News and Reviews of Mya Communication DVDs. A new Italian based company, Mya has established a steady release schedule in the United States of euro films in various genres.
I've confirmed with Mya that the October release of the Klaus Kinski horror film EVIL FACE is actually LA MANO CHE NUTRE LA MORTE (THE HAND THAT FEEDS THE DEAD) and not LE AMANTI DEL MOSTRO, as previously noted. Ironically, I had earlier mentioned how both films, shot concurrently or back-to-back, get mixed up by many.
Here's a locandina from LA MANO CHE NUTRE LA MORTE:
And an early video release:
Someone on the Italian eBay is auctioning a book of over 160 photos from this film. A sample:
Hmm, our kind of film!
Just as it would have been good to have LE AMANTI DEL MOSTRO on DVD, so it will be good to have LA MANO CHE NUTRE LA MORTE in that format. Hopefully, the companion film will also be released by Mya in the future.
There's no stopping Mya! Scheduled to street October 27 are the following titles: EVIL FACE (LE AMANTI DEL MOSTRO, 1974), FAMILY SCANDAL (PECCATO ORIGINALE, 1980)and GRAVEYARD DISTURBANCE (UNA NOTTE AL CIMITERO, 1987).
Let's take a look at the first of these future releases--EVIL FACE.
The DVD artwork is a combination of an Italian locandina for LADY FRANKENSTEIN and poster work for the Jess Franco film, JACK THE RIPPER. Below is the original locandina for the film, which certainly would have been effective:
The Italian poster looked like this:
The English translation of the Italian title is LOVER OF THE MONSTER. I'm not aware of it ever being titled EVIL FACE. The film is directed by Serigo Garrone, the infamous director of S.S. EXPERIMENT CAMP, and was shot back-to-back or concurrently with THE HAND THAT FEEDS THE DEAD (LA MANO CHE NUTRE LA MORTE), with which it is sometimes confused. Amusingly, several of the names of the characters--"Polanski," "Ivan Rassimov"--are in-jokes.
"A beautifully shot gothic horror film starring Kinski who gives a excellent and sympathetic performance. The cinematography and music do much to enhance a captivating story. Dutch actress Katia Christine is exceptionally gorgeous as Alex’s unloving wife."
I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that this blog has just received a "You are a Great Read!" award from the Marisa Mell Blog run by Mirko di Wallenberg. This is an award that a blog gives three blogs that they feel stand out from the many others out there, and then those blogs give the award to other blogs, and so on. Mirko (good name!) said of this blog:
"First, there is the always entertaining "MYA"-blog "http://myadvd.blogspot.com/" solely dedicated to a relatively new DVD label publishing Italian movies that have never been published before on DVD or making some older movies again available for a new generation. In these harsh times I find it very courageous to start a new DVD label while a lot of the other companies are quiting the once blooming market. Mya offers each month several new releases and that should be supported by all the fans of Italian genre movies!"
Thank you, Mirko, and now I'll have to select three blogs myself!
I'm preparing a major review of THE LEGEND OF BLOOD CASTLE, the latest DVD from Mya, which seems to be doing well, having sold out at least in the renowned Kim's Video Store, here in Manhattan. Meanwhile, below is the American trailer for the film, which was released in the States as THE FEMALE BUTCHER.
Regarding the music experiment I placed on the blog, and the poll asking readers' opinion of it, 40% liked it very much, 20% weren't bothered by the music, while the remaining 40% nixed the idea in some form. I myself was having troubles, going in and out of posts, updating them, and having the same song replayed whenever I would move away from the main page. And the music conflicted with any YouTube clip. I still may do something with euro-music, but have it as a separate blog that people could listen to at their wish and convenience.
The third release coming from Mya in September is Lamberto Bava's UNTIL DEATH (FINO ALLA MORTE, 1987). Shot for Italian DVD, this film has a good reputation, with a reviewer on the IMDB remarking: "The film that this one takes most of its influence from is undoubtedly the 1946 masterpiece The Postman Always Rings Twice (which coincidently (or not) was remade six years before this film), and this is shown by the central plot and characters; all of which are clearly reminiscent of the earlier film. However, this is an Italian movie - so you can count on a few over the top surprises!" And: "...the film features some brilliantly atmospheric music along with a quality cast of actors, most of which have worked with big names such as Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento."
Another reviewer: "When it comes to atmosphere and horrific mood-setting, this definitely is one of Lamberto Bava's best accomplishments. The music is also good and the acting is far above Italian standards, with Gioia Scola (Lucio Fulci's 'Conquest'), Urbano Barberini (Dario Argento's 'Opera') and especially David Brandon, the mean-looking actor from 'Delirium' and 'Caligola – the Untold Story'. Recommended!"
This film was released on DVD in Italy by NoShame in 2006.
Before he became a master of the giallo form, director Sergio Martino was responsible for a few "mondo" movies. One of these, NAKED AND VIOLENT (AMERICA COSI NUDA, COSI VIOLENTA, 1970) is forthcoming from Mya in September and not on the Mya master list I provided a couple of months ago. So, another surprise.
This is a very rare film, with almost nothing written about it that I could find. According to a listing for the film in a couple of Italian websites, NAKED AND VIOLENT is a look behind the facade of then contemporary America, showing the moral and spiritual poverty of the country, and underlying this by exploring such mondo subjects as bourgeoisie orgies, crime, racial persecution, etc. Edmund Purdom does the narration, and Bruno Nicolai handles the music. Purdom also narrated Martino's first mondo (which was Martino's first film), MONDO SEX (MILLE PECCATI... NESSUNA VIRTU, 1969), of which author Mark Goodall wrote in SWEET & SAVAGE (Headpress, 2006): "... well-executed, colourful, crisply edited and entertaining.... One can see from this film why Purdom was favoured so much as the voice of English mondo. His narration is hugely varied, expressive and like Ustinov, Purdom delights in 'admiring' pretty young girls and aping the accents of foreigners...." One expects something similar with NAKED AND VIOLENT, though taking place in the United States, obviously. Should prove interesting.
Good stuff coming up from Mya in September--all horror/exploitation related. First up is LUCIFERA, DEMON LOVER. This 1972 film, directed by Paolo Lombardi, stars Edmund Purdom and Rosalba Neri. The original Italian title is L'AMANTE DEL DEMONIO. The single review on the IMDB acclaims: "Wonderful Pop-realistic masterpiece, with one of the best Rosalba Neri's performance." The trivia comment is: "Rosalba Neri was really scared shooting this horror movie." Midnight Video's promo reads: "Rosalba and two girlfriends visit a remote mansion where she comes across a portrait of a woman who looks much like her. While sleeping, she has dreams of this woman's (her) past which include: cave dwelling rapists, sadistic vampires, inquisition and a mysterious red-hooded, cloaked, disappearing swordsman. An extremely obscure, haunting and hypnotic film with beautiful scenery and photography that is a must for Rosalba Neri fans. An excellent film in original Italian dialog (never available in English spoken)."
As noted by Rogerio Ferraz over at Lovelockandload.com (hat tip to "bdc"), the artwork is taken from a Lucifera fumetti (with additional breast covering), which may be the first time a fumetti cover has been employed for a DVD cover. (Fumetti artists were notorious for taking images from films and other artwork, so that's why you see the familiar face from Freda's THE GHOST in there.) The connection with the fumetti is unclear at this point.
And here's a clip from this film:
Later addition: Below is the opening credit sequence. Nice euro-music from Elvio Monti. What's interesting is there's no mention of the film being based on the Lucifera fumetti (in fact, the source is given as a Grand Guignol tale), indicating to me that there's no connection between the two, aside from the title given this DVD release. What I think happened is that the Lucifera fumetti was apparently subtitled "L'amante del demonio," hence the confusion. The Lucifera adults-only comic began in 1971 and ended in 1980. The character was created by Giorgio Cavedon; the illustrations were done by Leone Frollo, Edoardo Morricone, and others.
