DVD Review: Hell Comes To Frog Town (1988)

Genre:
Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy
BD Release Date:
3rd February 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Arrow Video
Rating:
15
Director:
Donald G. Jackson, R.J. Kizer
Cast:
roddy piper,Julius LeFlore, RCB, Sandahl Bergman
Buy: Hell Comes to Frogtown [Dual Format DVD & Blu-ray]
Hell Comes to Frogtown, the title kinda says it all. It’s a unabashedly b-movie in the way that makes the film truly awful in every way and not even in a so bad it’s mind kind of way. It has somehow over the years became something of a very minor cult classic and I guess this must be down to the presence of a certain wrestler turner actor Roddy Piper.

The “plot” of Hell Comes to Frogtown is in a nutshell is most men are infertile due to nuclear waste. There are also mutant frogs and Hell (Roddy Piper) must rescue women from Frogtown and put his seed in them so they can save the human race. The film really drags though it’s 80 minute running time, I fell asleep once but didn’t miss a thing. The depiction of women though out is ridiculously sexist and not even in an ironic campy way, it’s just very crude. I’m also pretty sure many of the actresses were porn stars.

Now we get to the director of this toxic oozing piece of turd Donald G. Jackson who is considered the Ed Wood of the video age. That’s so ridiculously unfair on the pioneering work of Ed Wood who was a visionary director in every way and made a pioneering film Glen or Glenda which was decades ahead of it’s time. Ed Wood had a distinctive style, the film may have been awful but they had something. Hell Comes to Frogtown has nothing to offer the viewer and it’s no wonder Roddy Piper though nobody saw it until years later.

Avoid Hell Comes to Frogtown and just see They Live, which is one of the greatest satires ever mad and stars Roddy Piper. Arrow Video as usual put some great love in this release but the film doesn’t live up to silly title or for fans of They Live. Arrow will be bringing out loads great releases soon so just invest in those.

★☆☆☆☆

Ian Schultz

Vintage Wilder, Altman, Ashby, Casavettes Make Up The April - July Masters Of Cinema Line Up

When it comes to their fantastic Masters Of Cinema Imprint Eureka Entertainment never disappoint. Today Eureka! have have announced via their twitter feed their forthcoming releases in The Masters of Cinema series for the months of April, May and June 2014.

    

The slate for 2nd quarter of 2014 has an big focus on American cinema The latest slate of films from  The Masters of Cinema Series brings together some of the most heralded masterpieces of the 20th century. Their is some real gem of releases coming  starting off with some vintage Billy Wilder with a Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition of Ace in the Hole , an electrifyingly dramatic critique of society and the media starring Kirk Douglas in one of his very best roles in a career already filled with highlights. Also released in April is the long awaited Blu-ray UK debut of Lindsay Anderson's Palme d'Or-winning If...., which stars Malcolm McDowell in the role that made him famous, as the leader of a rebellious group of youths fighting back against the oppression of their boys' boarding school. 

May sees the long-awaited Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) debut of one of the great classics of the American screen: Robert Altman's stunning, freewheeling Nashville, an epic ensemble tour de force depiction of the Nashville music industry and American society at the end of the Sixties that is as hilarious as it is powerful. Another Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition comes in the form of Elia Kazan's 1947 noir-inflected crime drama Boomerang!, starring Dana Andrews and Lee J. Cobb in powerhouse performances anchoring a gritty procedural rife with murder and corruption.


Hal Ashby's 1971 counter-culture comedy Harold and Maude arrives on Blu-ray this June, and tells the tale of the burgeoning relationship between a 20-year-old and an 80-year-old: it's a razor-sharp, and moving masterpiece that has become considered another of the great classics of the American screen. June also brings the first entry into the Series of a film by American master John Cassavetes in a Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition — his second-feature, the studio-backed Too Late Blues, which stars Bobby Darin as a jazz musician down on his luck; it's one of the most explosive films of the late studio era.

 

In addition to the new titles being added to the Masters of Cinema Series, Eureka! have also announced the blu-ray release in April of The War Lord, one of the finest historical adventures ever made and starring Charlton Heston  and Richard Boone. May will see the release of Violent Saturday, a coolly riveting crime saga from director Richard Fleischer, available on blu-ray for the first time ever on home video. And June sees the home video release of The Rocket, the multi-award winning debut feature from Kim Mordaunt about a ‘cursed’ twin who guides his family to a new life in Laos. Released in cinemas on 14 March, The Rocket will be released on DVD and Blu-ray formats on 2 June 2014.

