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Released by: Intervision Picture Corp.
Released on: March 11th, 2014.
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Year: Various
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The Movie:
Just like their international counterparts in the UK and America, the filmmakers that toiled away at their craft during the boom years of Australian drive-in cinema used all manner of quirky and bizarre marketing tactics to advertise their films to prospective customers. Of course, arguably the most important tool was the theatrical trailer, that little two to three minute teaser that was so important before the internet broke down so many doors and made so much accessible to so many.
The trailer was an appetizer, a way of showcasing some highlights and playing up a film's more sensational aspects, to give the audience something that would get stuck in their head and make them want to come back to that very same theater in a few weeks' time to hand over some cash for a ticket. They were advertisements, obviously, glorified commercials - but many of them were a whole lot of fun and some were minor works of art in their own right.
The good people at Intervision Picture Corp., who have had the good sense to release some of the movies featured on this disc, have unleashed upon an unsuspecting public the Ozploitation Trailer Explosion!, which is a fine assortment of trailers from across three different and popular genres. So this release divides the collection of trailers compiled here into three distinct sections? Yes it does, and the first of those sections is sexploitation pictures and it contains the following trailers:
The Naked Bunyip, Stork, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, Libido, Alvin Purple, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, Alvin Purple Again, Petersen, The Love Epidemic, The True Story of Eskimo Nell, Plugg, The Box, The Great Macarthy, Eliza Fraser, Don's Party, OZ, Fantasm, Fantasm Comes Again, The ABC's of Sex, Felicity, Dimboola, Centrespread, Pacific Banana, Outback
From there we move on to a great selection of Aussie horror trailers for the following movies:
Fright, Inn of the Damned, End Play, Summerfield, The Last Wave, Patrick, Long Weekend, The Night The Prowler, Snapshot, Thirst, Harlequin, Nightmares, The Survivor, Dead Kids, Road Games, The Killing of Angel Street, Heatwave, a Dangerous Summer, Next of Kin, Cassandra
Action movies are the final category, and here you'll find promo spots for:
The Car That Ate Paris, Stone, The Man from Hong Kong, Mad Dog Morgan, Raw Deal, Journey Among Women, The FJ Holden, Money Movers, Stunt Rock, The Chain Reaction, Race for the Yankee Zephyr, Attack for Z, Turkey Shoot, Freedom, Midnight Spares, BMX Bandits, The Return of Captain Invincible, Sky Pirates, Fair Game, Dead End Drive-in and The Time Guardian.
Given that the sexploitation and sex comedies section takes up more of the disc's running time than horror, some fans might not get so into this one but for this reviewer's money it's more fun to watch these trashy tit-filled oddities than a lot of the horror pictures' trailers simply because a lot of those horror pictures have been released with the trailers as a supplement. They're still fun and there are a few interesting additions here, but the marketing behind the sex films is just zanier. The action and adventure films selection is also a lot of fun and there are some real gems in there like Stunt Rock and The Man From Hong Kong (which has received decent DVD releases in Hong Kong and Australia but so far has not been given a Blu-ray upgrade - but it needs one!) alongside the kid friendly BMX Bandits (starring a young Nicole Kidman) and the classic Mad Dog Morgan (featuring a completely insane Dennis Hopper sporting a mighty, manly beard!).
Video/Audio/Extras:
Intervision presents each of the trailers on this collection in its own aspect ratio in a series of transfers that look about as good as the source material is going to allow. Expect scratches and print damage throughout but honestly, would you want these to look pristine? No, probably not - it just wouldn't be the same. The disc is well authored, though there are some minor compression artifacts evident in a few spots. These trailers look like the marginally beaten up promo spots that they are, it's all perfectly watchable. Quality varies from one spot to the next but overall, yeah, this stuff looks just fine.
Audio chores are handled by a Dolby Digital Mono track that is on par with the video - it's not quite pristine, but it sounds good for what it is. The various narrators are always nice and clear and the levels are properly balanced. If there's a bit of hiss here and there and the odd pop in the mix, that's okay. There are no alternate language or subtitle options provided.
As far as extras go, there aren't any but we get menus that offer up categorical trailer selection options or the chance to 'play all.'
The Final Word:
Intervision Picture Corp.'s release of The Ozploitation Trailer Explosion contains a pretty good mix of some classic (and admittedly more common) trailers as well as a good helping of genuinely obscure (at least on western shores) entries. It's a solid collection and a whole lot of fun to watch. Here's hoping there's a volume two in the works!
