Things have been getting better and better for the blog and I've been lucky enough now to preview some Arrow Film releases when they get issued, starting with the 1982 movie Blood Tide (Also known as Demon Island or The Red Tide).
A cult movie by Greek producer Nico Mastorakis (and also has been director, novelist, scriptwriter, DJ, TV host, lyricist, editor, and reviewer!!), this movie is a B-movie, but at the same time is not a because of the caliber of talent, the beautiful location, and the finances (which were guaranteed over lunch as long as it is filmed that Summer!). Arrow has made a lovely edition which will be released next week, so let's check the movie out...
Treasure hunter Frye accidentally awakens an ancient sea monster that had been lying dormant on a Greek island, and because of this, the inhabitants are now forced to yet again start the horrific practice of sacrificing virgins in order to appease the demonic creature. Meanwhile, a couple, Neil and Sherry, are also on the island as they search for Neil's missing sister, Madeline.
The movie is your standard 1980s B-movie stuff and isn't too bad (I personally think it was fun to watch and like most cult classics like this a movie that's great to switch your brain off to), there are brilliant performances by legends James Earl Jones and Jose Ferrer which makes you think that this is more than a B-movie. It's a great fun watch and most certainly worth watching if you have not seen it before, but this newly restored edition is really good so it would be worth checking out even if you have seen it before.
The movie has a stellar cast with the likes of James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer, and Martin Kove, however (random movie fact alert) this movie could have maybe been quite different as Photoplay magazine in 1980 reported that Jeff Bridges was going to play the lead...I wonder how that would have played out?
And now let's have a look at the Arrow release...
The sound and visuals have been restored beautifully by Arrow, and Mastorakis says this version is "immaculate", and "no matter how you classify the movie before you step one grade up..it's a fairly good movie" and says it is much better than watching this is HD on a big screen compared to awful pirated DVD copies. Also, when asked his thoughts on people pirating this edition (let's face it, is highly likely, it's that good an edition and if people want to pirate a copy of this, they'll want the best) Mastorakis basically has laid down the gauntlet and said the following:
"I dare you to pirate this version, and I dare you to pirate a fully copyrighted movie. Go on, make my day, punks!"
I guess he is asking us not to copy this huh?
On the disc there are some great special features including an excellent interview with Nico Matorakis, new audio commentary with Richard Jeffries, has trailers for the movie and English SDH subtitles. Disc aside, you get a brilliant reversible sleeve that features not only the original artwork, but newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys...AND the first pressing also has a collector's booklet featuring new writing on Blood Tide by Mike Gingold.
Blood Tide is rated 15 and will be available on region free Blu-Ray from Arrow Home Video on 25th May. You can order the Blu-Ray directly from Arrow Films by clicking HERE.