A new discovery in the amazing world of superheroes

We have all seen Spiderman, Batman, Superman and other superhero movies. But you haven't seen a superhero until you have seen these:

Japanese spiderman:



Turkish superman:



I love these movies. Well, the Japanese spiderman is a TV series from 1978, but it's love none the less. But today I discovered a new superhero. You have to see it, to believe it. Here is;

ITALIAN SPIDERMAN:

Worldwide VHS ex-rentals and the demise of Indie companies

Being a fan of many genres that have lost gems, movies that will never be released and will never see the light of day, I see myself searching more and more for old ex-rental VHS tapes. But they get more and more expensive. I recently bought a VHS tape that could have got me 7 DVD’s. That is 7 more DVD’s for my collection, but instead, I bought and old Greek ex-rental VHS. Sure, I’m a movie collector, not a DVD collector, so it is a good entry to my collection, but they cost shitloads! THE RAPE AFTER went for over $150, and RAMBU for over $120. Do you actually know how much that is, with the currency rate right now? It’s shitloads in Norway.

Luckily, we have many companies now a day that release these rare titles. But there are also bootleg DVD’s and some download sites that have these kinds of titles. But if you, like me, are a collector, you want the real deal. You shouldn’t support that kind of thing, when we have good people who release rare titles for us, and barely makes money out of it. Just see how many indie DVD companies that had to shut down last year:

“PANIK HOUSE, SUBVERSIVE, CASA NEGA, BARREL etc. They're all gone. Why? Because sales suck right now.” - Don May Jr – President of Synapse Films

I also think that the quality speaks to people. I see a lot of the people I know, buy VHS tapes of movies that they probably have double dipped on DVD already, but they love the old look, and the old and rare covers.

Let’s say; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I have it on many DVD’s and Blu-ray, but I still love the grainy VHS look. Because it is a gritty and dirty movie, it should be viewed on those terms. Another friend of mine, a while back bought a really expensive Japanese ex-rental VHS of CALAMITY OF SNAKES, and a couple of months after he bought it, it was released on a Eastern Horror box set. He used $300 on this VHS, because of its reputation for being such a huge Asian cult film, and then two months later, he could get it for $20. So sometimes it’s better to wait. Because there are so many companies that release these kinds of titles at the moment. It’s just so sad that the DVD industries are doing badly, so that they don’t dare to put out the most bizarre of the bizarre amongst worldweird cinema. But I can’t complain. They release some really weird stuff, which is good enough for me.

A rare piece of cinema is always good. So keep supporting indie DVD companies, so that we can get these titles on DVD. Ex-rental VHS is also good, but who wouldn’t mind movies like RAMBU on DVD? I’m pointing my finger at you Mondo Macabro. Release it!

I also had a chat with Don May Jr, President of Synapse films, about the downfall of DVD purchases and the ever-growing world of downloading.


BMA - I know that Synapse films have been focusing on Ozploitation, or Australian cinema lately, which is great, but what will be the next step for you?

DMJ - The ONLY step we're taking right now is how to stay in business. Last year, nine DVD companies went belly up and the industry and market for independent DVD companies is the worst it's ever been. Sales are way down and we're just trying to do films that will continue to sell for us. Seems to be working so far, but one misstep on a title and it could be the end. People really need to support all us indie DVD companies by buying our titles, instead of downloading illegally or renting (which seems to be the reason we're all suffering).

BMA - You mentioned that downloading and rental are hurting the DVD business. But considering the titles you release, don't you feel that you have very dedicated fans and that you appeal to DVD collectors and the fans of the genres you release? Most of the people who love these genres are dedicated collectors and will buy your DVD’s no matter what. I for one would never think about downloading any Synapse title, or any title by an indie company.

