LET THE CORPSES TAN (Blu-ray Review) - Kino Lorber

France/Belgium
Directed By: Helene Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Written By: Helene Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Starring: Elina Lowensohn, Stephane Ferrara, Bernie Bonvoisin
Color/92 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: January 8, 2019

The Film
If you're not familiar with the duo of Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani you may be familiar with their two previous features, Amer and The Strange Colour Of Your Bodies Tears, a pair of films that add a strong arthouse style and vibe to the duo's love for Italian genre film, most notably the giallo. The duo has gained noteriety in the cult film community because of their flourishing direction and dizzying editing. Their films have been devisive among fans with some fans being turned off by the arthouse style and other gobbling up their contributions to the genre. If nothing else, their films are interesting companion pieces to the genres they are love letters to.

LET THE CORPSES TAN is Cattet's and Forzani's homage to the Euro crime and spaghetti western genres. The plot is one that you've heard before and could fit either type of film, a gang thugs steal a load of gold bars and escape to a sparsely populated, crumbling cliffside village to hide out. The gang will soon find trouble with the lusty painter and her guests including a writer, and another sexy woman and her son that are already at the villa. Soon a pair of motorcyle cops arrive on the scene and the film plays out with a lengthy showdown within the stone walls and rocky hills between the two groups filled with floods of color, intense closeups, extreme violence and multiple double crosses. The film's progression is framed with intertitles displaying the time, often times showing the same scene play out from various character's perspectives.

Cattet and Forzani deliver an onslaught of intense visuals, colors, extreme closeups and violence. The duo focus on the styles of the spaghetti western and the crime films that came out of Italy during the 1970s using signature camera angles and music cues. The traditional plot should have allowed for something more cohesive, and linear, though I know that isn't Cattet and Forzani's style, their approach often leads to the images on screen being a bit an incomprehensible mess of flying bullets and various closeups of appendages. I think characters are cheated a more fleshed out and well rounded existence had they been given more to do than just show up and shoot every fucking thing. I frequently found myself asking why or what, and never really receiving any sort of answer, it seemed to be decisions and action for the sake of decisions and action. There was no development in these characters, they're very much paper doll versions of who we are introduced to and become nothing more, even when they perform some sort of double cross or their intentions change with the wind.

I liked a lot of what I saw and I certainly found myself entertained but I can't help but wish the duo helming this picture turned their style down a few notches and instead of being barraged with style I would appreciated a film that had more developed characters and a more practical storyline. There still would have been plenty of room for Cattet and Forzani to blow their artistic load all over the place but at least there would have been some substance to it. I think there's a good movie in LET THE CORPSES TAN and a great movie hanging around right outside of it, especially for fans of the genres that Cattet and Forzani are proclaiming their love for but the duo are perfectly happy getting their nut and leaving us with blue balls.

The Audio & Video
Kino Lorber gives LET THE CORPSES TAN a home on Blu-ray with a 2.35:1 anaormphic widescreen transfer that looks and sounds exceptional. The look and sound of this film are its strong suits and this Blu-ray gives the vivid colors, intense use of shadow and silhouettes and distinct textures the proper treatment. The bombardment of sound comes through with a 5.1 or 2.0 DTS-HD audio mix that is mixed and layered very well with the dialogue and score and sound effects complimenting each other nicely. The film's dialogue is in French with optional English subtitles. The subtitles are timed perfectly and translated well for easy reading.

The Extras
Special features include an audio commentary track with film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Queensland Film Festival Director John Edmond and a trailer for the film.

The Bottom Line
I appreciate LET THE CORPSES TAN but I wanted to love it. If you appreciated Amer or The Strange Color Of Your Bodies Tears than I think you'll appreciate this one as well.

LET THE CORPSES TAN is available HERE

April Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2016 - Days 14, 15, 16

BLUE ICE... what a movie. I'm reviewing the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray tomorrow so be on the look out for that for my full thoughts but boy what a movie.

Oh hey, it's another movie I did a full review of for its Blu-ray release. Why don't you check out SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM right HERE!

Oh no... THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU and THE GIRL FROM RIO are next and they're also getting full reviews because Blue Underground is releasing them on Blu-ray later this month. Watch out for that review later this week.

Sorry guys, a lot of stuff I'm doing in depth reviews of so I don't want to waste all the good thoughts before they get their just due.

SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM - Kino Lorber (Blu-ray Review)

Canada, Italy/1977
Directed By: Alberto De Martino
Written By: Vincenzo Mannino, Gianfranco Clerici
Starring: Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau
Color/98 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: April 12, 2016

The Film
After his sister is poisoned and killed at a party police officer Tony Saitta (Stuart Whitman) takes it upon himself to identify the killer. With the help of Sgt. Ned Matthews (John Saxon) they embark on a violent investigation full of shoot outs, fights, car chases, jewel thieves and betrayal and revenge. Full of plot twists and red herrings SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM walks the line of Poliziotteschi and Giallo with skill from director Alberto De Martino.

I love finding new gems in genres that I'm already a huge fan of. SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM (which was also released as BLAZING MAGNUM, playing up it's more action driven Euro-crime aspects) is a fast paced crime film that may be Alberto De Martino's best directorial work. He gives his extremely talented cast that includes supporting roles from Academy Award winner Martin Landau, and Tisa Farrow who made a bit of a name for herself in Italian genre fare a lot to work with. Each character is different and plays distinct roles and they do so brilliantly.

The action scenes are handled with grace, including the jaw dropping car chase that immediately became one of my favorite car chase scenes in all of cinema. The driving on display does the talking and De Martino is wise enough to not get too crazy with his direction or editing, just adding in small touches of style to accentuate it.

SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM stumbles in its music as the score is not memorable or impactful to the film. I didn't notice myself actively disliking the music but I was disinterested in it. The giallo aspect of the film comes and goes a bit throughout, becoming the focal point and style when it's around and reverting back to the main poliziotteschi style when it's not. It certainly works for the story but it might not be a perfectly organic fit. I don't mind it however and find SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM to be a great fit in both the poliziotteschi and giallo genres.

The Audio & Video
Kino Lorber delivers SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM on Blu-ray with a full 1080p high definition transfer taken from a new HD scan and retaining the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality is good overall with strong levels of detail among textures and surfaces such as fabrics, facial closeups and other items such as set pieces and locations. Colors are natural while there's a nice sharpness to the picture that hasn't been overly altered digitally. It also hasn't been heavily cleaned up as there's plenty of instances of scratches and dirt and debris on the negative used. These instances don't take away from the overall high quality of the transfer and add to the grittiness of the film in their own way.

The English audio features a DTS-HD Master Audio mix that is crisp and clear. The mix between the score and dialogue is stable and effective in letting the two audio sources shine through. There's some slight background noise intermittently throughout the picture but it never reaches annoying or distracting levels.

The Extras
The lone extra is the original theatrical trailer.

The Bottom Line
A highly enjoyable example of the Euro-crime genre with an excellent cast. Highly recommended.

SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM is available HERE

Stunt Squad (Blu-ray Review) - Raro Video

Italy/1977
Directed By: Domenico Paolella
Written By: Domenico Paolella, Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino
Color/96 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: September 23, 2014

The Film
Shopkeepers and businesses are being extorted and forced to pay for protection by a crime ring in Italy. Bombings, shootings and other forms of violent crime are way up and the crime bosses are taking advantage of it. The normal police force is unable to do much of anything to stop it so they secretly train a special squad of officers known as The Stunt Squad. This special unit is trained in dirtbike pursuits, shooting from moving vehicle and while performing acrobatic stunts among other special skills that will help them bring down the crime rings being run by the ruthless Valli. The pursuits on Valli prove deadly for not only the police and the crime rings but innocent bystanders as well. The public has had enough with living in fear and make their move when the police have Valli cornered.

THE STUNT SQUAD features some of the most extreme and nasty violence in any Euro crime film I've seen to date along with some exciting chases and ridiculous training sequences. The film's title may be a bit misleading as the Stunt Squad doesn't show up until about halfway through the film and there is quite a bit of social commentary about that particular time in Italy. The title is a bit lighthearted for what the movie holds but the story is a good one and the direction from Domenico Paolella gives us some great action scenes. Vittorio Mezzogiorno steals the film as Valli and the scene in his hideout/home with his birds is purely brilliant. I have read that Valli may be the most vile character in all of Euro crime films and I think he certainly would be in the discussion at the very least.

