Collector’s box on the horizon: Severin assembles hours of video extras and text illumination for another group of films featuring favorite actor Christopher Lee. The roundup of titles bookends his career as a screen vampire, with one of Lee’s earliest vampire roles and also his last turn as Count Dracula. Looming large on the academic side of Severin’s research are experts and biographers Kat Ellinger, Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth, Kim Newman, Nathaniel Thompson and Jonathan Rigby, who also contributes a hundred-page book.
The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2
Blu-ray
Uncle Was a Vampire, The Secret of the Red Orchid, Dark Places, Dracula and Son, Murder Story
Severin Films
1959-1989 / Color / 2:39 widescreen, 1:66 widescreen, 1:85 widescreen
Street Date July 26, 2022
Available from Severin Films / 134.95
Starring alphabetically: Marie Hélène Breillat, Catherine Breillat, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, Adrian Hoven, Klaus Kinski, Sylva Koscina, Herbert Lom, Susanne Loret, Jean Marsh, Marisa Mell,...
The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2
Blu-ray
Uncle Was a Vampire, The Secret of the Red Orchid, Dark Places, Dracula and Son, Murder Story
Severin Films
1959-1989 / Color / 2:39 widescreen, 1:66 widescreen, 1:85 widescreen
Street Date July 26, 2022
Available from Severin Films / 134.95
Starring alphabetically: Marie Hélène Breillat, Catherine Breillat, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, Adrian Hoven, Klaus Kinski, Sylva Koscina, Herbert Lom, Susanne Loret, Jean Marsh, Marisa Mell,...
- 7/16/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
UK correspondent Lee Broughton returns with coverage of a well-realised Spaghetti Western, Michele Lupo’s irony-laden semi-comedy Ben & Charlie. The film’s eponymous anti-heroes are played by fan favourites Giuliano Gemma and George Eastman and the duo receive great support from a number of familiar faces including Marisa Mell, Aldo Sambrell and Giacomo Rossi Stuart.
Ben & Charlie
Region-Free Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 113 min. / Amigo, Stay Away; Amico, stammi lontano almeno un palmo / Street Date, 28 October 2021 / Available from Explosive Media / £22.99
Starring: Giuliano Gemma, George Eastman, Vittorio Congia, Luciano Lorcas, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Remo Capitani, Nello Pazzafini, Marisa Mell, Aldo Sambrell, Roberto Camardiel.
Cinematography: Aristide Massaccesi
Production Designer: Dario Micheli
Film Editor: Antonietta Zita
Original Music: Gianni Ferrio
Written by Luigi Montefiori and Sergio Donati
Produced by Lucio Bompani
Directed by Michele Lupo
Charlie (George Eastman) patiently waits outside of a Mexican prison so that he can give his...
Ben & Charlie
Region-Free Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 113 min. / Amigo, Stay Away; Amico, stammi lontano almeno un palmo / Street Date, 28 October 2021 / Available from Explosive Media / £22.99
Starring: Giuliano Gemma, George Eastman, Vittorio Congia, Luciano Lorcas, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Remo Capitani, Nello Pazzafini, Marisa Mell, Aldo Sambrell, Roberto Camardiel.
Cinematography: Aristide Massaccesi
Production Designer: Dario Micheli
Film Editor: Antonietta Zita
Original Music: Gianni Ferrio
Written by Luigi Montefiori and Sergio Donati
Produced by Lucio Bompani
Directed by Michele Lupo
Charlie (George Eastman) patiently waits outside of a Mexican prison so that he can give his...
- 5/21/2022
- by Lee Broughton
- Trailers from Hell
May 31st sees the release of The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2 from Severin Films, bringing more cult classic Christopher Lee films to Blu-ray, including Uncle Was a Vampire and Dracula and Son! We have all the details below, along with a trailer, and a look at the box set artwork:
The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Collection 2
To celebrate the centennial of the legendary actor, Eurocrypt Collection 2 presents five of the most unexpected, underrated and underseen films of the iconic actor’s European career. Immediately following Horror Of Dracula, Lee reprised the role in the quirky 1959 Italian comedy Uncle Was A Vampire. Lee speaks fluent German opposite Klaus Kinski for the crazed 1962 krimi Secret Of The Red Orchid. In the 1974 UK psycho-thriller Dark Places, Lee toplines a cast that includes Joan Collins, Herbert Lom and Jane Birkin. Lee’s final performance as The Count in the 1976 French comedy Dracula And Son...
The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Collection 2
To celebrate the centennial of the legendary actor, Eurocrypt Collection 2 presents five of the most unexpected, underrated and underseen films of the iconic actor’s European career. Immediately following Horror Of Dracula, Lee reprised the role in the quirky 1959 Italian comedy Uncle Was A Vampire. Lee speaks fluent German opposite Klaus Kinski for the crazed 1962 krimi Secret Of The Red Orchid. In the 1974 UK psycho-thriller Dark Places, Lee toplines a cast that includes Joan Collins, Herbert Lom and Jane Birkin. Lee’s final performance as The Count in the 1976 French comedy Dracula And Son...
