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Screen Comparisons: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL 40th Anniversary Edition vs. 2010 Blu-ray
Shout Factory’s new restoration is sourced from 4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative
The anarchic delight Rock ’N’ Roll High School is returning to Blu-ray in a new 40th Anniversary Steelbook edition from Shout! Factory.
This is Shout! Factory’s second Blu-ray edition of the film; the first was in 2010. That version was described as a “new anamorphic widescreen transfer”, but the new release touts an even better look: it’s taken from a 4K Scan of the original camera negative.
The new remaster is both sharper and more colorful than the previous release. It’s also a framed a bit looser, giving the picture more width but also introducing very slight letterboxing (black bars) at the top and bottom of the picture.
Titles/Credits
One of the weaker aspects of the prior disc was the blurriness of some of the on-screen text, so I’ve specifically pulled some of screens for review. There’s some slight improvement, most notably in the credits.
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition Close-ups
More than any other metric, close-ups and facial textures demonstrate a great increase in visual acuity.
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition Rock N Roll…
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition …High School
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition 
Top: Old 2010 Release // Bottom: New 40th Anniversary Edition
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
If you enjoy reading Cinapse, purchasing items through our affiliate links can tip us with a small commission at no additional cost to you.Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
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RED HEAT: 4K UHD Discs Were Invented For Peak Arnold Schwarzenegger
You look like Gumby
Peak Arnold Schwarzenegger walks into a Russian bath house. (Stop me if you’ve heard this one). Covered only by a loin cloth, the former Mr. Universe is on full display. There are bodybuilders and naked flesh everywhere. But Arnold’s Ivan Danko proceeds undistracted. He wants drug dealer Viktor Rosta (Ed O’Ross) and will stop at nothing to find him. And from the immediate outset of this introductory sequence, viewers of the 4K UHD will recognize that this is one of those films which look absolutely fantastic in this format… to such a degree as to change the game on Red Heat.
Never quite ranking among my favorite Walter Hill films, I’ve nevertheless always enjoyed Red Heat for what it is. Walter Hill is buddy cop action comedy royalty, and Red Heat delivers the requisite ingredients of that formula quite well. Arnold is the key reason the film stands out from the pack, but ultimately this 4K transfer of the film really does give a greater appreciation for what’s going on in Red Heat. It’s a fantastic viewing experience. There’s still a filmic feel to the movie, with plenty of grain, and it turns out that top-of-his-game Arnold Schwarzenegger is exactly the right showcase for what the 4K UHD format is capable of.
With a story and partial writing credit going to Walter Hill, as well as a producer credit (on top of directing), I’d say Red Heat is a Walter Hill film through and through. It’s a basic script, but a tight one. It doesn’t seem anyone involved was reaching for more than a buddy cop action comedy that played fast and loose with Russian/US relations. Arnold’s Danko is indeed a Soviet “fish out of water” in 1988 America in the midst of the Cold War. Beyond that, however, the film doesn’t really get very political. Danko is Terminator-lite, an unstoppable soldier with an inalterable directive to get his man. But since he’s not a futuristic robot, he’ll need some help nativating Chicago, and Jim Belushi’s Art Ridzik is the red-blooded American stuck with the job of assisting Danko. They clash, they break open the case, they get each others’ backs, and they eventually put aside their differences to save the day. It fits the buddy cop formula to a T. This is probably why it’s never quite ranked among my favorite Walter Hill films. It’s of a kind, and while it’s a strong entry to a sub-genre, it always felt somewhat unremarkable.
And yet, on this viewing the film really increased in my estimation. The mind-blowing transfer gave me an appreciation of the sheer aesthetics of the film. Cinematographer Matthew Leonetti had done Commando with Arnold and Extreme Prejudice with Hill prior to shooting this film, and does some really fine work here. The snowy set piece early on and straight through to the huge action finale with duelling buses just really look fantastic and hold up extremely well today. Then you’ve got the great James Horner’s score. Horner also did the iconic score for Commando, and perhaps this one just has enough shades of that action score that it really made an impact for me on this viewing.
Red Heat is also one of those movies where at least half a dozen of the headlining cast members are real name actors who went on to long careers and that kind of thing just feels exciting sometimes. You’ve got Laurence Fishburne as the ball-busting co-worker who kind of hates Ridzik. Peter Boyle is the angry police chief who needs an antacid thanks to Danko and Ridzik’s shenanigans. The previously mentioned O’Ross turns in such a great villain performance as Rosta that people just assumed the American actor was actually Russian for years afterwards. Even the fantastic Gina Gershon shows up for a relatively thankless role that’s also, unfortunately, the only role for a female to be found in this testosterone-fest. It’s a really full ensemble that elevates the whole endeavor.
But ultimately it comes down to the action, and damn if that doesn’t also really sell Red Heat as more of a classic than it gets credit for. First off, Rosta is a villain you really want to see get caught. And, he’s got one of those spring-loaded pistols that can pop out of his sleeve at any point. Those things rule. But Arnold’s introductory sequence in the bathhouse is a stellar action set piece, and the mega-sized bus-chicken car chase / final showdown is simply unhinged 1980s action filmmaking excessive glory at its finest. It’s a show-stopper worthy of reconsideration in the car chase cannon.
While Red Heat still isn’t either Arnold or Walter Hill’s best work, it’s a fantastic ride and a slick late-80s Hollywood product. And the 4K UHD re-release gives the film a new lease on life that not every 4K scan does. UHD fanatics or Arnold / Walter Hill fans will really want to seek this disc out.
The Package
By a significant margin, the key reason to purchase this disc is the 4K UHD scan of Red Heat. The 4K UHD experience has been fairly hit or miss for me, and the aesthetic is quite subjective, but I felt this title looked absolutely fantastic.
