ATLRetro

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK – (1975) – 4K UHD + BRD
4.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Rachel Roberts, Anne-Louise Lambert, Vivean Gray
Director: Peter Weir
Rated: NR
Studio: Criterion Collection
Region: 4k UHD – Region Free, BRD – Region A Locked
BRD Release Date: 04/09/2024
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video Codec: Native 4K HDR: HDR10
Resolution: 2160p
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 107 minutes
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Australia had a fairly robust film production industry between the great wars, but when J. Arthur Rank bought up the largest theater chains after WWII and discouraged local production the industry went fallow, producing an average of only two films a year from 1946 until 1969. Finally, in 1973 the government funded the new Australian Film, Television, and Radio School and the dam was broken. New talent flooded in to learn the craft of filmmaking and the beginning of what would be called the Australian New Wave began as names like Bruce Beresford, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller, Philip Noyce, and Peter Weir began producing their own films for local and international distribution. Weir began his trade in the late 1960s making short films and television programs and made a critical breakthrough with his first feature, THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974). His next film would gain international acclaim and a gave him a reputation for mesmerizing work that goes against the traditions of storytelling in reaching for something deeper, something resonant even if unrecognizable.

Based on Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK is a period piece set in 1900 that begins with a student outing from a girl’s school in Victoria to a local rock formation. After lunch, as most of the teachers and girls nap, three students explore the formation and mysteriously disappear, as does one of the teachers. Questions are asked, investigations are made, an inquiry is called, and both teachers and students search for answers to questions they never thought to ask until their disappearance. Theories abound, suggestions and inferences are made, accusations bubble to the surface; but no answers come. When one of the students is found alive but with no memory of what happened to herself or the others, the mystery and sense of horror at what might have befallen the girls intensifies.

Weir has publicly said how disappointed he was by the dull outcomes of Hitchcock films (the Butler did it!), as well as the simple explanations offered by Sherlock Holmes to the complex mysteries he solved, so he eschewed tying the film’s mystery up at the end into a neat bow as a present to the viewer. He expects us to enjoy the journey and never care for the destination, which will certainly rile audiences with an appetite for standard storytelling conventions. No comforting Campbellian moments or traditional mythical narrative tropes are applied in a broad manner in PICNIC, we have to understand that the questions are the answers Weir wishes us to savor.

The film’s setting in the year 1900 is thematically important. Just as America faced a “New Frontier” in which no one and nothing was safe after the assassination of JFK in 1963, the Victorian age was ending, and the future was an enigma to Britons all over the world at the turn of the century. It was a time in which everything was open to change, and opinion and influence no longer made any difference in one’s personal outcome. Weir embraces the enigma rather than the explanation, and invites viewers to do the same; ”What we see and what we seem are but a dream, a dream within a dream” says doomed girl Miranda (quoting Edgar Allan Poe), played by Anne-Louise Lambert, at the opening of the film. And like the layers of dreams within dreams, the story of Hanging Rock unfolds, but never unveils. It echoes the zeitgeist of a people surrounded by harsh terrain and aboriginal mysticism, ruled at a distance by a monarch in her final months.

Instead, the film lingers on images, on sounds, expressions, and texture. The cinematography of Russell Boyd is soft and layered, dreamlike in places as the story is, a perfect contextual pairing. His work on Weir’s later films benefits from his experiences here, in combining layered atmosphere with a thematically based documentary style to create a harmonic visual resonance at almost imperceptible levels.

Criterion Collection’s presentation of PICNIC is sourced from a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by Director Weir and Director of Photography Boyd, and feels both delicate and robust at the same time – delicate because of the nature of the visuals, and robust in color, tonal density, and texture. The package includes a 4K UHD disc as well as a Blu-ray. Also included are an interview with Weir; a program on the making of the film, featuring interviews with Executive Producer Patricia Lovell, Producers Hal McElroy and Jim McElroy, and cast members; an introduction by film scholar David Thomson, author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film; an on-set documentary hosted by Lovell and featuring interviews with Weir, actor Rachel Roberts and source-novel author Joan Lindsay; HOMESDALE (1971), a black comedy by Weir; the original trailer; an essay by author Megan Abbott; and an excerpt from film scholar Marek Haltof’s 1996 book Peter Weir: When Cultures Collide. The 4k disc is region free, and the Blu-ray is Region A locked.

This movie is considered to be the best Australian film of all time by most of the Australian film industry, critics, and academia. Like the questions it poses regarding its central incident, unanswered and never ending, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK embeds itself within you. And though it may slip from thought for years at a time, it never fades.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Retro Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more. He is the author of the book The Art of George Wilson from Hermes Press.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

Portions of this review were previously published in Screem Magazine.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

AFTER HOURS – (1985) – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, Catherine O’Hara, Verna Bloom
Director: Martin Scorsese
Rated: R
Studio: Criterion
Region: 4K – Free, 2K Blu-Ray – Region A (Locked)
BRD Release Date: 07/11/2023
Audio Formats: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K Ultra HD Native 4K (2160p) HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1, Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Disc, Two-disc set (1 BD-100, 1 BD-50))
Run Time: 97 minutes
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The word absurdist is defined first as “intentionally ridiculous or bizarre; surreal,” and secondly as “relating to or supporting the belief that human beings exist in a purposeless, chaotic universe.” Only the first definition applies itself well to Martin Scorsese’s AFTER HOURS, though it can hardly be described as anything but absurdist; delightfully, absolutely absurdist.

