A VIOLENT LIFE (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

Italy/1970
Directed By: Sergio Citti
Written By: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Laurent Terzieff, Franco Citti, Anita Sanders
Color/140 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 9, 2016

The Film
Bandiera and Rabbino are brothers living in the poor waterside town of Ostia. The brothers make their living by committing petty crimes for food and money. The brothers drink away their problems and don't deal with their lifelong struggles with religion put on them by their abusive father. They discover a runaway girl sleeping in a field one day and bring her home and a bond quickly forms between the three until a stint in jail for the brothers separates them from the girl and their relationship takes a violent turn once they're reunited.

Off the bat A VIOLENT LIFE is uneven in several ways, most of all in tone. A drama about relationships of all sorts, the film is heavily plagued with bits of out of place comedy and upbeat music. The film's flow is choppy feeling more like episodes of the trio's life. There are some powerful moments including a flashback to when the Badiera (Laurent Terzieff) and Rabbino (Franco Citti) were young boys and their father kills their beloved goat and the whole family has a hearty laugh at their expense, even making fun of their tears. This event leads to a powerful shift in the brothers that sets them on their life's path.

While the movie isn't perfect it does give an interesting and poignant view into the mind of Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salo: The 120 Days Of Sodom). His views on relationships, religion (particularly the Catholic church), government and more are easily apparent without being preachy or egotistical. That is what makes A VIOLENT LIFE worth watching.

The Audio & Video
One 7 Movies delivers A VIOLENT LIFE on DVD with an anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture looks decent and is perfectly watchable but detail isn't amazing and the film's overall look is bland. This style does fit the setting of the movie however so it works in that regard. The audio is in the film's native Italian with a mono mix that is clear and free of any background noise. It's not a dynamic mix but it gets the job done nicely. There are optional English subtitles which are easy enough to follow along with and read well despite a few spelling or grammatical errors sprinkled throughout. The main issue with the subtitles is that whenever there is a break in dialogue the subtitles of the last words spoken remain on the screen until there is another line of dialogue. Breaks in dialogue can last several minutes so it is a bit annoying even if it isn't totally distracting.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
The film is flawed but it has some merits to it. Most of all it is an interesting piece of Pasolini's filmography and worth watching to experience more from the controversial artist.

A VIOLENT LIFE is available HERE

E.N.D. (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

Italy/2015
Directed By: Luca Alessandro, Allegra Bernardoni, Domiziano Cristopharo, Federico Greco
Written By: Luca Alessandro, Allegra Bernardoni, Domiziano Cristopharo, Federico Greco, Roberto Papi, Antonio Tentori
Starring: Regina Orioli, Antonio Bilo Canella, Francesco Sannicandro
Color/85 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 9, 2016

The Film
Day 0:  The Outbreak starts from a batch of bad cocaine
Day 1466: Italy is in ruins as the epidemic is only getting worse.
Day 2333: There are humans and there are monsters and there isn't a lot of difference between the two.

E.N.D is a quasi-anthology horror film taking place in three different periods of a zombie outbreak caused by bad cocaine. The 80s would have been hell with this coke. The first entry takes place inside a funeral home just at the start of the outbreak. Dull describes this entry fairly well. A miss opportunity at funeral home hijinx the night after the mortician held a party with his friends there.

Follow that up with the fight for survival as an American soldier and pregnant woman board themselves up in a wooded cabin as the zombies chase them and try to break in the woman gives birth leading to an interesting finale. Some action and suspense make this one a mildly entertaining chapter.

And finally after over six years of the outbreak the zombies have evolved into a communicating, functioning group of monsters, making their extinction by humans that much more difficult. The most interesting chapter of the bunch if not significantly flawed in various areas. Easily the most action and gore packed section of the movie.

E.N.D. isn't great. There are a lot of slow spots that just drag out to nothing, the effects are cheap and the CGI is awful. There's also some practical effects that look good and zombie makeup that is a throwback to the 70s and 80s reminding me in particular of the ghouls from Oasis of the Zombies and Zombie Lake. The acting, like the rest of the production is amateurish, and clunky. I appreciated it for being a coherent film with an interesting take on an increasingly dried up, dull and lazy subgenre.

