PAUL NASCHY

[horrorhunter]

This thread is for anything pertaining to the late, great Paul Naschy (Jacinto Molina Alvarez). I did the customary search before starting this thread and the nearest that surfaced was one from several years ago called Paul Naschy: The Spanish Lon Chaney Jr., but since Naschy also wrote the screenplays for most of his important films, as well as directing a few, comparing him to Chaney really doesn't ring true...hence the new thread.

In this first post I would like to give a heads-up to anyone watching the Media Blasters/Shriek Show DVD for Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (aka The Mark Of The Wolfman, aka Hell's Creatures) (1968). This DVD is the only US home video release for the film and is very good. There are some nice special features including a lengthy commentary track by Sam Sherman, the president of Independent International who was the US distributor of the film back in the early '70s. Sherman gives insight as to the history of the film's distribution, as well as a detailed explanation of the retitling of the picture to work Frankenstein into the title. Anyway, my heads-up concerns the Naschy interview. It is in Spanish with no subtitles (obvious mistake) and the upsetting part is that after I played part of it and it started forming strange multicolored patterns on my TV screen, when I backed out of it those same weird patterns were interfering with my viewing of everything on the disc! I was afraid the DVD was screwing up and I would have to replace it. That disc is OOP and trades for a tidy sum on the secondary market. I bought mine new back in 2005 and I sure don't want to have to pay several times what I originally gave just to get the same DVD back. The good news is that I reloaded the disc and all is well. My advice is not to click on that Naschy interview (it wouldn't do you any good unless you speak Spanish anyway). I've never had that happen with a DVD before...like a little Pandora's Box on that one track! Freaky. 

Here's the poster for Frankenstein's Bloody Terror by monster artist supreme Gray Morrow.


For any Naschy fan not already aware here is a link to a fun podcast featuring the films of Paul Naschy called NaschyCast:
http://naschycast.blogspot.com/
Rod and Troy put on a good show and have covered just about all of Naschy's films up to this point, but they also cover films with cast and crew related to the NaschyVerse in episodes called Beyond Naschy. They often get sidetracked but that's just part of the fun.

[Memphremagog]

One of my favorite Naschy films:

ASSIGNMENT TERROR(aka Dracula vs Frankenstein)



I wish they would release a cleaned up uncut version of this on Blu-ray finally..

[Memphremagog]

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB(1973)



Another great Naschy film with him playing an undead sorcerer who's severed head continues to cause mayhem and debauchery long after his supposed execution. Great looking ladies in this one! Between Naschy and Armando De Ossorio, they kept traditional horror alive in the Seventies even as Hammer was burning out.

[horrorhunter]

One of my favorite Naschy films:

ASSIGNMENT TERROR(aka Dracula vs Frankenstein)



I wish they would release a cleaned up uncut version of this on Blu-ray finally..

I agree wholeheartedly! Most people trash Assignment Terror as being terrible, but I love it. Sure, it's heavily flawed but there are a LOT of things it gets right. The crazy comic book plot is one of my favorite things about it. The Mummy looks awesome. The fight between the Daninsky Werewolf and the Mummy is kickass, as well as the fight between the Werewolf and the Faranksulun Monster is pretty damn good. Patty Shepard is gorgeous, as is Karin Dor. And Craig Hill is very Bond-like. Michael Rennie got criticized for sleepwalking through his role but I disagree with that- I think he turned in a pretty good performance.

I think you're right...if we got an uncut remastered version on Blu (or just DVD) with some killer special features I believe the naysayers might rethink this little gem. I give it a 6/10 even in the wretched form we currently have to watch it.

[horrorhunter]

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB(1973)



Another great Naschy film with him playing an undead sorcerer who's severed head continues to cause mayhem and debauchery long after his supposed execution. Great looking ladies in this one! Between Naschy and Armando De Ossorio, they kept traditional horror alive in the Seventies even as Hammer was burning out.

With ya, bro! Horror Rises From The Tomb is excellent horror. It oozes the old Skywald Horror-Mood that Archaic Al used to promote in the macabre Skywald monster mags Psycho, Nightmare, and Scream. And, we got Eurohottie Supreme Helga Line in all her nude glory on the uncut BCI release (that almost invisible sheer panty can be seen right through). One of the saddest days in monster movie DVD history is when the BCI Spanish Horror DVD gravy train came off the rails. I have the few that came out except for the Blu double feature. They were planning Night Of The Howling Beast. Can you imagine?! We could have had MOST of the classic Naschy films uncut and restored in time. 

[Memphremagog]

Another one of my Naschy favorites:

VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY(1973)




This  is another film that badly needs to be released in DVD or Blu ray format over here in the States uncut.

[horrorhunter]

Another one of my Naschy favorites:

VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY(1973)




This  is another film that badly needs to be released in DVD or Blu ray format over here in the States uncut.

Yes, The Mummy's Revenge (aka La Venganza De La Momia) is VERY strong. I think it's one of the best Mummy portrayals in the history of cinema and rivals Hammer's Mummy. I recently bought a good DVD version of this from Cult Action which runs a few minutes shy of the full 91 min. run time stated in the IMDb listing but is a clear transfer in widescreen with all or at least most of the gore intact. The big shortcoming is bad sound on the English dub. But, prior to this all I could find was the crappy TV pan&scan version from Sinister Cinema with all the gore panned away from. The sad thing is that all of the nude scenes may be lost from this film. Damned censors...very frustrating. Anyway, I sincerely hope that someday that footage is found and we do get a good release of this excellent Mummy film.