As usual we're massive fans of Master Of Cinema releases from Eureka! Video and will cover the great films reviews nearer release dates.You can also catch a special screening of The Rocket at Glasgow Youth Film Festival on 11th February purchase your tickets here

Forbidden Love - The Invisible Woman Feature

The theme of forbidden love has formed the basis of many romantic dramas; fuelling scenes of passion, desire, and devotion. The latest film to add to the line-up is The Invisible Woman, the true story of Charles Dickens and his young mistress, actress Nelly Ternan. Ralph Fiennes directs himself as Dickens, with Felicity Jones as the young beautiful actress. Nelly is forced to remain an ‘invisible’ muse and lover to hide the scandalous relationship from the world. To mark the February 7th release in cinemas, here is a look at eight films about forbidden love.

The Graduate (1967)

Starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, The Graduate tells the story of Benjamin Braddock and his affair the wife of one of his father’s business partners, Mrs. Robinson. Having recently graduated from college, Ben meets Mrs. Robinson upon arriving home and they begin their short-lived affair. However, his past comes back to haunt him as Ben finds himself falling in love with Elaine, Mrs. Robinson’s daughter. The Graduate, a hugely influential coming of age comedy, hilariously tells one of the most tense and noteworthy love stories in film.

Water for Elephants (2011)

When his parents die in a car accident before he finishes his veterinary studies, Jacob Jankowski falls into a new life in the circus. It is here that he meets Marlena, the young wife of the ill-tempered and unstable circus owner, August. Jacob soon falls in love with Marlena, and she with Jacob. August’s violent nature threatens their lives and the livelihood of the circus. Based on the novel, Water for Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, depicts the whirlwind love affair of Jacob and Marlena and how two people will beat all obstacles to be together.

Lolita (1997)

In this forbidden love affair based on the famous Nabokov novel, Humbert Humbert falls in love with his land lady’s 14 year old daughter, Dolores “Lolita” Haze. Humbert, a British professor who moved to the US to teach, marries Charlotte Haze, in order to stay close to Lolita. Lolita proving to be much more mature than her age begins a relationship with her step father. The gripping tale of Lolita, starring Melanie Griffith and Jeremy Irons, with Dominique Swain as Dolores, is filled with romance, guilt, jealousy, and perfectly depicts the ultimate price one might pay for forbidden love.

In The Mood for Love (2000)

Newspaper editor, Chow Mo-Wan, moves into a new building with his wife and at the same time, Su Li-Zhen, a beautiful secretary, moves into the building with her husband. Chow and Li-Zhen form a friendship and begin spending time together as their spouses are away. However, they soon find out their significant others are having an affair and vow to not be like their unfaithful spouses, yet find comfort in their growing relationship. Set in Hong Kong in 1962, In the Mood for Love, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai, beautifully illustrates the growing love between two individuals and their resistance to give into passionate feelings.

The Scarlett Letter (1995)

Seeking independence from 17th century England, Hester Prynne arrives to Massachusetts Bay Colony awaiting the arrival of her husband from England. While befriending other outsiders in the colony, Hester falls for young pastor Arthur Dimmesdale. Soon, Hester bears their child, after rumour of her husband’s death reaches her. On the day Hester is made to wear a scarlet A, her husband arrives very much alive and seeks revenge on her love and his own wife. The Scarlet Letter, starring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman, shows that sometimes love will overcome every rule and all humiliation.

Romeo and Juliet (1996)

Retold in a modern day Verona, Romeo and Juliet remains the timeless story of star crossed lovers. The Montague and the Capulet families are fierce, feuding enemies when their children meet and fall in love. The two have hidden their love from their families and soon meet their tragic destiny. Still preserving the original dialogue from the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet, starring young Leonard DiCaprio and Claire Danes, is one of the greatest forbidden love stories told.

Titanic (1997)

101 year old Rose DeWitt Butaker tells the story of her romantic adventure on the Titanic, and her discovery of true love, to her granddaughter and the crew aboard the Keldysh research ship. While aboard the Titanic, Rose met Jack Dawson, a spirited artist with whom she soon fell in love. When the Titanic went down, Jack lost his life, but Rose used his name to disappear from her mother and fiancé. 84 years later, Rose recalls this story as the crew searches for remnants of the wreck her nearly priceless lost jewellery. A beautifully told story of love lost, Titanic, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, is one of the most spectacular stories of forbidden love.

The Invisible Woman (2013)

Set in 19th century England, The Invisible Woman illustrates the illicit love affair between Charles Dickens and young actress, Ellen Ternan. At the height of his success, an older Dickens meets 18 year old Nelly with whom he soon falls in love and begins a secret affair, eventually leaving his wife. To keep her reputation, Nelly must live a life of “invisibility” until Dickens’ death. An epic drama, starring the outstanding Ralph Fiennes and illustrious Felicity Jones, The Invisible Woman passionately depicts what one must pay for love in an entrancing and heart wrenching film.

