Project Mogul: Alberto Cavallone's CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD (1983)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD

Alberto Cavallone's I padroni del mondo (1983)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Mogul Communications, Inc.

Catalog: MOG1010

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: 1986

Runtime: 93:23

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Alberto Cavallone

Year of Release: 1983

Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Sven Kruger, Viviana Maria Rispoli, Sasha D'Arc

AKAs: Master of the World

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Conqueror of the World, a thrilling and explosive story of violence... of human drama, of a rare man strong and primitive.  Set two hundred thousand years ago, when the human race had to adapt to their brutal savage environment or disappear into oblivion.

For Bog, the great warrior and leader this struggle signified conquering the Earth and gaining supremecy over his many rivals.  Nature at her most violent... Blood chilling tribal rites... Man at the mercy of his environment.

 U.S. Mogul Communications sleeve!

U.S. Mogul Communications sales sheet, courtesy of Bill Knight! Check out his rare VHS auctions!

 Greek Palace Video Productions sleeve!

Japanese SPO sleeve, courtesy of David Zuzelo's Tomb It May Concern!

Spanish Minister Video sleeve, courtesy of Jose Antonio Diego Bogajo! Check out his Spanish-language 'zine, Exhumed Movies!

Notes

Totally whacked-out Italian caveman gore galore!  One of my favorite Mogul discoveries, I just about fell off of my couch years back when watching this for the first time.  Italian art / trash director Cavallone tries his hand in the Clan of the Cave Bear / Quest for Fire rip-off sweepstakes, and the world's a much better place for it.  The plot is standard bear-worshipping tribe vs. evil cannibals stuff, but Alberto, as usual, goes for excess, and the movie frequently derails into blood-soaked lunacy with hilariously-staged grizzly attacks, splashy spearings, extremely messy brain-eating, and an especially nasty slow decapitation by dull rock.  The gore chores were handled by the always able Rosario Prestopino, and I'm surprised this one isn't a little more well known in horror circles based on his contributions alone. 

Looking for Conqueror of the World 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.

Project Mogul: Jose Maria Forque's AUTOPSY (1973)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



AUTOPSY

Jose Maria Forque's Tarot (1973)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label:  Mogul Communications, Inc.

Catalog:  MOG1027

Box Type:  Clamshell

Year of Release: 1987

Runtime:

Print:  1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras:  None

About the Film

Director:  Jose Maria Forque

Year of Release:  1973

Country of Origin:  Spain

Stars:  Fernando Rey, Sue Lyon, Gloria Grahame, Christian Hay

AKAs: Tarot

Verbatim Box Synopsis 

A chilling story of intrigue, violence and murder.

A weird millionaire who believes he can buy anything with money, seduces and falls in love with an attractive young woman.  Even though she becomes his wife, she has an affair with her husband's right hand man.

Blackmail, motivated by jealousy, hatred and greed leads to murder as the movie races to it's climax.

U.S. sleeve!



For those who can't find the tape, it looks like there's a booted JEF Films disc available.

Investigate more titles with Project: MOGUL!

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




© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Project: MOGUL

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure when my obsession with Mogul's VHS releases started.  I'm not even sure what the first one I ever purchased was, but I can remember the excitement of coming across a new, previously unknown title at some creaky backwoods video store or pawn shop.  Information was practically nonexistent, and the lists below were compiled the old-fashioned, pre-internet way:  wasting lots of gas finding every video store in the surrounding states and begging, bribing and sometimes stealing for them.  Classics are few and far between in the Mogul Communications line-up (not Mogul Video, as they're ofttimes incorrectly referred), but the rarity of their tapes and the obscurity of their titles, not to mention their typically outlandish, garishly-painted artwork, never fail to capture one's imagination.  Hilariously, some of their covers include the following disclaimer in small print across the back:

The scenes depicted on this sleeve may be an artist's impression & may not necessarily represent actual scenes from the film.

You gotta love 'em.  Mogul's lineage can be traced overseas to the U.K., where in '83 they were set up as yet another VHS arm by GO! Video's Des Dolan. Interestingly enough, Mogul Communications' name and logo wasn't only devised for home video use, as the company simultaneously issued a slate of video games under the banner. Not surprisingly, their games were essentially knock-offs of arcade hits, and included titles like Chomper Man, Kongo Kong and Pollywog. Fans of the label will notice artwork elements recycled from not only the U.K. Mogul tapes, but sometimes the GO! catalog and the video games, too!

