I think this was announced earlier this year (or maybe late last year?) but Blu-Ray.com have just posted the news that Synapse Films will be releasing one of the quintessential revenge films The Exterminator on Blu-Ray in the near future.  I cannot wait.

All of Lenzi's gialli are now available on DVD although some, like this one, are not English friendly. The presentation of the film on this DVD is very poor indeed, having no 16x9 enhancement or digital remastering. 01 Distribution's recent releases are rather disappointing especially when compared to some of their earlier offerings. Still, this will be another fan DVD project at some point when I get some free time. This was the first DVD I have ordered from Amazon.it and their service was very impressive.

Another post on Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 1977) you ask?  Well, it is with good cause.  Paul, over at the  Lovelockandload forum, mentioned earlier today that the UK label Optimum will be releasing the film on DVD and, wait for it, Blu-Ray.  The release date will be May 30th 2011 and it cannot come some enough.

Also, Paul stated that Optimum will be releasing the classic Cannon Sho Kosugi Ninja films Enter the Ninja (Menahem Golan,1981) and Revenge of the Ninja (Sam Firstenberg, 1983) on DVD.  The former will no doubt be censored, because of scenes featuring cockfighting, but the latter should be identical to the uncut MGM US DVD that was released a while back but this time presented in anamorphic widescreen.  Though HD masters exist for both films, they are regularly shown on MGMHD in the US, there will be no Blu-Ray release of either film. Street date will also be May 30th 2011.  I have a soft spot for Revenge of the Ninja.  For years I sought an uncut version of this film, owning four VHS versions at one point.  Pictured below is the cover original Guild UK VHS release which brings back fond memories of the film.

Finally, as if these cult offerings were not enough, on the same date, Optimum will also be releasing The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) on DVD and Blu-Ray.  What else is there to say?

A welcome surprise.  On 22 November, Optimum will be releasing Michael Powell's Peeping Tom on Blu-Ray.  Early reviews suggest that disc is a winner, featuring high quality video and two documentaries.  I have just ordered the Blu-Ray from MovieMail, using their 5% off voucher (code: DVDPC5).  I cannot wait to see this again, it has been a while.

I cannot wait for this.  If this is anywhere near as good as Hartley's previous documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008) it will certainly be a treat for any cult film fan.  Here is the trailer; there are some great contributors.

My favourite Asian DVD retailer DDDHouse currently having a Blu-Ray sale.  At the moment you can pick the Blu-Ray releases of the three Bruce Lee classics The Big Boss (Wei Lo, 1971), Fist of Fury (Wei Lo, 1972) and The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee, 1972).  Considering their age and the reputation that the Hong Kong film industry has for preserving films they all look very strong, particularly The Big Boss which has a high level of detail.  With shipping, you can order each title for under £9 delivered; it is cheaper to order all three at the same time.  Be aware that all of these Blu-Ray discs are Region A encoded.  Reviews, containing screenshots, for each of the Blu-Ray discs can found over at DVD Beaver.  Don't be tempted by the cheap prices for the Blu-Ray releases of Jackie Chan's excellent Police Story series.  The discs are nothing more than upconverts of the Fortune Star DVD releases.

Oliver Stone's Platoon has finally been released on DVD but is currently only available in Hong Kong.  My copy arrived from DDDHouse, the best online Asian DVD retailer, yesterday and despite the video being MPEG-2 encoded the picture quality is very nice indeed.

I am pleased to find that another one of my past fan DVD projects will be rendered obsolete as the German label Camera Obscura have announced that they will be releasing the giallo Tropic of Cancer on DVD later this year.  It would be good if the artwork for the DVD is as good as the one Sutekh produced for my fan DVD (pictured below). 

It looks as if Image Entertainment have avoided for bankruptcy, for now anyway, and will be releasing the Boris Karloff hosted show Thriller on DVD and also the first season of The Twilight Zone on Blu-Ray.  Thriller will have numerous special features and will be released on August 31. Whilst I am pleased that Image have chosen to release the complete series rather than release individual season sets I was rather surprised by the $149.99 RRP.  A number of online shops will most likely be selling it slightly cheaper but £100 for a 67 episode show is a little steep.  Perhaps this is to be expected considering the slim profit margins cult television shows such as this make for independent DVD labels?  Still, it will be a must buy for me, the episodes Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper and Pigeons from Hell being the stand-out episodes for me.

Some time later in the fall, Image will also release the first season of Rod Serling's classic The Twilight Zone on Blu-Ray.  No release date has been announced yet but Amazon are already offering it for pre-order at $89.99, another high price tag.  I wonder how some of the video taped episodes will look in HD?