Hey worldweirders, enjoy this little smidgen of sicko Xmas cheer. WWC will be back in full force with new reviews and news next year!

DE ESPALDAS
"Backs Turned"
aka CUBAN CONFIDENTIAL
Cuba, 1956
Directed and Produced by Mario Barral
Screenplay by Mario Barral, Francisco Pazos, Francisco Forcade, Oscar Luis Lopez
Cinematography by Manuel S. Conde
Edited by Michael Cerone
Music by Jose de Aguilera
CAST:
Emilio G. Navarro
Maria Brenes
Jose de San Anton
Manuel Estanillo
Armando Martinez

A man awakens to find his mood troubled. While walking to work he unknowingly wanders into a graveyard and so begins an existential musing that lasts for the rest of the day and the film. Mostly he aimlessly wanders the streets, constantly asking himself ‘Why?” when stumbling across social injustice. He ponders the evils of sick children, poverty and Marxism. At one point he flashes back to a fortune teller and her witchy words make him believe he has power over life and death. He informs a dying boy that he will not die after all, only to hear mere seconds later that the child has gone and croaked anyway. This does nothing to alleviate his mood. While stopping outside a prison, a warden appears and asks him to speak with a man condemned to die. It is his last wish to speak with the first man the warden comes across. The doomed man explains that his only real crime is being ugly, and therefore impossible to believe when he claims he did not murder his beautiful lover. Our hero does believe him and comes away more convinced than ever of the hopelessness of the world. Which is only further exasperated by a chance meeting with a random floozy (perhaps prostitute – the narrative is unclear) with whom he tries to make sense of the days events before her angry husband comes home to beat her in what appears to be a daily ritual. All his sadness and misery are solved, conveniently, by his return home. Met by his adoring children and maid-like wife, our man in Havana is welcomed by the warm embrace of family, of middle-class life and most importantly perhaps, of television. The films ends with the entire family gathered around its hearth-like glow, entranced by its angst-easing flicker. In an odd and ostensibly poetic bit of casting, his family are all played by the same actors who portrayed the various shady characters encountered in his long’s days journey into TV-illuminated night.

DE ESPALDAS has serious artistic aspirations. It’s full of 50s European-esque arty angst a la Bergman or Italian neo-realism, but it just doesn’t work. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still an entertaining and interesting movie. Just not for the reasons it is intended for. The hero’s completely ridiculous voice-over monologues seem almost like a parody of existential navel-gazing, it’s so over the top and full of square-jaw sincerity. Despite its utter seriousness of intent, it comes across completely comedic. The English dubbing may have something to do with this, sounding as though it were recorded through a megaphone rather than a microphone. The music, too, seems at odds with the grave events unfolding. It’s a swath of typically 50s sounding library cues more at home in a pirate adventure movie than a film about a man touring through the suffering of the world. It creates an unintentional frisson which works in spite of itself, but only though an unhealthy veil of snickering irony. The film’s best moments are the hand-held street scenes, particularly a lively street carnival, filled with outrageous, campy costumes. Meant to represent the main character’s disorientation, it the only time when the movie feels alive and in it’s own skin. The rest of the movie, with all it’s labored conscientiousness, feels a bit off, a bit fake. There’s also a palpable, and uncomfortable, feeling of propaganda about the whole thing. The condemnation of the socialist organizers, for instance, or in the film’s obvious pro-US middle class values of the finale. It’s weird and disconcerting and makes the whole thing even more interesting, despite the blatant flaws of the film on its own terms.

Little information is available about Director Mario Barral. He appears to have died in 2000, only two years before his son, Rolando Barral, himself a media celebrity in the Miami Cuban exile community. Mario worked mostly in radio, television and theater in pre-revolutionary Cuba during the 40s and 50s. He was the head of CMQ, Cuba’s largest and most successful television studio during the medium’s infancy. After the revolution, Barral made his way to Miami where he continued to work in Spanish language media, even publishing a series of poetry books and writing and producing several plays. DE ESPALDAS was his first film. His second, and last, is CON EL DESEO EN LOS DEDOS (“With Desire in the Fingers”), an even more obscure film which reportedly never played outside Cuba, LOS DEDOS is described by an IMDB reviewer as “one of the serious attempts of making a(n) … erotic film in Cuba in the late 50's”. But judging from this one available film, Barral was no natural film-maker. ESPALDAS is mostly stilted and crude, exuding only a whiff of cinematic poetry here and there. Obviously an attempt to make a serious “art film” ESPALDAS is compromised by Barral’s limitations as a director and by the awkward propagandic impulses bubbling just underneath the film’s surface. Something Weird Video has this film available as either a VHS (this is how I saw it) or a DVD-R. In typical exploitation ballyhoo fashion their catalog drastically oversells it, describing it as a “lost art film masterpiece” or a “bargain basement Bunuel”. It’s neither, though still of interest to those wanting to dig into the often obscure world of South American cinema.

Special Thanks to David Wilt for additional biographical info.

