Attack Of The 50ft. Woman (1958/Allied Artists/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Dragons Forever 4K (1988/88 Films 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray*)/Heartland Of Darkness (1992/Ronin Flix Blu-ray*)/Loneliest Boy In The World (2020/Well Go USA Blu-ray)/Nightmare Man (2006/Ronin Flix Blu-ray/*all MVD)/The Staircase (2022/HBO Limited Series/Warner DVD Set)

4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B/B-/B+/B/C Sound: B+/C+/B-/B+/B/C+ Extras: C/B/B/C+/B/C Main Programs: C+/B-/C/C/C+/C+

PLEASE NOTE: The Attack Of The 50ft Woman Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

Up next are all kinds of action thrillers, some with mystery, some with drama and several that love being in the genre they are in...

The Attack Of The 50ft. Woman (1958) rampages onto Blu-ray in a limited Warner Archive Collection release. While the prehistoric special effects here are pretty primitive to watch nowadays and especially in a transfer as nice and sharp as this one, the film is still pretty fun for a B-movie.

Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes) is a wealthy woman, but stuck in a loveless marriage and knows for a fact that her husband (William Hudson) is cheating on her with another woman (Yvette Vickers), and he's even scheming on a way to rob Nancy of her fortune. Out late one night, Nancy has a close encounter with a spacecraft (she calls it a satellite in the film), and gets attacked by the huge man-like alien living inside. Soon, she starts to grow at an exponential rate, and unwillingly creates chaos in her wake as she becomes the size of Godzilla or King Kong!

Attack of the 50ft. Woman is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a restored black and white image, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) lossless Mono mix.

The best looking effects in the film are when Allison Hayes is photographed next to a model. You can really see some prehistoric compositing work done here that doesn't really hold up. And some laughable effects include a giant fake looking female hand and springs holding up the model space-craft at the beginning. But, hey, I'm sure it looked fine on a drive-in screen in 1958! The film does look very good in this release though and has been cleaned up considerably for a pretty nice looking restoration overall.

Special Features include an Original Theatrical Trailer and Feature-Length Audio Commentary track by Yvette Vickers and Film Historian Tom Weaver.

Sammo Hung's Dragons Forever 4K (1988) was the final timer the martial arts legend would team up with two other legends for a feature film: Jackie Chan and the underrated and less-known-on-the U.S. Yuen Biao. I had no idea they were a familiar trio in the genre or had done so much together, but they go out on a high-enough note here in this comical and sometimes odd tale of lawyer Chan helping a rich chemical works owner against a lawsuit and upcoming case.

Of course, this is no court room drama and much of the 'deliberations' will be settled out of court with plenty of kicks, chops, punches and other madness as the film juggles almost more than it can handle. The script may be on the thin side and there might be a bit too much comedy for me (but this is were the genre was at the time) but the stunt work is top notch and the actors are all in rare form in a good way. No wonder it is one of the first classic martial arts films of any kind to get the 4K treatment, here courtesy of 88 Films.

This plays better than many of Chan's Hollywood outings and is far from a perfect overall film, but fans of the genre should be pleased enough with the results as this set (especially the limited edition we are covering here) goes all out to present the film in a way that fans will love, so serious hardcore fans of the genre and its stars will want to get this Limited Edition before it sells out.

Chan only made it to Hollywood after years of success overseas, so the chance to see a younger Chan in action is interesting, with his stunt work as reminiscent of comic geniuses like Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd as Bruce Lee or Jimmy Wang-Yu. This is rarely delved into, but seeing his work in earlier films more than speaks for itself and this might be one of the last chances to see this from him before his Hollywood success made him more of a global celebrity than he already was. The trio also have their chemistry and by this film, their martial arts work was as tight as a classic MGM musical. Definitely give this one a look.

The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced, Ultra High Definition images of all the cuts of the films are the best-looking film on the list, just edging out other entries we covered in this review with great color, depth, detail and a generally solid look throughout. Though it has its limits, the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray still looks good for the format and is watchable, but not as good as the 4K.

As for sound, the original Cantonese/English theatrical monophonic sound has been upgraded to Cantonese Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) and Cantonese & English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that does what it can with the audio, but it is more aged than expected and all either mix can do is boost the existing sound. The mixers tried to do their best to upgrade, but it only goes so far, so only expect so much, no matter which track you choose.