- 3/31/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Spies With Scruples”
By Raymond Benson
In comparing Masquerade (1965) with a recent review of Arabesque (1966) here at Cinema Retro, this time we have yet another mid-1960s “comedy-spy thriller,” a genre that was crowding the cinemas in those days because of the success of Double-o-You-Know-Who.
In contrast to Arabesque, this one is a British production, directed by the prolific and often brilliant Basil Dearden, and it utilizes London locations as well as spots in Spain. And yet, despite the thoroughly British DNA running through 95% of the movie, it stars American Cliff Robertson as the hero, David Fraser, a sort of CIA type who seems to approach all the danger around him with misplaced naivete and amused detachment.
The script marks the first appearance of the great William Goldman in a screen credit (co-writing with Michael Relph). It’s based on Vincent Canning’s novel,...
“Spies With Scruples”
By Raymond Benson
In comparing Masquerade (1965) with a recent review of Arabesque (1966) here at Cinema Retro, this time we have yet another mid-1960s “comedy-spy thriller,” a genre that was crowding the cinemas in those days because of the success of Double-o-You-Know-Who.
In contrast to Arabesque, this one is a British production, directed by the prolific and often brilliant Basil Dearden, and it utilizes London locations as well as spots in Spain. And yet, despite the thoroughly British DNA running through 95% of the movie, it stars American Cliff Robertson as the hero, David Fraser, a sort of CIA type who seems to approach all the danger around him with misplaced naivete and amused detachment.
The script marks the first appearance of the great William Goldman in a screen credit (co-writing with Michael Relph). It’s based on Vincent Canning’s novel,...
- 9/1/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Double your Diabolik and double your pleasure! … this Australian import chases a domestic disc onto the market after only a few months, but of course comes with irresistible new extras to tempt collectors and completists. Mario Bava’s funny, dynamic action thriller was the first feature to really capture the graphic art ‘feeling’ of comic panels — we wish he’d directed a whole series of Diabolik adventures. The evaluation section notes the small differences between this disc and the U.S. release from last April.
Danger Diabolik
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date October, 2020
Starring: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Mario Donen.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi
Film Editor: Romana Fortini
Art Director: Flavio Mogherini
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Adriano Baracco, Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates,
Dino Maiuri story by Angela & Luciana Giussani
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Directed by Mario Bava...
Danger Diabolik
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date October, 2020
Starring: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Mario Donen.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi
Film Editor: Romana Fortini
Art Director: Flavio Mogherini
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Adriano Baracco, Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates,
Dino Maiuri story by Angela & Luciana Giussani
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Directed by Mario Bava...
- 12/8/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Oh Joy, Oh Rapture! Mario Bava’s comic book thriller makes the jump to Blu-ray in fine shape, with knockout visuals and eye-popping color. John Philip Law, Marisa Mell, Terry-Thomas and the late Michel Piccoli are all irreplaceable in this one-of-a-kind show. Bava’s film translates action comic fantasy into cinematic terms, pictorial appeal and dynamism intact. The disc comes with a pair of excellent commentaries, featuring Nathaniel Thompson, Troy Howarth, Tim Lucas and John Philip Law himself.
Danger: Diabolik
Blu-ray
Shout! Factory
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date May 19, 2020 / Available from Shout! Factory
Starring: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli,
Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Mario Donen.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi
Film Editor: Romana Fortini
Art Director: Flavio Mogherini
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Adriano Baracco, Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates,
Dino Maiuri story by Angela & Luciana Giussani
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Directed by Mario Bava
We...
Danger: Diabolik
Blu-ray
Shout! Factory
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date May 19, 2020 / Available from Shout! Factory
Starring: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli,
Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Mario Donen.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi
Film Editor: Romana Fortini
Art Director: Flavio Mogherini
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Adriano Baracco, Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates,
Dino Maiuri story by Angela & Luciana Giussani
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Directed by Mario Bava
We...
- 5/23/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
He’s fast on his feet, quick with a gun, and faster with the to-die-for beauties that only existed in the swinging ’60s. The superspy exploits of Oss 117 were too big for just one actor, so meet all three iterations of the man they called Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath . . . seriously.
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
- 9/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ken Russell spent most of his days regarding his first theatrical feature, French Dressing, as a disaster. Certainly it did his career prospects no good at the time. Then he caught it on late night TV in the nineties, and said to himself, "This is a masterpiece!"He might have been right, though the film's effect is so indefinable that its success or failure on its own terms, whatever they might be, is hard to be certain of. But it's sufficiently unlike anything else to qualify for some kind of place of honor in the sub-sub-genre of British seaside psychotronic cinema.The starting point was kind of charming and straightforward: a run-down coastal resort tries to vie with Cannes by launching a film fest and inviting the latest Gallic sex kitten sensation. The producer probably imagined something a bit like a Carry On film, whereas Russell hoped to take things into Jacques Tati territory.
- 10/8/2015
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Remembered primarily for several giallo titles (and some more exploitative sub-genre cannibal thrillers), illustrious director Umberto Lenzi also helmed several Euro-crime police thrillers (polizieschi). Raro Video brings his first foray into the crime world, 1973’s Gang War in Milan, to Blu-ray with a new, digitally restored transfer. While it’s about as straightforward as its title promises, it’s filled with amusing instances.
Antonio Sobato (father of soap star Antonio Sobato Jr.) is a produce vendor who moonlights as Milan’s most influential pimp, Toto Cangemi. A staunchly proud Sicilian, Toto doesn’t take too kindly to French gangster and drug lord Roger Daverty, aka La Capitaine (Philippe Leroy), who makes an aggressive offer to unite their crime fronts. If Toto’s girls also sell La Capitaine’s goods, they’ll be rolling in the dough. But nobody couches on Toto’s turf, and the rival powers are soon going head to head.
Antonio Sobato (father of soap star Antonio Sobato Jr.) is a produce vendor who moonlights as Milan’s most influential pimp, Toto Cangemi. A staunchly proud Sicilian, Toto doesn’t take too kindly to French gangster and drug lord Roger Daverty, aka La Capitaine (Philippe Leroy), who makes an aggressive offer to unite their crime fronts. If Toto’s girls also sell La Capitaine’s goods, they’ll be rolling in the dough. But nobody couches on Toto’s turf, and the rival powers are soon going head to head.
- 6/3/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Sleazemeister Umberto Lenzi popularized the Italian cannibal film subgenre with The Man from the Deep River and made gore fans drool with Cannibal Ferox, but you won't get over-the-top violence and a truly seedy story when it comes to his 1972 giallo, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. The director's early gialli were quite tame compared to his later movies. Lenzi lures us to Orchids with a killer opening, featuring the death of a naked prostitute and a stylish murder set piece, starring giallo babe Marina Malfatti. Frustratingly, Orchids starts to dwindle after that. Lenzi bookends his thriller with some of the mood and craftiness we've come to expect of the Italian-made movies, but a bloated middle drags to the finish. Newlyweds Mario (Antonio Sabato, father of soap opera star Antonio Sabato, Jr.) and Giulia (German actress Uschi Glas) find their honeymoon interrupted after a black-gloved psychopath attempts to murder the missus. The unlucky...
- 6/13/2013
- by Alison Nastasi
- FEARnet
British director Ken Russell has died in his sleep at the age of 84. Married four times, Russell is survived by Elize Tribble, whom he married in 2001, and his six children. After starting his career in the mid-1950s with various shorts and television projects, he made his feature debut with 1964 comedy French Dressing, which starred James Booth, Roy Kinnear and Marisa Mell. Spending his career as a director, producer, writer and even an actor, Russell was best known for films like Altered States, Tommy (based on The Who rock opera) and Women in Love, which earned him his one and only Academy Award nomination (the same can be said for the Golden Globes). In 1974 Russell brought Mahler, a biopic about composer Gustav Mahler, to the Cannes Film Festival and was both nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Technical Grand Prize. Though he had some success with awards and...
- 11/29/2011
- cinemablend.com
“Danger: Diabolik is an absolute pulp masterpiece.”
Danger: Diabolik
Directed by Mario Bava
Italy / France – 1968
This super-stylish live-action adaptation of the popular (and still ongoing) 1960 Italian comic book., created by Milan sisters Angela & Luciana Giussani, is easily the best of the spate of ’60s European comic-strip/superhero movies (e.g., Fantomas). Unfortunately, it suffered from bad timing, released among the campy but similar movies Batman and Barbarella. Yet despite being a box office flop, Danger: Diabolik eventually found a cult following, and is considered by many (including this reviewer) to be one of the best live-action comic book movies ever made – a hidden gem of the genre.
What makes this silly B movie caper film interesting is its lack of all traditional values of good and evil, giving us instead a more interestingly ambiguous mix. The “rob from the rich, but never give back” approach of the titular character, Diabolik...
Danger: Diabolik
Directed by Mario Bava
Italy / France – 1968
This super-stylish live-action adaptation of the popular (and still ongoing) 1960 Italian comic book., created by Milan sisters Angela & Luciana Giussani, is easily the best of the spate of ’60s European comic-strip/superhero movies (e.g., Fantomas). Unfortunately, it suffered from bad timing, released among the campy but similar movies Batman and Barbarella. Yet despite being a box office flop, Danger: Diabolik eventually found a cult following, and is considered by many (including this reviewer) to be one of the best live-action comic book movies ever made – a hidden gem of the genre.
What makes this silly B movie caper film interesting is its lack of all traditional values of good and evil, giving us instead a more interestingly ambiguous mix. The “rob from the rich, but never give back” approach of the titular character, Diabolik...
- 1/18/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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