Viva Erotica – Kani (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1996
Directors: Derek Yee, Lo Chi-Leung
Writers: Derek Yee, Lo Chi-Leung, Ka Man
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Karen Mok, Shu Qi, Law Kar-ying, Paul Chun, Elvis Tsui, Allen Ting, Sean Lau, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Peter Ngor, Teddy Chan, Vincent Kok 

Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Chinese
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.98

"Beloved Hong Kong icon Leslie Cheung (Happy Together) stars as Sing, an ambitious out-of-work filmmaker with two flops to his name. When his producer secures funding for his next project from a freshly cleaned-up Triad financier, he is saddled with the sexy Taipei starlet Mango (Shu Qi). Tasked with being more "Wong Jing than Wong Kar-wai" and encouraged by his long-suffering girlfriend (pop diva Karen Mok), Sing gets to work on his first softcore film." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "This transfer of Viva Erotica originates from the original camera negative."

Viva Erotica comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.9 GB

Feature: 18.1 GB

The source looks excellent, flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin)

This release comes with two audio tracks, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust when they should. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and a removable Chinese subtitle track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with director Lo Chi-leung (30 minutes 9 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film scholar Brian Hu and journalist Ada Tseng of the podcast Saturday School, an embossed and spot gloss slipcover limited to 3,000 units, and a 12-page booklet with an essay titled Viva Erotica, Viva Leslie Cheung written by Ross Chen.

Summary:

A Cat-III film production company offers an opportunity for a director who is currently out of work to revive his career by directing one of their films. Reluctant to take on the film, the director searches for a compromise between artistic integrity and financial security.

Though Viva Erotica is a film within a film satire, what unfolds often veers into metacinema. Also, a lot of Viva Erotica is based on real events experienced by director Lo Chi-leung. Another area where Viva Erotica blurs the line between reality and fantasy are cameos by Hong Kong film industry people. There is even a character named after one of Viva Erotica’s directors.

When discussing a film like Viva Erotica, one should put into context the state of Hong Kong cinema. Two years before the British handover of Hong Kong to mainland China, Cat III films were the easiest to get funding for. And when it comes to exploring the state of Hong Kong cinema at that moment, Viva Erotica delivers in spades.

From its first moment, it is clear that Viva Erotica is a film that will keep you on your toes. In this opening moment, two lovers in an apartment passionately have sex, and as the moment evolves, the apartment is drenched by what appears to be rain. And when they reach a climax, the camera pulls back to reveal a film crew. This moment is a perfect example of the artificiality of filmmaking.

The most impressive aspect of Viva Erotica is its phenomenal cast, who are all excellent in their roles, especially Leslie Cheung (A Better Tomorrow) in the role of Sing, a filmmaker at a crossroads. He delivers a pitch-perfect performance of a conflicted artist on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When his character gets lost in a fantasy, his performance shines brightest.

Shu Qi's portrayal of Mango, a terrible actress with limited range, is worth noting. Her character is the girlfriend of a gangster who is financing the film, and she obviously got the part because she is very attractive. Also, it is difficult to intentionally portray bad acting in the same way someone deliberately sings bad. Anthony Wong Chau-Sang (Taxi Hunter) makes an appearance, portraying a director who is obviously meant to be Wong Jing.

Viva Erotica is a film that takes place in the world of Cat III cinema; it should not be a surprise that there is a lot of adult content. That said, most of the nudity comes from Shu Qi, who looks stunning throughout.

From a production standpoint, Viva Erotica is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. The narrative moves along briskly, and the humor never misses the mark. The most surprising aspect of Viva Erotica are the visuals. Ultimately, though Viva Erotica is a black comedy about filmmaking, it is also a heartfelt film about cinema.

Viva Erotica gets an excellent release from Kani that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Complete Lady Snowblood – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1973 (Lady Snowblood), Japan, 1974 (Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)
Director: Toshiya Fujita (Both Films)
Cast: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza, Shinichi Uchida, Takeo Chii, Noboru Nakaya, Yoshiko Nakada, Akemi Negishi, Kaoru Kusuda, Sanae Nakahara, Hôsei Komatsu (Lady Snowblood), Meiko Kaji, Jûzô Itami, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Yoshio Harada, Shin Kishida, Tôru Abe, Rin'ichi Yamamoto, Kôji Nanbara, Masasuke Hirose, Shunsuke Mizoguchi, Akira Hamada, Hiroshi Ishiya, Mizuho Suzuki, Shôichi Hirose (Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)

Release Date: January 5th, 2016
Approximate Running Times: 97 Minutes 15 Seconds (Lady Snowblood), 89 Minutes 24 Seconds (Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

Lady Snowblood: "set in late nineteenth-century Japan, charts the single-minded path of vengeance taken by a young woman (Meiko Kaji) whose parents were the unfortunate victims of a gang of brutal criminals." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance: "Our furious heroine is captured by the authorities and sentenced to death for the various killings she has committed; however, she is offered a chance of escape—if she carries out dangerous orders for the government." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Lady Snowblood, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "These new digital transfers were created in 2K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from new 35mm low-contrast prints struck from the original camera negatives. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, jitter, and flicker."

Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.2 GB

Feature: 20.1 GB (Lady Snowblood), 18.5 GB (Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)

These brand new transfers are a noticeable improvement over their previous home video releases. Both transfers look excellent, flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels are strong.

Audio: 5/5 (LPCM Mono Japanese - Lady Snowblood, LPCM Mono Japanese - Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance)

Each film comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. Both audio tracks sound excellent; the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, both tracks do a superb job when it comes to ambient sounds and the score.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Lady Snowblood (2 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (2 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Kazuo Koike, the writer of the manga that inspired the films (10 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Norio Osada (21 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and a leaflet with cast & crew information for both films, an essay titled Flowers of Carnage written Howard Hampton, information about the transfer, and a poster on the reverse side of the leaflet.

Summary:

Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance reteam director Toshiya Fujita with Mieko Kaji; they had previously collaborated on Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo and Stray Cat Rock: Beat ‘71. Kazuo Koike’s (Lone Wolf and Cub) manga Lady Snowblood is the source for these two films.

"Be grieving snow falls in the dead of morning. Stray dog’s howls and the footsteps of Geta pierce the air. I walk with the weight of the milky way on my shoulders, but an umbrella holds onto the darkness is all there." – Flower of Carnage

Lady Snowblood: A woman born for one reason, "bloody revenge," inherits her mother's vendetta.

The narrative revolves around Yuki, aka Lady Snowblood, an assassin for hire who exacts revenge for those who are powerless. A woman on a snow-covered road is carrying an umbrella that obscures her face. From there, she crosses paths with a man and his bodyguards. When she refuses to move aside, all hell breaks loose as she quickly disposes of the bodyguards and the man they are protecting. Not only does this scene perfectly set the tone, but it also does a phenomenal job establishing that Yuki is not someone to be taken lightly.

Though one would be hard-pressed to find any faults in any of the performances, all performances pale in comparison to Meiko Kaji’s portrayal of Yuki. She delivers a towering performance that perfectly captures her character's rage. By the time she made Lady Snowblood, Meiko Kaji had already firmly established herself as the premiere actress when it came to portraying badass female assassins in 1970s Japanese cinema. 

Toshiya Fujita’s direction is solid, the visuals are stylish, and there are inventive framing choices. A particularly striking moment is the way he juxtaposes a flashback of Yuki’s mother being raped with the moment of Yuki’s birth. That said, most of the standout moments center around the carnage, which includes blood flowing like geysers, severed limbs, and a hanging woman that is cut in half.

All around, Lady Snowblood is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking. The narrative constructs a perfect story, builds tension effectively, and delivers an amazing final conclusion. That said, Lady Snowblood doesn't conform to the typical exploitation film, and it uses violence only to advance the story.

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance: The secret police forced Yuki to assassinate political dissidents or face the death penalty.

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is different tone-wise than its predecessor. No longer driven by revenge, this time politics takes center stage. All of the acts of carnage are directed at political dissidents. Also, when it comes to violence, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance takes on a more realistic approach than its predecessors comic book-style violence. 

