DEATH WISH II- Special Edition, Shout Factory (Blu-Ray Review)

Title: Death Wish II
Director: Michael Winner 
Writer: David Engelbach, Brain Garfield (characters)
Cast: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardina, J.D. Cannon, Anthony Franciosa, Ben Frank
Year: 1982
Min: 91 (unrated), 88 (R-rated)

Blu-ray released by: Shout Factory

Specs:  

Sound: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 
Image: 

Resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Plot-Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) has moved on with with his life and is living in LA. He is dating radio reporter, Geri Nichols (Jill Ireland). His daughter Carol (this time played by pretty Robin Sherwood) has been going through therapy and finally seems to have begun to show some signs of recovery. Kersey takes both Geri and Carol to the fairground. He goes on line to get some ice cream and, then, a street gang picks Kersey's pocket. He catches up with one of them and roughs him up. But, that guy doesn't have his wallet. Kersey lets the scumbag go.

Soon there after, the gang breaks into Kersey's home, where they brutally gang-rape the maid, Rosario (Silvana Gallardo). When, Kersey finally gets home, he gets knocked out. They then kidnap Carol. One of the gang members take one final, brutal blow to the head of Rosario, leaving her dead and naked on the floor. Meanwhile, at their hideout, Carol gets raped by one of the gang members, while the others look on. After he is done, she runs and jumps out the window. Her body falls on a gate spike, impaling and killing her. Despite everything that has occured, Kersey gives no information to the cops and instead decides to go after the gang, himself, with his trusty gun.

Review- The sleaziest and nastiest of the Death Wish sequels, the second entry has long lived in infamy. It is also genuinely the best sequel in the series. A violent, taut revenge thriller that stands as the type of mainstream action film that would never be made today. An early hit for the legendary Cannon Films, it has become a cult classic and, now thanks to Shout Factory we can see it unrated finally. But, more on that later.

The acting is solid, although not much character development is given to the villains. We get what is need to further tell the story and that's it. As such, the bad guys are multi-ethnic gang members, who include among their ranks a young Laurence Fishburne. The main scumbag is Nirvana (Thomas C. Duffy), but all we need to know is that the bad guys are sick perverts and criminals. There is no redeeming them, and they simply need to die. 

Bronson is his genuine badass self, taking shit with great calm. He just does what he needs to, IE finding the gang and pumping lead into them. His interactions with Ireland's (his wife, at the time, who does a good job here) character of Geri adds some light moments to the grim film. Vincent Gardina returns in the role of Frank Ochoa, from the first film. He comes from NY to look for Kersey and gives some of the film's best laughs.

Returning director Winner shows some nice style with some good, fluid camera movement. The movie is a bit slow at times. But, it is more interested in being a captivating revenge thriller, than an all out action film, unlike the entries that followed. As mentioned before it also very sleazy and admit ably mean-spirited. The intense violence is upped considerably from the original which didn't really have any graphic blood-letting. 

This is most evident in this unrated cut. For years US fans have heard about this longer and more graphic unrated cut. To earn an R-rating in the US three scenes were cut down. The first two are the very nasty rape scenes, including a longer take on Rosario's nude, dead body. Yes, the rapes are, indeed, worse and harder to look at in the unrated version, than they ever were before. Also, Carol's gory implement is slightly longer and in more looming detail. 

Picture- This is definitely an upgrade from the earlier MGM Blu-ray release. There is still a decent amount of grain, but there isn't anyway you were gonna fully get rid of that. The improvement comes in form of the excellent colors. They are more lively than before and detail is excellent. This is the best this movie will ever look and as such stands as a superb picture transfer of an 80s exploitation, action film.

Sound-  The stereo sound is good. Dialogue sounds clear and isn't drowned out by other sounds. Jimmy Page's soundtrack (in case you don't know he did the film's cool score) and the action scenes sound aggressive enough to give it a little extra kick in the ass.

Extras- You have the option of watching Death Wish II in either the R version or the aforementioned unrated cut. For many Death Wish that might have been enough reason to buy this Blu-ray, but Shout Factory again deliver the goods in the extra feature department.

As, it also has brand new running commentary over the unrated version by the author of Bronson's Loose!: The Making of the Death Wish Films, Paul Talbot. He really knows what he is talking about and gives fans a plethora of interesting and fascinating facts. He talks about the ratings problems, what was cut from the R, about the cast, etc. He talks about everything you want to know about the movie. This is a definite must listen for fans of the film, franchise, and Bronson, himself.

It also has the film's theatrical trailer and TV spot, the later of which is not mentioned in the back of the packing but is included. 

On top of all of this, it also has a reversible cover, that features two different movie posters of the film.

Final Thoughts- Death Wish II might just be the sleaziest and dirtiest entry in a mainstream action franchise ever. It's also violent, badass, and holds your interest throughout. The best of the sequels in the series, it is finally given a US unrated release. And, it is a stellar one at that. Featuring the best picture it ever had, or likely ever will with a good sound quality, it hits the marks in the aesthetic aspect of the disc. There isn't a whole shit load of extras, but what there is excellent in nature. For Bronson and Death Wish fans this Blu-ray as an absolute must have!