A review of THE STUNT SQUAD wouldn't be complete without mentioning the score by Stelvio Cipriani which is quite good and allows the viewer to groove through the city streets with it. Cipriani was one of the best at scoring genre films and he didn't slack off here. 

The Audio & Video
Raro Video gives STUNT SQUAD a home on Blu-ray with a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Overall the transfer is pretty good. Detail level is pretty strong while colors are realistic in their presentation. Sharpness is above average though there are some moments of softness and unremarkable visuals. There's also a bit of ghosting early on in the film. There are two audio options, Italian and English, both 2.0 tracks. The Italian track features English subtitles and while I think it sounds slightly better than the English track with a bit better and fuller mix the subtitles are awkward to read as they seem to have been translated literally and not fixed to read properly in English. The English track which is how I watched the film after finding out about the subtitles is still good, a bit thinner than the Italian track but it is clear, and free of background noise. The levels compliment each other nicely.

The Extras
A 6 minute video introduction and a full color booklet by Euro Crime historian Mike Malloy are included

The Bottom Line
Crime film fans, especially those who prefer the Italian crime film variety will want to add STUNT SQUAD to their collection. A decent transfer for a film packed with violence and excitement should sell fans of the genre quite easily. 

STUNT SQUAD is available HERE

Gang War In Milan (Blu-ray Review) - Raro Video

Italy/1973
Directed By: Umberto Lenzi
Written By: Franco Enna, Ombretta Lanza, Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Antonio Sabato, Philippe Leroy, Antonio Casagrande
Color/100 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: May 20, 2014

The Film
Antonio Sabato stars as Toto a Sicilian who operates a prostitution ring that is confronted by Le Capitaine, a Frenchman running a drug ring in Milan who is interested in uniting the crime families across Italy. When Toto rebukes at his offer Le Capitaine responds in violent fashion and quickly opens up the door to one of the most violent gang wars you could imagine.

GANG WAR IN MILAN is directed by Umberto Lenzi, the man responsible for one of the best Euro Crime films ever made, Almost Human. While GANG WAR is no Almost Human it is an excessively violent film that exploitation fans will eat up. The main selling point of the film is watching the two gangs try to one-up the other with their plots and schemes. Lenzi handles the film well, getting good performances out of Sabato and Leroy, though Sabato is no Tomas Milian. There are a few odd shots that linger on a random object for a few seconds that seem to be forced product placement of some sort which is a bit funny. From car chases and shootouts to genital torture GANG WAR IN MILAN really pushes the envelope and makes up for what it lacks in story with pure excess.

The Audio & Video
Raro Video has done a very nice job with GANG WAR IN MILAN on Blu-ray. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has vibrant colors and good level of detail. Skin tones are fleshy and natural and there seems to be very minor DNR applied. The disc features both the Italian and English language versions of the film. I chose to watch with the Italian track which sounds good. The 2.0 stereo track has is reasonably crisp and has a good mix between soundtrack and dialogue. The English subtitles are translated and timed well.

The Extras
-Intro by Mike Malloy, director of "Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled The 70s"
-Fully illustrated booklet

The Bottom Line
GANG WAR IN MILAN will be a nice addition to your Poliziotteschi collection and one that you'll want to bust out and show your friends for no other reason than how violent it is.

GANG WAR IN MILAN is available HERE

Death OccurredLast Night (Blu-ray Review) - Raro Video

 Italy/1970
Directed By: Duccio Tessari
Written By: Artur Braun, Biagio Proje, Giorgio Scerbanenco, Duccio Tessari
Starring: Frank Wolfe, Raf Vallone, Gabriele Tinti
Color/98 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Film
When a beautiful young woman who is mentally handicapped with the mental development of a three year old goes missing it is feared she has been kidnapped into the local sex trafficking rings. Her distraught father tired of the police's nonchalant attitude about his missing daughter begins his own investigation on the side, taking him and the local police into the underbelly of the city and face to face with some of the most despicable, forlorn and lost people the city has to offer. It also brings them face to face with a cold, harsh reality.

