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Jose Ramon Larraz Set - Blood Hunger (Arrow Video)

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  • #46
    The bit where the reviewer states his opinion of a film is one of the least important parts of a good review. That the reviewer has an ability to paint a picture of the film for the reader and an understanding of the films place among other films is the key thing for me. My taste in movies doesn't tally with Eberts at all but he was a must read for me. Such a pompous, lovable dude who wrote wonderfully and had a very obvious love of film.
    "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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    • #47
      I first encountered Ebert when I was a child -he gave a talk on b&w films on the CD-ROM Cinemania'97. Just as well, otherwise that lame running joke in Godzilla 98 would have made no sense!

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      • #48
        Originally posted by Matt H. View Post
        You don't read Ebert for his opinions on genre movies, he was the guy to listen to when it came to high quality dramas; he turned me on to countless excellent non-genre flicks that I otherwise would've ignored; when he gave something four stars it meant something. I never paid attention to his casual dismissal of horror and exploitation, it's really another world that he didn't understand and that's OK with me (although he was brilliant at making fun of bad movies too).
        What is it with people like him giving ratings out of 4 stars instead of the normal 5?

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        • #49
          Originally posted by fatboyslim142 View Post
          What is it with people like him giving ratings out of 4 stars instead of the normal 5?
          I like the 4 star system myself; that extra star starts to make things confusing.
          Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

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          • #50
            Originally posted by Matt H. View Post
            I like the 4 star system myself; that extra star starts to make things confusing.
            Why? Considering EVERYONE else does it out of 5 stars.

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            • #51
              Originally posted by fatboyslim142 View Post
              Why? Considering EVERYONE else does it out of 5 stars.
              No offense, but this kind of a dumb argument.
              Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

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              • #52
                I grew up with the Maltin guide which was a four-star system. If you are doing five stars, you might as well just do one to ten.

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                • #53
                  I was Home Alone last night and left to my own devices decided to have a double bill of vintage nastiness. Started with The Wild Pussycat which was tops and then followed it up with Whirlpool. Now Whirlpool has been on my to watch list for probably 20 years plus. I think I had a tape from maybe Midnight Video or a similar outfit but the quality was so poor that I didn't want to spoil the experience. I am a huge Larraz. His films feel so comfortably British but the content is so very Spanish. It's a wild combination.

                  I loved Whirlpool. Bit slow but it's Larraz, I expect that. The setup with the Aunt and her nephew luring beauties for 3somes is twisted in just the right Larrazzy sort of way. But what I like most was the sheer unwillingness for the humans in it to act any way like humans. Our heroine gets her clothes pulled off in the mud and thinks she's going to be raped and then in a couple scenes time she happily sits down for a drink with the guy and his aunt. Love it. Someone mentioned earlier that it was plotless and I do enjoy that about most Larraz films. A bunch of incoherent shit happens, then something very violent happens and then it ends. All while feeling quite stately and British.
                  Last edited by Dom D; 08-20-2022, 06:34 PM.
                  "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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                  • #54
                    Only saw Whirlpool the one time when I got the set, but I enjoyed it. My recollection is that the ending is ass (cut for the US release, maybe?) but that an alternate, extended ending was included as an extra and that it made a huge difference in my enjoyment.

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                    • #55
                      Originally posted by Marshall Crist View Post
                      Only saw Whirlpool the one time when I got the set, but I enjoyed it. My recollection is that the ending is ass (cut for the US release, maybe?) but that an alternate, extended ending was included as an extra and that it made a huge difference in my enjoyment.
                      I enjoyed the abruptness of the ending. Felt in keeping with the haphazard, series of nonsensical events, feel of the rest of the film. Do you recall how the alternate ending went?
                      "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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                      • #56
                        Sorry, I don't recall, and the disc is inaccessible at the moment. Some extra little bit of clarification to ease my button-down mind, I would guess.

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                        • #57
                          I just missed picking this up at a local store before someone else nabbed it and now it seems OOP online.

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                          • #58
                            Originally posted by Randy G View Post
                            I just missed picking this up at a local store before someone else nabbed it and now it seems OOP online.
                            The limited-edition set with the booklet has been OOP for a while but the standard edition set is still available from Arrow's store. They've got it listed as Jose Larraz Vol 1 though on their UK site for some godforsaken reason, so searching for Blood Hunger won't bring it up.

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                            • #59
                              The House That Vanished: I've seen this before but 25 years ago and, pleasingly, none of it had stuck. Essentially a first watch then. What a cracking little film. Everything one hopes for from a Larraz. Has it ever been released in a decent version? The copy I downloaded wasn't much of a step up from the old grey market tape I was stuck with way back when. I have to admit I did get a bit nostalgic watching a film with print damage and rolling green lines through it. It suited the film but, nevertheless, the film deserves better.
                              "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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                              • #60
                                Best version I'm aware of is the Dark Force release which is taken from a fairly ratty print (and missing about 9 minutes of footage to boot). There's a composite floating around of the Blu-Ray transfer with the missing footage slugged in from VHS - far from perfect but it'll do until another label steps in to do the job properly.

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