Vinegar Syndrome has announced its February batch of 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. They are: Phase IV (1974), The Playgirls and the Vampire (1960), A Man Called Hero (1999), Spanish Blood Bath: Night of the Skull / Violent Blood Bath / The Fish with the Eyes of Gold (1974), and Herencia Diabólica (1993).
Description: Following a mysterious eclipse-like solar event, scientists begin to notice strange and unexplainable behavioral changes in ants. While initially written off as an unconcerning anomaly, it soon becomes apparent that the creatures have developed advanced intelligence along with the ability to work collectively. Scientists Ernest Hubbs and James Lesko have been transferred to a futuristic lab in a remote part of the Arizona desert in which to study these phenomena. However, when the ants begin to attack and kill both wildlife and humans, Hubbs and Lesko realize that the entire human race might now be at a deadly evolutionary disadvantage to the tiny insects…
The sole feature film directed by acclaimed graphic artist Saul Bass, PHASE IV is a landmark of 1970s science fiction as it blends arresting visuals, photographed by Dick Bush (Sorcerer) along with nature photographer Ken Middleham, with a tense and harrowing animal attack narrative. Starring Nigel Davenport (Chariots of Fire), Michael Murphy (Nashville), and Lynne Frederick (Schizo) and featuring a mesmerizing musical score by electronic music pioneer Brian Gascoigne, Vinegar Syndrome presents PHASE IV on 4K UHD, newly restored from its 35mm original camera negative and at last containing its legendary and never-before-on-video Preview Version, featuring exclusive, extended, and alternate sequences which have remained unseen since 1974!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
THREE-DISC SET (4K BLU-RAY/TWO BLU-RAYS)
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
The 84-minute Theatrical Version is available on both the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray discs
The 89-minute Preview Version with multiple soundtrack options is included on a Blu-ray disc
Commentary track for the Theatrical Version with film historian Matthew Asprey Gear
"Evolutions: The Making of Phase IV" (48 min) - a brand new documentary by Elijah Drenner featuring interviews with Jeffrey Bass, co-star Michael Murphy, screenwriter Mayo Simon, archivist Sean Savage and design historian/Saul Bass biographer Pat Kirkham
"Formicidae Sinfonia: The Music and Sounds of Phase IV" (15 min) - a brand new featurette with composer Brian Gascoigne and electronic music artist David Vorhaus
Deleted shots and sequences (2 min)
Raw footage from Saul Bass' original ending montage sequence (16 min)
Description: A troupe of five showgirls, along with their manager, are traveling through a remote stretch of countryside when their minibus gets stuck after a rainstorm. Finding refuge at the castle home of the mysterious Count Gabor Kernassy, the women make the best of the situation by continuing to practice their burlesque routines. But little do they know that the strange Count is harboring a fiendish secret and is intent on subjecting the lovely ladies to his vampiric desires…
A pioneering entry in the history of more erotically-minded Italian gothic horror, future Fulci collaborator Piero Regnoli's (writer of Demonia and Burial Ground) sole horror directing effort, THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (L'ultima preda del vampiro) is a cheeky and charming mix of atmospheric castle chills and sexy go-go thrills. Starring actor-turned-producer Walter Brandi (Bloody Pit of Horror) along with veteran screen stars Lyla Rocco (One Step to Eternity) and Alfredo Rizzo (The Beast in Heat), and featuring striking black-and-white photography by Aldo Greci (Play Motel), Vinegar Syndrome proudly brings this delightfully offbeat drive-in and late-night TV favorite to Blu-ray for the first time, newly restored in 4K from its 35mm fine grain master and presented in both its original Italian language version and English dub.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM A FINE-GRAIN MASTER
Presented in its original Italian language mono soundtrack with newly translated English subtitles as well as an English dub mono soundtrack
"Striptease Gothic" (26 min) - a conversation with Mark Thompson Ashworth
Original trailer
Alternate "The Playgirls and the Vampire" opening title sequence
Alternate "Curse of the Vampire" opening title
Alternate "Des filles pour un vampire" French title sequence
Description: After a player is discovered to have cheated his way to winning at a high-stakes card game, he's sentenced to a no-trial hanging, despite the objections of fellow player, Van Morgan. Although the men responsible for the murder go unpunished, it's not long before a cowboy-garbed killer begins stalking those involved with the crime and killing them off one by one. Is Van dispensing his own breed of outlaw justice or could another, even more vengeful assailant be responsible for the bloodshed?
A creative blend of old-fashioned Hollywood Western sensibilities with a twist-filled whodunit, acclaimed Western director Henry Hathaway's (True Grit) unique thriller 5 CARD STUD stars Academy Award® nominee Robert Mitchum (The Night of the Hunter), Rat Pack member Dean Martin (Ocean's 11), cult character actor Roddy McDowell (Fright Night), two time Emmy® nominee Inger Stevens, plus an early performance from future star Yaphet Kotto (Alien). Juxtaposing exciting action sequences with unexpectedly mean-spirited murders, all leading to a very giallo-esque final act, Vinegar Syndrome Labs proudly brings this unique Hollywood genre hybrid to Blu-ray for the first time, freshly restored in 4K from its 35mm camera negative!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Commentary track with author and film historian Brian Hannan
"Jack of All Trades" (21 min) - film critic Walter Chaw on the films of Henry Hathaway
"A Woman of True Grit" (14 min) - Lizzie Francke on screenwriter Marguerite Roberts' legacy
Description: Hero is a gifted martial artist who is honored to be chosen for training by his mentor, Pride. Upon arriving home to tell his family about this achievement, Hero discovers that his parents have been murdered by a group of foreign gangsters. Hero then uses his family's mystical red sword to exact revenge on his parents' killers. Now a wanted man, Hero is forced to leave behind his lover Jade and his best friend Sheng in order to start a new life in America. 16 years later, Sheng and Hero's now grown son, Sword, travel to 1930s New York City in search of him. Sword learns of his father's time in America through a series of stories told by those that knew Hero best. However, now in this new land, Sword undergoes some of the same treatment as his father and is forced to face many new enemies, such as violent gangsters and racist mine workers.
Loosely based on the popular Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword comic book series and directed by one of Hong Kong's most celebrated directors, Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs, Initial D), A MAN CALLED HERO is an epic tale of revenge and redemption told mostly through flashbacks and is remembered in part for its comic book style cinematography and innovative effects. Starring Ekin Cheng (Heroic Duo, Tokyo Raiders) as Hero, Nicholas Tse (Raging Fire, New Police Story) as Sword, and featuring a strong supporting cast including Hong Kong's notorious Anthony Wong (Ebola Syndrome), martial arts master Yuen Biao (Righting Wrongs), and the lovely Kristy Yeung (Storm Riders), Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present A MAN CALLED HERO on Blu-ray for the first time in North America, newly restored from a studio provided master, complete with all the stylized martial arts action one could ask for, including a memorable fight scene on the top of the Statue of Liberty.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEWLY RESTORED by Vinegar Syndrome from an existing studio master
Presented in its original Cantonese language 5.1 surround soundtrack with newly translated English subtitles, an English language dub 2.0 stereo soundtrack and a Mandarin language dub 2.0 stereo soundtrack
Brand new commentary track with film historian Frank Djeng
"A Blood Sword in the Road: A Man Called Hero's Place in Hong Kong Cinema's Action Movie Landscape" (17 min) - a video essay by Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club
Description: In the early 70s, while Italy led the charge in the production of gialli, its neighbor to the West, Spain, began churning out more and more of its own takes on the genre. With their uniquely Catalan flavor and casts, this trio of criminally-underseen Spanish gialli have all been newly restored in 4K from their 35mm camera negatives and are at last making their worldwide Blu-ray debuts from Vinegar Syndrome.
After Lord Archibald Marion is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant, the bitter and feuding members of his family gather at his large country mansion for a reading of the will. But their arrival is marked by a second grisly killing, that of Archibald's wife, which sets into motion an increasingly chilling series of deaths. One of only a handful of traditional gialli directed by Jess Franco (Venus in Furs), the improbably Louisiana-set, NIGHT OF THE SKULL (La noche de los asesinos) is a delightfully pulpy old-dark-house whodunit. (1974 / 82 min)
A notoriously harsh French judge, vacationing at a luxury resort, finds his holiday interrupted when a mysterious killer begins murdering those in and around the hotel. But what makes these killings all the more unsettling is that they're being carried out identically to the methods used by the judge's executed murderers. Offering a more subtextual narrative which leads to a memorably cynical and downbeat ending, Jorge Grau's (The Blood Spattered Bride) VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (Pena de muerte) is a uniquely thought-provoking entry in the annals of Spanish gialli. (1974 / 92 min)
Derek, a handsome young Englishman, has recently moved to a Spanish seaside town. A lothario, Derek is quick to begin seducing the local women, only for a murderer to start picking them off one by one. Despite his protests of innocence, the police conclude that Derek is a sex maniac and responsible for the crimes. However, could another individual be behind the heinous killings? Remaining thematically and structurally aligned with its Italian forebears, Pedro Luis Ramírez' (School of Death) THE FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD (El pez de los ojos de oro) is an engrossing, twist-filled coastal caper with plenty of murders and other macabre surprises. (1974 / 84 min)
Special Features and Technical Specs:
THREE-DISC SET
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVES
Presented in their original Spanish mono soundtracks with newly translated English subtitles as well as an English mono dub soundtrack for VIOLENT BLOOD BATH
An interview with actor Antonio Mayans for NIGHT OF THE SKULL (13 min)
An interview with Sitges Festival director Ángel Sala for NIGHT OF THE SKULL (10 min)
An interview with Carlos Grau, son of director Jorge Grau for VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (20 min)
An interview with actor José Lifante for VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (11 min)
An interview with Sitges Festival director Ángel Sala for VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (10 min)
An interview with Sitges Festival director Ángel Sala for THE FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD (14 min)
Description: When Tony, a successful businessman, receives a call informing him that he has inherited his late aunt's vast estate, he uproots himself and his wife, Annie, from New York to Mexico City. While adjusting to and exploring their new gothic home, Tony and Annie come upon a mysterious clown doll. Although merely unnerved by the doll's strange appearance at first, Annie soon becomes concerned as it begins turning up out of nowhere in every corner of the house. When a series of fatal 'accidents' occur on or near the couple's property, with the doll always at the scene, Tony and Annie come to the terrifying realization that a sinister force has possessed it, and begin a race against time to figure out how to bring the carnage to an end!
The last film directed by the prolific screenwriter Alfredo Salazar, HERENCIA DIABÓLICA is a unique take on Mexico's "possessed doll" sub-genre and has been hailed as the country's answer to Child's Play. Starring Mexican genre cinema heavyweights Lorena Herrera, Roberto Guinar and cultural sensation Margarito Esparza as the evil clown doll come to life, Degausser Video is proud to present the disc debut and first English-friendly release of this long-unavailable and much sought-after VHS rarity, which has been restored from its original master tape.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Newly transferred and restored from the best quality archival tape master
Commentary track with film critic & historian Hugo Lara
"Memorias diabólicas: The Mexican Chucky" (11 min) - an interview with actor Roberto Guinar