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN IS RELEASED IN UK CINEMAS ON 7 FEBRUARY

Francesco Rosi’s LE MANI SULLA CITTÀ Joining Masters Of Cinema Family This March

Eureka! Entertainment have announced the release of LE MANI SULLA CITTÀ [Hands Over The City] starring Rod Steiger (In The Heat Of The Night, The Pawnbroker, On The Waterfront) who is ferocious as a scheming land developer in Francesco Rosi’s blistering work of social realism and the winner of the 1963 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion. LE MANI SULLA CITTÀ [Hands Over The City] will be released in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition as part of Eureka! Entertainment's award-winning The Masters of Cinema Series on 17 March 2014.

“one of the very few left wing movies that one can imagine actually reaching the mass audience it's aimed at” – Time Out

Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Francesco Rosi's Le mani sulla città [Hands Over the City] is one of the finest political dramas ever made – a ferocious, invigorating exploration of civic corruption in post-war Naples with the intensity of the best Hollywood thrillers.

Beginning with the collapse of an apartment building in a working-class district, the film zeroes in on the subsequent investigation of responsibility surrounding the disaster. At the centre is Edoardo Nottola (Rod Steiger), a wealthy land developer and council member of the government's ruling party, who is determined to keep his personal and professional interests in the building of new government housing as intertwined as possible.

With sterling performances and visual prowess, Rosi meticulously unpicks the tangled threads of interconnected favours and unscrupulous culture of self-reward within the halls of governmental power. This brilliant exposé (a major influence on countless filmmakers, including Coppola's Godfather films) remains as blazingly topical as the day of its premiere. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this film for the first time on home viewing in the UK in a new Dual-Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- New high-definition 1080p presentation
- Optional English subtitles
- Additional extras to be announced
- PLUS: A booklet containing the words of Francesco Rosi, rare imagery, and more!

Pre-order / buy Le Mani Sulla Citta - (Dual Format Blu-ray &DVD)

As usual we will review this one so stay tuned when Le Man Sulla Citta arrives on 17th March 2014.

GFF2014 - Can You Smell What Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox Is Cooking? Watch Trailer & clip

Blu-ray Review - Wings (1927)

Genre:
Drama, War, Romance
BD/DVD Release Date:
27th January 2014 (UK)
Distribution:
Eureka! Distribution
Rating:
PG
Director:
William A. Wellman
Cast:
Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen
Buy:WINGS (Masters of Cinema) (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
William A. Wellman’s silent epic will forever be remembered as the winner of the first ever Academy Award for Best Picture. But this, in itself, can be seen as a bit of a misnomer. For 1927 had two Best Picture categories at the Academy Awards, one for Best Picture, Production, and the other for Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production. Wings won for Production while the far superior Sunrise, a Song of Two Humans by F.W. Murnau won the award for Unique and Artistic Production, an award that to my ears, but not to those of the Oscar historians, sounds like the better award of the two.

But, to put the Academy Award nit-picking to one side, Wings winning of the Best Picture, Production award could not be more apt as the no expenses spared special effects and superb art direction are the films only saving grace. I say this because the story itself is over-simplistic, overly sentimental, and just the most tiresome type of straightforward, melodramatic Hollywood weepie type storytelling you could possibly imagine. To illustrate how straightforward the storyline is, I am now going to give away the films plot in full.

Mary lives next door to Jack, the boy she loves; she jovially helps him fix up his automobile. She paints a shooting star on the side and says, “D’you know what you can do when you see a shooting star? Well… you can kiss the girl you love.” “Maybe I will,” Jack responds. She purses her lips in anticipation. Jack, however, unaware of this, drives off in search of Sylvia, the gorgeous girl visiting from the big city. She is the one he loves. Unbeknownst to Jack, Sylvia loves another, the town’s rich boy, David. David loves her too. Then war breaks out. Both boys sign up for the air force. Jack visits Sylvia to say his goodbyes and mistakenly takes a keepsake locket meant for David. Then off they go to war.

Jack and David are both stationed at the same barracks. They don’t get along. Eventually a fight breaks out and by the end of it they are the best of friends. Jack still believes that Sylvia loves him. David, however, knows this not to be true but keeps it from his new best friend. Then off to France. They both see combat. Lots of combat. Then Mary makes an appearance in France. She finds Jack, drunk and in Paris on leave. He doesn’t recognise her. She is sent back home. Then comes the “Big Push” and the war nears its end. Jack and David have a fall out over Sylvia’s keepsake and head off into battle. Jack returns. David doesn’t. A distraught Jack rushes heedlessly into the next battle. He shoots down an enemy plane. Flying it was David, who had survived against all odds and escaped from behind enemy lines. He dies. Jack returns home.

Upon returning home Jack catches up with Mary. They sit together on the hood of the car they jovially fixed at the beginning of the film. A shooting star flies across the night’s sky. Jack turns to Mary and says, “Do you know what you can do when you see a shooting star?” Yes, she nods, “You can kiss the girl you love.” They kiss. The film ends.

Now, as classical melodrama goes, the story is nice enough but the film spends two and a half hours to tell it. But what is it all for? The only themes I can discern are that of luck and unrequited love which pop up throughout the film and then there is that overwhelming sense of patriotism that is constantly thrown at the audience. And this is the films biggest problem; it does not know what it wants to be. If Wellman wanted a big patriotic war epic then fine that is what he should have made. And if he wanted to make a beautiful melodramatic weepie about unrequited love then that would have been fine too. But as it stands the film is an epic mess.

★★½☆☆

Shane James

Win Blood Glacier aka The Station on DVD

Splicing its way onto DVD this winter, comes the blood chilling creature feature – BLOOD GLACIER (aka The Station). With giant insects and crazed cross breeds galore, what’s not to get excited about in this perfect hybrid of horror and science gone wrong. Blood Glacier is the body horror we have been waiting for since John Carpenter’s The Thing.

To celebrate the release of Marvin Kren's Blood Glacier, we have a copy on DVD to give away! Coming to DVD on Monday 27th January from StudioCanal.

Working in a remote outpost of the German Alps, technician Janek and a cohort of scientists are stunned to discover a bleeding blood glacier parked high up in the mountain range. As the gory infected berg melts the blood attracts the local wildlife only to transform them into hellish hybrids and monstrous mutations.

As this fusion of nightmarish creatures evolves in the life-giving mountain air, a second group including Janek’s ex-girlfriend advance towards the base in what will become a showdown of humans vs. nature upended into giant wood lice, beetle-foxes, crossbreed flying predators and much, much worse.

Imagine every creature that makes you shiver fused into one and meet your ultimate fears up at… Blood Glacier!

To win a copy of Blood Glacier aka The Station please answer the following question...

Q.What alphabetic horror anthology sequel is Blood Glacier director ,Marvin Kren currently filming a segment for?

Deadline is 16th February 2014 (23:59pm),If you haven’t done already Like us and stay with us at our Facebook page (if you are already liking us just share this post on twitter and facebook). Must be 18 or older to enter.

1.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of  Cinehouse, The Peoples Movies, Studiocanal employees who have the right to alter, change or offer alternative prize without any notice.2.All The Peoples Movies entries must be done via contact form. deadline Sunday(23:59pm)16th February 2014  15 years or older to enter 3.Failure to include any information required to enter could result in your entry been void.  4.automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned, DO NOT INCLUDE telephone numbers as for security reason your entry will be deleted.5.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.6.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 7.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain 8.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email for postal details and will be announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners. Uk & Irish entries only.

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DVD Review - Iluminacja (1973)

Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Second Run
Rating:
15
DVD Release Date:
27th January 2014 (UK)
Director:
Krzysztof Zanussi
Cast:
Stanislaw Latallo, Malgorzata Pritulak, Monika Dzienisiewicz-Olbrychska
Buy: Illumination (Iluminacja) [DVD]Iluminacja is a Polish film from 1973; Krzysztof Zanussi directed it and it won all three main prizes at the 1973 Locarno International Film Festival and got a special award t 1974 Gdynia Film Festival. It has been added to Second Run’s catalogue and they specialize in Czech and Polish films.

The film is about a young physicist Franciszek Retman(Played by Stanislaw Latallo) and it’s about his self-discovery though his time at University and beyond. It mixes both fiction filmmakers and documentary filmmaking and at times morphs into an essay film. It’s both a very good coming of age film about a man who starts off as idealistic wantabe physicist to a broken man who realizes there is more to life than just science. He experiences love, loss, betrayal and eventually has a existential crisis as you do.

The film was one of the most pleasant surprises from Second Run in a while. I have to admit a film about a physicist which was described as a essay film really didn’t appeal to me but it’s much more accessible than the plot synopsis suggests. The film should connect with anyone who has been a 20 something that questions their place in the universe. It’s worth checking out and it should raise some interesting questions about your place in the universe and the meaning of it.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive UK Trailer Gives You Something To Bite Into

Eureka! Entertainment Re-releasing Lubitsch In Berlin Masters Of Cinema Release This February

Eureka! Entertainment have announced that they will be re-releasing their LUBITSCH IN BERLIN (Fairy-Tales, Melodramas, and Sex Comedies) Box Set in new slim line packaging on 10 February 2014.

Before he arrived in Hollywood to leave his indelible (and inimitable) mark on timeless comedies like Trouble in Paradise and The Shop Around the Corner, Ernst Lubitsch created an expansive body of work in Germany that proved to be as varied in its tone as it was sophisticated in its measure of man and woman. This set collects six recently restored works from the silent phase of Lubitsch's career, and casts new light on the director both as a fully-formed comic master, and as a virtuoso of cinematographic technique.

Featuring some of the biggest stars of the silent cinema including Emil Jannings, Pola Negri, Ossi Oswalda, Paul Wegener, and Harry Liedtke

ICH MÖCHTE KEIN MANN SEIN (1918)
One of the first collaborations between Lubitsch and the exuberant Ossi Oswalda, Ich möchte kein Mann sein [I Wouldn't Like to Be a Man] is a concise sketch of society life in three acts. When Ossi's uncle goes away on a business trip, a new guardian steps in to tame the distractable niece. But Ossi finds a way out of the house and into a grand ball... by way of a brazen cross-dressing scheme -- and triggers what is perhaps Lubitsch's most twisted finale.

DIE PUPPE (1919)
"Four amusing acts from a toy-chest" — so reads the opening title of the comic masterpiece Die Puppe. [The Doll.] adapted by Lubitsch and co-scenarist Hanns Kräly from a libretto by A. M. Wilner (based in turn on a tale from E. T. A. Hoffmann). Ossi Oswalda stars in a double-role as both the mischievous daughter, and automatonic creation, of a wildly coiffed "dollmaker". When a wealthy baron decides the time has come for his prudish nephew to take a wife, an uproariously ribald plot unwinds into what is perhaps the world's first-ever sex-doll comedy.

DIE AUSTERNPRINZESSIN (1919)
As Die Austernprinzessin. [The Oyster Princess.], Ossi Oswalda makes another turn as a plutocrat's rambunctious daughter — now the heiress of a global oyster empire, devoting her wiles once again to the service of man-ipulation. A comic high-point in the master's oeuvre, Die Austernprinzessin. showcases the trademarks of the "Lubitsch Touch" and its ten-fingered dexterity, resulting in a film that is simultaneously clever, concise, and risqué.

SUMURUN (1920)
By turns melodramatic and grotesquely comic, Sumurun brings together performances by star-players Paul Wegener (Der Golem.), Pola Negri, Harry Liedtke, and Ernst Lubitsch himself (in the role of an ultra-pathetic hunchbacked minstrel) for this ensemble tale pulled from the milieu of The Arabian Nights. Featuring hundreds of extras milling through open-air set-pieces and dusky harem-chambers alike, Sumurun demonstrates Lubitsch's ability to transfigure rote romance into vibrant pageant.

ANNA BOLEYN (1920)
Emil Jannings plays King Henry VIII in the story of Anne Boleyn's movement from the outskirts of the court, to the royal boudoir, and off to the chopping-block. Suffused with an atmosphere of entrapment that would not be out of place in later films by Fritz Lang, and prefiguring the stately contretemps in John Ford's Mary of Scotland, Anna Boleyn proceeds with a deathward momentum unique in Lubitsch's oeuvre.

DIE BERGKATZE (1921)
Set in one of Lubitsch's hallmark mythical kingdoms, Die Bergkatze [The Mountain-Lion / The Wildcat] finds Lubitsch in exuberantly expressionistic mode, employing a host of optical masks to create perhaps the most visually audacious comic spectacle of his career. Pola Negri plays the daughter of a band of thieves; seduction of army commander (and audience) ensues. Lubitsch's personal favourite work of all his German films, Die Bergkatze represents a peak in both Lubitsch's silent oeuvre and the silent cinema as a whole.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Six features across five discs
• A sixth disc containing Robert Fischer's 2006 feature-length documentary Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin: From Schönhauser Allee to Hollywood
• Exclusive concertina score for Die Puppe.
• Liner notes for all six features by film-writers David Cairns, Anna Thorngate, and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

We will be review this extraordinary release and you can pre-orderLUBITSCH IN BERLIN Six films by Ernst Lubitsch, 1918-1921 [Masters Of Cinema] (DVD) [Amazon], Available from 10th February.