Lionsgate has really been cranking out a lot of catalog titles on 4K and I’m not mad about it. That said, this isn’t some kind of deluxe treatment in terms of bonus features. Big fans of the film will find a variety of featurettes here, but it appears they’re all recycled from previous home video releases of Red Heat. At least they’re included and ported over from past releases instead of done away with entirely. 4K and Arnold enthusiasts will be pleased with this disc, but if you’ve already got a Blu-ray your mileage may vary on if you want to double dip for the 4K.
And I’m Out.
Red Heat is now available in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, & Digital combo pack from Lionsgate Home Video.
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STORM OF THE CENTURY: Kino Brings King’s First Original Series in From the Cold
The Year of King continues with Kino’s unthawing of the Horror legend’s chilly cult classic
Between It: Chapter 2, Doctor Sleep, Pet Sematary, In the Tall Grass, another season of Castle Rock, and the reboot of Creepshow (not to mention everything else to come), it’s safe to say that 2019’s been a hell of a year for Stephen King adaptations. It’s also safe to say that anything King-related is a hot commodity for home video labels — and with Halloween just around the corner, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has struck while the iron is hot with a re-release of King’s first original miniseries, Storm of the Century. Twenty years after its broadcast on ABC, the miniseries has amassed its own small following — and this new release holds the potential to attract a new legion of followers.
Storm of the Century follows the inhabitants of Little Tall Island in the midst of the titular maelstrom, a wintry hellscape that quickly knocks out the power in the small community. That isn’t the worst of their problems, however — that honor would go to Andre Linoge (played by a scene-stealing Colm Feore), a grinning, cane-wielding murderer who asks the townspeople to “give him what he wants, and he’ll go away.” The bulk of the show plays out in the shadow of this mysterious question, as the Islanders are plagued with terrifying dreams, mind-controlled murderous tendencies, and eventually the dread-filled answer to Linoge’s demands.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a mysterious visitor comes to a sleepy town in Maine where all of the good-hearted townspeople harbor their own dark secrets, and it’s only a matter of time before this stranger draws them all out into the open while the body count steadily rises. Storm of the Century may take more than a few chapters from King’s previous work, but there’s plenty in the series’ four-and-a-half hours that makes for entertaining — and occasionally gripping — Fall and Winter viewing.
The series’ isolated, snowbound setting works wonders for playing up the tension between the populous cast of characters, all of whom get their moment to shine (while each playing into King’s handful of stock characters). Particularly effective is Julianne Nicholson in one of her first TV roles as lovestruck, vengeful Katrina Winters, as well as King mainstay Jeffrey DeMunn as Little Tall Island’s slimy town manager Robbie Beals. While mainly supporting roles, the two characters best exemplify the spectrum of morality that much of the town finds themselves upon as the psychotic psychic powers of Andre Linoge begin to manipulate their behavior — whether you’re good-natured at heart like Katrina, or wholly self-serving like Beals, everyone manages to play into Linoge’s calculated games. Linoge insists that his ultimate gambit is one dictated by free will, but one can’t help but feel his invisible hand stacking the deck against the islanders at every turn.
Which is what makes the experience of watching Storm of the Century such a fun one, despite its usage of well-worn King tropes and characters. As the series progresses, the show takes its own share of unexpectedly dark turns (even for a horror show), pushing these stock characters closer to trolley-car dilemmas that expose how human and humble they really are. Much like The Mist that would be years in the offing, Storm of the Century begins with an apocalyptic event but only reckons with that idea as its characters confront their bitter moral choices. Unlike that particular King story, though, it’s the confirmation that things will return to normal once that choice is made that pushes them to do acts they once held to be unconscionable. It’s a welcome subversion of an end-times tale that forces its characters to eventually be held accountable for the consequences of their actions — even if the world at large would never know what truly happened on their island in the middle of a storm.
Video/Audio: Storm of the Century is presented over two discs in Anamorphic 1.33:1 and a 2.0 audio track, preserving its original TV format. English subtitles are presented only for the main feature. While it’s odd that this miniseries is getting a DVD-only release, image and audio quality are high and consistent — undoubtedly better than what broadcast back in early 1999 could provide.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Craig R. Baxley and Writer Stephen King: The show’s two creative heads engage in a discussion for the full series, ported over from the original DVD release.
- Needful Things Trailer: Another King adaptation with similar King themes and characters, also available on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.
- Show Recaps and Previews: Show lead-ins and trailers from Storm of the Century’s original broadcast.
While aspects of the show haven’t held up since its initial broadcast two decades ago, Storm of the Century is still an enjoyable selection to binge-watch over hot chocolate and your favorite show-watching grub.
Storm of the Century is now available on DVD by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
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KUNDUN: Scorsese’s Dalai Lama Biopic Finds New Life on Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Studio Classics assembles an in-depth reappraisal of a film by one of cinema’s most devout directors
Earlier in the year, I had the pleasure of writing about Robert Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest and Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, and how both films made me look at my own my intertwined beliefs on film and faith. I found Bresson and Scorsese’s films fascinating due to their powerful conviction in their characters’ beliefs, however waning they may be — and how both directors depicted their faith in such a universal way that transcended the worldly trappings of Christianity. It was Kundun’s context of being in a trilogy with Last Temptation and his later Silence that made me seek it out — and, upon discovering the film was a biopic of Tibet’s 14th Dalai Lama, I was curious to see how Scorsese would depict the most central figure of a faith he doesn’t practice himself.
The answer is, naturally, that Scorsese and screenwriter Melissa Matheson focus on the faith of their central character rather than the cultural minutiae of Tibetan Buddhism — though that’s not to say that aspect’s own importance is diminished. Kundun is framed as a coming-of-age tale for the Dalai Lama, allowing Western audiences an easy entry point into the film’s themes of conflicting obligations between worldly power and transcendental belief. It’s an approach that imbues the film with the same sense of universality as Last Temptation. At the same time, Scorsese’s attention towards his Holiness’ fascination with the natural world — fighting beetles, wandering mice, roving buzzards — alongside Tibetan ritual and ceremony creates a sense of harmony and spiritualism that feels markedly absent from Western religion.
It’s fascinating to see how Scorsese explores the Dalai Lama’s faith over the course of the film, reckoning his steadfast belief in non-violence with the encroaching non-religious, unapologetically brutal forces that approach Tibet in the wake of World War II. Much like Bresson’s Country Priest, the Dalai Lama is a man tasked with unwavering spiritual fortitude that feels increasingly at odds with the world around him. And, like Scorsese’s Jesus, the Dalai Lama is a character whose mantle feels thrust upon him at birth, making him almost a victim of the beliefs of those surrounding him.
Where Kundun’s insight diverges from these other depictions of faith, though, is its melancholic hope of the impermanence of things. The Dalai Lama acknowledges his place in a constant cycle of reincarnation, which grants him a sense of foresight and humility that his aggressors cannot fathom. His beliefs do lead to tragic consequences — which are more often than not thrust upon his followers than himself — but still both the Dalai Lama and his followers refuse to let their faith be wavered by the loss of their country or their lives. Try as the Chinese might by invading their country and rewriting their place in history, the identity of the Dalai Lama and Tibetans cannot be erased. Rather, their identity is tied to this same transcendental faith in impermanence and nonviolence — something that cannot be tied to material worth, and therefore unable to be ruined or seized by outside forces.
As a film deliberately made without stars and about culturally specific ideas of religion, Kundun naturally faced an uphill battle in the West. It was a brief release, especially caught in the growing cultural shadow of James Cameron’s Titanic, which was released a week later. Kundun has enjoyed a growing reappraisal, however, and Kino Lorber Studio Classics has assembled a Blu-ray that contains a wealth of in-depth archival special features — many of which have not seen a release on previous editions.
Video/Audio:
Kino presents Kundun in a 1080/24p Master with 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. From the film’s opening moments, the Blu-ray’s transfer deftly captures Kundun’s visually rich cinematography, with a wide-ranging color palate with slight film grain. Minute visual details like colorful sand mandalas to inky black shadows are reverently preserved despite the lack of a higher-resolution master.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Film Journalist Peter Tonguette: Tonguette’s newly-recorded track delves into Kundun’s diverse themes, its context in Scorsese’s filmography, its approaches in depicting non-violence, and the film’s reputation over 20 years since the film’s release.
- In Search of Kundun: A feature-length documentary about the making of the film, with on-set footage and on-location interviews that capture how the filmmakers created an intimate story on an epic scale.
- Compassion in Exile: A 1993 feature-length documentary on the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, with interviews of his Holiness and archival footage of the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
- Interviews with Director Martin Scorsese, Composer Philip Glass, and Screenwriter/Producer Melissa Matheson: Each interview runs about 40 minutes in length and feels like raw EPK interviews for larger material. That said, each one is both off-the-cuff and stunningly informative, as each creative head details how they got involved with Kundun’s production as well as their candid thoughts on the history and then-current situations facing Tibet.
- Interview with In Search of Kundun Director Michael Henry Wilson: Details how the filmmaker became swept into documenting Scorsese’s production abroad in Morocco.
- Archival EPK with Cast and Crew: 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes and interview footage, divided into The Production Design, Interviews with Cast and Crew, and B-Roll on Set.
- Kundun Theatrical Trailer
- Booklet Essay by Filmmaker Zade Constantine: A brief look at Scorsese’s motivations for making the film, as well as an appreciation for its technical prowess and an earnest plea for its reappraisal in the wake of similar Scorsese films like 2016’s Silence.
Kino Lorber Studio Classics releases their Kundun Special Edition Blu-ray on October 29, 2019.
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Arrow Heads Vol. 72: Unboxing RINGU Collection Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set
Arrow’s gorgeous box set collects the first 3 (actually 4) films of the Japanese RING/SADAKO franchise.
1998, Hideo Nakata’s Ringu landed in a post-Scream horror genre full of teen slashers and, along with its 2002 US remake The Ring, completely rewired our collective thinking on what is possible in a horror film and launched the modern J-horror phenomenon. Instead of relying solely on jump scares, splatter, or hip subversion mechanics, Ringu took a more artful and intelligent — but no less terrifying — path: one of intense psychological dread, taking Japanese supernatural lore and marrying it to technology. And Ringu’s incredible feat of turning your television into an object of abject terror ensures that the unease continues even after the movie has ended.
I’ll eventually review the three Ringu films in more detail, either as a standalone review or in our Arrow Heads Roundup column, but in the meantime I need to share just how gorgeous this set is with a detailed unboxing.
External Box Views
I love this particular motif which is used on both the spine and covers — when placed side by side, the progression of the artwork shows Sadako approaching the viewer. I nearly always flip my Arrow video covers in favor of the original poster designs, but on this one I think I’ll keep the incredible new art.
Detail View — Disc Contents
Note that while the set focuses on Hideo Nakata’s original trilogy, the set also includes the original but decanonized sequel Rasen (Spiral) as a bonus feature on the Ringu 2 disc.
Booklet
Individual Cases
Ringu
Ringu 2
Ringu 0
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
If you enjoy reading Cinapse, purchasing items through our affiliate links can tip us with a small commission at no additional cost to you.Buy Arrow Video’s Ringu Collection
Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
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Two Cents Enters THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
An adaptation of a Bram Stoker novel about a seemingly eccentric aristocrat who is an actually an inhuman, immortal evil feeding upon anyone who gets in their way (no, the other one), Lair of the White Worm was only possible thanks to the success of notoriously anarchic director Ken Russell’s success with 1987’s Gothic.
That film, a re-telling of the fateful social engagement that resulted in the writing of Frankenstein, proved enough of a hit that the studio signed Russell on for three new films and gave him more or less carte blanche to do as he liked.
A longtime fan of Dracula, Russell set his sights on Stoker’s “disappointing” final novel, The Lair of the White Worm. Taking only the spine of Stoker’s story, he conjured up a mostly brand new tale, this one concerning a Scottish archaeology student (a very young Peter Capaldi) who discovers a strange skull on land owned by the new lord of the manor, James D’Ampton (an even younger Hugh Grant). The unearthing of the skull precedes a whole series of strange events, often involving eccentric Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) and two local girls (Catherine Oxenberg, Sammi Davis) whose parents recently disappeared into the cave reputed to be the home of the mythical d’Ampton ‘worm’.
Only, perhaps some things aren’t as mythic as once believed.
Lair of the White Worm has a fairly standard monster movie plot, but this serves mostly as a launching pad for Russell to indulge in psychotropic freakouts, blasphemy, and enough phallic-obsession to make Freud snap his pencil in half. You know, the classics.
The film received a sour reception when first released, but developed a cult following along with other Russell films like The Devils or Altered States. At times, Lair of the White Worm has been lambasted as a “so bad it’s good” disasterpiece, while Russell insisted for all the rest of his life that he knew the film was ridiculous and intended it to be taken as a comedic parody of classic horror, not a straight-faced entry in the genre.
We put it to the Two Cents crew: do you dare enter the Lair of the White Worm? And just what did you find inside?
Next Week’s Pick:
We’ve had a blast this spooky season, but it’s time to set aside the tricks and treats until next year. For the final film in our Halloween special, we ask you to join us with a classic of ’80s creature-feature goodness: The Gate, starring a young Stephen Dorff as a boy who accidentally unleashes demons from a hellhole in his backyard.
The Gate is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Chris Chipman:
Any movie that has a folk song describing its back story played during the film is going to be a good time…
The Lair of the White Worm is one of those cover boxes at our local video store (Video Craze Lynn, MA — RIP) that would always catch my eye. Our villainess, Lady Sylvia Marsh, seductively slithering out of her snake basket with the snake silhouette in the background made the movie seem both interesting, creepily alluring and scary all at the same time.
Finally seeing it at 35 years old was a trip. This movie is BONKERS. There is an Evil Dead kind of thing going on where the convoluted plotting as to what is going on is danced through in a joking manner, it really works in the movie’s favor. Our villainess first describing her big plans to her first on-screen victim (who is paralyzed) is quickly cut short by a doorbell ringing to which she responds “Well shit” and quickly drowns the victim and shrugs. It is a wonderfully comic moment and really adds levity to all of the strangeness.
This is an INCREDIBLY horny movie. The first half is mildly suggestive while the second half turns into a full on GWAR show with strap-on snake dildos and crazy fever-dream imagery that is really out there. There is also really young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, kicking major ass. Capaldi doing so in a kilt and playing bagpipes. This movie, for me, is a real treat. Just be ready for a strange ride.
Verdict: TREAT (@TheChippa)
Brendan Agnew (The Norman Nerd):
Well, there must be SOMEthing to this movie, because I’ve watched it twice in the last two days.
Lair of the White Worm was one of those “I’m glad I didn’t just imagine that!” Movies that us greybeards will reference as having caught part of while channel surfing on TV (ask your parents) so long ago that only scattered images remain lodged in your memory until you stumble across the actual title. Only, in this film’s case, that also kinda happens after you’ve seen the whole film because these images tend to be so gloriously bananas.
Ostensibly about two sisters, an English lord, and the most Scottish Scotsman to ever Scotch contending with a hungry snake god and its vampiric acolytes, Lair is *actually* about Amanda Donohoe doing whatever she damn well pleases to the scenery, and Ken Russell attempting to outdo her flex with his visually-arresting dream sequences. There’s just enough time with the initial countryside drawing room drama of missing fathers, restless nobility, and odd archaeological/ paleontological findings that the hard left turn into occult horror comedy plays well, but enough odd details from the go that nothing feels like a cheat.
Except for when the film totally cheats and makes you want another movie or two just to adequately cover The Things That Happened in between Those Other Things, but the film doesn’t get around to showing because of Things And Stuff. The film will happily pile on story information or characters and then discard them wherever it grows weary of them, but the new angles are — like the film as a whole — absolutely worth a look, even if there’s some slight whiplash.
Verdict: TREAT (@BLCAgnew)
The Team
Sexy, different, and altogether bizarre… yup, this is surely a Ken Russell film. It’s not on the level of his epic rock operas, his Olly Reed vs. possessed nuns film, nor the insane exploration of altering physical and mental states. Yet, it’s still a great way to spend an evening this spooky season.
If nothing else, Lair of the White Worm is unique and entertaining. I’ll try to figure what the hell it’s trying to say to me some other time… for now, snakebites, nightmares with topless nuns, and amazing 80s effects are all I need from this gem!
Verdict: TREAT (@thepaintedman)
The “Well, shit” moment Chris mentioned is a good make-or-break moment for your enjoyment of this film. If you laugh, you can sit back on your couch and enjoy a wild, silly ride. If you don’t, then for the love of God turn Lair of the White Worm off and watch something else, because things are only going to keep getting goofier.
Ken Russell always expressed bafflement that critics viewed Lair as a failed horror movie rather than a successful comedy, and it’s hard to imagine the bad faith necessary to assume that Lair is only consistently hilarious and pointedly absurd by, I guess, accident. By the time Donohoe is literally slithering out of baskets and stalking around her mansion like a lost, predatory member of Cirque de Soleil, the movie has more than clearly tipped its hand.
At times, Lair is a bit too scattered for its own good, coming across more like a collection of funny ideas and crazy imagery then anything with a cohesive point or point of view, but Russell and his cast seem to be having so much fun that it’s easy to kick back and watch them play, waiting for the next gag that really lands.
Verdict: TREAT (@TheTrueBrendanF)
When programming these selections we try to mix things up, including hitting a few key categories. My favorite among these is to have at least one really crazy left-field recommendation that most of our readers haven’t seen. Something that will really elicit a strong reaction. (Some previous entries in this category: The Devil’s Rain, The Oily Maniac).
