Film at Eleven

Surreal, grisly and gruesome beyond Freddy’s Krueger’s wildest dreams, Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei) rises on DVD February 19 under the Dimension Extreme label from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company.

A supernatural sleeper from Japan that swept the world’s film festival circuit, Nightmare Detective is a “tense, disturbing and nightmarish film” (Fangoria) that sets an aggressive new standard for screen terror by creeping into the fears that reside only in the subconscious. “Immensely gritty and gruesome” (Cinema Without Borders), the film maintains the darkly atmospheric tradition of J-Horror classics such as Ringu and Pulse, creating a moody and unsettling new nightmare worthy of its iconic predecessors. Exploring terror too sinister and imagery too shocking for the waking world, Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei) follows the macabre midnight visits of a man who invades his victims’ dreams, convincing them to kill themselves in real life. But when no one believes the terrible truth, it is up to one detective to pursue the killer into the dreams themselves, at the very edge of madness.

Starring Ryuhei Matsuda (9 Souls), Shinya Tsukamoto (Ichi the Killer) and J-pop idol Hitomi, Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei) is directed by Tsukamoto (Tetsuo, Hiroku the Goblin). Stylish and terrifying, the Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei) DVD will include a making of featurette and will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.95.

The fourth edition of EcoVision Festival, will take place from 5 to 10 of June 2008 and has issued its call for entries. Regulations and the entry form are available from the Download section of their site.

The topic of the festival is “the environment” and its aim is to promote cinematographic and documentary production in addressing the relationship between man and the environment, the safeguard of the territory, human rights, the felling of forests, the relationships with the city and new technologies, the radioactive tests in the several worlds’area, the eco-sustainable development, how the concept of environment in rich countries differs from that belonging to poor countries, but also mere descriptions of meaningful environmental areas, and all the productions concerning any aspect of environment and nature.

Entries from any country, completed between 2006 and 2008 will be considered, although the festival prefers previously unreleased films. Deadline for submission is March 14th 2008.

Witty and bursting with high-energy action Royal Tramp 1 and its sequel Royal Tramp 2, land on DVD February 12, under the Dragon Dynasty label from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company.

Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) stars as a fast-talking conman who manages to avoid death and score hot women, all while trying to save the Ming Dynasty from falling. Based on the book The Deer & The Cauldron and lauded as one of the top five grossing films in Hong Kong in 1992, director Wong Jing’s Royal Tramp 1 is full of martial arts battle sequences, spectacles of swordplay, thrilling escapades and loads of laughs. Released together for the first time as a double feature, the two-disc DVD includes commentaries by Hong Kong expert Bey Logan, original theatrical trailers and an interview with Royal Tramp 2’s writer/director Wong Jing.

The Royal Tramp 1 and Royal Tramp 2 DVD will be available at the suggested retail price of $19.95

Since its establishment in 1972, the Japan Foundation has been showing subtitled Japanese films overseas as part of its efforts to introduce Japanese culture to the world. In 2004, they began a new series of film events offering prints subtitled in English to foreign residents of Japan, in the hope of giving a wider public at home the opportunity to watch some of the treasures of Japanese cinema.

At this 9th event, five excellent works by director Yamamoto Satsuo - whose works deserve second look, after a period of quasi-neglect - will be shown. At this event, three of the films (A Band of Asassins, Return of the Band of Assassins, and Solar Eclipse) will be shown in brand new prints. Two others are also in very good condition.

His works were shown at the special show last November, at a retrospective jointly organized by TOKYO FILMeX and the National Film Center. The Japan Foundation provided special support to this project by lending new prints specially made for the occasion.

Yamamoto undertook a wide range of works, from left-leaning social dramas to purely entertaining films. Many turned out to be masterpieces with earnest messages, at the same time successfully emanating true pleasures of cinema. This February, the Japan Foundation are happy to present five strong works that expose certain aspects of the Japanese Society. Stellar performances by such actors as Ichikawa Raizo, Wakao Ayako, Tamiya Jiro and Nakadai Tatsuya also make these films very special.

In addition to the screenings, film critic, Chris Fujiwara, will discuss the strengths of Yamamoto’s films.

Yes finally naked boobs in High Def is here! Imagine Veronica Zemanova 1920 X 1080! Well it’s time to stop dreaming, the first of many Actiongirls titles hits Blu-ray for the first time!

Actiongirls already turned the web on fire reaching over 1 million visits per day! Then continued to put the flamethrowers to the competition with the ongoing Actiongirls.com DVD series! Once the blaze started no one could stop the winds from traveling from Web to DVD to now Blu-ray! This is only the first of many Blu-ray titles to come!

