Tag: classic
New films added to my collection!
I usually post about movies released on DVD or Blu-ray here at BY THE GODS! but recently I got a bunch of titles missing from my collection and I’m really happy about it. Two of these titles have been eluding me for over a decade.
THE APOCALYPSE or L’apocalisse, released in 1947. It stars Massimo Serato (above), who’s excellent in it. The copies are less than perfect but the movie is so good it didn’t matter. I’ll have a full review of this in the soon to be published BY THE GODS! magazine.
Another hard to get title is JACOB AND ESAU (1963). Nothing about this movie since I began working on my blog and Youtube channel. I even wrote about it here. Now I got two copies. They are in black and white even if the movie was originally shot in colour. It was the one Ken Clark (above) movie that eluded me. I hope to get this one in colour one day.
The other titles are THE PHARAOHS’ WOMAN (1960), in widescreen. It stars Linda Cristal (above), Pierre Brice, John Drew Barrymore and Armando Francioli (above), who gives an excellent performance. The copy is still battered and old but the colours are better than the previous version and it’s in widescreen. Great film!
And A SWORD IN THE SHADOWS (1961) tarring Germano Longo in what might be one of the best villains in PEPLUM history. It also stars Mario Valdemarin. A nice widescreen print in Italian.
I’ll be getting additional titles soon. Stay tuned!
Two new Artus Films acquisitions…
I got two new Artus Films Blu-ray/DVD sets.
One is for THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCHINO, directed by Pietro Francisci, and PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE, starring Richard Harrison. Both sets are excellent. The sad part of these wonderful releases is the fact that there’s no English audio.
Even if you don’t understand French or Italian, I really recommend these releases. It supports future titles.
I’ll have a full review of GUERRIN MESCHINO in the upcoming BY THE GODS! magazine.
Tamara Lees in THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCHINO.
Artus Films releases…
Artus Films has a couple of interesting titles:
PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE starring Richard Harrison.
This release is a bit odd: it has the Spanish version, which is different from the Italian one, in HD but the Italian one is on regular DVD. So two versions of the same movie, the Spanish one in HD and the original Italian one in regular DVD resolution.
Hopefully, the original Italian version will be released in HD as well.
PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE at Artus Films
THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCHINO directed by Pietro Francisci.
This is a rare film from the director of HERCULES (1958). I have one low resolution copy of this so the combo Blu-ray and DVD will be most welcome. Francisci movies are a must.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF GUERRIN MESCHINO at Artus Films.
Both releases have extensive booklets. I can’t wait to check them out.
It also has a DVD of TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS but there’s a newly released Blu-ray of this title so I won’t be buying it for now. The Blu-ray is the one I want.
SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR in English on DVD…
SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR (1959), or SIGN OF ROME, is available in English on this German DVD. The only legit DVD release in English of that movie. It’s heavily cut (over 10 minutes of scenes cut…) but it’s in English. The intro credits are in Italian. Not the English intro credits of the US release with SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR, which is a shame. Anyway, for those looking out for an English copy of this movie starring Anita Ekberg (below), this DVD is it.
I already had this version, which had even more cuts. It was broadcast in the UK via MOVIES 4 MEN. The Italian intro credits was removed and SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR title was added to it which faded to black and went straight to the movie. Aside from this, it’s the same print as the German DVD.
New HD TV broadcast of HERCULES…
A new HD version of HERCULES was recently shown in Italy, on RAI (see screenshot above with the RAI logo), and it s now available at some websites. Hurray! Well, hold on there. The version is the exact same version as the Japanese Blu-ray, with that odd filter. The image is sharp but the filter gets in the way of enjoying it. The good thing is, someone added the English audio to it. The bad thing, it’s not the preferred English audio. Here’s a quick observation of this print:
Runtime:
The runtime of this new print is 1:38:54. The Japanese Blu-ray is 1:43:10. The Italian TV broadcast is in PAL which explains the shorter time but it’s the same print.
Audio:
The audio of the Italian broadcast is identical to the Japanese Blu-ray which is not good since it’s very weak.
Someone added the English audio to this print, and this one is robust and stronger than the soft Italian one.
The question is: who added the English audio to this Italian broadcast? I’m happy it was added but unfortunately, it’s not my preferred English dub. The one included on this print is the International English audio, dubbed in Italy. The version seen in North America, the ‘Avco Embassy’ version, is, imo, better. Even though there are some quirks in regards to the dialogue, the voices are more warm, less shrill than the International English version.
Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina. Beautiful!
