VOLUME ONE
Review by Nick Frame Directed by: Various Starring: Various Source: Synapse Films (USA) (NTSC Region 1 DVD / 128mins / 2005)
42nd Street, New York City, the home of exploitation and grindhouse cinema in the 70’s and early 80’s. No longer I’m afraid, the city has been cleaned up and 42nd street as it was does not exist anymore. However help is at hand from Synapse Films, as you can now get a taste for these lost "classics" in the form of "42nd Street Forever", a collection of 47 exploitation trailers from another era.
A company called Ban-1 originally put out a DVD called "42nd Street Forever: Vol 1, Horror on 42nd Street" It had a limited release and there were only around 1500 copies produced, but I managed to get my hands on a copy and I was blown away. You see, I understand how these trailers must have been perceived back in the day, after having seen one; you would be desperate to see the movie in case it could be even more shocking. Generally the trailers would be better than the actual movie, as they would often take you through the best of the movie mixed in with all the most scandalous visuals that the film had to offer. Just about every genre has been included on this disc: Blaxploitation to Rape and Revenge, Sci-Fi to Kung-Fu and XXX to Italian Trash. Something for all the family!
List of Trailers: The Undertaker and His Pals
Flesh And Blood Show
Women and Bloody Terror/Night of Bloody Horror
I Dismember Mama/the Blood Spattered Bride
Corruption,
The Butcher of Binbrook
Ginger
Italian Stallion
Creampuffs
The Three Dimensions of Greta
Hard Candy
The Centrefold Girls
Panorama Blue
Wicked Wicked
Teenage Mother
Charlie and the Hooker
Matango
The Green Slime
Destroy All Monsters
The Crippled Masters
Werewolves on Wheels
The Pink Angels
The Depraved (a.k.a. Exposed)
They Call Her One Eye (a.k.a. Thriller)
Maid in Sweden
Behind Convent Walls
Secret Africa
Shocking Asia
Chappaqua
Welcome Home Brother Charles
The Legend of Nigger Charlie
Boss Nigger
The 44 Specialist
The Bullet Machine
Death Drive
The Raiders of Atlantis
Star Crash
Confessions of a Summer Camp Counselor
Sunset Cove
Superfuzz
Death Will Have Your Eyes
Death Has Blue Eyes
A Black Veil for Lisa
Ironmaster
The Deadly Spawn,
The Rape of the Sabines
The Devil's Nightmare
It would take too long to go through each one but there are a few crackers to look out for. First up are the three Christina Lindberg offerings, "They Call her One Eye (aka Thriller)", "Depraved" and "Maid in Sweden" One sight of her in a film would make me part with my cash, and indeed she still is today, with the "Thriller" DVD from Synapse and "Sex and Fury" from Panik House.
Another interesting one for me is "Creampuffs" (aka, "Cornetti alla Crema") starring Edwige Fenech and Lino Banfi. I have the NoShame Italian DVD and it was interesting to see the dodgy English language trailer for the first time. There are also some politically incorrect titles lurking in here as well, "Boss Nigger" starring the awesome Fred Wiliamson and "The Legend of Nigger Charlie" being just two. This certainly highlights what a different time it was compared to today.
Synapses have done a great job with this collection, with image quality being universally strong despite the age and shape of the material available. Most are in 1:78:1 aspect ratio and anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TV’s, with one or two being in 2:35:1. Sure there are scratches and scrapes on some more than others, but generally everything is of a high quality and Synapse should be congratulated for doing such a good job on this disc. Audio is pretty good as well, with all trailers being presented in Mono and all in English, with everything coming through clearly and concisely. No real extras as such but you are getting over 2 hours of wild trailers with a nice option of being able to "play all" or simply choose individual trailers.
Overall this disc is highly recommended! If you are a fan of exploitation and cult movies then this has to be in your collection, it’s incomplete otherwise. Not every trailer is a classic but there are more hits than misses and I guarantee that after seeing this DVD you’ll say to yourself "I wonder if THAT is on DVD, I must own it!"
Story/Film-4/5 Bitch Slaps Picture–3.5/5 Bitch Slaps Sound-3/5 Bitch Slaps Extras-1/5 Bitch Slaps Overall DVD-4/5 Bitch Slaps Purchase this at X-Ploited Cinema
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© 2005 cinema-nocturna.com