From Web to DVD to Blu-ray! Actiongirls is on fire! If it’s hot online wait till you see it in 1080p HD.

Be the first to see the best boobs in the world take over your HDTV on High Def! You won’t believe the clarity and beautiful imagery of Actiongirls on Blu-ray! Unbelievable! The Skin Tones, The Color the Detail will blow you away!

Click here to check out the trailer and order the DVD.

Official selections for the 2008 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival are now on-line at bigsky.bside.com.

From February 14th to 20th, 2008, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival celebrates its 5th year by showcasing 98 films from 40 countries. The official selections represent a broad array of filmmaking styles, formats and production dates, from classics to World Premieres. The 2008 films were selected from nearly 1000 submissions from across the globe.

Since 2004 the festival has grown into a premier international venue for exhibition of innovative, contemporary and classic non-fiction cinema. Screenings are held in the historic Wilma Theater in scenic downtown Missoula, Montana. BSDFF has built a reputation for its programming excellence and is the largest event of its kind in the American West.

The event includes three competitions.
o Documentary Feature Competition - The award for Best Documentary Feature will be given to one film 50 minutes or longer in length. A cash award of $1000 will be presented by IndiePix.
o Documentary Short Competition - The award for Best Documentary Short will be given to one film up to 50 minutes in length.
o Big Sky Award Competition - The Big Sky Award will be given to one film of any length with significant content pertaining to the American West.

The 2008 jury includes distinguished filmmakers, industry professionals and academics. The jury members will present the awards at a reception and press conference on Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Competition films will be announced next week.

Each year BSDFF recognizes the work of important filmmakers by highlighting their contribution to documentary arts in the Big Sky Retrospective Series. The 2008 series will present the work of Hart Perry and Dana Heinz Perry. This distinguished filmmaking duo continues to make exciting new work today and will be two of this year’s BSDFF Judges. Their latest work, SEX: The Revolution!, will have its World Premiere at Big Sky this year.

Q & A sessions with filmmakers follow most screenings. This year over President’s Day Weekend, Big Sky offers three panel discussions that are free and open to the public.

The Opening Night Film, The Gates, presented by HBO Documentary Films, will feature the latest work from legendary documentarian, Albert Maysles. Missoula audiences will enjoy free public admission for this special Valentines Day screening, courtesy of HBO. Co-director Antonio Ferrara will be in attendance.

Passes are now available for sale on-line at www.bigskyfilmfest.org and will also be sold at the box office at the Wilma Theatre during the week of the festival.

Each year, B-Independent.com - one of the more venerable film sites on the internet - announces their Underground Film of the Year. And this year, the honour goes to John Paul Kinhart’s Blood, Boobs & Beast, the compelling story of Don Dohler, whose movies have been called everything from oddly brilliant to some of the worst films of all time.

There is a B-Independent review of this film online here and, of course, the Pulpmovies view can be found here.

Rogues Harbor Studios’ inaugural release, the award-winning documentary Shoot Down, will open theatrically in select US cities on January 25, the studio announced today.

The film, by first-time director and Rogues Harbor co-founder Cristina Khuly, a Miami native, is the first feature-length film to take on the true and gripping story of the 1996 shoot down of two unarmed U.S. civilian planes by Cuban fighter jets.

Winner of 2007 Sonoma Film Festival honors for Best Documentary, Shoot Down follows on the critically acclaimed War/Dance, of which Rogues Harbor Studios was an associate producer.

The Veil is a epic low budget horror film made over four years (while working jobs) started back in Dec 2001 before the influx of new zombie movies!

Inspired by Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste by what you can do with very little money, The Veil holds its own in this original horror debut. And Brain Damage Films are releasing the DVD worldwide today.

The 150min saga is a pschological horror film a hi-octane thriller and just as much a story about survival, a thinking man’s horror film.. an almost what if? cold war story about soldiers forced to wear gasmasks at all times due to a highly contagious disease, echoing current matters just as much. The Veil is an example of what can be done with no money and a crew of three.

The DVD is available from Amazon, DVDEmpire, Tigerdirect and Virgin.com, among others.

Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence, the 7 minute animated film starring Paula Garces is available for only 30 days at Latino Review, then it will be making it’s rounds on the festival circuit.

Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence is an animated short film prequel to Alex Ferrari’s upcoming feature film Red Princess Blues starring the lovely Paula Garces. Artist extraordinaire and Creative Director of the Visual Effects House Numb Robot, Dan Cregan makes his directorial debut. RPB Animated is a chance to explore the world of “Princess,” the main character of Red Princess Blues. The film is done completely hand drawn with a few shoots using 3-D and pays homage to the great Japanese Anime films of the past.

Click here to watch it.