Next month Drafthouse will be releasing the awesome Ms. 45 and the actually quite terrible, but really goddamn funny 1979 film The Visitor on Blu-ray and DVD, and the bonus features and release dates for both have been announced.
MS. 45 - Out March 4th
• Interviews with Ferrara, composer Joe Delia and creative consultant Jack McIntyre
• ZOË XO and ZOË RISING, two short films about Lund by AMERICAN HARDCORE director Paul Rachman
• Theatrical trailer
• 32-page booklet featuring essays by Lund, Ferrara biographer Brad Stevens and HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN author Kier-la Janisse
• Digital download
THE VISITOR - Out March 25th
• Interviews with Henriksen, screenwriter Lou Comici and cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri
• Theatrical trailer
• 16-page booklet
• Digital download option
ABCs of Death fans will be happy to know that while you wait for the highly anticipated sequel, Drafthouse Films will be putting out an ABCs of Death 1.5, which compiles 26 of the best ABCs of Death 2 "Search for the 26th Director" shorts into one full length film.
Producers Ant Timpson and Tim League announced today the 26 entries
chosen to be a part of Drafthouse Films’ ABCs OF DEATH 1.5, a spin-off
of the immensely popular Magnet Releasing anthology series.
The original 2012 film delivered 26 dark tales from the industry’s
most celebrated genre directors, and its hotly-anticipated sequel hits
cinemas in 2014. Both anthologies conducted a worldwide “Search for the
26th Director”, which allowed one exceptional fan-made entry to appear
in each finished film. The original movie sought “T” entries – and
ultimately chose Lee Hardcastle’s stop-motion animated “T is for
Toilet.” The upcoming sequel, in its search for an “M”, ultimately
decided upon Robert Boocheck’s wildly clever “M is for Masticate.”
Producers Ant Timpson and Tim League, in association with producer
and competition organizer Ted Geoghegan, were so impressed with the 541
entries that they saw an opportunity to expand the series – and offer a
unique opportunity to their personal favorite contest entries. With
this in mind, Timpson and League have carefully curated the most
exceptional, clever, and entertaining entries into ABCs OF DEATH 1.5, an
unprecedented spin-off anthology celebrating their personal favorite
“M” submissions.
“The production team had a real blast selecting the 26 shorts that
make up ABCs OF DEATH 1.5,” said producer and series creator Ant
Timpson. “The hard part was only selecting 26, as the competition
provided so many outstanding entries. We couldn't be happier with the
final lineup. There's enough horror, humor, weirdness, and frankly -
truly fucked up material to give even the most jaded fan a wakeup call
from Hell.”
The films selected by producers Timpson and League for ABCs OF
DEATH 1.5 are Maria Ivanova’s “M is for Mactation”, Tim Rutherford and
Cody Kennedy’s “M is for Magnetic Tape”, Christopher Younes’ “M is for
Maieusiophobia”, Dante Vescio and Rodrigo Gasparini’s “M is for
Mailbox”, Summer Johnson’s “M is for Make Believe”, Peter Czikrai’s “M
is for Malnutrition”, Michael Schwartz’s “M is for Manure”, Steve
Daniels’ “M is for Marauder”, Zac Blair’s “M is for Marble”, Eric
Pennycoff’s “M is for Mariachi”, Todd Freeman’s “M is for Marriage”,
Jeff Stewart’s “M is for Martyr”, Gigi Saul Guerrero’s “M is for
Matador”, Wolfgang Matzl’s “M is for Meat”, Ama Lea’s “M is for
Mermaid”, Joe and Lloyd Staszkiewicz’s “M is for Merry Christmas”,
Carlos Faria’s “M is for Mess”, Nicholas Humphries’ “M is for Messiah”,
Brett Glassberg’s “M is for Mind Meld”, Álvaro Núñez’s “M is for
Miracle”, Barış Erdoğan’s “M is for Mobile”, Carles Torrens’ “M is for
Mom”, Travis Betz’s “M is for Moonstruck”, Peter Podgursky’s “M is for
Mormon Missionaries”, Mia'Kate Russell’s “M is for Muff”, and Jason Koch
and Clint Kelly’s “M is for Munging.”
ABCs OF DEATH 1.5 will be released digitally from Drafthouse Films
in early 2014 and will screen at select Alamo Drafthouse cinemas.
Magnet Releasing will be unveiling ABCs OF DEATH 2 on VOD, in cinemas, and on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014.
You can watch all of the films that will comprise ABCs of Death 1.5 over on the ABCs of Death 2 website!
I mentioned before that Drafthouse is set to give the 1979 Giulio Paradisi film The Visitor a limited theatrical run, and they've just posted the locations and dates of the screenings, which you can find here.
On that same page be sure to look on the right side of the page, there's a link for a free download with a few sample tracks from Franco Micalizzi's score - including my favorite track from the film, the ridiculously titled Sadness Theme.
You can also snag yourself one of the newly designed 27x40 posters for just $8. Although for anyone interested in the poster who also plans to buy the Blu-ray when it comes out Drafthouse usually offers bundle packages that include a Blu-ray, Download and Poster, so you may want to wait a bit and see if they do the same for The Visitor.
Before I end this post I have to say that I think Drafthouse is hyping this one up just a bit too much. The Visitor is an entertaining film, but statements like "The Sci-Fi/Horror Epic That 1979 Couldn't Handle" make it seem like some kind of lost avant garde masterpiece when in reality it's kind of a goofy incoherent mess, albeit a very fun and highly watchable goofy incoherent mess. Definitely check it out if it plays near you, just don't expect it to absolutely blow you away.
Drafthouse Films has just acquired Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45 with plans for a theatrical release this December, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release in 2014.
"At Drafthouse Films we're huge admirers of Abel Ferrara,
so there's no greater pleasure for us than announcing our acquisition
of the North American rights to Ferrara’s 1981 revenge thriller classic Ms. 45.
The film follows a mute garment-district seamstress – played by the
late model/actress/musician/screenwriter Zoë Lund – who, after falling
victim to multiple unspeakable assaults, ignites a one-woman homicidal
rampage against New York City’s entire male population. Now remastered
in HD from the original negative materials, Ms. 45 returns to theaters this December and will debut on DVD and Blu-ray uncut for the first time in North America early next year.
The fiercely independent auteur Abel Ferrara debuted with his infamous 1979 D.I.Y. cult classic The Driller Killer,
which established his signature fusion of NYC, despair, calculated
stylish flourishes and idiosyncratic humor. Two years later, his
follow-up feature Ms. 45 starred the then 18-year-old Zoë Lund,
and explored similar themes while executing a uniquely feminist entry
in the urban revenge subgenre. In Brad Stevens’ biography “Abel Ferrara:
The Moral Vision”, Ferrara recalls of the film, “it shook people up to
see an innocent person like themselves suddenly becoming a wanton
murderer.” Combining the rampaging angst of 1976’s Death Wish and Roman Polanski’s surreal, post-traumatic Repulsion, Ms. 45 returns from the cult underground over 30 years later to reclaim its
title as perhaps the most shocking, complex and empowering vigilante
film of the 1980s.
The rest of the article can be found here, and be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the page, there's a link to download a couple of tracks from Death Waltz's upcoming soundtrack release.
AUSTIN, TX - Wednesday, June 19th,
2013 - Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo
Drafthouse Cinema, announced today the acquisition of North American
rights to '70s phantasmagoric sci-fi/horror/action/??? hybrid The
Visitor. Legendary Hollywood director/actor John Huston (The Maltese
Falcon; Treasure Of The Sierra Madre) stars as an intergalactic
warriorbattling alongside a cosmic Christ figure against a demonic
eight-year-old girl and her pet hawk, as the fate of the universe hangs
in the balance. A new HD restoration from the original film materials is
planned for a theatrical, home video and multi Video On Demand/Digital
platform release later in the year.
In the dawn
of '70s American blockbusters, European production companies emerged
stateside, attempting to recreate box office gold by cloning Hollywood.
The infamous Supreme Court-banned Jaws copy Great White, The
Exorcist-esque Beyond The Door, and countless otherswere packaged for
export and the burgeoning drive-in circuit. Producer Ovidio G. Assonitis
and Director/Professional Body Builder Michael J. Paradise's
TheVisitorstands as perhaps the most ambitious of all, taking its
inspiration by artfully fusing The Omen, Close Encounters Of The Third
Kind, The Birds, Rosemary's Baby, The Fury and Star Wars alongside a
baffling cast that includes Shelley Winters (NightOfTheHunter), Glenn
Ford (Superman), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Franco Nero (Django) and Sam
Peckinpah (director of TheWildBunch).
The result
is not so much a carbon copy, but rather an entertainingly hallucinatory
and inscrutable mash-up that repertory cinema programmers around the
country have rediscovered for late-night bookings. "Just when you think
you've nailed down which direction the film is heading in, it completely
shatters your notion of the time-space continuum," says LA art-house
The Cinefamily. At the time of its original release,
TheVisitoruniversally received poor reviews by mainstream critics
including TV Guide who simply called it "junk," but now, the film stands
as "the Mount Everest of insane '70s Italian movies" (Mondo Digital).
"This
film is from another time, another place and another wholly different
dimension," says Drafthouse Films Creative Director Evan Husney, "and
contains the highest JDPM (jaw-drops-per-minute) ratio out of any movie
we have ever encountered. The Visitor is a repertory mainstay at the
Alamo Drafthouse and is truly one of the most joyfully delirious
theatrical experiences we've unleashed on our audiences. The world
wasn't ready for this film in 1979, and it still may not be. Regardless,
we are ecstatic to be able to reintroduce cinema's most colossally
bizarro achievement. Ever."
The 30th Anniversary DVD put out by Code Red is still available at their store, so Bill is probably going to shit when he catches wind of the Drafthouse release, especially if it sells well. I have the Code Red release, but it's a dementedly stupid good time, I'll grab this release as well.
On an unrelated note, any of you on Facebook with five seconds to spare, check out the newly created Manchester Morgue page and click the old like button.
