The Wizard of Gore and The Gore Gore Girls were recently released on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment and Something Weird Video. However, there wasn't a big announcement for the release and it hasn't really been covered online, so we wanted to let our readers know about it. Continue reading for cover art and additional release details. For fans of Herschell Gordon Lewis, we also have news of a project to restore some of his previously lost films.
THE WIZARD OF GORE (1970, Unrated, 95 Mins.): Is it magic? Or wholesale slaughter? Montag the Magnificent (Ray Sager), THE WIZARD OF GORE, is a seedy small time magician with a shocking stage act. Hypnotizing pretty young women from the audience to be his obedient volunteers, Montag then proceeds to mutilate them in a series of Grand Guignol illusions. A woman is cut in half with a chainsaw, another is drilled through the stomach with a giant punch press, a metal spike is driven through one gal's head, and two ladies are forced to swallow swords. Trouble is, after the show, the "illusions" become all too horribly real. Blood, guts, and offbeat surrealism in another crackpot classic from "The Wizard of Gore" himself, director Herschell Gordon Lewis.
THE GORE GORE GIRLS (1972, Unrated, 81 Minutes): The screwiest, sexiest, goriest one yet! A lunatic with a grudge against G-strings, pasties, and pretty women is slaughtering the sexy strippers who work for night club impresario Marzdone Mobilie (Henny Youngman.Yes, the Henny Youngman). Not content with mere murder, the psycho enthusiastically mangles and mutilates the women, thus turning Marzdone's go-go girls into THE GORE GORE GIRLS. Trying to solve the gruesome goings-on which include buttocks bashing, eyeball popping, face ironing, and body boiling in a bowl of French fries are obnoxious private eye Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) and ditsy reporter Nancy Weston (Amy Farrell). And by coercing Nancy to perform in an amateur strip contest, Abraham offers the killer the perfect bait...A wicked mix of sick comedy, topless dancing, and ultra-violence makes the final film from director Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast) one of the ultimate B-movie gross-outs of all time!
Disc Details:
Here is some information on a recent project that was launched to restore three previously lost films from Lewis:
"Process Blue is a film restoration facility operated by movie enthusiasts who are dedicated to preserving forgotten works of cinema with a current focus on the exploitation genre through our 'Side Projects' initiative.
Through a combination of luck, happenstance and a lot of negotiating, we've acquired the negatives for acclaimed cult filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis' three lost sexploitation pictures, LINDA & ABILENE (1969), ECSTASIES OF WOMEN (1969) and BLACK LOVE (1971) and are seeking funds to properly restore and preserve them and, ultimately, allow the public to appreciate them for decades to come.
Lewis has gained acclaim and notoriety as 'The Godfather of Gore' for his films BLOOD FEAST, 2000 MANIACS, THE WIZARD OF GORE, etc. However, like many filmmakers working in the exploitation world, Lewis dabbled in a bit of everything, including sexploitation. These three films represent some of his finest and most unexpected work in that genre and, from what we can tell, have not never been released on home video anywhere in the world nor have they been screened theatrically in close to 40 years! Truly a major lost film find for any genre-film enthusiast, we hope to be able to restore these films to their original theatrical brilliance as well as give them new life both via DVD/Blu-Ray releases and perhaps even theatrical exhibition."
For more information on the project, visit: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/processblue/the-lost-films-of-herschell-gordon-lewis-restorati