Complete
Sartana (1968 -
1970/MVD/Arrow Blu-ray Set)/German
Angst
(2015/Artsploitation Blu-ray)/Isle
Of Dogs (2018/Fox Blu-ray
w/DVD)/Ready Player One 4K
(2018/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Smash
Palace (1981/MVD/Arrow
Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B/B/B+ & B-/B+/B Sound:
B/B/B+ & B-/A/B Extras: B/B/B-/B/B Films:
B C+ C+ B C+ /C+/C+/B/B
Here's
a wide, diverse variety of genre films that take you places you might
not have been before...
Complete
Sartana
MVD/Arrow
Blu-ray Limited Edition version of this set is limited to only 2,500
units.
If
you're a fan of Italian Spaghetti Westerns then the name 'Sartana' is
no doubt familiar. For the first time thanks to Arrow, these little
seen films are now available together in a deluxe boxed set that is
packed full of hours and hours of entertainment.
The
films star Gianni Garko in the title role (with the exception of
Trade
your Guns for a Coffin
which features George Hilton in the role) and he will stun you as the
badass Western Anti-hero. The character is a western vigilante of
sorts and each film has a high body count that might even make Clint
Eastwood think twice...
Similar
to films (and their series) like Django, Ringo, and Sabata, this
Spaghetti Western series features a hero that shoots first and asks
questions later.
The
set includes all five of the Sartana films:
If
You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death
(1968) - Crooked bankers plan an insurance swindle and hire a Mexican
Gang to steal the bank's gold but they didn't 'bank' on Sartana
intervening.
I
Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
(1969) - Sartana is falsely accused of robbing a bank, and must find
the real robbers and clear his name... if its not too late.
Have
a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay
(1970) - Sartana tries to uncover a murderous plot in the small town
of Indian Creek.
Light
the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming
(1970) - Sartana arrives in a town and tries to find a hidden fortune
of half a million dollars in gold and two million dollars in
counterfeit money, but he's not the only one looking for this elusive
fortune.
Sartana's
Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin
(1970) - Sartana is entrusted to protect some gold... but things
aren't exactly as simple as they sound.
Presented
in 1080p high definition and restored in 2K from the original film
elements, these films look and sound incredible on Blu-ray disc.
This release features the original Italian and English soundtracks on
all five films, 1.85:1 for the first film, then 2.35:1 for all the
sequels and Uncompressed DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless
audio on all of the features and newly translated English subtitles
for the Italian soundtrack. You'll be hard pressed to find these
films looking and sounding better than they do here!
Special
Features include...
Audio
commentary on If
You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death
by filmmaker Mike Siegel
Audio
commentary on I
Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
by Spaghetti Western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
Gianfranco
Parolini on If
You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death,
a brand-new interview with the writer-director
Fabbio
Piccioni on If
You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death,
a brand-new interview with the writer
Sal
Borgese on I
Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
and Light
the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming,
two brand-new interviews with the actor
Ernesto
Gastaldi on I
Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
and Light
the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming,
two brand-new interviews with the writer
Roberto
Dell'Acqua on Have
a Good Funeral My Friend... Sartana Will Pay,
a brand-new interview with the actor
Sartana
Lives,
an archive featurette on Light
the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming
featuring interviews with actor Gianni Garko and director Giuliano
Carnimeo
Sartana
Shoots First,
a brand-new interview with George Hilton on Sartana's
Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin
Erika
Blanc on Sartana's
Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin,
a brand-new interview with the actor
Tony
Askin on Sartana's
Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin,
a brand-new interview with the actor as well
Brand-new
video essay on the major actors and supporting players in the
official Sartana films
Galleries
of original promotional images from the Mike Siegal Archive for all
five films
Illustrated
collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Roberto
Curti and an extensive Spaghetti Western timeline by Howard Hughes.
and
Limited Edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original
and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
Three
cinematic shorts comprise this anthology feature from brutal German
horror filmmakers Jorg Buttgereit, Michal Kosakowski, Andreas
Marschall, German
Angst
(2015) is just that. Bloody, sexy, and grisly tales that are
definitely more extreme than what we normally see in cinemas in
America. Artsploitation is releasing the film here in all its HD
glory and with new bonus material not found on previous releases.
