Saturday, January 6, 2018

TOP 60 DVD/BLU-RAY RELEASES OF 2017 PART 6

Well, this is it.

This is the final part of my Top 60 releases of the year! These are the Top 10 for 2017.

10. RETURN OF THE APE MAN 1944 (OLIVE) BLU-RAY...Bela Lugosi and John Carradine star in the fun Monogram thriller about a cave man brought back to life. A real surprise release from Olive.

9. NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS/LORLEY'S GRASP 1971/1972 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY...An excellent double feature of Spanish horror from Amando De Ossorio. Bikini clad vampire women and a lizard monster that rips out human hearts.

8. FROM HELL IT CAME 1957 (WARNER ARCHIVE) BLU-RAY... This is a favorite 50's horror film for me. The Blu-ray presentation is excellent!! A killer tree monster stalks a south seas island.

7. ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED 1966 (CHEEZY FLICKS)...Released on Halloween last year this little gem centers on aliens who are slowly killing everyone on a small island which is getting hotter every hour. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star. Yes, the "fanboys" bitched about this being a bootleg and stuff, but ignore them.

6. INQUISITION 1976 (MONDO MACABRO) BLU-RAY...Great Paul Naschy film about a witch hunter who falls in love with a beautiful woman who is actually a witch. Naschy also directed this gem.

5. CYBORG 2087 1966 (KINO) BLU-RAY...I was thrilled when I heard about this release! This film has always been a favorite of mine. Michael Rennie stars as a cyborg who is sent to the past to prevent his own creation. This is the original "Terminator".

4. SHADOW OF CHIKARA 1977 (SINISTER CINEMA)...Great Western/horror film that had sadly vanished from my collective memory. Joe Don Baker stars as a civil war soldier who searches for gold after the war, and get far more than he bargained for. I was elated when I got this from Sinister and found out this was actually a movie I loved many years ago but hadn't seen for 40 years! An excellent film that every horror fan should see.

3. ISLAND OF TERROR 1966 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY...One of my 10 personal favorite films of all time was finally released to Blu-ray totally uncut and looking better than ever. Peter Cushing stars in this nifty thriller about bone eating silicates on a small island.

2. TRAIN TO BUSAN 2016 (WELL GO USA) BLU RAY...A real find and one of the best zombie films I have ever seen. This is a Korean made thriller about a zombie outbreak that affects those on a bullet train. Great thrills, some damn scary scenes, great acting and characters and one of the most downbeat endings I have ever seen. A MUST FOR HORROR FANS.

And this brings us to the Number one release of the year...it was a hard choice between this and the number two film above, because both a very deserving of the title. The number one release is....

1. CALTIKI THE IMMORTAL MONSTER 1959 (ARROW) BLU-RAY...An all time favorite from childhood was given a beautiful transfer from Arrow. A giant blob monster threatens Italy. I love this film and always have. The stark black and white photography, the mixture of adventure/horror and science fiction is nicely done. There are some scenes of the creature devouring people that were quite shocking for 1959. Arrow did all horror fans a favor with this release.

There you are...my Top 60 releases of the year 2017. Over the last 6 weekends I have presented this list 10 per week,and have enjoyed all of the input I have received. I do want to mention one release that gets and Honorable Mention. That distinction goes to a TV show that was released in Jan. 2017 by CBS called THE YOUNG LAWYERS.

While it didn't make the Top 60, it is an excellent TV show which ran for one year back in 1970. The show starred Lee J. Cobb, Zalman King and the gorgeous Judy Pace. A review will be forth coming of the show soon.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the lists. I always find a few from yours to add to add to my wish list.

    ReplyDelete