Mondo Macabro has done it again. They’ve uncovered a mostly unknown and completely unique film and given it the red carpet, 5-star treatment. BORN OF FIRE is an imperfect film, but is such a bizarre and visually stimulating piece that its faults dissipate quickly from your mind. A mystic-minded horror-fantasy with a healthy dollop of art-film gravitas, BORN bends and slinks around most of your “normal” preconceptions of genre or mainstream narrative. Its Islamic context gives it a refreshing texture that is effortlessly exotic (it would make a fine double feature with another Islamic art-horror: Kutlug Ataman’s THE SERPENT'S TALE). The film carries you along by magick and music, by imagination and emotion rather than plot, which is somewhat weak. A concert flautist’s chance meeting with a mysterious woman takes him unexpectedly to Turkey to investigate the circumstances of his father’s death. His father had gone to Turkey to study under “The Master Musician”, a man of supernatural musical talents who is somehow responsible for his death. This investigation leads to obscure revelations concerning the end of the world by excessive solar and volcanic activity. Our hero must prevent this occurrence by a musical dual with the Master, who, it turns out, is essentially Satan.

The synopsis above does not, and cannot, possibly convey the impact this movie has. It’s full of weird and mysterious events which make little or no logical or narrative sense: a woman stoned to death by flowers instead of rocks, a djinn who responds to a sung Muslim prayer by shooting flames from his eyes, a vulture crashing through a shattered windshield on a rainy London night, the hero’s mysterious woman-friend, possessed by the djinn sends a steam of menstrual blood down her leg into a salt-water pool which later becomes a cocoon containing a monstrous moth that somehow causes her death when it hatches. Taken apart, these events hardly attach themselves to the “save the world by atoning for the sins of the father” thrust of the BORN’s plot. Taken together, with the other-worldly ambiance which seems to seep subconsciously into your mind, these images and many others like them form the dream-like corpus of the movie. Your perception abandons the narrative and floats along this metaphysical, surreal visual stream. Occasionally the spell is broken, mostly by clunky, tin-eared dialog (“The music originates here. The fire is its source” for one example) which reads almost like poetry on paper but sounds insufferably pretentious when voiced aloud by the actors. And the plot itself sometimes comes off half-baked, as though perhaps compromises during the film’s production limited the material that could be filmed, giving it an unintended ambiguity. But ultimately, ambiguity is OK with me, as long as the film itself is interesting enough to carry it through. BORN OF FIRE is, if nothing else, very interesting.

The DVD is total aces. The 1.85:1 widescreen presentation is spot on and beautiful. I could find no fault in it. A ton of relevant extras round out this great release, most notably three interviews with cast and crew. Director Jamil Dehalavi discusses his career and BORN OF FIRE in particular in great detail which is gives the film some nice context. As an aside I might point out that Dehalavi seems to agree with me about the dialog, insisting that you could do away with it and not adversely affect the film. Peter Firth is next and is very charming, and although proud of the movie seems still a little befuddled by it. Perhaps the best interview is with Nabil Shaban, who plays a deformed dwarf who in some ways becomes the main character of the movie. He seems to be one of the few people to be able to give a comprehensive answer to questions concerning what the film is actually all about. I’m not sure I agree with him 100% but his views are articulate and entertaining. Shaban is wild-eyed and enthusiastic throughout, discussing his career and the film with contagious affection. Highly informative, if rather brief and to the point, text pages by MM CEO Pete Tombs plaster you with further details about the movie, its production and cast. A VHS sourced trailer completes the package, along with the always-there MM preview reel, which sadly has not been updated to include this movie, their previous release GRADIVA or the upcoming SADIST WITH RED TEETH. All in all, this is a delirious and wonderful film let down somewhat by its own story, but is given an amazing and well-rounded DVD presentation so that thousands more people can make up their own minds about it.

From Onar HQ, the News!

Dig the Details:



ALTIN COCUK (THE GOLDEN BOY)
If there was something the Turks were great at- besides Superhero adaptations- that sure was Spy special treatments. ALTIN COCUK was such a hit in 1966 that spawned 3 sequels in no time thus rendering the title hero more successful and cult than Mr. Bond himself! Luckily, the last surviving materials were found in pretty good condition, securing convenient entertainment through this worldwide DVD premiere.

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CELLAT (TURKISH DEATH WISH)!

Country: Turkey
Year: 1966
Director: Memduh Un
Actors: Goksel Arsoy, Altan Gunbay, Sevda Nur, Reha Yurdakul

FEATURES:
ULTRA-LIMITED EDITION OF 500 numbered copies
Turkish audio with English & Greek subs
Dolby Digital 2.0
INTERVIEW with Altan Gunbay
TURKISH INTRIGUE (Article on Turkish Spy Films)
Spy Films Selected Filmography
Poster Insert
Photogallery
Biographies
Filmographies
NEW Trailers (A Newly-discovered, considered lost, KILINK film, PLUS another LOST gem, RINGO GESTAPO'YA KARSI!! Both trailers will premier exclusively on this DVD and nowhere else!!)