The
films include Final
Girl
by Jorg Buttgereit, tells the story of a young girl who lives with
her guinea pig in a dirty apartment in Berlin. While at first she
seems innocent and lonely, we quickly discover her wicked revenge
plot... which deals with a gagged man tied to her bed.
Make
A Wish
by Michal Kosakowski centers around a young deaf-mute couple who are
attacked by a group of skin heads with malicious intentions.
And
Alraune
by Andreas Marschall. is set at a sex club which promises the
ultimate sexual experience by taking a drug made from the roots of
the legendary Mandragora plant. As with any drug, there can be some
unexpected side effects from getting too high off of it.
German
Angst
stars Annika Strauss, Milton Welsh, Lola Grave, Andreas Pape, Mathan
Harris, and Deseriee Giorgetti.
The
film is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a 2.35:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and a lossy Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital mix with English
subtitles. The transfer is clean and pretty nice with nothing that
sticks out as too off. Fans should be plenty happy with this
release.
Special
Features include...
Q
and A at Fantastic Fest 2015
Behind
the Scenes Featurette
Crowdfunding
Video for Startnext
Crowdfunding
Video for Kickstarter
Official
Trailers
Teasers
Wes
Anderson is a strong and unique voice in Hollywood and debuts another
creative and original piece of work with Isle
of Dogs
(2018). A stop motion animated film similar in style and tone to his
previous The
Fantastic Mr. Fox
(now on Criterion Blu-ray), here he tells the story of a group of
dogs that are banished and living amongst themselves on a remote
island outside of Japan. Weird, quirky, and unique Isle
of Dogs
is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of Wes Anderson's
style and humor.
The
voice cast is incredible and includes Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton,
Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, and
Frances McDormand.
Atari
Kobayashi is a 12-year-old ward to sinister Mayor Kobayashi. When
all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to vast Trash Island,
Atari sets off in search of his beloved dog, Spots. Once Spots
befriends a group of unlikely heroes, he sets off on a journey that
can end in either triumph or tragedy.
Presented
in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and
a English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the presentation
is up to standards for the format. The animation style is by far the
most interesting aspect of the film and is captured well here with
plenty of detail in the imagery. Also included is an anamorphically
enhanced,
standard definition DVD of the film with a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital
mix and the same widescreen aspect ratio. A digital copy is also
included.
Special
Features...
Featurettes
- Animators,
Isle of Dogs Cast Interviews, Puppets, An Ode to Dogs, Magasaki City
and Trash Island,
and Weather
and Elements
Image
Gallery
Theatrical
Trailer
There's
no doubt that Wes Anderson had some wild and crazy ideas for this
one. However, Isle of Dogs doesn't quite hold up to his previous
stop motion animated film, The
Fantastic Mr. Fox,
in terms of replay-ability. The animation here is breathtaking,
however the story is a bit confusing at times and has some awkward
pacing. As in The
Fantastic Mr. Fox,
the characters love to talk very fast while throwing out some big
words and other mumbo jumbo. While this is a choice of the director
and at times cute and funny, it may leave some a bit perplexed.
Still, the film is a huge achievement and worth checking out for the
animation and style alone.
It
seems only appropriate for Steven Spielberg himself to direct a film
as massive and effects heavy as Ready
Player One
(2018), which is of course based on the popular book by Ernest Cline.
Taking the virtual world concept (not too far off from The
Matrix)
and filling it with more pop culture references and cameos than you
can shake a stick at, Ready
Player One
is a fun departure for Spielberg, who has been making way too many
'adult' films as of late it seems.
Shooting
this picture at the same time as The
Post
(4K UHD reviewed elsewhere on this site), Spielberg's style has only
evolved over time with more and more big budget special effects and
awe factor than maybe ever before whenever he feels like diving into
his 'adventure side' of filmmaking. So why does it still feel like
something is missing here?
