to its humble origins, the film does not benefit much from the boost in resolution. Color and detail are reasonably good in spots, but dark areas of the screen sport very light, unstable blacks compared to the THX DVD edition and the limitations of the filmstock are amplified by the extra clarity. The older ver- sion also opened up the top of the frame a bit more, resulting in more comfortable compositions. However, the distinctive harsh and grainy look that provides MANIAC with much of its power is still there, heightened by the contrast of the luxuriant, amped- up Dolby Stereo mix, which gets its best showcase yet via the DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 options here (French, Italian and German dubs are also included, along with English SDH and subtitles in 7 languages). The print used for the Media Home Entertainment videocassette re- lease from the early ’80s concluded with a card plugging the movie’s Varese Sarabande soundtrack re- lease, but it is not found here. The ’90s audio commentary from the laserdisc (featuring Lustig, Tom Savini, editor Lorenzo Marinelli and Joe Spinell’s longtime friend Luke Walter) is joined by a brand new track featuring Lustig and pro- ducer Andrew Garroni. There is a fair amount of repetition, but the pair have some new informa- tion re: the film’s financing, MANIAC’s successful exposure in Cannes, their legendary sales rep Irvin Shapiro, an expensive les- son the production learned when they failed to check on the copy- right status of a throwaway bit of music used during the restaurant sequence, and how they man- aged to successfully dodge the New York teamsters, whom were paid a grand total of only $78.00 during production. Garroni’s memory is not that sharp, but
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Lustig fills in the blanks and they wax nostalgic about the state of horror and independent film dis- tribution during that time (Roger Corman watched the first and last reels and said he would release the movie through New World if Lustig cut it down to an “R” rat- ing); and Lustig expresses his amazement that the greatly toned-down “R” version re- quested for distribution in south- ern states ended up getting better notices than the full-strength cut, which got reviewed by most newspaper’s “A” critics because of the movie’s distribution through Analysis Film Corpora- tion, which was known mainly for foreign arthouse fare like MY BRILLIANT CAREER, but was attempting to change course via its distribution of this, CALIGULA and BASKET CASE.
Four new featurettes are also on offer. “Anna and The Killer” (13m) finds co-star Caroline Munro reminiscing about her ac- cidental career in film and how she was added into the cast of MANIAC as an afterthought via the fact that she was in New York City for a FANGORIA convention and a new leading lady was needed when Daria Nicolodi dropped out. Tom Savini, “The Death Dealer” (12m), talks about some of the numerous splatter movies he turned down in the wake of DAWN OF THE DEAD and FRIDAY THE 13TH, and how even he blanched at some of the killings Spinell wanted him to concoct (further elaborated on in his commentary). Composer Jay Chattaway’s “Dark Notes” (12m) synthesizer score is a key ingre- dient in the film’s power; he dis- cusses how he became involved with the production and over- came his initial reservations af- ter he saw how excited everyone connected with the project was. Finally, “Maniac Men” (11m) features Lustig speaking to
Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkovsky, the songwriters behind the FLASHDANCE hit “Maniac,” who respond to rumors that they were inspired by Lustig’s film. Also carried over from the la- serdisc is a 7m promo reel for the never-produced MANIAC 2: MR. ROBBIE, directed by Buddy Giovinazzo (COMBAT SHOCK), which casts Spinell as a mania- cal kiddie show host who murders abusive parents. The footage is not all that promising; whatever poten- tial this picture might have had is undermined by the fact that it lifts the premise (and the even the character name) wholesale from Lawrence Brown’s THE PSYCHO- PATH (1975). At least, it looks much better here in HD. The Blu- ray concludes with MANIAC’s US TV and radio spots (some nar- rated by Adolph Caesar) and trailer (which sports a brighter image and more colorful, less grainy palette than the way the feature looks here), plus five over- seas trailers.
The remainder of the supple- ments are offered on a DVD. David Gregory’s entertaining 2001 featurette THE JOE SPINELL STORY (49m) is an affecting look back at the star’s life and his achievements as one of the busi- ness’ most respected character actors. In addition to some of the aforementioned personnel, input comes from industry mainstays like Robert Forster, Richard Lynch and Jason Miller, as well as various friends and family mem- bers, all of whom note Spinell’s excesses and eccentricies, but cel- ebrate his generosity and consid- erable talents as a performer. There is a very good array of rare clips, including jaw dropping bits of Spinell onstage at a comedy club and goofing around while watching the 1975 Academy Award nomination announce- ments with Steven Spielberg, and a preliminary ad for MANIAC
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