| Video: On the commentary track, the producer mentions that the film was transferred from the original negative onto Super-VHS, and the disc looks about right for that. Colors are fine, but nothing really sharp or having great contrast to them. The pops, grain, and other imperfections are still present particularly over the credits – beginning and end. The movie was originally filmed in Todd A-O 35mm widescreen, but was nowhere near transferred that way to the disc. The film is full frame, barely even pan and scan, with people being lost on either side of the frame at any given time. While it would've been nice to have a cleaned up widescreen version for completists sake, there's something worthwhile about having a "dirty" version to preserve the feeling of the grindhouse experience.
Sound: Sound appeared on my player as Dolby pro logic II, and honestly seemed like two channel mono. Again, no need for a significant surround sound option since the movie lends itself more to dialogue than anything else anyway.
Extras: There's a commentary track by producer Sam Sherman who provides insight on the film's genesis, working with director Al Adamson, and some anecdotes about the cast and production. He keeps the chat going with minimal pauses, but then runs out of things to say at the 51 minute mark and ends the commentary! For a movie that's only an hour and a half to begin with, it would've been nice to either have a moderator or another cast member present to keep things going.
Also on hand is a European cut of the film. Originally, the movie garnered an R rating for theatrical play with minimal overt sex included and clocking in at an hour and twenty-nine minutes. For the European version, more involved sex scenes and copious nudity was added, generating an X rating and stretching the running time to one hour forty-three minutes. Either version is fine, but for the type of genre the film is, the Euro version is the one to watch. An alternate opening sequence is included, a booklet with an interview with David Konow, author of Schlock-O-Rama: The Films of Al Adamson, and a trailer gallery of Independent-International films. The trailer gallery is definitely a must see, especially for the movie Mean Mutha. Priceless.
Final Thoughts: ...At the very least if you're interested in exploitation trailers of the 70's, check out the trailer gallery – hilariously cheesy. I loved that! |
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