Extras are many and include a high quality, illustrated booklet on the film with great illustrations, two essays, lobby cards, stills and posters, all in a strong slide case with the disc case itself, while the discs add the Hong Kong Version of the film with a 4K restoration of the original Hong Kong version of Dragons Forever.

• A Feature Length Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema

• English Version: 4K restoration of the English version of Dragons Forever, which was commissioned by Golden Harvest for international audiences outside Asia with the classic English dub. (94 min)

• Japanese Version: 4K restoration of the Japanese version of Dragons Forever, which features two extra scenes and an ending with outtakes. Presented with English subtitles. (98 min)

• Original Hong Kong trailer for Dragons Forever. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (4 min)

• Original English trailer for Dragons Forever. In English. (3 min)

• Outtakes and Behind the Scenes: a collection of outtakes and behind the scenes footage, some quite painful but very funny, presented with music. (13 min)

• Japanese End Credits: original Japanese end credits for Dragons Forever. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (2 min)

• Two Deleted Scenes in English. (4 min)

• The Legacy of Dragons Forever: in this short program, stuntmen Troy Sandford and Chris Jones, and filmmaker Boyask, amongst other, discuss the unique chemistry between the stars of Dragons Forever. In English. (3 min)

• The Breaker: this archival program takes a closer look at the acting and fighting careers of Billy Chow, who has a memorable role in Dragons Forever. In English and Cantonese, with English subtitles where necessary. (35 min)

• Kick Fighter: in this archival program, Andy Cheng explains how he entered the film business and discusses his fighting style. There are also some very interesting comments about his collaborations with Jackie Chan. In English. (39 min)

• and Beyond Gravity: in this archival program, martial arts/background performer Joe Eigo discusses the enormous impact Bruce Lee's films had on him and his eventual transition to the film business. In English. (13 min)

Heartland Of Darkness (1992) is a low budget horror film that focuses on a crazed satanic cult that is moving in on a small town in Ohio. The film, also known as Blood Church, has gotten a new Blu-ray edition for the first time ever in a new SD restoration from Ronin Flix's sub label Visual Vengeance. The film features Scream Queen Linnea Quigley in a few scenes (and of course in one of them she's topless), and is considered to be one of her lost films, and so this will no doubt please her completist fans. Considering it's a lower budgeted film and pre-digital days, they did a pretty good job with what they had to work with.

The film features a cast of mostly unknowns aside from Miss Quigley including Nick Baldasare, Dino Tripodis, Shanna Thomas, Sharon Klopfenstein, and John Dunleavy.

This is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and an English, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 (192kbps) Stereo mix as well. The film was shot on 16mm (shot soft matte so it could be shown at 1.85 X 1 as needed in theaters) and is presented in a new director-supervised SD master from original tape and film elements. Considering the budget and etc, the film looks fine and its faults suit the overall style for what the film is going for.

Special Features:

DEEPER INTO THE DARKNESS: New 40-minute BTS documentary

Three commentary tracks

Linnea Quigley Remembers: new interview

Archival TV interviews, TV spots, BTS footage and trailers

Complete original FALLEN ANGELS 1990 workprint

BLOOD CHURCH: rare distributor promotional video

Six-page liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng's Chop Magazine

Limited Edition HEARTLAND OF DARKNESS ''Prayer Cloth''

Limited Edition slipcase: FIRST PRESSING ONLY

Collectible Linnea Quigley folded mini-poster

and ''Stick your own'' VHS sticker set.

Heartland of Darkness is a pretty ambitious screenplay and does its best with the limitations it had at the time. While not all of it works, enough of it does to get the idea behind what they were going for, even if the end result is a bit muddled.

Martin Owen's The Loneliest Boy in the World (2020) is a UK set horror/comedy that's a bit silly in the same way that Weekend at Bernie's or Swiss Army Man are in that you aren't quite sure what is fairy tale and what is reality inside the scrambled brains of the main character.

The story follows an odd boy whose obsessed (now ironically) with the sitcom ALF, named Oliver (Max Harwood) who is mourning the sudden death of his mother, in which he was accidentally involved in a year prior. After being told by authorities to dig up some new friends, the delusional boy takes the term literally and starts to dig up corpses from a local cemetery and starts to socialize with them and treat them like members of his own family. All the while in the real world, he deals with bullies and falls for a local girl who is a bit weird like he is. Soon, the corpses start talking with him and giving him guidance as a family would, (and somehow those around him are able to see them walk and talk too but never SMELL them?). In short, this takes dysfunctional family to a new level of weird. While the film isn't terrible and is light hearted at its core, it's not without some pretty gross gags here and there, and doesn't quite work as a whole.