Paul Hackett (Dunne, also co-producer) lives a life of soul deadening corporate drudgery by day. A chance meeting in a diner with flirty and unusual Marcy (Arquette) leads him on an increasingly ridiculous and dangerous night of pursuit, evasion, and sheer desperation to remove himself from what any sensible Chinese person would call “interesting times,” in the warehouse district of SoHo and getting back to his predictable, secure existence in upper Manhattan. On his Odysseus-like journey, he is both guided and hampered by a profusion of modern-day nymphs, cyclops, witches, and oracles, none of whom can be trusted with his safety. The real standout is O’Hara as a demented ice cream truck driver who literally glows onscreen. Her turn in the long line to pummel Hackett is enhanced by her determination to utterly destroy him once she becomes convinced that he’s the serial burglar that’s been plaguing the neighborhood (in reality the work of a pair of likable no-goodniks played by Cheech and Chong).

Scorsese, drawn to the material as a recent SoHo resident himself after a fallow point in his career. THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST was cancelled by the studio after four years of preparation and his recently released THE KING OF COMEDY was proclaimed Flop of the Year by Entertainment Tonight. It seems an awkward choice to direct the film, but he clearly felt a thematic resonance to Hackett’s predicament and handles his duties with aplomb, as one might surmise in retrospect.

Criterion Collection’s 4K UHD presentation of the film is a triumph both visually and auditorily. The story takes place almost exclusively at night, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus‘s location shots in SoHo are gorgeously viewable with dense shadows and subtle light effects where appropriate. The uncompressed audio track is newly remastered from the original mono soundtrack and very well balanced – no scrambling for the remote to increase volume for dialog or decrease it for loud sound effects. Howard Shore’s music is mated at just the right level. Sporting a brand-new digital transfer approved by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, this is the best possible viewing one may have of the film.

The supplemental materials included are worthy of the presentation;  a new interview with director Scorsese by writer Fran Lebowitz (If you saw AFTER HOURS in 1985 and had spent any time in New York City, there are numerous inside jokes aimed directly at residents. Scorsese and Leibowitz discuss this at length.), audio commentary featuring Scorsese, Schoonmaker, director of photography Ballhaus, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and producer Amy Robinson, a documentary on the making of the film featuring Dunne, Robinson, Schoonmaker, and Scorsese, a new program on the look of the film featuring costume designer Rita Ryack and production designer Jeffrey Townsend, as well as deleted scenes, the trailer, and an essay by critic Sheila O’Malley which is illustrated with the wanted poster of Dunne from the movie.

I confess that AFTER HOURS has been a non-guilty pleasure of mine since its initial release. Though Dunne remains as polite as he possibly can be throughout the film, there are a few instances where the constant ridiculousness wears him down and his performance becomes a true joy to watch. The film’s conclusion also puts the perfect cap on the theme of the film – sometimes you can escape the mundanity of life and sometimes you shouldn’t even try. Heartily recommended viewing.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Retro Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more. He is the author of the book The Art of George Wilson from Hermes Press.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

HUGO – (2011) Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Three Disc Set
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Martin Scorsese
Rated: PG
Studio: Arrow Video
Region: Free
BRD Release Date: 07/18/2023
Audio Formats: DTS-HD MA 7.1 and LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K Ultra HD (2160p) presentation of the 2D version of the film in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the film in 2D and 3D
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Disc, Three-disc set (1 BD-100, 2 BD-50)
Run Time: 126 minutes
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HUGO is Martin Scorsese’s love letter to cinema. I’m going to assume that regular readers of this column have almost all seen the movie since its release in 2011, either in the theater in glorious 3D or at home via the device of your choosing. Based on the profusely illustrated book, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, by Brian Selznick, the movie is as much an ode to films and those who make them as the book was to… well, books and those who write and illustrate them. Director Scorsese took the literary centric tropes of Selznick’s work and applied the cinematically equivalent ones to suit his own medium to great effect. In doing so, he makes a gentle but substantial case for film preservation, including much needed information to modern audiences of what is lost forever and what may yet be saved for posterity and why it’s important to preserve them.

The visuals, performances, music, directing, and other technical aspects of the film have been examined minutely by critics, but one of the attractions on the Arrow Special Edition release of HUGO that’s worth emphasizing is supplemental features, including producer Heather Buckley’s extended interview with author Selznick as he discusses the genesis of the book, his intentions and aspirations in creating it, and finally examining the theme of the story. He remarks that the theme was brought up with him by a fan who said they believed that the story centers around creating our own families by choosing the people one surrounds oneself with, an admitted revelation to Selznick. I see where that applies to both film and book, but my own thoughts lean more toward themes of healing ourselves through helping others heal, as Hugo (Butterfield) and Isabella (Moretz) demonstrate not only with Papa Georges (Kingsley) but with each other, and as Station Inspector Gustav (Cohen) and flower girl Lisette (Emily Mortimer) embody. Much of Hugo’s backstory supports this theme as well, without refuting Selznick’s preferred thesis.

