Swamp Thing Finally Gets Some Deserved Respect, Attention In ‘The Return of Swamp Thing’ Re-Issue

Courtesy: Lightyear Entertainment/MVD Visual

No respect, I tell ya.  No respect at all.  For those who don’t already know that famous line, it was spoke by the late great comedian Rodney Dangerfield.  It is a line that has been spoofed so many times in so many avenues, too.  It is a line that applies so well to the lesser-known DC superhero Swamp Thing.  DC’s own big green giant (who is also so much cooler than Marvel’s Incredible Hulk – yes, this critic went there), he has received far from the respect that he deserves when it comes to cinematic adaptations of his comic book.  The only big screen takes on Swamp Thing that have ever been released came out in 1982 in the form of Swamp Thing in 1982 through the independent studio, Swampfilms and its 1989 sequel, The Return of Swamp Thing, which was released through another indie studio, Lightyear Entertainment.  Yes, there were a couple of TV adaptations in 1990 through a live action series that ran for three seasons on USA and a kid friendly version that lasted one season on Fox, and even a rebooted series in 2019 that ran for one season on CW, but again, that is about the extent of the respect that Swamp Thing has ever received.  Now thanks to MVD Distribution and Lightyear Entertainment, Swamp Thing is getting a little bit of renewed attention and respect through a recent re-issue on a Blu-ray 4K UHD combo pack.  Released Feb. 7 through Lightyear Entertainment and MVD Visual, the re-issue is a surprisingly run watch for anyone who grew up with this rendition of “Swampy.”  That is due in part to the movie’s central story, which will be discussed shortly.  The collective acting and special effects that went into the presentation make for their own engagement and entertainment.  They will be discussed a little later.  The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its new re-issue rounds out the movie’s most important elements and will also be discussed later.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the movie’s presentation.  All things considered they make this new re-issue of The Return of Swamp Thing a presentation that finally gives Swamp Thing at least a little of the respect he deserves.

Lightyear Entertainment and MVD Visual’s recent re-issue of The Return of Swamp Thing is a presentation that the most devoted comic book (and especially Swamp Thing) fans will find enjoyable.  That is due in part to its featured story.  The story here is pretty simple.  Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jordan – who Swamp Thing – wants to find a way to stay young forever.  So in his twisted mind, he decides to kidnap his stepdaughter, Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear) and plug her into a machine that sucks her life force out of her and transfers it into his own body.  It’s up to Swamp Thing (played once again by Dick Durock) to stop the evil doctor and save Abby.  Along the way, Swamp Thing makes some new fans when he saves a hunter and a pair of kids from a giant half leech/half human creature that was created by Dr. Arcane in a pair of separate incidents.  Obviously the whole thing has a happy ending, but not before there is plenty of action, such as high speed chases, explosions, and other standard comic book fare, as well as some really dumb henchmen that our big bad employs to hunt down the not so jolly green giant.  It all unfolds over the course of just under 2 hours in relatively solid pacing.  The story and its execution form a solid foundation for the overall presentation that is certain to engage and entertain the noted audiences.

The story and its execution are just part of what makes the new re-issue of The Return of Swamp Thing so surprisingly enjoyable.  The collective special effects and acting make for their own appeal.  From start to finish the cast’s work on screen is so campy.  As a matter of fact, the acting is so campy that in reality it is cringeworthy.  Yet even with that in mind, that campiness is actually surreally enjoyable.  Maybe that is because audiences have been so overwhelmed in recent years by all of director Zach Snyder’s gloomy, gritty superhero fare.  It takes audiences back literally and figuratively to a better era of comic book movies and movie making.  In the same breath, the dialogue that the cast had to deliver is just as campy, and that plays right into the acting.  Listening to the lines and the delivery, audiences won’t be able to help but laugh at how bad the writing is.  Again though, it is so bad that it is actually fun, which again is welcome in some bizarre fashion.

