He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection . Arrow Video Blu-ray. Region Free

He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection [Blu-ray] Region Free
4 discs. 12 hours and 16 minutes. Color. 7 films (1966-1977) and a brand-new documentary (THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP-THE FILMS OF WILLIAM GREFE produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures) plus lots of extras.
$99.95
https://www.amazon.com/He-Came-Swamp-William-Collection/dp/B08GVJLKZL

William Grefe does not have the cult following that a lot of independent filmmakers have. Indeed, my knowledge of him was limited to two of his earliest horror films and little else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9PniGbJEHw

This collection from Arrow is a great correction to that for me and other film buffs. In the set are 7 of the director’s works, along with another brilliant full-length documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures on the  Grefé’s career.

Seven of his works from the beginning and the end of his career are not included, probably due to rights issues, or perhaps if this set is popular enough, that there will be a second collection?

Drive-in movie theatres have been around since around 1915, but officially began with the first dedicated site for that purpose in Camden, NJ in 1933. In the 1940s, after the way, cars became more of an American way of life, and drive ins began to truly take off. At the same time, the Paramount Act in 1948 caused studios to divest themselves of theatres in a landmark antitrust suit.

This opened the doors for many independents in the 1950s to begin producing films to supply drive ins, as those theatres were looked upon as secondary markets or at least the destination for a film that had run its course financially prior.

American Releasing Corp (which morphed into the more familiar American International Pictures) was one of those that benefitted, aiming for the newly mobile teenage audiences that made drive ins profitable.

Independents would deal with local sub distributors who would handle territories that the country had been broken into. Some of these sub distributors would even make their own ultra-low budget films like the Texas-lensed THE GIANT GILA MONSTER and THE KILLER SHREWS (McLendon-Radio Pictures Distributing Company, both 1959).

In the 1960’s, more maverick filmmakers started to shoot their low budget films around the country, many of them working in Florida. Among the first was H.G. Lewis and his BLOOD FEAST (Box Office Spectaculars, 1963).

William Shatner appeared in Grefe’s IMPULSE(1974)

Another was William  Grefé. A Florida native, he began making films in 1963 as well for the local drive- in film circuit. Two racing films (THE CHECKERED FLAG, Motion Picture Investors ,1963 and RACING FEVER, A.A.,1964, the second of which was built around an actual horrible boat accident caught by an amateur photographer) came and went. His third film (and the first in this collection) was a horror film set within the Everglades.

Disc One of this Arrow Blu Ray collection has STING OF DEATH and DEATH CURSE OF TARTU.

STING OF DEATH (Thunderbird,1966)) was an ultra-low budget color (all   Grefé’s films were in color, except for THE DEVIL’S SISTER, Thunderbird ,1966) that was intended for the drive-in market. For couples looking for an excuse to make out in the privacy of their cars, this film was a good reason to do so. A humanoid/ jellyfish hybrid (poor Bill Hobart, in a diving outfit slightly altered and a plastic bag over his head which in one scene almost caused him to suffocate to death!) is out killing people in Florida. A group of young people (including Deana Lund, prior to her stint on tv’s LAND OF THE GIANTS, Fox ,1968-70) draw the attention of Egon (John Vella), who is the evil genius who has a machine attached to an actual Portuguese Man of War that allows him to transform into the creature that is killing everyone. Oddly, the film seemed to inspire ZAAT (Clark, 1971) , another Florida lensed man into mutant aquatic monster hybrid film .

Zaat, a STING OF DEATH ripoff?

Needing a second feature,  Grefé wrote a quick script, got a team together, and filmed his co-feature in a week.

Deanna Lund

DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (Thunderbird ,1966) was an ultra-low budget color (all  Grefé’s films were in color, except for THE DEVIL’S SISTER, Thunderbird ,1966) horror film that got a decent release upon the drive-in circuits, as well as some spots on late night movie channels in syndication. I recall first seeing a black and White picture of Tartu (Bill Hobart, who designed his own makeup, and became one of  Grefé’s stock company behind and in front of the camera.) in an early issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS and becoming intrigued by it.

An explorer (Brad Grinter, later to direct Veronica Lake’s sad swan song FLESH FEAST, Viking,1970 & the bizarre killer turkey flick BLOOD FREAK, Sampson ,1972) uncovers a crypt wherein he is confronted by Tartu and killed. A short time later, Sam (Frank Weed, who also handled all the exotic animals that appeared in Grefe’s films) and a group including a Professor, his wife and their students exploring old Indian sites soon are the next to become involved with the Death Curse.

