Reel Reviews

Warning: the following release is intended for Grindhouse aficionados and trash trailer lovers only!!!

Proving itself to be a bit of a history lesson in trash cinema, 42^nd Street is an exploitation lover’s wet dream: almost four hours of nothing but badass trailers.  That’s right.  Trailers.  No movie, just the classically low-budget trailers in all their glory.  From hard to find blaxploitation films to the cheeky sexploitation genre, this release has it all.  It’s got the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll kook and it’s got the horror smirk and quirk.  It’s also got a lot of T & A and, for those who need a little warning, an awfully large eyeful of cock-a-doodle doo.

42^nd Street Forever is actually a combination of the first two volumes originally released on DVD.  It also features new trailers not previously seen in those releases.  Now, to be specific for Middle America, these trailers are not adverts for pornos.  While there is a hell of a lot of sex and skin on display, 42^nd Street Forever brings together the rock and schlock cinema classics (?) that once made New York’s 42nd Street so … well-known (ehem).  Big difference, right?  Well, there is.  Some of these films are actually pretty damn good.

Sneak peeks at undeniable classics like Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45, the not-too-often seen Savage!, the impressively cast Chained Heat (with John Vernon, Linda Blair and Sybil Danning), Shogun Assassin, and Ruggero Deodato's Raiders of Atlantis are more than enough reasons why this should be required viewing for anyone with the slightest interest in what the Grindhouse scene has to offer.  Then there’s the hysterically titled revenge flick They Call Her One Eye, an advert that redefines what trailers shouldn’t do, and College Girls, a sexploitation film overdubbed with college lectures whose combination makes for a bellyful of laughs.

They just don’t make trailers like these anymore.  Today, we are lucky to get a trailer lasting 90 seconds.  In the 60’s through the 80’s (the span this collection stretches), the trailers were a bit more fleshed out (pun intended).  Plots and twists are ruined.  Violence is amped up, as is the nudity.  Most of the trailers clock in at a whopping five to six minutes and go out of their way to titillate.  Plenty of time to see the good stuff.

Speaking of the good stuff, the complete list of trailers found on 42^nd Street Forever is:

Black Samson / Savage! / Kenner / The Guy From Harlem / Welcome Home, Brother Charles / Boss Nigger / Honky / Sugar Hill / Rolling Thunder / Act Of Vengeance / Ms. 45 / They Call Her One Eye / Ginger / Savage Sisters / Chained Heat / Delinquent Schoolgirls / The Pom Pom Girls / The Teasers Go To Paris / The Teacher / College Girls / Street Girls / The Babysitter / Teenage Mother / I, A Woman / When Women Had Tails / The Curious Female / The Tale Of The Dean’s Wife / The Minx / The Centerfold Girls / The Depraved / Invitation To Ruin / Helga / The Sun, The Place And The Girls / Fairytales / Flesh Gordon / Starcrash / Dark Star / The Raiders Of Atlantis / Matango / The Green Slime / They Came From Beyond Space / The Deadly Spawn / The Dark / The Evil / The Evictors / The Undertaker And His Pals / The Devil’s Nightmare / Deadly Blessing / Rabid / Eye Of The Cat / Mark Of The Witch / I Dismember Mama And The Blood Spattered Bride / Women And The Bloody Terror And Night Of Bloody Horror / Dr. Butcher M.D. / The Grim Reaper / Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon / Wicked Wicked / The Flesh And Blood Show / The Three Dimensions Of Greta / Hard Candy / Panorama Blue / Italian Stallion / Maid In Sweden / Pornography In Denmark / Secret Africa / Shocking Asia / Taboos Of The World / Chappaqua / Salo: 120 Days Of Sodom / The 44 Specialist / The Bullet Machine / Death Drive / Spy In Your Eye / Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die / The Last Of The Secret Agents / The Crippled Master / Shogun Assassin / SuperMan Chu / Born Losers / Hell’s Angels On Wheels / Devil’s Angels / The Pink Angels / Werewolves On Wheels / Dixie Dynamite / Mr. Billion / Super Fuzz / Sunset Cove / Van Nuys Blvd. / Skatetown U.S.A.

Even if one of the trailers fails to impress, keep watching.  There’s sure to be a gem just waiting for you to discover.  For fans of the genre, this is a must own.  Blood, violence, skin, and revenge, revenge, revenge, 42^nd Street Forever is the place to be.

MPAA Rating: This title has not been rated by the MPAA.
Director: Various
Writer: Various
Cast: Various
Genre: Documentary | Exploitation
Tagline: Blu-ray Edition
Memorable Movie Quote: "Werewolves on Wheels"
Distributor: Synapse Films
Release Date: No theatrical release
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 8, 2012

Synopsis: Collection of movie trailers

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - May 8, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Well, we’re really pushing the limits of the technology here.  I say that because the AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfers might be in HD, but that’s no reason to expect spotless results from truly inferior source material.  Yes, the scratches, scrapes, debris, and choppy film inadequacies are present.  No one has cleaned these prints.  You get the real deal.  It’s gritty, dirty, and very little proof of a true HD upgrade.  While texture and detail comes through better than a standard DVD, these puppies are a bit half-baked.  Come on, though, these are exploitation films.  They were probably this awful looking when they premiered.  No one stored these in a cool, dry place.  Watch it once, trash it twice.  This attitude extends to the DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track.  Good, but not perfect.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Yes!  Provided by AV Maniacs’ Edwin Samuelson, Fangoria’s Mike Gingold and Temple Of Schlock’s Chris Poggiali, the near four hour commentary is a solid recording.  All three are huge fans of the genre and it carries over in their excitement for the trailers.  They wax poetically and discuss trivia about the films, their favorites, and fun anecdotes.

Special Features:

• Do animated menu screens count?