The special effects that are used throughout the movie are a stark contrast to the CG-based effects that are so overly prominent in so many of today’s superhero flicks.  Case in point is a moment late in the movie when Swamp Thing works to heal Abby.  The moment won’t be given away, for the sake of those who have yet to watch this flick, but instead of anything over the top, like in today’s movies, a little video effect is used to make it look like some kind of lights are flowing through her body as Swamp Thing touches her.  There is just something that even here is campy, but also just as fun because of its simplicity.  On a similar note, the special effects that went into the creation of Dr. Arcane’s monsters is just as worthy of applause.  The prosthetics and general designs of the mutants is so outrageous.  It obviously took a creative mind to come up with the monsters featured in this movie.  By comparison, a creative mind seems hard to come by today, considering how so many superhero movies look so much alike in this aspect of costuming, what with the spandex and leather form fitting outfits on the men and women alike.  That includes the bad guys, too.  Keeping that in mind, the special effects in general are just as important to this movie’s presentation as the acting, obviously.  All things considering, they make for all the more entertainment and in turn, reason to watch this movie at least once.  It is, collectively just one more reason to check out this re-issue, too.  The bonus content that accompanies the re-issue rounds out its most important elements.

The bonus content featured with the re-issue comes in multiple forms.  There is an archived feature-length audio commentary from 2018 and a separate commentary from 2003, each of which provides its own insight into the movie.  The separate interviews with director Jim Wynorski, editor Leslie Rosenthal, and composer Chuck Cirino are just as much the gems.  Audiences learn through the interview with Wynorski that the movie’s campy stylistic look and feel was wholly intentional on his part.  He reveals in his interview that he did not want to duplicate the darker, heavier approach taken by Wes Craven, who wrote and directed the movie’s predecessor, Swamp Thing in 1982.  For those who maybe have been living under a rock for the past 30 years or so, Wes Craven is most well-known for his work on the infamous Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.  Of course, its first installment did not come until two years after Swamp Thing, in 1984, so one could argue that maybe Swamp Thing was sort of a training ground for what would become Craven’s much scarier horror fare to come.  Wynorski also reveals that he appreciated the costumes and general effects used in The Return of Swamp Thing and that he is anything but a fan of the overuse of CG in so many superhero movies out there today.  That in itself is sure to be a starting point for any cinephile and superhero movie fan’s discussion with friends and others.

For those who focus primarily on production values, audiences will appreciate Rosenthal’s discussion on what she believed was the hardest scene to create in The Return of Swamp Thing.  She also talks about the amount of time and work that had to go into the movie’s action sequences.  She said those sequences took a long time to assemble because of the different camera angles that had to be established.  It makes for an appreciation for the work that goes into any movie’s creation behind the scenes.

Cirino offers his own brief interesting insight as he reveals in his interview that the score for this movie (which is in fact just as cheesy and campy as the acting and dialogue) was written in a spare bedroom in his apartment.  There is just something entertaining about this.  Rather than being composed at a piano, in a professional studio, etc. it was composed in an apartment bedroom.  It makes one wonder how he came up with the score in such a run of the mill setting.  That revelation alone makes Cirino seem just so personable and “real.”  It’s just one more example of what makes the bonus content so important.

On yet another note, Arnie Holland, Lightyear Entertainment executive, offers his own anecdotes in his own interview.  One of the most notable stories he shares is that of how the company had Heather Locklear appear on The Howard Stern show to promote the movie, and the surprising result of her experience on the show, which was quite trashy at the time.  Again, the story will not be revealed here for those who have yet to watch the movie and its bonus content.  It goes without saying though, that the story is surprising in the best way possible.  It is yet another example of what makes the bonus content that accompanies the re-issue so important.  When this and the other insights offered through the separate interviews are considered along with the insight offered through the feature-length commentaries, the whole makes so engaging and entertaining.  The addition of the retrospective featured on the 4K UHD disc makes that even clearer.  When this is considered along with the campy but so surprisingly story, acting and special effects, the whole leaves The Return of Swamp Thing an overall surprisingly enjoyable offering for the most devoted fans of comic book-based movies.

Lightyear Entertainment and MVD Visual’s recent 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack re-issue of The Return of Swamp Thing is a must watch for the most devoted fan of the comic book-based movie realm.  That is because it is so much unlike so much of what is filling theaters and store shelves (and even streaming outlets) today.  That is proven in part through its story.  Unlike so many superhero movies out there today, the story is simple.  It has a bad guy with one core familiar bad guy mission, and a good guy who has to stop the bad guy and save the girl.  It’s a tried-and-true approach.  The acting and special effects presented in the movie are just as simple (and campy), and that makes for its own share of surprise enjoyment, especially in comparison to so many movies out there that take the acting and special effects over the top.  The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its new re-issue adds so much insight into the movie’s creation, making for even more engagement and entertainment.  Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the re-issue’s presentation.  All things considered they make the re-issue of The Return of Swamp Thing a welcome return for an underappreciated comic book superhero.

More information on this and other titles from Lightyear Entertainment is available at:

Website: https://lightyear.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightyearent

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LightyearEnt

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

‘Voodoo Macbeth’ Is Worth Watching Despite Concerns Of Content, Rating

Courtesy: Lightyear Entertainment

Movies based on actual events are big business for the cinematic world.  Hollywood’s major studios have made increasing use of said stories throughout their collective history while independent studios have, thankfully, been far less reliant on the genre, though there have been some independent studios that have turned out their own fare, much to the same result of the major studios’ offerings.  The result in question is movies that are otherwise forgettable because of their blend of history and overpowering fictional embellishments.  Now independent studio Lightyear Entertainment has become just the latest studio to join that mass of studios big and small alike that have fallen back on what is really an overblown genre with the recent release of its new movie, Voodoo MacBeth.  Set for release Tuesday, the movie centers on the history of famed media figure Orson Welles’ work with the famed Harlem Negro Theater Unit on its 1936 stage presentation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, Macbeth.  The independent period drama that is based on actual events is worth watching at least once, but sadly not much more than that.  One reason it proves itself worth that one chance is its writing.  This will be discussed shortly.  While the writing is largely a positive and will keep audiences mostly engaged and entertained, the writing also includes a significant amount of foul language and some material that some might find questionable, yet the movie has no rating.  This is a negative that needs to be addressed.  The bonus commentary that accompanies the movie is one more positive worth noting, considering that the one negative is not enough to doom the movie.  This will also be discussed later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to this movie’s presentation.  All things considered they make Voodoo Macbeth far from being as timeless as Shakespeare’s original, but still worth watching at least once.

Voodoo Macbeth is an intriguing presentation from independent movie studio Lightyear Entertainment.  It is another movie that is worth watching at least once but really does little to help make the case for the historical drama genre.  One thing that it does have going for it is its writing.  The writing encompasses not only Welles’ own story but the bigger story of how the now famed 1936 performance of Macbeth by the Harlem Negro Theater Unit came to happen.  The story of Welles’ personal relationship with his wife, Virginia plays into the bigger picture, but thankfully never overpowers the central story.  There is also the story of the theater troupe’s members and their own personal stories added to the mix. As with Welles’ personal story, their stories don’t take overpower the central story, either.  Along the way, the movie’s writing staff made sure to include the role of racism even there in Harlem at the time to help progress the bigger story of the collective’s drive to put on the play.  Considering how much went into the overall story, it would have been so easy for the writers to let the story get bogged down in itself, but thankfully it didn’t.  That allowed the pacing and story in general to remain fluid.  As a result, audiences are ensured their engagement and entertainment throughout the story.

While the writing that went into Voodoo Macbeth ensures audiences’ engagement and entertainment throughout its nearly two hour run time, the writing also includes a lot of foul language and content that some might find questionable, even considering its use in the bigger context of the story.  This is important to note because according to the movie’s case, it has no rating (IE PG, PG-13, R).  What’s more, there is not even any indication anywhere on the case of said content.  Some of that content includes references to homosexuality, which some audiences might find troubling.  At one point, two of the male cast members kiss each other, and at another one of the men in question attends a gay club, so that is content that again is understandable for its use in the context of the story but may cause some audiences to be uncomfortable.  All of this in mind, it is somewhat disconcerting that the movie got away with getting through without a rating.  Whether that is just because it is an independent movie or because it simply slipped through the cracks is anyone’s guess, but audiences need to be aware of all of this.  It is not enough to doom the movie but is definitely still of concern.

Keeping in mind that the movie’s lack of a rating and any mention of its content is absent anywhere herein is not enough to doom the movie, there is at least one more positive to note.  That positive is the movie’s bonus feature-length audio commentary.  The commentary is provided by the collective of cast members Jewell Wilson Bridges and Inger Tudor, producers Miles Alva and Jason Phillips, writer Erica Sutherlin, and director Zoe Salnawe.  If that seems like a lot of people, that is because it is.  As is revealed in the commentary early on, there were 10 directors alone for this movie.  There were a whole lot of people involved in the writing, too.  Salnave even notes in her comments that there were so many creative heads behind the scenes that a lot of attention had to be paid to the writing to ensure the story did not get bogged down in itself.  Thankfully that didn’t happen, even with so many hands in the proverbial pot.  Audiences also learn through the commentary the nearly two hour run time was the goal for all involved.  While no one said anything outright, it would seem that the statement in question was a reference to how so many movies out there today have become so long; upwards of three and even four hours.  On a funnier note, one of the group mentions what is known as the “Macbeth Curse” or the “Scottish Curse.”  The mention comes as the group discusses a power outage happening during the movie’s 25-day filming span and wonders if the curse played into it.  For those who might not be aware of what the curse is, there is a belief in theater that speaking the name Macbeth inside a theater other than in the script, leads to disaster.  Allegedly the so-called curse stems from Shakespeare using an actual incantation in the play Macbeth during the scene involving the witches, and it just so happened that some witches were watching one production of the play.  They got so angry at the presentation that they put a curse on every presentation of the play from that point on.  Whether that is true is anyone’s guess.  Though, considering the one major issue from which this movie suffers shows that maybe there is something to the curse after all.  Along with the lighthearted discussion on the curse, there was also a lot of in-depth discussion on the cast’s work on camera and trying to make the movie look believable in terms of its sets and costumes.  Those who are interested in this aspect of period flicks will appreciate these talks.  All of this in mind along with everything else discussed in the bonus content, it makes the audio commentary a strong companion to the movie.  When the positive of the commentary is considered along with the positive of the writing, the two elements make Voodoo Macbeth worth watching at least once, but sadly not much more than that.

Voodoo Macbeth, Lightyear Entertainment’s new historical drama, is an intriguing presentation from the independent movie studio.  It does little to break any new ground in the bigger picture of the genre, but is still worth watching at least once.  That is due in part to the movie’s writing.  The writing does an admirable job of interweaving so many story lines into the bigger picture that is the movie’s central plot.  While the writing deserves at least some applause, there is content in the writing that makes the movie deserving of a PG-13 rating at the very least and an R at the most.  The thing is that there is no rating here and no indication of any of the content anywhere on the movie’s case.  This is problematic, as audiences need to know this kind of information and aren’t informed.  Knowing this is not enough to doom the movie, its bonus audio commentary adds to the overall appeal.  That is because of the background that it adds to the presentation.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the movie’s presentation.  All things considered they make Voodoo Macbeth an intriguing addition to this year’s field of new independent movies that is worth watching at least once, but sadly not much more than that.

Voodoo Macbeth is scheduled for release Tuesday on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital platforms. Its run time is 108 minutes (one hour 48 minutes). The movie will retail for msrp of $24.95 on Blu-ray, $19.95 on DVD, and $12.95 on digital platforms. A trailer for the movie is streaming here.

More information on this and other titles from Lightyear Entertainment is available at:

Website: https://lightyear.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightyearent

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LightyearEnt

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

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Lightyear Entertainment To Release New Historical Drama This Month

Courtesy: Lightyear Entertainment

Movies based on actual events are and have been big business for the movie industry for decades, and now Lightyear Entertainment will release a new movie based on a key period in Orson Welles’ life later this month.

Voodoo Macbeth is scheduled for release Jan. 17 through Lightyear Entertainment. The movie focuses on Welles’ work with the Harlem Negro Theater Unit on its 1936 presentation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, Macbeth. The group’s rendition of the play moved the setting from Scotland to Haiti and used Caribbean voodoo in place of witchcraft used in the original play.

The group’s performance of the play was not without controversy. Politicians called the play subversive. Residents of Harlem called the play exploitative and protested the play. Despite the controversy that swirled around it, the play ended up being successful, playing for 10 weeks at the Lafayette Theater before touring nationwide.

Welles was quoted in a 1982 interview as saying of his work with the troupe, “By all odds, my great success in my life was that play, because the opening night there were five blocks in which all traffic was stopped. You couldn’t get near the theater in Harlem. Everybody who was anybody in the black or white world was there, and the play ended there were so many curtain calls that they finally left the curtain open, and the audience came up on the stage to congratulate the actors. That was magical.”

A feature-length audio commentary with cast members Jewell Wilson Bridges and Inger Tudor, producers Miles Alva and Jason Phillips, script writer Erica Sutherlin, and director Zoe Salnave serves as the movie’s primary bonus content. Actual 1936 footage of the original play from the National Archives and Records Administration is also included as a bonus.

Voodoo Macbeth will release on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital platforms. Its run time is 108 minutes (one hour 48 minutes). The movie will retail for msrp of $24.95 on Blu-ray, $19.95 on DVD, and $12.95 on digital platforms. A trailer for the movie is streaming here.

More information on this and other titles from Lightyear Entertainment is available at:

Website: https://lightyear.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightyearent

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LightyearEnt

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.