Category Archives: Blu-ray

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 2020 German Blu-ray review

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The 2020 German Blu-ray of Dario Argento’s debut giallo THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is uncut and includes English, German and Italian audio options, but no English subtitles (in fact, there are no subs at all).

The Packaging:

This single-disc edition comes in an Amaray case, the artwork is the same on both sides of the sleeve, the reverside is just free from the blue “FSK-16” age restriction label.

The image:

Colours are pleasant, perhaps a little over-saturated when compared to the previous home video presentations. Film grain looks natural and very well-resolved. The level of detail is impressive and there are no compression issues. Could the transfer be the same one that’s been used for the Arrow blu-ray?

The Disc Menu:

The disc starts with a menu screen for trailers of three PIDAX releases. These SD trailers are newly-created, sloppily edited affairs, none of them Argento-related.

Fairly boring main menu offers audio selection and the sub-menu lets you navigate the main film via eight chapter stops.

The extras:

  • original German-language cinema release cut of the film, taken from a shoddy SD master. This grubby, letterboxed and pretty much unwatchable mess is a reminder of how awful the older German DVD presentations of the film looked.
  • a slideshow of the film’s German lobby cards. This is the only enjoyable extra in HD. Nothing grounbreaking, but colourful and brief.
  • three international trailers for the main feature in standard def.

The 2020 PIDAX single Blu-ray edition of Dario Argento’s THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE is English-friendly offers the classic 1970s Italian thriller in a decent hi-def transfer but is thin on extras.

THE NEW YORK RIPPER Blu-Ray from The Ecstasy of Films delayed

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French HD premiere of Lucio Fulci’s THE NEW YORK RIPPER courtesy of The Ecstasy of Films has been pushed back to the16th of May 2020. In gestation for several years, this collector’s edition has finally taken the shape of an attractive mediabook Blu-ray/DVD combo, limited to 1200 copies. Apart from the trailer, soundtrack CD and a 40-page booklet (in French) by film experts Lionel Grenier and Alain Petit, the edition, includes the following supplements:

– Ripping Rememberances : an interview with Antonella Fulci (22min).

– Don’t Fear the Ripper : an interview with the film’s star Almanta Keller (26min).

– The Ripper Files : documentary featurette with supporting cast members Howard Ross, Barbara Cupisti et Zora Kerowa. (24min)

– La Musique du sang : An interview with Daniele De Gemini, directeur of Beat Records Company en Italie. (18min)

– Deux ou trois choses que je sais de Lucio… : an Inreview with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti. (20min)

– Le peintre du diable : An interview with artist Enzo Sciotti. (17min)

– 42nd Street Memories : The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Street directed by Calum Waddell (82min)

Artus films City of the Living Dead Blu-ray artwork revealed

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Following ZOMBIE and THE BEYOND, French label Arts films is due to release another essential Lucio Fulci shocker in HD. Known in France as FRAYEURS (‘Fear’), CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD is in some ways the most nightmarish and grotesque of all Fulci zombie films. Like the previous entries in their Lucio Fulci collection, this Blu-ray/DVD combo will include an 80-page booklet under the supervision of Fulci scholar Lionel Grenier.

Coming Soon: THE NEW YORK RIPPER Blu-Ray from The Ecstasy of Films

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Independent home video label The Ecstasy of Films is currently hard at work on the second title in their Lucio Fulci Collection. Following CONTRABAND (under its French title LA GUERRE DES GANGS), Fulci’s notoriously violent THE NEW YORK RIPPER (known in France as L’EVENTREUR DE NEW YORK) will be available as a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray in August 2018. What makes the release attractive to collectors is the inclusion of an 80-page booklet entitled L’Éventreur de New York – le giallo hard-gore et désespéré de Lucio Fulci (The New York Ripper – Lucio Fulci’s desperate hard-gore Giallo ).

This release, which is the film’s HD debut of in France, features the following extras:

– Ripping Rememberances : An interview with Antonella Fulci (22 mins).

–  42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Street » by Calum Waddell (82 mins),

– The Ripper Files: A documentary with three original cast members:Howard Ross, Barbara Cupisti and Zora Kerowa. (24 mins)

– La Musique du sang (“The music of blood”): An interview with Daniele De Gemini, head of the legendary Italian label Beat Records. (18 mins)

– Deux ou trois choses que je sais de Lucio… (“Two or three things I know about Lucio…”) : An interview with prolific screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (20 mins)

– Le peintre du diable (“The devilish painter”): An interview with poster artist Enzo Sciotti. (17 mins)

–  Exclusive booklet by Lionel Grenier (luciofulci.fr) : L’Éventreur de New York – le giallo hard-gore et désespéré de Lucio Fulci. The booklet gives an overview of the controversial film’s production and offers as in-depth analysis of this unforgettable giallo.

Source: www.luciofulci.fr

Artus Films THE BEYOND Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD

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Lucio Fulci fans and completists can now pre-order the Blu-ray/DVD combo of what many call Lucio Fulci’s ultimate masterpiece, the celebrated 1981 shocker THE BEYOND (known in France as L’AU-DELA) over at www.artusfilms.com.

Special Edition features:

–  Full uncut version from a 2K restored master
–  An 80-pages booklet «La Louisiane, territoire des morts (“Louisiana, territory of the dead”) with contributions by various French film critics supervised by Lionel Grenier (luciofulci.fr)
– Various extras

 

Artus Films unleashes Fulci’s zombies on Blu-Ray in France

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Legendary independent French home video label Artus Films is bringing Italian gore maestro’s most beloved shockers to High Definition in a Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray/DVD combo. The Lucio Fulci Collection is launched with the release of ZOMBIE, known in France as L’ENFER DES ZOMBIES. This edition boasts a fresh transfer from a 2K scan. The eagerly awaited release, originally announced for September 2017 (it took longer due to extra restoration work) includes an 80-page booklet entitled Fulci, zombies et opportunisme : quand les morts-vivants ont envahi le cinéma italien (“Fulci, zombies and opportunism: when the living dead took over Italian cinema”) featuring contributions by French film critics under the supervision of Lionel Grenier (the man behind the excellent luciofulci.fr website )

Bonus features include newly produced interviews with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti and makeup artist Maurizio Trani. This region B locked release features Italian and French audio options and removable French subtitles. Artus is set to bring out THE BEYOND and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD special editions later in the year.