Richard Stanley’s HARDWARE finally makes its debut on DVD (as well as Blu-Ray) after a decade or more of legal entanglements have kept in video limbo. Though it may have been a long time in coming, the wait is well worth it. Severin has pulled together a generous amount of supplemental material and has remastered the picture itself to perfection. HARDWARE is a cacophonous and kaleidoscopic apocalypse thriller which veers from flesh-ripping gore to dreamy idyll with disturbing ease. Set in a bleak future made terminal not by a single holocaust but by many and varied Armageddons, Stanley’s film depicts the struggles of two primary characters, Mo (Dylan McDermott) and Jill (Stacy Travis) to connect with each other amidst the rubble. Making this connection ever more complicated is the android killing machine that Mo, a post-industrial scrap-metal scavenger, has brought home in pieces as a Xmas present for Jill, a post-industrial scrap-metal sculptor. Unbeknownst to either of them, this killbot (officially known as MARK 13) is actually still operational, and what’s more, has a rather precocious talent for rebuilding itself. You can see where this is going I’m sure. Add in healthy doses of hallucinatory drugs, slimy voyeurs, nosy dwarfs, GWAR concert footage, lots of saws and drills and therefore also barrelfuls of blood and you have the makings of an exhilarating if not always coherent film explosion.

But coherency is not really what Stanley is after here. Delirium is the standing order of the day, and a fractal sort of sensory reaction to all the bloodspurting and metal-crawling. Highly influenced by Dario Argento and other Italian horror directors, Stanley is aiming after the same kind of disorienting effects those maestros so effortlessly achieve. He is drowning you is visceral details, loud music and vivid neon color schemes to plunge you into a heightened and fugue-like state of mind. He’s trying to alter the chemicals in your brain, and he does a damn fine job of it. The movie doesn’t work as well as a simple exercise in sci-fi or horror. Structurally, it’s quite messy. Before you know it, you’re smack dab in the middle of the violent climax of the film less than an hour into it, which then lasts the rest of the running time (in the audio commentary Stanley remarks that this is deliberate and an homage to a similar structure used in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2). This explodes the three-act structure and its inherent means of generating suspense giving you no choice but to experience the movie in very different frame of mind. The film works more as a hallucinatory experience than a standard thriller. HARDWARE is as much a drug as it is a film. It tosses around your perceptions wildly, from moody synth soundscapes over red-tinted desert skies to flesh-ripping animated mechanical debris and clutter scored to Ministry songs, from evoking Hindu gods and New Testament apocalypses to paranoid musings on what terrors the Military-Industrial complex may hold in store for us.

But there is a point to all this, all this shredding and screaming and brutal android-human interface: HARDWARE is all about humanity’s death wish. About those suicidal drives which collectively embroil us in wars, which make us disregard the ecological effects of our lifestyles or which treat other human beings as nothing but playthings for our own shallow pleasures. A plot thread running almost underneath the events of the picture involves a government population control program meant to sterilize people in order to bring a halt to deformities and mutations. Mo and Jill themselves struggle over whether or not to have children and whether or not there is some justification for this eugenics program. As Stanley points out in the interview in this set, the HARDWARE world is one where extreme right wing elements have taken over, but with the total complicity of the population. In this vision of the future, everyone is in on the End of the World, not just some faceless masters. MARK 13 is the physical, mechanical embodiement of these suicidal drives, an insectile murder machine crowned by a literal death’s head. While Mo may not have known consciously what he was bringing home to Jill and while she may not have understood why she was so attracted to it, their own suicidal drives are in full operation here, making them as much a part of the horror that follows as the makers of the deathdroid. “This is what you want/ this is what you get.”

As stated above, it’s taken HARDWARE awhile to become available in the DVD era. Its digital debut makes quite the splash however, easily besting any previous home video incarnations. It is presented uncut for the first time ever in these here United States in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio that is just spot on. The transfer is gorgeous and it’s all “flagged for progressive playback” and whatever. It looks great, it’s all here and that’s all you really need to know about that. Now on to the extras! While not quite as comprehensive or exhaustive as Subversive’s 5-disc version of Stanley’s masterpiece DUST DEVIL, Severin has given us an incredible selection of bonus features which make this 2-discer easily one of the best releases of the year. On disc one in addition to the marvelous feature itself there’s a highly informative audio commentary with Richard Stanley hosted by DVD producer Norm Hill. It covers the background of the film, where the ideas came from and various minutia involved in the production. Stanley seems a little reticent on the commentary, basically saying in fact that he doesn’t enjoy such things, and so often his commentary seems a little stilted or self-conscious. No matter, it’s a must-listen for fans of the film. Expanding on this is an impressive and very thorough (though oddly McDermott is not involved) ‘making-of’ featurette boasting brand new interviews with producers, cast and crew. It seems Mr. Stanley was only 22 when he made this movie and to make it the producers had to coax him out of Afghanistan where he was fighting the Russians with the Mujahedeen! Incredible! A side interview with just Stanley illuminates the question of an aborted sequel to HARDWARE and these features are rounded out with a German trailer, a vintage promotional video featuring brief interviews with Stanley, McDermott and Travis as well as a selection of rare extended and deleted scenes. It’s all great stuff.

But really we’re just getting started with the special features! Severin have included three short films to sweeten the deal, and they are all well worth a watch. RITES OF PASSAGE is an 8mm short made while Stanley was only a teenager in South Africa. While as crude and primitive as you might expect it to be, it also contains strong indications of the visionary film-maker he would soon become. A tale of reincarnation, suicide and consciousness expansion RITES mostly follows a pre-historic man on a hunting expedition. Great use of desolate African locations and local wildlife give it a radical verite. The young director builds a bizarre, almost mystic atmosphere and winds things up with a healthy dollop of gore. At the other end of this spectrum is his most recent fiction production: a short, poetic sci-fi called SEA OF PERDITION, which involves a female astronaut exploring an alien world with psychedelic consequences. Made on digital video, it looks wonderful and has great production values, although I must admit I’m rather prejudiced and think it would have looked much better if it had been made on film. But then I’m a relic of the 20th century living in the 21st. Another 8mm film INCIDENTS IN AN EXPANDING UNIVERSE gives a useful peek at the origins of HARDWARE in its earliest, most crude form. What these short films prove, beyond a doubt, is that Richard Stanley is natural born film-maker and one of the few contemporary directors to possess anything like a real artistic vision.

