This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
temporarily possessed by the space girl) kiss. A couple of sup- porting performers have been dubbed with American voices and there are also additional in- stances where Mancini’s score has been replaced by Kamen cues, with these substitutions being less effective than the origi- nal accompaniment. Overall, the film still plays fairly well in this incarnation and there is some- thing to be said for its often breathless pace. The longer ver- sion remains preferable and manages to come across as reasonably sensible, even when the film’s overindulgences threaten to derail the narrative. MGM released LIFEFORCE on DVD more than a decade ago, utilizing their 4:3 letterbox laser- disc transfer of the International Version and offering nothing more than a trailer as a bonus. Scream Factory has treated the picture to a full-fledged special edition, offering both the long and short cuts in gorgeous 2.35:1 1080p presentations that do an appreciably better job of handling the project’s deep hues and low light sequences. (Hooper supervised the color correction of his preferred cut, though we did not detect any notable differ- ences between the two as offered here.) HD reveals extra details in the alien ship’s production design as well as giving us a clearer look at the spiral contact lenses sported by the actors playing the vampires. The DTS Master Au- dio 5.1 is also solid, with Henry Mancini’s majestic score coming across with the necessary majesty and presence. Prompted by moderator Tim Sullivan, Hooper discusses the film on the first of two commen- tary tracks, revealing that the screenplay was still being worked on during the lengthy shoot. With largely modest genre productions in his filmography to that point,


Hooper greatly enjoyed working on such an ostentatious en- deavor and relays the technical challenges he faced. As was typi- cal for Cannon at the time, the deal to make the film came to- gether very quickly and despite this being Golan & Globus’ larg- est production up to that time, Hooper was left alone and never instructed to worry about pos- sible ratings problems or the eventual television version. Extras producer Michael Felsher talks to special make-up effects director Nick Maley, who goes into detail about how he got into the busi- ness and his involvement with this project, which included a fairly brief pre-production sched- ule followed by 70-90 hour work weeks. A protégé of Stuart Free- born, Maley (who left the business a couple of years after his work here) was only intermittently on set during filming as he was re- sponsible for overseeing the work of six dozen make-up effects crew members, but his comments pro- vide a very satisfying overview of that technical component. Three new featurettes are also presented. Known mainly up to that point for his striking portrayal of Charles Manson in HELTER SKELTER (1976), the always edgy Railsback was an intriguing choice for Carlsen; alas, the ac- tor does not have much of inter- est to say about the experience. Hooper largely goes over ground already covered in his commen- tary, but does add some addi- tional detail about the incredible difficulty he had in casting the all- important Space Girl role. Still looking quite lovely in her late 40s, French actress May dis- cusses how her dreams of being a ballet dancer were unexpectedly put aside when a casting direc- tor convinced her to try acting. She gradually became comfort- able with the extensive nudity, but her young age and limited grasp


of English led to periods of lone- liness. She ultimately found the six months on location in Lon- don a rewarding and formative experience, and offers much praise for her co-stars. There is also a vintage 21m “Making of...” featuring most of the principal performers and some good be- hind-the-scenes glimpses at the creation of the make-up and vi- sual effects. The difference in at- titude between studio backers is also evidenced by the companies’ trailers. TriStar’s timid domestic coming attraction never really makes it clear what audiences should expect from the film, while Cannon’s overseas spot much more overtly showcases the project’s exploitable elements. A TV spot and a photo gallery are included and English subs can be activated on long version. The reversible cover presents both new art and TriStar’s striking poster, the best element of an otherwise ineffectual campaign. A DVD is also part of the pack- age, but there was not sufficient space to include the TriStar ver- sion, making it exclusive to the Blu-ray.


MOTHER’S DAY 1980, Anchor Bay, 90m 22s, $24.99, BD


MOTHER’S DAY 2010, Anchor Bay,


111m 58s, $29.99, BD/DVD By Shane M. Dallmann


Charles Kaufman’s contro-


versial MOTHER’S DAY arrived in theaters in 1980 via UFDC (United Film Distribution Com- pany, best known at the time for pioneering the unrated horror movement with George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD), landing smack in the middle of the critical firestorm sparked by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert over such post-HALLOWEEN slasher


51


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116