Tour of Duty The Complete Series DVD review

TITLE-Tour of Duty The Complete Series
PUBLISHER-Mill Creek Entertainment

Months ago I found this 11 disc set for around 10 bucks new. Having seen what I thought was the full series back when  it originally aired I grabbed the set ready to revisit a show I had enjoyed years ago in my youth

Airing weeking on CBS starting  in  the fall of 1987,Tour of Duty is as far as I know the first US weekly drama about the Vietnam War. At the time this was a hot topic again  thanks  to the success of films like First Blood and more so Platoon. Being made for broadcast TV of course the show had to be toned down some. But the writers and other people working on  the creative end managed to work in  a few neat ways of the restrictions of being aired over the public airwaves.

Now of course not long after buying this set I found out that GETTV is airing the show Mon thru Fri. Not that big a deal since I got the set cheap.Speaking of cheap....

The case is a really thin and cheap feeling cardboard. You remove the Tour of Duty top half and get a generic bottom half,covered with logos of the various TV show Mill Creek Entertainment has the rights too.Inside the case is sleeves,most of which have a dvd on each side. Sure it was only 10 bucks but this set even with  me taking extra care handling it looks like it could fall apart at any minute. I wish Mill Creek would have used their normal big plastic case full of dvds that I have on  sets like Married with Children.

After watching all 3 seasons of 58 episodes I discovered that I never saw the third season and don't think I saw the last half of the second season. Maybe the show changed nights and was on against another show I watched,I really don't know. After the first few episodes I realized that I am guessing thanks to music rights a lot of the songs in this release have been changed. Back when it was airing I clearly remember lots of hits songs of the era the show happens in  being used. In this release it is changed to very generic rock  music,that in quite a few scenes takes away for the show.

Even will all the  negatives,the cheap packaging and changed music,I still really am happy I found this set. Sure I could just watch it every day on GETTV,but then I would have to sit thru commercials and  only see 1 episode a day. I watched all 58 episodes of this series in a bit over 2 weeks and had fun revisiting a sadly kind of forgotten  80s drama.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 24 Population 436

Population 436
Source-Mill Creek Where Evil Lies DVD set

Made in 2006 sometime in 2008 I was flipping channels and saw the last 10 minutes of this film on one of the movie channels. I liked what I saw and pulled up the onscreen info. Saw that Fred Durst was one of the main stars.Thought to myself "Well Limp Biscuit was total crap. I kind of doubt Durst is a good actor. I will just skip this movie."

Then it was late last year. I saw the Mill Creek Where Evil Lies set in the $5 bin.I looked at the back to see what 6 movies made up the set. Saw Population 436 and another that sounded decent. So I grabbed the set. But like what happens lots of time when I buy these cheap multi-film sets I end up throwing it on my shelf and never watching it.

I had no idea what I was gonna watch for my movie today. Then I remembered Population 436. Threw it in and was surprised at how good the film is. Jeremy Sisto is the lead. A man that works for the government. And is sent to the town of Rockwell Falls. To learn why the population of the town has stayed at 436 for over 100 years.

He gets to the town and it is like Mayberry come to life. With Fred Durst as a meathead Andy Griffth. Actually honestly Durst does a damn good job as the town Deputy. I haven't heard of him doing any more acting. Which is kind of sad cause his acting is way better than his singing.

Over the course of the films 1 1/2 hour running time we start seeing more and more how the town is just a bit off. Then in the final 20 minutes we learn why the town is so peaceful and why the population has stayed the same for so long.

The film is a nice blending of a mystery and a horror film. And isn't super gory or violent. Hell I am not really sure why it got an R rating. If you know someone that loves a good mystery this is a film they would enjoy.

Population 436 gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 020 Stanley

Stanley
Source-Millcreek Gorehouse Greats Collection DVD

In the 70s there was lots of nature run amok films. Stuff like Grizzly,Jaws and the film I am talking about today.

Our lead is a Native American Nam vet.After coming back from the war he moved into the Florida Everglades and starts training snakes to obey his commands. He also uses the snakes to help the local hospital get anti venom.

So once two poachers start coming into the Everglades,who are also connected to the man our lead suspects of killing his father the shit hits the fan. One of my favorite scenes is when both the poachers are stuck in some quicksand and our lead sends in Stanley to kill them. Stanley  is his favorite snake. And in lots of ways their relationship reminds me of the original Willard film.

I am a bit surprised this film isn't a bigger cult hit. It is full of wacky stuff that normally help  film gain cult status. Just for the scenes of a stripper biting the heads off huge snakes I would think this movie would have a pretty big following.

Before this set came out from Mill Creek,BCI Eclipse released an extras packed version of Stanley.The same print of the film is used for this set. But all the extras are gone. But this was a 12 film set that normally was selling for 5 to 7 bucks.

Stanley gets a C.

A bunch of quick reviews from various dvd multipacks

Last night I actually managed to get to sleep at what most people would consider a normal time. But after a pretty bad nightmare I said fuck sleep and ended up watching a bunch of movies off some DVD multipacks I own. And since I haven't had a new post here in awhile I figured I would type up some short reviews of the films I watched and post them.