Tartu can transform himself and pops up as various swamp creatures to pick of various members of the party, including a shark (!) before the final showdown.  Grefé claimed that he dashed the script out very quickly and it shows. Lots of long passages of nature shots where nothing happens, followed by some brief dialogue then back to padding before something happens for a few seconds. Still, the film had a long life, as director Frank Henenlotter recalled it still playing in the 42nd Street Grindhouses as late as 1976, but how much of receipts reached  Grefé is unknown. Actress Mayra Gomez moved to Spain, where she became a bit of staple of Spanish tv in the 1970s.

These two films have quite a cult following, having gotten released on video and DVD by Something Weird video in prints that had gone through the projectors quite a few times, with faded color and scratches.

The Arrow releases have presented the films in such sharpness as to make them look brand new. The colors are vibrant, and the overall pictures are quite sharp. The studio has gone to the original film elements and given us new 2K scans. it is astonishing the care that went into their restoration.

Extras include new intros by the director, as well as running commentaries by Grefe and Henenlotter (the commentaries ported over from the original Something Weird DVD releases). Find out how Neil Sedaka ended up contributing the song “Do the Jellyfish “to STING OF DEATH .

Do the Jellyfish

A new mini doc by filmmaker C Courtney Joyner called BEYOND THE MOVIE-MONSTERS A GO GO! which examines rock n roll monster movies from the 1950s onward, including the AIP Beach Blanket films that added horror stars like Karloff and Price in cameos.

Doug Hobart talks about his experience with running his own spook show in the fascinating THE CURIOUS CASE OF DR. TRABOH: SPOOK SHOW EXTRAORDINAIRE. For those like myself too young to have experienced these, this is a fascinating piece of movie /theatre history and is true ballyhoo (the extras on these discs are all by the film history doc specialists, Daniel Griffith ‘s BALLYHOO MOTION PICTURES, who consistently make some of the best DVD/BLU RAY extras).

Not Dr . Traboh ,but…

Also, on disc one is the some of the original theatrical trailers for STING OF DEATH and DEATH CURSE OF TARTU.

Disc 2 has Grefe’s reaction to the Swinging’ Sixties, THE HOOKED GENERATION (A.A.,1968) and THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (Allied International ,1971).

THE HOOKED GENERATION has three low lifes who want to break into the big time of drug dealing and go full Scarface by killing a bunch of Cubans for their boatload of drugs (it seems while drugs were crimes in Cuba, they had no problem making money off selling them to the Americans), then killing members of the Coast Guard, before having to turn and flee for a final show down between them in the swamps and the police. It is a gritty film with truly unlikeable characters (a rape scene thankfully is not shown).

THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (original title: Electric Shades of Gray) is an interesting film.  Grefé on the commentary tells us that producer Stewart (Terry) Merrill wanted to make a film about a priest in the Height Ashbury drug scene. The only problem is he had nothing beyond that idea.  Grefé found that it was not a problem, and, with money in hand, began to improvise his film with actor John Darrell (who IMDB seems to feel moved to England and later appeared in several episodes of the Shakespearean series THE WAR OF THE ROSES, BBC 1990-91 !) and mostly a cast pulled off the streets and campuses.

Someone slipped him a Doctor Pepper??

Father John (Darrell) is seen talking to several college students about pot smoking and drugs. They offer him a soda, with him unaware that it is spiked with L.S.D. He goes back to church where he has a bad trip, convincing him to drop out (becoming the embodiment of Timothy Leary’s famous 1966 phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out”). He decides to take a car and travel the open road, wherein he picks up a young hitchhiker who travels awhile with him. He rebukes her admission of love, which is followed by her death. John also witnesses a racial murder perpetrated by some small-town sheriffs, causing John to spiral downwards into harder drugs.

In the final act, he finds his faith again before the end credits crawl, making one think of those religious scare films so “popular “in the 1960s ,70s and 80s. For example: here is a clip from Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982), wherein a young man finds being denied access to rock n’ roll saves him from…. SATAN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_aHgKWwAy0 .

However, after finishing the film, producer Merrill got into a fight with the distributor, and so the film ended up shelved for decades, until it was saved by Something Weird Video in 2001.

Both films have been remastered from the best elements available and given a 2K scanning. That said, the films could only be improved so much, especially the 16mm PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST.

