This week @ Diabolik DVD…

Let’s spotlight the more eclectic offerings in the world of home entertainment, courtesy of the fine folks over at  DiabolikDVD.com;  it’s owned and run by film buffs and collectors. They specialize in  hard-to-find releases;  horror;  Asian cinema;  Art House;  Adult; and  Cult Classics  you haven’t even heard of.

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

  Ã‚  So, Synapse Films just released a quintet of terror titles…

Synapse is such a great company and they are totally worth supporting. Admittedly, I haven’t seen all these titles but the fact that Synapse picked ’em up for release tells me they’re worth checking out.

Horror fans should take note of ‘Syngenor’. Not only does it boast David (Re-Animator) Gale’s most ingenious, whacked-out performance but it also boasts creature designs by none other than William Malone (House On Haunted Hill, Parasomnia)! Click the DVD pics and they’ll link you to info for each film.

  And then there’s this little number… ‘Harakiri’.

This 3-disc set (6 films included) is limited to 1,000 copies and it’s being distributed by Unearthed Films, so if you’re familiar with the label then you know that you should expect an ample amount of gore.

The description from Unearthed Films: "Attired in their favorite fetish wear, hot-blooded Japanese ultra vixens perform the most masochistic acts of self-sacrifice and submission. The traditional oriental art of Harakiri… Violating their young bodies in ritual self-immolation, they plunge razor-edged blades into their soft, naked flesh. A sea of sweet, red blood cascades as their all too brief lives ebb, and death embraces them."

Pretty wild, right? Yeah, well…

Nothing prepared me for this-

  ‘Salo’ on Blu-Ray DVD?  

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REGION B Blu-Ray Disc and will not be playable on a standard US player.  

Ho-lee-she-ot.  Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final film, ‘Salà ², or the 120 Days of Sodom‘  is something of a cineaste’s "rite of passage." This film wants to provoke some kind of primal reaction out of its audience and, having seen it on several occasions with different people, I can confirm that this movie will get a reaction.

This 2-disc set is loaded to the gills with special features and really puts the Criterion release (available in North America) to shame. Look at this stuff:

DISC ONE (DVD & Blu-ray)

Fully Complete & Uncut, telecined from original Italian restoration negatives

BD: 1.856:1 (1080p, 24fps) / BD25 / PCM mono

Original Italian language version (with optional English subtitles)

Original English language version (with optional HoH subtitles)

Original Italian trailer (with optional English subtitles)

Coil – Ostia (the Death of Pasolini) The original 1987 track from Coil’s celebrated second album, Horse   Rotorvator,with a newly created video accompaniment, shot especially for this release, by Peter Christopherson.

DISC TWO (Standard Def PAL DVD Disc, to be included in both DVD & BD editions)

On set footage and interviews (1974, 25m) – newly created documentary using full colour footage shot in 1974 by acclaimed film journalist and Pasolini expert Gideon Bachmann.

Featurettes: Open Your Eyes and Walking With Pasolini

Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die (1981, 58m) Philo Bregstein’s classic documentary on the life and death of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Fade to Black (2001, 25m) – documentary with Mark Kermode exploring the ongoing relevance and power of Pasolini’s controversial masterpiece, with Bernardo Bertolucci and other leading directors.

Ostia (1991, 25m, with optional director commentary track) – Julian Cole’s short film about the last days of Pasolini, starring Derek Jarman.

…and that’s not even including all the tidbits included within the DVD’s fully illustrated booklet.

But I realize that not everyone has a sweet region-free player and plays it safe with the NTSC. If you’re one of those and you still want to see this wild ass movie, then you can always get the Criterion DVD:

  Let me warn you: This movie WILL FUCK WITH YOU.