Movie: 4 out of 5
Picture: 4
Sound: 3
Extras: 3.5

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"Doctor Butcher M.D.".- He's Still Making House Calls! (Blu-ray Review and Retrospective)

Also known as Zombie Holocaust (Zombi Holocaust), Doctor Butcher M.D. is one of the wildest and most fun of the extreme gore films that Italy was putting out in the 70s and 80s. It's legacy has made into one of the quitessential gorehound favorites.

Our story begins as a rash of limb robbing from corpses is occurring at hospitals and morgues across New York City. Soon, one hospital worker is caught chomping down on a human heart (hey, when you get hungry, ya gotta eat, right?). Our heroes, anthropology expert and morgue assistant Lori ( the beautiful Alexandra Delli Coli) and Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch from Lucio Fulci' Zombie) come to the realization that this all has to with a cannibal tribe. They are head off to the Asian islands, where said tribes can be found, accompanied by his assistant George (Peter O'Neal), and his hottie reporter girlfriend Susan (Sherry Buchanan). There they meet Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien), who Peter knows. They ultimately end up on an island where there not only cannibals but zombies, as well! Soon they begin to fall prey to them both. And, they learn that the good Dr. Obrero has been conducting experiments to resurrect the dead, resulting in the aforementioned zombies!

When, Zombie Holocaust was bought and distributed in the US, it underwent the ingenious title change and an even more ingenious ad campaign. They also added a 2.5 minute opening showcasing some zombies and taken from an unfinished flick called Tales that'll Tear Your Heart Out. They also re-edited some stuff for pacing reasons, as well as changed the musical score. The result was a HUGE hit in grindhouse theaters and, eventually, on VHS.

The movie was released, in the movies, by Aquarius Releasing, who also released bunch of exploitation movies, including Make Them Die Slowly (Cannibal Ferox) and Buried Alive (Beyond the Darkness). There is an excellent interview with Terry Levene, from Aquarius, on the brand new Severin Films Blu-ray release, where he talks about advertising these movies and more. It's a fascinating talk about an era long gone, of grindhouse sleazefests being played in Times Square. Levene knew how to promote movies like this, as there was a fucking Doctor Butcher M.D. flatbed truck (left) that ran promotions of it. Can you imagine a movie like this doing that today? Fuck no.

The movie, itself, might be seen by some film snobs as bad. But, fuck those people. As a good amount of its appeal is found in its inherit cheesiness. The acting ranges from adequate to bad, but it's always memorable and fits the film nicely. The makeup FX are much in the same vein. Some of it is great, some is far from that. One hilarious moment has the aforementioned cannibal that chewed on a human heart jumping out the window to escape capture. When he hits the floor we see it's a mannequin whose fucking arm falls off! The next shot is our actor with his arm intact! Too fucking funny!

The extreme gore in this movie rocks motherfucking hard. Cannibalism, bullet hits, brain surgery, autopsies, machetes to the head, immolation, a spectacular motor-blade to the head, throat slicing, and more make this S.O.B. hit a 10 on the splatter-meter. Yet, unlike most cannibal movies there is not a single once of mean spiritedness, and even better, no, real or otherwise, violence against animals.

This being an Italian flick, we also get lovely ladies and skin. And, said skin all comes from our lead lady, Alexandra Delli Coli, who has a truly spectacular body. She is fully naked and shows us some great full frontal, including her blonde bush!

There are also some choice bits of dialogue, many coming from the good Doctor Butcher, himself. Perhaps the best one is when he tells our hero how is "Determined to have" his "brain!" It's fucking classic! Both he and McCulloch play great against each other and are endlessly likable.

I first saw this flick on Shriek Show's old DVD release, which means I saw it in its original Italian cut. I fucking loved it! It would be a movie I would pop in every so often and even showed my friends, who had a blast watching it, too. But, now you can see both cuts on the aforementioned Severin Blu-ray release. The movie looks damn good, though, ya gotta understand that this movie will never look great due to its budget and inherit quality. The added beginning in Doctor Butcher looks particularly haggard, but there is something of an added charm in that, I think.

The sound is great regardless of which version you put in. Loud and pumping, the 2.0 mix really adds to giving it new life. Then there is the exhaustive special features, which I have only just begun to watch! They include a shitload of interviews with cast members and people from the exploitation film world (in particular those connected to old Times Square), trailers, and even documentaries of then vs. now NYC. It's all fascinating not just if you are a fan of this classick but of exploitation horror, in general .

The packaging is really cool, as you get a double sided cover, featuring poster art from both version of the movie. And, a limited amount of them come with a fucking barf bag! How fucking kick ass is that?!

The overall result is one of the best Blu-ray releases for horror fans this year. The movie has endured for this long because it is everything gore loving horror fans and B-movie fans want. Highly recommended, this Doctor is ready to come to your house in high definition!

Movie: 3.5 out of 4
Picture: 3 out of 5
Sound: 3.5
Extras: 5

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