Extras include

new introductions to each film by the director

Mike Vraney & Lisa Petrucci

Running commentaries by  Grefé and Henenlotter wisely carried over from their old Something Weird releases (the late Mike Varney and his wife Lisa Petrucci saved more films from vanishing forever that they deserve a special Oscar for film preservation, though the movies they preserved would not be nominated for Academy Awards, playing instead in grind houses, drive ins and even in porn theatres).

A new mini documentary by film historian Chris Poggiali called BEYOND THE MOVIE: THAT’S DRUGSPLOITATION! that explores films that would be called counterculture.

Another new mini doc, again by Poggiali, called BEYOND THE MOVIE: THE ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP-which gives you the history behind THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST.

BEHIND THE SCENES footage from THE HOOKED GENERATION.

A still gallery from THE HOOKED GENERATION.

DISC 3

• THE NAKED ZOO (1971) This was  Grefé’s attempt to cash into the WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (WB,1962) style of thriller (also known as “Hag Horror”, a cruel comment about films where aging Stars and Actresses were forced into material they once may have turned up their noses at). This SUNSET BOULEVARD (Paramount ,1950) type film has Rita Hayworth (GILDA, Columbia, 1946) as Mrs. Golden, who is taking care of her wheelchair bound husband (Ford Rainey, a reliable character actor who appeared on television in various series from 1951 up to 2017!). When a young writer Terry Shaw (Steve Oliver, who appeared the following year in WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS, Fanfare,1971) shows up, the love starved woman’s infatuation leads to seductions and murder. The lovely Fay Spain (HERCULES CONQUERS ATLANTIS, SpA Cinematografica,1961, who died way too young from cancer in 1983) adds a bit of sex appeal.

Fay Spain

Poor Hayworth looks older than her 52 years in this film, due no doubt from a lifetime of abuse both mental, physical, emotional, and financial from her husbands, driving her into alcoholism as well as possibly the first stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Indeed, 2 years later, her scenes in WRATH OF GOD (MGM,1972) had to be shot one line at a time.

MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH (Cannon, 1976) -having had a hit with STANLEY (Crown Int, 1972)  Grefé wanted to do another nature gone wild film. He had an idea to use a shark as the main creature but at the time, no one would foot the bill for such a film. Then JAWS (Universal,1975) shattered all box office records, and suddenly everyone wanted a film featuring the finned terrors.  Grefé obliged with this film.

Richard Jaeckel (who won an Oscar nom for his role in SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, Universal,1971) is Sonny Stein. During the Vietnam War, he was saved from the enemy by a Mako Shark. Now working as a marine salvager, a shaman gives him a charm to help him have a psychic link between the sharks and himself. Oddly , none of the sharks shown in the film are Mako sharks.

Seeing how people around him treat the sharks, he uses them to extract revenge, including killing an underwater dancer (an attraction totally unique to Florida) when a shark is introduced into her tank.

Also in the film is Harold “Odd Job” Sakata, who had almost really died while filming Grefe’s IMPULSE (Camelot,1974). Here he ends up on the wrong end of a fishhook.

Once again, ARROW gives us a 2K restoration of both films from original film elements.
Also new to these releases are brand new audio commentaries by director  Grefé.

New intros for each film by  Grefé.

An interesting offering is a 92-minute DIRECTOR’S CUT of THE NAKED ZOO, as well as the version released theatrically and altered by the distributors, who added a performance by Canned Heat as well as some nude insert shots, so I guess the Non-Director cut.

A retitled -reissue of THE NAKED ZOO

A new mini doc BEYOND THE MOVIE: THAT’S SHARKSPLOITATION! By film historian Michael Gingold about the spawn of JAWS, including piranhas and alligators.

New to this release: THE AQUAMAID SPEAKS! – An audio interview with Jennifer Bishop, the hapless actress almost bitten by a shark for real in MAKO.

Jennifer Bishop

Another new audio interview: SHARKS, STALKERS, AND SASQUATCH, with Mako writer Robert Morgan, who has spent decades talking about Bigfoot, whom he claims he first saw in 1957.

MAKO-The Super 8 Digest version. For you kiddies, before vcrs, streaming, the internet, this was often the only way to get your hands on a film.

Original trailers

Still and Promo Galleries

DISC 4
WHISKEY MOUNTAIN (1977) is an action thriller film set in the backwoods. A group of young people go into the mountains looking for a stash of old Confederate gear, only to come across a bunch of hillbilly drug dealers who do not take kindly to interlopers. Fast paced with lots of stunts, starring Christopher George (tv’s RAT PATROL, U.A. 1966-68) as well as the indie ecological horror film GRIZZLY (Film Ventures,1976).

THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: THE FILMS OF WILLIAM GREFE (2016) -this for me was the highlight of the collection. Daniel Griffith, of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, has done this 127-minute tribute to William  Grefé, highlighting the take any risk but get it on film style of the filmmaker, and indeed, of many indie cinema makers. This is an extended version of this documentary tribute that had been previously been released in a special two-disc DVD edition (the second disc featured WHISKEY MOUNTAIN).

Interviews with  Grefé, and many of the surviving cast and crew of his films, as well as filmmakers like Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE, Analysis, 1982) and Fred Olen Ray (THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, American Independent Productions 1988). Besides his own films,  Grefé worked as a second unit director on major films shot in Florida like LIVE & LET DIE (U.A.,1973) as well as promotional shorts for various companies. It is a fascinating look at D.I.Y. guerilla filmmaking.

Extras on this disc include

2K restoration of WHISKEY MOUNTAIN from original film elements.

Christopher George

New audio commentary by  Grefé on WHISKEY MOUNTAIN.

New intro to WHISKEY MOUNTAIN by  Grefé.

THE CROWN JEWELS– A new mini documentary about Crown International, who released several of  Grefé’s films, like STANLEY (1972).

ON LOCATION: GREFE IN MIAMI– a new archival tour of various locations used by  Grefé.

BACARDI AND COKE BONANZA (1981) a short film shot by  Grefé about how-well – Bacardi & Coke go together.

WHISKEY MOUNTAIN trailer.

Bonus Exploitation trailer Gallery.

Each of the discs has reversible disc cover sleeves with original artwork

Collectors Booklet with an interview with the director.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDRa_KWgVdU&feature=emb_logo


Arrow once again has gone all out with amazing restorations that put many major studio releases to shame.

Recommended for fans of  Grefé’s work, Regional Filmmakers, Indie Movies.

-Kevin G Shinnick

BALLYHOO MOTION PICTURES: https://ballyhoomotionpictures.com

ARROW VIDEO: https://www.arrowvideo.com

The films not in the collection by the way are for the Grefe completists
THE CHECKERED FLAG (1963), RACING FEVER (1964), DEVIL’S SISTERS (1966), WILD REBELS (1967), STANLEY (1972), IMPULSE (1974), THE GODMOTHERS (1975).

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If you would like to contribute and/or comment, contact Kevin at
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SILENT RUNNING (Arrow Blu Ray)

SILENT RUNNING (Arrow Video Blu Ray)
89 minutes Color.
Original release Universal Studios March 10, 1972 U.S.A.
Arrow Blu-Ray Release November 17th,2020 $39.95
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Running-Blu-ray-Bruce-Dern/dp/B08GVJLKZG

paperback movie adaptation of SILENT RUNNING

Ray Bradbury often felt his only science fiction story was FAHRENHEIT 451. “I use a scientific idea as a platform to leap into the air and never come back.” Most of his stories were not hard science fiction, but just the launching point for the story that he wished to tell. SILENT RUNNING is quite like that. While filled with wonderful imagery of a future world of spaceships and androids, the story is more an allegory of our relationship with our planet and our need to protect it.

The story of SILENT RUNNING is that in the near future (a voice over tells us that “at the beginning of a new Century” ),Earth has launched all their remaining forests and surviving species into space in the hope of preserving them .

Among the Fleet is the Valley Forge, run by a crew of four with support by various Droids. It seems that they have been in space for quite a while, and boredom has set in among three of the crew. They race around the ship with reckless abandon. The fourth, Freeman Lowell (Free man, sort of on the nose), played by Bruce Dern, is introduced to the audience swimming among what appears to be a forest, but is within one of the domes. He dons a robe, giving him more of a Christ like image as he cuddles a rabbit.

The fleet receives word that they are to destroy the domes and return the space crafts to commercial service.

Lowell snaps and kills his three coworkers, then plunges his ship through the rings of Saturn to make it appear that his ship is lost. He then programs the three remaining droids (whom he names Huey ,Dewey ,and Louie) first to perform surgery on his injured leg and then ,as his isolation sets in, to interact with him in such things as playing cards. Lowell starts feeling the loneliness again and takes to speeding around the station like his former co- workers did, smashing into one of the droids.

The forests also begin to die, and he does not know what he can do to help them. Then, he gets a radio message that the fleet has found his location and are racing to save him.

Realizing that the forests need more light, he rushes about to install lamps to correct this problem.   He then jettisons the forest into space and to prevent it being followed, he commits suicide by destroying the Valley Forge with one of the nuclear bombs aboard.  The final shot is the forest floating and flourishing in space, cared for by Dewey.

Back in the 1970s, the studios were looking for films that would appeal to young movie goers.  EASY RIDER (Columbia 1969) was a film that made oodles of money, and the suits could not figure out why. Their solution was to give up and coming filmmakers a limited budget and see what they could come up with.  Warner Brothers gave George Lucas financing to expand his student film ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB into a full length feature.  

Universal seemed the most willing to risk money on filmmakers, setting budgets of $1 million dollars and creative control. They even thought that bringing in two of the EASY RIDER actors would guarantee better returns.   Dennis Hopper went off in many ways with his money for THE LAST MOVIE (Universal,1971), a financial and critical disaster.  Peter Fonda directed a more traditional western, THE HIRED HAND (Universal ,1971) was also a flop, playing in many areas as the bottom half of THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (Universal,1971).  

Another young filmmaker who was given a chance to go off and create something for a million dollars was Douglas Trumbull. Trumbull had been instrumental in the mind-boggling visuals and effects seen in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (MGM,1968). After doing some of the effects for Robert Wise’s adaptation of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (Universal,1971)*, Universal was so impressed as to offer him a chance to direct a sci- fi film.

Douglas had the original outline ,which was expanded into a screenplay by Steven Bochco ( later a T.V. industry unto himself ,with such shows as HILL STREET BLUES (MTM,1981-87)) Deric Washburn (an off- Broadway playwright turned screenwriter), and Michael Cimino (later to co-write with Washburn the classic THE DEER HUNTER ,Universal , 1978, and direct films like the film that sank United Artists, HEAVEN’S GATE ,1980) , Trumbull was able to stretch his budget by film aboard Korean War aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge (LPH-8), which was docked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, California. The domes were filmed on a studio set in an aircraft hangar in Van Nuys, California.

The film was basically a showcase for an actor, and he wisely took a chance on Bruce Dern. The stage trained performer was mostly cast as villains in films, so this was a great change of pace for the actor. The three other visible performers were Cliff Potts (who was a Universal contract player at the time),Ron Rifkin (who is currently a recurring character on LAW & ORDER: SVU ,Universal 1999-present) , and Jess Vint III (Dern recommended him for the role in SILENT RUNNING after seeing his work at an Actors Studio class . Since then Vint has worked as an actor, director, screenwriter for both major studios and indies) .

Two voices heard over the radio belong to Roy Engel (President Grant on the tv series WILD WILD WEST ,CBS,1966-69) and Joseph Campanella, who seemed to appear in every T.V. series during the 1960s and 70s (including playing different characters in IRONSIDE,Universal,1969-75) .

The most brilliant bit of casting was for the four droids. To get away from the man in the suit look, the droids’ design led many to believe that they actual working AI. In fact, the four suits were worn by 4 amputees (Mark Persons, Steven Brown, Cheryl Sparks, and Larry Whisenhunt) with the casings built to accommodate them. That they were able to imbue the blank shells with personality is a credit to the performers inside, Dern, and the director.

The cinematographer Charles F Wheeler had worked a lot with specials effects films (like TORA! TORA! TORA! Fox,1970) and this was one of the first films to use fluorescent lights for a film, since they were filming on an actual aircraft carrier. Wheeler later did similar duties on STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (Paramount, 1979).

Another big plus was the music by Peter Schickele (best known for his brilliant comedy albums as P.D.Q. Bach). Indeed, I still own the Green Vinyl Varese Sarabande album.

Joan Baez ,who had worked with Schickele provided two songs to the film’s soundtrack.

The film was released in the U.S. on March 10, 1972 to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Over the years, the film has gained a well-deserved cult following, due to its various television showings, as well as video and DVD releases.

Concept Art for the Droids

Now, Arrow Video gives us the best presentation of this movie that we have ever seen.

The movie has been given a 2K restoration supervised by Trumbull himself in 1080p Hi Definition. The film is flawless, with beautiful color.


The sound is presented in crisp DTS-HD mono. The effects, music, and dialogue are clear.

The optional white English subtitles are clear and easy to read.

Arrow also packs the release with several extras.

First off, there are TWO commentary tracks.

The first is carried over from the 2002 Universal DVD release, featuring Dern & Trumbull. You can hear their deserved pride in the film and friendly banter as they watch the film .

The second and new to this release track features Kim Newman (the author of the wonderful ANNO DRACULA books) and Barry Forshaw (BRITISH GOTHIC CINEMA book). This track, I must admit, annoyed me quite a bit. Both are knowledgeable on film and literature, but they seem to talk around the subject of the film rather than about it. They also do not seem to regard the film too highly. They seem to miss that the film is more allegory than hard science fiction. One wishes that Arrow had gotten someone with more respect for the film, like Mark Kermode, who lists it as among his favorite movies, and even wrote a book about it.

Also new to this release is an isolated music and sound effect track, for those who do not have the o.s.t. album of Schickele’s score, plus one can see how much the sound effects of forest and mechanics sounds mix to make the film work .

NO TURNING BACK -A short 14-minute featurette with Movie Music historian Jeff Bond discusses the importance of Peter Schickele’s score to the film.

FIRST RUN -Another short featurette examines the script and how it changed with the input of the various writers.

Those Zero Gravity toilets can be tricky….

A Theatrical trailer is included, which makes the film look more like an action sci-fi adventure, plus plugs Joan Baez’ contributions.

A photo gallery is also available .

Other extras carried over from the 2002 DVD are :

THE MAKING OF SILENT RUNNING – A promotional film made to promote the film prior to it’s release , showing the actual Valley Forge , and the behind scenes of making the film, including the robot concepts ,designs and actors working within the molds.

SILENT RUNNING BY DOUGLAS TRUMBULL –Trumbull looks back on the film.

DOUGLAS TRUMBULL THEN & NOW –Trumbull examines his career, including his ideas on theme park rides video games, and his Showscan process. Trumbull directed the four-minute film for the BACK TO THE FUTURE ride at the Universal Theme Parks, which he says is how to bring the audiences into the action. It is not mentioned here, but back in 1895, inventor and early effect film maker R.W. Paul had a remarkably similar idea, to be based upon H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE that had been published the previous year. People would get into an enclosed ride box, where it would be tilted and moved as various projections were shown inside.

DOUGLAS TRUMBULL

R.W..Paul’s THE MOTORIST(1906)

A CONVERSATION WITH BRUCE DERN -the actor discusses his role in the film and its importance to his career.

First Pressing Only: An Illustrated collector’s booklet written by Barry Forshaw and Peter Tonguette (PICTURING PETER BOGDANOVICH) .

SILENT RUNNING is a unique film ,whose message of ecological preservation has become more important today, as we have experienced political leaders who have rolled back dozens of hard won protections of our air and water, and we are rushing toward ecological disasters with the world heating up and ice caps melting.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

–Kevin G Shinnick

*-THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN is also available on Blu Ray from Arrow Video. https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/the-andromeda-strain-arrow-us-blu-ray/

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JAKE SPEED (Arrow Blu Ray S.E.)

JAKE SPEED (Arrow Video Blu Ray Special Edition) -original release New World May 30, 1986. Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen .105 minutes. PG $39.95 REGION A/1. Blu Ray released December 2019

https://www.amazon.com/Jake-Speed-Blu-ray-Wayne-Crawford/dp/B07YGZ6D1B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JMU517NGMEI7&keywords=jake+speed+blu+ray&qid=1574018190&s=movies-tv&sprefix=jake+speed%2Cmovies-tv%2C204&sr=1-1

JAKE SPEED is a super fun action adventure film that never takes itself too seriously and lets you in on the joke. Indeed, the whole film is based upon the idea of “What if the heroes we read about in pulp fiction existed”? This flick  makes the whole premise work.

A young woman, Maureen Winston (Becca C Ashley in her only theatrical role) is abducted while she is in Paris by white slavers (a plot later used in the better known TAKEN, Fox,2008). Her family back in the United States are understandably upset. Maureen’s parents (Monte Markham, PROJECT X, Paramount 1968, and Millie Perkins, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, Fox,1959) blame Maureen’s sister Margaret (Karen Kopins, ONCE BITTEN, Goldwyn,1985) for encouraging her to go out and see the world.