The film stars Ashley Benson, Ben Miller, Susan Wokoma, and Evan Ross.

The Loneliest Boy in the World is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo tracks. The film has some beautiful UK locations throughout it and some really nice photography throughout for being a lower budgeted production. They got the rights to use some pretty popular music as well, even the Ghostbusters theme is played. The special effects are pretty solid and the film has some good looks on all of the undead characters, especially in some of the scenes where they attempt to gross out the audience.

Special Features include a Behind the Scenes featurette and an Original Theatrical Trailer.

Nightmare Man (2006) is a fun indie slasher / psychological thriller starring Tiffany Shepis (Hatchet, Sharknado 2) in a pretty memorable role.

A husband and wife are struggling in their relationship when they receive a bizarre mask in the mall. Soon, the wife becomes terrified of the mask and has dreams attaching a supernatural entity to it known as The Nightmare Man. This Freddy Krueger-esque slasher becomes a reality when she is attacked by him in physical form in the woods after their car breaks down and her husband leaves her stranded. The terrorized woman ends up at a remote cabin where two couples are enjoying a weekend vacation. These strangers all end up being victim to this crazed killer, who starts offing them one by one, but there are more twists in store as the film ramps up into its wild final act. If you're looking for gracious nudity and gore then this movie doesn't disappoint.

The film also stars Blythe Metz (The Craving Heart), and Richard Moll (TV's Night Court, Scary Movie 2), and is written and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky.

Nightmare Man is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes, as well for the music tracks. The film was shot on the independent side, but looks pretty good still for standard HD.

Special Features:

There's Something Out There: The Making of Nightmare Man featurette including interviews with director Rolfe Kanefsky, actors Tiffany Shepis and Blythe Metz, and crew members Jeff Farley, Esther Goodstein, and Christian Farrel

Creating a Nightmare: The Making of Nightmare Man

Extended Scenes

Tiffany's Behind-the-Scenes

Flubbing a Nightmare Gag Reel

Stills Gallery

Promo Reel

NEW Film Score Audio-Only Track

and a Feature Length Audio Commentary track with director Rolfe Kanefsky, producer Esther Goodstein, and cast member Tiffany Shepis.

Nightmare Man is a pretty fun slasher, but probably could have benefitted from being a tad bit shorter. The last act is full of twists, but it feels like there are maybe a few twists too many as the final reveal is a bit silly. Still, I give the film points for ticking off all the slasher film tropes on a low budget, and for some creative kill scenes.

Finally, we have the real life crime drama The Staircase (2022) which takes place a few months after the events of 9/11, but is not directly linked. Instead, a married man (Colin Firth) makes a frantic call to local police that his wife has fallen down the steps in their home. When it turns out she is dead from this, his call becomes suspect. As the investigation continues, he also turns out to have a secret life (read secret desires; he is bi-sexual or gay) and did he kill her to pursue his hidden interests?

Then a documentary camera crew from French TV arrives and also starts investigating, which is portrayed in this HBO Limited Series mini-series. Running eight hour-long episodes, it plays like several such European TV productions also based on real-life incidents as well as others where we have to wonder about the guilt or innocence of people with a stark situation presented in the first episode.

While the acting is good (Toni Colette, Sophie Turner, Juliet Binoche, Parker Posey and Dane DeHaan lead the decent supporting cast) and directing is not bad, I never totally bought this, thought it might be gay-baiting and a little exploitive and was uneven overall. I won't get into the ending, of course, but this is only for those who are very interested and it one of those shows you'll really have to see for yourself to decide what you think. Between some missed opportunities and maybe some needed new ideas, I thought they could do a bit better.

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was a little on the soft side throughout and that has only so much to do with style, so I would still like to see it in HD and will at some point. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 soundmix fares better and is more consistent with a decent soundfield, but I bet this would have more impact in a lossless incarnation.

Extras include Inside The Episode featurettes for all eight installments, plus five other featurettes: Peterson Home Set Tour, The Art Of Acting, Sustainable Set Tour, Georgia Public Locations and The Owl Theory.

To order The Attack Of The 50ft Woman Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20

- Nicholas Sheffo (4K, Staircase) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/