This DVD set is absolutely aces and well deserving of your hard-earned cash. It’s also out on Blu-Ray so if you incline to that format, that’s probably the way to go. But the movie and the set are not perfect however. The movie’s faults can mostly be attributed to Stanley’s novice status as a screenwriter, as some of the dialog, especially early on, is a little akward. A few cheesy moments here and there also break up the magick somewhat. In a scene featuring a cameo appearance from Motorhead’s Lemmy, the grizzled metal legend entertains the main character by playing him a quick sample of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead! Really? And as far as the DVD presentation, a little more information or interviews about the short films would be useful to put them in the wider context of Stanley’s career. But these are only minor quibbles for what is otherwise an astonishing film and a revelatory digital presentation. No sci-fi, horror, cult or international cinema fan should be without this release in whatever format they can get their hands on.

OUT MARCH 30, 2010!!!

It's with barely contained excitement that Worldweird Cinema brings you the big scoop on the next MM DVD release! It will be none other than Belgian director Jean-Louis Van Belle's lost vampire opus THE SADIST WITH RED TEETH! We've wanted to check out this Jean Rollin-influenced poetic horror cheapie since first reading about some years ago in the essential book IMMORAL TALES. And now we will get our chance to gaze firsthand at this rarity! Making this even more mouth-watering is that it will be a double feature! Van Belle's mondoesque (and even more rare) FORBIDDEN PARIS is also included! That's just too much obscure Euro-ecstasy for us to handle! Also to be included in the package will be a new documentary about Mr. Van Belle as well video introductions to the two films by the director. No idea yet when this will bow, but here's some quick screenshots to get you in the mood.






For more info, here's a previous Mondo Macabro blog post all about Jean-Louis. And of course here's his IMDB page, for what it's worth. More info will be presented here when we have it!!

Coming Next Year, the fourth in Mondo Vision's spectacular series of Andrzej Zulawski Special Edition DVDs! Stay tuned for further details.

More upcoming R1 DVD stuff that you should consider checking out!

L'AMOUR BRAQUE (Mondo Vision) Out 10-15-2009


ART OF LOVE (Severin) Out 11-24-2009


BLADE OF THE RIPPER (Mya) Out 1-26-2010


DESIRABLE TEACHER (Mya) Out 1-26-2010


DUSAN MAKAVAJEV, FREE RADICAL (Eclipse/Criterion) Out 10-13-2009


GOODBYE GEMINI (Scorpion) Out 2-23-2010


HUMAN COBRAS (Mya) Out 11-24-2009


HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE (Mya) Out 11-24-2009


THE LADY MEDIC (Mya) Out 11-24-2009


THE LAST DECAMERON (Mya) Out 11-24-2009


MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE (JRH Films) Out 10-29-2009


PETS (Code Red) Out 10-06-2009


THE REAL EMANUELLE (Mya) Out 11-24-2009


RITUALS (Code Red) Out 11-17-2009


SATAN'S WIFE (Mya) Out 1-26-2010


SCHOOLGIRL REPORT: WHAT PARENTS WOULD GLADLY HUSH UP (Impulse) Out 1-26-2010


SEX ADVICE (Mya) Out 1-26-2010

NIGHTMARE CASTLE (Italy, 1965)


NIGHTMARE CASTLE is but one of many titles for Mario Caino’s 1965 Italian Gothic AMANTI D’OLTRETOMBA which translates more or less to “Lovers Beyond the Grave”. Home video has been awash in substandard versions of this terrific chiller for many years but this marks the first release to treat it with any manner of respect. The film itself is a total classic of its type. While suffering perhaps when placed next to other extraordinary examples of the genre from the same era like THE WHIP AND THE BODY or MILL OF THE STONE WOMAN, NIGHTMARE has just enough surreal heat to it to make the film a near-visionary experience some 40+ years after its initial theatrical exposure. The story is a mish-mash of gothic elements - some supernatural, some bordering on sci-fi and some purely sadistic/sexual. Paul Muller is a scientist married to a rich heiress (the incomparable Barbara Steele) who finds an escape from her husband’s cool contempt in the sweaty arms of a manservant. Catching the illicit lovers in the act Muller imprisons them and tortures both unto death. He marries again, this time to Jenny, his late wife’s stepsister who bares a remarkable resemblance to her doomed predecessor (also played by Steele). It isn’t too long before Jenny’s fragile mental state becomes the vehicle for an obsessive spectral revenge which ensnares the entire household.

