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An excellent example of a thriller that improves with age, Cornel Wilde’s survival tale is a lean ‘n’ mean exercise in first-person terror. Sent barefoot and naked on a hopeless ‘run of the arrow,’ our hero earns our admiration from his first desperate steps. Actor Wilde may never have directed anything else quite as good, but this winner cements his name in the achievement books.

The Naked Prey

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 415

1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 2, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Cornel Wilde, Gert Van den Bergh, Ken Gampu, Patrick Mynhardt.

Cinematography: H.A.R. Thompson

Film Editor: Roger Cherrill

Original Music: Edwin Astley, Andrew Tracey, Cornell Wilde

Written by Clint Johnson, Don Peters

Produced by Sven Persson, Cornel Wilde

Directed by Cornel Wilde

In Panavision and blazing Technicolor, this grueling survival ordeal held us spellbound in 1965 — kids forgot to eat their popcorn. Those not...

A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for August.

Jaws (1975) Universal Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo Available Now

Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller has been painstakingly restored from the original film elements. Amity Island has never been so beautiful. The movie itself seems to improve with age, with amazing performances and scenes that still manage to unnerve — Susan Backlinie’s death at the beginning is truly one of the most horrifying ever portrayed onscreen. Making this a true “special edition” is the long-awaited release of The Shark Is Still Working, an expansive documentary on the making and the impact of the 1975 film. All of the surviving cast and crew are interviewed along with several minutes of never-before-seen footage.

Special Features:

*Digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35mm original film elements.

*Digital Copy of Jaws

*UltraViolet Copy of Jaws

*The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy...

The words “South African exploitation cinema” or “South African Grindhouse cinema” are just not words that one hears uttered together often, especially around these parts.

But after reading about the below film, as well as watching its trailer, I’m sure film enthusiasts will be strongly encouraged to do some research of their own and learn more

The flick is titled Death Of A Snowman, and was made in 1978, just about coinciding with the blaxploitation cinema era here in the USA. I thought we’d talked about it here before, but a search on this blog revealed nothing, so this must be the first post about it.

Anyway, the film, also once known as Soul Patrol and Black Trash, is now on DVD, and you can pick up a copy on Amazon.com for about $20. Pick up your copy Here. It’s not on Netflix yet, however. Sorry!

The short...

The Film:

Also released as Soul Patrol and Black Trash, this South African apartheid 1978 effort from Synapse Films puts journalist Steve Chaka (Ken Gampu) in contact with a vigilante group, ominously called The War on Crime. Do the ends justify the means? Do they ever? Chaka must tread a fine line for while he rejects outlaws in service of the law, he notes sympathetically that with decreased policing, “thousands of kids in the city [Johannesburg] could use some food and clothes.” What’s a brother to do?

The best elements of the film are its historical elements: the white manual Olympia Sm-9 De Luxe on which Chaka pounds was the same model I used in my freshman typing class (where I increased from six words-a-minute to thirty-six and merited an easy “A”); the stakeout where Chaka and Nigel Davenport (Ben Deel, later of the Academy Award-winning Chariots of Fire) chow from...

The words “South African exploitation cinema” or “South African Grindhouse cinema” are just not words that one hears uttered together often, especially around these parts.

But after reading about the below film, as well as watching its trailer, I’m sure film enthusiasts will be strongly encouraged to do some research of their own and learn more

The flick is titled Death Of A Snowman, and was made in 1978, just about coinciding with the blaxploitation cinema era here in the USA. I thought we’d talked about it here before, but a search on this blog revealed nothing, so this must be the first post about it.

Anyway, the film, also once known as Soul Patrol and Black Trash, was just released on DVD (November 9th, exactly), and you can pick up a copy on Amazon.com for about $20. It’s not on Netflix however. Sorry!

The short synopsis reads:...

Freshly released on DVD by the good folk at Synapse is 1978 South African grindhouse picture Death Of A Snowman. Also known as Soul Patrol and Black Trash this one is a reminder of why so many of the current wave of grindhouse throwbacks fail: there's no nodding and winking in these things, they mean it all. Here's how Synapse describes it:

Vigilante Violence! African Action! Explosive Exploitation!

A South-african Grindhouse Classic! Rough And Tough -- The Way You Like It!

The true soul of grindhouse shakes and shimmies in this down and dirty tale of master criminals meeting violent death in Johannesburg, South Africa, a city plagued by organized crime. Steve Chaka (Ken Gampu), an ambitious news reporter, learns that these deaths are from the hands of an all-black vigilante group known only as "War on Crime." Teaming up with Lt. Ben Deel (Nigel Davenport, Chariots Of Fire, A Man For All Seasons...

South Africa might not be the first place you think of when it comes to rough and tough grindhouse flicks, but it's the home of a classic that's finally hitting DVD thanks to Synapse Films: Christopher Rowley's 1978 Death of a Snowman, aka Soul Patrol and Black Trash.

From the Press Release:

The true soul of grindhouse shakes and shimmies in this down and dirty tale of master criminals meeting violent death in Johannesburg, South Africa, a city plagued by organized crime. Steve Chaka (Ken Gampu), an ambitious news reporter, learns that these deaths are from the hands of an all-black vigilante group known only as “War on Crime.” Teaming up with Lt. Ben Deel (Nigel Davenport, Chariots of Fire, A Man for All Seasons) of the local police department, Chaka investigates anonymous tips regarding future ‘hits’ and ends up fighting for his life to uncover the truth behind the vigilante killings!

Vigilante Violence! African Action Explosive Exploitation! A South-african Grindhouse Classic! Rough And Tough — The Way You Like It! The true soul of grindhouse shakes and shimmies in this down and dirty tale of master criminals meeting violent death in Johannesburg, South Africa, a city plagued by organized crime. Steve Chaka (Ken Gampu), an ambitious news reporter, learns that these deaths are from the hands of an all-black vigilante group known only as “War on Crime.” Teaming up with Lt. Ben Deel (Nigel Davenport, Chariots Of Fire, A Man For All Seasons) of the local police department, Chaka investigates anonymous tips regarding future ‘hits’ and ends up fighting for his life to uncover the trusth behind the vigilante killings! Death Of A Snowman is an action-filled South African grindhouse gem. Exploitatoin fans will enjoy the outrageous violence, erratic editing, funky disco soundtrack, and jaw-dropping dubbing. Also released as Soul Patrol [...]...