Gunnysack O’ Goodies
Kevin writes: I have been reading your column for a few years now. Just wanted to throw myhat in the ring for some free stuff like many others are no doubt doing in a shameless attempt to getsomething for nothing. Your unapologetic swiping of Joe Bob’s gimmick always sat well with me. Any ass kissing aside, you are probably the only thing I still actually read at dvdtalk. Place became far too elitist and whiny for me to stomach. But I always check out the newsletter I get each week or so from you. I pretty much have the same tastes as you. We even posted some similar remarks about the unwarranted blind paise Anchor Bay used to receive and their shifty business practices during that Re-Animator rights thing a few years ago. I even almost bought your original Elite NOTLD disc off half.com once … You probably don’t hear that often, huh? Heh. Anyway, I have wasted enough of your time I’m sure. If I get something from you, cool … if not, cool as well. I will still keep reading your stuff. Keep up the only thing worth a damn at dvdtalk.
Ice Cream Man
Philip writes: Read your review about Ice Cream Man this morning and had a nice early chuckle. I also have to give it to you and Mr. Kleinman for really sticking it out in trying to do right by a marginal title that you both obviously love so much. Nice to see such dedication for things that most folks would be content to let slip through the cracks. I’ve never seen the film myself, but you certainly raised my curiousity about it… I enjoy your section of DVDTalk very much. Thanks for keeping up interest in all things Schlock.
CineSchlocker idol Clint Howard writes: Just read the article. It’s sweet. You did areally nice job … This is no b.s. I think it’s one of the best articles I’ve read where I’ve been quoted. Thank you. Listen, if anything else comes up feel free to ring me up. If I have something I think you might be interested in, I’ll do the same. Once again, really nice piece.
Stanley squeezed
Ed writes: I’ve been wanting to see Grefe’s STANLEY ever since viewing the trailer on Something Weird’s DEATH CURSE OF TARTU/STING OF DEATH disc…but now that I read in your most recent CineSchlock-O-Rama report that it’s a shoddy, cut TV print, should I even bother? Is this one of those cases where an elusive big-box VHS from 20 years ago would be a better option? What other films are on the set? Are they all similarly mistreated (I’d assume so from your description; 8 films on one disc…even BRENTWOOD wouldn’t stoop that low)? I’d like to hope Rhino would step in and do the right thing, but alas…that’s their music guys that put out the awesome releases. The title of the set and their obsession with MST3K box sets shows where their b-film hearts lie…
Re: Lost Al Adamson film
Kier-la writes: One of your readers asked about a lost Al Adamson film, "Carnival Magic." The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is playing a 35mm print of it in Austin, TX on Dec. 1st at midnight, for free.
Bring on the Night
Andy writes: I don’t know if you’ve mentioned this one before but why hasn’t the TV "The Night Stalker" (starring Darren McGavin) been released on DVD? With seemingly every mediocre show in the history of television being given the grand DVD treatment these days, why isn’t one of the finest horror TV shows from being considered? I know they’ve released a couple of "The Night Stalker" movies on DVD but I want the episodes! This show scared the crap out of me when I was a kid and I watched it religously. This one definitely tops my DVD want list.
Really, really Unrated?
Eric writes: You mean to tell me the R-rated DVD version of Blown Away and the "Unrated" VHS version are ACTUALLY one and the same. Please confirm this. Did you play them on two TVs side by side or what? I’ve been wanting to buy the DVD version but have hesitated because I thought something was cut out of it. There is so much speculation on the internet. I don’t know what to believe. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks for your time.
Only 3 stars for Orca?
Corey writes: Gotta say you need to give Orca one more star. This is the horrible truth about Free Willy. We rented it the other night and it truly is a work of greatness. The filmmakers didn’t even try to wuss out and make the killer whale and Richard Harris both perish in their struggle … It is a damn shame they didn’t do any bonus stuff — making of and oceanographers.
Impulse. Ahead slow.
Kyle writes: I have another suggestion for the Most Wanted: a relatively obscure flick from 1974 called IMPULSE. It stars William Shatner as a man who marries wealthy women, bilks them of their cash with an insurance scam, and then kills them. However, the next woman who he’s planning on marrying has a young daughter who catches on, and tries to stop him. Not only does Shat star, this also stars Harold "Odd Job" Sakata (yay!), Ruth Roman, and, Fuad Ramses himself, William Kerwin in a cameo.
Making movies in hell
Frequent Doris Wishman cinematographer C. Davis Smith (a.k.a. CHUCK!) writes: I read your review of A Night to Dismember and I LOVED IT! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! [Doris’ final film] Each Time I Kill has gone through three editors SO FAR. One guy from Texas wanted to do it because he was a Doris fan…didn’t happen. Then it went to New York to be edited by an Emmy Award editor…not being familiar with Doris pictures…The the producers tried a crack at it themselves…I saw the first version and complained that they missed all the Dorisisms…so the re-cut to some of my suggestions and the second cut didn’t hit the mark either…Now an editor who was a big Doris fan in Germany has it…but still no picture.
Most Wanted suggestion
Bruce writes: May I suggest Michael Crichton’s "Looker"(1981) starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, and Susan Dey. Dr. Larry Roberts (Albert Finney) is a top Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who finds himself embroiled in a sinister mind-control conspiracy run by James Coburn when several of the women Roberts operated on are murdered.
Coopersmith speaks!
CineSchlocker idol Clint Howard writes: I was forwarded your wonderful review of a film Idid a long time ago "Evilspeak" and I just wanted to drop you a quick e-mail expressing my gratitude for yourkind words. It brings a smile to my face when somebody takes the time to revisit Evilspeak in such a celebratory way. I’ve been very fortunate in my career to do a lot of unique work. Evilspeak is one of my favorite experiences and when it got re-released on DVD, I was tickled. Once again, thanks for the kind words.
Where’s Andy?
Gabe writes: Do you know if they are still planning to release the rest of the Andy Sidaris Collection?
The Bride of Frank
Jeff writes: Hi. I read your reviews faithfully. We wrote back and forth a year or two ago talking about ROCK N ROLL FRANKENSTIEN and I think I found a film you might like. It’s called BRIDE OF FRANK. It was made in New Jersey and it’s about the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. These guys who work for a trucking company take in a street person (Frank), let him live in the depot office, then try to get him laid. One of the liner notes on the DVD box is "If Frank says he’s going to rip off your head and shit down your throat, you’d better believe him." I found the DVD at the Diabolik web site, an all region DVD site, but I think FRANK is a region 0 or 1. Diabolik is the only place I’ve seen the DVD for sale, for some reason. Great stuff. Thanks for listening.
Filthy thank you
Filthy writer/director Andy Lalino writes: Hi! Just wanted to say thank you for granting a review of "Filthy" on CineSchlock-O-Rama. It was a real thrill receiving it in my e-mail subscription. I just placed news of the review on the official "Filthy" website. I’m a little behind due to the hurricanes (I live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida), so I’m sorry if this note is being received a bit later than I intended. I always enjoy my latest issue of CSOR. I hope we can keep in touch over time. Let me be the first to wish you Happy Halloween!
Creature features
Van writes: I read your review about "Boa Vs. Python," and now I’ve got to see this snake movie. I saw the two "Python" movies and they really sucked. I saw "Boa" and it was marginally better. Of course, "Anaconda" topped "Anacondas," too. As a published film critic myself with an appreciation for the warped, "Boa Vs. Python” looked interesting, but I hesitated to bite after "Boa" and the "Python" movies.Thanks for that alert on the other movie. Keep up the good work.
Cuffs off, please
Nick writes: I start with the usual expression of gratitude for your part in pointing me in the direction of so much quality Schlock. Now to my enquiry: I recently watched Something Wild on DVD, and am perplexed by an apparent cut in the film. I am sure that I remember from my viewing at the time of its original release that there is a scene near the beginning, just after they have had sex in the motel, when Jeff Daniels’s character begs Melanie Griffiths to remove the handcuffs and she refuses. It is not a big scene, nor an extreme one, but this makes its removal all the more peculiar. My memory could be at fault here, but looking at the VHS edition online, it would appear to be 2 minutes longer at 116 minutes vs 114 for the DVD. In addition, towards the end of the film Melanie Griffiths removes the handcuffs, and the significance of this gesture is marked, suggesting that it should have been signposted in some way earlier in the film. So, there we go. Perhaps you or one of your readers can explain this oddity. I know this isn’t the usual line of questioning you get, but I figure that with cameos from Charles Napier and John Waters among others, and an ample screening of Melanie Griffiths’ breasts, Something Wild should qualify for comment in your column.
Comic-Con correction
James writes: Just thought I’d mention Comiket, the Japanese Comic Market event held in Tokyo twice a year. Recent attendance has reportedly been around 300,000 or more over the course of 3 days, with maybe 10,000 or more vendors/tables. I don’t know if it qualifies as a "funny book and pop culture conclave," but if so, it’s clearly bigger than Comic Con. Not a big deal really, at least not to me. I’m not going to try to argue which one is better. I’ve never been to either one. (Poor, poor, pitiful me. sniff.) But just going by the raw numbers, Comiket sounds much bigger. Oh, and thanks for the report on Comic Con. Entertaining and informative reading, as always.