Intro:
This Italian broadcast doesn’t have ‘Joseph E. Levine presents’ at the beginning, which is correct since Levine acquired the movie while it was in cinemas in Italy. The Japanese version also doesn’t have the Levine intro.
Opening and closing credits:
The opening credit in this one is the original Italian version with the red mural and Italian text.
The International English version of it has an English version, with HERCULES as title with the red mural. But the US version is different with an animated opening credits. I like both but since this is from an Italian broadcast, the Italian version is to be expected.
The closing credit is whole other matter. Back in the past, movies had THE END when a movie concluded. In Italian, it’s FINE. Well, this copy doesn’t have the FINE closing credit. The Japanese Blu-ray also doesn’t have the FINE closing frame. The music, which culminates when FINE appears, is missing. The movie and score peter out and it fades to black. The US copy has a THE END and closing credit with lists of actors and crew.
Above: US version with THE END over Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina. Below is the FINE with the robust score, familiar with all fans of this movie. In this new copy, there’s no FINE. The movie just fades to black before the crescendo followed by FINE. It’s the same on the Japanese Blu-ray.
Image:
The image is sharp and it’s always nice to see the movie at such a resolution. But if you have the Japanese Blu-ray, it’s not much of an improvement since they are the same.
Above: screenshot from the RAI broadcast. Below: screenshot taken from Japanese Blu-ray. They’re the same. It’s has that odd filter which softens the image, certainly the skin of the actors. It makes everyone ‘glow.’
I’m happy this copy exists but it’s not the actual version seen in movie theatres back in the 1950s. I don’t know why this movie is so plagued with odd aspects. Why is so difficult to get a proper copy without defects?
Maybe it’s cursed.
New SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON German Blu-ray…
A German release of SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON is now available. You can choose your store of choice but they have it at Amazon.de
I like this film and I already have a HD copy of it but I wonder how good the new release is. The movie was already available on Blu-ray but the quality was disappointing. Hopefully this new release the transfer is better. Unfortunately, no English track including. Only Italian and German.
There are two different covers to choose from.
The cover above is an amalgamation of poster art taken from SAPPHO THE VENUS OF LESBOS (the fighting men with Kerwin Mathews) and JOURNEY BENEATH THE DESERT aka ANTINEA – L’AMANTE DELLA CITTA.
PEPLUM star publishes new book…
Bella Cortez was one of the PEPLUM genre’s most beautiful actresses. She made a handful of movies and quietly disappeared from the world of cinema. Years ago, I found her Facebook profile and befriended her, one of her first Facebook friends. Anyway, we kept communicating back and forth for some time. She told me she was woking on a book (above) in which she co-autored with someone else. She wanted access to beautiful prints of herself for the book and saw the many good quality versions I had of her films. Eventually, she ‘ghosted’ me and she never posted anything at my FB account. But I remembered that she was going to publish a book and, lo and behold, it is available at Amazon in Italy. She used a photo from VULCAN – SON OF JUPITER as Aetna. Since the book is in Italian, it’s difficult for me to get it all. If someone has additional info on this, can you leave a comment. Thanks!
Bella in GIANT OF METROPOLIS
THE SON OF SPARTACUS Blu-ray colour issues…
The new German Blu-ray of THE SON OF SPARTACUS is excellent. The image is clear and the English audio is actually available which is often not the case with German releases. My only issue, and it might be seen as a small one, are the colours. This print seems to have various colour tones and hues.
The German Blu-ray edition (above) vs the Warner Archive edition (below). The Warner one is terrible: too dark and overly red but the sky and ocean seem more realistic than the overly yellowish one of the German Blu-ray. The bag on the lower right is also more true to nature in the Warner release than the German one. Though there’s more general details in the German release, the Warner one seems to have more definition (the ground and bag…) Which is the correct one?
This image above is sharp, much sharper than the Warner archive release but it’s overly greyish blue.
This cropped screenshot from the new Blu-ray has beautiful colours here. Not the yellowish or too blue. Skin tones look great.
The German Blu-ray is excellent but there are some discrepancies in regards to the colour tone in many scenes.
Ed Fury, R.I.P.
Ed Fury, one of the original PEPLUM stars of the 1960s, died on February 24. He was a young 94 years old. Ed starred as Ursus in 3 movies, THE MIGHTY URSUS (above and below), URSUS IN THE VALLEY OF LIONS and URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE. He also starred in a few other PEPLUM productions. For a full list of his movies, visit the main PEPLUM TV blog.
