Post by croft69 on Mar 22, 2017 21:25:23 GMT -5
Has anyone else bought the special edition Blu-ray (BD) from Shout! Factory yet? It's a nice little edition with both edits of the film - 89 minute US theatrical cut and the 92 minute international edit. You also get a commentary from Paul Talbot author of "Bronson's Loose!: The Making of the Death Wish Films" (2006) which is a great listen; loads of facts and trivia. The other extras are a reversable sleeve and some trailers and TV spots.
A shame they didn't go the extra mile and get the BBC "Film '81" behind the scenes segment and the heated debate Michael Winner had with Derek Dobson and Anna Raeburn on a UK talk show from 1982 (possibly ATV Today?). There's also some deleted footage from the TV version and the Greek VHS edition that could also have been included.
Having watched both cuts of the film I much prefer the shorter version; the extended rape of the maid (Silvana Galardo) adds nothing to what was already gratuitously prolonged. At least it was always vile and about as titilating as a jackhammer in the groin. The rape of the daughter is incredibly offensive in the longer edit; shot to be sensual, creepy and titilating. In the shorter US version it's cut to virtually nothing and is much more effective. Winner was dating the actress (Robin Sherwood) at the time and it feels really twisted and creepy that he'd shoot it the way he did in the full version. Funnily enough, Winner would have another of his girlfriends nude and assaulted in Death Wish 3 (1985); Sandy Grizzle plays the buxom, black woman dragged out of a window nude towards the end in the big showdown.
An enjoyable guilty pleasure and the weakest of the DW films for me. It loses all of the social commentary and emotional centre of the first film, which is a classic and lacks the zany, epic qualities of 3-5. Interestingly, this is copyrighted 1981 but was not released until sometime in 1982.
A shame they didn't go the extra mile and get the BBC "Film '81" behind the scenes segment and the heated debate Michael Winner had with Derek Dobson and Anna Raeburn on a UK talk show from 1982 (possibly ATV Today?). There's also some deleted footage from the TV version and the Greek VHS edition that could also have been included.
Having watched both cuts of the film I much prefer the shorter version; the extended rape of the maid (Silvana Galardo) adds nothing to what was already gratuitously prolonged. At least it was always vile and about as titilating as a jackhammer in the groin. The rape of the daughter is incredibly offensive in the longer edit; shot to be sensual, creepy and titilating. In the shorter US version it's cut to virtually nothing and is much more effective. Winner was dating the actress (Robin Sherwood) at the time and it feels really twisted and creepy that he'd shoot it the way he did in the full version. Funnily enough, Winner would have another of his girlfriends nude and assaulted in Death Wish 3 (1985); Sandy Grizzle plays the buxom, black woman dragged out of a window nude towards the end in the big showdown.
An enjoyable guilty pleasure and the weakest of the DW films for me. It loses all of the social commentary and emotional centre of the first film, which is a classic and lacks the zany, epic qualities of 3-5. Interestingly, this is copyrighted 1981 but was not released until sometime in 1982.