As the summer continues to roll on, that means we have another great week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to. The folks at Scream Factory are keeping themselves plenty busy this Tuesday, as they’re resurrecting both The Lawnmower Man and Island of Terror on Blu-ray, as well as their high-def The Paul Naschy Collection, and Arrow Video has put together an incredible two-disc limited Blu-ray set of Dario Argento’s directorial debut, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, that any fan of the Master of Horror will want to add to their collections. And, if you missed it in theaters, the horror/sci-fi thriller Life will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats, too.
Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-O-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians, and Congo is finally making its way to Blu-ray this week as well.
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage: 2-Disc Limited Edition Set (Arrow Video, Blu/DVD Combo)
In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage a film which redefined the 'giallo' genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.
Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia (Suzy Kendall, Spasmo)...
A staggeringly assured debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage establishes the key traits that would define Argento's filmography, including lavish visuals and a flare for wildly inventive, brutal scenes of violence. With sumptuous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and a seductive score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West), this landmark film has never looked or sounded better in this new, 4K-restored limited edition from Arrow Video!
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
The Lawnmower Man: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) is a brilliant scientist obsessed with perfecting virtual reality software. When his experiments on animals fail, he finds the ideal substitute :Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey), a slow-witted gardener. Dr. Angelo’s goal is to benefit his human guinea pig and ultimately mankind itself, but evil lurks the guise of "the Shop, ", a shadowy group that seeks to use the technology to create an invincible war machine. When the experiments change the simple Jobe into a superhuman being, the stage is set for a Jekyll-and-Hyde struggle for the control of Jobe’s mind and the future of the world.
Disc 1 – Theatrical Cut:
• NEW 4K scan of the interpositive
• NEW Cybergod: Creating The Lawnmower Man – featuring interviews with co-writer/director Brett Leonard, actor Jeff Fahey, editor Alan Baumgarten, make-up effects artist Michael Deak and special effects coordinator Frank Ceglia
• Audio Commentary with writer/director Brett Leonard and writer/producer Gimel Everett
• Deleted Scenes
• Original Electronic Press Kit with cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
• Edited animated sequences
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
Disc 2 – Director’s Cut:
• NEW 4K scan of the interpositive with additional “director’s cut” footage from the original camera negative
• Audio Commentary with writer/director Brett Leonard and writer/producer Gimel Everett
• Conceptual art and Design sketches
• Behind the scenes and production stills
• Storyboard Comparison
Life (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital, Blu/Digital & DVD)
LIFE is an intense sci-fi thriller about a team of scientists aboard the International Space Station whose mission of discovery turns to one of primal fear when they find a rapidly evolving life-form that caused extinction on Mars, and now threatens the crew and all life on Earth.
Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, DVD & Digital Bonus Materials Include:
The Paul Naschy Collection (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina Álvarez) was Spain’s answer to Lon Chaney. He has portrayed many classic monsters: the Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula, the Mummy and more. He was not only a terrific actor, but an accomplished writer, producer and director. This Blu-ray box set includes five stellar films from his long and distinguished career.
VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES :
High Definition 1080p (1.33:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Castalian/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English Dub/1972/Color/Not Rated/90 minutes
• Complete Uncut Version
• In Castilian with English Subtitles and English Dub
• Theatrical Trailers (Spanish and English)
• Spanish Credit Sequence
• Alternate Clothed Sequences
• Still Gallery
HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB:
High Definition 1080p (1.85:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Castalian/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English Dub/1972/Color/Not Rated/89 minutes
• Complete Uncut Version
• NEW Audio Commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of the podcast, NaschyCast
• In Castilian with English Subtitles and English Dub
• Theatrical Trailers (Spanish and English)
• Alternate Clothed Sequences
• Still Gallery
BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL:
High Definition 1080p (1.33:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Castalian/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English Dub/1973/Color/Not Rated/90 minutes
• Complete Uncut Version
• NEW Audio Commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of the podcast, NaschyCast
• In Castilian with English Subtitles and English Dub
• Theatrical Trailers (Spanish and English)
• Spanish Credit Sequence
• Still Gallery
NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF:
High Definition 1080p (1.85:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Castalian/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English Dub/1980/Color/Not Rated/93 minutes
• Complete Uncut Version
• NEW Audio Commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of the podcast, NaschyCast
• In Castilian with English Subtitles and English Dub
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailers (Spanish and English)
• Spanish Credit Sequence
• Still Gallery
HUMAN BEASTS:
High Definition 1080p (1.85:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Castalian/DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English Dub/1980/Color/Not Rated/84 minutes
• Complete Uncut Version
• In Castilian with English Subtitles and English Dub
• Spanish Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Congo (Paramount, Blu-ray & DVD)
Death Pool (MTI Home Video, DVD)
Hack-O-Lantern: 30th Anniversary Limited Edition (Massacre Video, Blu/DVD Combo)
Island of Terror (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Night Terrors (Bayview Entertainment, DVD)
Patchwork (The Orchard, DVD)
Ten Little Indians (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray & DVD)
Under the Dome: The Complete Series (Paramount, DVD)
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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