Spielberg
doesn't self reference his films (or associated films) as much as one
might expect in this world, with only cameos by Back
to the Future's
DeLorean (and Doc Brown) and a scene involving the T-Rex 'Rexy' from
Jurassic Park most noticeable, when he could have REALLY went far and
included a easter egg from all his movies here somewhere (or did
he?), but I guess he might have felt that too was too cheap or easy.
However, the film is packed full of SO MANY references, you'd have to
watch it a hundred times with a fast finger on the pause button to
catch each and every one. Most impressive, however is (SPOILERS) a
sequence where they recreate the set of Stanley Kubrick's The
Shining
(1980) that is very precise and cool for fans familiar. Ready
Player One
is pretty close to its source material, aside from some subtle
changes here and there.
Ready
Player One
stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, and
T.J. Miller. The soundtrack is by Alan Silvestri (Back
to the Future)
instead of John Williams, who is the usual soundtrack collaborator.
I guess Williams was working on The
Last Jedi
around the same time, but still makes one wonder if his musical
accompaniment would have helped make the film any better.
The
future is a depressing place... which is why everybody spends their
time in The Oasis, a virtual reality world where you can be anyone
and do anything. Wade Watts (Sheridan) is an average video game
obsessed kid, who has a massive amount of admiration for The Oasis'
late creator who suddenly and mysteriously dies. A contest (not
unlike the one in Willy
Wonka)
for the inheritance of the keys to the Oasis gaming world (and a heck
of a lot of money) is hatched and soon players from all over the
world attempt to solve the mystery. While Wade Watts starts to
unlock the challenges and gain success in the contest, the evil
Sorrento attempts to stop him. Along the way, Wade makes new
friends, falls in love, and becomes the best version of himself both
in (and out) of the gaming world.
Presented
in 2160p HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced
Ultra High Definition image with a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio and
a lossless 11.1 Dolby Atmos mix, this is top of the line work done by
Warner Bros. Also on the disc are tracks in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
and in various languages. The 4K Ultra HD features just the feature
film itself while the 1080p Blu-ray disc has all of the extras. The
film looks great on 4K and doesn't have any issues with motion
blurring which is surprising as the film certainly whips around a
lot. The colors are rich and everything is highly detailed. This is
a great great looking (and sounding) presentation, folks.
Also
included is a digital Movies Everywhere copy.
Special
Features include...
Game
Changer: Cracking the Code
Effects
for a Brave New World
Level
Up: Sound for the Future
High
Score: Endgame
Ernie
& Tye's Excellent Adventure
The
'80s: You're The Inspiration
Thanks
to special effects breakthrough films like Avatar
and others, a film of this scale is possible. While it's not exactly
perfect story-wise or up there with some of Spielberg's other
classics, it's still a lot of fun and looks great on 4K UHD disc.
And
finally, an interesting and exhilarating film to say the least, Roger
Donaldson's Smash
Palace
(1981) and stars Bruno Lawrence.
The
film centers on Al Shaw (Lawrence), a man who retires from auto
racing to take over his father's garage (called Smash Palace) in New
Zealand. His wife, Jacqui, is happy that he's no longer risking his
life for race, but she quickly becomes bored without the glamorous
life they once had. She ends up cheating on him with a policeman and
announces that she's leaving Al and taking their daughter, Georgie,
with her. Al ends up losing it and decides to kidnap his daughter
and head further out into the frontier to start a new life.
The
film also stars Bryan Johnson, Don Lee, Anna Maria Monticelli,
Desmond Kelly, and Margaret Umbers.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.85:1 and a fantastic sounding English LPCM 2.0 mix and a
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix as well. The film was
restored and remastered by the New Zealand Film Commission.
Special
Features...
Feature
Length Audio Commentary by writer-director Roger Donaldson and stunt
driver Steve Millen
The
Making of Smash Palace,
a 51-minute documentary on the film's production featuring interviews
with Donaldson, actor Keith Aberdein, filmmaker Geoff Murphy and
others
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean
Phillips
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing
on the film by Ian Barr, a contemporary review by Pauline Kael and
the original press book.
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
