Eddie Romero on pre-cert

Original English title: MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND

I'll be getting a bunch of EDDIE ROMERO directed Filipino films on old pre-cert VHS from the UK. Awesome covers!!

Original English title: BEAST OF BLOOD

Different aka-title and different UK release but this is also BEAST OF BLOOD!

Original English title: BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT

Another Woman Hunt for the bedpost

I wrote about Eddie Romero's Filipino movie THE WOMAN HUNT the other day. The film was slated for release from SHOUT! FACTORY but now it seems it may never get released from them. So like so often before we have to rely on old video tape releases. As I mentioned in the previous post, I already have the UK and Danish tapes but none of them present the film in a particular decent quality. The UK print looks washed out and the Danish video is simply too dark. I looked around for other versions and found the US NTSC tape on eBay. Unfortunately, these tapes aren't exactly popping up everywhere so I had to fight off other fans to get it (i.e. it wasn't all that cheap), LOL. But anyway it's mine now! I'll post info on the picture quality when I get the tape.


EDIT: I've received the NTSC tape now and watched it right away; And I'm happy to report that the picture quality is quite a bit better than the UK and Danish video tapes! In contradiction to the UK tape the picture is crisp clear and in contradiction to the Danish tape you can actually see what's going on during the night scenes! I still hope SHOUT! FACTURY are going to release the film on DVD but until that happens the US tape is so far the best option there is.

And the mainstreamers still claim nobody buys video tapes anymore. Hah!!

Here's a couple of cover scans of video tapes (and one cd) that I've bought lately. I'm still waiting for half of them. All very cool stuff (and some of them mega rare too). ^_^

NB: this isn't Mattei/Fulci's ZOMBI 3 but BURIAL GROUND.

Blind Vendetta coming this way

I decided to go to bed early for once and now it's 3:51 in the morning. Argh. Anyway, before I turn in here's the cover for an NTSC tape I won on eBay today. It's José Antonio de la Loma's little seen BLIND VENDETTA (aka Metralleta Stein) starring John Saxon and made in Spain, 1975. It's not released on DVD and apparently the only English friendly VHS is this US release. I won it at an auction on eBay UK. Only bidder. ^_^
I don't give two shits about IMDb scores but it's got a user score of 8.1 out of 10.

Thunder (Italy, 1983)

aka THUNDER WARRIOR

Unfortunately, it seems like the Japanese VHS market is drying up a bit so if I don't post so much about newly purchased Jap. tapes it's not just because I couldn't be arsed to but simply because I don't actually buy any at the moment and haven't for a good while. Well, not until tonight that is; I've just scored Fabrizio De Angelis' (alias Larry Ludman) THUNDER.

The film is Angelis' Italian ripoff of RAMBO - just this time "Rambo" is a native American! And it's the film about which either David Z or Paul Cooke wrote in their splendid book "Tough to Kill"; "Thunder is an excellent and solidly made cheap action film which entertains, no matter how many times it is viewed". I've already got the first sequel (but not the second and final one) also on Japanese VHS. Needless to say, there are no DVD releases (I don't count bootlegs). Winning bid 40 bucks.

Black Cat is a many spendoured thing in many different shapes and forms

I've just won two different versions of Stephen Shin's cool Hong Kong film BLACK CAT from 1991. The very first time I watched the movie was at a Chinetown cinema in Melbourne in the early to mid 1990s. Needless to say, I loved it right away and still do.

As I'm sure you know it's a remake of Luc Besson's French movie NIKITA. It was also remade in the US as an okay film and then later also as an awful TV series and I believe they've even made yet a new (different) TV series, also in the US. I love the French movie but I actually think the HK remake is the better film!

In contradiction to the original film the HK movie spawned no less than three sequels. When I initially got the film on home cinema format it was a 3rd or 4th generation VHS dupe off a Mandarin dubbed print. It was problematic as some of the scenes in the original Cantonese print are spoken in English (these scenes don't have English subs); In the Mandarin dub they dubbed both the Cantonese and English scenes into Mandarin but obviously didn't provide English subs for the now non English spoken scenes (since it was for the Chinese Mandarin market).

Later I got hold of a VHS dupe off the Dutch video tape (dubbed entirely into English) and it's this tape that I've now won an original copy of. Winning bid: 99 pence!! (i.e. one dollar and 53 cents!!). The second version that I won is the HK laserdisc. xD

The first time I actually bought an original release was in the early 2000s when I bought a VCD from a second-hand video store in Copenhagen; Someone has handed in a box of HK films on VCD. They weren't HK VCDs mind you and to this day I still have no idea as to where they were released. China or Taiwan probably. There's no English text or titles on the cases and some of them had crappy quality. I remember showing the BLACK CAT VCD to a couple of friends at a video night shortly after and towards the end of the film the bloody VCD just froze and despite several attempts it wouldn't finish. Terrible! Haha.

Obviously BLACK CAT is easy to get on DVD nowadays but it's fun to collect these different releases.

PS: I linked to the HKMDB in the above but it's merely so you can check the film's info, who's in it, etc. I'll advise you not to wast time reading their reviews, unless you want a good laugh. I love the HKMDB for their film info but it seems to me most of them don't actually like HK movies at all. Very strange when you consider it's a HK film data base!! 99% of the reviews of BLACK CAT are 100% negative. I mean... they're so negative it's to the point of being ridiculously funny. Why do they even bother to watch HK films when they obviously don't like them. This isn't a response spurred by this one movie, it's something I've notice for quite some time.

Probably the funniest of these almost aggressively negative reviews:

Embarrassing to watch. This movie doesn't seem like much more than an opportunity for the camera to drool over Jade Leung. We get lots of running shots for maximum jiggle, there's a wet t-shirt scene when she's inexplicably sprayed down by a fire hose even though she's changed to the wall, there's the full backal nudity, and of course the whole thing is shot through with her being sadistically beaten. It's like some thirteen year old boy's wet dream.

And for what? A boring movie that leaves logic on the cutting room floor. I watched this for the first time several years ago and thought it was bad. I decided to give it a second chance last night. My mistake. They should bury this in a cave in one of those mountains next to Manhattan.

More HK awesomeness coming this way

ANGEL'S PROJECT (HK 1993, Moon Lee & Sibelle Hu)



WAY OF THE LADY BOXERS (HK 1993, Sibelle Hu)

[insert Homer Simpson drool here]

Now this is really beyond awesome!! I've just won these two much wanted video tapes on an eBay auction. Argh. Insane! The two films are A SERIOUS SHOCK! YES MADAM (aka YES, MADAM '92: A SERIOUS SHOCK) (starring Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee & Yukari Oshima) and ANGEL TERMINATORS 2 (Moon Lee, Yukari Oshime & Sibelle Hu). Both films are insane GIRLS WITH GUNS/GIRLS KICK ASS AND LOOK CUTE films!! I've already got both films but getting them on VHS is awesome! Yay!!




Uh, I also bought 8 more rare tapes but I'll post those later.

Certain Fury (USA, 1985)

Another Danish ex-rental coming this way! Stephen Gyllenhaal "chicks on the run" flick CERTAIN FURY (aka Piger på flugt) from '85 starring Tatum O'Neal, Irene Cara, Peter Fonda, and Moses Gunn. Member-X says it's great and judging by the trailer it does look quite entertaining. :D



...I certainly hope the film is more entertaining than Irene Cara's title song performance! Argh!!

I Miss You Hugs and Kisses - a nasty?

I've always wondered what I MISS YOU HUGS AND KISSES is like! Ever since I read a review of it the first time (in an issue of IN THE FLESH if I remember correctly). The thing is this film was on the BBFC's list of video nasties but everyone who's seen it wonders why it was even ON that list as (apparently) it's not a gore movie or very nasty. Okay, so it's about a wife killer, but still. And - judging by those reviews - apparently it's not even a very good movie, quite on the contrary. But you know me, if it's obscure I want to watch it. Maybe everyone is wrong and I'll love the movie! xD

I MISS YOU HUGS AND KISSES is quite difficult to get to watch (legally anyway) as video versions are scarce and there's no DVD releases. However, I'll get my opportunity to watch it now as I've just won it on Japanese VHS! :D

If you'd like to know a little more about the film do go ahead and watch this good YouTube review from some guy in the UK. It's the first review of his that I watch but apparently he's made a series of reviews of the films from the nasties list. And it's an incisive review too, not the usual "I MISS YOU is really boring and there's no blood" type reviews that usually pop up.



PS: I also won Margheriti's ARK OF THE SUN GOD (which stars old genre favourite David Warbeck) at just under 12 bucks. Woo-hoo!! It's a lbx'ed print too!

Awesome TAPES from the land of the rising sun finally on their way home

Not too shabby! Not at all, actually!! Tonight I won the Japanese VHS releases of IMPOSSIBLE WOMAN and THE EVIL DEAD! Bloody fantastic!! If you've been with me for a while you'll remember I won the Greek ex-rental release of IMPOSSIBLE WOMAN a couple of years back but I've wanted this one for quite a while. I already have a nice dvd-r of the Japanese tape so I knew how brilliant the picture quality is. Totally uber superior to the Greek tape; Colours much better! However, the Greek tape does have the advantage of original Mandarin audio with English subtitles. The Japanese tape is dubbed into English. But still!! (as they say in old kung fu films) And of course the cover is a beaut!!!



Next up is an little known indie horror movie called EVIL DEATH - hmm, or is it EVIL DEAD? Hahaha. Yeah, well, the days of it being only familiar territory to the most ardent hardcore splatter fans are long gone, and needless to say I've already got a handful of different versions of the film already but even so I still needed this rare Japanese tape. xD



MISSION TERMINATE! I bought this one last night. It's a Filipino Vietnam war flick and one of the few films in which Richard Norton actually gets to play the good guy. That guy must have played bad guys more than most other bad guy actors, haha. I already have the Greek tape but, well, you know, you should always do the utmost effort to obtain the Japanese VHS of any film which doesn't exist on DVD!



And lastly one that I sadly DIDN'T get: Dario Piana's TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE (1988). The film is a sequel to NOTHING UNDERNEATH (aka Modelmordene) which has one of the very few Danes in it who got to act in giallo films: former supermodel Renée. We're so proud of her (as if! If you wanna read about it on Wiki you'll have to check the English language page; the Danish page totally omits her film "career"). As far as I know, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE isn't on DVD anywhere and the Japanese tape is one of the few releases. There's also a Dutch tape (ZDD has a boot off it) but it's fullscreen. This tape is lbx. Unfortunately some other schmuck won it. :/

More ex-rental tapes to clutter my cave... eh, apartment.

Two tapes I won on eBay and two I bought from a Cinehound member in Holland.

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (VHS, Japan) directed by Pierluigi Ciriaci and starring Daniel (Hands of Steel) Greene and Bo Svenson. I was the only bidder! :D
The seller was David Z who enclosed some very nice extras. xD. Thanks buddy!


I SHALL RETURN (Vidoe2000, Holland). Taiwanese war flick.


RETURN OF THE DEMON (VHS, Hong Kong)


DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE (VHS, Japan, lbx) Tsui Hark's legendary film, in Cantonese. I was the only bidder with this one as well! :D

[insert Homer Simpson drool here]

Arrrrghhh...

I can't tell you how long I've been searching for these tapes... but it's been a real long time! It's the Danish SUPER EASTERN SERIEN series from Video International in Denmark! I remember I saw one of them when I used to frequent the "Videoudlejningen" video rental store in Copenhagen which is easily 6 or 7 years back, maybe even 8! The SUPER EASTERN SERIEN series contains 8 titles so there are still two I haven't got but at least I'll be getting 5 new ones! And they seem to be in awesome quality. xD. The only tape of the 8 I've been able to track down previously is GHOSTLY FACE. The seller only wanted to part with all 6 tapes as one bundle so either I made a bid for all of them or none at all. But anyhoo, who cares. Happy happy joy joy, as Fred Anderson says. :D

I also won this little thingy tonight...



Amando de Ossorio's HYDRA, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP on ex-rental VHS from Australia. Word is the film is crap - but the cover is fantastic and it is of course made by the guy who did the BLIND DEAD films so obviously I had to have it. I was the only bidder! Whoo-hoo!!

HK chicks so bad ass they spit - and speak foul language in Turkish

Check out my two new ex-rental tapes! It's the Hong Kong girls with guns flicks BRAVE YOUNG GIRLS and ANGEL 2 (aka Iron Angels 2). I don't have to tell you it's YUKARI OSHIMA on the cover of BRAVE, and Moon Lee, Elaine Lui, and Kharina are in ANGEL 2 (it's Kharina, aka Ha Wan-Loh/Kharina Isa/Karina Andrews, on the cover). Incidentally, Yukari Oshima was the bad guy in the first ANGEL film!

For Your Height Only sequel - VHS

Ahhh, check this out: I won the uber very mega totally rare Swedish VHS release of THE IMPOSSIBLE KID on eBay. The film is the sequel to FOR Y'UR HEIGHT ONLY (on Mondo Macabro DVD as For Your Height Only) starring Weng Weng!!! This film isn't out on proper dvd anywhere but only included in one of those 50 Films packs and I believe it's a "Public Domain" release in the US (which anywhere else would be called an illegal bootleg). However, I think this is the only video release of the film. If there are any other I'm not aware of them.

Oh, and don't ask!! I have absolutely NO idea as to why the Swedish company re-titled the film with the FIRST film's title!! O_O
In the words of Johnnie Cochran (i.e. the South Park version of him anyway): it does not make sense!!!!!

Oh, and if winning the tape wasn't awesome enough it seems nobody else discovered the auction cos I got it for a mere $15.50 bid! Yay!! Spiffy!!!

Niiice!

Yes, nice indeed! I'll be getting these two Japanese babies soon! Yay! I've already got both films but in inferior versions. Bruno Mattei's ROBOWAR I've only got on a boot from Trash-online (but a very nice boot I should point out. LOL. And off the very same Japanese release actually). And my Danish Juno Media VHS release of Santiago's WHEELS OF FIRE clocks in around the 65 minute mark. Juno Media was a Norwegian company so altho all films are usually uncut in Denmark unfortunately we had to suffer the cuts by the bloody Norwegian censors! (are you still out there, Patrick?). The uncut version runs 81 minutes so I'm definitely looking forward to this uncut tape. xD.