists of characters wandering around in the darkness, inching...
- 4/9/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
During our brief downtime this past week a slew of new release dates and DVDetails have emerged for some upcoming genre fare set to invade the home market. Fangoria has details and updates on the upcoming releases of Paranormal Activity, Surrogates, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, Rob Zombie's Halloween II, District 9, Blood Creek, She-wolf Of London, and more.
Paramount has announced that Oren Peli's runaway hit Paranormal Activity is slated for a DVD & Blu-ray release on December 29th, 2009.
The Paranormal Activity DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround (theatrical version only) and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-hd Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (theatrical version only) and English, English Sdh, French and Spanish subtitles. Special features include:
Unrated version with alternate ending not seen in theaters...
Paramount has announced that Oren Peli's runaway hit Paranormal Activity is slated for a DVD & Blu-ray release on December 29th, 2009.
The Paranormal Activity DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround (theatrical version only) and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-hd Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (theatrical version only) and English, English Sdh, French and Spanish subtitles. Special features include:
Unrated version with alternate ending not seen in theaters...
- 11/27/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
The age of the Aztecs remains a source of mesmerising mystery, a contrast between brutal human sacrifice and the cultural splendour of gold, gems and mighty pyramids.
It's a world brought back to life in The Feathered Serpent, a classic TV historical fantasy show where dark corridors of whispered evil threaten to undermine the glory of the empire.
I had fond memories of this UK children's drama from my childhood and was delighted when it finally surfaced on DVD earlier this year. It was released by Network, which specialises in bringing long-lost TV and film classics to disc format.
Thames Television broadcast two seasons between 1976 and 1978. Starring Diane Keen and the late Patrick Troughton (who had been the second Doctor Who between 1966 and 1969), The Feathered Serpent is a story of murder, intrigue and political manoeuvring set in 11th century Mexico.
The story begins as the old Aztec religion of god...
It's a world brought back to life in The Feathered Serpent, a classic TV historical fantasy show where dark corridors of whispered evil threaten to undermine the glory of the empire.
I had fond memories of this UK children's drama from my childhood and was delighted when it finally surfaced on DVD earlier this year. It was released by Network, which specialises in bringing long-lost TV and film classics to disc format.
Thames Television broadcast two seasons between 1976 and 1978. Starring Diane Keen and the late Patrick Troughton (who had been the second Doctor Who between 1966 and 1969), The Feathered Serpent is a story of murder, intrigue and political manoeuvring set in 11th century Mexico.
The story begins as the old Aztec religion of god...
- 6/10/2009
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
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