What are you watching?

[mjeon]

You mean those films weren't really Russian?

[agent999]

Agent999: "Did you ever buy films from Trevor Barley?"

A name to reckon with. I bought quite a bit from him through the mail. He also put out a number of interesting magazines like Sinerama and MPEG, which only seemed to run an issue or two.; and of course the hilariously misogynistic Fantom Kiler films. Is there any news of him?

I haven't heard anything of him for a while. The website seems to have stopped being active. I guess the mail order game was over when people could just easily import for themselves. He put the Dalek in his warehouse to good use in his Dalek porn movie (which made tabloid headlines) in 2005!

[mjeon]

Agent999: "Did you ever buy films from Trevor Barley?"

A name to reckon with. I bought quite a bit from him through the mail. He also put out a number of interesting magazines like Sinerama and MPEG, which only seemed to run an issue or two.; and of course the hilariously misogynistic Fantom Kiler films. Is there any news of him?

[Cody Layne]

Congo: Checked out Vinegar Syndrome's new 4K/Blu-Ray release today. First off, I really enjoy this flick. A lot of people consider it stupid or silly, but I think it's a really fun adventure, with likable characters, a great music score, and awesome creature effects by Stan Winston. As for this release, the picture quality was awesome and the special features were very interesting, though I wish there could've been more. It was nice seeing people who worked with Winston talk about making the gorillas, along with those who played them and what they went through to do so, as well as some talk about the makeup effects, but it would've been nice to see some new interviews with some of the actors and filmmakers. There is a 24-minute featurette from the year it was made that has them, which is nice, but you always wish for retrospective interviews. Still, for my money, this edition is worth it.

[s.chivers]

I didn't know there were other cuts of Torso. I've only seen the version on the very old Anchor Bay DVD do I need to hunt down another or is that one enough?

There are definitely two versions on the Blue Underground blu ray but I think the differences are primarily to the credit sequence. I did notice some very obvious and pretty ropey gore inserts at the weekend but it’s been a hundred years since I watched the Anchor Bay disk, so perhaps they were there all along, I really don’t know. Whatever the differences may be, I think they’re minimal. The only reason I upgraded was for the improved picture quality. There are probably more extras on the later releases but obviously people attribute different value to that sort of thing.

[Dom D]

I didn't know there were other cuts of Torso. I've only seen the version on the very old Anchor Bay DVD do I need to hunt down another or is that one enough?

[s.chivers]

Torso, selected from a shortlist with the aid of a web-based, random number generator.

I’ve always loved Martino’s gialli, albeit I would take Signora Wardh, All the Colours of the Dark and The Case of the Scorpion’s Tale over this one. That’s just personal preference though.

Watching it last night for the first time in a number of years, it really is a superbly executed thriller, largely devoid of the pacing problems and awkward comedy we often see in gialli from this period. In some respects it feels more like a slasher than a giallo, though it absolutely is the latter. Perhaps one does not exclude the other.

Highlights . . . the cinematography is great, the kill scene in the woods is among the best in the giallo canon and I like the conceit by which our final girl finds herself trapped in an isolated villla. The beautiful locations - I think this was shot in and around Perugia - also contribute greatly to the whole.

We watched the Italian ‘Carnal Violence’ cut courtesy of the Blue Underground disk. It looked pretty good to my eyes, with the exception of the aforementioned scene in the woods. I realise there is a 4k release and might pick that up somewhere down the line

[f.ramses]

The King of the Kongo – A CIA agent is sent to investigate lost gold, caravan robberies, and the now missing agent previously sent to do this. It says it’s a sound production but is really half sound and half silent, sometimes you can hear people and other times there are intertitles. The main draw was a younger Boris Karloff in a lead but also the restoration itself since it seems like an impressive effort. There is a decently long explanation of the flaws at the beginning that set expectations low and while you can notice some of what was done the presentation is pretty nice. Haven’t seen a serial since I was like 10 and it was about what I remember with it’s cliffhanger endings that change slightly at the beginning of the next episode, just like the Annie Wilkes character in Misery or that Hulu series rants about.