Yuki had come full circle by the end of Lady Snowblood; she no longer had anything to prove. In Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance, her motivation changes from revenge to survival. Meiko Kaji returns in the role of Yuki, aka Lady Snowblood. And once again, she delivered a scene-stealing performance. The character's shifting from calm to rage effortlessly fuels the power of her performance. The rest of the cast is very good in their roles.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance comes up short. The narrative does a great job building momentum, and there is an ample amount of spurting blood and severed limbs. And though Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is a film that stands well on its own, it still pales in comparison to its predecessor.

The Complete Lady Snowblood is an excellent release from The Criterion Collection, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Frivolous Lola – Cult Epics (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1998
Director: Tinto Brass
Writers: Tinto Brass, Barbara Alberti, Carla Cipriani
Cast: Anna Ammirati, Patrick Mower, Max Parodi, Susanna Martinková, Antonio Salines, Francesca Nunzi, Vittorio Attene, Laura Trotter, Carlo Reali, Maurizio Prudenzi, Edith Rozanyai, Alberto Capone, Serena Grandi

Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 28 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD Stereo Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"Join the Joie de Vivre club with the maddeningly charming Lola, as she plots to loosen up her fiancé in this exuberant sexy comedy. Everyone is wild about Lola - even, some suspect, her own stepfather." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "New 4K Transfer (from the original negative) & Restoration with HDR."

Frivolous Lola comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 81.2 GB

Feature: 76.6 GB

This transfer looks exceptional. Flesh tones are healthy; colors look vibrant; image clarity and black levels are solid; compression is very good; and the image looks organic. That said, there are two things I considered when coming up with a score for this transfer. How does it compare to this film’s previous home video releases, and does it look any better than this transfer, which looks exceptional?

Frivolous Lola comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.2 GB

Feature: 31.8 GB 

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD Stereo Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Italian, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Quality-wise, you can’t go wrong with any of these audio tracks; they are all in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, they all sound great. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track, and when watching with the English language tracks, there are scenes in Italian with removable English subtitles for these scenes.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a theatrical trailer for All Ladies Do It (3 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono Italian and English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Frivolous Lola (2 minutes 17 seconds, LPCM mono Italian with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer for All Ladies Do It (3 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono Italian and English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Frivolous Lola (2 minutes 17 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Paprika (1 minute 11 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for P.O. Box Tinto Brass (1 minute 15 seconds, LPCM stereo with Italian with text, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Istintobrass (4 minutes 13 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a photo gallery for Frivolous Lola (20 images), an archival interview with director Tinto Brass (25 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson.

Other extras include reversible cover art, four repro Italian lobby card prints (first pressing exclusive), slipcover (first pressing exclusive) and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled A Committed Brat the Career of Anna Ammirati written by Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti.

Summary:

Directed by Tinto Brass, whose other notable films are Deadly Sweet, Salon Kitty, The Key, Snack Bar Budapest, and Paprika.

The narrative revolves around a young woman who struggles to keep her virginity due to her flirtatious nature, which is having an arousing effect on all the men in her village.

Tinto Brass really knows how to introduce his protagonists. Frivolous Lola opens with its protagonist, Lola, riding a bike as the wind repeatedly blows her skirt up. This opening does two things: it perfectly captures without any words who Lola is, and it also plays into the voyeur aesthetic of Tinto Brass’ visual eye.

Most Tinto Brass films have a protagonist whose world revolves around their escapades, and yet Frivolous Lola is the direct opposite. And though there is an undeniable sexiness to the Lola character, she has a genuine, playful innocence that is unlike any character to appear before or since in a Tinto Brass film.

Lola has met the man of her dreams, and she wants to save her virginity for him. She does not want to shut herself away from the world or change who she is. She is a young woman who is full of life, and her main objective in life is to have fun.

Besides the aforementioned problems with her fiance due to her flirting, Frivolous Lola also weaves another subplot that revolves around a man who is her mother’s lover. And though everyone in town believes that he is Lola’s father, he is not sure if she is really his daughter. This subplot sets up some very unusual and, at times, uncomfortable moments. That said, at least in regards to this relationship, things never devolve into the decadent behavior that is present in several of Tinto Brass’ other films.

Setting the narrative in a bygone era is nothing new to Brass, who has set several of his films in the past, most notably during World War II. This time around, he sets Frivolous Lola in the gentler era of the 1950's, and in this regard, this is Frivolous Lola’s most durable asset. This setting greatly aids Frivolous Lola’s lighter tone.

Tinto Brass had a knack for discovering his leading ladies, and with Anna Ammirati, he once again finds a perfect muse. She gives a remarkable performance that is equally engaging and provocative. It is not hard to see how anyone would not fall head over heels for her. That said, the performances all around are great.

From a production standpoint, Frivolous Lola delivers in spades. The production design is solid, the pacing is pitch perfect, and the visuals are solid, as Tinto Brass fills every frame with eye-catching angles that highlight his leading lady’s assets. Ultimately, Frivolous Lola is a highly entertaining and humorous sexually laced farce about the obstacles that can happen before a wedding night.

Frivolous Lola gets an exceptional release from Cult Epics that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Witch Story – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1989
Director: Alessandro Capone
Writers: Alessandro Capone, Rosario Galli, Jeff Moldovan
Cast: Amy Adams, Pierre Agostino, Jeff Bankert, Ian Bannen, Charon Butler, Todd Conner, Jon Freda, Suzanne Law, Jason M. Lefkowitz, Deanna Lund, Christopher Peacock, Michele Peacock, Nancie Sanderson

Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 13 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $54.98

"Following the tragic death of their parents, a sister and brother take a group of friends to rural Florida to stay at a rickety old house which they’ve recently inherited. Little do the youngsters realize that some decades before, a woman suspected of being a witch was burned at the stake on the property by the zealous townsfolk. With the group settled in for a few days of drinking and partying, the demonic forces that reside in the house are quick to take hold - possessing a number of the teens and prompting them to take up knives, axes and chainsaws against their friends in an orgy of death and dismemberment. As the carnage escalates, the few remaining members of the group are forced to seek out the assistance of a local aged priest, in the hopes of putting an end to the horror." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4 K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Witch Story comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 59.2 GB

Feature: 58.9 GB

The source looks excellent; color saturation, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Witch Story comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 27.5 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English), 3.75/5 DTS-HD Mono Italian)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian. The English-language track sounds more robust than the Italian-language track. There are background hiss and sibilance issues on the English language track. Dialog comes through clearly and ambient sounds are well represented. Included are removable English SDH for the English language track. 

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background, raw audition footage (45 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival making-of documentary titled An Italian Witch in Florida featuring interviews with director Alessandro Capone, cinematographer Roberto Girometti and composer Carlo Maria Cordio (44 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Roberto Girometti titled The Light of Witches (11 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with producer Giuseppe Pedersoli titled Producing the Witch (33 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Alessandro Capone titled Directing a Witch Story (32 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani. 

Other extras include reversible cover art, and a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo limited to 6,000 units.

Summary:

A group of friends stay at a dilapidated house that two of them inherited. Not aware of the house’s past, things quickly take a turn for the worse when the ghost of a witch who used to live there seeks revenge for her execution.

By the late 1980s, Italian horror cinema was a shadow of its former self. Case in point: Witch Story, a late 1980’s Italian horror film mostly shot in Florida by a first-time filmmaker—what could go wrong? Despite having many elements that one expects from Italian horror cinema, like stylish visuals and gory death sequences, Witch Story is a film with many shortcomings. Notably, its anemic narrative is too predictable.

The cast is mostly made up of first-time actors and actresses, many of whom never acted again. Even the presence of Ian Bannen (The Flight of the Phoenix), the most famous member of the cast, is not enough to save Witch Story. The most memorable performances are by Deanna Lund in the role of Helena, a witch who is burned to death by an angry mob, and Suzanne Law in the role of Helena’s daughter, whose ghost haunts the house.

Italian horror cinema made in the mid- to late-80s had a formula; most of these films revolved around a group of friends, teenagers, or those in their early 20s who were confronted by a supernatural horror. And though some of these were very good, like Demons, far too many were forgettable. Ultimately, The Witch Story falls into the latter category.

Witch Story gets a first-rate release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an abundance of extras.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer