New on DVD (03/13/07)

Not a lot today. (Save some coin for next week, though.) I’m going to give the Pick of the Week to the Cool McCool The Complete Series set, which can be had for about ten or twelve bucks. This was a ’60s spy spoof cartoon that I hope is as fun as I remember it being.

Other TV sets this week include Bosom Buddies S1 and Loonatics Unleashed (ugh) S1.

On the movie front, the big item is the two-disc DVD for the extremely nifty recent Bond film Casino Royale. I wouldn’t be surprised if a bigger ‘special edition’ was in the cards, though, so buy with caution. A great flick, though.

Among the other sparse offerings this week:

Code Name Wild Geese is an ’80s Italian / German mercenary action flick that used to play on cable all the time. Needless to say, it’s completely retarded, but in a good sense. Dig the cast: Lee Van Cleef, Ernie Borgnine and Klaus Kinski! The cheapo price indicates a crappy DVD, but at least the running time of about 100 minutes sounds right, as compared to the numerous edited versions that have floated around. Still, Caveat Emptor.

Horror Business is a documentary about low-budget horror film making. It’s supposed to be pretty decent.

Lizard in a Woman’s Skin is a Fulci Giallo that has previously been out in a separate edition. This reported excellent edition apparently sports new extras, causing the reliable DVDDrive.com site to suggest it as a companion to the previous DVD.

Shogun Assassin 2 is the second film in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, about a revenge-seeking ronin who travels the countryside with his infant son, in a murderous, gadget-filled babycart, slaying thousands of enemies in extremely bloody fashion.

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Ed

Quentin Tarantino gave props to “Shogun Assassin” at the end of “Kill Bill 2” when Beatrix and Bill’s young daughter wants to go to bed watching it. And speaking of, who isn’t absolutely revved up for next month’s “Grindhouse” release?

I think I actually remember “Code Name Wild Geese” from the 80s! Klaus Kinski??? As in “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” Klaus Kinski? Lord. I own “Aguirre” – if anyone here has not seen that movie, please, go out and get it. Shot around ’77 but with cinematography that would put today’s movies to shame. It’s just awesome. Very much like “The Mission” (Europeans in the heathen jungles) but it even blows that away in terms of cinematography. Anyone who is even 50% a student of film knows what I’m talking about. These are shots that leave you breathless. It’s probably one of the least watched, yet most influential films ever (to directors and cinematographers anyway).

Boy, it’s wild to think of Kinski in that and van Cleef in the iconic Leonie spaghetti westerns and then doing MST3K spoofs just years later. How the mighty can fall.

For those not aware of it, Klaus is Nastassja Kinki’s father (we know her as Nastasha stateside). Who wasn’t in love with her after “Cats” or that incredible 80’s poster of her laying down naked with a giant python. Wow.

“Horror Business” sounds very cool Ken. Speaking of cheap horror flicks, my mother’s satellite has been getting an excellent new channel called “Chiller” for about a week now. “Tarantula” was on last night and they do a lot of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” stuff and “Tales from the Crypt” reruns. Excellent channel.
Paul

Hi,

Quick comment about “Shogun Assassin 2”. From what I can gather on Amazon, this is a retitling of “Lone Wolf And Cub – Baby Cart To Hades”, the 3rd of the 6 Lone Wolf movies. The original Shogun Assassin was essentially a mashup of the first 2 movies (e.g. all the gore, most of the plot taken out). If it’s just a retitling, it’s an excellent movie but the pacing would be very different to Shogun Assassin as the full movies spend a lot more time following the lives and rituals of the Japanese peasants that the heroes encounter.

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