Win CRIMSON PEAK (region 1)BD/DVD Combo Pack

UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT is offering Three Lucky SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE readers each a chance to win a Region One BD/DVD Combo Pack of Guillermo Del Toro’s latest thriller,
CRIMSON PEAK.

Start the new year right with a fright.
It’s easy to enter.
Just send a postcard to
SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE C/o KEVIN G SHINNICK
222 Washington Place #2 Cliffside Park, New Jersey 07010

with your name, address, and List your favorite Universal Horror Film past or present.

Winners’ names will be drawn at random and prizes will be sent directly to the winners from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Contest entries must be received by January 20 ,2016.

Watch the Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oquZifON8Eg

Questions? Contact Kevin at SCARLETTHEFILMMAG@yahoo.com

CRIMSON PEAK

AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL HD JANUARY 26, 2016
BLU-RAY™COMBO PACK, DVD AND ON DEMAND FEBRUARY 9, 2016
FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND LEGENDARY PICTURES

Universal City, California, December 8, 2015 – A sheltered young woman abandons the safe certainty of her upbringing for life with an alluring aristocrat on a remote English estate in Crimson Peak, a visually stunning and intensely disturbing thriller from writer and director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), coming to Digital HD on January 26, 2016, and Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on February 9, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Legendary Pictures. Brilliantly unforgettable visuals and an atmosphere steeped in dread make Crimson Peak an elegant, gorgeously realized and completely original horror mystery that has been declared “a masterpiece” by Fox-TV. The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack comes with more than an hour of bonus features that reveal some of the terrifying secrets hidden behind the doors of sinister Allerdale Hall.

From the imagination of director Guillermo del Toro comes a terrifying Gothic romance masterpiece starring Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, Thor series), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Help), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Stoker) and Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”).

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVELY ON BLU-RAYTM
I Remember Crimson Peak: A series of interviews with director Guillermo del Toro and his standout cast, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain.
A Living Thing: An army of artisans was amassed to construct the Sharpe mansion on North America’s largest soundstage. Witness first-hand and in great detail the construction of Del Toro’s most elaborate set to date.
A Primer on Gothic Romance: Employing his encyclopedic knowledge and passion for the genre, Guillermo del Toro traces the lineage of Gothic Romance in cinema. Using Crimson Peak as the basis, Del Toro outlines the history of cinematic terror and illuminates the differences between traditional scares and elevated horror.
Crimson Phantoms: Del Toro’s approach to make-up effects is discussed by award-winning effects house DDT. In this piece, they offer an exclusive look inside their workshop, where they deconstruct the creation of the film’s most disturbing prosthetic effects. The discussion delves into the mythology of these elegant creatures and how Del Toro’s belief in the supernatural informed the design and narrative of the ghosts.
Hand Tailored Gothic: Costume designer Kate Hawley unravels her collaboration with Del Toro and reveals the symbolism constantly at play in the wardrobe’s design.

BLU-RAYTM and DVD BONUS FEATURES
Deleted Scenes
The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak: Crimson Peak offers a stylized turn of the century with carefully crafted visuals that provide the perfect backdrop for Del Toro’s brand of psychological horror. Follow the phases of production to discover a booming America and a dark and removed England portrayed with a multi-layered sophistication unlike any seen in recent cinema.
Beware Of Crimson Peak: Tom Hiddleston (Sir Thomas Sharpe) offers a walking tour of the many secret spaces in Allerdale Hall.
Feature Commentary with co-writer and Director Guillermo Del Toro

SYNOPSIS
When her heart is stolen by a seductive stranger, a young woman is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay— a place filled with secrets that will haunt her forever. Between desire and darkness, between mystery and madness, lies the truth behind Crimson Peak. From the imagination of director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) comes a terrifying, gothic romance masterpiece starring Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam.

FILMMAKERS:
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro
Written By: Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins
Produced By: Guillermo del Toro, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Callum Green
Executive Produced By: Jillian Share
Director of Photography: Dan Laustsen
Production Designer: Thomas Sanders
Edited By: Bernat Vilaplana
Composer: Fernando Velázquez
Costume Designer: Kate Hawley

TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™:
Street Date: February 9, 2016
Copyright: 2016 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 61163118 (US) / 61163115 (CDN)
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Rating: R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles
Sound: English 7.1 DTS:X Immersive Audio, 2.0 DTS Headphone:X, 2.0 Dolby Digital, French and Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1
Run Time: 1 hour, 59 minutes

TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD
Street Date: February 9, 2016
Copyright: 2016 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 61163120 (US) / 61163114 (CDN)
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Rating: R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles
Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

A PROMISE TO MURDER – a Scarlet The Film magazine DVD review

A PROMISE TO MURDER (ALPHA VIDEO) 1955/1956; released on DVD December ,2015 (ALPHA/OLDIES.COM) 2 hours. $7.99 http://www.oldies.com/product-view/7723D.html

It gets harder and harder to find and rediscover classic films and television, therefore it is always a welcome surprise when you are greeted with not one but two classics of the golden age of television. Making the package even more delightful is that they star the great character actor Peter Lorre.

In 1951, Lorre had directed and starred in Der Verlorene (THE LOST ONE,1951). The film was a financial and critical flop at the time. Personally, Lorre also suffered bankruptcy and gained one hundred pounds due to long standing illnesses that finally went out of control.

Returning to the U.S., he found work still in major films (TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA,1954, Disney) as well as the new medium of television. Live television dramas were bringing about new talent in directors writers and actors, but many older actors were being rediscovered and offered often more challenging parts in the live scripted dramas of the era.

Lorre was the first Le Chiffre in the CLIMAX! TV version of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, only that Bond had been Americanised into Jimmy(!) Bond (Barry Nelson). The series obviously liked his work, for they brought him back four more times.

This disc from Alpha has two of his appearances, A Promise to Murder (CBS, 8.30pm, Nov 17,1955, season 2 episode 10) and The Fifth Wheel (CBS, 8.30pm, Feb 9,1956, season 2 episode 20). They allow Lorre to show the scope of his acting, from quiet almost introspective to nearly spoofing his persona from Arsenic & Old Lace (WB, 1944).
A Promise To Murder is based upon an Oscar Wilde’s 1891 story ,” Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime”( his story was first published in The Court and Society Review, in late 1887 ,then in 1891 gathered into the collection Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories ,which included The Canterville Ghost and two other stories. When the collection was reissued, a fifth story was added). Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime is a clever little tale about a palm reader who tells the Lord that he is destined to be a murderer. Seeing as he must murder to be free of the prophecy ,the Lord first tries to poison an Aunt with poison. She dies and he thinks it is due to him. However, his fiancé finds the poisoned pill and so he discovers the aunt died from natural causes. He now goes on a spree to try and kill. The tale ends with a wonderful twist.

For Climax! the tale is updated to the present day 1950s. A barrister, Randy (Louis Hayward) has his palm read by Mr Vorhees (Lorre) at the insistence of his aunt, Lady Bertha (Ann Harding). The palmist predicts to Randy that several events will happen to him, ending with murder. As the predictions begin to happen, Randy becomes more and more agitated, because the final act will be of him causing someone’s death.

Superbly played by all involved, the show plays out like a three act murder theatre piece.

Less serious is The Fifth Wheel, which is considering the series’ title, is almost an oddity, as it is more a comedy than a thriller.

The Fifth Wheel involved two bumbling robbers (Lorre & former boxer Buddy Baer, the latter to star in the GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (Howco,1958)) pull a heist and hide the money in an old car. Unbeknownst to them, the car is repossessed and sold to a Reverend Muldoon (Hume Cronyn) who goes off a fishing trip with a fellow Reverend Mccarkle (the always delightful James Gleason), unaware of the $35,000 hidden in the spare tire (the fifth wheel of the title). This fun piece of fluff also features Bonita Granville, Arthur Treacher (as a stern Bishop).

Both of these shows are definitely collectible and well worth having if you are a fan of classic tv, of Lorre, of thrillers, or just fine storytelling.

Picture and sound quality are good, considering their age and that these were live television broadcasts.

-Recommended.

Kevin G Shinnick

MST3K: VOL 34 Scarlet The Film Magazine DVD review

 

 

 

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: VOLUME XXXIV – Shout Factory 4-disc DVD Collection –December, 2015. $59.99 https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/action-adventure/mst3k-volume-xxxiv

Once again, SHOUT FACTORY has gifted us with another wonderful collection of the classic television series.
This collection focuses on AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES that MST3K poked fun at. In the collection are:

THE SHE CREATURE (1956) – Inspired by the Bridey Murphy/ Virginia Tighe past life story made famous in 1952. Lovely Marla English is hypnotized and summons a past life of the titular (pun intended) She Creature (played by Paul Blaisdell). The only extra on the disc is the original film trailer.

THE UNDEAD (1957) Roger Corman’s tale also inspired by the past life regression story .In this tale, a prostitute played by Pamela Duncan goes back to the Middle Ages where she meets alluring and deadly witch played by the future 50 foot woman herself, Allison Hayes . The trailer once again is the only extra.

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST (1958) the sequel to the 1956 hit,THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, Bert Gordon brings a now facially disfigured and amnesiac Glenn Manning (now played by Duncan”Dean”Parkin) has survived his fall from Boulder Dam and has wandered off to Mexico where he is raiding trucks to survive. Also in the episode is the hysterically funny MR B. NATURAL, with Mr. B (played by a woman) trying to sell a young boy on the joys of music. The original trailer for T.A.C.M. as well as a new intro by Frank (T.V.’s Frank) Conniff are the extras.

VIKING WOMEN VS THE SEA SERPENT (aka The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent) (1957) was a Roger Corman epic on a budget. A group of Viking Women, led by Abby Dalton, go off into the Great Void to search for their men folk who have vanished. Also the short is the very funny THE HOME ECONOMICS STORY. The extras on this one include a fun intro by Frank Conniff once again plus a feature length documentary called IT WAS A COLOSSAL TEENAGE MOVIE MACHINE: THE AIP STORY (2015, another brilliant creation by BALLYHOO MOTION PICTURES). Through interviews with the likes of Roger Corman and other AIP alum, as well as AIP Co-Founder James Nicholson being vocally played by Mark Redfield, we are given a wonderful history of the rise of the little studio that could for a price.

SHOUT FACTORY has cleaned up the discs’ sound and picture quality and the extras like the AIP documentary always make their collections must haves for fans. Also, each film gets an original mini poster by artist Steve Vance.

If you wanted to introduce friends to MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, this would be a superb collection for you to start them on.

-Kevin G Shinnick