Arrow Video’s presentation of HUGO on 4K UHD is presented in stunning 2160p in 2D, and in 3D as it was always meant to be viewed by Scorsese (in 1080p), as well as a 2D version on the included blu-ray disc. The image quality in 2D (I am not fully equipped to evaluate the 3D presentation, though the consensus among other reviewers is that there is a marked improvement from the Paramount BRD) is an order of magnitude crisper and clearer than the previous Blu-ray release, without being over-sharpened. Color fidelity is fantastic, as is density in blacks and whites. The sound is also up to speed, making this the most pleasing copy of the film I’ve seen since it’s theatrical release.

Extras include an audio commentary by Jon Spira; the theatrical trailer (HD; 2:18); as well as a third disc featuring Inventing Hugo Cabret, a new interview with Brian Selznick, author and illustrator of the original novel on which the film is based; Capturing Dreams, a new interview with director of photography Robert Richardson; The Music of Dreams, a new interview with composer Howard Shore; Ian Christie on Hugo, a new interview with the acclaimed film historian and editor of SCORSESE ON SCORSESE; Secret Machines: Hugo and Film Preservation, a new visual essay by filmmaker and critic Scout Tafoya; Creating New Worlds, a new featurette in which French film historian and author Julien Dupuy examines the life and the legacy of Georges Melies and his impact on cinema and special effects; Papa Georges Made Movies, a new featurette in which film critic and historian Pamela Hutchinson explores the days of early cinema; Melies at the time of Hugo, a new a visual essay by filmmaker and writer Jon Spira plus five archival featurettes on the making of the film – Shoot the Moon: The Making of Hugo; The Cinemagician: Georges Meliés; The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo; Big Effects, Small Scale; and Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime. There is also an image gallery, a folded mini poster, and an insert booklet written by Farran Smith Nehme.

HUGO is what the French might call an “event cinemalogique,” and deserves all the accolades from critics and movies fans that it has received, as does Arrow Video for the care taken in preparing this package. Most highly recommended.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Retro Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more. He is the author of the upcoming book The Art of George Wilson from Hermes Press.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

THE SUNDAY WOMAN (La Donna Della Domenica) – 1975 Limited Edition
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset , Jean-Louis Trintignant
Director: Luigi Comencini
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Radiance Films
Region: A
BRD Release Date: 05/02/2023
Audio Formats: Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with English subtitles
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD from new 2K Master
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1, 1.85:1
Run Time: 109 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Luigi Comencini’s THE SUNDAY WOMAN presents itself as many things to the viewer, the most often singled out of which is “giallo,” a title that refers to the Italian stalking-murderer-wearing-black-gloves style mystery genre of which the early 1970s cineastes were so fond. However, it seems least of all a gialli (the singular) and more an exercise in determinance of how art affects the small slice of society presented as a cross section of Turin, and just how effective art can be as a weapon. Specifically, in this case, the large and heavy terra-cotta phallus sculpture that the killer uses in committing acts of violence.

In fact, the film seems quite determined to examine all facets of artistic influence on its characters. The first victim is a degenerate but well-known architect, Garrone (he is almost always referred to in dialog as, “the architect Garrone”) played by Claudio Gora. His death sparks an investigation by police commissioner Santamaria (Mastroianni), which leads him to ennui-filled housewife Anna Carla Dosio, played by Jacqueline Bisset. The two, of course, trade sideways glances while Santamaria begins to dig further and pursues Dosio’s friend Massimo Campi (Trintignant), who mostly just wishes to hush up a homosexual affair and spit witty insults. What a cast, huh?

Through a combination of humor and grotesquery, Comencini reveals a layered group of characters, all of whom are capable of razor-sharp self-defense in terms of dialog, but vulnerable by emotional damage. The investigation revolves around – wait for it – yet another objet dé art, an artifact of historical importance attached to a local property, which is never truly endowed with enough value to justify the murders. Art then is relegated as the McGuffin, the murder weapon, (perhaps even the murders themselves) and the prevailing currency throughout the narrative. It is valued, de-valued and personified as a character unto itself, maintaining a role greater than any of the film’s stars (or plot).

The screenplay by Carlo Fruttero, Franco Lucentini and Agenore Incrocci crackles with dialog that runs from witty to perceptive to obtuse yet poignant, and stands out as a reason the cast of heavyweights may have been attracted to the project. Again, the plot isn’t really the point here, but it does circle back around to make sense in a rudimentary fashion. Come for the walky, stay for talky – even though it’s presented in Italian with English subtitles. I have to say that whoever translated the dialog did a great job in preserving the spirit of the original Italian – there were moments when I laughed out loud (they were brief, don’t judge me). As good as facets of the movie are, ultimately as a murder mystery, it’s an amusing view of how society divides and unites us in times of extreme stress and boredom.

