and narrative coherency are fre- quently sacrificed for the sake of scares, imbuing the film with the sort of nightmarish surrealism characteristic of Fulci’s other 1980s output. The film demands remarkably little from its fea- tured actors; even Magee sim- ply has to unpack his “Richard Harris meets Brother Theodore” screen persona to get the job done. Interestingly enough, the most impressive performance, and perhaps the sole reason the film might linger in memory, is delivered by the cat, and viewers even remotely familiar with the species’ famously uncooperative nature will be astounded by how convincingly its stalking attacks are portrayed onscreen. Although neither frightening nor particularly engaging, THE BLACK CAT re- tains a certain charm as the Lucio Fulci film you could take your mother to see.
Arrow Video’s high-definition Blu-ray presentations of both films (2.35:1 for VICE and 1.85:1 for CAT) make use of restored 2K transfers derived from the origi- nal camera negatives. In the case of THE BLACK CAT, the restora- tion work was not able to remedy a few minor instances of vertical scratching, but these do not prove distracting, and detail is consistently quite good. Viewers are provided the option of watching the films with their Ital- ian or English-dubbed mono soundtracks—the latter being preferable in CAT to retain the voices of the English-speaking cast members. In his audio commentary for THE BLACK CAT, former FANGORIA editor Chris Alexander makes clear that he will offer an informal “fan appreciation track” instead of an “academic commentary, “ and notes that he hasn’t prepared “ex- tensive notes” or watched the film in years. This lack of preparation proves detrimental early on, when
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he misidentifies Magee’s role in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and then mistakenly claims that Mimsy Farmer starred in THE WILD ANGELS. Much of the run- ning time is spent on digressions, personal anecdotes, and descrip- tions of onscreen action that add little to one’s knowledge of or appreciation for the film at hand. Once the commentary hits its hour mark, Alexander admits that, having never met any of the principals involved in the film, he has little more to offer, and moves on to discuss the films of Charles Band and to critique the recent Fulci-inspired genre films WE ARE STILL HERE and THE EDITOR. VICE offers no commentary track, but does feature a new in- terview with Martino, as well as an overview of his contributions to the giallo genre. Both discs offer interviews with cast and crew members, and numerous other documentary featurettes. The printed supplement exclu- sive to the limited edition box set helpfully reprints Poe’s original short story and Fulci’s final inter- view, conducted by Howard S. Berger in 1996. Mikel Coven’s overview of the film adaptations of Poe’s story is marred by occa- sional errors—including the rever- sal of the final revelation in Fulci’s film—and his bizarre assertion that the Poe’s works (which have never been out of print) were and still are only infrequently read. A brief interview with Martino is also included, as is an article outlin- ing the production history of VICE and the marketing environment the filmmakers contended with at the time. The package is rounded out with DVDs of both films and packaging that features reversible cover art. Both films are slated for individual releases in April 2016, with DVDs to be offered separately. At the time of writing, the box set is still available through smaller online retailers.
GET MEAN aka BEAT A DEAD HORSE, VENGEANCE OF THE BARBARIANS
1975, Blue Underground, 90m 15s, $39.98, BD-0 + DVD-0
COMIN’ AT YA!
1981, MVD Visual, 87m 42s, $24.95 3D-BD-0/BD-0, $19.95 DVD-0 By John Charles
Arguably the most offbeat actor to achieve success in Ital- ian westerns, Tony Anthony never appeared in a straightforward genre outing and GET MEAN is the oddest of the lot. THE SILENT STRANGER (shot in 1968, but not released until 1975 because of a dispute between MGM and pro- ducer Allen Klein) transported Anthony’s scruffy “Stranger” character to Japan, where he became involved in a feud be- tween rival samurai clans. That change in location and story con- ventions inspired Anthony and his partners to go even further off the beaten path with GET MEAN. Hired to accompany a prin-
cess (THE AWFUL DR ORLOF’s Diana Lorys) back to Spain, The Stranger (Anthony) gets her across the ocean, but quickly finds that collecting his promised $50,000 fee will not be an easy task. Our displaced American misfit becomes caught up in the battle the princess is waging to save her people from conquest- minded Vikings, led by formidable chieftain Diego (Raf Baldassarre). A hidden treasure desired by ev- eryone complicates things fur- ther, as does the Stranger’s battle of wits with Diego’s associate, the cultured, crippled hunchback Sombra (co-writer Lloyd Battista). Even the most dedicated Ital-
ian westerns fan will be hard- pressed to think of another movie that opens with Vikings attacking
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