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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The VHS Archives: Walter Boos' SORRY WRONG BEDROOM (1973)

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SORRY WRONG BEDROOM
Walter Boos' Der Ostfriesen-Report (1973)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Imperial Video Corp.
Catalog: IVC109
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1983
Runtime: 80:01
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Walter Boos
Year of Release: 1973
Country of Origin: West Germany
Stars: Walter Feuchtenberg, Karin Hofmann, Wolfgang Scherer, Alexandra Bogojevic
AKAs: Swedish Playgirls

Verbatim Box Synopsis
Get ready to laugh as you've never laughed before, at one of the funniest SEX comedies ever made!  You'll be in hysterics at the wild misadventures of a team of "talent" scouts scouring the backwoods for beautiful, "talented" females for a "Girlie Show" at a big-city nightclub.  Chased by angry husbands, homicidal fathers, and jealous females, our daring scouts leave no female unturned in their quest for gorgeous women!

U.S. Imperial Video Corp. sleeve!

Looking for Sorry Wrong Bedroom on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. The film is also on DVD from Code Red, double-billed with Lonely Wives.

Investigate more titles with Project: IVC!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!




© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, June 27, 2011

The VHS Archives: Mario Siciliano's THE LAST MERCENARY (1984)

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THE LAST MERCENARY
Mario Siciliano's Rolf (1984)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.
Catalog: MOG1006
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: ?
Runtime: 88:50
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Mario Siciliano
Year of Release: 1984
Country of Origin: Italy
Stars: Antonio Marsina, Ketty Nichols, Tony Raccosta
AKAs: Rolf: The Last Mercenary

Verbatim Box Synopsis
The Last Mercenary, a thrilling story of violence... of a rare man... a man trying to forget his past.

The story of a man's buring vengence, an avenger who cannot forgive.  Neither threats nor traps can stop The Last Mercenary.  Stretched to breaking point both physically and morally, a fight until death follows.  His Price is death!

A movie full of high suspense and courage born out of desperation.

 U.S. Mogul Communications sleeve!
  
 Japanese Tokuma Japan Video sleeve, courtesy of Japanese VHS Hell!

German CBS/Fox Video sleeve, taken from The Video Museum!

Looking for The Last Mercenary on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.  The film is also bootlegged on DVD as part of VideoAsia's Mercs set.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!



© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Project IVC: Jess Franco's BARBED WIRE DOLLS (1975)

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BARBED WIRE DOLLS
Jess Franco's Frauengefangnis (1975)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Imperial Video Corp.
Catalog: IVC101
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1983
Runtime: 81:08
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Jess Franco
Year of Release: 1975
Country of Origin: Switzerland
Stars: Lina Romay, Martine Stedil, Paul Muller, Monica Swinn, Eric Falk
AKAs: Women's Penitentiary IV, Caged Women

Verbatim Box Synopsis
Women convicts are doomed to a fate worse than death, in a hell-hole of a prison in a South American jungle. They are ruled by a sadistic female warden with powers of life and death over her charges.  Each inmate lives in deadly fear of becoming the next object of the Warden's perverted sexual fantasies.  Once sent to the "Torture Chamber," they are never the same again, mentally or physically.  Sometimes they are carried out in a box.  Three of the most desperate women ultimately kill their tormentors in their dash for freedom.

U.S. Imperial Video Corp. sleeve! 

Imperial Video Corp. promotional poster, courtesy of Ed McHale, Jr.!

U.K. Vipco sleeve, swiped from The Vipco Blog

 Dutch Video for Pleasure sleeve, swiped from El Franconomicon!


Fan trailer, created by Bad Monster Films!

Notes
One of Uncle Jess' more ridiculously sleazy efforts, Barbed Wire Dolls, while certainly no masterpiece, showcases several justifiably famous setpieces guaranteed to stick to your brainpan for the rest of your life.  Plotwise, it's your typical women-in-prison offering, but as with most of Franco's work, it's all about the details.  Yup, this is the film that, in order to save film-stock, Jess shoots a slow-motion sequence in regular speed, with both him and Lina Romay feigning the lesser frame-rate, and not quite succeeding... Other "highlights" include your usual sadism and torture, with all sorts of beatings, torture and electrocution, but it's the "cigarette masturbation" bit that really drives home this one's level of grubbiness.  Worth a look, just to see how grimy the maestro can get.

Looking for Barbed Wire Dolls on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: IVC!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Project Mogul: Chia Chun Wu's FIST OF DEATH (1982)

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FIST OF DEATH
Chia Chun Wu's Shuang bei (1982)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.
Catalog: MOG1034
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1987
Runtime: 88:16
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Chia Chun Wu
Year of Release: 1982
Country of Origin: South Korea / Taiwan
Stars: Hwang-ki Baek, Jackie Chang, Shan Chen, Eagle Han
AKAs: Jackie and Bruce to the Rescue

Verbatim Box Synopsis
Our story opens with two arch-rival gangs who start out as bitter enemies.  The leaders decide to fight to establish who will be the new leader.  Jackie and Bruce meet on the combat stage and fight to a ferocious draw.  Afterwards they become good friends and join forces to collectively combat the forces of evil.

After Bruce Lee's untimely death, Tom Lun, the star of 'Fist of Death', was chosen to finish 'Game of Death' by Golden Harvest.  The movie also stars Jackie Chang who is famed for use of acrobatics to foil his enemies.

U.S. sleeve!

Looking for Fist of Death on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Project IVC: Raphael Nussbaum's THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE & SANCHO PANZA (1976)

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THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE & SANCHO PANZA
Raphael Nussbaum's The Amorous Adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (1976)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Imperial Video Corp.
Catalog: IVC108
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1983
Runtime: 103:14
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: Trailer for Office Girls (1.66:1)

About the Film
Director: Raphael Nussbaum
Year of Release: 1976
Country of Origin: USA
Stars: Corey John Fischer, Hy Pike, Roberta Reeves, Haji, Sandy Carey, Maria Arnold
AKAs: The Erotic Adventures of Superknight

Verbatim Box Synopsis
This bawdy American musical spoof of the popular Cervantes classic, is hilariously erotic with a marvelous original score of risque songs, including the following:
"Angry"
"Hey, Handsome Knight"
"That's My Wife"
"Itty Bitty Whore"
"When He Becomes A Knight"
"You Come Too Soon"
"Pregnant, You Won't Get"
"Horney And Hot"
"Now That He's A Knight"

 U.S. sleeve!

Looking for The Amorous Adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: IVC!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Project IVC: Al Adamson's THE FEMALE BUNCH (1969)

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THE FEMALE BUNCH
Al Adamson's The Female Bunch (1969)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Imperial Video Corp.
Catalog: IVC105
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1983
Runtime: 83:23
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Al Adamson
Year of Release: 1969
Country of Origin: USA
Stars: Russ Tamblyn, Jennifer Bishop, Lon Chaney Jr., Regina Carrol
AKAs: A Time to Run

Verbatim Box Synopsis
On a ranch near the Mexican border, a group of beautiful, reckless young women have banded together to become THE FEMALE BUNCH. Involved in smuggling narcotics across the border, they destroy all who oppose them! Using men for their own perverse pleasures, they grow more and more violent until the final gory, breathtaking climax!

U.S. Imperial Video Corp. sleeve!

Canadian Video Marketing Services sleeve, courtesy of Mark Marion!

U.K. Motion Pictures on Video sleeve, courtesy of Video Bulletin!

U.S. promotional still from the Arcana Archives!

Theatrical trailer, uploaded by James Banner!

Looking for The Female Bunch on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.  It's also available on DVD from Code Red as part of a trashy triple-bill.

Investigate more titles with Project: IVC!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, June 20, 2011

The VHS Archives: Miguel Iglesias Bonns' GREEN INFERNO (1973)

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GREEN INFERNO
Miguel Iglesias Bonns' Tarzan y el misterio de la selva (1973)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.
Catalog: MOG1028
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1987
Runtime: 82:57
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Miguel Iglesias Bonns
Year of Release: 1973
Country of Origin: Spain
Stars: Jose Luis Ayestaran, Didi Sherman, Cesar Burner
AKAs: Tarzan and the Jungle Mystery

Verbatim Box Synopsis
A story of intrigue and violence set deep in the heart of the darkest jungle which still remains inaccessible to modern civilization.

The strange Franz lives deep in an underground cavern surrounded by immense wealth and luxury.  He causes havoc and unrest amongst the native tribes and a team of skilled multi-national secret intelligence agents are recruited to investigate the uprising and elminate the problem.

Killing follows killing as this movie races to a bloody climax.

 U.S. Mogul Communications sleeve!

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Project IVC: Karin Fischer's CHIMPO'S WILD ANIMAL SAFARI (1979)

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CHIMPO'S WILD ANIMAL SAFARI
Karin Fischer's Schimpo, was macht ein Aff' in Afrika (1979)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Imperial Video Corp.
Catalog: IVC104
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: 1983
Runtime: 96:57
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Karin Fischer
Year of Release: 1979
Country of Origin: West Germany
Stars: Chimpo, Willy Kubler, Georg Thomalla
AKAs: ?

Verbatim Box Synopsis
This film is the greatest breakthrough in family entertainment since the Disney studios first brought a natural wild-life feature to the public in 1953.  Added to the beauty of African natural wild-life is the extra entertaining feature of having CHIMPO, ace reporter for The Primate Press, as the viewer's guide through African deserts and jungles, getting a marvelous view of the wild-life from Beetles to Elephants! You will actually see the birth of a baby seal, and battles to the death between Mongoose and Cobra, and Cheetah and Antelope.  You'll laugh hysterically at the antics of CHIMPO and his two chimpanzee cub assistants "The Chump Bros", as they wreak havoc throughout Africa.  See CHIMPO ride a camel, drive a jeep, take photographs, fly a plane, as he bravely defies death to bring us the complete story!  As entertainingly beautiful as it is educationally enlightening, truly, the whole family will "go ape" over CHIMPO!

U.S. sleeve!