The Audio & Video
E.N.D. finds its way to DVD courtesy of One 7 Movies with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The digital photography looks okay, with a soft but clean image quality. The PQ is middle of the road, nothing great but not notably poor either. The 2.0 Italian language audio features optional English subtitles. The audio is mixed well and is reasonably full bodied. Levels are steady and there's no distortions or hiccups in the audio. The English subtitles are timed well and read fine but any time there is a break in dialogue the subtitles of the last word spoken hangs on the screen until someone else speaks. It's not very distracting once you realize it is going to happen every single time, and sometimes that break lasts several minutes but it is a lazy over sight.

The Extras
-Interview with writer Antonio Tentori
-Backstage Footage
-Trailers
-Photo Gallery

The Bottom Line
Recommended for zombie superfans only.

E.N.D is available HERE

RED KROKODIL (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

Italy/2012

Directed By: Domiziano Cristopharo

Written By: Francesco Scardone

Starring: Brock Madson, Valerio Cassa, Viktor Karam

Color/88 Minutes/Not Rated

Region FREE

Release Date: February 9, 2016 

The Film

RED KROKODIL is a film you won't soon forget. It will stay with you long after it shakes you and makes you sick to your stomach. It has little in the way of traditional story progression and there's really only a single character. The man we follow as he lives in a filthy apartment, with a mattress made of straw, as he walks around in soiled and torn underwear or nothing at all and spends his time either injecting the dangerous home made street drug Red Krokodil or suffering from the effects of it. His body is covered in old bandages from where his skin has become infected and rotted as a result of the drug. 

We see the man's delusions, hallucinations and hear his various monologues of his existence. We see him leave his apartment, at least in his mind, to explore nature. We see him attempt to drown himself in a toilet. He bleeds. He injects. He hugs his stuffed crocodile from when he was a child. He sleeps. He's miserable and wants to die. He wants to be clean. He injects. He may find peace.

RED KROKODIL can be looked at on the surface level at taken it as an anti-drug warning and it would work perfectly. It can also be looked at as a metaphor for countless other damaging relationships we find ourselves in a daily routine with. RED KROKODIL is powerful and moving and sickening. It is uncomfortable and is not fun. It's small scale and giant in scope. RED KROKODIL deals with the cold, harsh side of life presented in a cycle of substance abuse but the message applies to any countless number of life's less savory things. This film is skillfully made with love. 

The Audio & Video

One 7 Movies gives RED KROKODIL a nice DVD presentation with an anamorphic 16x9 widescreen transfer. The image quality is good and features an intentionally gray heavy color palette. The picture quality is sharp and crystal clear with no damage. The English audio is handled with a 2.0 stereo mix and features optional English and French subtitles. The audio which is heavier on the music score than it is on speaking with just fleeting monologues throughout is good. There's no distortions or background noise and the mix is stable and complimentary between both channels. 

The Extras

-Deleted scenes

-Ending With Alternate Music Track

-Test FX For End Scene

-Trailers and Teaser 

-Photo Gallery

The Bottom Line

RED KROKODIL isn't the movie to sit down with pizza and a beer for a relaxing night of movie watching. There's a powerful message here that is open to personal interpretation and what you take the film for is exactly what it is. Recommended.

RED KROKODIL is available HERE

Erotic Blackmail (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

France/1974
Directed By: Eddy Naka
Written By: Andre Chazel, Andre Koob, Eddy Naka
Starring: Valerie Boisgel, France Nicolas, Daniel Foucault
Color/66 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE

The Film
A couple invites their friends to a getaway in the country to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day living. The friends have ideas of their own including swinging, blackmail and making money at the expense of their so called friends. All the while there's a pair of horny young men who aren't satisfied sitting back and watching the swinging and love making go down without getting a piece of the action.