Savage Weekend

This is on the Mill Creek "Drive in Movie classics" 50 pack. Been wanting to watch it for months now but for some reason never did. Group of friends head up to upstate New York for what is suppose to be a relaxing weekend. But end up getting stalked by a masked killer. This starts off very very slow,but is worth watching. William Sanderson from "Newhart" is in it. And while looking it up on IMDB I discovered that a young Yancy Butler has a part in it. It seems a kind of Unofficial sequel was made in 1994. It is a short film titled "Not Another Savage Weekend". So if you happen to own the Mill Creek Drive In movie classics 50 pack give this a watch.

Mutant

This is on the Mill Creek "Pure Terror" 50 pack. Released in theaters back in 1984. This is a backwoods zombie movie staring Wings Hauser. The print on the DVD looks pretty good. It is full frame but doesn't look bad at all. Sadly the film is pretty forgettable. If you have the Pure Terror set save this one till you have already seen most of the films on the set. It isn't horrible but it also isn't anything special.

Grave of the Vampire

Another film from the Pure Terror 50 pack. Released back in 1972,this is a film that I can remember seeing the VHS cover for years at the video store. But I never rented it. A dead man rises from the grave and goes and rapes a young lady.The girl gets pregnant and has a baby boy. Who she gives bottles of blood to. When the boy is grown up he hunts down his father and confronts him. Sadly with this one the old VHS cover is way better than the film. This was so boring I kept fast forwarding to see if it would get any better and it didn't. Avoid this stinker.

The Devil's Nightmare

This is from the old Brentwood "Fright Night" 10 pack. The print is obviously ripped off from a Redemption laserdisc. You can tell cause Brentwood didn't bother removing the shot on video introduction by Ellien daily. Once we get to the movie it turns out to be a nice piece of early 70s euro-horror. A busload of tourist break down way out in the countryside. They find a old castle and the owner allows them to spend the night. But it seems the owner's dead daughter is back as a succubus. We get some good kills all based a the seven deadly sins. Overall this is a fun way to pass an hour and a half. Plus there is 2 smoking hot euro babes that have a fun little softcore lesbian scene. Worth picking up if you find it cheap.

Pieces

Another great piece of euro sleaze from the Brentwood "Fright Night" 10 pack. This is another one I can remember seeing the VHS on the shelves when I was younger. But again I never rented it. What we get is a gory,nonsensical,giallo. Lots of nice kills. Plus you have Bluto from the live action Popeye movie as a great red herring. Then there is the ending which makes no damn sense but is still a great mind fuck. I am pretty sure Grindhouse Releasing has put out a great 2 disc DVD of this. Which I might have to track down.

Sisters of Death

This is from the Brentwood "Tales of Terror" 10 pack. Released back in 1977 this plays very much like a TV movie of the week. And really if it didn't have the late Claudia Jennings in it I bet it would be forgotten now. After a Russian Roulette mishap many years ,a all-girl secret society is invited to a remote house for a reunion. But once they get there they realize something isn't right. This is the only Claudia film I have seen where she doesn't at least get topless. About the only other thing about it that is somewhat memorable is the actor that played Nat ,the peach pit owner,on 90210 is in it. Sisters of Death isn't something I wouldn't  go outta my way to watch,but it also isn't horrible.

Jack the Ripper

Directed by Jess Franco back in the 1976. This is a decent fabricated telling of the story of Jack the Ripper. Staring the insane Klaus Kinski and Josephine Chaplin. Sadly this DVD from the Brentwood "Vault of Horror' 10 pack is a rip of a VHS that isn't in the best shape. There is some decent gore scenes. And unlike most of the other Jess Franco film's I have seen,this one makes sense. Worth watching if you are a fan of Klaus and/or 70's Euro horror.

Point of Terror

From the Mill Creek "Pure Terror" 50 pack. This film was released back in 1971. I have been wanting to watch it for a few years. Mainly cause it stars Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne. Well it is so bad I didn't make it more than 30 minutes into it before I had to turn it off. Slowly paced and really nothing fucking happens. Only worth watching if you must see every film staring Dyanne Thorne.

Hands of Steel

fi film. Released in 1986 the only person in the cast I knew is John Saxon. It is one of the better Italian made mid 80's post apocalypse films. But nothing amazing. If you are a fan of post apocalyptic films it is worth a watch. But don't go in expecting something on the level of say Battle Truck or Warriors of the Wasteland.

Twister's Revenge

From the Mill Creek "Drive In Movie Classics" 50 pack. This is one of the very last films that Bill "The giant spider invasion" Rebane did. What you get is a monster truck version of K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider versus a army tank. Lots of great WTF moments in this movie. Like when the lead villains find a fully working US army tank in a junkyard. And the tank also seems to be still fully loaded with all the ammo it needs. Twister's Revenge is a great brainless way to waste 1 1/2 hours.