I actually expected some more contention surrounding this one, but our film club has once again come out in unanimous favor of the pick. The Lair of the White Worm starts out conventionally enough but then goes to some really weird places for both laughs and shocks with its sexy villain, phallic imagery, bizarre flashes of pop-art insanity, and eventually a showdown with the monster on the marquee. Ken Russell’s perverse nuttiness is definitely on display, but unlike some of his other films, it plays for fun and the result is delightfully strange.
Verdict: TREAT (@Austin Vashaw)
The Verdict:
Treat: 5 | Trick: 0
It’s a TREAT!Next week’s pick:
The Gate — https://amzn.to/3481QnN
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Review and Unboxing of GALAXY QUEST 20th Anniversary Blu-ray Steelbook
Our review and package preview of the new “Never Give Up, Never Surrender” Edition
Galaxy Quest 20th Anniversary “Never Give Up, Never Surrender Edition” Blu-ray Steelbook hits shelves October 22 from Paramount Pictures. [update: some sources including Amazon and blu-ray.com are reporting that this release date as been pushed to Nov 5.]
In celebration of the 1999 film’s 20th Anniversary, Paramount is re-releasing Galaxy Quest on Blu-ray in a shiny new Steelbook edition.
While the film did moderately well in its initial run, the passage of years has given it far more clout as new fans succumb to its charms thanks in part to the real life franchise success of Star Trek and Star Wars, and a hip ensemble of actors.
The film’s cast of oddballs has yielded many familiar faces; emerging supporting actors like Sam Rockwell, Tony Shalhoub, Rainn Wilson, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, and Corbin Bleu have become recognizable film and TV stars, lending to the film’s cult credibility.
But beyond such factors, it’s just a really great film with a lot of love for its characters. The in-movie cast of Galaxy Quest is a group of washed-up actors who are legendary in their sphere of influence but feel insignificant in the bigger picture, reduced to commercial and convention appearances that cash in on their one big success. The aliens who enlist their help, the Thermians, are hilariously awkward but noble and honorable people, and their goodness is key to reigniting the can-do attitude of our cynical protagonists as they take them across the galaxy for one last — and their first real — adventure.
But most of all, Galaxy Quest is a love letter to fans, embodied in Justin Long and his pals. The dorks who scour the Internet searching for every scrap of trivia and obsess over minutiae of their favorite science fiction franchise and even create their own fan theories. In the end, they’re the unlikely heroes who save the day.
I won’t go too deep on the movie since this is a repackage and most of you already love it and are just here to see this new edition unboxed — so here it is!
External views 
External views 
Spine The text on the back cover is a shiny texture that catches the light differently based on your angle — I tried to capture that here:
Inner View/Disc
Special Features and Extras
Aside from the Steelbook packaging, the 20th Anniversary is, as best as I can tell, identical in content to the prior releases. The special features are the same and the disc itself even bears a 2017 date.
Galactopedia — a trivia experience that goes deep on geeky lore, explorable on the screen as the movie progresses. I couldn’t screencap this so this is actually a photograph of what it looks like in action (the curve is my TV, not the image).
Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest (18:13) — Making of featurette
Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector (23:27)
By Grabthar’s Hammer, What Amazing Effects (7:02)
Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race (5:22)
Actors in Apace (6:09)
Sigourney Weaver Raps (1:59) — as she explains in the intro, the rap was actually a birthday greeting to her agent, but with several cast members jumping in, it’s a fun extra for fans (interesting to think that today this content would probably be a social media post)
Deleted Scenes (7:36)
Trailer (1:55) — An HD trailer is also included on the disc (though not listed among the features on the packaging).
Thermian Audio Track — A novelty track. You can watch the film the same way the Thermians watched their historical documents (which is to say, in high pitched squeaks and squeals).
A/V Out.
Further reading:
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
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Galaxy Quest 20th Anniversary Steelbook: https://amzn.to/31H15jXFurther reading:
https://cinapse.co/galaxy-quest-two-cents-bids-farewell-to-alan-rickman-c1d1e6b83208
Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
https://cinapse.co/galaxy-quest-two-cents-bids-farewell-to-alan-rickman-c1d1e6b83208
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Trick or Treat 2019: Two Cents Exudes a Cosmic Darkness Alongside MANDY
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
“Under the crimson, primordial sky…”
Barry Manilow’s signature song, and first #1 hit, “Mandy” was actually derived from a Scott English song, “Brandy”. The title was changed because in the intervening years between English’s song being released and Manilow recording his cover, Looking Glass scored a #1 hit with their song, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)”, prominently featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. And so “Brandy” became “Mandy” and the song’s origins as being anything besides a Barry Manilow original were largely forgotten.
None of this is relevant to the movie we’re discussing this week but hey you never know when a little bit of extra knowledge might help. If you end up winning on Jeopardy because you know that “Mandy” began life as “Brandy”, we expect to get a percentage. In cash.
Anyway. Mandy.
The second feature film from director Panos Cosmatos after his cultishly revered debut, Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy stars Nicolas Cage as Red, a reserved lumberjack living a quiet, voluntarily reclusive life with his equally reserved girlfriend, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) near the Shadow Mountains of California in 1983.
Their unassuming lives take a turn for the tragic when Mandy crosses path with the psychopathic Jeremiah Sand, (Linus Roache). Sand, a failed musician turned successful cult leader of the “Children of the New Dawn”, also commands a gang of feral, possibly demonic bikers, whom he promptly sics on the couple. In the aftermath, a physically and psychically shattered Red arms himself with a crossbow and a BFA (big fucking axe) and goes hunting for some payback.
But what Mandy is about is largely secondary to ‘how’ Cosmatos captures his tale of righteous vengeance. Even before things begin to slip into the mystic and mythic, there’s a hallucinatory quality to much of the imagery, Johann Johansson’s throbbing score (the late composer’s final completed work before his untimely passing) adding to the sensation of unreality.
Mandy proved something of an instant cult classic when it went into limited theatrical release last year. Audiences packed theaters to delight in features like the Cheddar Goblin, the Beast, the Black Skulls, and the truly never before seen heights of Rage Cage unleashed within.