AMANTI sags a bit in its middle section, wallowing in sometimes tedious gothic melodrama, but for the most part the film is enflamed with twisted emotions and surreal detail. In an unearthly dream sequence Jenny is menaced by a bizarre faceless murderer and in another scene a do-gooder psychiatrist uncovers a tank containing two human hearts, both pierced by an ornate dagger. Caino films the lush interiors of the Château with a monolithic sense of space, with its baroque designs seeming to enclose oppressively around Jenny as her mind begins to splinter. While the story is mostly by-the-numbers there is a truly obsessive air about the whole thing, an unhealthy atmosphere that hints at something kinky, something abnormal and terrifying. The wonderful performances of Muller and Steele, not to mention the great Helga Liné - who plays Muller’s scheming maid/mistress, fix the film’s flimsier elements to the ground, making it psychologically rich even as the story occasionally stumbles into cliché. The sum total adds up to something greater than its individual elements making NIGHTMARE CASTLE an altogether remarkable film.

Severin’s visual presentation of this gloomy and stark psychodrama easily trumps all previous home video incarnations. It looks as crisp and clean as anyone could possibly hope for. A few instances of damage look as though they probably originate on the negative itself and are not flaws of the transfer. It looks freaking stunning. Two interviews highlight the extras. Barbara Steele’s interview is highly entertaining as she animatedly takes us on a guided verbal tour of her career. She’s a wonderful storyteller and still looks remarkable after all these years. The other is with Director Mario Caino who comes off very sweet and grandfatherly (in her interview Steele speaks highly of Caino). It’s mostly a quick behind-the-scenes view of the making of this movie rather than a career retrospective which would have been nice. As it stands this feature is great to have but possesses little real depth. Two trailers, a UK version under the title NIGHT OF THE DOOMED and the US variant under this current moniker, are featured with the former looking nearly as good as the film itself and the latter looking much like the PD versions of NIGHTMARE we’ve been scorned with all these years. This is one of the year’s best DVDs. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not having it in your collection.


DOOR INTO SILENCE (Italy, 1991)


Melvin Deavereax is on his way home from a business meeting in New Orleans. Along the way he stops in at his father’s gravesite. Speaking aloud to the tomb he thanks him for teaching him that “Nothing can stop me. Nothing.” Well, one shouldn’t tempt fate. Melvin (a puffy, tired-looking John Savage) finds the long route back to his rural home impeded by a number of increasingly bizarre and frustrating obstacles: roads out of service, overzealous police, ancient wooden bridges on the verge of falling apart, flooded roads and a mysterious woman who attempts to seduce our pudgy, middle aged leading man for obscure reasons and then promptly disappears. Melvin finds himself caught, with the setting sun constantly blazing in his eyes, along the dusty back roads of Louisiana, not lost exactly, but unable to reach his destination. His most formidable obstacle on the road turns out to be a hearse, whose driver aggressively refuses to let Melvin pass him. In his increasingly fractured state of mind Melvin begins to suspect that somehow, in someway the body in the back of that hearse might be his own …

This 1991 production was Director Lucio Fulci’s last completed film. It’s a shame, then, that his name doesn’t even appear in the credits as it is thematically very much of a piece with most of his filmography. Fulci’s best work features an over-riding and existential concern with death. And DOOR INTO SILENCE is one of clearest investigations into this murky and morbid realm. That it was made only a few years before his own death only increases the morbid fascination. DOOR has a nightmarish quality to it. Not in the usual booga-booga horror film fashion, but in the manner of an actual nightmare - the kind where you feel trapped in an endless loop of incomprehensible events. The movie is so successful in creating this atmosphere that it threatens tediousness at times – you will start to feel like you can’t escape these events either. Overall, it’s a good little film, but it does tend to drag a bit. It has been noted by some that DOOR resembles a TWILIGHT ZONE episode, and I would agree and offer the criticism that this movie might have fared better as a short work, an hour or less perhaps. That said, it has it fascinations and I found myself mostly enthralled by the film's depiction of dying as an endless labyrinth of backwoods roads and decrepit bridges.

Sadly there are no context-providing extras on this release in order to elaborate on these interesting themes. No essays, nor bios, not anything, not even a trailer have found there way onto this disc. In some way this is not surprising. DOOR INTO SILENCE is a production by the Italian company Filmirage, headed up by exploitation guru Aristide Mannaccassi (aka Joe D’Amato), and like most of their output, was mostly intended for the US video market. As such this fly-by-night production probably just doesn’t yield much material for extras. Cast with American actors and shot in sync sound mostly on US soil, these very Italian movies were passed off as cheap American productions, hence the embarrassing pseudonym credits. Certainly the film looks very much like a made-for-cable movie by LA producers and as such there are limits to how good this DVD presentation could look. It is presented correctly in a full-frame transfer that while sharp and colorful enough isn’t going to wow anyone with it brilliant visual prowess. But still, it’s good to finally have Fulci’s last film widely available and all fans of the notorious auteur will do well to pick it up at their soonest conveniance.


THE SINFUL DWARF (Denmark, 1974)


Do you really need to know the plot of THE SINFUL DWARF? I would argue: you do not. The point of this sleazy 70s Danish production is only to wallow in filth and depravity, not to enlighten you with a clever narrative. There is almost no narrative to THE SINFUL DWARF, just a series of crudely hilarious events edited together with an ostensible intent to arouse, I suppose. But it is quite a lot of fun as long as you understand it to be a deliberately ugly film experience. The movie is constantly shoving distorted and hideous faces at you in extreme close-ups, not least of all, the Sinful Dwarf himself, the amazing Torbin Bille. This movie loves and fetishes his ugly mug like Von Sternberg loved and fetishized Marlene Deitrich’s striking visage. With his unnerving, diabolical giggle and bulged, hate-spewing eyes, Torbin towers over this meager production like the superstar he should have been. Mr. Bille certainly could have eaten Weng Weng for breakfast and withered Herve Villechez with a single demented glare. This is easily the greatest “little person” performance in cinema history. Yeah, that’s right, I said it! The only other thing that can compete with him in this movie is the complete loveliness of actress Anne Sparrow, or more to the point, the complete loveliness of Ms. Sparrow’s tits, which are spectacular and unsheathed through a good chunk of the movie.

