A double feature HD Alert!
FIRST FEATURE:
Good news, Twilight Time released a Blu-ray of MESSALINA (1960) starring Belinda Lee. The recent French Blu-ray disc is most likely the source of this release. This is great news because MESSALINA is one of the most pirated PEPLUM movies ever and the fact it got an official release in the US is amazing.
SECOND FEATURE:
There's a lot of HD news these days (believe me...) and just breaking, KINO LORBER announced that they have Blu-ray release of SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961) starring Gordon Scott. Now this is amazing news, on many levels. First of all, this movie has been lingering in obscurity for a long time. There are two versions: the original Italian version at 95 minutes, and the US cut called SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD, with over ten minutes cut from the original. The cut scenes are mainly at the beginning with a long intro into the world in which Samson (Maciste in the original) would show up and cause havoc. Those scenes NEVER appeared in English anywhere. So the question: will this new release have the entire uncut version in English? Or will the first ten minutes be in Italian with English subs up until the US version started?
This release will also include a 2K scan of a 16mm print of the US version. Now this is great new. In other words, the two versions will be included in this release. Woo-hoo!
Now the bad news: Kino Lorber were also supposed to release GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES and that release, also starring Gordon Scott, didn't pan out. Hopefully Kino Lorber acquired the full rights to these versions before this amazing announcement.
As these screenshots from the French Blu-ray show, the movie looks great.
Note: since TWILIGHT TIME have stopped making BD, the price of their releases have skyrocketed. The least expensive place to buy is at the link above.
There's a lot of HD news these days (believe me...) and just breaking, KINO LORBER announced that they have Blu-ray release of SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961) starring Gordon Scott. Now this is amazing news, on many levels. First of all, this movie has been lingering in obscurity for a long time. There are two versions: the original Italian version at 95 minutes, and the US cut called SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD, with over ten minutes cut from the original. The cut scenes are mainly at the beginning with a long intro into the world in which Samson (Maciste in the original) would show up and cause havoc. Those scenes NEVER appeared in English anywhere. So the question: will this new release have the entire uncut version in English? Or will the first ten minutes be in Italian with English subs up until the US version started?
This release will also include a 2K scan of a 16mm print of the US version. Now this is great new. In other words, the two versions will be included in this release. Woo-hoo!
Now the bad news: Kino Lorber were also supposed to release GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES and that release, also starring Gordon Scott, didn't pan out. Hopefully Kino Lorber acquired the full rights to these versions before this amazing announcement.
Once released, we will finally be able to enjoy its grandeur, directed by master filmmaker Riccardo Freda. No more lingering in obscurity.
The Kino Lorber rep on Blu-ray.com posted "The master we currently have is the longer Italian cut in English, we've located the AIP cut on 16mm and will include a new 2K master of the US cut". I wonder if this means the long cut will have a previously unheard "export" dub?
ReplyDeleteFantastic news, love this one.
ReplyDeleteI read Kino is also releasing Son Of Samson with the great Mark Forest!