Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF July 9th, 2018

Kaixo! The Criterion 50% OFF sale is ON HERE. Stock up for the Winter! An even dozen Blu-ray reviews this week of packages by Second Run, 88 Films, Wild Side, Flicker Alley, Eureka of films directed by John Frankenheimer, Milos Forman, Ewald André Dupont, Woo-Ping Yuen, Chia-Liang Liu, Sergio Sollima, Cheh Chang and others, and a new Listing Page; Blaxploitation. Our Calendar has updates of films-to-Blu-ray, including works by Paul Schrader, Billy Wilder, Oliver Stone, William Wyler, Alan Cooke, Anthony Page, Umberto Lenzi, Michael Winner and we have our Feature Blu-ray is posted for JULY Enjoy!!

LISTING PAGES:

BLAXPLOITATION, OZPloitation,  'WOMEN IN PRISON' CINEMA,  CREATURE-FEATURES (on Blu-ray!),  PRE-CODE FILMs (on Blu-ray!),  SILENT ERA FILMs (on Blu-ray!), HAMMER Studios (on Blu-ray!)   The 100 BEST Neo-Noirs (on Blu-ray!),   The GREATEST 100 Westerns (on Blu-ray!), Giallo on Blu-ray!,   ESSENTIAL NOIR on Blu-ray!,  Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.FR (France),  Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.DE (Germany) and our LATEST ARTICLES: Movies From... the End of the World,   The Beauties of Star Trek (TOS)

Feature Blu-ray chosen for the Month of JULY!

Barnes and Noble's 50% Criterion SALE is ON CLICK HERE! Plenty to covet!

FOLLOW US on TWITTER! (where we post important reviews, contests - prizes, polls, calendar updates - plus much more...)

If there are DVD or Blu-ray titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend!

Gary at 2ze dot com

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): We have a large amount of Shaw Brothers - both martial arts and horror this week - but the number one pick comes out of Czechoslovakia and is Milos Forman's Black Peter on Second Run's Region FREE, 4K restoration, Blu-ray. A wonderfully wry and provocative comedy about a young man growing up in a 1960s Czech provincial town is a must own. We love the Silent Era gems and Ewald André Dupont's The Ancient Law qualifies on a painstakingly restored, Region FREE, Blu-ray transfer from Flicker Alley. A 1923 German film that paints a complex portrait of the tension between tradition and modernity. Shaw, often innocent, horrors out of late 70's Hong Kong are a kitschy, fun genre and include the romantic The Ghost Lovers, the graphic Hex and the Zombified Black Magic 2 - all on Blu-ray from our friends at 88 Films in the UK. John Frankenheimer's Birdman of Alcatraz is a superb bio-film effort although we are finding that Wild Side out of France is keen to cater to their French-language following although it is hard to deny their extravagant, lavish, Blu-ray packages of both this Burt Lancaster film and Sergio Sollima's Face to Face - exceptional book inclusions! of the Wushu variety we have the extensively choreographed House of Traps, the fun The Spiritual Boxer, both from 88 Films Asian Collection, and the modern and more complex Iron Monkey - the latter out of Eureka UK Blu-ray for the complete version (boo Weinstein!). Martial arts film fans will be in their glory. Alice, Sweet Alice with a very young Brooke Shields has a strong niche following although the source elements are not premium for 88 Films new Blu-ray. Lastly, Mind Ripper has Wes Craven's name attached and has a decent cast with some over-the-top genre conventions that some may find have enough appeal to indulge in the Blu-ray. No DVD reviews this week!

'Films can only be made by by-passing the will of those who appear in them, using not what they do, but what they are..' - Robert Bresson

Have a break this week!

The Spiritual Boxer BD - Adding comedy to the familiar fisticuffs formula, this beloved blockbuster tells the story of a travelling conman who claims to have supernatural powers. Robbing village after village, our antagonist quickly bees expected to use these fictional strengths against some sudden enemies... Resulting in several hilarious moments combined with breakneck examples of all out action and adventure! Blu-ray Release Date: June 11th, 2018

Face to Face BD - One of the best spaghetti westerns from genre master Sergio Sollima, Faccia a Faccia (Face to Face) is a gang-busting western saga and a gripping parable of the rise of fascism. Upstanding history professor Brad Fletcher (Gian Maria Volonte) is forced into retirement by his poor health and moves west for the warmer climate. As soon as he arrives, he is taken hostage by famed bandit Solomon Bennett (Tomas Milian) in an accidental confrontation, and by necessity is forced to take up with his cohorts. Wild Side Blu-ray Release Date: July 4th, 2018