Other high points include the astonishing electronic-drone soundtrack by Ole Ørsted (Where’s the CD of this, Severin?), Clara Keller’s off-the-rails performance as the sinful dwarf’s sinful aging diva mother and an unusual and almost spastic editing scheme which keeps the sleaze from becoming too redundant. It’s redundancy that looms over this picture like a gray cloud. There’s just not enough elements to construct a full cinematic narrative on, even a z-grade exploitation narrative. Thus the films attempts to get by on its grotesque charms and mostly does so, though hints of boredom crop up from time to time. The three performers highlighted above excepted, this movie is woefully acted, mostly by stiff leading man Tony Eades, whose wooden whine grates after only a few seconds of screen time. And for God’s sake please don’t expect stunning or even interesting cinematography as it is perfunctory at best. But as all fans of “bad” movies know, these detriments can further the far-out experience of such trash films, reaching out into almost surreal levels of ineptitude and idiocy. DWARF isn’t really that bad, but should still pleasurably get under the skin of any z-grade cinema devotee.

Severin unleashes this trash in a respectable manner, presenting it in an open-matte full-frame presentation that preserves its original aspect ratio. The video quality is as good as it probably could be for a 16mm production now over 35 years old. Grain is ever-present, but then it should be there, and the colors look rather strong if not all that sharp. But, if you’ve ever seen Something Weird’s old VHS tape you’ll be very happy with the improvements made here. While the film is “uncut” there is an alternate hardcore version released by Severin in partnership with Private Screenings/CAV. I have not seen this version and so could not illuminate for you the precise differences for each sex scene. Sadly, the extras on this DVD are not what one might want or expect for this film. I would have loved for Severin to fill in the gaps on the background of this formerly obscure Danish production or at least given a text bio of the extraordinary Torbin Bille. Instead all we get is two old radio spots, one color-drained trailer under the alternate title ABDUCTED BRIDE (which actually pretty cool) and a 10 or so minute featurette originally passed around the net detailing a phony “controversy” around Severin’s descision to release this admittedly questionable film. It’s pretty funny, but something more substantial would have been nice. Still, I like this movie and feel grateful to have a DVD of it at all, so these faults are easily overlooked.

Just thought you should know,our great friends at Sinematik are offering more English subtitled Turkish wonders at their Ebay store. You get a brand new VCD copy of the film, a DVD-R featuring an English subtitled version of the film plus a cool vintage Turkish lobby card! What a deal! Included are a Cetin Inanc erotic thriller, a Yilmaz Guney "Anatolian Western" and an amazing looking crime thriller called HAMAL!
Go Here to spend your money wisely!

One of my favorite directors of the moment is Walerian Borowczyk, best known as the director of controversial Euro-erotica IMMORAL TALES and THE BEAST. Though my personal favorites of his are DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES and DZIEJE GRZECHU, a horror film and a historical drama respectively. Here's a selection of some of Borowczyk's short and animated films, the movies his reputation rested upon until his erotic-themed features made made waves in European cinema in the mid seventies . There are eight films, from all throughout Borowczyk's career, with seven on the Youtube and the last accessed via the link provided.


Love Requited (Nagrodzone uczucia) - With Jan Lenica - Poland - 1957



DOM - With Jan Lenica - Poland - 1958



Encyclopedia de Grand Maman - France - 1963



Renaissance - France - 1963



Le Petit Poucet - France - 1965



L' Amour monstre de tous les temps - France - 1977



Scherzo Infernal - France - 1984




Une collection particulière - France - 1973
Click here to view!

And for all those converted to the charms of Walerian Borowczyk's bizarre cinema, there's a modicum of news you may find interesting:

ART OF LOVE is coming to DVD from Severin!



One of our faves from Boro, this wild and ethereal erotic idyll set in first century Rome will be let loose onto Region 1 this November 24th, we don't know many details, although the first pre-order we could find, from HK Flix, lists only English as a language option. This might be disappointing to some fans of this Italian/French co-production. But we will be checking it out with great interest here no matter what shape its in you can be sure!

In other Boro DVD news, I have heard word that Cult Epics, who have released THE BEAST, GOTO ISLAND OF LOVE and LOVE RITES on R1 DVD, are hard at work on another batch of Borowczykian bounty, including his notorious Nunnery epic BEHIND CONVENT WALLS, a compilation of his short and animated films (surely some if not all those featured above!) and maybe, just maybe ... DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES aka BLOODBATH OF DR. JEKYLL! My mind simply melts at even the idea of it! It's still early on in the process and let's not count any chickens just yet - but this is potentially awesome news!!