The Shining – Got some snow yesterday so I put this on as I often do. This time I did some scan of a well worn 35mm open matte print and while in some shots you can see how it was definitely not intended to be seen this way I overall really liked seeing it this way. The amount of times you saw things like equipment was shockingly low and the extra space really seemed to add to the atmosphere of an already great movie.

La Polizia Sta a Guardare – I found this to be pretty meh like these movies usually are, there just isn’t much action and they feel so long, but I had to get it to finally see because I like the soundtrack a lot. The new guy at the police station starts investigating a kidnapping ring and it all ends predictably, car chase and all.

[s.chivers]

Used to do Camden a lot. Did you ever buy films from Trevor Barley? I used to go to his fortnightly Videotheques where he opened up his warehouse.

The Prince Charles is under threat now, bloody landlords. There isn't another cinema that comes close to it programming-wise.

I did indeed, and I attended a couple of his Videotechques. I also remember film fairs in . . . Kings Cross? It’s a long time ago now, obviously.

[agent999]

We probably attended some of the same screenings, film fairs and the like.

Used to do Camden a lot. Did you ever buy films from Trevor Barley? I used to go to his fortnightly Videotheques where he opened up his warehouse.

The Prince Charles is under threat now, bloody landlords. There isn't another cinema that comes close to it programming-wise.

[s.chivers]

Ha, yes I'm an ageing fart too. Watched the European version of the pilot the other night as well, just need to schedule in the other 40-odd hours! Fond memories of living in and around London in the nineties and watching Lynch films at the Prince Charles.

We probably attended some of the same screenings, film fairs and the like.

[agent999]

Twin Peaks

Following his death I was asked to name my favourite David Lynch film and responded that I would take the first season of Twin Peaks over any of them. Watching the pilot again last night reaffirmed that - it’s dreamy, seductive and captivating from the very first moments. I was also struck by how well acted it is, particularly by some of the younger members of the cast.

Full disclosure, I’m old enough to have watched this when it was first broadcast and revisiting it now - I think for the fourth time - was like stepping into the past. More broadly, it occurred to me that it’s a cornerstone of Gen X culture - if that makes any sense - as evocative of that time and sensibility as the early novels of Bret Easton Ellis, the early films of Tarantino and the alt rock of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and a handful of others.

Ha, yes I'm an ageing fart too. Watched the European version of the pilot the other night as well, just need to schedule in the other 40-odd hours! Fond memories of living in and around London in the nineties and watching Lynch films at the Prince Charles.

[s.chivers]

Twin Peaks

Following his death I was asked to name my favourite David Lynch film and responded that I would take the first season of Twin Peaks over any of them. Watching the pilot again last night reaffirmed that - it’s dreamy, seductive and captivating from the very first moments. I was also struck by how well acted it is, particularly by some of the younger members of the cast.

Full disclosure, I’m old enough to have watched this when it was first broadcast and revisiting it now - I think for the fourth time - was like stepping into the past. More broadly, it occurred to me that it’s a cornerstone of Gen X culture - if that makes any sense - as evocative of that time and sensibility as the early novels of Bret Easton Ellis, the early films of Tarantino and the alt rock of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and a handful of others.

[Randy G]

I also enjoyed The Case of the Bloody Iris although I saw it during a giallo binge and is a bit blurry in my memory.

Martino's gialli are terrific fun.

[s.chivers]

Case Of The Bloody Iris is absolutely top tier for me. Maybe my favourite. The pacingis not perfect and the comedy cops are a bit trying but it's so definitively giallo for me. And the photography is just gorgeous.

I had a great time with it and will doubtless dig out more gialli in the coming weeks. I upgraded some Martino gialli to blu ray a few years back but never got around to watching them, so maybe now is the time.