Black Peter BD - After two shorts in which he gave documentary material fictional form, Forman, in his first feature, gives his fictional material documentary form. Using non-professional actors, improvised dialogue and shooting parts of the story in the streets, Forman follows the uneventful life of teenage Peter, who finds he dislikes his first job as a trainee store detective. He also has problems with his conservative father and carefree Pavla, on whom he has a crush. The sharply observed, satirical and affectionate film brought new vitality to Czech cinema and marked the start of Forman's career, leading to bigger, rather than better, things in Hollywood. Blu-ray Release Date: July 9th, 2018

Mind Ripper BD - Starring Lance Henriksen as a scientist who accidentally resurrects a fully blown brain-hungry cannibal during some re-animation experiments, 1995's MIND RIPPER is a more supernatural slant on the slasher formula than the demented desert terror of The Hills Have Eyes. Even so, fans of slice and dice delirium can expect plenty of stalking, suspense and splatter theatrics in this all-time classic of video rental violence. Blu-ray Release Date: June 25th, 2018

House of Traps BD - One of the most sought after Shaw Brothers films finally makes a return, courtesy of 88 Films! The beloved Chang Cheh classic House of Traps is a feast for classic Hong Kong Cinema fans, especially those who dig the famous "Venom Mob", the group of actors made famous by their appearance in the Shaw Brothers classic The Five Deadly Venoms, also directed by Chang Cheh. Blu-ray Release Date: March 12th, 2018

The Ghost Lovers BD - The Shaw Brothers were on a roll by the time 1974's The Ghost Lovers arrived on the scene. Moreover, the Hong Kong studio responsible for the best in kung-fu and horror, achieved another Chinese-language classic with this sublime mix of romance and supernatural romping from beyond-the-grave. A perfectly potent tale of lost love, life and death and - yes - the supernatural spirit... Blu-ray Release Date: March 12th, 2018

Birdman of Alcatraz BD - Birdman of Alcatraz, director John Frankenheimer’s biographical drama, stars Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud, the “birdman” of the title, who, as the film begins, is incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison for murder, a sentence that will eventually lead him to Alcatraz. Seeing his days stretch out to life without parole for the murder of a prison guard, Stroud will pass his days in solitary confinement caring for a baby sparrow, an act which eventually blossoms into caring for an array of birds sent as gifts to fellow inmates. Wild Side Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2018

Alice, Sweet Alice BD - When ten year old Karen (Brooke Shields, in her first screen appearance) is killed in church on the occasion of her first communion, her seemingly innocent older sister Alice (Paula Sheppard) becomes the prime suspect. Matters become complicated as more of Alice’s family members are attacked, along with residents of her apartment building. Can a twelve-year-old girl be capable of such mayhem, or is someone else with a vicious plan destroying her family? Blu-ray Release Date: July 9th, 2018

Hex BD - Asian horror cinema was already hitting strikes by the time the1980s dawned and nowhere was more ahead of the curve than the then-British colony of Hong Kong. The city of neon lights and vibrant street life was no stranger to scary movies and HEX was perhaps the island's crowning achievement. Released in 1980, and emerging from the legendary Shaw Bros Studios, whose knack for colourful landscapes and misty atmosphere remains legendary... Blu-ray Release Date: September 26th, 2017

The Ancient Law BD - Baruch (Ernst Deutsch), the son of a rabbi, becomes fascinated by the theater. Against his father s wishes, Baruch leaves home and finds his way to Vienna, where an archduchess at the imperial court (Henny Porten) falls in love with him. She becomes his patroness, facilitating his successful career as a classical actor. But Baruch continues to long for home, and must find a way to reconcile his religious heritage with his love of secular literature. The movie paints a complex portrait of the tension between tradition and modernity. Blu-ray Release Date: June 11th, 2018

Iron Monkey BD - Wong Kei-ying (Donnie Yen), a physician and martial artist, is mistaken for a masked vigilante known as the Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-kwong); a Robin Hood style hero who has been robbing the wealthy local officials in order to provide medical treatment for the poor. The two men must team up to defeat a corrupt political regime; and protect the lives of the people whose cause they champion. Eureka Blu-ray Release date: June 18th, 2018

Black Magic 2 BD - One of the original Oriental zombie horrors as the undead begin to crawl out of their graves whilst perplexed 'experts' try and work out why they are being faced with corpses that can't be controlled! Meantime the macabre moments come thick and fast alongside several gross out set pieces that have to be seen to be believed... Blu-ray Release Date: June 11th, 2018
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar