Camden Film Fair Pick-Ups

Picked up these four DVDs and the latest issue of The Dark Side at the Camden Film Fair today.

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang DVD

I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG is an all-time classic and one of my favourite films so I was delighted to get this on DVD at last. Looking forward to seeing this especially with the commentary from film historian Richard B. Jewell.


Time After Time DVD

TIME AFTER TIME is a little schlocky, but it's a fun film. Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper: what more could you want?


Anita DVD

ANITA is one I bought on a whim. It was inexpensive and, let's face it, the cover picture is great!


Naughty Nurses of the 1970s DVD Collection

NAUGHTY NURSES OF THE 1970s features 'The Nurses' (1971) and 'Sue Prentiss, R.N.' (1975). Bought this because Annie Sprinkle is featured in the second film. I'm bracing myself for the usual dreadful sound and vision that is to be expected with these grindhouse features.


The Dark Side (issue 158)
 

Christmas 2013 DVDs

Better late than never: DVDs that were given to me for Christmas 2013.

Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2 DVD set

Enjoyed the first Kick-Ass enormously. Haven't yet seen the sequel, but with no Nicolas Cage, I'm already thinking it's not going to be as good. However, I won't really know until I watch it. must try to keep an open mind. On the plus side, Hit Girl is there!

 

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor DVD

Yes, it's a bit silly, but I still loved it. Even more so on second viewing. Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt and Billie Piper are all excellent. Clearly, you're never going to please everyone with an anniversary story: there's always going to be something that'll irk you. For me, I've never much liked the Zygons and I wasn't looking forward to their reappearance in the show. However, this is an entertaining romp and is a story that I'll more than happily return to.

Trouble with the Curve DVD

I've always liked baseball movies and this was no exception. Clint Eastwood plays a baseball scout who is slowly losing his sight. Despite this, he is not convinced that the next big hitter that his club are itching to sign is all he's cracked up to be. His daughter, played by Amy Adams, reluctantly joins him on the road. Good performances all round. However, the rushed resolution to the romantic sub-plot was a little grating.






An Adventure in Space and Time DVD

Back to Doctor Who with Mark Gatiss' superb drama about the beginning of our favourite show and, specifically, about the first actor to play the Doctor, William Hartnell. A real treat for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Man of Steel DVD

Although I like super-hero films, I'm not a huge Superman fan. He just has too many super powers for my liking. I'm still looking forward to seeing this reboot, though as it seems to have been well received.


Diversions DVD

Diversions DVD front cover
 

Train journeys. Boring, eh? Imogene (Heather Deeley) thinks so. She's handcuffed to another woman: prisoner and escort en route to jail. Imogene's fellow passengers are a young man proffering an apple and an older man absorbed in Vampirella magazine. There's only one thing to do to while away the hours: fantasize! All aboard the Sex Express!






 

 

Now, I know what you're thinking, but I can tell you that no sex takes place on the train. This, after all, is British Rail in the 1970s. There's plenty going on inside Imogene's head, though; and some of it is pretty eye watering.



 

Diversions is the hardcore version of British filmmaker Derek Ford's Sex Express under which title it was released in the U.K. to little acclaim. However, the hardcore sequences added for the overseas markets take the film up a level. It was not unusual for British sex films of this era to have spicier content added to them for foreign consumption, but these would often be outsourced. Derek Ford was rare in that he directed the whole shebang.

 



Diversions DVD menu

Alpha Blue's DVD release features a heavily scarred print full of pock marks and green lines along with some heavily distorted sound in places. The film itself still packs a punch with some of its controversial content.

Lead actress Heather Deeley seems to be something of an elusive lady these days with reports of a descent into drug use widely reported but beyond that, little is known. Her performance in Diversions is remarkable and hints at what might have been.

See Gav Crimson's blog for more on Diversions and Heather Deeley.

Diversions DVD back cover

 



 

The Hot Nights of Linda (Blu-Ray/DVD Combo)

The Hot Nights of Linda (Blu-Ray+DVD Combo)

Utterly, utterly, utterly irresistible! Just look at that cover art. That's what I've been doing since this fabulous item arrived today. The first 2500 pressings (of which mine is one - wahoo!) include a bonus DVD featuring the "rare alternate banana version".

Doctor Who: The Light at the End (Limited Collector's Edition - CD)

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who brings a treat from Big Finish with a multi-Doctor adventure available in three editions: a limited collector's edition CD (which is the one I have); the standard CD edition; and a vinyl edition. The CD editions are also available to download.

