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Icons of Adventure Collection
The Stranglers of Bombay (1960) The Terror
of the Tongs (1961)
NOTE: The Stranglers from Bombay on Blu-ray is compared to this DVD HERE
NOTE: The Terror of the Tongs on Blu-ray is compared to this DVD HERE
The
Pirates of Blood River (1962) The Devil-Ship
Pirates (1964)
NOTE: The Pirates of Blood River is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE
NOTE: The Devil-Ship Pirates is compared on Blu-ray HERE
Titles
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The Stranglers of Bombay (1960) - One of Hammer and Terence Fisher's most notorious and Sadean horror movies, about the thuggee atrocities in India in the 1820s. Guy Rolfe battles against a fatal sect of Kali worshippers whose mascot is a sexy teenager called Karim (Devereux). As men have their tongues pulled out or are castrated, Karim drools and wriggles so much that the film became a cult sensation on the continent and was cut in England. Actually, it isn't at all bad, even on a straight adventure level, and the Karim figure remains one of the purest incarnations of evil in all of Fisher's work. Be prepared for a few laughs, though, as rural Bucks is substituted for the sweltering plains of India.." Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE
The Terror of the Tongs (1961) - Treading similar territory to Hammer’s The Stranglers of Bombay (1960), Terror of the Tongs is a colourful and rather silly Hong Kong melodrama embellished with ceremonial hatchet murders and 'bone-scraping' tortures. Directed with gusto by Anthony Bushell and scripted by Jimmy Sangster, the film is hampered by some tight production values and a procession of English actors masquerading as Chinese in make-up is far from convincing and not at all respectful. Set around the harbour of Hong Kong in 1910, a ruthless gang called the Red Dragon Tong have thrived off the proceeds of slavery, drugs, vice, corruption and protection rackets. Aboard a Victorian steamer arrives Mr. Ming (Burt Kwouk) with evidence that names members of the Red Dragon organisations, fearing for his own safety and that the letter won’t reach its destination, he hides it in a book intended as a gift for the daughter of the ship’s captain. No sooner does Ming set foot on the dock than he is attacked and killed by one of the Tong wielding a ceremonial hatchet. . Excerpt from BritMovie located HERE.
Pirates of Blood River (1962) - Hammer Studios goes pirate, but it feels more like a western. In the opening scene a heaving adultress is pursued by puritans through the underbrush until she jumps in the lake, at which point she is consumed by piranhas. It's not that they're misogynists, more that they're highly selective observers of history. Features one of the more visually impressive cadres of pirates put down to celluloid (Michael Ripper, Peter Arne). Christopher Lee cuts quite the figure as leader eyepatch, all dressed in black, save for a blue scarf on his head and a silver belt of power. Unfortunately he also distracts from himself in enormous measure-is he a Romanian pirate? What could that accent possibly be? Does this sort of thing plague other actors who appear in too many vampire flicks? Are there any? My favourite scene finds Oliver Reed, typecast as a lusty drunken pirate (was he truly so bountiful that he could be typecast as anything? I mean, he was really even some form of purist puritan, wasn't he?), drunkenly trying to slog through the swamp. Excerpt from Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films located HERE
The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) - One of Hammer's few forays beyond the horror genre, The Devil-Ship Pirates is a decent action romp done on a shoe-string budget but with all of the usual Hammer flair. Those expecting a rousing sea yarn won't find it here - most of the film takes place on land for obvious budget reasons. However since Hammer was adept at creating something out of nothing, the film is full of the traditional Hammer strongholds - notably the lavish period sets, the costumes and a solid cast of British talent. In fact one could argue it's basically one of Hammer's horror efforts, with Christopher Lee's Captain Robeles as the "Dracula-esque" villain based in his own lair with henchmen, a dashing hero to save the day and a wench for both to fight over. The sets are great as always with the creation of the period almost perfectly replicated including the village square - even the replica ship they created. Christopher Lee makes for an excellent villain once again and his Captain Robeles is suitably nasty. He also gets to show off his more-than-capable fencing skills numerous times throughout the film. Clearly Lee is enjoying himself without the need for a set of fangs and a cape!. |
Posters
Theatrical Releases: Various from 1960 - 1964
DVD Review: Sony (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
Distribution | Sony - Region 1 - NTSC | |
Time: | over 5 hrs. 32 minutes total on 2 discs | |
Bitrate: Disc 1 | ||
Bitrate: Disc 2 | ||
Audio | English (original) , DUB: French | |
Subtitles | English (CC), French, None | |
Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Commentaries on all 4 films • Cartoon - The Merry Mutineers • Chapter One of 1953 serial - the Great Adventures of Captain Kidd • Two Reel Comedy - Hot Paprika • trailers
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Comments: |
NOTE:
Sent to us in email - Here is an update to the site's review of the
latest Hammer Film collection, 'Icons of Adventure.' **** The two discs are divided as follows:
Disc 1 (DVD9 -
Dual-layered/single-sided):
- The Devil-Ship
Pirates (1964) 16X9 2.35:1 - The Terror of the Tongs (1961) 16X9 1.66:1 The 4 main features/ 2 discs of this boxset are housed in a standard keep case (ugliest cover of the year) with two holders and none of the films are sold separately by Sony at this time although you may find some PD/alt-region editions exist. All four features are coded for region 1 in the NTSC standard and all features are anamorphic in their original aspect ratios, progressively transferred. Each have original English audio and an option for a French DUB. There are English (CC) or French subtitles in a large yellow font (see samples below). There are extras - discussed below.
Image: Visually these look acceptable if not stellar -
limited by their virtual single-layering. Most would consider the
transfers unremarkable but I think they are a slight notch above what
you might expect -
Pirates of Blood River might be the weakest with the image
appearing somewhat hazy at times. Contrast and detail on The
Stranglers of Bombay is quite strong and colors on the remaining
three are fairly bright an I noted no undue manipulation to enhance
them. They are all anamorphic and progressive and I doubt anyone will
quibble with the way they look for less than $5/film.
The box claims they were 'remastered in high-definition' which
can mean any number of things but I don't dispute the claim although the
disc bitrates remain very low (respectively 4.48 + 4.49 mb/s).
Audio - All original (monaural or 2.0 channel) with no
noted issues of dropouts or hiss. Subtitles seem
to follow the dialogue although the font used is grotesquely colored
yellow and absurdly large.
The extras include a commentary for each film!
Participants include Marcus Hearn (The
Hammer Story author), Hammer film editor Chris Barnes, art
director Don Mingaye and writers Jimmy Sangster and David Z. Goodman. I
sampled about 20-30 minutes of each and they seem to be running smoothly
with lots of chatter about Hammer itself as well as some specifics on
the particular film in question. Great inclusion Sony although the films
may not have warranted a full commentary each - it is still appreciated.
Also included is the first chapter of the 1953 Columbia serial The
Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, a Technicolor "Scrappy" cartoon (The
Merry Mutineers) from 1936 and on the second disc Hot Paprika
a ho-hum 1935 two-reeler short with Scottish comedian Andy Clyde.
Finally there are trailers for the films and which is nice way to
initiate viewing in my opinion. Overall impression:
Poor menu artwork and packaging cover design detract from what is a decent set
with surprisingly abundant supplements. The films are mostly mid-range Hammer
efforts but I soldiered through them with some genuine pleasure. I suspect most
venturing into this territory will be aware of what to expect but I'd like to
give a plug to the similarly priced
Hammer Horror Collection (review
HERE) which has better transfers and films - plus substantially
more of them (eight!). Still Stranglers and Tongs were decent
adolescent boyhood cinema and the price of this collection is pretty decent for
what you are getting.
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DVD Menus
The Stranglers of Bombay (1960)
Screen Captures
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NOTE: The Terror of the Tongs on Blu-ray is compared to this DVD HERE
The Terror of the Tongs (1961)
Screen Captures
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NOTE: The Pirates of Blood River is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE
Pirates of Blood River (1962)
Screen Captures
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The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964)
NOTE: The Devil-Ship Pirates is compared on Blu-ray
HERE
Screen Captures
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