The VHS Archives: Mario Bava's BLADESTORM (1966)

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BLADESTORM

Mario Bava's I coltelli del vendicatore (1966)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.

Catalog: MOG1041

Box Type: Slipcase

Year of Release: 1987

Runtime: 81:02

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Mario Bava

Year of Release: 1966

Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Cameron Mitchell, Fausto Tozzi, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Luciano Pollentin

AKAs: Knives of the Avenger, Viking Massacre, Flurry of Knives, Dagger Man, Duel with Knives, The Wrath of the Vikings, A Fistful of Knives, Rurik the Viking

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Bladestorm ... a terrifying story of brutality, horror and violence.

A powerful, emotional and violent story of war and determination, of a man's hatred as he takes on the superior firepower of the enemy.

A story of one man's burning ambition for total vengeance ... a man who will never forgive or forget.

The bloody conflict continues until Bladestorm erupts into total conflict ... a bloody war leaving death, destruction and sadistic killing in it's wake.

Nothing can stop the bloody battle as the culmination of years of hatred and vengeance finally result in a fight until death. Bladestorm will stop at nothing.

U.S. Mogul Communications, Inc. slipcase!

Friend John Grace pointed out the Bladestorm cover art is just a flipped reworking of Frank Frazetta's popular Conan the Destroyer painting from 1971. The original piece actually made news in 2010 by selling for a whopping $1.5 million!

U.S. Mega Video sleeve!

Canadian Videoline Productions, Inc. slipcase,

courtesy of Tales from the Snikt!

Spanish DGV Video sleeve!

German Spectrum glassbox cover,

courtesy of Kinofilm Online Database!

German Cannon VMP sleeve!

Greek Video Alsen sleeve!

Finnish Magna Filmi sleeve, originally scanned by "giallohunter"!

U.S. theatrical trailer (printed in B&W),

uploaded by Criterion Dungeon!

Looking for Bladestorm on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. It was also released to DVD by Anchor Bay under the title Knives of the Avenger as part of their first Mario Bava Collection, and as an earlier standalone release from Image. 

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

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

© 2013 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

A Fistful of Grab Bag! Mystery Photos #21-25!

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Welcome back to the ol' Arcana for another round of Grab Bag Goodies!

As outlined in previous installments, I purchased a few hundred promotional stills that have had their title captions trimmed off. Some I recognize, most I don't. It's up to my faithful readership to help me decipher what they're promoting. Hell, solve enough of 'em and maybe I'll send you some of the duplicates I received!

For those not familiar with promo stills, they occasionally carry a helpful hint or two. Some are branded with a cataloging code of letters and numbers which usually signify an abbreviation of the title (sometimes a retitling) and, if you're especially lucky, maybe the year of release (not to be confused with year of production). And that's pretty much all we have to go on...

The fifth batch is below; let's see what you've got!

#21: ODN-22 

#22: No Markings!

This one's for Vincente Aranda's The Blood Spattered Bride (1972), a psychosexual and surreal Spanish shocker that remains one of my all time favorites. Currently available on DVD from Blue Underground, it was also added as a bonus feature on their superlative Blu of Harry Kumel's Daughters of Darkness (1971), though it really deserves the four-star treatment on its own.  Hopefully someday...

#23: 6323-35

Acclaimed artist Neil Vokes recognized this still as belonging to Mario Bava's classic anthology, Black Sabbath (1963).  Available on VHS and LD only in a reworked U.S. variant, the DVD age finally saw its original edit released to these shores, initially from Image Entertainment and later from Anchor Bay as part of their Bava Box or as a standalone disc.  Be sure and check out Neil's blog, That's All, Vokes!

#24: No Markings! 

#25: No Markings!

The Movie Geek speaks!  Marc Edward Heuck identified this shot from Bert I. Gordon's How to Succeed with Sex (1970), an early X-rated comedy chronicling a horny groom-to-be's futile attempts at bedding his future bride.  A how-to guide initially appears to be the answer, but only seems to work on everyone but her.  I've never seen the film, but it certainly sounds amusing enough.  I'm unsure of its domestic VHS history (I do know there are some overseas tapes), but I think I can safely say it's not on DVD anywhere.  Be sure to swing by Marc's blog, The Projector Has Been Drinking.

Like what you see? Be sure and check out Grab Bag Photos 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 & 16-20, some of which are still unidentified. Speaking of which, Name that Movie Monday Challenge #20 is still open; I've since added a few worthless hints for frustration's sake.

And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and pre-order some cool stuff! Sorry for my persistent grab-bagging in lieu of real posts; I'll try to get back in the bloggin' swing o' things soon and finish up our next In Search Of profile and the ever-tardy Mondo Digital Top Ten of '10 write-up!

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.