By RUE MORGUE STAFF
Digging into the exploitation vaults, Severin Films has come up with three little-seen titles from a couple of genre masters, and will be giving them their first-ever hi-def disc exposure next month!
On February 25, Severin releases THE ASTROLOGER (pictured), the first movie by writer/director James Glickenhaus (THE EXTERMINATOR, THE SOLDIER, SHAKEDOWN), and a pair of erotic shockers from Jess Franco: CRIES OF PLEASURE and NIGHT OF OPEN SEX. THE ASTROLOGER, a.k.a. SUICIDE CULT and based on the novel by John Cameron, is a wild tale about a secret government operative specializing in zodiacal mysticism and an evil cult leader, presented in a 4K scan from the director’s personal answer print. Special features are:
- “Sign of the Times”: James Glickenhaus on THE ASTROLOGER
- “Monica Tidwell Remembers THE ASTROLOGER”: Interview with actress Monica Tidwell
- “Tales From the Set”: Interviews with filmmakers Brendan Faulkner and Frank M. Farel
- “Zodiacal Locations”: The filming sites of THE ASTROLOGER
CRIES OF PLEASURE is a tale of psychosexual perversion that sees Franco experimenting with the long-take, minimal-edit style inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s ROPE, while NIGHT OF OPEN SEX combines sex, violence, fetishism and Eurospy trappings, both featuring his legendary partner/performer Lina Romay. Both are presented in 4K scans from the original negatives; bonus features on CRIES are:
- “In The Land Of Franco Part 1”: Stephen Thrower tours multiple Franco locations in Portugal
- “When Donald Met Jess and Lina Part 1”: Filmmaker Donald Farmer interviews the power couple in 1993
- “Jess Franco’s Golden Years”: Interview with Stephen Thrower, author of MURDEROUS PASSIONS & FLOWERS OF PERVERSION—THE DELIRIOUS CINEMA OF JESÚS FRANCO
Special features on NIGHT OF OPEN SEX:
- “In The Land Of Franco Part 2”: Stephen Thrower tours multiple Franco locations in Portugal
- “When Donald Met Jess and Lina Part 2”: Filmmaker Donald Farmer interviews the power couple in 1993
- “The Night of Open Jess”: Interview with Stephen Thrower, author of MURDEROUS PASSIONS & FLOWERS OF PERVERSION—THE DELIRIOUS CINEMA OF JESÚS FRANCO
All three will also be released on DVD, and the discs can currently be pre-ordered at the Severin Films website, which is offering “The Astrologer’s Open Pleasure Bundle” of the three Blu-rays and “The Open Pleasure Bundle” of the two Franco features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOvFGofaUqY
