Discs - Comments by Richard Vollin

Discs - Comments by Richard Vollin

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
Richard Vollin 13th Oct 2023		Blu-ray This Gun For Hire - Shout! Factory (2019)	Essential noir.
Richard Vollin 13th Oct 2023		Blu-ray My Gun Is Quick - KL Studio Classics (2020)	From a 2K transfer. Lots of location shooting in and around L.A. Not on the par with "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), but very engaging and worthy of your time.
Richard Vollin 13th Oct 2023		DVD Crime Wave [1954] - Warner Home Video (2007)	Essential film noir viewing. Jean Gillie in "Decoy" is as ruthless and greedy as Leslie Brooks is in "Blonde Ice" (1948) two years later. "Crime Wave" benefits from excellent location shooting in stark, seedy L.A. environs and the point-blank acting of Sterling Hayden. Inspiration and precursor to John Ellroy's "L.A. Confidential" (1997) with Ellroy and film noir expert, Eddie Muller providing over-the-top commentary together.
Richard Vollin 14th Aug 2017		DVD The Mask [1961] - Kino Classics (2015)	This film is guaranteed 100% Weird!
Richard Vollin 25th Jul 2017		VHS Elton John "The Last Song" - MCA Music Video (1992)	http://www.45cat.com/record/ejs30
Richard Vollin 25th Jul 2017		VHS Elton John: Visions - Embassy Home Entertainment (1982)	This got off to a rather belated release, probably due to post production, licensing and distribution snarls, and the usual politics and red tape that surround the music biz. Obviously this is a video album version of The Fox which had been released in May of '81. Way too late for MTV to give a Tinkerbell's twt about, and Elton's latest album; Jump Up!* was already six months old. And it didn't help that Embassy Home Entertainment had a list price of $49.95 for both Beta, and VHS formats. That was a steep price for any fan to have to shell out, and it contradicted Elton's long standing belief in value for money. Believe me - that's the reason you didn't see this tape flying off the shelves at Tower Records when it came out.
Richard Vollin 18th Jul 2017		DVD Last Days Here - Sundance Selects (2012)	I've just uploaded a 9.14 Pictures trailer for "Last Days Here".
Richard Vollin 10th Jul 2017		DVD Box Set Monsters And Madmen - The Criterion Collection (2007)	additional images pending
Richard Vollin 7th Jul 2017		DVD The Bela Lugosi Collection - Universal (2005)	I'm disappointed that Universal released this on a dual-sided disc, and void of any commentary options. On the positive side, as these titles are only available now on Universal's 'Vault Series' as a DVD-R, and pricey (for such flimsy media) - maybe my disappointment is a bit unfounded.
Richard Vollin 6th Jul 2017		DVD Blood Sucking Freaks - Troma Team Video (1998)	And now...a brief bio on our star, courtesy of this contributor: Seamus Terrence O'Brien (1932-1977) was a Shakespearian stage actor both on, and off Broadway during the 1970s. His most fondly remembered, and notable role was that of 'The Actor' in the longest running hit musical, The Fantasticks, which performed at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village. Other roles included Oscar Wilde's Salome, and Cocteau's mystery drama, The Eagle with Two Heads, both at the Jean Cocteau Theatre, and Beaumont & Fletcher's, The Maid's Tragedy at the Equity Library Theatre, among others. In 1976, he was cast in the lead role of Sardu, in director/writer Joel M. Reed's black comedy/exploitation film Blood Sucking Freaks. O'Brien was once described as a cross between Ming the Merciless, and Anton LaVey, with the charm and eloquence of Vincent Price. O'Brien was murdered in his Greenwich Village apartment during a robbery. He is sadly missed by his family, and all who knew him.
Richard Vollin 6th Jul 2017		DVD Coffy - MGM (2001)	She's the "GODMOTHER" of them all ...The baddest One-Chick Hit-Squad that ever hit town!
Richard Vollin 5th Jul 2017		DVD The Cramps Live At Napa State Mental Hospital - Target Video (2004)	The performance took place on 13 June 1978 at the Napa State Hospital, Napa, California. It was a free concert by the Mutants, from San Francisco, and The Cramps from New York City. The event was arranged by former CPS (Child Protective Services) activities specialist Bart Swain, through booking agent; Howie Klein. The band originally booked to appear on this occasion was the Readymades, a notable San Francisco based new wave/punk band, but either by divine providence or fate, The Cramps and Mutants performed the show. Video footage of The Cramps was taped using a battery powered Sony Portapak two piece camera/recorder unit (possibly the AV-3400, with a ½" U-Matic S 20 minute cassette). It is believed either Target Video founder/director Joe Rees, or associate Jill Hoffman-Kowal videotaped the show. It should also be noted that many still photographs were captured by photographer Ruby Ray, who can be clearly seen documenting the event throughout. Many of her images can be found on the Internet (mostly uncredited). Mutant band vocalist Freddy Mutant (Fritz Fox), and lead guitarist Brendan Earley both contend that their performance should have been documented on video. However, Ruby Ray did photograph them. Excerpted quote by Target Video founder Joe Rees, from an interview conducted for the L.A. Record by Chris Ziegler, entitled "TARGET VIDEO: LIKE WATCHING SOMETHING BIBLICAL", published 30 April 2009, regarding the Napa State video: "...The same with the Napa State Mental Hospital. You think that could go on today? No way! There would be like fifteen lawyers standing outside the gate licking their chops. One of the greatest things about that event—even to this day I am so moved when I watch that video over and over. But the thing of it is—those people who were going through such a heavy experience in life and were confined to that mental institution, the freedom and the happiness that they had that day during that event was almost like a miracle! It was almost like watching something biblical—something from a Cecil B. DeMille film but in a real sense, a true sense. Nobody was acting and I have never seen anything in my life so moving and I’ve been told that a thousand times. We were at the right place at the right time but we had the right thing in our hearts. We wanted to have an experience and it all came together with magic." footnote # 1: This contributor first stumbled into The Cramps traveling medicine show during their first foray outside of New York City's Bowery, (as I like to refer to as) my "Baptism by Fire" on 07 April 1978, at the Atlantis Club in Washington, D.C., two months prior to their Napa event. I had heard of The Cramps in drips and drabs, in the pages of Richard, and Lisa Robinson's Rock Scene magazine, a rag devoted primarily to NYC glam rock, and the burgeoning punk rock movement. Needless to say, The Cramps opened many doors, and left an incalculable, indelible, life long impression on me. I was now totally corrupt, and, as I won't retrace the circumstances leading up to this moment, suffice to say, it had to do with an employee of a local record store; the Penguin Feather, seeking a gig as a DJ, and my giving him a lift to the Atlantis Club that evening, and as The Cramps lay waste... footnote # 2: The Atlantis Club was located at 930 F Street, NW, in the Atlantic Building, adjacent to Ford's Theatre (where U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated). Atlantis owner Paul Parson's was quoted in the day's following The Cramps ill-fated booking with support group, The Puppets as: "...too controversial, too destructive. No club is ready for that kind of destruction. The Cramps are not healthy." The Cramps were told 'never to return.' Soon after, the Atlantis closed it's doors, and the building was purchased and re-christened the Nightclub 9:30 on 31 May 1980, and there, The Cramps enjoyed many a return engagement.
Richard Vollin 4th Jul 2017		DVD Fox Horror Classics - A Terrifying Trilogy Of Terror (2007)	additional images pending
Richard Vollin 2nd Jul 2017		DVD Night Of The Living Dead [1968] - Genius Products Inc. (2008)	This DVD edition is unquestionably the very best.
Richard Vollin 1st Jul 2017		DVD Dawn Of The Dead - Anchor Bay Entertainment (2004)	Yep...I'm comfortable with this DVD release, and always rates a 10.0 with me.
Richard Vollin 30th Jun 2017		DVD Brainiac - CasaNegra / Panik House Entertainment (2009)	Outrageous, lurid, and dirt cheap. Deserving of it's cult status. Buy it before it's too late.
Richard Vollin 29th Jun 2017		DVD Mothra Vs. Godzilla - Classic Media / Vivendi Entertainment / Toho (2012)	Toho really hit their mark with this picture, and arguably, it never got better than this. The formula worked, and although mindful of budget, the Toho staff placed most of it on the screen, and little was squandered. Much of that credit goes to Toho effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and his dedicated team of artists, and technicians. The typhoon during the opening credits looks almost real, and I don't ever recall Godzilla looking meaner than in this film. Mothra vs. Godzilla is tremoundously enhanced, from the Tohoscope logo onward, by a ponderously heavy, doom laden music score, courtesy of composer Akira Ifukube. Following the release of this film, and it's subsequent follow up Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, the demographic shifted noticeably, and it was clear Toho would pander to an even younger audience, beginning with Godzilla vs. Monster Zero in 1965.
Richard Vollin 28th Jun 2017		DVD Matango - Tokyo Shock (2005)	This film, and the The H Man, are two of the finest non-Kaiju films Toho ever produced. Guaranteed 100% Weird!
Richard Vollin 27th Jun 2017		DVD The Curse Of The Crying Woman - CasaNegra / Panik House Entertainment (2009)	Artwork images pending
Richard Vollin 27th Jun 2017		DVD The Man And The Monster - CasaNegra / Panik House Entertainment (2007)	Artwork images pending
Richard Vollin 27th Jun 2017		DVD Eraserhead - Absurda (2005)	This is marketed as ERASERHEAD DVD 2000, and appears to be legitimate. I would appreciate any additional information pertaining to it's background and marketing strategy.
Richard Vollin 27th Jun 2017		DVD Invisible Ghost - Roan Group Archival Entertainment (2001)	The first of Lugosi's Monogram Nine. Very decent print and Monster Club approved.
Richard Vollin 27th Jun 2017		DVD The Mad Monster - Alpha Video (2002)	A shameless and thrifty knock-off of Universal's The Wolf Man. Slightly off-kilter, and not all that bad... 'cause it features a decent cast who knows the drill. Plus it carries the PRC stamp of quality assurance, and is Monster Club approved.
Richard Vollin 26th Jun 2017		DVD Five Minutes To Live - …And More Bears (2004)	Uploaded back and inside cover images.
Richard Vollin 26th Jun 2017		DVD Crime And Punishment - Mill Creek Entertainment (2015)	This was Peter Lorre's second American film appearance.
Richard Vollin 26th Jun 2017		Blu-ray The Man Who Knew Too Much [1934] - The Criterion Collection (2013)	This was Peter Lorre's first English speaking film role, having recently fled Nazi Germany via Paris, then to London. Hitchcock wanted him largely on his reputation in Fritz Lang's "M". Lorre learned much of his script phonetically, and by rote, with the aid of an interpreter.
Richard Vollin 26th Jun 2017		DVD The Old Dark House - Kino Video (1999)	Regarded as the quintessential, and definitive. However, I let Paul Leni's "The Cat and the Canary" share equal billing.
Richard Vollin 25th Jun 2017		DVD Last Days Here - Sundance Selects (2012)	[YouTube Video] The following text is from 9.14 Pictures official website: Last Days Here is a raw, yet unexpectedly touching chronicle of cult metal legend Bobby Liebling as he attempts to resurrect his life and career after decades wasting away in his parent's basement. Bobby Liebling made his mark in the 70s as the outrageous frontman of Pentagram, a "street" Black Sabbath whose heavy metal riffs once blew audiences minds. But various acts of self-destruction, multiple band break-ups and botched record deals eventually condemned his music to obscurity. Now in his 50's, wasted by hardcore drug use and living on the charity of his ever-patient mother and father (a former Nixon advisor), Bobby's music is finally discovered by the heavy metal underground. With the help of fan-turned-manager Sean "Pellet" Pelletier, Bobby struggles to overcome years of addiction, loneliness and broken dreams to get back on stage again. Witness his unbelievable journey, following the triumphs and downfalls of this underground icon at the crossroads of life and death.
Richard Vollin 25th Jun 2017		DVD The Ghoul [1933] - MGM (2003)	Flawless film print and spotless transfer.
Richard Vollin 25th Jun 2017		DVD Dementia - Kino Video (2000)	A masterpiece of nightmare proportions. This film was obviously an influence on David Lynch. Great cameo of Angelo Rossitto hawking his newspapers. Required viewing and 100% Weird!

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