>> Masters of Horror series 1, Vol 2 | Until the End of the World | Death Ship | Early Hitchcok in February

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Masters of Horror Series 1, Vol. 2 in February
15 January 2007

The first volume of the Masters of Horror series met with a luke-warm reception, but that hasn't prevented horror fans from looking forward to Volume 2. Mind you, there's an extra incentive with the inclusion of Takashi Miike's notorious episode Imprint, the only one to be banned from cable broadcast in the US. Miike is joined by fellow genre luminaries Dario Argento, Larry Cohen, Tobe Hooper, John McNaughton and, erm, William malone, who has plenty to make up for after FeardotCom and the remake of House on Haunted Hill).

As those who caught Volume 1 will remember, Masters of Horror was the brainchild of director Mick Garris, director of the likes of The Stand and the TV remake of The Shining, the aim being to bring some of the greatest horror directors together on a single project, a series where they would get to direct one episode each. He really should have known he was going to have trouble asking Miike on board.

Anchor Bay UK have announced the DVD release of Masters of Horror Series 1, Volume 2 for February in a 6-disc set, loaded with special features, which include::

JENIFER (Dario Argento)

PICK ME UP (Larry Cohen)

DANCE OF THE DEAD (Tobe Hooper)

FAIR HAIRED CHILD (William Malone)

HAEKEL'S TALE (John McNaughton)

IMPRINT (Takashi Miike)

Masters of Horror Series 1, Volume 2 will be released as a six-disc set by Anthor Bay on 12th February 2007 at the RRP of £24.99.

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Until the End of the World in February
11 January 2007

If you thought Peter Jackson's King Kong was long (it was) then you may not be ready for the director's cut of Wim Wenders 1991 Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt), which clocks in at 4 hours and forty minutes, that's getting on for twice the length of the original USA release cut.

The year is 1999. On the road to Paris a young woman encounters a mysterious stranger called Sam Farber who is on a dangerous mission for his father. Their brief encounter sets off a chain reaction of obsession and danger as a chase of truly global proportions ensues. But who is following whom? In a deadly race against time, with the world on the brink of global confrontation, the couple head for Australia where Sam’s father waits in his hidden laboratory. As the airplane sets off there is a flash in the sky. The engine cuts off. Is it the end of the world?

What has guaranteed the film a place in cinema history is its extraordinary soundtrack. Wenders commissioned a number of key singers and groups of the time to contribute the kind of songs that they would conceivably be producing eight years hence. The result is a musical collection to die for, with tracks by the likes of U2, R.E.M., Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Depeche Mode, Julee Cruise, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, T-Bone Burnett, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Neneh Cherry, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The cast includes Solveig Dommartin (Wings of Desire), William Hurt, Sam Neill, Max von Sydow and David Gulpilil, and cinematography is by the legendary Robby Müller.

Metrodome have announced a UK DVD release of the film for 26th February. We know not the aspect ratio, anamorphic status and soundtrack options as yet, but the disc (or discs - remember the length) will feature a theatrical trailer and an essay on Wim Wenders by acclaimed film scholar Jason Wood.

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Death Ship in March
11 January 2007

Oh man, Death Ship. Cult classic or trashy 80s horror knock-off? Maybe both, it's too long since I've seen it to remember, and I can't help but admit that I'm curious to see the damned thing again, especially given that the poster for Steve Beck's 2002 Ghost Ship is a straight rip-off of the original artwork for Alvin Rakoff's rarely seen 1980 horror. It looks like my luck is in, too, as Nucleus Film have announced a UK DVD release of the film for March 2007.

What's it about? Well unbeknown to the party-hard passengers on a luxury ocean liner, a mysterious and unfriendly ship is set to upset their holiday plans. The liner sinks and nine survivors, including the ship's captain ("He was just days from retirement!") are left adrift, but find sanctuary aboard a derelict freighter. But the boat is an ex-Nazi interrogation vessel, and the survivors are soon given reasons to envy the dead. Hey, this is sounding better by the minute! Adding to the fun is a cast that includes old favourites George Kennedy, Richard Crenna and Sally Ann Howes, and the story was penned by Jack Hill, director of such titles as Foxy Brown (1974), The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974) and Switchblade Sisters (1975).

The Nucleus DVD will contain an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, the original mono 2.0 soundtrack, and the following special features:

Release date is 12th march 2007 at the RRP of £14.99.

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Early Hitchcock in February
7 January 2007 - posted by Slarek

A few years ago - quite a few, actually - I found myself in one of those lucky right place, right time situations that landed me work close to the National Film Theatre in London at a time when they were running a season consisting of every movie Alfred Hitchcock had ever made, or at least every surviving one (a couple have been tragically lost to posterity). As a result I got to see all of Hitchcock's films, including a battery of rarely seen silents, on the big screen, the silents accompanied by live piano performances by the ferociously talented Florence De Jong.

It's been a long time since I've seen many of these early works, but to the rescue come Optimum Home Entertainment, who in February are to release a nine disc box set on Uk region 2 containing nine of the master's early works, and there are some minor gems in there.

The Ring (1927) is set in a travelling circus (a community that would pop up again in the director's work), a love triangle story of two boxers in love with the same woman that rises above the ordinary through its storytelling and delicious background detail, including Hitch's trademark black humour (conjoined twins who want to sit in opposite aisles at a wedding) and builds to a splendid climactic boxing match at the Albert Hall.

The Farmer's Wife (1928) is an enjoyable but overlong (almost two hours if transferred at the correct projection speed, longer if not, and this has happened) comedy of a farmer who loses his wife then embarks on a seemingly fruitless quest for a new wife who will come up to his impossible standards.

Champagne (1928) is lightweight but fun, the story of a rich girl defying her father to meet with a boyfriend that dad thinks is a fortune hunter that sports a decent central performances from Betty Balfour and professional cockney Gordon Harker, and has a great visual drunk-on-ship gag.

The Manxman (1928) was Hitchcock's final silent film and one the director himself had nothing but contempt for. Another love triangle story - two men after the same woman again - set on the Isle of man. Plenty of melodrama on board here.

Blackmail (1929) - Ah, now we're talking. Hitchcock's first sound film is terrific, and even though he has only just got his hands on the technology, he's experimenting with the soundtrack in a way that genuinely makes you jump. Anny Ondra plays (but not voices) a shopkeeper's daughter whose boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective, ends up investigating a killing she is responsible for after defending herself with a bread knife. Following on from his silent thriller The Lodger, this was the film that marked where the director's career was destined to head.

Murder! (1930) is one of Hitch's first Wrong Man (or in this case, woman) movies. When actress Diana Baring is convicted of the murder of her friend, doubting jury member Sir John Menier goes in search of the real killer. Has a great use of mobile camera tracking across opening windows at the start, a sign of things to come. Hitchcock prepared two versions of this film, one in English and one in German - I presume we're getting the English one.

The Skin Game (1931) was adapted from John Galsworthy's play and retains a bit too much of its theatricality. The story of a wealthy family fighting a heartless speculator is dialogue heavy and never recognisably a work of the Master, who apparently was bored with the whole project.

Rich and Strange (1931) is often regarded as little more than a curiosity, but this tale of a couple whose relationship is strained by an unexpected inheritance is engaging enough, but becomes compelling in the final third when the film takes a darkly surrealistic turn following a shipwreck.

Number Seventeen (1932) is a breezy, thoroughly enjoyable thriller involving a detective's pursuit of a gang of jewel thieves, boasts a superbly edited climactic chase scene involving a bus and a train, and some of the most unconvincing model work you'll ever se in a Hitchcock film.

All nine films have been digitally remastered and the silent films have new soundtracks (no news on who has done the music as yet). Each film features an introduction to each film by director and film historian Noel Simsolo and a picture gallery. In addition there are the now notorious test auditions with Hitchcock and Anny Ondra and scenes from the original silent version of Blackmail on the Blackmail disc, while the Murder! disc includes an alternative ending and a 52-minute documentary, Hitchcock’s Early Works, with Claude Chabrol and Bernard Eisenschitz.

Release date is 26th February 2007 at the RRP of £34.99.