Margaret’s crusty grandfather (Leon Ames, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, MGM,1946) says that there are very few real men anymore, such as Remo Williams, or Jake Speed. He feels Jake Speed would be the best man to handle this.

The thing is Maureen discovers that Jake only exists in a series of pulp novels that her grandfather reads. Or does he?

A note is slipped under Margaret’s door that instructs her to go to a bar at the San Pedro Docks at midnight if she wishes to find her sister. Going along is her friend, Wendy (Donna Pescow, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, Paramount, 1977).

The bar is the type of dive that might make pirates feel unsafe. They are soon joined by Desmond Floyd (Dennis Christopher, BREAKING AWAY, Fox,1979) and Jake Speed (writer producer Wayne Crawford, who also co-wrote /co-produced the indie hit VALLEY GIRL, Atlantic, 1983) himself.

It seems that they base their pulp stories upon actual events and that Margaret’s story connects with a case that Desmond and Jake are pursuing , involving white slavers in Africa and Jake’s arch-nemeses, the gleeful Sid (John Hurt, ALIEN,Fox,1979) and his somewhat foppish brother Maurice (Roy London, one of the top acting teachers in Hollywood ,who died in 1993 at only age 50).

London was the subject of a 2005 documentary

What follows are a series of wildly over the top adventures that Margaret becomes part of as a struggling country’s different faction fight a Civil War all around them. John Hurt looks like he is having the time of his life playing the baddie, and he never takes his character too seriously (though when he slits the throat of an innocent civilian near the end, it is a bit of a shock).

Shooting in Africa gave the picture much grander production values than a medium budget picture of the time would have had filming elsewhere. Plus, as we learn from the disc extras (more later in the review), they were given use of actual military vehicles, troops and helicopters, mixed in with some amazing Australian stunt people.

Watch for one little editing boo boo near the end at the airport, where all the background extras behind John Hurt stand perfectly still and then start moving as if they got their cue late .

The film was released by New World Pictures while COBRA (WB) and TOP GUN ( Paramount) were dominating the U.S. box office in May 1986.   JAKE SPEED was not a successful picture, making most of it’s money on it’s release to video and cable. There were plans to make more but the failure to find a wide theatrical acceptance put an end to that idea.

New World did  do a clever bit of promotion for the film, releasing an actual paperback on June 1,1986 by Gold Eagle/Harlequin, under the pseudonym Reno Melon, which is the fake name Jake and Des’ author their pulp novels in the film. The thing is, they should have released the book in advance of the film, not after it had disappeared from theatres.

A vinyl LP was released of Mark Snow’s score by sound track by Varèse Sarabande . The very 80s synth score is very infectious and the flute sound adds a sense of whimsy to the theme.

I have to admit that I have been a fan of this film since it first came to video on the old New World Video. This new Arrow Video Blu Ray is an incredible improvement over any prior release on this film. Arrow Video has gone back to the original 35mm interpositive prints and given it a 2K Hi Def (1080p) clean up that makes this picture look even more impressive. The stunning African vistas and colors show that more care was given to this movie than one would assume from prior prints.

The mono sound from prior releases has been cleaned up and given a lot more audio punch (2.0 stereo), with the crashes, punches, gunfire and music all jumping out at you while still never overpowering the tongue in cheek lines as the film zooms along.

There are optional English subtitles that are easy to read and follow the action and dialogue quite accurately.

Other Extras include –

PAPERBACK WISHES, CINEMATIC DREAMS– a brand new Ballyhoo Motion Pictures interview with director Andrew Lane. Ballyhoo Motion Picture extras on any disc are always top notch and this one keeps the fine record by the company.

Lane and Crawford worked together since 1977 (starting as a writing producing team on the 1977 Dimension Pictures’ TOMCATS). Their idea was to make each succeeding picture just a little bit better, culminating with JAKE SPEED. They worked upon a few more films after this, but none seemed to be as personal as this picture.

THE HARD WAY READS BETTER-Another made for this release Ballyhoo Motion Pictures extra, this time producer William Fay offers his insights into making JAKE SPEED, including budget restraints, and other problems of having to bring practically all equipment into the country to make the picture.

 

The Blu Ray Sleeve has a reversible cover, with newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys, whose magnificent work has graced several other collectible Arrow Video releases.

This is a fun independent action adventure that merely asks that you relax and have a good time.

Highly recommended.

-Kevin G Shinnick

 

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