Regarding Cult Action, I just discovered them a few days ago and ordered some hard to find films on DVD to give them a try. I normally only turn to the gray market as a last resort, but I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised with the Cult Action product. Most of their DVDs are $12.99 and are picture discs in heavy DVD cases with very nice artwork (usually poster art) on the labels and each case is in a plastic sleeve and very securely packed (my order withstood the rigors of Nekron's Dogs very well). The prints are as nice as available for a given film without offering remastered pressings. I also ordered Fury Of The Wolfman (nude scenes intact from the Swedish VHS source with subs), The Ghoul (Tyburn), Eyeball (Lenzi Giallo), 2 disc version of Night Of The Howling Beast (one is the pretty Spanish print sans nudity, and the other is the grungier Independent International release with all the naughty bits intact which is what I was really after), and a really nice uncut copy of Inquisition which I had been wanting to see for a long time. Cult Action is for real. Check them out here:
http://www.cultaction.com/

[horrorhunter]

The Hanging Woman (1973) (aka Terror Of The Living Dead, aka Orgy Of The Living Dead) is another delightfully macabre Naschy film where he plays a necrophiliac gravedigger who is eventually raised as one of a group of zombies by a mad scientist. It also features Eurohotties Dyanik Zurokowska, Maria Pia Conte, and (as The Hanging Woman) Aurora de Alba. The old '70s Horror-Mood is strong here.

The OOP Troma DVD is the best one to have. The entire film is restored and there are numerous special features. Some of the restored footage is less than high def but most importantly it's there. Great release.

[Memphremagog]

WEREWOLF SHADOW(1972)



Certainly one of , if not the best of Naschy's outings as the Werewolf. Lovely ladies, great cast and vampire action make this one of the must-sees in the series. It's worth it to get the film as restored as Werewolf Shadow rather than the rather choppy version entitled THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN for US markets.

[Memphremagog]

I went on the Cult Action site and ordered copies of THE MUMMY'S REVENGE and NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST as these were the Naschy titles that I've been missing most. Cant wait to see them! I have the Howling Beast on VHS but havent watched it for years as my video tape player has been disconnected for ages. Looking forward to these titles and thanks for the site link, horrorhunter.

[Joeynines]

I went on the Cult Action site and ordered copies of THE MUMMY'S REVENGE and NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST as these were the Naschy titles that I've been missing most. Cant wait to see them! I have the Howling Beast on VHS but havent watched it for years as my video tape player has been disconnected for ages. Looking forward to these titles and thanks for the site link, horrorhunter.

Whats the web address of this site?

[Memphremagog]

Whats the web address of this site?

http://www.cultaction.com/

[horrorhunter]

I went on the Cult Action site and ordered copies of THE MUMMY'S REVENGE and NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST as these were the Naschy titles that I've been missing most. Cant wait to see them! I have the Howling Beast on VHS but havent watched it for years as my video tape player has been disconnected for ages. Looking forward to these titles and thanks for the site link, horrorhunter.

You're welcome. That Mummy's Revenge print is beautiful with the drawback being bad sound. As we said, hopefully the naughty bits will be recovered and some company like Code Red, Severin, or Kino, will do a pressing with some cool extras. 

[Memphremagog]

You're welcome. That Mummy's Revenge print is beautiful with the drawback being bad sound. As we said, hopefully the naughty bits will be recovered and some company like Code Red, Severin, or Kino, will do a pressing with some cool extras. 

That would be great if it eventually happens...I've watched Mummy's Revenge in segments on Youtube but it's not quite the same as seeing the whole thing in a decent print.

[horrorhunter]

The Fury Of The Wolfman (1972) (aka The Wolfman Never Sleeps) is the turd of the early Daninsky films. The main reason for this was incompetent work by director J.M. Zabalza who was a renowned drunk. Naschy wrote in his autobiography Memoirs of a Wolfman that Zabalza stayed drunk during the entire shoot and even had his 14 year old nephew make script changes on the fly. No wonder we got so much of that silly insane dialogue. The film was originally to be directed by Enrique Eguiluz who did a good job on The Mark Of The Wolfman, but for some reason he was replaced by the hack boozer Zabalza. Anyway, the film is fun in a weird chaotic way with downright hilarious dialogue at times. And you can see the elements of a good monster movie beneath the haze of disjointed confusion. If Eguiluz had remained on the project we may have another Daninsky classic to savor. As it is we have a cinematic curiosity beaming with wasted potential and good for a few laughs.



The Spanish version was put out by Alpha Video and shows up on several PD collections. It is a poor quality pan&scan stripped of the nudity. The version to get is the international version with nude scenes intact as sourced from a VHS with Swedish subtitles. I ordered my DVD of the international version from Cult Action. The print is widescreen and has the naughty bits but still isn't sharp, but currently that's the best available. I doubt if anyone would go to the trouble of releasing a remastered high quality version of this film. It probably wouldn't be worth it thanks to Zabalza's ineptitude. Sot.