So, what do we have in this delicious collector's CD edition? Well, there are a total of five discs featuring the adventure itself on discs one and two. Disc three has a 'making of' documentary; disc four brings us another documentary: Doctor Who at Big Finish; disc five is an entry in the Companion Chronicles series called 'The Revenants' which features William Russell.

This limited collector's edition CD set is presented in a book-size hard shell slip case. This is individually numbered with total copies pressed being 10,000.

Inside the shell is a hardcover book which houses the discs and some excellent photographs and artwork featuring various Doctors, companions and others. A taste of these follows:

The Three Doctors

Grand Companions

Doctors United

Recent DVD Pick Ups: Slaughter Disc and Not Now, Comrade

 

An anti-porn porn film? kind of, I suppose. Slaughter Disc is actually pretty good given its lack of budget. It's essentially a horror film with hardcore sequences. Or is it a hardcore film with horror sequences? Well, it works either way as far as I'm concerned.

The lovely Caroline Pierce stars as murderous porn queen, Andromeda Strange, whose debauchery knows no bounds. Her latest fan is Mike, a porn addict who's on the lookout for new kicks. But it's not long before he discovers that porn kills as the gorgeously gothic Andromeda's craving for blood becomes ever more urgent.

The DVD boasts a nice selection of extras including a making of sequence and a couple of photo galleries. On the downside, the menu options are horribly placed so that they effectively run over the side of the screen which makes navigating a bit of a nuisance.




A Russian ballet dancer decides to defect to the West with the help of his striptease-performing girlfriend played by the wonderful Carol Hawkins. Her accomplices are played by Michele Dotrice and Ian Lavender whose frantic attempts to stay one step ahead of the authorities give rise to misleadings and misunderstandings aplenty.

This is a Ray Cooney farce. Much of the action takes place in the living room of one Commander Rimmington (Leslie Phillips). It's a nice living room - big with lots of space for slapstick and swinging doors. 'Not Now, Comrade' isn't quite as much fun as Cooney's 1973 farce 'Not Now, Darling', but it is still a more than pleasant way to spend an hour and a half. The cast also includes Ray Cooney himself along with Roy Kinnear, Windsor Davies and June Whitfield. There's also a cameo appearance from Don Estelle. However, the star of the show is Carol Hawkins.





Oh, Carol!

 

 

Recent DVD Pick Ups - 84 Charing Cross Road and, erm, Fantom Kiler 2

Don't know why it's taken me so long to pick up a copy of this film on DVD because I love it. I first saw it at the cinema on its release and subsequently owned a copy of the VHS and, of course, the book.

Lovely central performances from Anthony Hopkins as London bookseller Frank Doel, and Anne Bancroft as writer and bookworm Helene Hanff who cannot find the books she craves in New York. Given that the two leads do not appear on screen together and communicate only by letter there must have been a risk that this would look too much like a stage play. However, the excellent supporting cast along with the vibrant New York and staid London settings open the film out nicely.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous! I happened upon a second hand copy of Fantom Kiler 2 and obviously, I had to get it (I've already got entries 1 and 3 in the series). It's gloriously awful stuff with a crazed killer (or should I say 'kiler') on the loose who manages to find his way about even though his face is covered by what looks like a thick woollen sock. There's a detective on the case, though. Unfortunately, he's an arrogant moron who makes Inspector Clouseau look like Sherlock Holmes.

Stand by for inept English subtitles (that's when you can actually read them against the light backgrounds on the film), fake blood and naked loveliness. It's not quite as good as the first Fantom Kiler film - but what is, eh? What is?

And speaking of the first Fantom Kiler, here's a clip from that particular classic.

Recent DVD and Book Buys

TRUE GRIT Excellent stuff from the Coen Brothers with Jeff Bridges in fine form as Rooster Cogburn, a worse for wear U.S. Marshall who is persuaded by 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to track down her father's killer. This is a visual feast and I'm glad I managed to get to the cinema to see it on the big screen. Hailee Steinfeld has been highly praised for her performance, and rightly so. Not to be missed.

 SAVAGE STREETS The BBFC kindly waived the film's previous cuts and Arrow's release of this vigilante "classic" is beautifully presented. There's the double sided cover (the alternative is a little more sedate than the one pictured), a poster-sized version of the cover picture and a booklet written by Kier-la Janisse (the author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi) about the film and others in the female vigilante genre. A ton of bonus material is on the DVD including interviews with Linda Blair and Linnea Quigley, and three audio commentaries. The U.S.-released special edition is out of print, but the bonus material featured on Arrow's release is largely the same. That U.S. release will set you back a pretty penny, but this release is region-free and should serve as a good substitute albeit on a single-disc. The film follows a female gang, The Satins, who are out for a good time. They take a car belonging to a gang of testosterone-charged lunkheads on a joyride. The lads don't take kindly to this and in an act of revenge, they brutally rape the most vulnerable Satin, the innocent and deaf Heather (Linnea Quigley), leaving her almost beaten to death. Now, Heather's sister, Brenda (Linda Blair), is out for vengeance  . . . A film very much of its 1980s time, Savage Streets is pretty silly stuff, but I do like a vigilante film and I like this one very much.

DVDs I Got For Christmas 2010

Just finished unwrapping my Christmas presents which included some DVDs. Love getting DVDs!

Doctor Who - Kamelion Tales I love my Doctor Who and the two stories contained in this set (Planet of Fire and The King's Demons) are two that I've not seen since they were originally transmitted. Planet of Fire marked Nicola Bryant's debut in the show and this set also includes a special edition of this story. I liked Peter Davison as the Doctor and I hope he takes part in the audio commentaries: he's usually good value in them.

Being Human (Series One) and Being Human (Series Two) 
I had mentioned these show in my review for the SFX Vampire Special magazine earlier this year. However, I'd not previously seen the programme. To put that right, I rented both series, but my series two experience was ruined because the second episode would not play properly (the disc was very badly scuffed). I knew enough by that time, though, that this would be a show that I could happily watch again. And now, thanks to my generous brother, I can!

Recent DVD Buys

Here are some recent DVD buys that I've added to my collection.

The Human Centipede is a film that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. It's one of those films that I think I'll watch over and over. Dieter Laser gives a fabulous performance as the misanthropic surgeon whose motivations are a little cloudy. Given the film's advance publicity, I'd convinced myself that it was going to be a mindless tale of tasteless excess. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I think some may be disappointed with how clean the whole thing looks.


Splintered is a the first full-length feature from director, Simeon Halligan. It's a British film that is part teen-slasher movie and part psychological horror. A low-budget affair with a talented cast, it does what it does very well. The basic storyline is that late-teen, Sophie and a group of friends go to rural North Wales where a mysterious creature is allegedly on the prowl. While on its trail, Sophie comes upon an abandoned building where she is captured and held in a cell by a strange man who claims he has locked her up for her own safety. Unfortunately, too much of the film takes place in darkness and the twist in the tale is a little disappointing. It's worth seeing, but it's a DVD that you'd probably rather rent than buy. 

Recent Book and Magazine Buys

I admit it: I’m addicted to buying books and DVDs. One of this blog’s uses will be as a kind of shopping diary. This entry is for some of my recent book and magazine buys. Buying these books and magazines doesn’t necessarily mean they will get read anytime soon. Like most book buying addicts, I have a mountain of a “to be read” pile.

DOCTOR WHO - THE KING’S DRAGON by Una McCormack

I have read this novel and I thought it was pretty good. A review is imminent. The Doctor, Amy and Rory visit Geath, a town and pre-industrial society on an alien planet. Geath is known for its hospitality, so the Doctor is surprised to find the town locked. Furthermore, the inhabitants' fabled hospitality seem to have been replaced by materialism.

DOCTOR WHO - NUCLEAR TIME by Oli Smith

A tale of androids, nuclear attack and weird timelines. The reviews I’ve read have been favourable, but I have to confess that on first reading I didn’t enjoy this novel very much. However, this maybe my fault because I read it in very small chunks over several evenings. I think this is a story that needs more concentration than I have given it, so I am currently re-reading this book.

DOCTOR WHO - THE GLAMOUR CHASE by Gary Russell

I haven’t read this yet, but Gary Russell usually delivers the goods with his Doctor Who novels. The plot involves an archaeological dig in 1936 that unearths relics from another planet. But why has Rory never heard of this momentous event? And why does Amy suddenly think the Doctor comes from Mars? Sounds intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading this.

STEPHEN ROMANO’S SHOCK FESTIVAL

“One hundred and one of the strangest, sleaziest, most outrageous movies you’ve never seen.” The reason you’ve never seen them is that they don’t exist! Full of fabulous poster art and text for a ton of non-existant exploitation films, this is a big (too big to fit properly in my bookcase), heavy tome. A DVD set featuring mock trailers for these gems is also available. Some examples of the titles found within this book’s pages are: They Made Me - “Sweet Cindy was an innocent teenage runaway. She was about to learn the facts of life the hard way from the Sisterhood of the Scar!” Then there’s Inferno of the Nazi Witch Hunters - “The hell of the Third Reich is about to get a lot hotter.” And who wouldn’t want to see a film called Berserk Joe and Unfriendly Flo?