Sarcophilous Films ~ Horror & Cult DVD Releases with a fondness of the Flesh!

POLSELLI POLITICS

2010-03-15T22:35:00.001Z

Does bad distribution in life result in distribution woes in death?

If your name is Renato Polselli then the answer must surely be "yes"...

With a career burdened by poor production decisions and erratic distribution, Renato Polselli painted himself into a corner, the results of which were a career's-worth of film projects destined for obscurity and confusion. And as the DVD revolution began to roll the obscurity remained, save for a few unearthed gems being rescued and afforded the digital treatment, with confusion reigning supreme over not just the whereabouts of certain film elements but ownership claims.
With all kinds of mystery surrounding some films and others having reverted back to the director's possession after the folding of certain video labels, the free-for-all during such confusion was apparent, with various labels taking liberties at the expense of the old-time filmmaker. Theft, dishonesty, disrespect...the last years of his life were rife with such treatment at the hands of so-called "fans" who now owned their own labels and who wanted a slice of glory at the expense of an old-timer.
Upon his passing, Renato and his cinematic legacy faired no better. And still to this day film rights and original elements are often shrouded in mystery. Not that it matters...as there are always those out there who, whether there is confusion or clarity, will always attempt to take liberties with the work of a downtrodden or deceased director...MYA Communications are one of "those".
A shady company forged by the remnants and associates of a former DVD label, they push forward with their "grey-area" label (or "professional-bootleg" outfit, if you will) churning out one film after another utilizing old worn video masters from the early-days of VHS and with little regard for those who own the rights.
A case in point: their announcing of 2 Polselli films on their future release schedule that they do not have license for releasing. Those 2 films, "OSCENITA'" and "LA VERITA' SECONDO SATANA" are to be released by Sarcophilous Films by way of formal license with the rights owner and we can say with 100% confidence that MYA Communications has not in any way approached the rights owner at any point to discuss leasing the rights, before or after their release schedule was announced online...

Beware...there are companies out there who are not genuine fans and who care little for such fans. Their sole interest is money. At the expense of the directors...at the expense of the rights owners...at the expense of your hard-earned money...at the expense of your viewing pleasure...

MYA Communications wishes to rip off rights owners to sell you unlicensed films in shoddy editions using substandard video master elements culled from old video labels at your great expense.
They are not the only ones. Bruno Vani, Polselli's longtime collaborator and secretary was even visited on his deathbed in hospital and duped into signing over rights to at least one of his films whilst in no fit state of mind to do so. Not by MYA Communications, but by someone close to them. Let's see whether TORINO - CENTRALE DEL VIZIO is the first step towards releasing more Vani and Polselli titles that have been obtained via dubious means or not legally obtained at all...

Sarcophilous Films, while no great "mover and shaker" in the DVD business, has the integrity to sacrifice ourselves on the block in an attempt to give the fans what they deserve. At the expense of our own financial resources (and sanity) we continue the struggle uphill with no distribution in place still and with a huge weight on our tiny shoulders. But we do it out of genuine passion for these films as well as those who created them and those who share our interest in resurrecting these little-seen gems. It may cripple us, it may even result in someone dragging the label's whimpering carcass behind the proverbial "woodshed" and putting us out of our misery one day. But we push forward anyway, fighting the costs and fighting our own disenchantment in an attempt to be recognised and to squeeze out as many unearthed gems as possible for ourselves, the fans and the directors and immortalize them by way of stuffed Special Editions...

Screw the money-grabbing pretenders! Support SARCOPHILOUS!

THE LOVELY BONES

2010-02-28T23:30:00.000Z

Recently sat down with friends to watch Peter Jackon's THE LOVELY BONES and must say it is great to see the director back on top form. Not only great, but refreshing.
I can now cast away those feelings about that overblown, self-indulgent mess that was the KING KONG remake and feel that Jackson has more than redeemed himself and got back on track with what is surely going to be considered for major awards...

Beautifully conceived and with an ambient score that taps into your heartbeat, the film is a real treat and one of those very rare creatures where tension is at times born out of some of the most serene moments. You have to see and experience the film to understand what i mean by that!

It is about time Peter Jackson got back to something a little more simple and subtle and this is that film. Sure, LOTR was a magnificent, sprawling epic fantasy and a masterpiece but following up with a remake of KING KONG that was three times as long as it should have been, meandering, messy and often yawn-inducing was obviously a mistake and Jackson's health seemed to be an indicator of that.

BAD TASTE, MEET THE FEEBLES, BRAIN DEAD, HEAVENLY CREATURES, LOTR trilogy, FORGOTTEN SILVER...all great films in their own little pigeon-holes. Even THE FRIGHTENERS, dismissed by some as having too much of a Zemeckis influence was a winner. Then came KING KONG...a total wipeout...

Jackson is back....THE LOVELY BONES is a wonder to behold and one of the year's must-see movies!

RENATO POLSELLI DVD RELEASES

2010-02-22T22:18:00.000Z

Ok.....a bit later than Sunday, admittedly, but better late than never, right? ;P

Various brief stuff to cover so let's get stuck in right away...

Director Michael Murphy has finished supervising clean-up of the transfer for ATLANTIS and the transfer along with various DVD supplementary materials are on their way to our Canadian HQ as i write this for the next stages to begin (namely, creating some quirky menu screens and putting the entire package together and authoring it ready for pressing). The transfer still shows signs of wear here and there throughout but Mike and actor Phil Lyndon went through the transfer frame-by-frame and did the best they could do to remove the worst dirt and scratches as well as colour correcting and creating the nicest-looking transfer possible. Looks good...far better than the riddled transfer freshly struck from the original 16mm reversal camera elements!

Work will soon begin on THE RITE OF SPRING also, again from a fresh Betacam SP master recently transfered from the original 1" video master. A shame that the original camera elements could not be used but seeing as Mike often shot on 16mm reversal stock the resulting transfer would be the same and so a waste of time and money. Sounds a harsh thing to say, but this stock does not hold up well over time, the film stock it is shot on essentially being the final positive print (as well as the workprint of sorts). So, we could have expected another transfer rife with vertical tramline scratches and other defects....meaning the original 1" video master, struck from the camera elements back when they were at their freshest, is the best way to go and the new Betacam SP master made from it should yield a better transfer than the original elements could...

Finally, as far as the Renato Polselli releases are concerned, we don't wish to announce too much at this point as they are far down the line on the schedule still. But we will say this much:

2-Disc Special Editions
Region Free
Utlilizing the best elements we can lay our hands on
All-new sleeve art based on original poster art
Possible audio commentary
Optional English subtitles

And that is all we are saying at this point! You will have to wait until later in the year (maybe) for the full details and list of specs to be announced on here!

Although, it goes without saying that if we don't get enough sales of our other releases then it will set those releases back further or even hamper them in other ways....

Take care one and all....

Wayne & Clive

ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER...

2010-02-13T00:13:00.001Z

...or is that Absinthe?

I don't know. All i know is that i have been absent from posting blogs on here a couple of weeks in a row now and i am happy to be back.
My dear Dad passed away suddenly in recent weeks and it has been one Hell of a hard time for us all. I have suffered through a split from my fiancee after 8 years, had to move out of home, get used to not seeing my son every single day, struggling to find a regular day job and a new place of my own, sleeping on a 2-seater sofa in my folks' living room next to my Dad on his hospital bed and then having him pass away all of a sudden while i was out and my Mum was on her own with him. I returned to witness the paramedics trying to resuscitate him, held his hand, helped where i could, accompanied them in the ambulance but all to no avail.

My Dad had gone...

My ex then decided to stick the knife in deeper, as if i needed it or could take much more, and i almost lost my own life as a result. That is, until waking one day soon after all of this and feeling an eerie sense of calm in every inch of me. Every day after that felt the same and i could feel my strength returning. I am not religious, never have been and never will be. But spiritual in some ways, yes. And i couldnt't help but think it was impossible to feel that calm and feel such serenity permeating every inch of my being and that my Dad must be watching over me in some way and had pulled me back from the brink (which is where i was). I remained calm and feeling strength return to me every single day after that and even on my Dad's funeral day my heartbeat was steady and my head in a good place as i carried his coffin every single step of the journey from chapel to graveside and also lowered it into the ground.
I also met the most wonderful and beautiful woman who has ever come into my life and happiness abounds...i know my Dad is still with me...he is in my heart and he is in my soul and my blood....without him my son may very well have been without a father of his own today....

Which brings me back home to Sarcophilous....and, despite not planning to reveal anything about these 2 planned releases anytime in the first half of 2010, i have decided to embrace how upbeat i am feeling by sharing in some of the happiness by (hopefully) putting some smiles your way too!

So, without further a do, let us proudly announce plans for the release of 2 super-rare Italian obscurities by Renato Polselli, "OSCENITA'" and "LA VERITA' SECONDO SATANA"........;)

More details to follow....bon ape-tit!

Wayne & Clive

Come visit "ATLANTIS"!

2010-01-24T02:13:00.002Z

Hi there guys 'n' gals!

The Master awaits you on our homepage, beckoning you to visit the crazy fantasmagorical world that is "ATLANTIS"....so...go ahead....give him a click and take yourselves on a colourfully lurid journey to the official "ATLANTIS" webpage and explore its demented delights!

There you will discover word of its sordid history, from conception to inhabitants, incredible photographic evidence to amazing archaeological video footage showcasing the one-time existence of this mythical underworld!

Essentially, what we are saying is: click the pic and go check out the "ATLANTIS" webpage because it is full of production history, cast & crew info, teaser image gallery, the original artwork created for this DVD release, trailer and full DVD specs!

Oh...and those surprise Italian titles we have lined up for future release? Very, errrrrrm....Polsellian.........;P

Wayne & Clive

More "ATLANTIS" updates...

2010-01-17T00:56:00.001Z

Mike and his friend, the ever reliable actor Phil Lyndon, are slaving away, one frame at a time, over the "ATLANTIS" transfer still as i write this and what troopers they are!
As mentioned previously, the transfer obtained directly from the original 16m reversal stock camera elements proved extremely frustrating, yielding a sharp and vibrant image full of colour that unfortunately was riddled with an excessive amount of vertical "tramline" scratches and regular moments where the image would smear off the screen due to old splices that had not been cleaned up or repaired during the transfer process. A 1" master tape was used to create a fresh Betacan SP master and then digital master that is being worked on and while slightly inferior to the clarity of the digital master struck from the 16mm elements, it is in some ways equal in quality and in others on par. We are very happy with the initial results of the Betacam transfer and the work Mike and Phil continue to do can only serve to enhance what is an already fine replacement...

The audio commentary is also complete...and WHAT a commentary! Mike was joined by Phil Lyndon (who stars in the film as 'The Master', ruler of all that is Atlantis), Judith Holding ('Queen Anteya', the Master's bitch, for want of a better word!) and June Bunday (who plays the innocent 'Arian', pulled into the watery underworld and forced into slavery). Full of anecdotes, production history and much banter, it is informative and hilarious in equal measure and a true delight!

With only the slideshow, menu screens and sleeve layout to put together, we are slowly but surely getting there and it won't be long before you can revel in the delirious delights of "ATLANTIS"!

(Full "ATLANTIS" webpage will be available on the 24th, featuring a teaser slideshow, production details, cast & crew info, full DVD specs and more!)

FUTURE RELEASES!

2010-01-13T14:27:00.000Z

Well, despite the trials and tribulations we continue to trudge through in our desire and determination to grow as a label, we push on...not just with current work but also with plans for the year ahead. Below then is a teasing glimpse of delights that await us as well as you in the near future!

"ATLANTIS" (E.T.A: early 2010) (Michael J Murphy's micro-budget fantasy-epic from 1990. 20th Anniversary Special Edition, featuring a wealth of extras to accompany what is a deliriously delectable micro-masterpiece!)

"THE RITE OF SPRING" (E.T.A: early 2010) (Michael J Murphy's eerie and moody chiller, reminiscent of Hardy's 'The Wicker Man' but in no way should it be said that this is a knock-off! As always, a glorious array of bonus supplements will compliment this neglected gem)

"BLOODSTREAM" (E.T.A: mid-2010) (Michael J Murphy's personal exorcism of that era's career demons and retaliatory response to the media and Government assaults on the horror industry at the time. Full of zombies, hunchbacks, psychos, werewolves, vampires, post-nuke crazies, splatter and self-referential humour, this long-buried gem finally makes its appearance in a Special Edition in 2010, a mere 25 years after it was made!)