So sound the Horn of Abraxas, sharpen the tainted blade of the Pale Night (straight from the Abyssal Lair, of course) and join us as we swim where the psychotics drown with Mandy.
Next Week’s Pick:
Baby Hugh Grant!
Not a baby but still very young Peter Capaldi!
Ken Russell! Bram Stoker! British Folklore!What’s not to love as Two Cents voyages into The Lair of the White Worm, available to stream via Amazon Prime!
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Chris Chipman:
Mandy is more than a film, it is an experience. Everything about it is both loose and nonlinear and at the same time so damn intention and singular in its vision. It begs every viewer to take something different away from it, like a Rorschach test on LSD. It is truly a wonder to behold.
The actors are all 100% committed to the material, with Nicolas Cage giving a top notch performance being being completely unchained like the best of his schlock work and also delivering a dramatic, emotional and wholly badass performance. The folks playing the religious zealots seem ripped right out of the late 70s / early 80s headlines. The villains, a demonic (possibly) biker gang of sorts with their Gwar style getups are terrifying.
The world building done by Mandy leaves you less fully understanding this alternate early 80s and what the rules are at play and more just accepting it. The movie makes it believable, it all feels lived in. When characters interact and offer exposition, you believe they have known each other for long periods of time, you don’t need every detail spelled out.
When the 3rd act kicks in and the movie turns into a psychedelic version of an Evil Dead film, complete with ridiculous hero preparation sequences resulting in Nicolas Cage wielding an insane weapon he makes himself, the movie has nicely beaten you into submission to accept it all and just hang on for the ride.
Mandy is a real treat!
Verdict: TREAT (@TheChippa)
Austin Wilden:
For all the wild stuff happening in Mandy, from the Black Skulls to the bathroom scene to Cheddar Goblin, the scene that stands strongest in my memory is the conversation Mandy and Red have about planets. Something so simple about the way the loving couple discusses the cosmos. Quiet contemplation of the scope of things beyond our atmosphere, undercut by Red cracking wise and bringing up Galactus. The two laughing together with their comfort apparent in their all glass bedroom. On this revisit, I valued scenes like that more as foreknowledge of what the couple was about to go through hit me hard.
Action movies and slashers both often use revenge as a motivating factor to fuel the character that will ruthlessly carve through anyone in their way. The incidents used to spark these roaring rampages can occasionally feel like a hollow check mark on the path to “the good stuff.” However, Panos Cosmatos and co-screenwriter Aaron Stewart-Ahn work on the story, along with Riseborough and Cage’s performances, made the relationship between Mandy and Red have a palpable soul. The first time I saw Mandy, my heart dropped during the sequence of Mandy being burned alive as Red watched helplessly. This time my eyes started welling up with tears in anticipation of what was going to happen. Every step on Red’s dark Hero’s Journey to pay back the pain he was dealt to everyone responsible feels earned with that understanding of what was lost.
Grief and rage intertwine and explode out into the hour-long Metal album cover in motion that is the movie’s second half. Calling it cathartic would be putting it mildly.
Verdict: TREAT (@WC_Wit)
Brendan Agnew (The Norman Nerd):
The thing about a movie like Mandy is, if you’re gonna make the heavy metal ’80s fantasy version of a “Tone Poem,” you better be *really* fucking good at both of those things.
Luckily, Panos Cosmatos is really fucking good.
Mandy initially got a lot of attention for the “perfect use of the Internet’s favorite gonzo eyes actor, Nicholas Cage!” — and that’s warranted. Not because it’s a film that turns him up to Full Cage and just lets him feast on scenery for 2 hours, but because, in Red Miller, Cage is given the perfect amount of genuinely established character and understated pathos so that, when that switch does need to get flipped, it’s as unsettling at it is cathartic. It’s arguably Andrea Riseborough’s titular Mandy that looms largest during the first half, and continues to haunt Red as well as the audience as she transitions from prophet to specter. With her art being one of our first introductions to the film’s signature visual stylings, it’s almost as though we’re watching this fever dream unfold through her eyes.
Mandy is a movie that takes its sweet time marinating in a shot or a color or a note of music, until it very much stops taking its time. As an experienced you let wash over you, it’s unique. As a tribute to stories you’d imagine went with the side of a van, it’s singular. As a movie where Nicholas Cage forges a custom axe to fight a demon biker gang, it’s…well, just as awesome as it sounds.
Verdict: TREAT (@BLCAgnew)
The Team
The first time I watched Mandy, I did not much care for it. While I admired Cosmatos’ commitment to his ethereal/heavy metal aesthetic admirable, and could find no fault in Cage’s operatic gusto, the first hour of the film seemed interminable, borderline antagonistic in the way it dragged on and on and seemed to actively repel engagement by being strange and obtuse in its every frame and every muttered dialogue exchange.
But the second half delivered enough on the “Nic Cage battles demon bikers, has axe” promise that I watched it again a little while later with a buddy who had seen the trailer and wanted to give it a look. And I don’t know, maybe it was having someone to react to it with, maybe it was just because I’d seen the film and knew its shape and could better appreciate its dimensions, but that time Mandy really, really worked for me.
Watching it again this week, it’s hard to remember what about the film rankled me so the first time. Mandy is definitely still an obtuse little movie that’s in no rush to spell itself out or let you in, but Cosmatos’ fever dream has me firmly under its spell. I love it, and expect to take many more return trips to this gorgeous nightmare country. (@TheTrueBrendanF)
I remember all my life
Nic Cage helping me through strife
A strong, talented man
His face on the TV
Can’t help but think
What’s he gonna do next
What am I gonna watch today
Turn on Shudder, look, and say
“They’ve got that new one
With those creepy cenobikers”
It’s time to press play
And watch Nic go FULL CAGE
How happy you make me
🎶OH MANDY🎶Verdict: TREAT (@thepaintedman)
Editor’s Note: Justin wrote an actual review of Mandy back when it came out, and you can read that HERE.
