The price of the new SON OF SAMSON Blu-ray has been lowered from $17 to $12 at AMAZON.COM
And yet on eBay prices for the same release is going for much more.
How bizarre. And those eBay prices don’t include S&H.
Looking for…
I’m looking for a copy of the Finnish VHS tape of THE DEVILS OF SPARTIVENTO (pictured). The VHS tape was in English and it’s out there but where. If you know someone who has a copy, please post info in the comment section.
I’m also looking for a Scandinavian copy (Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, etc) of THE SEVEN REVENGES starring Ed Fury. Also in English.
I got the SON OF SAMSON Blu-ray…
I received the Kino Lorber SON OF SAMSON (1960) Blu-ray on Friday so I had the entire weekend to check it out. I have very complaints about it. The only issues are the audio is sorta not loud, there are no extras about the movie and this is not the actual version released in the US 60+ years ago. That’s it. The Blu-ray itself is pretty amazing. Brilliant colours. No transfer issues to be seen anywhere (aside from the soft audio). It’s a must have for fans of the genre.
I’ll have a full review at the main PEPLUM TV blog this week.
Vira Silenti and Mark Forest
SUDAN on Blu-ray…
Nothing much on the BR front. The one interesting title, and it’s a pretty cool one, comes from the new Maria Montez – Jon Hall BD set. The set, which will be released in July, includes WHITE SAVAGE, GYPSY WILDCAT and SUDAN. Of course, their bigger titles, like COBRA WOMAN, ARABIAN NIGHTS and ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES, have all been available on BD already. So this set is not the top Montez – Hall titles but it’s still great news. SUDAN is a pretty cool movie. Buying the set just for that title will be worth it.
Jon Hall and Maria Montez
Price drop on SON ODF SAMSON Blu-ray…
The upcoming SON OF SAMSON Blu-ray from Kino Lorber has just gotten a price reduction at Amazon. It was priced as $24.95 before but now sells for $17.99. That’s a pretty good deal. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, do it now and support PEPLUM movies. Official release date: May 10.
Mark Forest and Chelo Alonso
The CALIGULA Blu-ray Bundle…
Severin has a CALIGULA Blu-ray bundle. A two pack with CALIGULA: THE UNTOLD STORY (1982), directed by Joe D’Amato, and CALIGULA AND MESSALINA (1981), directed by Bruno Mattei. Now I’m aware that these types of ‘x-rated’ PEPLUM movies are not for everyone but it’s still part of the genre, at one extreme. Besides, the Mattei epic uses a lot of scenes from old PEPLUM movies in it which is always fun to spot.
I have a brief overview of CALIGULA AND MESSALINA at PEPLUM TV blog.
CALIGULA Blu-ray bundle at Severin
KING DAVID Blu-ray…
I just want to mention that this blog wasn’t supposed to wrote only about Blu-rays but it’s basically what it has become once and if the magazine project take hold.
Okay, back to Blu-ray releases. Paramount will release KING DAVID (1985) on Blu-ray on April 26. Great news. Unfortunately, it’s KING DAVID. Lol!
Anyway, one has to support all PEPLUM movies. Production is good but the casting of Richard Gere…well, the less said the better. I already have a HD copy of this movie and the movie itself looks good. But I just can’t get past Gere as King David. It’s a shame because it had a good director/crew/cast. Needless to say, this didn’t inspire a Biblical revival in the 1980s. PEPLUM movies were more the Sword & Sorcery or Adventure/Fantasy kind.
The image is nice. The audio is excellent. But this is not from the soon-to-be-released BD. But it is in full HD.
Watching movies in HD is great but it also showcases the bits were the movie tried to cut corners. In one violent battle scene, you can clearly see that mannequins were used for dead soldiers on the field. Oops…
SON OF SAMSON pre-order…
SON OF SAMSON Blu-ray release by KINO LORBER is now available for pre-order at Amazon. This is great news.
The BD is still available for pre-order in Canada but there’s still two months left so I’ll wait and see.
Below is the official artwork of the release. Looks great.
This Blu-ray release is a complete opposite of the KL attempted release of the ill-fated GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES.
THE BEASTMASTER in 4K
Aside from big Hollywood titles, modest PEPLUM movies in 4K are few and far in between. One of the first Sword and Sorcery movies of the early 1980s is available in 4K, THE BEASTMASTER (1982) from Vinegar Syndrome. I have a soft spot for this movie.
Screenshots available online look great.
Are you ready for 4K?
Are you ready for PEPLUM movies in 4K?
There are already titles, all of them from Hollywood, that are available in 4K, such as SPARTACUS (1960) and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956). See Youtube video linked above. The scene they used for the comparison (below) is not impressive. I see some different, mostly clarity, or less fuzzy, but of all the scenes they could have used from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, they used that one? Mind boggling. Oh well…
As usual, Hollywood big titles are getting the 4K treatment first. There are few PEPLUM movies from Italy on Blu-ray so the prospect of seeing HERCULES (1958) in 4K are not in the immediate future.