Magazine Review: DVD & Blu-Ray World (issue 86)

DVD & Blu-Ray World Magazine issue#86

DVD & Blu-Ray World is my favourite magazine, and, although I don’t have a subscription with it, I rarely miss an issue. It’s a magazine that mostly focuses on horror, exploitation and adult films. Reviews of anime DVDs, games and martial arts films can also be found regularly within its pages. I suppose it’s fair to say that the subject matter usually leans towards films that would appeal more to men than women. DVD & Blu-Ray World usually has a free DVD with the magazine although it has been published on a number of occasions as a magazine only. Last year, for example, a couple of issues came out at a lower price without a DVD. However, this proved to be an unpopular move and the DVD was reinstated with issue 77 and each subsequent issue has had a DVD with the magazine.

Under discussion here is issue 86. It retails at a reasonable £4.99 and the magazine contains 100 pages. The DVD with this issue is Russ Meyer’s Mondo Topless. In recent months, the DVD has contained two movies, but the second film requires a code to be purchased to activate it. The cost of this additional film is usually £5. With issue 86, the additional film is Russ Meyer’s Faster Pussycat  . . .  Kill! Kill!. I’m not a fan of this particular director, so I won’t be bothering much with this DVD. I like looking at topless women as much as the next man, but Mondo Topless is a pretty tedious film. Here’s a clip.



In his opening remarks in this issue, the magazine’s editor, Allan Bryce, writes about the good old days of pre-certificated videos. Yes, those halcyon days when you could rent movies like Island of Death and I Spit on Your Grave uncut. I remember our family renting videos from Woolworths. We got The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from there. And then it got banned while the tabloid press got itself into righteous indignation mode, and “something had to be done” about the filth that was easily available on our high streets.

Allan Bryce also strikes a nostalgic note in his article relating to Nucleus Films’ forthcoming DVD featuring trailers and publicity material for all the films on the Video Nasties list. Video Nasties: the Definitive Guide scheduled for release in October 2010.

Back with the editorial comments, Allan Bryce goes on to remark about how much easier it is searching for rare films, books and music these days: “But what I personally miss, being a real collector myself, is the thrill of hunting down rare movies, books, albums etc. it’s just too easy nowadays, when you’re only a click of a mouse away from finding anything.” Now, I can see his point inasmuch as it was very satisfying if I found that certain longed-for album or film or book amongst endless pages of mail order catalogues or visiting countless shops, but I’d much rather find what I want quickly. I mean, you either want to get the particular film/album/book you’re hunting for or you don’t.

With the recent success of the excellent Hammer Glamour book (by Marcus Hearn), DVD & Blu-Ray World has been running a series called 'Hammer Hotties'. This is an ABC of some of the “gorgeous gals who have livened up many a vintage chiller.” The names in this issue’s instalment are: Barbara Steele, Elaine Taylor and Victoria Vetri. Potted biographies and pictures of each actress are included in the article. These write-ups are more or less rehashes of those that appear in Hammer Glamour. However, the magazine does provide a little more detail on Elaine Taylor (who appeared in the 1968 chiller ‘The Anniversary’). The magazine also gives information regarding these actresses’ films that are available on DVD.

One of the most interesting articles in this issue is headed ‘Motel Hell’. It  relates to the recently released 50th anniversary edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The article relates the difficulties that had to be overcome to get the film made. Not the least of these was Paramount Studio’s lack of enthusiasm for the project. A list of the special features that grace this anniversary edition of the film can be found at the end of the article. Unfortunately, this fascinating article does not have a by-line.

Possibly the most compelling reason for buying a magazine such as this is for the reviews of the latest DVDs (and Blu-rays). The reviews in this issue cover horror, adult, anime and Blu-ray. There are 15 horror DVDs reviewed over eight pages of the magazine. Most are for region two discs, but it is not unusual to find reviews for DVDs not primarily intended for the UK market included in this section. Each DVD’s regional code is provided along with marks out of five for the movie, picture, audio, extras and an overall verdict. The horror reviews have no by-line which is a shame.

DVD of the month for this issue is the remake of George A. Romero’s The Crazies. The review says the remake is better than the original, but there are plenty who favour the original. Trailers for both versions are below.

Cannibal Apocalypse (the UK release, although previously on the video nasties list, is now available with two-seconds of footage missing: a rat being set alight by a flame thrower); George A. Romero’s 1977 vampire flick, Martin, which has been released in a two-disc set is reviewed. There are two releases from Shameless, Joe D’Amato’s Love Goddess of the Cannibals and Mario Bianchi’s Satan’s Baby Doll. Both films receive reasonably favourable reviews. Trailers for them are below.





Here’s an alluring title: Bikini Girls on Ice. It receives a lukewarm verdict, however. “On the surface it sounds like a sure fire winner,” but, “it comes across as a cliche-ridden mess.” Oh dear!

British sexploitation feature Take an Easy Ride from director Kenneth Rowles receives a glowing review. I can only assume that there was some glitch along the way, though, because the ratings that I referred to earlier do not match the review’s content. This is the only film in this batch of reviews that I’ve seen and, for lovers of 1970s exploitation I think it’s well worth seeking out. Clocking in at approximately 40 minutes, the film appears to be a kind of public information exercise about the perils of hitchhiking. Its storylines soon descend into rape, three-way sex and murder. The DVD also boasts the pilot episode of a never-seen television show called Go Girl about a crime-fighting go-go dancer!

None of the other films reviewed in this section piqued my interest. They are: The Perfect Sleep, Cargo, Rampage, Legion, The Book of Eli and Clash of the Titans.

For fans of the controversial Cannibal Holocaust, there’s an interesting article/interview with the film’s female lead, Francesca Ciardi. Her quote regarding the real scenes of animal cruelty (which are cut from the UK release) is a little puzzling. She’s not happy about the turtle or the monkey, but the pig’s death was okay with her and the other actors because “[it] was being prepared for a dinner and it was going to be killed anyway.” The article also goes into what other acting roles Francesca has had and what she has been doing since she stopped acting. Fascinating stuff.

In the adult section, there are interviews with Sasha Grey (“she discusses her fetish for having sex with older men and why regular porn is boring to her”) and Charmaine Sinclair. Both articles are adorned with nice photographs of these lovely ladies. In the adult DVD review section, the must-have is Anal Perversions 1. I’ll try to manage without it, thank you. However, one that I am tempted by is Dracula Exotica. I remember seeing a version of this film years ago in the early days of VHS. The version I saw was not hardcore, but it was still quite strong. Yes, I’d like to see that again.

Other items in the magazine are a look at the work going into the forthcoming Blu-ray release of the classic television series The World at War, an interview with actress Naomi Watts and a fair smattering of Blu-ray reviews.

Overall, this issue is a really good read. I don’t like the use of  anonymous reviews - the anime reviews are the only ones with a contributor’s name against them. It’s still well worth getting for fans of the genres covered. I don’t often read the magazine without learning something new and finding a film or two that I’d want to add to my collection.