In the European Court of Human Rights, Nigel Wingrove, owner of Redemption Films, is challenging a British government decision to outlaw release of Visions of Ecstasy,banned under blasphemy law.
Wingrove set up Redemption, and sister label Jezebel, to promote "intellectual" porn and edgy horror flicks. Much of the Jezebel catalog is made up of dull tits 'n' butt shots. Ignore this and take a look at the Redemption titles.
Topping the list are Carl Dreyer's Vampyr,a beautiful psychological horror film from 1932; M, Fritz Lang's fantastic tale of the hunt for the infamous D�sseldorf child murderer; F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu,which remains the most atmospheric of all vampire movies; and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Robert Weine's inspired expressionist horror flick.
Also in the library is a healthy - or perhaps unhealthy - clutch of Mario Bava flicks. Bava was an Italian director who worshiped Hitchcock's work - but didn't think it was violent enough. In trying to right this wrong, he gave birth to the slasher movie and developed a style that shocked British audiences in the 1960s and resulted in their censorship.
Not so today. Browsing in the British megastore HMV recently, I came across Bava's Lisa and the Devil. You can't get much more mainstream than that.
Redemption and Jezebel videos: US$20. The Redemption Center, PO Box 50, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 8YG, England.
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