Arrow Video Blood Hunger: The Films Of Jose Larraz [Blu-ray]

Brittioriginaali, eli toimii normaalisti suomisoittimissa mutta ei suomitekstejä. Tekstit englanniksi. Uudempi painos boksista. 

One of the most underrated and neglected genre filmmakers of his generation, Spanish-born director José Ramón Larraz (Symptoms) finally receives his due with this collection of his work bringing together a fascinating cross-section of films from the first half of his lengthy cinematic career.

In Larraz s debut feature, the hitherto ultra-rare Whirlpool (1970), Vivian Neves stars as Tulia, a young model invited to a photographer s secluded country home for what purports to be a quiet weekend retreat but soon turns into a descent into deadly depravity. 1974 s Vampyres perhaps the best known and most widely-released of all José Larraz s films sees a duo of blood-hungry female vampires prowling the British countryside, from where they lure unsuspecting male motorists back to their imposing, dilapidated mansion. Meanwhile, in 1978 s The Coming of Sin (La Visita del Vicio, in its native Spanish), a young gypsy girl experiences a violent sexual awakening as her dreams of a naked young man on horseback become reality.

By turns terrifying, titillating, artful and scandalous, these three films assembled here collectively offer film fans a unique perspective on the fascinating, highly-varied career of one of the horror genre s most overlooked auteurs.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Three films by José Ramón Larraz: Whirlpool, Vampyres and The Coming of Sin, restored in 2K from original film elements
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for all features
• Newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• WHIRLPOOL (1970)
• Original US Theatrical Cut
• Audio commentary with Tim Lucas
• Obsessive Recurrence: The Early Films of José Larraz author and critic Kim Newman reflects on the recurring themes and underlying obsessions linking together the early productions of José Larraz
• A Curious Casting actor Larry Dann on the strange story behind his casting in Whirlpool
• Deviations of Whirlpool featurette comparing the differences between the US Theatrical Cut and a previously circulated, alternate cut of the film
• Vivian Neves interviewed by Michael Parkinson on BBC s Parkinson, originally broadcast in July 1972
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• Image Gallery
• Original US Theatrical Trailer
• VAMPYRES (1974)
• Full Uncut Version
• Audio commentary with Kat Ellinger
• Interviews withproducer Brian Smedley-Aston, actors Marianne Morris, Anulka, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner, makeup artist Colin Arthur and composer James Kenelm Clarke
• Reimagining Vampyres an interview with Larraz s friend and collaborator Victor Matellano, director of the 2015 Vampyres remake
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• José Larraz and Marianne Morris Q&A at 1997 Eurofest
• Image Gallery
• Trailers
• THE COMING OF SIN (1978)
• Spanish and English language versions of the feature
• Audio commentary with Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan
• Variations of Vice: The Alternate Versions of The Coming of Sin exploitation expert Marc Morris on the strange and scandalous release history of José Larraz s most censored film
• Remembering Larraz author and filmmaker Simon Birrell shares his fond and extensive memories of his long-time friend and collaborator José Larraz
• His Last Request (2005, 27 mins) short film by Simon Birrell made under the guidance of José Larraz and starring Spanish horror legend Jack Taylor
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• Image Gallery
• Original Spanish Trailer

Spain’s José Ramón Larraz, not the most familiar name among international film directors, is given the splendid Arrow Video box set treatment with two British productions from the early 1970s and the third, Spanish, made towards the decade’s end.

The first two, “Whirlpool” (1970) and “Vampyres” (1974) were both shot on shoestring budgets while Larraz was resident in Britain, though the latter with higher production costs and undoubtedly the better known of the two as it went on theatrical circuit release (doubled with “Devil’s Rain”) and later available on video and DVD. The first, a tale of a pornographic photographer with psycho habits and his “aunt” whose sex games lead on to gruesome murders, was released as the censored “She Died With Her Boots On”, generally reviled by critics and quickly disappeared, with only a badly copied, time-sequenced DVD-R available to genre collectors. “Vampyres” found Marianne Morris and Anulka as the frequently naked ladies of the title, enticing men to their lair for an evening that inevitably ends up as a blood bath. Both films feature activities set in secluded houses, their isolation heightened by atmospheric countryside landscapes, displaying minimal acting skills from the lead players and are badly dubbed, especially the first. But both films are hard to forget.

“The Coming Of Sin”, screened in Britain for the raincoat brigade as the heavily cut “The Violation Of The Bitch”, was Larraz’ return to Spanish filmmaking after the departure of the Franco dictatorship and relaxing of censorship. Mixing sex and violence with a glossy presentation, this tale of a superstitious gypsy girl, her relationship with a female painter and a naked male horserider is more arthouse rather than grindhouse. Available in both Spanish and English versions, I lack the delight of some other British reviewers towards the film. Though not disappointed, I would have liked another of the director’s vanished British films, maybe “The House That Vanished” (aka “Scream – And Die”), included as the third film in the collection. There again, “Sin” presents the auteur in different production surroundings.

The three films, newly restored, are separately packaged and stored in a strong outer case accompanied with an 80 page book. Higher priced than other box sets but justified by the stack of Special Features, some exclusively produced for the collection, giving greater insight into the films and Larraz by way of interviews, soundtrack commentaries and production information. I’m still going through them accompanied by further revisits to the films.

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