Radiance Films’ presentation of THE SUNDAY WOMAN is sourced from a brand new 2K transfer and looks great. No visible damage or artifacts were apparent in either of the aspect ratios presented. I preferred 1:85.1 (the original), but the 1:33.1 (the aspect ratio for television at the time) does seem to have a bit more original picture top to bottom. Audio was richly mixed, highlighting Ennio Morricone’s disappointing score. You know how when, for instance, Elmer Bernstein  might not quite have lived up to expectations for a film but it was still a Bernstein score? Yeah, this wasn’t that.

Bonus materials with the disc include a newly filmed interview with academic and Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer; an archival interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli ; a newly filmed interview with academic and screenwriter Giacomo Scarpelli, who discusses the life and work of his father, Furio Scarpelli and his writing partner Agenore Incrocci; an archival French TV interview with Jean-Louis Trintignant; a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters; and, a limited-edition 24-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mariangela Sansone and a reprint of an archival piece on the film. The disc is limited to 2000 copies.

THE SUNDAY WOMAN will be challenging for some viewers, but worth the investment. It would have been a wonderful addition to include an archival English dub, if one exists, but it’s certainly not worth creating a new one – the subtitles were fine.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Retro Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE – 1968
2.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Alain Delon , Marianne Faithfull , Roger Mutton , Marius Goring
Director: Jack Cardiff
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: A
BRD Release Date: 12/13/2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 1595 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz /16-bit
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD from new 4K Master
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Run Time: 91 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place – i.e., after the French cinema verité/new wave filmmaking swept cinema and before the auteur revolution became popularized by the success of EASY RIDER (1969), Jack Cardiff’s THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE seems a wan, “also ran” exercise in youth-oriented filmmaking from someone who had little understanding of the culture he was attempting to portray. Cardiff began his career in the camera department and became a top level cinematographer with films like THE RED SHOES, THE BRAVE ONE, and DEATH ON THE NILE. His transition to directing yielded several gems like SONS AND LOVERS and DARK OF THE SUN. This film was (by Cardiff’s own admission) hatchet-ed by the American censors, but that doesn’t seem to be the whole story, as the 54-year-old-at-the-time director clearly made some bad decisions himself in shooting it.

Rebecca (Faithfull) is a young, petulant newlywed who simply cannot stand the passiveness of her husband Raymond (Mutton) for a moment longer and decides to leave him for her older lover Daniel (Delon), a rogue of a literary professor with whom she’s been having a torrid affair since before her marriage. Daniel is a man damaged by a past relationship who acts out his anger with Rebecca, and cares not a whit for her otherwise. Traveling between her home in Orleans and Daniel’s in Heidelberg on the powerful motorcycle that Daniel gave her as a wedding present, Rebecca reflects on the journey that brought her to leave Raymond and forsake her life of reasonable comfort for what she knows will be an ecstasy of pain with Daniel.

My problems with the film are myriad; there’s no protagonist. It’s really hard to care about a character who is a self-described “silly bitch,” and revels in rubbing her husband’s face in her affair with another man who loathes her. Raymond is a cuckold, Daniel a narcissist. With whom should the viewers identify? Someone should have told Cardiff that there’s no such thing as adorable nihilism. Throughout the film, Rebecca engages in fantasies, flashbacks, and dreams which include circus horse acrobatics, strenuous snow skiing, and motorcycle riding – all potentially dangerous but thrilling pursuits – yet we only ever see Faithfull in a small handful of shots actually doing any of this herself. She’s either being photographed on a camera tow car, in process shots, rear projection, or a stunt double is used. This is an analog for Rebecca; she wants an exciting, danger-filled life but is too much of a coward to actually commit to the experiences. She internalizes all of her loathing and desire throughout the film, shared with the viewer via voiceovers. Another gripe: the sex (and some dream sequence) scenes shift into low resolution solarized posterization visual effects, doubtless in order to hide the more explicit nature of the shots. This effect was contextually current for the time, but became a cliché almost immediately and now just seems quaint.

Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray presentation of THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE is sourced from a brand new 4K scan, and looks very good for the most part. There are some issues with the solarized effects as stated – they seem lower resolution and have more artifacts than the rest of the picture. Some detail is soft in scenes, but this may be the intent of the cinematographer. Audio is reasonable, well mixed, and robust for the musical score if not the whole film. Dialog was certainly dubbed in post-production, and a bit distracting occasionally. Extras on the disc include a legacy commentary from director Cardiff with a lot of very interesting reminiscences of making the film and the challenges he faced in conveying Rebecca’s stream of consciousness. A new commentary from author and film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas delves more into the nuances of feminism and the biker film genre. Both are worth a listen. Also included is the theatrical trailer and several others.

Is THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE a classic or a misstep? It’s lovely to look at, as is its star, Marianne Faithfull. I can say that it’s certainly provocative, and a film that any viewer will hold a strong opinion about. Whether that opinion is positive or negative is subjective, of course.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Retro Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

EYES OF LAURA MARS – 1978
2 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Faye Dunaway , Tommy Lee Jones , Brad Dourif , Rene Auberjonois , Raul Julia
Director: Irvin Kershner
Rated: R
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: Free
BRD Release Date: October 18, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 103 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

With a screenplay by John Carpenter and David Zelag Goodman  and a cast featuring one recent and one future Academy Award™ winner as well as several multiple-time nominees, EYES OF LAURA MARS should be a classic of the thriller genre, a notable pin on the map of suspense films. So why isn’t it? Producer Jon Peters and director Irvin Kershner. This is a film made by a hairdresser with a big-shot girlfriend and his yes man, and it shows.

