Basket
Case (1982/MVD
Visual/Arrow remastered Blu-ray)/Danger
Signal (1945/Warner
Archive DVD)/Don't Bother
To Knock
(1952/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Ichi
The Killer
(2001/remastered Well Go Blu-ray)/My
Cousin Rachel
(1952/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+/C/B/B/B Sound: B+/C/C+/B/C+ Extras: B/C-/B-/C+/C+
Films: C+/C+/B-/B/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Don't
Bother To Knock
and My
Cousin Rachel
Blu-rays are now only available from our friends at Twilight Time,
are limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies
last, while the Danger
Signal
DVD is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series. All can be ordered from the links below.
Up
next are a selection of back catalog thriller releases, with the
three older films being black and white 35mm Hollywood productions
and the two newer releases full color 16mm cult films...
THE
TENANT IN ROOM 7 IS VERY SMALL, VERY TWISTED, AND VERY MAD.
From
the Director of Brain Damage and Frankenhooker, Frank
Henenlotter, comes the cult classic Basket Case (1982), which
finds its way on Blu-ray looking better than its previous release
from Image a few years ago and packed with a lot of new extras. The
first part of a trilogy (see below on Parts 2 and 3), the film has
been restored in 4K by MoMa and is weirder than ever!
Basket
Case stars Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly
Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne, and Lloyd Pace.
A
product of 1980s New York and 42nd Street, Basket Case is a
low budget film that likely didn't expect to spawn two sequels and
the cult status that it has today. Silly yet charming, the film
centers around Duane Bradley who has a formerly conjoined twin named
Belial that he keeps in a locked basket. The two brothers end up
going to New York in an attempt to seek revenge on the surgeons
responsible for their odd situation... but instead Duane gets
sidetracked by sudden romance... but will she be able to survive the
flesh hungry Belial? Cause every time Duane gets close to her... the
creature brother lashes out and kills!
Presented
in 1080p high definition from a new 4K remaster on Blu-ray with a
full frame 1.37:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a new uncompressed
English LPCM 2.0 mono track, the super low budget film looks better
than it ever has before. Originally shot on 16mm (blown up to 35mm
for theatrical release), this is an impressive upgrade.
This
is by no means a masterpiece of filmmaking and is certainly dated in
many regards. Often imitated by indie filmmakers, Basket Case
has bad stop motion animation, over the top acting, and yet
surprisingly halfway decent gore. This is a great popcorn munching
film to watch with a group of friends that aren't too uptight or
picky about their B-movies.
Special
Features exclusive to this edition include...
Brand
new audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star
Kevin Van Hentenryck
Basket
Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley - Frank Henenlotter
revisits Duane Bradley decades after the events of the original
Basket Case
Seeing
Double: The Basket Case Twins - a brand new interview with
Florence and Maryellen Schultz, the twin nurses from Basket Case
Brand
new making-of featurette containing new interviews with producer
Edgar Ievins, casting person/actress Ilze Balodis, associate
producer/effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
Blood,
BASKET and Beyond - a brand new interview with actress Beverly
Bonner
Belial
Goes to the Drive-In - a brand new interview with film critic Joe
Bob Briggs
Outtakes
Featurette
In
Search of the Hotel Broslin - archive location featurette
Slash
of the Knife (1972) - short film by Frank Henenlotter
Belial's
Dream (2017, 5 mins) - a brand new Basket Case-inspired
animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
Behind-the-scenes
of Belial's Dream
Trailers,
TV Spots and Radio Spots
Extensive
Still Galleries
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet with new writing on the film by
Michael Gingold
For
more on the sequels, try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14381/Basket+Case+2+(1990)+++3:+The+Progeny+(19
And
for more on the older Blu-ray edition try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11189/Basket+Case+(1981/Something+Weird+Video/Ima
Robert
Florey is a decent journeyman director and he could do interesting
work like Danger
Signal
(1945) with the very likable Faye Emerson (who could have been a big
star) as a stenographer who gets seduced by a new border (Zachary
Scott) who turns out to be a murder of women for their wealth, but
also just to get by. Everything seems fine and she does not suspect
a thing, until she discovers he's secretly dating her younger sister.
Shocked, can she stop him before her sister is emotionally hurt or
will they both be killed?
Some
of this is really well done, is not a total; Film Noir, but is in
that area and has some interesting, suspenseful moments.
Unfortunately, it also has some predictability, camp and too much
melodrama to be a full Noir, so its 78 minutes are not as rich as
they could have been, but I still think it is worth a good look and
Emerson more than holds her own. Rosemary DeCamp, Dick Erdman, Mona
Freeman, Bruce Bennett and John Ridgely make for a really decent
supporting cast.
The
1.33 X 1 black & white film
is well shot and is consistent, but sadly, this print is not in the
best of shape and neither is the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono sound,
so the film needs and deserves a thorough restoration. Emerson still
shines through it.
A
theatrical trailer is the only extra.