DMJ - Being in this business for almost 20 years, I know we have dedicated fans but the sales have decreased exponentially in the past 3-4 years. Those fans, if they are dedicated, have decided to stop buying like they used to, for whatever reason. The economy is bad, people don't have disposable income and the faster speed on the Internet is all contributing to decreased sales. With the advent of NETFLIX and BLOCKBUSTER.COM, people are renting, burning the DVDs for themselves and sending them right back. It happens... I know there are people who are true, dedicated collectors and fans, but there are a LOT of people who just bootleg.

When there were slower Internet speeds and no online rentals, people HAD to buy our product to get it. Now they don't and the sales are waning. It's just a sad fact of the business and economy and it sucks. People who bootleg and download don't realize how much it hurts the smaller companies. They just don't think about it and now look... great companies like PANIK HOUSE, SUBVERSIVE, CASA NEGA, BARREL, etc. They’re all gone. Why? Because sales suck right now... but they’re stuff is all readily available with a few click on any torrent site. They were victims of slagging sales. And, to a certain extent, ELITE and UNEARTHED have slowed releases to a crawl because there's just no money to be made.

BMA - I can see that you have more information on this then I have, because I would never think that people who are fans of exploitation/the weird and Bizarre, Euro-crime, horror etc, would download. And as you said, they don't know how much they hurt indie companies.

DMJ - One only needs to look at website like www.cinemageddon.org to see that many of our fans have decided to bootleg and download our DVDs instead of buy them. This is just ONE example of the many, many offshore website that contribute to indie companies' demises.

BMA - I read something interesting the other day. You are in fact, just two people behind Synapse films. Correct? How do you manage to do all the work? Because I have to say that I see the love in your titles, and I see that you put a lot of hard work into this.

DMJ - Believe me, we'd hire more people if we could, but the sad fact is we CAN'T afford it. There's just not enough sales these days to bring anyone else onboard with Synapse. I work every day of the week for Synapse. I'm just used to it, I guess.. it's hard, but it's the only way to survive right now.

Pinoy weirdness & 80's exploitation

Yesterday I received a bunch of DVD’s. And two of those movies would make an awesome afternoon. I’m talking about SAVAGE STREETS and THE KILLING OF SATAN.

Have you seen these movies? If you have, you know what I’m talking about.

I started off with SAVAGE STREETS, a gritty but fun 80’s Exploitation movie with balls to the wall type of music, just smaller balls then usual, because it was kind of hair metal. And after viewing a fun filled, emotional and cool exploitation movie, I went on to a horrible Phino (Philippines) movie; THE KILLING OF SATAN. Yes, it was horrible. But I had a hell of a good time! This movie was so fun and stupid, and just all over the place. It made my beard tickle. If you haven’t seen this then you should. Imagine a Phino guy in a Jeans jacket and Jeans battling a fat Satan who’s wearing a Dracula outfit, who started out as a skinny pajama type overall wearing Satan bastard. And I almost forgot; great visual effects and a driving story.

Check them out.

After nearly being rundown by a gang known as the Scars, Brenda (Linda Blair) and her friends trash the leader's car. Gang leader, Jake, exacts his revenge by getting his cohorts to gang-rape her mute-deaf sister, Heather (Linnea Quigley). Armed with a crossbow and a bad attitude, Linda Blair sets out to avenge her mute-deaf sister while blazing a bloody, Bronson-inspired trail through 80's Los Angeles.

Life is not easy for an ex-convict, and Lando San Miguel knew it would take courage and perseverance to rebuild his family and start a new life. An island where Lando’s uncle was living seemed to be the perfect place to start again. Frightening events and strange coincidences prove that this is no ordinary island. Lando is soon to find his destiny on this island of fear. He is about to come face-to-face with the terror of darkness. It is Lando’s horrifying fate to battle the Devil himself!

The Sinful Dwarf effect

For those of you who haven't bought the Another World Entertainment release of THE SINFUL DWARF, and is planning on buying the severin release, which has no release date yet, should watch this clip. Everybody, actually, needs to see this clip. Or should I say mini documentary.

And many of you have probably seen this already, but after reading a thread over at AVMANIACS, on the subject, I decided to post the clip there, and I might as well do it here.



I don't know if this is real. I mean, the chubby of the two seems credible, but I don't know if I believe the other guy.

I have not seen it yet. I have had the AWE disc ever since the release, but haven't had the time to view it. And even though the AWE disc is uncut, I will probably buy the Severin disc, if this is a special feature on it.

One boring zombie movie plus one cigarette equals one happy man

Yesterday I fell asleep watching a zombie movie that so far seems like a boring zombie flick. Hence the sleeping. I woke up 1 or 2 hours later. I went to the kitchen to get some cigarettes, and then I got on my computer. ''I think I'll just buy the bootleg DVD of THE AMAZING MR. NO LEGS''. I did a search on Ebay, and then BAM; ''AMAZING MR. NO LEGS -81 Greek ex-rental VHS'' - 5 Minutes remaining.

And guess what? Did you already guess it? I am now, the proud owner of this:

THE AMAZING MR. NO LEGS Greek Ex-Rental VHS tape.

I wasn't suppose to write reviews on this blog, but I will probably write a few words after I get this, and get a new VHS player that takes NTSC format.

I celebrated by dancing around in my Stormtrooper helmet, drinking beer from my Al Cliver glass. Photos of this event will be posted later.

Edit: I have to correct myself. This is of course an PAL VHS. Not NTSC.

Censorship and ignorante people

I read an article today in the Norwegian paper DAGBLADET, and in this article the journalist talked about the moral decay of society, based on SAW being such a hit, 2 girls 1 cup and Salo (120 Days of Sodom).

The phrase ''Tortureporn'' is used among journalists when it comes to these movies, and they love using this term when they get the chance, to punch down movies they are no quite fond of. Then don't watch the fucking movies!

And when you compare a horror movie, not a good or really a brutal one for that matter, to a pornclip of two girls eating feces, you have to stop and think what this guy is talking about? Okey, they eat feces in Salo. But Salo is a political movie. And Salo is not as bad as it sounds. It's not as graphical as you would expect, based on the feces eating, rape and torture, it's not so bad compared to other Exploitation movies or sexploitation.

And I love this particular statement made by the journalist:

''References to the war, if anything shows that ideologies can do blind. Neither the prostitutes or women who perform the deed of the facism show any signs of remorse or understanding for youth pain. They never justify why they do that they do''

Of course they don't! It's a movie! And it's suppose to show the real pain when Facism ruled Italy. He needs to read a history book and understand that this is somewhat fiction. It's based on true events through a horrible time, but it's also just a movie. We need these movies to remember. It's not suppose to entertain you with feces eating, or suppose to be some kind of porn movie. It's suppose to show how humans can act against one and other. And of course, it's shocking, but why shouldn't it be? It's what happened.

And to conclude that our society is on the edge of moral decay based on a horror movie being a hit at the cinema, is poorly knowledge of the human history. What about Witch burning, gladiator fights, and all the horrible things that has occured during our time on this planet?

And a few weeks ago, Takashi Miike's Ichi The Killer was pulled back from distrubution through VME. The film has been considered to be too violent to be used for entertainment purposes. But it was only a small majority of Complaintboard for film and videogram. Three against two votes were enough to make the decision

Penalty Act Section 382 makes it clear that: "With fines or imprisonment up to 6 months or with both punished the claiming or publishing for sale or rent, or otherwise seek to expand film, videogram or similar where for entertainment purposes is made improper the use of serious violence cases. "

So Takashi Miike's classic film had a short run here in Norway. Even though Another World Entertainment are releasing fine selections of previously banned movies here in Norway.

Thank god for the internet and good dvd companies releasing fine and rare horror, exploitation and other fun and weird movies.

The ''article'', can be found here: http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2008/11/14/553973.html

Poliziotteschi

Yesterday I revisited a genre I truly enjoy, but haven't seen in quite a while, Poliziotteschi, or Italian crime films.