DEATH OCCURED LAST NIGHT, Duccio Tessari's giallo, isn't a fun film. It doesn't have the whirls of style that Argento's gialli have that make them entertaining to watch. After a rather out a of place opening few minutes, Tessari plays this film straight, real straight. We are forced to witness a father come to grips with the nasty reality of it all without any hope of being able to turn our attention elsewhere for a break. She has the mind of a child, and it's Saturday.

Tessari's unyielding coldness in how he presents DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT is what makes the film. Tessari forces the reality down the viewer's throat and tells us to deal with it. Not necessarily to accept it, that would make him the same scum that his villains are, but to deal with it because that's how it is. The road this film takes in discovering the truth just brings us further and further to a place we aren't comfortable going and digs a deeper and deeper pit in our stomach as our fears become reality. As I said, DEATH OCCURED LAST NIGHT isn't fun, but it is a rock solid giallo.

The Audio & Video
Raro Video is on point with their Blu-ray of DEATH OCCURRED. Their anamorphic widescreen transfer features excellent levels of detail- just look at clothing. Colors are full bodied and lively, despite a dingy, overcast city being the location for the film. The 2.0 Italian audio track is very good, it sounds well mixed, with no background noise. Subtitles are well timed and easy to read.

The Extras
-Video Interview with Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander
-Full Color Booklet by Chris Alexander
-International and American Theatrical Trailers


The Bottom Line
Giallo fans will be thrilled with this new Blu-ray from Raro. A damn fine release for a great film. 

DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT is available HERE

Meet Him And Die (Blu-ray Review) - Raro Video

Italy/1976
Directed By: Franco Prosperi
Written By: Antonio Cucca, Cluadio Fragasso, Peter Berling, Alberto Marras
Starring: Ray Lovelock, Martin Balsam, Elke Sommer
Color/94 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: April 1, 2014

The Film
Ray Lovelock stars as an undercover cop sent to prison to infiltrate a drug ring and get a bit of personal revenge on the men who crippled his mother at the same time. Upon gaining the trust of higher ups and escaping prison with them he begins to climb the ranks of the family, sent on important jobs and drug runs. While trying to continue climbing the ranks to bring the drug ring down from the top he has to keep his identity secret which results in bullets flying and blood spilling from both sides.

Franco Prosperi (not of Mondo Cane fame, the other Franco Prosperi) delivers a really solid and prototypical poliziotteschi in MEET HIM AND DIE. Plenty of car chases, shoot outs, fights and blood. From the start of the film the adrenaline runs high with Lovelock's botched jewel heist, to the motorcycle chasing the freight truck which is probably the most exciting scene in the film Prosperi knows how to get us excited. MEET HIM AND DIE won't be held among the best Euro-crime films like Almost Human as it suffers from a few under developed characters, including Martin Balsam's character and an ending that leaves the viewer (and Lovelock) unsatisfied. MEET HIM AND DIE provides enough entertainment enter the good graces of genre fans along with being a suitable introduction to the genre for new viewers. I'm grateful that Raro Video released this disc.

The Audio & Video
Raro Video delivers the Blu-ray debut of MEET HIM AND DIE with mixed results. The 1.76:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer suffers from a waxy appearance and a layer of noise over the picture. Detail levels suffer as a result. On the other hand colors look pretty good so it isn't all bad. It's not the worst Blu-ray transfer I've seen (not by a long shot) but it isn't up to par with what Raro can do. Two audio tracks are available, both 2.0 stereo tracks. I listened to the Italian track which has optional English subtitles and it was a good track. Dialogue came through clearly and the soundtrack was crisp. Levels were mixed nicely. And English track is also available. 

The Extras
-Video interview with genre historian Mike Malloy
-13 page fully illustrated booklet

The Bottom Line
MEET HIM AND DIE is a typical example of the polizotteschi genre and one that you should add to your collection even if the Blu-ray isn't a slam dunk, it certainly is watchable and the film deserves your attention.

MEET HIM AND DIE is available HERE