The
great Roy Ward Baker (credited as Roy Baker here) directed an early
success for Marilyn Monroe in the Noirish drama Don't
Bother To Knock
(1952) has her getting a baby sitting job thanks to her elevator
operator cousin (Elisha Cook, Jr.) in a fancy hotel (Jim Backus is
the father of the couple who hire her) to watch a couple's daughter.
Instead, she lands up attracting the interest of hotel guest Richard
Widmark who thinks she lives there, not helped by the fact she is
wearing the wife's expensive clothes and jewelry.
Unfortunately,
she is not well as we discover and that sudden affair gets mixed up
with her poor mental health and babysitting and more madness. Monroe
gives one of her best performances here and it is amazing it is only
being issued form the Fox catalog as a Twilight Time Limited Edition
Blu-ray, but you won't find it in any Monroe Blu-ray sets, so you'll
want to get this gem ASAP. Anne Bancroft makes her film debut here
as a sexy lounge singer Widmark is interested in, plus supporting
actors like Lurene Tuttle, Jeanne Cagney and Don Beddoe help make
this a well realized film. Baker really delivers here.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer rarely shows the age of the materials used, this is far
superior a transfer to all previous releases of the film and the work
by Lucien Ballard, A.S.C., looks really good. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix shows its age more so
because that is just the recording technology of the time, hut it is
a clean track for its age.
Extras
include the usual high quality illustrated booklet on the film
including informative text and yet another excellent, underrated
essay by the great film scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a
great Isolated Music Score (minus Miss Bancroft's vocals on the
songs) sounding a bit better than the film's own soundtrack, separate
AMC Biography profiles on Monroe and Widmark and the Original
Theatrical Trailer.
Japanese
Horror Director Takashi Miike's most infamous film, Ichi the
Killer (2001), gets a significant upgrade, remastered in this new
Blu-ray edition from Well Go USA. Using The Yakuza crime formula,
Miike crafts a violent and terrifying character that is in someways
the sadistic Japanese equivalent to The Joker (from Batman).
Presented here in its full director's cut and not for the faint of
the heart, is finally a proper domestic version of the film.
Ichi
the Killer stars Tadanobu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun,
Susumu Terajima, and Shun Sugata.
Take
a nose dive into the underworld of the Yakuza, and Kakihara who is a
relentless killer out for revenge. Looking for the man responsible
for murdering his boss, he soon comes face to face with Jiji (an
ex-cop with an attitude) and Ichi the Killer... a lunatic that takes
violence to a whole new level. The result is a skin stretching
bloodbath as only one side will remain victorious.
Presented
in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a new 4K HD
transfer approved by the director himself (the film was shot on 16mm
film, then transferred to video via the older pre-digital scan
telecine machine, before landing up on 35mm film in a move to twist
the fidelity of the image in a brief trend of the time), the
difference to the previous Blu-ray is pretty significant. Paired
with a Japanese: DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless track with
English subtitles and a lossy Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 track
(depending on your home system), complements this solid Blu-ray
release.
Special
Features include...
Audio
Commentary with Director Takashi Miike & Manga Artist/Writer
Hideo Yamamoto
Still
Gallery
Original
Trailer
While
a little soft on extras, this is definitely an improvement over
previous versions of the film on disc and is definitely worth seeking
out if you're a true fan of the film.
Last
but not least is Henry Koster's film of Daphne du Maurier's My
Cousin Rachel
(1952) with Richard Burton in his first Hollywood film as Phillip,
dealing with sudden matters of death and madness, then meets the
title character (Olivia de Havilland) and starts to wonder if she is
a killer or if he wants her and if that's a good idea and everyone is
slowly pulled into the web of strange circumstances and coincidences.
The results of the film, save its bold ending, are mixed, but it is
worth a look for all the talent involved and this Fox film is being
released by Twilight Time as another one of their great Limited
Edition Blu-rays.
Again,
more melodrama than I needed and top be honest, in the promo and by
intent of production, Fox did everything they could to evoke Rebecca
and Gone With The Wind (there is even a character named Ashley
by coincidence!) to push the film and it was a hit, if no ton the
level of those two. The leads have a weird chemistry that only helps
matters and the studio did go out of their way to put money into it,
so it does hold up with a nice density that sells the story and
atmosphere worthy of du Maurier's work. I just wish it was darker
and took advantage of a few missed opportunities.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer can show the age of the materials used, especially since
several print sources (negative or otherwise) were apparently used as
there are slight, faint color changes (greenish to bluish, etc.) as
one watches. Too bad some filter could not have been use to get rid
of that. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix hows its age with its
slight compression, but it is about as good as can be expected for
its age.
Extras
yet again include another nicely illustrated booklet on the film
including informative text and yet another excellent, underrated
essay by the great film scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a
radio drama version of the film with de Havilland playing Rachel, an
Isolated Music Score track (always in lossless DTS-MA) from Franz
Waxman that sounds better than the film (Waxman and movie music fans
will want the disc just for that!) and an Original Theatrical
Trailer.
To
order Don't
Bother To Knock
and My
Cousin Rachel
limited edition Blu-rays, buy them while supplies last at these
links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
...and
to order the Danger
Signal
Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for them and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James
Lockhart (Basket,
Ichi)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