Pre-Predator 2
Nick writes: A great Predator review. Just one thing to mention. You don’t have to change it, but I figured I’d inform ya that the Aliens vs. Predator comic came out in 1989, a year before Predator 2. So it was actually that single comic that spawned the single frame in the movie, videogames, more comics, and the media that it has today.
Return, I will, to old Brazil
Luciano writes: My name is luciano. I live in the brazil. I am studying movies. I saw your pictures with the two coreys and reggie bannister and do I want to know if I have how to communicate with them? I am a great fan of them !! Please help me !!
Most Wanted nominee
Gene writes: Is there any trace at all of the made-for-TV movie, The Tenth Level, starring William Shatner. A movie that shows the brutality of regular people who would shock people who answer a question incorrectly. The more they miss the higher the voltage until they’re too fried to take the walk of shame or any other walk for that matter. By the end, we learn that it was all just a psychology experiment to see how many people would really follow instructions to zap people at increasing levels of voltage just because they would told to do so. I was in Kindergarten when this aired, and it really bothered me to think that people were being shocked to death just because they were answering questions wrongly. I remember leaving the room and not watching the last half of the movie because it bothered me so much. I would love to actually see the whole movie. I’m going to guess this movie aired 1973 or 1974. I’d appreciate anything you could do to get this movie back out.
Zombi 2 or Zombie?
Steve writes: I love your reviews and can only hope you know the answer to my question. Which version of Zombi 2 is the one I should purchase? I have never noticed 2 different versions of the same film being released on the same day by different company’s. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
A CineSchlocker is born
Ryan writes: I just wanted to thank you for the incredible job you do on the reviews. I actually get excited when your review newsletter hits my inbox and of all the reviewers on dvdtalk it is your opinions I put the most stock in. So a great big thanks from all of us who love campy cinema!
You … boob!
Carl writes: First things first, I love the newsletter and often enjoy the humor of the reviews.You recently, however, made a comment on WILD THINGS 2, something to the extent of "if anybody watched the first WILD THINGS for any thing other then the sex scenes, you’re a moron!" Now, I’d be lying to you if I told you that I didn’t have a copy of WILD THINGS in my T-and-A pile, but I also did think that the movie had a pretty good lurid thriller plot to it. Is it Oscar writing? No, but it’s fun. It’s like the argument over BASIC INSTINCT, that nobody watches it for any thing but the sex. The sex is good, but the thriller plot is cool, too. I hate to gripe, but you should give b-movie fans more credit than just " Check out the boobs! " mentality, because some of us still think that the story, however slight it may be, is worth watching.
Save the music
Ron writes: Was glad to see your wonderful review of STARSHIP TROOPERS II, a totally terrific sequel. You passingly mentioned the soundtrack..which is part and parcel of this movie’s zest..and it was penned by my two good pals, John Morgan and Bill Stromberg. These dudes deserves ton more Hollywood gigs, their music is epic.
Static about static
Seth writes: I was reading your review of the Police Academy Collection and you weresaying: "Part 3 suffers static consistent with an audio transmission from Mars!" Is there anything we can do so Warner Brothers will correct this problem. I thought the dvd was defective at first but then watched it at my brothers house and it suffered the same way. To me the noise is completely intolerable. No dvd should have audio so poor, especially something from the mid 1980s. Thank you for advice.
Mr. Metaphor
Gregg writes: I just read your excellent interview with David Cronenberg, but was *deeply* disturbed to hear the news about The Fly Special Edition DVD. How recently was this interview conducted? In it, Cronenberg says "Fox once phoned wanting me to do a commentary for The Fly." The "once" implies that this was some time ago (Film historian Tim Lucas, who wrote an article about The Fly for Cinefex, told me that he was contacted several years back to provide his own recollections about the film for a Special Edition that never materialized. Could this aborted effort be what Cronenberg was referring to, or did he indicate that this was more recent? Peter Staddon of Fox has made overtures over the past year or so that a Fly Special Edition was in the works, and that "Good things come to those who wait. You should be happy sometime in 2004". Could it be that Fox plans to bang out a half-hearted Special Edition (with the deleted scenes and a few other token extras), perhaps to promote the upcoming Todd Lincoln-directed Fly remake? Or has Fox not yet contacted Cronenberg about their latest SE effort? A Fly "Special Edtion" without Cronenberg would be worthless, even with the dangling carrot of the infamous deleted scenes (which I’ve hungered to see for years). Let’s hope this gets resovled soon!
Ted writes: As always I enjoy your mailings. I can’t wait to read your Cronenberg interview — I’m at wo