Which is not to say that either of them never improved or did better work; on the contrary. Peters went on to produce many great films, and Kershner went on to direct better films. Eyes was Peters’ second film as producer, after mega-hit A STAR IS BORN (1976), so he might be forgiven a bit of brash egotism after being given carte blanche by the studio for his next effort. As he matured into the role of executive producer, his work improved and includes AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981), RAIN MAN (1988), and BATMAN (1989). Kershner was at the beginning of a string of films for which he was hired specifically for his reputation for pliability and his willingness to let strong-willed producers take the reins. His follow-ups for this picture were STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for George Lucas and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN for Kevin McClory. He spent the final years of his career directing television and the lackluster ROBOCOP 2 (1990).

The duo’s faults are evident in self-indulgent story choices, stilted performances from a stellar cast, ham-fisted attempts at creating suspense, endless exposition scenes, and a hand-wave of a plot device – Mars “sees” murders of her friends and colleagues through the eyes of the killer, psychically – that’s never questioned nor explained. I’m certain the screenplay was a taut thriller and it might have been done justice by a more experienced producer and a director like Brian De Palma, at the height of his powers in 1978. As it stands, what we get is a soggy mess of a disco era mystery that mystifies the viewer, with protagonists who are far less interesting than the supporting characters. The most watchable and entertaining people in the film are Rene Auberjonois as Mars’ manager Donald, and Darlanne Fluegel  as doomed model Lulu. The photographic tableaus by Helmut Newton are dazzling as well.

Kino Lorber’s presentation of the movie on Blu-ray seems a bit of shovel-ware, to be honest. Sourced from an existing master that’s been released twice already by competitors, the picture has some issues with color and contrast balance, especially in darker scenes. Film grain bloom is distractingly evident. The single audio track is quite good, and in fact seems better than the one included on the disc released by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2019. Though listed as a “Special Edition” on the Kino website, the only special features on this single disc are a legacy commentary by Kershner (natch, as he passed away in 2010), a making-of featurette from 1978, a featurette with commentary on the photographs in the film, and trailers. Not a very special edition at all.

EYES OF LAURA MARS has a pedigree that should have delivered a better viewing experience, and Kino Lorber has a reputation for releasing better product than this. It’s hard not to be disappointed on all levels by this presentation. Give it a pass.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

By Contributing Writers
John Michlig and Anthony Taylor

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK (SPECIAL EDITION) – 1978
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus, Dana Andrews, Lloyd Haynes
Director: Ted Post
Rated: PG
Studio: Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Region: A (Locked)
BRD Release Date: August 20, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 95 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

There are a certain set of expectations when cueing up a Chuck Norris film that GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK does not live up to, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Norris’s role in GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK is the debut of the persona he would eventually make famous. His previous film and debut as star was 1977’s BREAKER! BREAKER!, which was not at all in the vein of the eventual stoic martial-arts-hero-doing-helicopter-kicks character he would portray for the balance of his career. However, one of the reasons this film is genuinely entertaining is the fact that Norris hasn’t yet latched onto the simpler “fighting fury” cartoon his subsequent roles encompassed.

After an intriguingly long and eerie opening credits sequence (the ’78 version of “hi-tech visuals”–and all that implies – accompanied by a soundtrack that still haunts me) the film opens in Vietnam, circa 1973, where we meet a wise-cracking dressed-in-black special ops crew – the Black Tigers – and get to know them well enough to be deeply disturbed when we witness a POW rescue attempt gone wrong (and, as made clear on the 2K Master, very obviously shot day for night ). Also disturbing is Chuck Norris, who portrays Major John T. Booker, parading around without his signature mustache or beard.

After that tragic sequence of events (the failed rescue, not the facially bald Chuck visage), we fast-forward to 1978, where we see Booker racing cars. From the track, he goes directly to a small classroom where he is a professor teaching a class on the Vietnam war.

See what they did there? Our guy is an intellectual, sure – but he also races cars, so we know he hasn’t shed his adventurous side and gone all egghead. That’s not all; Professor Booker is openly critical of the Vietnam war and America’s role in the conflict, which is pretty darn forward-looking for a late-seventies adventure flick.

He meets Margaret (Anne Archer), who stays behind after his lecture and says she is a reporter digging up information on his unit’s failed raid in ‘Nam and possible government complicity in the disaster. At the very same time, it appears that members of Booker’s Black Tigers team are being eliminated one by one. As per adventure film guidelines, Booker “gets with” Margaret, culminating in a truly rare – but entirely period-accurate – shot of Norris in “tighty whities.” Their coupling is not entirely arbitrary however, as it provides an opportunity to show Booker enduring night sweats as he relives wartime nightmares.

GOOD GUYS WHERE BLACK is Norris’s breakout film, but it’s surprisingly – and refreshingly – free of the action-drenched, by-the-numbers formula that made up his subsequent films. This may be attributed to the direction by Ted Post, who helmed HANG ‘EM HIGH, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, MAGNUM FORCE, GO TELL THE SPARTANS, and NIGHTKILL.