In reading everyone else’s great reviews, one thing that hasn’t been brought up is Beyond The Black Rainbow, Panos Cosmatos’ 2010 debut feature. A surrealistic, stylized film with an incredible aesthetic — but so antagonistic to the audience with its non-sequitur anti-narrative that it was ultimately bufuddling and aggravating. Personally, I had several false starts trying to follow what was happening before breaking down and reading a complete plot synopsis and then finally making it all the way through the movie. It was kind of a miserable experience, yet I was so mesmerized by Cosmatos’ singular aeshetic and voice that I was absolutely ready for whatever he would give us next. Weirdly compelling, right?
Maybe he heard the criticisms of BTBR, because followup Mandy is an incredible leap forward. It maintains his incredible style and surreal nightmare experience, while matching it to an actual narrative. I would have settled for that, but it goes WAY beyond Black Rainbow as a heavy metal album cover come to life with Nic Raging Cage, Ghost Rider-esque mutant bikers, a badass homemade halberd (I’m a huge sucker for movies with iconic weaponry), cameos from Bill Duke and Richard Brake, and the best chainsaw battle since Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
Verdict: Treat (@Austin Vashaw)
The Unanimous Verdict:
Trick: 0
Treat: 6
Next week’s pick:
Lair of the White Worm — available on Prime: https://amzn.to/2qlo5rQ
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Arrow Heads Vol. 70: THE DEAD CENTER (2019)
Arrow’s stacked Blu-ray champions Billy Senese’s clinical and creepy new indie horror flick starring director Shane Carruth
The Dead Center follows the staff and patients of Metro General Hospital as they come into contact with a mysterious catatonic John Doe (Jeremy Childs) who appears in the hospital’s psych ward without explanation. The floor’s detrimentally dedicated lead psychiatrist Dr. Forrester (Shane Carruth) is determined to help his new patient recover his memories and mental state — despite increasing pushback from his superiors and a steadily rising mortality rate among the floor’s denizens. Much to his horror, Forrester slowly realizes just what powers his new charge possesses as a medical examiner several floors below investigates the sudden disappearance of the hospital morgue’s latest arrival…
With only the mind-bending Primer and Upstream Color to his credit over the course of fifteen years, I was immediately intrigued by notoriously selective director Shane Carruth making an unexpected turn as a leading actor in an indie horror film. It’s an expectation that pays off in just as unexpected ways — Carruth’s commanding presence as an actor feels similar to his previous films, yet he doesn’t overwhelm Senese’s sensibilities as a writer-director. Senese has a strong control over the film’s unease-ridden atmosphere, infusing hospital hallways designed to be devoid of personality with a clinical dread and discomfort. It’s an approach that plays well against universal fears of mortality and the unknown — giving a visceral, horrifying weight to a normally mundane, emotionally-sterile environment.
Senese’s cold visuals also lend greater heft to The Dead Center’s delirious sound design — as if the controlled absence of one led to the spine-tingling heightening of the other. Composer Jordan Lehning, Mixers J.T. Dekker and Jeremy Mazza, and Sound Effects Designer Russell Mehringer create a soundscape of blended voices and eldritch echoes that easily get under the audience’s skin as The Dead Center lurches towards its creepy near-apocalyptic finale.
As much as the film provides a wealth of atmosphere, The Dead Center can be a film light on clarity and straightforward answers. While its ambiguity is one of the film’s strongest points, preferring the dread and darkness of the unknown, The Dead Center also fails to go too in-depth with some of its more salient story points. A major subplot comes to an anticlimactic conclusion, and its interesting exploration of doctor-patient consent and ethics feels almost retroactively justified in its non-condemnation as Dr. Forrester’s horrific experiences spread beyond hospital walls.
Despite its occasional faults, though, The Dead Center still remains a creepy, clinical piece of horror, rich in dread and featuring compelling performances from Carruth and Childs. It’s always welcome to see an established genre label like Arrow champion a new wave of current independent horror, ensuring that smaller films like these find the die-hard fans they certainly deserve.
Video:
Arrow presents The Dead Center in a 1080/60p HD Master. The film’s effective uses of light and shadow in dark, sterile hospital corridors are presented well in this transfer, as are The Dead Center’s spare moments of visual effects. The Dead Center is a deliberately color-drained film, yet the brief moments where colors play key visual elements pop accordingly–often in fleetingly gruesome fashion.
Audio:
The Dead Center is presented in both 5.1 DTS-HD Master and 2.0 Lossless Stereo Audio tracks. English SDH subtitles are included for the main feature, but the special features go unsubtitled. As shown in-depth in the special features, The Dead Center features sound design that’s haunting and richly-textured, creating an unsettlingly immersive experience regardless of track selection.
Special Features:
- 2 Audio Commentaries. One features writer-director Billy Senese with actor Jeremy Childs and producer-actor Shane Carruth. As a fan of Carruth’s efforts behind the camera, it’s interesting to hear him and Senese talk about Carruth’s experience being directed by someone else in a feature for the first time. The second commentary features Senese with cinematographer Andy Duensing and producers Denis Deck and Jonathan Rogers. This track is expectedly more tech-focused, and it’s entertaining listening to how Senese and crew pulled off some of the film’s more exceptional sequences on a very shoestring budget.
- A Walk Through The Dead Center is a lengthy revisit of the film’s main locations by Senese and his cast and crew, intercut with footage of the film’s production and scoring process.
- 9 Deleted and Alternate Scenes showcase short, one-off moments easily excised from the film, mostly featuring the day-to-day life of the psych ward’s patients and other creepy happenings to Dr. Forrester. An Alternate Ending is also included which provides a brief, but interesting change to the film’s coda.
- Interviews with stars Shane Carruth and Poorna Jagannathan detail how the stars got involved with the project. Also included is a humorous “funny” version of Carruth’s interview where Carruth details how he accepted the lead role to spite his much more literate mother.