There might also be a new book about Borowczyk by Eastern European film expert Daniel Bird sometime this year, but I'd wager that it will be next year before it's actually out since it's already September and no official announcement has been made. Something to look forward to I'm sure as Bird seems to really know his stuff and has been working on the tome for the better part of a decade. In the meantime, here's some nice reading materials to help you fill in the gaps on this most underrated auteur.

Immoral Tales: European Sex and Horror Movies 1956-1984 by Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs

Walerian Borowczyk: Cinema of Erotic Dreams by Jeremy Mark Robinson

Video Watchdog Special Edition #1

Here's a list of genre and fantasy movies made in the Shah's Iran from the years 1955 through to 1965. It was during this time that Iranian cinema came unto its own both artistically and commercially with '65 being the year that saw homegrown films almost completely displacing US and European fare. This list was culled from a book called Cinema in Iran 1900-1979 by M. Ali Issari and may or may not be comprehensive. I have not seen any of these films and I would assume that most are very difficult to find. There are some bone fide auteurs here, as a cursory Internet search will uncover, such as Samuel Khachikian, noted as the "Iranian Hitchcock" or Farrokh Ghaffari, a leader of the Iranian "new wave" whose film NIGHT OF THE HUNCHBACK is acknowledged as a true classic of Farsi cinema (and is the film featured in the poster above). I have chosen to include films of Worldweird interest, in this case mostly crime films and thrillers, and not such much social dramas or comedies. There are a handful of fantasy films and historical adventures, but gritty noir-esque fare seemed to rule the genre roost in Iran at this time. I also included a few films which are described as comedies or dramas but whose titles may indicate some sort of fantastical content. If you have copies of any of the below please contact me at jaredaunerATyahooDOTcom for trades!

AHRIMANE ZIBA
“The Beautiful Devil”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: January 16, 1963
Production Co: Pars Film Studio
Producer/Writer/Director: Esmail Kooshan

ARAS KHAN
proper name
35mm/B&W/Cinemascope/110 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: May 2, 1962
Production Co: Pars Film Studio
Writer/Producer: Esmail Kooshan
Director: Naser Malek-Motyie

AROUSE DAJLEH
“Bridge of the Tigris River”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Historical
Premiere: February 8, 1955
Production Company: Rey Film
Director: N. Mohtashem

BABRE KOOHESTAN
“The Mountain Tiger”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 27, 1965
Production Co: Asre Talaie Studio
Writer/Director: Khosrow Parvizi

BAZGASHT BE ZENDEGI
“Return to Life”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Fantasy
Premiere: August 8, 1957
Production Co: Asre Talaie Studio
Director: Ataollah Zahed

BONBAST
“Dead End”
35mm/B&W/115 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: February 24, 1965
Production Co: Sazmane Cinemaie Panoroma
Director: Mirsamadzadeh

CHAHAR-RAHE HAVADES
“The Crossroad of Events”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: March 20, 1955
Production Company: Diana Film
Director: Samuel Khachikian

DELHOREH
“Anxiety”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: December 20, 1962
Production Co: Ajir Film
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

ENSANE PARANDEH
“The Flying Man”
35mm/B&W/115 min
Genre: Comedy
Premiere: September 12, 1961
Production Co: Atlas Film Studio
Writer/Director: Parviz Khatibi

ESHQ VA ENTEGHAM
“Love and Vengeance”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: September 29, 1965
Independent Production
Writer/Director: M. A. Fardin

ETTEHAM
“Accusation”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: May 6, 1956
Production Co: Pars Film Studio
Director: Shappor Yasami

FARAR
“The Escape”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 5, 1963
Production Co: Misaghieh Studio
Writer/Director: Abbas Shabaviz

FARYADE DEHKADEH
“The Cry of the Village”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: July 22, 1965
Independent Production
Writer/Director: Ahamd Safaie

FARYADE NIMESHAB
“The Midnight Terror”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: August 24, 1961
Production Co: Misaghieh Studio
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

GORGEHAYE GOROSNEH
“The Hungry Wolves”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 11, 1962
Independent Production
Director: M.A. Fardin

HEVDAH RUZ BE E’DAM
“Seventeen Days to Exectution”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 26, 1958
Production Co: Asre Talaie Studio
Writer/Director: Houshang Kavoosi

JADDEH MARG
“Highway of Death”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: June 18, 1963
Production Co: Caravan Film
Writer/Director: Esmail Riahi

JADOU
“Witchcraft”
16mm/Color/95 min
Genre: Melodrama
Premiere: January 25, 1956
Production Co: Asia Film
Producer/Director/Cameraman/Co-writer: Salar Eshghi

KAMINGAHE SHEITAN
“Hideaway of the Devil”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: May 7, 1964
Independent Production
Writer/Director: Nezam Fatemi

KELID
“The Key”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 6, 1962
Production Co: Misaghieh Studio
Director: Mahmoud Nowzari

KHESHM VA FARYAD
“Anger and Screaming”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: March 13, 1964
Independent Production
Writer/Director: Reza Safaie

KHOON VA SHARAF
“Blood and Honor”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: War
Premiere: December 12, 1955
Production Company: Diana Film
Director: Samuel Khachikian

MAHTABE KHOONIN
“The Bloody Moonlight”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Drama
Premiere: January 15, 1956
Production Co: Caravan Film
Writer/Director: Moshavegh Sorouri

MAJERAJOOYANE KHASHEN
“The Rough Adventurers”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Adventure
Premiere: January 25, 1957
Production Co: Cinema Theater Rex Co.
Writer/Director: Mehdi Rais-Firuz