After the opening Vietnam sequence, the film becomes more political thriller than the patented Norris martial arts blur of combat that became his trademark (James Franciscus is a perfect smarmy politician). Good Guys is a film that Norris constructed and pitched, not a vehicle he merely climbed aboard. We get a peek at some elements of the Norris-to-be, particularly when he watches a plane, in which newfound bedmate Margaret is a passenger, vaporize soon after takeoff, and we never hear her mentioned again in the film.

The KL Studio Classics Blu-ray presentation includes energetic and genuinely entertaining commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, a “making of” featurette, an interview (curiously unedited) with director Ted Post, radio and TV promotional material, and theatrical trailers.

Revisiting this film for the first time in many years was a real pleasure, and it’s highly recommended for both Norris fans and action/thriller lovers. Get to the chopper!

–John Michlig

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE – 1935
3 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Jean Hersholt, Carroll Borland
Director: Tod Browning
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Warner Brothers Archive Collection
Region: A
BRD Release Date: October 11, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Run Time: 60 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

A remake of director Browning’s most infamous lost film LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, MARK OF THE VAMPIRE lands wide of the mark, missing the bullseye by a fairly wide margin while remaining a stimulating viewing experience.

Though Lionel Barrymore (IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, KEY LARGO) is ostensibly the star of the picture, the real attraction for modern viewers is the tantalizing glimpse of what LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT might have offered, as well as Lugosi’s first revisit of Dracula under the guise of Count Mora. Also of note is the introduction of Carroll Borland as Mora’s daughter Luna, who provides the original visual pattern for multiple generations of Goth girls – inspiring not only Charles Addams’s Morticia and Wednesday Addams, but Lily Munster and the likes of television horror hosts Vampira and Elvira as well.

In 1927’s silent LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, Lon Chaney played three different parts, as assayed in this film by Barrymore, Atwill, and Lugosi – much more a tour de force performance one would assume without being able to actually see the film, which was by many reports no more successful creatively than this talkie remake. Lugosi would go on to play similar vampire roles in THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE, and finally returned to the role that made him world famous as Dracula in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN in 1948. What sets this film apart is the feeling that Lugosi – having been a major horror film star for four years at this point – is letting it all hang out as Count Mora, playing the role of Dracula as he would like to have played him 1931. More toothy, less verbose (he has almost no dialog whatsoever), and really leaning into the campiness of the stereotype he provided in Dracula. This performance almost plays as a parody of Count Dracula, and it’s enjoyable because he was embracing his destiny to be the go-to visual for vampires in media for time immemorial. Likewise, amateur actor Borland is really only in the film as set dressing, but she is unforgettable and iconic as the vampire girl Luna. In two possible cinematic firsts, she provides a performance embracing female-on-female vampire activity as well as the first recoil and hostile hiss by a vampire – something that has become de rigueur for night walkers when faced by a cross or holy water in subsequent genre films.

Where MARK OF THE VAMPIRE fails is at a story level. The convoluted screenplay produced an original edit of the film that ran twenty minutes longer than the version released to theaters, which hints at a lot of subplots and scenes that were ultimately deemed superfluous by the studio. Whether they might have made the farfetched plot more palatable is hard to say – as it stands, the plot isn’t difficult to follow, but it’s not even remotely realistic – but should that matter in a film about “vampires” that looks this gorgeous? Art direction and set design far surpass that of Universal’s DRACULA, with MGM a latecomer to the horror film, throwing money at the latest box-office-darling genre. Cinematography by L. William O’Connell and John Stumar set the mood well, and acquit the story with appropriate gothic panache.

Warner Brothers Archive Collections presentation of the film was sourced from a new 4K scan from the original nitrate negative, and the results are impressive. Picture density, film grain, detail, and contrast are all the best I’ve ever seen for this title, and absolutely worth the purchase price. Supplemental features include a legacy commentary by author/critic Kim Newman (Anno Dracula) and writer/editor Stephen Jones is entertaining and informing, as it’s more of a conversation between two film loving friends than dry historical annotation. Also included are “A Thrill for Thelma” – a 1935 featurette unrelated to the film, as well as a Harmon-Ising cartoon, The Calico Dragon and the film’s original trailer. Only the feature is in HD.

Though the production history and performers and creators of this film are of more interest than the film itself, I still recommend grabbing a copy. For a film with this much historical significance to Lugosi/Browning completists as well as vampire lovers, this disc is worth picking up.

–Anthony Taylor

*Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

*When he’s not hanging around the top of the Empire State Building, John Michlig spends his time writing books like It Came from Bob’s Basement, KONG: King Of Skull Island, and GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action. Read more at The Fully Articulated Newsletter and The Denham Restoration Project.

Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

BATTLE OF THE WORLDS (Il Pianeta Degli Uomini Spenti) – 1961
2.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Claude Rains , Bill Carter , Umberto Orsini , Maya Brent
Director: Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony Dawson)
Rated: Unrated
Studio: The Film Detective
Region: A
BRD Release Date: August 9, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (29.28 Mbps)
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 84 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Antonio Margheriti worked as a model maker and special effects artist while making the transition to Director, and his talent for creating dynamic space battles is on display in BATTLE OF THE WORLDS. In his second outing in the big chair, Margheriti delivers a film high on concept but low on coherent storytelling; his directing skills were still being honed, and it shows. With a penchant for working with maquette and models, his lack of experience with actors is obvious – especially in relation to his star, Claude Rains.