- Head-Casting with Jeremy Childs features The Dead Center star in a time-lapse head casting for the film’s later makeup effects. Childs is a trooper here as he’s coated for hours in moulding and plaster to ensure a proper cast is made.
- Intruder & The Suicide Tapes, two equally creepy short films by Senese starring Childs that provide an origin for The Dead Center’s subject matter.
- Midnight Radio Theater: Six radio plays written and directed by Senese that provide some audio-only chills. Arrow thankfully presents these radio plays without imagery to prevent screen burn. Interestingly included here is a radio adaptation of Senese’s short The Suicide Tapes.
- Theatrical Trailer and Teasers for The Dead Center.
- Image Galleries of Production Stills, Behind-the-Scenes stills, and Poster Art.
- Reversible Sleeve featuring new and original theatrical art.
- Illustrated Collector’s Booklet features an essay by Total Film editor Jamie Graham. Not provided for review.
The Dead Center is now out in Theaters and on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Arrow Films.
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MY SAMURAI (1992) & SHOWDOWN (1994): A Trash Action Double Feature From MVD Rewind Collection
MVD showers love on forgotten gems
Neither My Samurai or Showdown are particularly great films — but both have heart and represent the pure 1990s independent action cinema spirit… which makes them perfect candidates for MVD Rewind Collection’s high definition love letter treatment. These films are strictly for the devotees. Those who adore action cinema and crave delving deep into the back catalogs, watching the hard work of unknown and undiscovered talents who were trying to break out with a signature film all their own. If you’re the kind of action fan I’m describing, then read on.
My Samurai (1992)
Oddly titled for a film that has a Korean hero and no detectable samurai, My Samurai is a tonally inconsistent showreel film for star Julian Lee. Just about every 1980s action film trope crosses over here into the early 1990s.
Peter (John Kallo) is unhappy about his neglectful workaholic father (Lost’s Terry O’Quinn) and feels forced to take Taekwondo lessons from Master Young Park’s (Lee) school. When he witnesses a gang of dirty cops dumping a body in the alley behind the school and one of the cops ends up dead in a clear self defense situation, Park, Peter, and his father’s executive assistant Deborah (Lynne Hart) end up on the run in a Warriors-like urban hellscape complete roaming gangs of punks and a weird homeless shelter run by Police Academy’s Bubba Smith.
Crooked cops and gangsters (led by Mako) will stop at nothing to kill this kid who witnessed something he shouldn’t have. It’s one of those movies where they commit like a hundred more blatant crimes that would expose them far more than the kid ever could in their attempts to silence the kid. While on the road, Lee will win the heart of the girl and convince both Deborah and Peter about the wonders of Taekwondo.
Ascribing to the school of “more martial arts is better”, My Samurai strings together a whole lot of fight sequences designed to showcase Lee’s prowess. There’s really not much to the film beyond a bunch of fighting, the walk on roles given to the “known” actors, and a barebones plot getting us from one battle to the next. Lee does the wise trainer bit ala Karate Kid, and he’s pretty good at on screen fighting (he was apparently a world champion in real life). But unfortunately he doesn’t have much of a star presence or the acting talent or charisma to really pull off leading man status. And the script really muddies the waters in terms of whether young Peter is the main character or Young Park. Mr. Miyagi totally rules and even got the Oscar nom for best supporting actor… but that was clearly Daniel Larusso’s story. Here Park is kind of the main character but most of the action revolves around his connection to this bratty kid Peter.
There’s enough silliness and colorful flourishes to recommend My Samurai to those who love a good Karate Kid knockoff or a frivolous martial arts romp. Nothing here will blow your mind except perhaps Bubba Smith’s shenanigans.
The Package
MVD absolutely makes these discs worth a purchase by packing them out with bonus content featuring new interviews with the stars and collectible packaging. I love how they treat these C-list forgotten films like royalty.
Showdown (1994)
Shockingly thematically similar to My Samurai, Showdown also exists in the post-Karate Kid landscape as an R-rated version of the coming of age martial arts tournament film. Ken Marks (Kenn Scott) is the new kid at school [that looks 30 years old] who runs afoul of the gang of kids who, he’ll later find out, are part of an evil underground dojo in which high school kids are fighting for money. It’s a crazy scenario, but ex-cop and current school janitor Billy Grant (none other than the legendary fitness guru and B-action icon Billy Blanks) takes it upon himself to train Ken up in martial arts. Soon Ken will be fighting to win the girl (the now very famous Christine Taylor), take down the bully, and save the day. But, the Karate Kid formula gets taken up a notch when it’s discovered that evil dojo master Lee (amazing cinematic villain Patrick Kilpatrick) was involved in the incident that took master Billy off the force, so the good and evil masters must also face off in the ring to get ultimate action cinema satisfaction.
Probably the more satisfying and entertaining of the two films presented here, the tournament element of Showdown allows it to feel a little more iconic than My Samurai. You get training montages and ridiculous high school drama all in the same package. Billy Blanks, bless his soul, really was not a good actor. But he’s got a phenomenal screen presence when fighting and acquits himself very well here. The bonus features reveal star Kenn Scott was desperate to become the next Van Damme and trained hard as such. His physique is almost hilariously pristine for what is supposed to be a newly trained high school kid. But Scott really didn’t have that star power charisma to launch him to a larger career.
Showdown actually feels far glossier and more polished than My Samurai (as directed by Rob Radler of Best Of The Best and Best Of The Best II fame), but still comes nowhere close to the lightning in a bottle that something like The Karate Kid was able to capture. It’s a C-list film inspired by A-list tropes and will totally get your blood pumping if you recognize any of the names or films referenced here or if you, like me, have a very healthy appreciation for the filmography of Billy Blanks.
The Package
Again, MVD Rewind Collection loads their discs with such treasured bonus material as to make purchasing their product easy to recommend. There’s basically a feature length documentary on here… for a movie that just about no one has heard of. It’s glorious action cinema purists would do well to check out for themselves.
And I’m Out.
My Samurai and Showdown are both now available on Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection
