DVD PICK OF THE WEEK: VAMPIRE CIRCUS
(Synapse Films)
The title tells all in this 1972 shocker from Britain’s beloved Hammer Films, purveyors of many a Gothic goodie in its heyday.
Once upon a time, the villagers of a small Serbian town staked the local bloodsucker, Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman), but not before he uttered a curse upon them. Since then, the region has been torn by plague, pestilence and paranoia. Years later, the mysterious Circus of Nights rolls into town, and trouble brews anew.
Vampire Circus has an eerie, surreal, at times erotic atmosphere that sets it apart, even from other Hammer chillers of the same period. There’s a vague sense of unease and ambiguity to the proceedings. If the intent was to expand the horizons of the vampire genre, then first-time director Robert Young (not TV’s “Marcus Welby”) and screenwriter Judson Kinberg succeeded in their task.
Lacking box-office stars, the film is nevertheless well-acted by Adrienne Corri, Laurence Payne, Anthony Corlan, Richard Owens and Thorley Walters (as the Burgermeister). Dave Prowse, later to don the armor of Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977), is appropriately cast as the circus strongman.
The DVD/Blu-ray combo, which retails for $29.95, includes retrospective documentaries (including one featuring my friend, filmmaker and historian Ted Newsom), an inter-active comic-book adaptation, trailers and more.
ALSO AVAILABLE
ALSO AVAILABLE 31 NORTH 62 EAST (MTI Home Video): Producer/director/editor/co-writer Tristan Loraine’s political melodrama stars John Rhys- Davies (sans beard) as a corrupt British prime minister mixed up in a arms deal with terrorists in Afghanistan. Also on hand: Marina Sirtis, Craig Fairbrass and Heather Peace (in a dual role). All told, not bad. Rated R.AMERICAN STREETBALLERS (Monarch Home Video): Originally titled Streetballers, this low-budget award-winner stars Jimmy McKinney and writer/producer/director Matt Krentz as two junior-college players trying to make their hoop dreams come true while avoiding the perils and pitfalls of inner-city life. Fewer clichs and a shorter running time would have better served the story, but decent performances help. Rated R.
BIG BAD MAMA/BIG BAD MAMA II DOUBLE FEATURE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (Shout! Factory): An action-packed DVD twin-bill ($19.93 retail) of the drive-in and cable-TV favorites Big Bad Mama (1974) and its 1987 sequel, both of which star Angie Dickinson as the lusty, larcenous, pistol-packing Wilma McClatchie. Special features include audio commentaries, trailers, and more. Both films are rated R.
CASE 39 (Paramount Home Entertainment): Renee Zellweger is scared silly (literally and figuratively) as a social worker who tries to help a little girl (Jodelle Ferland), unaware of her demonic bent, in this irrational, anti-climatic shocker with a few interesting bits. Ian McShane (hard-boiled cop) and Bradley Cooper (child therapist) are in harm’s way, too. Rated R.
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE (Warner Home Video): Christina Applegate, Bette Midler, Chris O’Donnell and Michael Clarke Duncan are among the familiar voices to be found in this follow-up to the 2001 family comedy about felines and canines mixed up in spy-jinks, available as a single-disc DVD ($29.98 retail), a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack ($35.99 retail), or as a 3-D DVD/Blu-ray combo ($44.95 retail). Rated PG.
CRAZY MAMA/THE LADY IN RED DOUBLE FEATURE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (Shout! Factory): Girls with guns … Cloris Leachman plays the former and Pamela Sue Martin the latter, in this DVD twin-bill ($19.93 retail): Crazy Mama (1975), rated PG, was directed by future Oscar winner Jonathan Demme; The Lady in Red (1979), rated R, co-stars Robert Conrad as legendary outlaw John Dillinger. Trim, low-budget filmmaking of a kind long gone.
GOING THE DISTANCE (Warner Home Video): Drew Barrymore and Justin Long try to work a long-distance relationship in this disposable romantic comedy that plays like an excuse to let the real-life couple work together. The obnoxious, Kevin Smith-type falls flat. Rated R.
“HOT WHEELS BATTLE FORCE 5”: SEASON 1 PART 2 (Mattel Inc./Warner Home Video): If “Transformers” can become a big-budget franchise on the big screen, is it any wonder that the popular toy car line make its own leap? The final 14 episodes from the 2009-’10 season of the Cartoon Network children’s series are included on this DVD, which retails for $19.97.
LANGUAGE OF THE ENEMY (MTI Home Video): Originally titled A House Divided, Eion Bailey and Linda Hardy find romance (unconvincingly) in the midst of the Arab-Israeli conflict in this heavy-handed melodrama that, according to the opening credits, is “inspired by actual events.” Too bad it’s utterly uninspired in execution. In supporting roles, F. Murray Abraham and Tovah Feldshuh are wasted. Rated R.
“MEDIUM”: THE SIXTH SEASON (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment): Having jumped from NBC to CBS, Patricia Arquette returns as the all-American suburban mom with a very “special” gift, in all 22 episodes from the 2009-‘10 season of the award-winning prime-time series inspired by the life of psychic Alison Dubois. This boxed set retails for $57.99. The self-explanatory boxed set “Medium”: The 6-Season Value Pack retails for $239.98.
MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT (New Video): First-time producer/director Wendy Keys’ fond documentary focuses on the life and career of Milton Glaser, renowned as the “Godfather of Graphic Design,” one of the founders of New York Magazine, and 2009 recipient of the National Medal of Arts.
“THE PATTY DUKE SHOW”: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (Shout! Factory): Patty Duke reprises her dual role in all 32 episodes from the 1965-’66 (and final) season of the prime-time ABC-TV sitcom. This six-DVD boxed set retails for $39.97.
SAY GOODNIGHT (MTI Home Video): Writer/ executive producer/director David VonAllmen’s feature debut is a raunchy, latter-day Swingers, with Aaron Paul, Rob Benedict, Smith Cho, David Monahan and Christopher Gessner as friends who swap stories about the women in their lives. Fairly routine, but a few snappy lines. Rated R.
SEX AND LUCIA (Palm Pictures): The Blu-ray release ($29.98 retail) of writer/director Julio Medem’s controversial, award-winning 2001 Spanish-language drama about romance, passion and sexual obsession on a secluded Mediterranean island, with Paz Vega as Lucia.
“SKINS”: VOLUME 4 (BBC Worldwide): A three-DVD boxed set ($39.98 retail) featuring all eight episodes from the 2010 season of the awardwinning British comedy/drama series depicting the goings-on at Roundview College. The ensemble cast includes Kaya Scodelario, Lisa Blackwell, Jack O’Connell, Luke Pasqualino and Lily Loveless.
THE TOWN (Warner Home Video): Ben Affleck directs and stars in this tough, atmospheric crime drama, as a Boston bank robber whose romance with a previous hostage (Rebecca Hall) has (not unexpected) consequences for all concerned. Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite and (briefly) Chris Cooper round out the gutsy cast. Rated R.
“TWO AND A HALF MEN”: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON (Warner Home Video): A three-DVD boxed set ($44.98 retail) featuring all 22 episodes from the 2009-’10 season of the top-rated prime-time CBS-TV situation comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T Jones. Cryer took home the Emmy as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, while Sheen earned a nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
ULTIMATE NFL (NFL Films/Warner Home Video): A self-explanatory sports documentary ($26.95 DVD retail, $29.99 Blu-ray retail) showcasing the 2009-’10 NFL season as seen through the high-definition lens of NFL Films’ awardwinning cinematography team.
WELCOME TO NOLLYWOOD (IndiePix): Movie buffs ought to enjoy Jamie Metzler’s award-winning documentary about the lowbudget, direct-to-video moviemaking craze that has swept Nigeria in the 21st century. Absolute proof that anyone with a video camera can make a movie. Whether that movie is any good or not, however, is a different matter!
