Top of the week, and one of the most exciting sets this year so far (at least to some of us) is the new Karloff and Lugosi Horror Classics set. Old stuff is kind of coming out in a trickle now, so anything like this is more than welcome.
That said, this is more a completist’s buy than anything else, except for one film. Zombies on Broadway is a fairly dismal comedy with Lugosi hamming it up as usual. Frankenstein 1970 is a not really that great Karloff feature from the ’60s with Boris playing the Doctor for a change. Better is You’ll Find Out, another, more horror-themed, comedy. Again, not great, but it sports Karloff and Lugosi and Peter Lorre in the cast.
The class act of the set is Karloff’s The Walking Dead, a very good film from his prime. Definitely put at least that film on your Netflix list if you don’t buy the set. However, it’s hard to argue with five bucks a movie, which is what the set will cost you at Amazon.
TV this week: Ally McBeal S1; Blood Ties S2; Bones S4; Get Smart S4; Man vs. Food S1; Martin S1; Mary Tyler Moore Show S5; Medium S5; Mister Ed S1; Murphy’s Law S1 (Brit cop show); Prototype This S1;
First, sad news. They had scheduled the release of Werewolf the TV show (Fox’s first semi-hit back when everyone thought the new ‘network’ was doomed to die a quick death), best known for a highly enjoyable turn by a villainous Chuck Connors. Unfortunately, copyright issues have blocked the release, ones that could keep this show from ever seeing the light of day. Too bad.
Better is the release of the recent Red Dwarf: Back to Earth. Fans of the Brit sci-fi com will be glad to see it return.
Also back is Astro Boy. Unsurprisingly given the new Astro Boy movie coming out, the old cartoon series is getting some attention.
Jabootuists might wan to check out Psi Factor, a sci-fi series that I remember as being hilariously cheap and bad. Hosted by Dan Ackroyd. (!!)
On to movies.
Camp fans might want to check out Kino’s new matching shorts collections, Classic Educational Shorts: How to Be a Man and, that’s right, Classic Educational Shorts: How to Be a Woman.
Classic film buffs will note that Disney’s first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is back out (for a while) in various editions, including of course a really fancy one.
The Gate, an enjoyable piece of ’80s horror, hits shelves this week.
Not Quite Hollywood looks like an interesting documentary on the Australian film industry of the ’70s.
Trick r’ Treat: DTV anthology horror flick that’s gotten some good buzz. Some names in it, including Brian Cox and Anna Paquin.
Lots of (to me, generally useless) strait to disc horror this week, including a highly unnecessary remake of Larry Cohen’s killer baby flick It’s Alive (now a remake of Larry Buchanan’s It’s Alive…that I’d buy). Other such flicks include Dark Country, directed by and starring Thomas Jane; a remake of Children of the Corn; Wicked Lake is another hicksploitation horror; Skull Heads is from Charles Band, say no more.