Rains had recently starred as Prof. Challenger in Irwin Allen‘s production of  THE LOST WORLD, but was nearing the end of his career. An over-the-top personality, Rains was set loose on a cast of Italian actors and English-speaking bit players and literally chews them up and spits them out all over the screen. It’s like watching a lawnmower approaching a litter of puppies in some scenes. Both director and actor had brighter days ahead; Rains was yet to appear in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, and Margheriti had better fish to fry in films like THE WILD, WILD PLANET, TAKE A HARD RIDE, and WEB OF THE SPIDER, just to name a few.

The “Outsider,” an interstellar satellite on a collision course with Earth, proves to be a planetoid-sized mothership filled with hostile flying saucers bent on destroying our defense forces so that the alien controllers can colonize our planet. Dr. Benson (Rains) has plans to stop them, but will only share them if he is given complete control of the task force charged with combatting the invasion. It’s all highly melodramatic and the conclusion is a bit disappointing to all involved, but there are definitely entertaining moments in the film. The art direction by Umberta Cesarano —on a shoestring budget— is colorful and appealing, as might be expected in an Italian sci-fi film of the era. Music by Mario Migliardi  is atonal and unsettling, which works some of the time and annoys just as often.

The Film Detective’s presentation of the film is a definite improvement in terms of picture and sound quality than previous releases, but is problematic on other fronts. Approximately nine minutes that was included in a previous DVD release from Reel Vault seems to be missing and, to be honest, this Blu-ray is rife with jump cuts throughout. Though created from a new 4K scan of the source material, the source was a 35mm print that itself needed restoration, though provided the best quality elements that could be found. Though the packaging claims it is “newly restored”, there are numerous analog artifacts present from the original source. I suspect that The Film Detective did in fact do some audio restoration to smooth the dialog during the jump cuts, and possibly ran the new master through several A.I. filters for stabilization purposes.

While I do understand their dilemma regarding a full restoration- which should include new color timing to correct a visible red shift due to the source print’s Eastman-color film stock, as well as a total audio remix – is there enough of an audience for this film to make the cost of restoration commercially viable? It’s hard to say. Should the film be preserved? Absolutely. But as a less than classic offering in the genre, does it warrant a stem-to-stern restoration? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

The disc also includes a new featurette from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, “A Cinematic Outsider: The Fantastical Worlds of Antonio Margheriti” (HD; 30:38) with historian and critic Tim Lucas discussing the director’s oeuvre, as well as a new feature length commentary from author Justin Humphreys. Both are well put together and informative, and worth viewing.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

 Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

If you have a retro cinema and television buff in your life, consider yourself lucky! Finding gifts for them just got a whole lot easier thanks to our handy Gift Giving Guide. Below are our deep dive (and shallow end) choices for the greatest gifts released in 2022 for lovers of physical media. All titles are in Blu-Ray or 4K format unless otherwise noted.

Get the popcorn ready and Happy Holidays!

MULTI-DISC/TITLE SETS

Dr. Phibes Double Feature [THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES/DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN] – Kino Lorber: It’s impossible not to love the kitschy fun of director Robert Fuest’s Phibes movies. Vincent Price chews scenery like bubble gum, and the Art Deco styling is gorgeous. It’s hard to hate a film whose tagline was “Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Ugly.” Both films come on a single disc, so it’s not stuffed with extra features, but definitely bargain-priced.

The Incredibly Strange Films Of Ray Dennis Steckler Collector’s Set – Severin: Twenty – COUNT ‘EM! – Twenty films by the master of cheap ass, WTF? cinema, Ray Dennis Steckler! Most well-known for THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES!!?, Steckler’s films were always startlingly tapped into the contextual zeitgeist of the times. Absurd, yes – consequential, no doubt; he created some of the best cinema to make out to at drive-in screenings. Severin’s box set is fantastically featured, with new HD scans of the films, hours of bonus features and a book about the filmmaker. Get it!

Night Gallery (Season 3) – Kino Lorber: Return to the landscape of darkness with Rod Serling! Kino’s Season 3 Blu-ray set is filled to the top with classic episodes like “The Girl With The Hungry Eyes,” “Fright Night,” and “Something In The Woodwork,” as well as those amazing commentaries by the team that did the first two season sets and other supplements. Go all-in with this final offering of the early 1970’s television terror!

The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Series – Amazon Exclusive Collector’s Edition – Shout! Factory: They rebuilt him… in BLU-RAY! Thirty-three (that’s NOT a typo!) discs of all the bionic goodness you remember form the classic 1970’s television series! All the episodes plus the three TV movies that launched the series and the reunion movies, The Bionic Woman crossover episodes, as well as hours of bonus content and behind the scenes featurettes. A full ninety-two hours of Steve Austin and friends! It’s honestly a mind-blowing package of amazing high-definition entertainment, and I can’t believe there’s anyone on the planet over the age of 35 that wouldn’t be thrilled to get this in their stocking!

