Are you a fan of the original classic TV shows like KNIGHTRIDER, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, MAGNUM P.I? Well, if so, you are a fan of GLEN A. LARSON Productions... and that means that you have to check out this week's coolest listing... the made-for-TV pilot THE HIGHWAYMAN. It's a post-apocalyptic derivative based on a traveling secret government lawman who drives around in a futuristic armored 18-wheeler truck rig, powered by rockets and lots of other goodies. Cult actor SAM J. JONES of FLASH GORDON fame stars as the tough-as-nails titular character. What blows my mind on this actioner is the amount of cult film star-power in this gem. How many times have you seen ROWDY RODDY PIPER, MICHAEL BERRYMAN, WINGS HAUSER, LYLE ALZADO, JIMMY SMITS, and G. GORDON LIDDY all in the same film? And that's not all. The co-writer of this gem is none other than the Godfather of Gore... Mr. HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS, which also probably explains why WILLIAM KERWIN (star of H.G. LEWIS classicks BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!) found his way onto the cast. And this space-age truck must be seen if you have never had the pleasure of catching THE HIGHWAYMAN on prime-time before it was canceled years ago. And if you like mean mother truckers, you also might want to check out the other 18-wheeler themed epic this week, THUNDER RUN, starring FORREST TUCKER in his last feature film along with co-star cult hottie ELIZABETH KAITAN. It looks like we are a bit short this week on hard-core gore, but we do have SHALLOW GRAVE, which is a rare slasher film about 4 teenage college girls terrorized, stalked, and murdered in a small Georgian town. For lighter horror-fare, check out I WAS A TEENAGE VAMPIRE, a highly entertaining and likable horror comedy, which might make a nice double feature with the 80s schlock WEEKEND PASS or STEWARDESS SCHOOL, the latter a misfire sex comedy featuring former HAPPY DAYS TV show star DONNY MOST in one of his infrequent starring roles. If you are looking for action, can we recommend SCORPION featuring the awkward acting talent (but truly awesome dry look hairstyle and full mustache to boot! Check out the link...) of TONNY TULLENERS, a former Karate champion that kicked CHUCK NORRIS' ass in a middleweight competition years ago. Or if you're in the mood for INDIANA JONES-like entertainment, and didn't get your fill with the latest installment in theaters, why not watch the slightly obscure Aussie ripoff entitled SKY PIRATES, which throws a bit of sci-fi time travel into the mix. We like this one a lot. WORLD GONE WILD is premium exploitation at it's finest and stars ADAM ANT along with vet BRUCE DERN as a tough hippie dude in charge of a desert outpost. Rounding out this batch is a totally obscure Iranian Cinema gem about the Iraq Iran war entitled DESERT LION aka: PRAYER CARPET OF FIRE. Being that this is an Iranian film, you can guess which side the storyline favors. Gritty, dusty, and brutal, but also strange to watch this semi-propaganda film play out from a different viewpoint other than the good old U. S. of A. It certainly shows the tough conditions of middle east ground warfare as the poorly equipped troops of the Iranian army battle the encroaching armored tanks of Iraq with hand-to-air missiles and machine guns. Another film this week is VIPER, a home-grown terrorist film storyline starring LINDA PURL and KEN FOREE of DAWN OF THE DEAD fame. YAJU DEKA aka: BEAST COP is our Japanese film pick this week... and features the nasty story of a dysfunctional family mixed in with a not so friendly and honest cop. Very weird storyline as the boy has an allegiance with his miscreant father, who also happens to beat his mother on occasion and also does quite a bit of drugs and dealing on the side. Nobody to root for in this seriously downbeat Japanese crime drama. OCEANS OF FIRE is another all-star cast gem... a sort of DIRTY DOZEN taking place on an off-shore oil rig starring GREGORY HARRISON, BILLY DEE WILLIAMS, and DAVID CARRADINE. The convicts enlisted to help include LEE VING from the punk band FEAR, LYLE ALZADO again, and former boxing champions RAY 'BOOM BOOM' MANCINI and KEN NORTON. This is an out-to-sea potboiler featuring lots of explosions both on and off the oil platform. Well, get to it and check out these gems in closer detail. Just click on the widget above and remember... NO BOOTLEGS EVER with Z-Grade!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
My way or THE HIGHWAYMAN
Are you a fan of the original classic TV shows like KNIGHTRIDER, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, MAGNUM P.I? Well, if so, you are a fan of GLEN A. LARSON Productions... and that means that you have to check out this week's coolest listing... the made-for-TV pilot THE HIGHWAYMAN. It's a post-apocalyptic derivative based on a traveling secret government lawman who drives around in a futuristic armored 18-wheeler truck rig, powered by rockets and lots of other goodies. Cult actor SAM J. JONES of FLASH GORDON fame stars as the tough-as-nails titular character. What blows my mind on this actioner is the amount of cult film star-power in this gem. How many times have you seen ROWDY RODDY PIPER, MICHAEL BERRYMAN, WINGS HAUSER, LYLE ALZADO, JIMMY SMITS, and G. GORDON LIDDY all in the same film? And that's not all. The co-writer of this gem is none other than the Godfather of Gore... Mr. HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS, which also probably explains why WILLIAM KERWIN (star of H.G. LEWIS classicks BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!) found his way onto the cast. And this space-age truck must be seen if you have never had the pleasure of catching THE HIGHWAYMAN on prime-time before it was canceled years ago. And if you like mean mother truckers, you also might want to check out the other 18-wheeler themed epic this week, THUNDER RUN, starring FORREST TUCKER in his last feature film along with co-star cult hottie ELIZABETH KAITAN. It looks like we are a bit short this week on hard-core gore, but we do have SHALLOW GRAVE, which is a rare slasher film about 4 teenage college girls terrorized, stalked, and murdered in a small Georgian town. For lighter horror-fare, check out I WAS A TEENAGE VAMPIRE, a highly entertaining and likable horror comedy, which might make a nice double feature with the 80s schlock WEEKEND PASS or STEWARDESS SCHOOL, the latter a misfire sex comedy featuring former HAPPY DAYS TV show star DONNY MOST in one of his infrequent starring roles. If you are looking for action, can we recommend SCORPION featuring the awkward acting talent (but truly awesome dry look hairstyle and full mustache to boot! Check out the link...) of TONNY TULLENERS, a former Karate champion that kicked CHUCK NORRIS' ass in a middleweight competition years ago. Or if you're in the mood for INDIANA JONES-like entertainment, and didn't get your fill with the latest installment in theaters, why not watch the slightly obscure Aussie ripoff entitled SKY PIRATES, which throws a bit of sci-fi time travel into the mix. We like this one a lot. WORLD GONE WILD is premium exploitation at it's finest and stars ADAM ANT along with vet BRUCE DERN as a tough hippie dude in charge of a desert outpost. Rounding out this batch is a totally obscure Iranian Cinema gem about the Iraq Iran war entitled DESERT LION aka: PRAYER CARPET OF FIRE. Being that this is an Iranian film, you can guess which side the storyline favors. Gritty, dusty, and brutal, but also strange to watch this semi-propaganda film play out from a different viewpoint other than the good old U. S. of A. It certainly shows the tough conditions of middle east ground warfare as the poorly equipped troops of the Iranian army battle the encroaching armored tanks of Iraq with hand-to-air missiles and machine guns. Another film this week is VIPER, a home-grown terrorist film storyline starring LINDA PURL and KEN FOREE of DAWN OF THE DEAD fame. YAJU DEKA aka: BEAST COP is our Japanese film pick this week... and features the nasty story of a dysfunctional family mixed in with a not so friendly and honest cop. Very weird storyline as the boy has an allegiance with his miscreant father, who also happens to beat his mother on occasion and also does quite a bit of drugs and dealing on the side. Nobody to root for in this seriously downbeat Japanese crime drama. OCEANS OF FIRE is another all-star cast gem... a sort of DIRTY DOZEN taking place on an off-shore oil rig starring GREGORY HARRISON, BILLY DEE WILLIAMS, and DAVID CARRADINE. The convicts enlisted to help include LEE VING from the punk band FEAR, LYLE ALZADO again, and former boxing champions RAY 'BOOM BOOM' MANCINI and KEN NORTON. This is an out-to-sea potboiler featuring lots of explosions both on and off the oil platform. Well, get to it and check out these gems in closer detail. Just click on the widget above and remember... NO BOOTLEGS EVER with Z-Grade!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
MARGHERITI in Outer Space
Well, this will be short little note. This week we have the truly epic TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE 4-VHS set (aka: STAR LEGEND - Japanese VHS box title / L' TESORO DEL ISOLA - original Italian title) for auction. I think it's nearly 8 hours of uncut viewing pleasure here, with the legendary ANTHONY QUINN in the part of Long John Silver, Billy Bones played by the manic ERNEST BORGNINE, and euro-star DAVID WARBECK as the Doc. But the most pleasant surprise was discovering Mr. BOBBY RHODES of DEMONS fame playing the part of Black Dog! As you might have guessed, the title of this film mini-series says it all. It's basically ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON's classic novel translated into a space actioner with lots of kitschy futuristic gadgets everywhere. This is pure genius and I believe it to be ANTONIO MARGHERITI's space cinematic triumph, but you will find plenty here to remind you of PLANET ON THE PROWL or THE WAR OF THE PLANETS including some truly awesome miniature sets and space-suit fitted Barbie dolls floating around space stations. Now just because I have an obvious bias towards this particular item, doesn't mean there aren't more cinematic treasures to be had on our listings! Some sleaze, HK horror, action-schlock galore, are all for the taking. But, the TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE set is the one item that shouldn't be missed. Just click on the widget above to see a sampling of all the other fine Z-Grade cinema for offer this week. And remember, NO BOOTLEGS EVER at Z-Grade!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
DARK ANGEL vs. DEATH SPA
Hello again. Back with another fine selection of Z-Grade gems. I'll make this brief today as there is a large batch of Japanese VHS to choose from this round. Starting off with action, we have I COME IN PEACE aka: DARK ANGEL starring the ever towering DOLPH LUNDGREN, the car crash spectacular from H.B. HALICKI... THE JUNKMAN, HEATHER THOMAS in the super-bike sci-fi schlock actioner from FRED OLEN RAY entitled CYCLONE, HK assassin gem BLACK CAT starring SIMON YAM, and a Western all-star epic BITE THE BULLET featuring the talents of JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT, JAMES COBURN, and SALLY KIRKLAND. What else? Sleaze you ask? How about DEATH SPA, the notorious gore and sleaze gem about a hi-tech work-out gym gone awry. Some classic horror is available as well including the gothic tale THE OBLONG BOX from '71 starring CHRISTOPHER LEE and SALLY GEESON and the 80s sequel to the '70s classic, THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART 2. And my favorite of this batch, the charming TOUCH OF DEATH directed by maestro LUCIO FULCI. Lots of dismemberment and bloody grue on hand for this one. Well, I'm sure I've left out quite a few choice VHS tapes in this post, so just check out our listings for yourself. Just click on any of the rotating VHS tape images in the widget shown above. And remember... NO BOOTLEGS ever with Z-Grade!
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