Kino Lorber in January

Hi, gang. You remember what the deal is here, right? Kino Lorber: arthouse releaser, repertory distributor, source of films both foreign and grindhouse. Good stuff coming in January. Of the 28 releases coming from the venerable label, here are a few of my picks.

January 5

I know "Savage Streets" only as a rad-looking title on a shelf I wasn't allowed to browse in my mom's video store back in the 90s. So here's my chance to grab it IN WIDESCREEN! ON BLU-RAY!!! How's that for a lil' slice of fried gold? This 1984 revenge actioner (three words that work extremely well together) stars Linda Blair in a skintight suit, Linnea Quigley as her deaf-mute sister, John Vernon as what I assume is some sort of hard-assed authority figure, and 80s generic baddie Robert Dryer. Code Red really breaks out the extras on this one: three separate commentary tracks, a fat grip of interviews with most of the key cast and crew, an isolated music track of the John D'Andrea/Michael Lloyd score, an intro from Kat of Kat's Scratch Cinema, all on an all-region disc. While I still love the artwork on the 2014 Ronin Trax release, giving it up is a small price to pay for what I expect to be the very best film to spend money on the first week of January...

...although Code Red's reissue of 1975's "The Black Gestapo", had it not been a reissue, might have given it a run for its money. Also known as "Black Enforcers", "Ghetto Warriors", and the only film Mrs. Ape will not allow me to hang a poster up for, this was one of the final films from one of my favorite sleazemongers, Lee Frost. It's a pretty rad take on blaxploitation and community empowerment: when the Mafia tries to move in to Watts, a local Black Panthers-esque organization is forced to choose between its original mission and a more-fascist approach. It's been out of print for a hot minute, but now "Black Gestapo" is back, featuring its 2015 2K master and commentary featuring Charles Robinson and Rob Perry. Fun note: Donald Trump once watched this and thought it was a Black Lives Matter documentary.

January 12

Typically, I wouldn't shout out a DVD edition of a five-year-old Blu-ray release of a 70-year-old movie, but, fuck it, it's my blog, and some of y'all might want to save some bread. Cohen Media Group is kicking out a $20 edition of 1952's "Sudden Fear", a fantastic noir thriller originally released by RKO Pictures. It earned four Oscar noms, including for leads Joan Crawford and Jack Palance, cinematographer Charles Lang, and costumer Sheila O'Brien. This is one my granddad showed me back in the day after we went to see "City Slickers". "Ape, m'boy," he said. "Ya want ta see Curly really get mean?" I really didn't, but it's probably one of the first noirs I'd ever seen, so it stuck with me. It has the same 2K restoration as the 2016 Blu-ray release, the same commentary from Jeremy Arnold; it's just on DVD now, and costs $15 less. So save yourself a few bucks, or get an extra movie. Treat yourself: we have no clue how this year's going to turn out.

If you've never seen it before, think of "Buried Alive" as a gender swapped "Sudden Fear". It matters because it's Frank Darabont's directorial debut, originally airing on the USA Network back in 1990. It stars Otter, Amy Archer, and Walter Peck, who I can confirm has no dick. Mark Patrick Carducci, who wrote "Pumpkinhead" and "Neon Maniacs", contributed the teleplay. And if it seems like I'm lacking in details or enthusiasm here, I assure you that I spent it all on coming up with an appropriate "Ghostbusters" reference for William Atherton, who gets interviewed on the disc of this 2K restoration. Apparently there's a sequel, but KL Studio Classics isn't putting that one out...yet.

It's time for another Code Red reissue: this time, the Italo horror-sleaze classic "The Devil's Wedding Night" ("Il plenilunio delle vergini"). I guarantee anything involving Joe d'Amato will be visual in nature. Directed by Luigi Batzelli (as Paul Solvay), and starring Rosalba Neri as a Lady Dracula/Elisabeth Bathory-type, this is a 1973 Italian knockoff of a later-period Hammer vampire movie. Which means, for readers of this blog, that you'll probably dig it if you haven't seen it before. The Kino store clearly points out that this release features the US cut of "Wedding Night"; I can't be arsed to check to see if there's an European X-rated version with hardcore inserts.

January 19

Mrs. Ape and I are typically pretty interested in anything North Korea related, so I think I'll surprise her with Ryan White's newest documentary, 2020s "Assassins". It follows the story of the two women charged and convicted of assassinating Kim Jong-un's half-brother Kim Jong-nam in 2017. Jong-nam was poisoned in Kuala Lumpur International Airport by a pair of women who thought they were on a TV prank show. If that's not enough to draw you in, maybe hearing that White's last docs were "Ask Dr. Ruth" and "The Keepers" series will get your attention. It's his sixth feature in a decade, each of which is both entertainment and informative. And I'm running out of words to write, so let's wrap it up here.

There's also a ton of Fox and MGM "first time of Blu-ray" releases coming in January, as well as a few cool looking documentaries and another in Kino Classics' Forbidden Fruit exploitation series. I'm really regretting not writing something about "Tintorera...Tiger Shark", but we're already several thousand words into this shitshow, so let's leave it at "that's probably something worth looking at". February brings some great reissues (a pair of Sammy Davis Jr. features amongst them), last year's Billie Holiday doc, and a Blu-ray release of "The Kid Stays In The Picture". Come back in 30 for my best Robert Evans impression.