SINGLE TITLE/DISC GIFTS

 ARMY OF DARKNESS [Limited Edition Steelbook] – Shout! Factory: “This is my BOOMSTICK!” Another fun title that should be in every media Library. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell can do no wrong in this third installment of the EVIL DEAD franchise, and arguably the funniest. This four-disc set has every cut of the film imaginable (including a brand new 4K scan of the theatrical cut) as well as a full slate of supplementary features, all wrapped up in an attractive steelbook case. Just accept that if your special film fan doesn’t have this package, they need it.

THE GREAT ESCAPE 4K UHD – Kino Lorber: The classic. Director John Sturges’ WWII P.O.W. odyssey features possibly the greatest cast in the history of war movies (THE LONGEST DAY excepted) and just about every line of dialog is quotable. Steve McQueen is the coolest as the Cooler King, and performs the most memorable motorcycle jump in cinema history. This 2-disc set includes the film on 4K, a well as a bonus Blu-ray disc of extras and featurettes. Essential.

STAR TREK I: The Motion Picture 4K UHD – The Director’s Edition Complete Adventure – Paramount: Excuse me while I hyperventilate a bit… WOW! What a set for the all-too-often- maligned first Star Trek film! The director’s cut, the theatrical cut, a bonus disc jam packed with new and legacy special features, poster, photos, stickers, booklet, and more. It’s enough to make one gambol about like a Muppet. STAR TREK: TMP is a better film than most remember, and totally worth all the hoopla associated with the brand new remaster in this package. Boldly go get it now!

HIGHLANDER (Collector’s Edition) – Studio Canal: There can be ONLY ONE! The 80’s classic fantasy to end all fantasies, director Russell Mulcahy and writer Gregory Widen created an entirely new immortal breed to populate a franchise that included multiple films and television series, and an upcoming remake starring Henry Cavill, so yeah… maybe more than one. Studio Canal’s set includes a poster, a comic book, buttons, photos, and two discs full of immortals dueling with swords to the amazing music of Queen. How can you go wrong?

I could go on for pages and pages. We’re living in a jet stream of great releases and film fans should be very happy about that. Check out our previous and future columns for more recommendations and HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM APE CITY!

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Retro Fan, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

 Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES – 1965
4 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda , Evi Marandi
Director: Mario Bava
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: A (locked)
BRD Release Date: July 26, 2022
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 88 minutes
5 Disc Set
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Mario Bava is high in the pantheon of admired and revered film directors among film lovers, with good reason. He never failed to create an eminently watchable film, many of which were then copied incessantly by admirers and detractors alike. Starting his career as a cinematographer, Bava applied his unique vision as a colorist and scenarist to the kind of story material that appealed to him, most of which consisted of horror, science fiction, or fantasy. The list of directors and writers that he inspired is long and varied, but for the sake of this review, let’s confine that list to Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Ridley Scott, the men behind ALIEN (1979).

The trio were heavily influenced by Bava’s PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES in which; a spaceship (or two) responds to a distress signal from an uninhabited planet, descends to the surface to find an abandoned alien craft with giant skeletons (an idea Shusett admitted stealing from Bava) and crew members begin to die one by one. Scott denied ever seeing it at the time of ALIEN’s release, and O’Bannon admitted to only seeing part of it many years before writing his screenplay. Somehow, the film seeped into their collective groundwater, as did Edward L. Cahn‘s IT! THE TERROR BEYOND SPACE (1958), in which a malevolent alien stalks the inhabitants of a rocket in space, and several other sources including Clifford Simak’s story “Junkyard,” published in the May 1953 edition of GALAXY Magazine.

Bava’s film is seminal and stylish, truly worth the watch whether you’ve seen it before or not. While Scott’s movie provides more character definition and development, Bava achieved incredible visuals without the use of a single optical process shot. All of the special effects were achieved in-camera, and the planetary landscapes and vast interior shots of the ships were achieved with the Schufftan process. The art direction and production design would go on to influence many movies and television programs, especially as U.S. broadcasting moved into the “…IN COLOR!” era. The film’s costumes, sets, and props show a consistence of style that was only equaled by directors like Hitchcock or John Ford at the time.

Kino Lorber’s presentation of PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master. Color saturation is gratuitous – as it should be here – and picture sharpness is only slightly softer than would be my preference having seen the film on 35mm several times. The single audio track is perfectly adequate and recreates the eerie atmospheric sounds and music of Gino Marinuzzi Jr. (of which I wish there was more) well. Supplemental materials include an exclusive new audio commentary by writers Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw; an archival audio commentary by critic and Bava biographer Tim Lucas; episodes of Trailers From Hell with Joe Dante and Josh Olson; the original trailer for the film and more.

Planet of the Vampires should be an old favorite for just about anyone with an interest in science fiction, horror, or Italian movies. Bava’s resume is filled with fantastic films that should be on every cineaste’s list; this one is near the top of the heap for me, superseded by both earlier and later works. Add this disc to your collection without hesitation.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video WatcH*Dog, and many more.

 Ape caricature art by Richard Smith.