The Bootleg Files: Cow on the Moon

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 746: “Cow on the Moon” (1959 animated short by Dušan Vukotić).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely due to a problem with rights clearance.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely at this time.

During the mid-1950s, Yugoslavia began to make its presence known on the global cinema scene through the output of Zagreb Film, a Croatian-based studio specializing in offbeat animated shorts. At the time, animated shorts were still dominated by the Hollywood studios and their line-up of beloved zany characters. But the Zagreb Film animators slowly found their way into major film festivals and theatrical release thanks to inventive, stylish and subversively funny mini-productions.
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The Last Starfighter (1984): Remastered [Blu-Ray]

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Felix Vasquez

Nick Castle’s science fiction adventure film is one of my all time favorite “Star Wars” rip offs. It’s a film that fully embraces the hero’s journey trope and has a damn good time with it, bringing in robot clones, big headed aliens, and a pretty great mythology begging for a franchise. “The Last Starfighter” thankfully hasn’t lost any of its luster even in the midst of the glut of “Star Wars” wannabes, and it’s still a big personal favorite of mine.

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The Dark and the Wicked (2020)

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Emilie Black

Darkness lurks in a farm house where a family reunites as the father is slowly dying in his own bed. As things start going weirder and darker, the family has to decide if they want to stay and face the darkness or run and avoid themselves.

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Seis días en la Oscuridad (2003)

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Felix Vasquez

Director Gabrial Soriano’s “Seis días en la Oscuridad” is yet another of the many commentaries on a society that’s dominated by kidnappings for the purposes of profit. In a land where employment is slim, kidnappings are almost a way of life there, almost mundane. And a way to use that method to pull someone out of hot water eventually snowballs in to endless bouts of shit hitting the fan.

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Dynamite Warrior (2006)

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Felix Vasquez

The clear indicator that this is simply the lamest of the exports so far is the first twenty minutes where director Chalerm Wongpim asks us to enjoy the realism of the epic battle scenes, while also forcing us to swallow a scene of our hero Siang riding a large rocket in the air. He then takes part in one of the most boring fight sequences I’ve ever seen. Most notable is the choreography which is slow and clunky, while most of the scenes are so poorly edited that they look like rehearsals for actual scenes we’ll never get to watch. It’s the first time I’ve seen a flying knee kick and not gasp in amazement.

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Karate Warriors (1976)

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Felix Vasquez

Kazuhiko Yamaguchi’s “Karate Warriors” (aka “Killing Fist and Child”) is a solid action film mainly because of Sonny Chiba, and because Chiba’s charisma makes up for the overall plot’s shortcomings. His mystique is often entertaining and there are also the pre-requisite great fight sequences. Chiba is a force of nature here, and like “Yojimbo” he plays the rival gangs against one another for his own personal sake.

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The Mystery of Rondo Hatton

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Phil Hall

Rondo Hatton was the unlikeliest movie star of the 1940s: a bit player who came to the edge of horror film stardom due to his acromegaly-shaped face, only to die before his starring features were released. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” Hatton’s biographer Scott Gallinghouse offers insight on Hatton’s strange and compelling life.

The episode can be heard here.