Wednesday Cover: SHAZAM!

Technically, this is Limited Collector's Edition C35, a "Treasury Sized" collection of Captain Marvel comic book stories reprinted by DC Comics in 1975. This photo cover features actor Jackson Bostwick who portrayed the World's Mightiest Mortal for two seasons of the Filmation Saturday morning Shazam! television series. I've been revisiting the 1974-76 series on DVD this past couple of weeks, and I remembered having this oversized comic when I was a kid. (FYI - I'll be reviewing the newly-released Warner Archive Shazam! DVD set over at my DVD Late Show and Space: 1970 blogs shortly.)

From Here To Eternia

Poster art by Drew Struzan

I generally don't subscribe to the concept of "guilty pleasures." I've always felt that you should never be ashamed or feel guilty about liking "bad" movies (or anything else, for that matter), because the point of entertainment is to enjoy yourself, and it doesn't matter why you like something, as long as you have fun.

That said, when it comes to the 1987 live-action, Cannon Films adaptation of the Filmation cartoon series, Masters Of The Universe, I do sometimes feel a bit embarrassed. Mostly because I've found that admitting my fondness for the fantasy flick inevitably leads to ridicule. Never mind that the production design (by the great William Stout) is gorgeous, or that the Rob Conti-emulating-John Williams score is big, bombastic and beautiful, or that Frank Langella's portrayal of sorcerer Skeletor is sly and satisfyingly sinister... it's based on an 80s cartoon starring a guy named "He-Man."

And I don't even like the cartoon.

But I do like the Gary Goddard-directed movie, which comes out on a (unfortunately bare-bones) Blu-ray today, and I liked it even when I dragged my then-girlfriend to see it in theater in the Summer of 1987. It's just a fun, fast-paced fantasy adventure with a memorable cast (Dolph Lundgren in his first lead role, a young Courtney Cox, icy-eyed & sexy Meg Foster, and the unforgettable Billy Barty, among others), terrific 80s special effects, and a ridiculous plot that hangs together just... well enough.

It's not a classic of the genre, and it may not even be very good, subjectively, but I like it a lot (for all of the reasons cited above), and will be picking up the Blu-ray edition this week.

ADDENDUM: My local Bull Moose store - where I buy the DVDs and Blu-rays I'm too impatient to order online - actually let me down this week, as they didn't get any Master Of The Universe Blu-rays. According to their computer, all the other stores in the chain got copies, but their store didn't. Oh well, I put one on order. Hopefully they'll get it in by my next trip to town....

15 Favorite DVD Releases of 2007

2007 was a great year for DVD collectors, despite the rise of competing high-priced, high-definition formats and the inevitable proclamations of the imminent death of the regular DVD disc. As a reviewer, I've been fortunate to get a look at a lot of 2007's releases, even though my column was rather irregular and I wasn't able to quite cover everything I received.

Here are fifteen of my favorite 2007 releases. In every case, these are films I like a lot, and they were especially well-served by their DVD releases.

1. FROM BEYOND. After a very long wait, while various rights issues were worked out, MGM finally unleashed Stuart Gordon's gooey follow-up to Re-Animator in an unrated, digitally restored – and, most importantly – properly framed widescreen edition. Beautiful hi-def transfer, uncut content, and solid extra features.

2. THE MONSTER SQUAD. Repeat pretty much everything I said about From Beyond. Another awesome release of a long-anticipated and beloved flick.

3. TWIN PEAKS: THE GOLD BOX COLLECTION. David Lynch and Mark Frost's influential, mindbending and tragically short-lived surreal soap opera finally receives a damn-near definitive home video treatment, with every episode completely remastered. The set also includes the rare, original Pilot Film and European Theatrical/Home Video feature version of same, tons of comprehensive behind-the-scenes material, original TV promos and commercials, a featurette with Lynch, and much, much more. One of the best TV-on-DVD sets ever.

4. WITCHFINDER GENERAL. For years I've been wanting to see this acclaimed Vincent Price film, originally released in the U.S. as The Conqueror Worm. It's reputation – and that of its young, tragic director, Michael Reeves – was so great, that I was certain I was missing out on something truly special. As it turned out, I was. While maybe not quite as wonderful as I'd come to expect, it was still a fine period horror flick, with an extraordinarily nuanced and effective performance by Price. MGM's "Midnite Movie" release of this title sports a beautiful transfer, the original music and U.K. cut.