These movies, which became a hit in the 60's and 70's, but faded later because of Italian Horror and another crime genre Giallo, is amazing. If you want more rogue cops, more stylish action, more vigilantism, more car chases and more curroption and heist then any other american action movie, this is the genre for you. Oh, did I forget the music? Well, the soundtrack to most Italian crime movies are fast, funky and fresh.

Italian Crime always give me the feeling of Horror and Exploitation, they truly are action movies, but they are gritty, violent and gory. So the feeling of Exploitation, which is a sub genre in the horror genre, is so true in these movies. With movies such as Rabid Dogs.

Let's get to the movie I watched. Yesterday I felt like watching something ''new''. In the past months, I've only seen Asian movies, for the most of the time. And you can get asian crime or action movies as well, of course, which also is very stylish, but they are not as gritty or ultra violent as Italian crime. So I wanted to watch something Italian again, so I popped The Big Racket in my DVD player and guess what? I'm Back, baby!

I have no Idea why my Italian crime movies have been laying around for so long! This was kind of nostalgic for me. Since Italian Horror and Italian Crime are the genres that made me the Bearded Movie Aficionado I am today!

Not every post is going to be about stuff I buy, but I just had to get this after my viewing last night:

The Big Racket Turkish 1 Sheet

YES! I finally got one!

So, yesterday I was thinking about all my posters, because they are just laying around, safely I might add. And I wanted to take pictures of them (Link under Friends on the left), and put them up on a photopage. I can't even remember half of them. I spent 2 hours taking pictures last night, finding poster I've forgotten. Beautiful 1 sheets from Italy, France, Turkey and so on.

And I haven't bought any posters in a while, and all this poster browsing made me hungry for more. So just before I was suppose to go to bed, I did a little search on ebay, and what do you know; I found a poster I've been wanting for many years! It's not the most beautiful poster, but I just had to have it!

Lucio Fulci's Contraband, Italian One Sheet

Grindhouse/Exploitation cinema: More alive then ever!

Grindhouse cinema or just Grindhouse is an exploitation based cinema screening. Usually shown in run down theaters where smoking and drinking were allowed. Non mainstream films, for sleazehound’s, where shown and usually back to back, which means that they would screen two movies consecutively.

The 1980's home video market and renewal threatened to destroy Grindhouse cinema completely. By the end of the 1980’s, Grindhouse theaters had disappeared from districts like Boston’s Combat Zone, Los Angeles' Broadway and Hollywood Boulevards, New York City's Times Square and San Francisco's Market Street. By the mid-1990s, they had completely disappeared from the United States.

Some Grindhouse cinemas are back today, but not because of the movie Grinhouse, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, but because of the on growing popularity of the exploitation genre. More and more rare and unreleased titles make they’re way to the DVD format.

The idea for Grindhouse came to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino when Tarantino set up screenings of double features in his house, complete with trailers before and in between the films. During one screening in 2003, Rodriguez noticed that he owned the same double feature movie poster as Tarantino for the 1957 films Dragstrip Girl and Rock All Night. Rodriguez asked Tarantino, "I always wanted to do a double feature. Hey, why don't you direct one and I'll do the other?" Tarantino quickly replied, "And we've got to call it Grindhouse!"

And this is where it all began. The production took four years, and got screwed over at the end. Grindhouse where not so popular in the United States, which is pretty weird considering that they invented the concept. And the whole idea and concept were also discarded by the rest of the world. The movies would be shown separately at the theaters, without the trailers. The only trailer that was shown was Machete, before the screening of Quentin Tarantino’s segment; Death Proof. Also the DVD release would not feature the movies Back to Back, and they where sold separately. But thanks god, the Japanese has done it again; they have recently released a 6 disc presentation of Grindhouse, featuring the movies back to back, with all the trailers in between, and a hell of lot extras, if I might add that.

Death Proof is really a sexual slasher film. But the genius part is the weapon the killer uses to get to his victims; it is not a knife, nor a chainsaw or anything in between that. He uses his car! Yes, you read right. He uses his Death Proof car to slaughter his victims.

It is an intense movie, and has the most awesome and intense car chases I have ever seen. This is because of great work and dedication. Some of the reasons are that on of the main female characters in the movie is a stunt woman, who has previously worked with Tarantino on Kill Bill, so she was able to sit on the hood of the car, doing 120 mph. And getting a close-up of the actual actor, screaming on top of that hood, gives you the shivers. And that they follow the cars all the way, no filming from a distance and no filming from a helicopter. The car’s was either chasing the camera or the camera was chasing the cars. This makes it a high voltage thrill.

Stuntman Mike is played by Kurt Russel, and he does an superb job. His character is lovable and a complete maniac. And the best part of the movie is when he is crying and sobbing, because the girls he is terrorizing, is getting back at him. It was hilarious to see this psycho torturing these girls at one point, laughing, taunting them and almost killing them at many times, turn into a big cry baby as soon as he got what he deserved.

Death Proof is basically a Rape & Revenge movie. One of the most stylish Rape & Revenge movies I have ever seen. And I truly believe that this is an Rape/Revenge movie. Considering the circumstances of it being a modern, exploitation feature. Even though Tarantino only thinks of this movie as a slasher movie, he has also stated that Stuntman Mike is not only killing them, but he is also raping them. If it was really intended to be a Rape & Revenge film, I don’t know, but it turned out to be one of the best ever. Not THE best, but one of them.

Planet Terror is not your average zombie flick. It’s a more over the top and stylish perspective on the genre.

All takes place within one evening, but focuses on several different characters and their roles within a zombie outbreak, which makes each scene deliver something fun and intentionally laughable or disturbing about it. And the difference between the characters also makes every scene, and every perspective a joy. You have the weapon dealers, The Military, Doctors, renegades and so on. Robert Rodriguez must have had this clear in his mind, he used these settings and these “occupations” to make a movie where every scene is fun and full of gory glory.

The film uses various unconventional techniques to make the films more like the once who were shown in Grindhouse theaters in the 1970s. Throughout both feature-length segments and the fake trailers, the film is intentionally damaged to make it look like many of the exploitation films of the 1970s which were generally shipped around from theater to theater and usually ended up in bad shape. To reproduce the look of damaged film reels in Planet Terror, five of the six 25,000 frame reels were edited with real film damage, plug-ins, and stock footage.

It speaks for itself, Grindhouse and Exploitation is bigger then ever, and more and more never before seen movies are being released. It is a glorious time to be a sleazehound.

Not so much so say about Planet Terror, and this is maybe a tad late. But I wanted to speak my mind.

THE AMAZING MR. NO LEGS

Hi everyone and welcome to my very first post on my new blog. I want to start off by talking about a movie I've been dying to see for many years. I first caught a peek in a magazine, I don't remember which one, but I was dazzled. The picture featured an old VHS cover of the movie; THE AMAZING MR NO LEGS.

A Deadly professional hit-man for a drug syndicate... and a limbless cripple! So far so good. But wait! There is more; With his wheelchair, armed with shotguns and shurikens, and his amazing kung fu skills he means trouble for everyone he confronts, even his own boss! Things get ugly when a unlucky drug dealer kills his girl by an accident, especially because the girl's brother is a cop! And No Legs apparently have his own plans how to take over the whole business.

I bet you are smiling by now, and so am I. The reason why I mention this movie is not because it's impossible to get, It's out on VHS and Bootleg DVD, but I just want to wait for an offical dvd release! And I don't know why, because I should just buy the VHS and cuddle up in bed with a beer, cigaretts, and my girl. And I probably will do, soon. But the only item you can find on Ebay at the moment is a 1sheet poster, which I should buy, because the art is amazing.

Anyways, thank you for reading my babble about a kung fu wheelchair hitman, and wish me luck on my hunt for the VHS I should have bought many years ago.