Notes
A totally jaw-dropping children's film from Germany, I can only imagine the scarring this did to its intended audience's collective psyche.  Essentially, it's Lancelot Link by way of Black Emanuelle as a clothes-wearing chimpanzee gets shipped off to Africa in search of his scoop.  From that point on, it's Mondo City as we watch various animals screw, give birth and kill each other, all of which is narrated by our precariously-placed host, Chimpo, as voiced by some slang-spewing Brit who offers up plenty of off-color comments.  At least the back cover's plot summary does its best to sum up the tape's contents!  Truth in advertising can be a wonderful thing...

Looking for Chimpo's Wild Animal Safari on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: IVC!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Project: IVC

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New York-based Imperial Video Corp. (not to be confused with the later Imperial Entertainment) was yet another short-lived outfit who specialized in obscurity.  Releasing an even dozen tapes over the course of 1983, most of their output seems pulled from the libraries of theatrical distributors International Producers Corporation and Burbank International Pictures, and their twelve titles ran the gamut from German sex comedies to weird documentaries to kid's flicks to low-budget Ameritrash.  Showcasing work from directors like Jess Franco, Al Adamson and Claude Mulot, they seem tailor-made for cult film fanatics and the rarity of their tapes ranks their collectibility high among VHS devotees.

Strangely, their address seems to change from Farmingdale, NY to Bethpage and back again over the run of their line.  Also, I wonder if they didn't get in some trouble over the self-appointed ratings that adorn several of their covers; later tapes have a supplemental stick-on stating, "THIS FILM NOT RATED BY MPAA."  


I'll be frequently updating this list with links to each individual release, including cover scans, exact runtime information, alternate titles, etc.  Keep checking back, or become a follower to ensure you don't miss anything!


Imperial Video Corp.:

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The VHS Archives: Bruce Le's GYMKATA KILLER (1980)

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GYMKATA KILLER
Bruce Le's Challenge of the Tiger (1980)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: All American Video
Catalog: AAV110
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: ?
Runtime: 88:26
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Bruce Le
Year of Release: 1980
Country of Origin: Italy / USA / Hong Kong
Stars: Bruce Le, Richard Harrison, Nadiuska, Brad Harris, Bolo Yeung
AKAs: Challenge of the Tiger, Seize the Formula

Verbatim Box Synopsis
When a mysterious doctor is brutally murdered in Spain, it seems just another case for the local police.  But when it is discovered that a secret formula, capable of exterminating the entire human race, has been stolen by the murderers, the CIA are immediately notified.  Officer Huang Lung is given the task of tracking down the terrorists before they can hold the world to ransom.  His dangerous mission takes him from Europe to the rat infested slums of Hong Kong, where rival gangs of Viet-Cong and Chinese take on the Challenge of the Tiger.  It's a race against time and Huang Lung meets out his own brand of justice, only to be met with bigger and greater dangers around every alley way.

U.S. All American Video sleeve!

 U.K. Stablecane Home Video sleeve!

Dutch PRO Video sleeve, originally scanned by "Harm!"

Bonus trailer, uploaded by "OurManInHavana"!

Notes
Another one of my favorite finds, it's movies like this that kept me buying every oddball tape I could get my hands on.  From its opening sequence, where Richard Harrison plays tennis with two topless chicks in slow motion while an incredibly infectious funk song jams in the background, to its kung fu bullfight finished with x-ray animation, to its berserk sperm-killing plotline that might as well have stepped out of an Arizal film, there's something here to put a smile on anyone's face.  When Mondo Macabro first told me they were grabbing some films from Dick Randall's estate I practically begged them to pick this one up.  Happily, they were already on the case and unleashed a great looking, properly framed release paired with the insane Filipino midget spy flick, For Y'ur Height Only.  Highly, highly recommended.  Screenplay by Poon Fan!

Producer Dick Randall relaxes with stars Bruce Le and Brad Harris.  (Photo courtesy Bamboo Gods & Bionic Boys' Andrew Leavold.)

Looking for Gymkata Killer on VHS? It's available on Amazon hereMondo Macabro's excellent, must-have DVD is available here.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!




© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Project Mogul: Massimo Pirri's TERRORISM (1977)

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TERRORISM
Massismo Pirri's Italia: Ultimo atto? (1977)

The VHS Archives Factsheet
Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.
Catalog: MOG1007
Box Type: Clamshell
Year of Release: ?
Runtime: 81:59
Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs
Extras: None

About the Film
Director: Massimo Pirri
Year of Release: 1977
Country of Origin: Italy
Stars: Luc Merenda, Lou Castel, Andrea Franchetti
AKAs: Could It Happen Here?, Ultimate Shot

Verbatim Box Synopsis
Urban battles... violent explosions... Terrorism blows up in a large city and soon guerilla warfare escalates into all-out bloodshed... Matial law and curfew are in force.

Frightened ciizens wander around the inner city armed with rifles and machine guns.

The whole metropolis is turned into a burning inferno of suspicion and destruction.

U.S. Mogul Communications sleeve!

Argentinean RF Video Home sleeve, courtesy of RaroVHS! 

Italian-language U.S. Centauro Video Film sleeve, originally scanned by Nucleus Films' Marc Morris!

Looking for Terrorism on VHS? It's available on Amazon here.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!





© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.