5. THE ICONS OF HORROR COLLECTION: SAM KATZMAN. Who would have thunk that Columbia would release a box set of low-budget B-movies produced by one of Hollywood's most notoriously cheap producers – and put his name on the box? Not only does it contain gorgeous transfers of The Giant Claw, Creature With the Atom Brain, Zombies of Mora Tau and The Werewolf, but the set also includes a chapter of the Katzman-produced Mysterious Island serial, a Mr. Magoo cartoon, a comedy short, and tons of vintage Columbia sci-fi trailers!

6. THE SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY. Remastered, restored versions of A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and Duck, You Sucker! Okay, I already had the special edition of TGTB&TU, but the restored Fistful and More were revelations. Eastwood and Van Cleef never looked so good. And I'd never seen Leone's Duck, You Sucker!, with James Coburn and Rod Stieger, before. Each movie is also loaded with informative extras.

7. FLASH GORDON: SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE EDITION. 'Nuff said.

8. PAYBACK: STRAIGHT UP. Brian Helgeland's "Director's Cut" of the Mel Gibson -compromised Richard Stark adaptation is a definite improvement over the already pretty good theatrical version. This cut is much grittier, with a completely different musical score and third act, and it possesses a real 70's crime flick vibe. The behind-the-scenes documentary is a a real revelation and effectively illustrates how screwed up and second-guessing Hollywood studios have become.

9. INVASION OF ASTRO MONSTER. Better known as Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero, this was but one of several awesome, widescreen, restored kaiju releases in 2007. Godzilla, Rodan and Nick Adams battle the mighty King Ghidorah and evil aliens from Planet X in what's probably my favorite Godzilla film. A gorgeous transfer of the Toho classic, both English and Japanese versions, and a handful of solid extras. So much fun.

10. JASON OF STAR COMMAND. This 70's Filmation release from BCI was a childhood favorite and it was awesome to see this satisfyingly silly space opera (with its stellar special effects!) again on DVD, complete with a retrospective documentary, interviews with stars Craig Littler and Sid Haig, and other bonus features.

11. THE MARIO BAVA COLLECTION. I'm including Volumes One and Two in this, as both sets came out this year, and include new, improved versions of pretty much all the most important titles in the legendary maestro's filmography: Black Sunday, Black Sabbath (Three Faces of Fear), The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Knives of the Avenger, Kill, Baby...Kill!, Lisa And the devil/House of Exorcism, Bay of Blood, Baron Blood, Kidnapped, Roy Colt & Winchester Jack, 5 Dolls for an August Moon and Four Times That Night. Not every film is particularly great, but Mario Bava's distinctive visual sense and directorial style is evident in virtually every frame. Good, cleaned-up transfers, some fine commentaries on the most important films by Tim Lucas, and nicely packaged. Oh, I would have liked better it if they'd been able to include the U.S. versions of Sunday and Sabbath, but overall, it's an awesome collection.

12. MICHAEL SHAYNE MYSTERIES. Four snappy B-movie mysteries – Michael Shayne: Private Detective, The Man Who Wouldn't Die, Sleepers West and Blue, White and Perfect – starring Lloyd Nolan as Brett Halliday's wisecracking Irish-American private eye, assembled into one sharp boxed set by Fox. The bonus features aren't quite as good as the ones on the Charlie Chan and Mister Moto discs, but the package artwork – new paintings by the great Robert McGinnis – more than compensates for any deficiencies. Gorgeous transfers, too.

13. RATATOUILLE. Another instant classic from Pixar and Brad Bird. The DVD isn't as loaded with extras as usual – expect a "Collector's Edition" to come along soon – but the movie is both gorgeous to behold and deeply involving. Who would have figured a movie about a gourmet rat could be so wonderfully written, designed and executed?

14. DOCTOR WHO – THE COMPLETE SECOND/THIRD SERIES. Series 2 was released at the beginning of the year, and I just picked up Series 3. Despite all the crappy reimaginings and remakes of old TV shows, this Who – and the new Battlestar Galactica – are the best arguments for continuing to mine TV's past for new entertainment. While I enjoyed the first series with Chris Eccelston, David Tennant's take on The Doctor is more to my tastes, and the show really found its footing once he took over. Sharp, funny and emotionally moving writing, great performances and delightful special effects have breathed new life into the U.K.'s most venerable sci-fi franchise... and the DVDs are "bloody brilliant," too.

15. FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD. Finally, one of the most fondly remembered kaiju classics from Toho Studios comes to U.S. DVD courtesy of Media Blasters – in three different versions! There's the Japanese language version, the U.S. dubbed version, and the "International" version, complete with the legendary – and never before seen in U.S. – "Devilfish" climax, in which the mutated, giant Frankenstein's monster inexplicably battles a landbound giant octopus that appears out of nowhere during the climactic forest fire! All three versions look pristine, and there are a handful of cool extras.

These aren't necessarily the best DVD releases of '07, but they're the ones I'm most enthusiastic about. A couple that almost made the cut include Warners' Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland Collection, The Evil Dead Ultimate Edition (and would have, if the extras were just a little better) from Starz Entertainment, and MGM's Return of the Living Dead Collector's Edition. I only wish I'd been able to afford the complete Get Smart and Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series sets and the new Blade Runner: Final Cut collector's set.

Jason of Star Command

That's right – this is the hardboiled crime fiction/cheesy space opera blog. Deal with it.

Just got my review discs of the complete Jason of Star Command – Filmation's last live-action show and probably the most expensive kid's program of its era – and I've been having fun watching the show again.

The transfers are on a par with the Space Academy discs, a little soft, but light-years better than the bootlegs floating around the comic book conventions. The stories are slight and silly, but fun; serialized adventures with really remarkable special effects.

In fact, as impressed as I was with the miniatures and effects on Space Academy, the FX work on Jason, by the same team, shows a marked improvement, both in conception and execution. The quantity of and variety of shots is impressive, too, as well as the surprisingly large number of stop-motion alien menaces that appeared on the show. Pretty amazing, considering their limited resources. For fans of old school special effects (guilty!), these discs are something of a treasure trove of pre-computerized FX work.

The new documentary includes on-screen interviews with Craig Littler (Jason) and Sid Haig (Dragos). They both are obviously fond of the show and seem to have had fun making it. Littler is now the Gorton's Fisherman in TV commercials, while Haig continues to appear in horror films and other supporting roles. There's some nice tributes to the late Jimmy Doohan and Tamara Dobson, as well.

This should be on sale soon, and if you're another aging sci-fi fan who came of age in the Seventies, you might want to check it out. Decent price, too.

Ghost Busters of Star Command

BCI Eclipse has sent out press releases for two more live-action Filmation Saturday morning shows coming to DVD in the near future: The Ghost Busters and Jason of Star Command.

The Ghost Busters long pre-dated the popular 80's movie of the same name, and starred F-Troop's Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (also stalwart star of The Crawling Eye and The Abominable Snowman of the Himilayas) as a couple of paranormal investigators/exorcists who worked with a civilized gorilla named Tracy (gorilla man and monster movie fan extraordinaire, Bob Burns). I don't really remember anything about the show other than I watched it and loved Tracy. So I'm looking forward to the DVDs – especially, since in an interview with Burns that ran in Filmfax a few years ago, he stated that the videotape masters of the show had been sold off and erased, and that no copies of the episodes existed any longer. Glad he turned out to be mistaken.

Jason of Star Command, on the other hand, I remember vividly. After Space Academy was cancelled for being "too dull," the Filmation crew decided to recycle as much of that show's expensive sets, props and FX as possible, while giving the network the more Star Wars-ish show they wanted.

So, instead of earnest young cadets learning important lessons about honor, duty and life while exploring space and unravelling the mysteries of the universe, we had a trouble-shooting space hero (bland Craig Littler) in a vaguely Han Solo-ish outfit, a Darth Vader-esque villian (the GREAT Sid Haig as "Dragos!"), and a whole lot of cute robots. Unfortunately, this being 70's network kid's TV, Jason couldn't punch, trip, shoot, or even give a mean look to anybody. "Action" existed only in the form of endless running up and down corridors, swooping model spacecraft, and "drone" ships blowing up.

On the plus side, you had Jimmy Doohan (Star Trek's Scotty) as a space commander, a cute brunette cadet in a skin-tight space suit, and exotic Tamara Dobson – Cleopatra Jones herself! – in a recurring role as a mysterious alien babe. There were some cool stop-motion monsters on occasion, too, as I recall.

The Ghost Busters DVD set, with a bunch of extras, is expected to hit shelves on April 17th, while Jason of Star Command is scheduled for a May 8th release. If I get review copies, I'll be sure and post my observations here first.

Recent Stuff

Got my review copy of the new BCI/Eclipse release of Space Academy – The Complete Series yesterday. The episodes look very good. Not pristine, but better than the Ark II episodes released on DVD a couple months ago.

Like Ark II, I'm finding the series better and smarter than I thought it would be, and that my memories of the show were remarkably accurate and vivid. I'm also still impressed by the special effects. Shot on a shoestring Saturday Morning budget, they still rival Brian Johnson's work on the much-more expensive contemporary series, Space: 1999. (Forget those IMDB readers comments that describe the FX as "cheesy" – I've come to realize that "cheesy" is just a modern-day euphemism for "crafted by hand and executed with talent and skill.")

The only disappointment in this fine DVD set is that neither Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura) or Maggie Cooper (Adrian) were involved in the reunion/documentary. It's a shame, because Ferdin was one of the most prolific and familiar child actresses of the late 60's-70's, and Maggie Cooper was... well, a babe.

I also received yesterday the latest Richard (Donald Westlake) Stark "Parker" novel, Ask the Parrot. It picks up literally seconds after the end of the previous series entry, Nobody Runs Forever, and Stark's prose is as sharp, lean and compelling as ever. I'm already more than halfway through the book. It's good. Really good.

It feels great to sit down with a novel again. Still remaining on my TBR (To Be Read) pile are Road to Purgatory by Max Allan Collins, Something Is Down There by Mickey Spillane, Mildred Pierced and Now You See Him by Stuart M. Kaminsky, The Peddler by Richard Prather, The Last Match by David Dodge, All the Flowers Are Dying by Lawrence Block, and Kull, Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard.

Managed also to pick up a few *new* comics this week. Got a hold of the first issue of The Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction, with art by David Aja and others. Liked it quite a bit. I actually recognized Daniel Rand in there, and thought that Brubaker and Fraction had come up with a nice new angle on the chracter/concept. Plenty of story for a first issue, too. Also read the first issue of Matt Fraction's Punisher War Journal, which I thought was nicely drawn with a decent, well-written story, but – and here's the problem – Frank Castle was way out of character. Too bad. Won't be buying any more, even if I see them.

Although I recently said I haven't been able to follow any monthly comics for a while, there has been one exception. I've actually been reading She-Hulk for a few months now (thanks to the fact that they carry it at the local Barnes & Noble), since my pal Rick Burchett started drawing it, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. writer Dan Slott is having a lot of fun with Jen and an extensive supporting cast of cast-off or obscure Marvel characters like the Two-Gun Kid and Stargod... and the fun is contagious.

Check it out. It's good.

The Space Academy Class Reunion

This just in: Space Academy is coming to DVD in January!

January 16th, in fact, as a four-disc special edition from the fine folks at BCI Eclipse.

Space Academy has long been a personal favorite of mine, even moreso than its more action packed, comic book-styled spin-off, Jason of Star Command. In fact, I believe that Academy, if remade today, would make a great series for modern teens and young adults. I imagine something that combines contemporary campus soap opera with the interstellar adventure of Star Trek... and lots of hot female cadets in short skirts.

After all, you want to stay somewhat faithful to the source material, and the original series had those short skirts (and brunette Maggie Cooper was particularly fetching in hers), along with some very memorable and impressive special effects footage – effects that, IMO, rivaled the quality and variety of those on Space: 1999, produced a year earlier on five times the budget. But then, I'm a sucker for "old school" (get it?) special effects – give me honest-to-Harryhausen handcrafted miniature spaceships and live action pyrotechnics over flashy CGI cartoons any day.

Overall, it looks like another exceptional Saturday Morning nostalgia release from BCI, who have really gone the extra mile on these Filmation discs. One personal disappointment: it looks like short-skirted space cadet Maggie Cooper didn't show up for the class reunion, which is a real shame. Man, I had such the crush on her. She had a devastating smile (and nice legs, too).

Anyway, it looks like it's time to toss my bootlegs. Here's an excerpt from the official Press Release:

Space Academy features all 15 episodes from the 1977 series starring Jonathan Harris as the Commander Isaac Gampu who leads the young cadets attending Space Academy in the year 3732. The series also features Pamelyn Ferdin, Ric Carrott, Ty Henderson, Maggie Cooper, Brian Tochi and Eric Greene. Additionally, the special effects team was comprised of some of the technical wizards who created Star Wars that very same year.

The series premiered on CBS in the 1977 season and was later syndicated worldwide. The success of the series led to a spin-off the following season called Jason of Star Command.

Special Features include:
35 minute documentary, "Back to School with Space Academy"
Two commentary tracks featuring executive producer Lou Scheimer, actors Ric Carrott, Brian Tochi, Eric Greene, plus special effects supervisor Chuck Comisky
Photo and art galleries
Scripts and series bible
Easter eggs
Booklet with episode guide
Ink & Paint trailers
Spanish language tracks

Producing the special features, documentaries and most of the extra content is entertainment writer Andy Mangels, a best-selling novelist, and author of Animation on DVD—The Ultimate Guide.

Damnation Alley for Kids: Ark II

BCI/Eclipse, the company that has the rights to the Filmation kidvid library, is beginning to dip into that studio's live-action fare, beginning with the post-Apocalyptic adventure series, Ark II: The Complete Series.

To be honest, I don't remember this show as well as I do Filmation's later live-action programs like Shazam!, Isis, Space Academy and Jason of Star Command, but I do vaguely recall the crew going up against Bob Short's Robby the Robot Replica in one episode (has anyone ever done a definitive list of Robby film/TV appearances? Hmmm....) and thinking it was cool that on Space Academy, the "Seeker" spaceships had the same front end as the Ark.

Here's part of BCI's press release:

The year is 2476, and the Earth has become a biological wasteland. Three young scientists—Jonah (Terry Lester), the leader; Ruth (Jean Marie Hon), the medic; and Samuel (Jose Flores), the young, technological genius—are joined by their sidekick, Adam the talking chimp, as they scour the globe in the Ark II. Their mission: to bring hope of a new future to mankind, while teaching those remaining earthlings valuable life lessons about ecology and social justice.

Well, I'm looking forward to this DVD (which streets on Nov. 7 with a $29.99 SRP), and even more so to the company following up with more of Filmation's live-action shows. Then I can throw away my bootlegs of Space Academy and Jason, and be able to revisit my schoolboy crush (literally) on JoAnna Cameron's Isis whenever I want...

That Filmation Tarzan

Another Filmation memory: the opening titles to that studio's very successful Tarzan animated series:



The voice actor who plays Tarzan is Robert Ridgley... who also voiced Flash Gordon and Thundarr!

That Filmation Touch

I can't remember the last time I was actually up before noon on a Saturday, but as a kid, I loved Saturday morning... cartoons.

Sitting on the living room floor eating cereal, fighting with my sister over control of the dial...

Anyway, I always preferred the adventure cartoons from Filmation. Yeah, I know they're notorious for cheap animation and recycling, but I came to love the over-familiar music, sound effects and animation (especially, the rotoscoped "hero running" footage). And I loved the character and background design on their adventure shows. Whoever designed their cartoons really made them look like comic books.

I was a big fan of Star Trek, Tarzan, The New Adventures of Batman, New Adventures of Flash Gordon and even their live-action shows, like Ark II, Shazam!, Isis, Space Academy and Jason of Star Command. Hell, I just found out this week that they were even the co-producers of the Starchaser feature film I blogged about a few days ago!

Well, BCI/Eclipse has a bunch of Filmation stuff coming out on DVD in high-quality box sets. They've already released several volumes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (which was a little after my time, frankly) and its spin-off, She-Ra.

Over the last few months, they've also released The New Adventures of Flash Gordon and Blackstar, probably the last Filmation cartoon I remember actually getting up early to watch. I was into D&D by then, and anything with a sword & sorcery theme caught my interest. Unfortunately, it aired in the same timeslot as Ruby-Spears' superior Thundarr the Barbarian on another network, so unless Thundarr was a repeat, I usually opted for the post-Apocalyptic barbarian over the sword-slinging astronaut, John Blackstar.

Watching them today as a 40+ adult, I find that Flash Gordon still holds up as one of the top four animated adventure shows ever (the others being Jonny Quest, Batman The Animated Series and the aforementioned Thundarr), while Blackstar is actually somewhat better than I remembered.

The animation still looks pretty slick and, oddly enough for a Filmation adventure show, uses very little, if any, rotoscoping. The character designs and background paintings are excellent, really "selling" the alien environment of planet Sagar. I still hate the little pink "trobbits," though, and prefer the episodes that play down their child-friendly antics.

BCI's DVD transfers are excellent; the source material on Blackstar looks much better than the prints used on Flash Gordon, with virtually no visible debris or damage. If you're nostalgic and want to revisit your childhood – or know kids who are into fantasy adventure – they're worth picking up.

Now I'm really looking forward to their live-action sci-fi shows being released next year, especially Ark II and Space Academy.

The Animated Eighties: Starchaser

I just ordered the DVD of one of my favorite 80's animated adventure films, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, from Deep Discount DVD.

While extremely indebted to Star Wars, I always felt that the film rose somewhat above the derivative storyline and characters, and worked on its own merits as an interesting, involving and ultimately satisfying space opera.

I used to have the film on VHS, but that tape disappeared years ago. I think I must have loaned it to someone and never got it back. Since the DVD runs less than 10 bucks, I figured it was a good time to replace it. Besides, I've been feeling nostalgic lately.

Over on YouTube, a fan has re-created the trailer by taking footage from the widescreen DVD and synchronizing it with the audio from an old VHS tape. Very nicely done.



Is it just me, or does that spaceship look like a prototype for Joss Whedon's Serenity?