"SICK-O-PATHICS" (E.T.A. mid-2010) (Massimo F. Lavagnini's team of nutters pulled together to make this shot-on-video anthology almost 15 years ago in an attempt as fans to show their appreciation of the Italian low-budget genre industry. Never again will there be a cast listing comprised of Aristide Massaccesi ('Joe D'Amato'), Antonio Margheriti, Luigi Cozzi, Renato Polselli, Lucio Fulci, Antonella Fulci, Linnea Quigley, Sergio Stivaletti, Dardano Sacchetti, David Warbeck and many more! The most trashy, tongue-in-cheek and mind-blowingly bizarre spoof-cum-homage to the legends and films of the Italian glory days you will ever see! Special Edition rammed to the ass with extras!)

PLUS:

"(surprise title)" (T.B.A.) (directed by ?????????????) (super-rare and obscure Italian classic, finally coming to DVD in a 2-disc Special Edition!!!)

"(surprise title)" (T.B.A.) (directed by ?????????????) (super-rare and obscure Italian masterpiece, finally making its way to DVD in a 2-disc Special Edition!!!)

That's all for now folks!

Wayne & Clive

Submerged in ATLANTIS!

2010-01-04T01:07:00.002Z

First of all, a very happy New Year and New Decade wishes to one and all from Sarcophilous Films!

Well, how better to start 2010 than by announcing another release delay! =D

ATLANTIS had originally been planned for around the end of 2009, sometime between October and end of November at the latest. The director had dug out the original camera elements for the film and this was an exciting prospect for us...being able to work on our first release utlilising the original materials to come up with the best quality film transfer possible.

Well...nothing is ever as simple as that, right? Right. Especially where Sarcophilous is concerned anyway! =D

The film was originally shot on 16mm reversal stock, which means that whatever was shot in-camera also became the cutting print and the final print. Such elements yield problems the likes of splice glue issues, more than than the usual amount of scratches and dirt, etc, etc. Still, Mike went through the 16mm elements foot by foot cleaning it by hand and felt the overall condition was better than he had expected.

The hand-cleaned camera-elements were sent off to a company to be professionally transfered, something that was meant to include a basic clean-up of the worst dirt and scratches but that would leave us to further correct and clean up any freshly-struck transfer when returned. Splice damage was also part of the work paid for. However, the 2 weeks quoted for the work was "queued" and we were looking at possibly double or triple the time. No problem. We were fine with that. Except, when we would chase up progress we would find that work had still not actually begun!

Several phone calls over subsequent weeks would eventually offer us the promise that work on the transfer was pencilled in for the first week of October and that we could expect it no later than 2 weeks after. The lady on the other end of the line was even polite enough to ask whether we were "desperate for it back soon", to which i pointed out that we had plans to release it sometime in October but that the end of October would be a time we were looking at having work finished and the authoring of the DVD rolling. She was confident that work would be done, the transfer and elements returned in advance of that date and that we would meet our somewhat dubious deadline.

Early October came and went and I found myself yet again phoning up to find out what was taking so long...to which the response was one of...uncertainty on the other end of the line! The person i spoke with was unsure of the work and had to go ask someone if they knew what the deal was! Upon returning to the phone she informed me that work was indeed in progress...in fact, it was nearly finished and would be couriered by the end of the day or at least sent no later than the next morning...

A day later, Mike received his original 16mm camera elements back along with the freshly created digital master. Waiting anxiously to hear his thoughts on what we envisioned would be a fairly nice transfer...sharp, colourful and reasonably clean enough...i was a little surprised to hear from the director that the transfer was indeed sharp and colourful, yet with a deluge of vertical "tramline scratches", dirt and even the film melting off the screen where splice-glue issues were apparent!