As far as I know, in the States the outfit released around 70 titles on at least four different branches between '85-'88. Des Dolan's connection can explain the proliferation of films pulled from pal Dick Randall's holdings, along with other Brit associates like Michael J. Murphy. Ironically, Mogul is probably most famous for a movie they didn't release: Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust. Their acquisition was announced, but the company went belly-up before their VHS was ever issued. Below are the tapes I've been able to track down.

I'll be frequently updating this list with links to each individual release, including cover scans, exact runtime information, alternate titles, etc. I also hope to do some related interviews, to shed a little light on the outfit. Keep checking back, or become a follower to ensure you don't miss anything!

Mogul Communications, Inc.:

MOG1001:

MOG1002: Captive Planet

MOG1003: Macabre
MOG1004: Insanity
MOG1005: Curse of the Screaming Dead
MOG1006: The Last Mercenary

MOG1007: Terrorism

MOG1008: Reactor

MOG1009: On the Edge

MOG1010: Conqueror of the World

MOG1011:
MOG1012: Days of Hell

MOG1013: The Icebox Murders

MOG1013(S): El Congelador de la Muerta
MOG1014: Gunblast
MOG1015: Fatal Fix
MOG1016: Street War

MOG1017: Don't Look in the Attic

MOG1018: SS Experiment Camp 2

MOG1019: Contraband

MOG1020: Ninja Holocaust

MOG1021: Thunder Squad

MOG1022: Fear in the City

MOG1023: Special Force

MOG1024: Deadly Sting

MOG1025: Crimebusters

MOG1026: Fury

MOG1027: Autopsy

MOG1028: Green Inferno

MOG1029: Rape

MOG1030: Sniper
MOG1031:

MOG1032: Feast for the Devil

MOG1033: Metallica
MOG1034: Fist of Death

MOG1035: Scandal

MOG1036:

MOG1037: Demon Queen
MOG1038: The Killer
MOG1039: Don't Panic
MOG1040: Alpha City

MOG1041: Bladestorm

MOG1042: The Hereafter

MOG1043: Fast Guns

MOG1044: Assault Squad

Other Titles, Possibilities and “Iffys”:

Hostages, Terror of the She Wolf, Satan's Blade

All American Video:

AAV101: Invaders of the Lost Gold

AAV102: The Dirty Seven

AAV103: The Ninja Strikes Back
AAV104: Satan's Blood
AAV105: Big Boss 2
AAV106: The Daughter of Emanuelle
AAV107: King Frat

AAV108: Ninja vs. Shaolin

AAV109: School of Death

AAV110: Gymkata Killer

AAV111: The Poseidon Explosion

AAV112: Necromaniac

AAV113: Ninja Apocalypse

AAV114: Holocaust 2

AAV115: I Want to Get Even

AAV116: Have a Nice Weekend

AAV117: Sabotage

AAV118: The Warrior and the Ninja

AAV119: Hell Hole
AAV120:
AAV121: Greed

Mega Video:

WV5001: Viking Massacre

WV5002: Invitation to Hell
WV5003: Taste of Death
WV5004: Mission Corbari

Kidivid:

KID1: Bumper Fun Video Annual

If anyone out there has information regarding the gaps in this roster, including confirmation that Hostages and Terror of the She-Wolf actually exist, please get in touch! Also, I'm looking for prerecords of Fast Guns (Mogul) and Taste of Death (Mega). If you have copies for sale or trade, please let me know. I'm additionally interested in more information on Mogul's UK arm and its line of videogames.

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

© 2011 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Grab Bag Revenge! Mystery Photos #16-20!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

#16: No Markings!

Thumbs up to "Ottobud" for identifying George McCowan's nature-goes-nuts romp, Frogs (1972).  One of the more ludicrous entries in the short-lived, much-loved subgenre, it was issued on a nice DVD in the format's early days by MGM, who managed to restore some of the more violent bits missing from previous domestic releases.

#17: TS-11

Turns out this photo (along with still #1) belongs to Graeme Ferguson's The Seducers (1962), a convoluted-sounding blackmail / psychological thriller released by Joseph Brenner Associates.  The film unfortunately doesn't appear to be readily available, though its trailer is on some old Something Weird compilations. Anyone seen it?

#18: No Markings! 

#19: No Markings! 

#20: No Markings!

Like what you see? Be sure and check out Grab Bag Photos 1-5, 6-10 & 11-15, 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.