EROTIC BLACKMAIL is a simple title for director Eddy Naka's Le Corps A Ses Raisons (The Body Has Its Reasons). While I like the original title and its translation better, the DVD title of this film certainly are straight forward and let us know what we're getting into. We get a handful of attractive young couples baring it all and pushing the limits of softcore film making. There's a thin plot to drive the skin and sex and even a few psychadelic scenes. The main issue here is that there are plenty of films that do what EROTIC BLACKMAIL does and better. And those films also don't feature an extended belly dancing scene where the dancer has a very noticeable and rather nasty looking C-Section scar. One surprise I found in the film is that it has a rather good score from Max Gazzola who only has 6 credits on the IMDB. The ending also reminds me of Argento's Four Flies On Grey Velvet, so it has that going for it. EROTIC BLACKMAIL was a film considered lost for many years. Nothing in the world of film will change now that it is found but I will always support more sleazy Euro flicks being rescued and released.

The Audio & Video
One 7 Movies has sourced EROTIC BLACKMAIL from a somewhat worse for wear VHS source. Within the first minutes of this full frame presentation that has been cropped from it's original aspect ratio, we get to deal with VHS tracking lines, color fading in and out, video wobble and a generally dull, washed out print. These problems pop back up a few times through the duration of the film. Since it is likely the only way this film will ever be released it is at least watchable but it isn't pretty. The audio also features some leftover joys from the days of aging analog... pops, crackling and a constant background whirling noise are present on this Italian mono track which has decently translated English subtitles from waht I can tell. It isn't wonderful but it isn't that bad of a track all things considered.

The Extras
Extras? What Extras?

 

The Bottom Line
While the film doesn't look great, the back cover of the DVD claims that this is the only surviving form of the film and I'm certainly incluned to believe that. This film certainly isn't for everyone but fans of Euro-sleaze will find this rarity a worthy addition to their collection. It is wonderful that One 7 Movies was able to rescue this from obscurity and eternal damnation.

In Hell (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

France, Italy/1976
Directed By: Nikos Papatakis
Written By: Nikos Papatakis
Starring: Olga Karlatos, Roland Bertin, Phillipe Adrien
Color/99 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE

The Film
Galai is the star in an unfinished film by director and neo-revolutionary Hamdias. The film is one centered around the theme of torture and is filled with all sorts of scenes of nasty abuse, often of the sexual variety. The picture is to show the relationship between artist and subject and politics and humans. Hamdias dies in an accident before the picture is finished and obsessed with the notes left for her by her director Galai continues to rehearse the scenes and sets out to complete the film on her own. 

IN HELL aka Gloria Mundi and Tortura, is a film from Greek director Nikos Papatakis and was a comment on the Algerian struggle for independence years earlier, a subject I'm admittedly very ignorant on. The film is, in my opinion, more about the aforementioned relationships. Galai goes to terroristic extremes in her quest to finish this film in which she is the star, a role that Hamdias is accused of filling repeatedly throughout the film. It is a case of an artist's pupil following in the footsteps of her mentor. 

 According to IMDB the film has a runtime of 130 minutes, this DVD presentation clocks in at 99 so if the IMDB is accurate we are missing half an hour of the film which would be a shame because it could really have raised this film above the bar of decent. I don't think all of the goals that Papatakis set out for were accomplished, and I don't think this film is as important as it wants itself to be but it is a weird, exploitative, oddity of the 70s that deserves to be seen, even if for nothing more than what it is on the surface.

The Audio & Video
IN HELL is delivered to DVD from One 7 Movies in a 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that is rough to say the least. The source material was not kept in good condition and the image suffers from lots of scratches, speckling and noise. The image is soft and colors are dull. There are a couple instances of wobbling as well. That said, while it would be preferable for a better looking picture it is a watchable transfer. Audio fares a bit better with only minimal background noise and though the Italian mono track isn't great it is pretty decent and clear. 

The Extras
The lone feature on this disc is a still poster gallery, otherwise it is barebones. 

 
The Bottom Line
IN HELL doesn't have a great presentation here but it is here. Either way I'd say this is recommended for its weirdness for those looking for something off the beaten path. 

IN HELL is available HERE