After viewing the new master myself, i was even more horrified to discover that Mike had been maybe a little restrained and polite in his assessment of the digital master! It gave me the impression that the company ('Alive Studios' in case you wish to avoid them anytime in the future) had forgotten about the work completely and, upon my final phone call prompt, had rushed a transfer through that day and sent it the next morning! Indeed, the colours were lovely and the clarity was great...as good as we could have wished for in fact. But the basic/worst damage and dirt removal that was meant to be part of the basic service we paid for was not done and their claims to repair any splice damage/issues also was obviously not undertaken. What we ended up with was a beautiful, vibrant, colourful and sharp transfer of ATLANTIS ruined by more vertical tramline scratches than an old silent movie and the image virtually slipping off the screen at times during spliced sections. It was deemed unusable, due to the amount of time and money that would have been needed to try and make it good...

Fearing that we may have to go with the old 3/4" U-Matic master, i was happy to learn that Mike still had the original 1" video master that was originally created from the camera-elements when the film was completed. This 1" video master had been used to create the U-Matic master all those years back and so would be superior to that less-desirable 3/4" source even if it would maybe not match the sharpness and colour palette of the digital transfer.

Mike sent the 1" video master off to a studio he has used in the past and they created a fresh Betacam SP master. The transfer looks clean and stable and the colours, whilst not to the strength of the digital transfer, are solid. With work still to be finished on getting it just right, we are sure this will be a happy ending to an otherwise nightmare of a few months for this film!

The director has been working on correcting various issues with the transfer as far as image and audio quality as well as edits and even continued to do so over the Xmas period! And, just so you know, he even huddled together actors Phil Lyndon, Judith Holding and June Bunday to sit in on the commentary with him and they had great fun recording it....so, all's well that ends well!

So, with various issues causing setbacks (the lazy transfer service of 'Alive Studios', the recession, distribution hassles, etc, etc.) the ATLANTIS release was put on hold. The work continues, the end is drawing near...but it could be a month or more before we can finally get this one out there...

We just thought you would like to know what has been going on...=D

Your thoughts on the work, the release and anything else Sarcophilous Films-related are always welcome...so jump in!

Special Offer! - Buy Invitation to Hell & Skare on DVD for only $24.99!

2009-12-30T19:53:00.001Z

Thats right folks, we are giving you a early halloween discount on both DVD's when bought together for only $24.99 with free shipping! So save some cash for our next release of Atlantis and add them both to your collection today! Just Click on the store link at the top of the page and you will see the special offer. Click Buy, checkout and your done. Easy!

Downloads
Skare digital Download will hopefully be available Monday/Tuesday. Keep checking back.

Promo DVD's
Our Promo DVD's are almost done and in the mail monday/tuesday, so magazine / e-zine reviewers should recieve their reviewing only copy within the next 2 weeks.

Skare DVD Pre-Orders & Downloads + Atlantis Updates

2009-12-30T19:49:00.003Z

Its been a real slog on this one I have to say. We learnt a few things with Invitation to Hell that we put into practice with Skare, but as with anything, its a constant learning curve and new things kept cropping up we had to deal with.

The biggest hurdle was the pressing plants reluctancy to actually print and package the DVD artwork design by our awesome graphics designer guy Corlen Kruger, saying they felt it was too graphic for their production line to work with. However we talked with the production house and after serveral phone calls and emails they decided to let us have what we wanted and would get the artwork printed another way.

Ongoing minimal changes here and there with menu design and the DVD artwork meant the days crept into weeks But we like to think like this. We may be a small operation right now and it is acknowledged we are not chucking out a release a month (yet!), but we do like to put everything into what we do and give it our all and pay attention to detail to give you the fan, the collector, something that little different.

Skare has now been at the manufacturers for a little over 10 days and is due back to us any day now! We have opened pre-ordering for Skare on the site, with Digital full ISO DVD Download files available arround the 19th September. So go ahead and order your next Murphy Movie on DVD!

Before we finish this update, Atlantis has been at the transfer studios a little over a month now so should back with us real soon. DVD Artwork for Atlantis is also under way, so fingers crossed and the devil on ourside, Atlantis shouldnt take as long as it did for Skare to be finished. Maybe a December release for Atlantis? We'll keep you posted on that one..