MOOTALAIE SHARE MA
“The Blonde Woman of Our Town”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: December 16, 1965
Production Co: Iran Film Studio
Writer/Director: Abbas Shabaviz

MORVARID SIAH
“The Black Pearl”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: August 28, 1961
Production Co: Shahrokh Film
Director: Mehdi Rais-Firuz

NABARDE GHOOLHA
“The War of the Giants”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 9, 1965
Independent Production
Director: Reza Beik-Imanverdi

PANJEH
“The Claw”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: January 8, 1963
Production Co: Asre Talaie Studio
Writer/Director: Amin Amini

PARTGAHE MAKHOUF
“Frightening Canyon”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: May 11, 1963
Production Co: Sazmane Cinemaie 555
Writer/Director: Reza Safaie

PESARE DARYA
“Son of the Sea”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: April 11, 1958
Independent Production
Writer/Director: Shahpoor Yasami

RAHZAN
“The Bandit”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Adventure
Premiere: March 18, 1955
Production Company: Pars Film Studio
Director: Siamak Yasami

SARKESH
“The Mutineer”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: February 16, 1965
Production Co: Azar Film
Producer/Writer/Director: Samad Sabahi

SARSAM
“Delirium”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 21, 1965
Production Co: Misaghieh Studio
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

SAYE
“Shadow”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: June 25, 1959
Production Co: Asre Talaie Studio
Writer/Director: Amin Amini

SAYYADANE NAMAKZAR
“Hunters of the Salt Desert”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: June 28, 1965
Independent Production
Producer/Writer/Director: Akbar Hashemi

SETAREI CHESHMAK ZAD
“A Star Twinkled”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Fantasy
Premiere: October 23, 1963
Production Co: October 23, 1963
Producer/Director: Gorji Ebadia

SHABE GHOUZI
“Night of the Hunchback”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: February 25, 1965
Production Co: Iran Nema Studio
Producer/Director: Farrokh Ghaffari

SHAHINE TOUS
“The Eagle of Tous”
35mmB&W/110 min
Genre: Historical
Year: 1955
Production Company: Pass Film Studio
Director: Hossein Daneshvar

SHEITANE SEFID
“The White Devil”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: September 16, 1965
Production Co: Mahtab Film
Writer/Director: Ahmad Safaie

SOWDAGARANE MARG
“The Merchants of Death”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 26, 1962
Production Co: Pars Film Studio
Director: Naser Malek-Motyie

TA’GHIBE KHATARNAK
“The Dangerous Chase”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: March 9, 1965
Independent Production
Producer/Writer/Director: Reza Safaie

TALAYE SEFID
“White Gold”
35mm/B&W/120 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 11, 1962
Production Co: Sahar Studio
Producer/Director: Jamshid Sheibani

TARE ANKABOUT
“The Cobweb”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: September 26, 1963
Production Co: Sazmane Cinemaie Panorama
Director: Mirasamdzadeh

TARS VA TARIKY
“Fear and Darkness”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: ?
Premiere: June 25, 1963
Production Co: Atlas Film Studio
Producer/Writer/Director: Mohammad Motovaselani

TELESME SHEITAN
“The Spell of Satan”
16mm/B&W/100min
Genre: Comedy
Premiere: January 5, 1956
Production Company: Asia Film
Director: Mohsen Farid
Producer/Writer/Cameraman: Salar Eshghi

TOOFAN DAR SHAHRE MA
“Storm in Our Town”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 13, 1958
Production Co: Ajir Film
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

VAHSHAT
“Horror”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 16, 1963
Production Co: Misaghieh Studio
Writer/Director: Siamak Yasami

YA’QUB LAYTH SAFFARI
Proper name – founder of Saffarid dynasty
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Historical
Premiere: May 30, 1957
Production Co: Pars Film Studio
Director: Ali Kasmaie

YEK GHADAM TA MARG
“One Step to Death”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: December 6, 1961
Production Co: Ajir Film
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

YEKI BOUD YEKI NABOUD
“Once Upon a Time”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: March 22, 1959
Production Co: Oranus Film
Producer/Writer/Director: Rahim Rowshanian

ZAMINE TALKH
“The Bitter Earth”
35mm/B&W/100 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: March 12, 1963
Production Co: Atlas Film Studio
Writer/Director: Khosrow Parvizi

ZAN VA AROUSAKHAYASH
“The Woman and Her Dolls”
35mm/B&W/110 min
Genre: Thriller
Premiere: September 16, 1965
Independent Production
Producer/Writer/Director: Esmail Riahi

ZARBAT
“The Strike”
35mm/B&W/95 min
Genre: Crime
Premiere: April 23, 1964
Production Co: Ajir Film
Writer/Director: Samuel Khachikian

After spying a book on the subject over at Cinema Books here in Seattle, I dug into the internets and uncovered a stunning collection of wonders. These posters, all hand painted with great imagination -usually on used flour sacks, were advertisements for entrepreneurs who travelled from village to village projecting rare videocassette copies of movies otherwise difficult to see. Along with the usual Hollywood blockbuster fare they seemed to show a great selection of wider world exploitation. Films from Indonesia, Italy, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Nigeria poured in to this small West African country. Here's a selection of the best Worldweird-y posters I could find.