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Category:    Home > Reviews > Thriller > Horror > Supernatural > Action > Adventure > Science Fiction > Erotic > Exploitation > Comedy > M > Black Rainbow (1991*)/Bloodstone (1988/both Arrow*)/Shining Sex (1975/Severin Blu-ray)/Sukiyaki Western Django (2007/*all MVD Blu-rays)/Valley Of The Gods (2019/Well Go Blu-ray)

Black Rainbow (1991*)/Bloodstone (1988/both Arrow*)/Shining Sex (1975/Severin Blu-ray)/Sukiyaki Western Django (2007/*all MVD Blu-rays)/Valley Of The Gods (2019/Well Go Blu-ray)



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



Now for more genre releases, including a few very odd ones...



We start with yet another film from Director Mike Hodges being issued by Arrow. Rosanna Arquette stars in Black Rainbow (1991), an unusual supernatural thriller that is definitely worth checking out.


Arquette plays a traveling psychic named Martha Travis, whose at the mercy of her controlling alcoholic father Walter (Jason Robards). While her act is usually staged to gain profits, she starts having real communication with spirits beyond. When a newsman (Tom Hulce) starts investigating and telling her story, her visions become more and more dangerous and possessive.


Black Rainbow is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and an audio mix in English: DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and

English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) lossless sound. Like the recent Flash Gordon restoration, this is a brand new restoration from the original negative approved by writer-director Mike Hodges.


Special Features:


New audio commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan


Archival audio commentary by Mike Hodges


Message in a Bottle: Archival Making of documentary


Archival interviews with Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Rosanna Arquette


Archival featurettes 8 Minutes ; Disasters ; Seeing the Future ; Behind the Rainbow featuring interviews with Hodges, Arquette, Robards, producer John Quested including behind-the-scenes imagery


Trailer


Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh


and FIRST PRESSING ONLY: a high quality booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Mike Hodges and more.



Bloodstone (1988) is a fun action adventure romp that at the time was hoping to win over some Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone fans yearning for action at the cineplex. In the film, a newlywed American couple go on a honeymoon to India, where they end up on a crazy adventure centered around a ruby.


The film stars Brett Stimely, Rajinikanth, Anna Nicholas, Charlie Brill, and Jack Kehler with directed by Dwight H. Little (Broken Arrow).


Bloodstone is is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and an audio mix in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo, both English at 48kHz, 24-bit. The film is up to standards with Arrow's high quality standards.


Special Features:


Brand new audio commentary by Bryan Reesman


Keeping it to Myself, brand new interview with producer and co-writer Nico Mastorakis


Brand new video essay on Bloodstone star Rajinikanth by Indian cinema expert Josh Hurtado


Trailers


Image gallery


Original screenplay [BD-ROM content]


Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys


and FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Cunliffe.



Jess Franco has made a ton of films, often fast and cheap, but his most sexually explicit film, Shining Sex (1975) is a wacky and bizarre as anything he has probably ever made or anyone has ever made. Though he gets into the trap of filming and showing some things only he understands, the sex is what it is and the narrative is vague, but here is what this viewer could gather. Don't expect the film to be as coherent.


A woman (the director's real life wife Lina Romay) is a performer of sexually charged dancing, in the nude or practically so, also having an extremely hot sexual affair for a boyfriend (or the like, we only see him nude in a picture, but it is suggested he is highly skilled in sexual prowess) and she is particularly happy before and during the current performance she is giving to a paying, but small public gathering. This is not only noticed by some in the audience, but by aliens from outer space!


Two of them (nude unless they are wearing the low-end line of EuroDisco clothing of the time, if that is what it is; great disguise) seduce her and start to have all kinds of sex with her. Are they trying to experience human sex, just have more sex or add to whatever their kind of sex is? Of course, the film never answers any of these questions (voyeurism included, we gather) and is probably not interested in asking them (Franco plays a guy stuck in a wheelchair watching pretty much all of this) so the ultimate intent is to somehow titillate... or something like that. Guess you'll have to see it if you think it is your kind of film... or just to see if you can figure out what is going on here... somehow.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the age of the materials used, restored in this uncut edition, so it is going superior to all previous releases of the film. However, it still has rough spots and scenes he could and should have reshot because what he intended in a few places failed. It would have only took a few minutes and a few dollars more. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is only in English and there is still dubbing that does not always work and the sonic quality overall really shows its age. It is still likely to be the best this will ever sound, so it is what it is.


Extras include In the Land of Franco Part 3 - Stephen Thrower and Antonio Mayans tour multiple Franco locations in Malaga, Spain, Shining Jess - Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Murderous Passions and Flowers of Perversion, Never Met Franco - Interview with Filmmaker Gerard Kikoine, Filmmaker Christophe Gans on Franco, Very NSFW Outtakes, Franco at Eurocine - Interview with Producer Daniel Lesoeur, Audio Commentary with Scholars Robert Monell and Rod Barnett and an Original Theatrical Trailer.



The infamous filmmaker Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer) takes a stab at directing a wacky spaghetti western tribute to the classic 'Django' films with Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), which also features cult director Quentin Tarantino in front of the camera in a small role. The film was previously released on Blu-ray disc in 2008, but this is a new collector's edition with two cuts of the film and plenty of extras.


If you have seen Miike's work, then you know that it's kind of hard to describe. At one moment highly cinematic and then the next a bit over the top and almost cartoonish. Sukiyaki Western Django is a highly stylized romp that is the answer to what happens if a spaghetti western was set at some odd point in Japanese history.


The film stars Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya, Masanobu Ando, and Takaaki Ishibashi.


Sukiyaki Western Django is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and an audio mixes in English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless sound, English LPCM 2.0 Stereo lossless, and lossy English Dolby Digital 5.1. The film is very colorful with some bizarre color choices, some of them a bit questionable. But it's definitely a vivid and interestingly shot film, if not a bit experimental.


Special Features:


Making of Featurette

Deleted Scenes

Sizzle Reel

Promotional Clips

U.S. and Japanese Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots (SD)

Reversible Artwork

and Limited Edition Slipcover


Tarantino fans will get a kick out of his cameo in this film and it is a wacky thrill ride for sure. You can read more about the film in another rave review of an older Blu-ray/DVD set edition we reviewed at this link:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7809/Sukiyaki+Western+Django+(First+Look+Blu-ray



Lastly, Josh Hartnett, Berenice Marlohe (Skyfall), and John Malkovich star in Lech Majewksi's Valley of the Gods (2019), which gets a nice Blu-ray release here from Well Go USA.


The film is shot quite nicely and has some incredible production design behind it, but all in all is a poor attempt at being a David Lynch type surrealist film. Painfully slow at points, the filmmaking is the most impressive point of this film and the only reason to finish it.


The film also stars Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey), John Rhys-Davies, Jaime Ray Newman, Joseph Runnfox, and Steven Skyler.


The film follows three storylines - an eccentric trillionaire (Malkovich), a Navajo community that is struggling, and a writer (Hartnett). Hoping to write a biographical piece on Malkovich's character, Hartnett finds that he's in for a lot more than he bargained for.


Valley of the Gods is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a a MPEG-4 AVC codec and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with audio mixes in English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix and a lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Overall, a solid video presentation.


Special Features include a Making Of featurette, Trailer and previews for other Well Go releases



- Nicholas Sheffo (Shining) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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