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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: June 23rd, 2015.
Director: Lee Frost
Cast: Ray Milland, Rosey Grier
Year: 1972
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The Movie:
Better known for biker films, roughies and sexploitation films, the producer/director team of Wes Bishop and Lee Frost nevertheless cranked out this low budget genre comedy for American International Pictures in 1972 and not only that, they actually made it work.
The premise is ridiculous, of course, but it's fun - Doctor Max Kirshner (Ray Milland) is a brain surgeon who doesn't do a very good job of trying to hide his racial prejudices. Though he's dying of cancer and confined to a wheelchair, he's still got the wherewithal to run a secret laboratory in his basement where he carries out clandestine experiments! His latest endeavor, transplanting the head of one giant gorilla onto the body of another giant gorilla creating a two-headed monster monkey, was a complete success, and he's quite pleased with this until the thing escapes and runs riot through the streets.
The beast is captured and brought in and Kirshner decides, after removing the original head and finding that the supplemental head can now function along with its new body, that there might be something to this. He wants to try it using his own head, attaching it to a healthy body and therefore prolonging his life. He convinces and associate named Doctor Philip Desmond (Roger Perry) that he's the man for the job and he agrees to do it, but Kirshner needs a donor. A few strings are pulled and eventually a death row inmate named Jack Moss (Rosey Grier) volunteers, figuring this'll get him away from the execution chamber for a little while and maybe allow him to find some way to prove his innocence. The operation goes as planned and is a success, but nobody thought to tell Kirshner that his head would be sewn onto the body of a black man, let alone one that's going to want to go on the run once he wakes up from all of this…
A far cry from more notorious Lee Frost movies like Love Camp 7 and The Animal, this PG rated genre mish-mash is a pretty entertaining way to kill ninety minutes. It's a little on the predictable side but admittedly the novelty of seeing Ray Milland's head attached to Rosey Grier is one that doesn't really get old. They bicker and argue and quite obviously want very different things (Kirshner a new body and Moss his freedom!) but you know that they'll be able to find some sort of common ground - they kind of have to. They don't really have a choice! The two actors do a great job here. You really won't have any trouble buying Milland as a stuffy, crotchety old white guy any more than you'll have any trouble buying Grier as a cool, tough, hardened and street wise black guy. There's no doubt that the movie plays to racial clichés but it never feels mean spirited or insensitive, it simply takes things to ridiculous extremes and runs with it.
In addition to the weird relationship that develops between our two leads as they share a single body (the source of pretty much all of the film's comedy) we also get some decent action. A lot of that is chase-centric meaning they wind up heading out with the cops behind them in hot pursuit. There's plenty of bad ass car crashes here to keep things exciting and the POV motorcycle scene is a lot of fun. This was a low budget picture to be sure but the producers got their money's worth and the film holds up really well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Olive Films presents The Thing With Two Heads on Blu-ray in its proper 1.85.1 theatrical widescreen aspect ratio in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. For the most part, the movie looks quite good on Blu-ray. The opening credits might make you think otherwise and there are some spots where grain gets heavy but stick with it and you'll wind up pretty impressed. Detail is pretty solid throughout, close ups in particular, while black levels are strong and generally pretty inky. Nicely lit outdoor shots really look quite good and indoor shots fare well too, even if they're never quite as colorful looking. Skin tones look nice and natural, there are no signs of edge enhancement or noise reduction and although the disc is single layered compression artifacts are never an issue. This blows the old DVD release from MGM out of the water.
The only audio option for the feature is an English language DTS-HD Mono mix, there are no alternate language options offered nor are there any closed captioning or subtitles options provided. Clarity of the audio is fine. The levels are nicely balanced and there are problems with any hiss or distortion and the film's quirky score has some decent presence to it in spots. Not a fancy mix, but it suits the movie and gets the job done without any issues.
Aside from static menus and chapter selection the disc contains no extra features.
The Final Word:
It would have been nice to get some extra features for The Thing With Two Heads, but that didn't happen. The movie itself is a blast, however, and it remains a ridiculously entertaining watch that translates to Blu-ray really nicely in an impressive transfer on this release from Olive Films.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
