I WANT WHAT I WANT on DVD!

During the golden age of exploitation cinema, the grindhouse market took on any and every subject guaranteed to bring in money.  The sex change flick was no exception.  Shortly after Christine Jorgensen's highly publicized transformation from man to woman in the early 50s, Edward D. Wood Jr. turned out his subversive masterpiece Glen or Glenda?, chronicling his own personal struggle for the world to understand transvestism.  In 1970, Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon with the glorious disaster Myra Breckinridge!  Based on Gore Vidal's novel, this Raquel Welch vehicle about a female transexual that plans to take over her uncle's acting academy became notorious even before its release, and regardless of critical panning, it opened the floodgates for a new wave of sex change films.  The hilariously bad The Christine Jorgensen Story and the highly bizarre Dinah East were released the same year as Myra Breckinridge.  Two years later, British actress Anne Heywood (The Fox) starred in the film I Want What I Want, which, like the films mentioned above, dealt with the topic of transsexualism, but was much more successful in presenting the subject matter seriously and with a character the audience could sympathize with.

Roy just isn't like the other boys.  He spends his time watching women in the street, admiring their clothes.  He can't live up to the expectations of his Army major father, who wants Roy to act more like a man.  One night, Roy's father comes home and discovers his son in full drag.  Unable to control his rage, the major slaps Roy around before forcing his son to look in the mirror.  "Don't you want to be a man?" Roy's father asks.  To this, Roy replies "God made man in his own image...and he blew it." Next time we see Roy, he's ran away from home and barricaded himself in a small apartment where he lets his hair grow and practices at how to be a real woman.  After a few weeks of training, Roy is dead and Wendy is born!  After leaving the city and renting a room in a boarding house, things are going great for Wendy!  Her fellow tenants don't suspect her of being "different" in the slightest and she's got an overflow of extravagant gowns and blue eyeshadow to keep her past a secret forever!  Of course, Wendy can't escape from love as she's got her eye on one of the male tenants in the house.  Before she can make any sort of move, however, she knows she much consult a doctor about a sex change.

 There's something about this film that everytime I watch it, I can't help but love it.  Thirty years before Felicity Huffman tackled the role of a transexual in Transamerica, Anne Heywood dove into the part of Roy/Wendy and does a great job.  Heywood isn't the most passible looking man when she's Roy and looks a bit like a drag queen when she's Wendy but her overall performance makes you really sympathize with Roy on his journey to becoming Wendy.  You see her ups and her downs throughout this new and confusing period in her life that by the time you reach the shock ending, you're pretty much speechless.  What I particuarly like about I Want What I Want is its treatment of the subject matter.  Yes, it's an exploitation film but it never crosses the line of depicting transexuals as sideshow freaks.  The movie is not a riot like The Christine Jorgensen Story or Myra Breckinridge, but it isn't overly serious either.  While not perfect, it makes for a memorable viewing experience.  

Only ever available on VHS in the past, Scorpion Releasing presents I Want What I Want in a beautifully restored, anamorphic widescreen transfer.  The print used for the transfer isn't in the most pristine condition as colors sometimes look faded and scratches appear on the film from time to time, but when compared to the original Prism VHS, the image is fantastic!  The only extra on the disc is a Spanish trailer for the film (the trailer's narration is in Spanish while the scenes from the film contain the original English track).  Also include in the packaging are liner notes by Dennis Dermody, film critic for Paper.  Dermody's essay is quite informative on how the film was made and briefly discusses Heywood's career (Heywood apparently bought the rights to the novel by Geoff Brown and was a driving force behind getting the movie made).  Thank you to the good people at Scorpion Releasing for putting out a gem like I Want What I Want and allow your DVD collection to get more in touch with its feminine side! 

    

Lesbian Bloodsuckers in HD! Kino Lorber and Redemption films present THE CINEMA OF JEAN ROLLIN! Part 1: THE NUDE VAMPIRE

How to describe the cinema of the late French horror auteur Jean Rollin?  Often associated with being the creater of a series of lesbian vampire films, Rollin's films are much more than what this typical type of subgenre has to offer.  There is a poetic quality to his films that makes them all the more haunting and beautiful.  Plot is not important in a Rollin film.  Pacing is generally slow.  The budgets, very low.  But in the end, this is what makes Rollin's work so appealing.  All of Rollin's films are incredibly personal so trying to figure them out is a waste of time.  Viewing a film by Jean Rollin is an experience like no other and his unique collection of films deserve a much greater cult following than they already have.  Thanks to the good people and Kino Lorber and Redemption Films, the number of Rollin fanatics should certainly grow as they will be releasing the majority of Rollin's filmography in Hi-Def on both Blu-Ray and DVD formats.  The first five in the series were released back in January and include some of Rollin's best and most important films.  (I'll be reviewing each film in the set seperately and I will only be reviewing the DVD versions of these films since I'm poor and only own a DVD player).

 The Nude Vampire

While walking through an empty street in the middle of the night, a young man named Pierre runs into a beautiful young woman being followed by a group of men who conceal their identity with bizarre animal masks.  Pierre attempts to help the girl but she is immediately gunned down by one of the masked men.  Fleeing the scene to save himself, Pierre becomes obsessed with discovering who the girl is and why these men were after her.  Pierre soon learns the girl is a vampire and is being held captive by his father and a group of scientists, who take samples of her blood night after night in the hopes of discovering the secret to immortality.  Having fallen in love with the young vampire, Pierre attempts to set her free but when a vampire cult learns of what is being done to one of their kind, they seek justice in their own way.

Rollin's second feature film (and his first color film), The Nude Vampire is often considered a lesser work in his filmograpgy by most fans and critics.  While he would go on to make better films, The Nude Vampire is a fascinating piece of horror and science fiction that derserves way more praise than it receives.  One problem with the film is its pacing (some scenes just go on for too long, even for a Rollin film) but at the same time, the beautiful photography makes up for these problems (this was the first film in which Rollin worked with his favorite cinematographer Jean-Jacques Renon).  Another problem is that with the film's small budget, Rollin tried to pull off some unsuccessful special effects, making certain scenes quite unintentionally funny.  Despite its flaws, The Nude Vampire is classic Rollin and deserves to be rediscovered.

The Nude Vampire is presented in an anamorphic widescreen presentation.  Mastered in HD from the original negative, the film looks beautiful.  Colors pop right out at you (particuarly reds) and detail is perfect.  The DVD comes with the option of viewing the film in French with English subtitles or with the dubbed English track (the former being preferable).  Also included on this special edition is an introduction to the film by Rollin (in English), a collection of interviews with Rollin (in English) conducted over a series of time by a former assistant of the late director, an interview with long time Rollin collaborator Natalie Perrey discussing the making of the film (in French with English subtitles), two trailers for the film (one in French, the other in English), and the original French theatrical trailers for the other four films in the collection.

       

A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN: Lucio Fulci's classic 'giallo' thriller!

Most fans of Euro horror are familiar with Lucio Fulci for his gore soaked epics like Zombie, The Beyond, and City of the Living Dead.  However, in the early seventies, the would-be Italian Godfather of Gore made several top notch thrillers that would rank high in the popular sub-genre of film known as the giallo (the word giallo translates to yellow in English and is synonymous with a popular trend of mystery/thriller pulp novels that were famous for their yellow covers).  His second entry in the genre, A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, is by far my favorite of Fulci's gialli and maybe even my favorite Fulci film.

Carol (Florinda Bolkan) has been having a series of erotic nightmares involving her hippie neighbor, Julia (Anita Strindberg).  Trips to her psychiatrist have Carol believe that her fascination with Julia stems from an urge she has to break free from the clutches of her high society family and freely take part in the liberated lifestyle Julia indulges in with a series of psychedelic, orgy like parties night after night.  After having a dream in which she murders Julia in cold blood (in front of a hippie couple that gleefully watch), Carol awakens to discover Julia has just been found murdered in the exact same manner as in her dream.  Did she do it or is someone be setting her up?  Could it be Carol's husband Frank?  Her step daughter?  Carol's paranoia goes through the roof when the two hippies who were witnesses to the murder in her dream begin stalking her in real life, leading to a sensational chase scene in an abandoned church; complete with an old crypt, blood, and a swarm of bats!

Anybody with preconceived ideas of Lucio Fulci being just another hack splatter director should be pleasantly surprised after viewing A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.  His direction on the film's most suspenseful sequences are incredibly well executed and the continuous onslaught of red herrings make the film an engagging thriller.  Florinda Bolkan is great as Carol.  There is no dialouge during the dream and chase sequences, forcing Bolkan to convey complete terror through her facial expressions and body language, and you really feel for her!  Composer Ennio Morricone does the incredible score for the film that is oh so hauntingly sexy, you'll be shaking it off for days before wanting to re-hear it immediately.  Carlo Rambaldi, the man responsible for creating E.T., does special effects in the film.  In a famous scene, Carol discovers a series of vivisected dogs in a hospital room.  As the story goes, the effect was so realistic that Fulci and Rambaldi were brought up on charges of animal cruelty, forcing Rambaldi to display the props in court to prove no real animals were harmed. 

Media Blasters, under their Shriek Show label, originally released Lizard in a 2-disc special edition featuring a stunning looking version of the shorter American cut (released under the title Schizoid by AIP) on one disc and the uncut Italian version from an inferior print on the other disc.  After some backlash from fans, Media Blasters revisited the title by combining the best of both elements to make this the definitive version of this Fulci classic!  Featuring a widescreen transfer with anamorphic enhancement, the film looks fantastic!  Colors literally jump off the screen and the image looks pretty amazing for a 40 year old film.  The scenes from the inferior looking Italian print display a slight dip in quality (faded colors and scratches) but are never distracting overall.

Extras on this remastered edition include two interviews with Professor Paolo Albiero (in Italian with English subtitles); one discussing Fulci's career, the other discussing censorship issues upon Lizard's release.  These are informative and intriguing enough to keep your interest but most likely won't result in revisitation in the future.  Also included are the original Italian opening credits, the films American trailer, and a trailer reel of future Fulci films, including Zombie, Demonia, Murderock, Touch of Death, and The Sweet House of Horrors.  Overall, this is a quintessential giallo that is a must own for all fans of Lucio Fulci or just Euro Horror devotees in general!  Let it under your skin...you'll be thankful.

ALL ABOUT EVIL Special Edition DVD

San Francisco based drag performer Peaches Christ has proven herself as a cult icon with her late night cult movie series Midnight Mass.  But it is her male alter ego, Joshua Grannell, who recently unleashed his directorial debut in the form of the fabulous horror/comedy All About Evil to a legion of hardcore "gore gore girls" across the globe. 

Deborah Tennis (Natasha Lyonne) is an introverted librarian who wants to have her name in lights.  Working at her late father's beloved movie theater, Deborah hopes to achieve her dreams.  That is until the day her wicked step-mother walks in, threatening to sell the theater.  In a rage, Deborah murders her mother in the lobby of the movie theater; and in front of several security cameras!  In no time, the footage is projected to an audience of horror fans who think the snuff film is actually a new kind of horror film.  With her audience's approval, Deborah switches over in her mind to horror goddess status and, with her newly formed film crew featuring a diabolical projectionist (Jack Donner), a deranged homeless clepto (Noah Segan), and a set of homicidal twins (Jade and Nikita Ramsey); begins her murderous rampage for the sake of cinema!

Grannell's film is like an insanely fun rollercoaster ride that can fly off the tracks at any second!  Part of the fun of the film is the great cast!  Lyonne is pitch perfect as Deborah.  Watching her channel classic Hollywood actresses as she goes into rants about her "star quality" is a real highlight!  Thomas Dekker (Kaboom!) is believable as horror nerd Steven, Deborah's biggest fan.  Cult veterans Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) and Mink Stole (Pink Flamingos) appear in the film as well.  It's great seeing the seductive, macabre Peterson playing the concerned mother of Steven, who finds his interest in Deborah and her films quite unnerving.  Mink Stole is featured as Evelyn, the pathetic, elderly librarian Deborah used to work with.  Though a small part, Stole succumbs to one of the film's best murder set pieces, and makes her character all the more memorable by letting loose with her talent of screaming curse words at the other actors!  Grannell also indulges in some harmless self promotion with a cameo appearance as Peaches Christ, who simply much check out Deborah's films; being the queen of the midnight movie scene and all...  The murders in the film are wonderfully gruesome and hilarious, with enough blood and gore to satisfy the biggest horror fan.  I don't want to ruin any of their shock value so until you see them for yourself, my lips are sealed. ;D  

This special collector's DVD presents the movie in an anamorphic widescreen transfer with some pretty fun extras.  First up is Evil Live, a short documentary highlighting the films premiere in San Francisco.  I had the opportunity of seeing the film's premiere in NYC two years ago and the pre-show performance put on by Miss Christ and the Midnight Mass crew made the film the event it is meant to be.  For those who missed the theatrical run, this piece is a great addition to create the effect of a live horror show.  A making of documentary, two shorts by Grannell (including Grindhouse, which inspired All About Evil), a feature-length director's commentary, and the film's trailer round out the extras.  Buy it exclusively as www.peacheschrist.com and add a little more evil to your life!