The Manchurian Candidate (1962/United Artists/MGM/Arrow U.K. Region B Import Blu-ray)/Rabid (1977/Cronenberg/Arrow U.K. Region B Import Blu-ray)/Speed (1932/MGM/Warner Archive DVD)/St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979 aka Zombi/Fulci)/Zombie Holocaust (1980 aka Island Of The Lost Zombies aka Medical Deviate aka Dr. Butcher, M.D./Umbrella Region B Import Blu-rays)

Picture: B-/B-/C+/B/B-/B- Sound: C+/B-/C+/B-/B-/B- Extras: B+/B/C-/B-/B-/B- Films: A-/B-/C+/B-/B-/C+

PLEASE NOTE: The Speed (1932) DVD is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and still in print, while The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Blu-ray and all imports are now out of print.

Here's a nice set of new action thrillers across several genres to know about...

John Frankenheimer's ever-remarkable, original The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is back in a new Blu-ray edition, but as an Arrow U.K. Region B Import Blu-ray wit the same video transfer and more extras. I was slightly disappointed with the MGM U.S. Blu-ray...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10955/Dead+Man+Walking+(1995)+++Hotel+Rwanda+(2

But the film is a true classic...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1351/Manchurian+Candidate+(1962,+remastered/MGM+D

Expanded extras here include a reversible sleeve featuring original & newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw, a new collector's booklet on the film containing new writings by Peter Knight (Conspiracy Culture) & Neil Sanders (Your Thoughts Are Not Your Own) illustrated with original production stills, a DVD version of the film, while the Blu-ray adds The Directors: John Frankenheimer (2003, 1 hr.) with interviews of Frankenheimer, Kirk Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Roy Scheider, Rod Steiger and more and extras from previous-format versions of the film are here including a great feature-length audio commentary by Frankenheimer, an on-camera interview with Frankenheimer, Sinatra & screenwriter George Axelrod from the film's 1988 revival, Queen of Diamonds: an interview with Angela Lansbury, A Little Solitaire: an appreciation of the film by director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, Sorcerer, To Live & Die In L.A.) and the Original Theatrical Trailer.

A great thriller whose legend and influence have gone far beyond its time, this remains a must-see for a serious film fans.

David Cronenberg's Rabid (1977) is one of the director's early horror successes known for having the late XXX sex star Marilyn Chambers (who died rather young, here before becoming one of the last XXX legend on 35mm film) as a model who gets into a bad motorcycle accident and needs serious skin graft work. Unfortunately, her doctor is a quack who experiments with here and lands up unleashing a deadly virus that turns people into zombies and unleashes an epidemic!

The way it is transmitted is among the early examples of the wacky, weird ways Cronenberg and company come up with to twist reality, the human body and visuals for the most creepy impact. The film is not great, but not bad either and worth a look for what does work. Chambers is actually good here, joined by Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Patricia Gage and Susan Roman, unknowns to most who only make this more engaging and realistic in a raw sense. Not always great, but definitely worth your time and a look at least once.

Extras include a new collector's Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kier-La Janisse, reprinted excerpts of Cronenberg on Cronenberg and more, illustrated with original archive stills and posters, a DVD version of the film, while the Blu-ray adds two feature-length audio commentary tracks (one with writer-director Cronenberg, the other with William Beard, author of The Artist as Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg), Archive interview with David Cronenberg, brand new interview with executive producer Ivan Reitman, brand new interview with co-producer Don Carmody, Make-up Memories: Joe Blasco Remembers Rabid - A short featurette in which Blasco recalls how the film's various gruesome effects were achieved, Raw, Rough and Rabid: The Lacerating Legacy of Cinepix - Featurette looking back at the early years of the celebrated Canadian production company, including interviews with author Kier-La Janisse and special makeup artist Joe Blasco, The Directors: David Cronenberg (1999) documentary on the filmmaker, containing interviews with Cronenberg, Marilyn Chambers, Deborah Harry, Michael Ironside, Peter Weller & others and the Original Theatrical Trailer.

Edwin L. Martin's Speed (1932) is obviously not the silly hit action film with Keanu Reeves, but a drama with some comedy and action featuring a young James Stewart on his way to giant movie star status in his first lead role as a driver and engineer developing a new carburetor, but testing can be dangerous, especially when the egos of competitors get in the way. He has two women also interested in him in the persons of Wendy Barrie and Una Merkel, while Ted Healey and Ralph Morgan are among the guy cast.

At only 70 minutes, this is fun and has some unexpected surprises, including the jet age, modern, streamlined super-sports car Stewart has built to show off his new invention and general engineering skills resulting in more fun than expected and car fans should put this on their must list. You can see why MGM was the #1 studio early on... they were going all out for films like this and the stars all have chemistry that endures well.

The Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra.

Roger Corman's St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) is the first time the legendary B-movie director worked for a major movie studio, Fox in this case, telling the story of how on that not-so-romantic day in 1929, Al Capone (Jason Robards, not bad at all here) decided to kill off all of his competition the fatal way... with bullets. Done with voice-over in a police procedural way, the film is brutal for its time, has a good, solid flow to it and remains one of the better pre-Godfather gangster-genre films when so many were bombing around it.

The sets are not bad, but the supporting cast is a big plus including Ralph Meeker as 'Bugs' Moran, Jean Hale, Joseph Campanella, George Segal (as Peter Gusenberg), Bruce Dern, Joe Turkel (Blade Runner), Paul Richards, John Agar, Tom Reese, Jan Merlin, Alex Rocco, Tom Signorelli, David Canary and Harold J. Stone as Frank Nitti. More than worth rediscovering, I am surprised it is getting exclusive, limited edition treatment, but it is a gem worth buying while supplies last.

Extras include another illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and a Julie Kirgo essay on the film, Fox Movietone News tied to the film, Roger Corman Remembers interview clip, the Original Theatrical Trailer and an Isolated Music Score track.

Lucio Fulci's producer Fabrizio DeAngelis is behind our last two films, Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979 aka Zombi) and Marino Girolami's Zombie Holocaust (1980), in the same style with some of the same people on both sides of the camera. We previously reviewed the first U.S. Blue Underground version of Zombi (now part of a Fulci Blu-ray set from the company) at this link:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11324/Alien+2:+On+Earth+(1980/Midnight+Legacy/MVD

Holocaust has its leads go to an island to find out the origins of a zombie cult that puts this lesser-seen film in the Island Of Lost Souls/Dr. Moreau mode, but it is not bad and as gory for its time. It may not be as good as Zombi, but better than most of the current wave of lame zombie entries and refreshingly deals with the supernatural type of zombie. Ian McCulloch shows up in both films among others and is worth going out of your way for if you are a fan of these films and runs a tight 84 minutes.

Extras on both releases are totally different. Flesh offers a feature length audio commentary track by Ian McCulloch & Jason L. Slater, the Original Theatrical Trailer and TV & Radio Spots, while Holocaust offers a Deleted Scene, Roy Frumke's Behind The Scenes Photos, Art Gallery, on camera Frumke interview, Maurizio Trani interview and original Tales That'll Tear Your Heart Out footage with Frumke commentary. For more on the new, upgraded version of Fulci's Zombie on Blue Underground Blu-ray set with CD, try this link...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15329/All+The+Creatures+Were+Stirring+(2018/RLJ+DV

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image on Manchurian has the same transfer and limits as the U.S. Blu-ray, but framing is different and some shots might be a bit clearer than the older Blu-ray. The slight reframing was not too bad, but this needs a new 4K transfer. The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital color High Definition image on Rabid may have some shots that look good, but it also has a digital color redo that makes it look like a 16mm film at times despite being shot on 35mm film and resembles the new Scanners transfer in that it does not resemble the original look of the film, joining a roster of films changed decades later that includes Mann's Thief and Lucas' THX-1138 that make one question its integrity and is a bit of an affront to the Director of Photography (Rene Verzier in this case) at the least. At least both versions of Thief were issued in HD in Arrow's limited edition (reviewed elsewhere on this site), but too many cases have no copy of the original being available. Rabid may have been low budget, but had a consistent look. Fans and those familiar with the film at least will have issues.

The 1.33 X 1 black and white image on Speed is at its weakest in its stock footage as expected, though some rear-screen work is a riot, but the print is not bad throughout. I would love to see this on film and Blu-ray since I know this could look better.

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition images on Massacre and Flesh may be low-budget shoots, yet they still look better than most current HD scope shoots that too often have a tired, generic and colorless look. In both cases, the look and feel is palpable in its own right and one of the reasons we are still talking about both films decades later. Massacre (in DeLuxe Color) may have some weak moments and color that fluctuates here and there, but it has never looked more solid and is easily one of Corman's best-looking films, while Flesh looks like the same HD master used by Blue Underground for the U.S. Blu-ray, which is a good thing down to some roughness expected from how it was shot. It still looks superior to most zombie films and you can see the Dawn Of The Dead influence.

The same can be said for the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Holocaust, looking good for its age and budget, but showing the age of the materials used as expected.

The PCM 2.0 Mono on Manchurian is as limited as the DTS-MA 5.1 on the U.S. Blu-ray, meaning the original sound stems need to be retrieved, cleaned and remastered. You can hear it just well enough, but a classic deserved more. The PCM 2.0 Mono on Rabid is better, even if it shows the limits of its budget and age, but I can't imagine this film sounding much better unless the music has a stereo master and the money is spend for an upgrade.

The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Speed is older than any other film here by at least 30 years, but is not bad for its time at all and likely could sound a bit better itself with some work and a lossless presentation.

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on Massacre and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 English Mono lossless mixes on the Zombie films are about evenly matched, though Massacre has a slight edge since it had a slightly larger budget, but not not by much. They all sound as good as they are ever going to, though Blue Underground offered a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 Italian lossless mix on Flesh I preferred to the track here. Some fans might want copies of both editions.

You can order the Speed (1932) Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20

- Nicholas Sheffo