10 May 2008 - An R1 ntsc version of The Tattooist will be released to the U.S. and Canada markets on 24 June 2008, selling for about $20us. It is presented 1.78:1 with 5.1dolby digital English soundtrack and there are subtitles for English, French and Spanish. Four more featurettes are included: 'Behind the Tattoo Designs', 'Colors of The Tattooist', 'Real-Life Samoan Tattoo', 'Becoming a Chief' and an audio commentary track by Peter Burger and Jason Behr.
If you are interested in any of the following: '50 Ways of Saying Fabulous', 'Futile Attraction', 'Kid's World', 'The Vector File', 'The Waiting Place', you might want to check out the sale coming 11 June at ezydvd.com.au. They are taking pre-orders now for these PAL titles at very attractive prices.
06 May 2008 - Two more films have been added to the database: 'The Devil Dared Me To' and
'We're Here To Help'. Two respectable efforts in two very different genres. The former is a very wacky, black comedy concerning stunt racing and the latter a docudrama about a fairly recent New Zealand "David vs Goliath" event. I am going through
and checking the links, as well as pricing info, for all titles - I am currently up to "S". As always, if you cannot find the answer from the info here,
drop me an email and I will try to find the answer - and no, I do not know the meaning of life. Black Sheep is now available
on Blu-Ray in the UK and selling for about 20# and will become available on Blu-Ray in New Zealand, starting 11 June, selling for $40nz.
'Magik and Rose' becomes available on dvd, in New Zealand, starting 16 May. Aro Video is pre-selling it for $25nz.
New Trailers have been added, including rare ones such as 'Lincoln County Incident', 'Pictures' and 'Saving Grace'. Finally, a wonderful gift from Russel Walder - he has provided a sample audio clip of his oboe music for 'The Lunatics' Ball', together with the New Zealand Symphony.
12 March 2008 - Information is now available on The Tattooist. Various links are included, including
one to a music video made from segments of the film with Don McGlashan singing 'I Will Not Let You Down'. It is interesting that the song was
used in both 'The Tattooist' and 'Out of the Blue'. Soundtrack fans should be interested in a composer produced cd that will be coming out
next month, initially through this website. John Charles has put together a suite from his original music for 'Spooked' and coupled it with a selection of his music from 'The Perfectionist'. This will be a very small run and I would recommend sending an email to indicate interest.
A sample of the 'Spooked' music can be downloaded from the soundtrack samples page.
24 February 2008 - All info on soundtrack CDs has been updated, including the addition of track lists and times for all titles.
Check back in a week when info on 'The Tattooist' should be up for inspection. I regret to report that two deaths
have occurred this month. Dorothy McKegg, who is better known
for her live theatre work, but film goers will remember her for roles such as Aunt Dolly in Footrot Flats and Aunty Bird in Carry Me Back. Additionally, director Barry Barclay died on the 18th of a stroke. His pioneering work with Ngati, Te Rua and numerous documentaries have given all of us insights into the world of Maori. His most recent film focused on the Moriori people of Rekohu (the Chatham Islands) in a drama-documentary called The Feathers of Peace.
11 January 2008 - Information on Eagle vs Shark is now available including reviews and interviews.
A new section, Directors, has been added that provides a cross-link from each director of New Zealand feature
films to their respective film titles. No bio or other personal details on these directors is yet included.
27 December 2007 - Many additions and upgrades completed. Pages have been uploaded for the movies Down by the Riverside, Five and the soundtrack cd of Her Majesty. Since the following older titles are now available on dvd, film clips have been added for: Chicken, Iris, Memory & Desire, Ruby & Rata, Scarecrow, and Solo. Finally, I thought you might like knowing that I now have a link to a video clip from Off the Edge, the award winning 1977 documentary, with John Hanlon singing his composition, 'Higher Trails' while you watch hang-gliding the Southern Alps.
18 December 2007 - It is going to happen - The Hobbit will be made as two films, with one being released in 2010 and the other 2011. NEW LINE and MGM to coproduce and share worldwide distribution rights. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to be the executive producers. No details yet about who is directing or filling any specific roles. For details about the annoucement go to TheOneRing.net.
16 December 2007 - This is probably more of interest to folks in New Zealand, but it can be ordered for shipment anywhere. Real Groovy, with stores in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, is selling a specially packaged set of dvds they are calling the New Zealand Collection. It contains 'Goodbye Pork Pie', 'Once Were Warriors', 'The Piano','Sleeping Dogs', 'Smash Palace' and 'The World's Fastest Indian' with a selling price of $65nz and includes gst and shipping to any NZ address. These are R4 pal discs, so if you are not in NZ, be sure you know you can properly play such.
06 December 2007 - I have found a source for dvds of the 1990 comedy, User Friendly.Eagle vs Shark will have its dvd release in North America 08 January 2008, which means that the usual sources are now taking advance orders. The results of the Victoria Kelly poll is now up on the front page and a new poll is up concerning Rena Owen.
26 November 2007 - Many additions and upgrading over the past two weeks. More soundtrack samples have included Battletruck, Men Shouldn't Sing, Ruby & Rata, Scarecrow and
Solo. A new page has been added containing information about early soundtrack vinyl LPs, which might appeal to collectors. Video clips have also been added to the trailer page for Chicken, Iris, Ruby & Rata, The Scarecrow and Solo, all of which are now available on dvd. Finally, a new addition to the books page is now up for your information - Ian Conrich's 'New Zealand Filmmakers'. Some additions to my vhs sales page have added some rare titles.
12 November 2007 - I have just uploaded information about an odd but wonderful labour of love called 'Men Shouldn't Sing'.
Those who can make it to Christchurch 2 December, could attend the premiere screening.
For those that cannot attend the premiere, you will find links to soundtrack samples and trailer from the above link. Information on the mockumentary, The Waimate Conspiracy has been added to the database. More trailers and soundtrack samples have been added with some of the latest being: '30 Days of Night' soundtrack; 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt' soundtrack and trailer; 'Chill Factor' soundtrack and trailer and the soundtrack of 'Strata'. Click here for direct access to the soundtrack samples page. Glimpse into the past - 'Don't Let It Get You - New Zealand's First Music Feature (but not a "Musical") - note the featured singers.
29 October 2007 - Information on two new soundtrack cds, 'Down by the Riverside' and 'The Devil Dared Me To', is now available for viewing, including sample audio clips. In the next few weeks, there will information added on the movie, 'The Waimate Conspiracy' and the soundtrack cd of '30 Days of Night'. Soon an excellent new book by Ian Conrick, 'New Zealand Filmmakers' will be reviewed and details about where to obtain a copy with comparative pricing, will become available. Also with a little luck, there should be some
rare sample soundtrack clips, from original vinyl LPs soundtracks of 'Battletruck', 'Solo' and 'Strata available for listening, in addition to over a hundred other clips from New Zealand feature films already available for downloading. Some sellers have begun taking orders for the soundtrack cd of James Newton Howard's , 'The Water Horse', which is being released 04 December 2007; it's trailer can be accessed at the "Sneak Peek" trailers page. A new poll is being taken, this time concerning the soundtrack compositions by Victoria Kelly. Some ten years ago, Victoria Kelly went to the University of Southern California to study film composition. This resulted in her gaining the guidance of Elmer Bernstein, Leonard Rosenman and Christopher Young. Since then, she has eight New Zealand feature film scores to her credit: Black Sheep, Fracture, Heaven, The Irrefutable Truth About Demons, The Locals, Out of the Blue, Toy Love and The Ugly. Listen to samples of all these scores and then vote for your favourite.
16 October 2007 - The late '80s NZ/US co-production, Chill Factor is now available on dvd, but under the name of
'The Lost Samurai'. More details will be forthcoming about the dvd, but in the meanwhile a trailer has been added for your inspection. Many upgrades
have been completed at the soundtrack samples page and now all mp3 clips are 128 kbps. Trailers to 'Five' and 'We're Here to Help' have been added
to the "Sneak Peek Trailers" page.Information on soundtrack CDs to 'Down By the Riverside' and 'The Devil
Dared Me To' will be added by the end of this month, as well as information on a great new book about New Zealand Filmmakers.
08 September 2007 - In addition to more soundtrack sample clips being added, information on two more films has been added: the terror genre,
'The Ferryman' and the odd comedy,'Quiet Night In'. The 1980 docudrama of the 1970 "Crew" murders, 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt' is being re-issued on dvd starting 23 October. 'In My Father's Den'
will be available on dvd in North America beginning 6 November, selling for $14-20us. There is a new poll now on the Front Page about the soundtrack scores of John Charles and if you need to refresh your memory about them, check out the audio clips on the Soundtrack Samples Page.
25 August 2007 - Information is now up on Black Sheep, a tip of the hat towards 'Bad Taste'.
More trailers/video clips have been added as well as more soundtrack clips. I think I can safely say that no site has more New Zealand film trailers and video
clips as well as sample tracks from the soundtracks, than this one. Please let me know if you have any problems in downloading or viewing any of the mp3 or
divx segments.
15 August 2007 - Hot Target is again available on dvd and the video and audio quality is very good. So far, it would
appear that it is being sold only through U.S. and Canadian retailers. I have put up a couple of clips to give you an idea about the improved quality.
29 July 2007 - Some thirty titles, with a smaller alternate trailer or video clip, have been uploaded and now available for viewing. They average
5megs and should be optimized for handheld devices. Please let me know what you think, especially if you have problems with them. The direct access
address for the trailers and clips is: trailers.html Re-issued dvds of An Angel at my Table,
The Navigator and Vigil will become available from New Zealand sellers for about $20nz each, beginning 12 September. Pre-orders are being taken now.
24 July 2007 - Information covering the new soundtrack cd of Eagle vs Shark is now available in the soundtracks
section, including a link to sample downloads of the tracks, but currently the only sources for purchase are in New Zealand.
19 July 2007 - Since the dvd of Perfect Creature is now available in the U.S. and Canada, you will now find a page for
that title in the database. There is also access to a new, improved, trailer for Perfect Creatures. Black Sheep will be available for purchase, in New Zealand,
22 August and in the U.S. and Canada, 9 October. The Ferryman is scheduled for dvd release, in the U.S. and Canada, 25 September,. 2007. It is scheduled
for a UK dvd release of 3 September and a German release of 22 October.
07 July 2007 - Information on the first New Zealand HD and BluRay discs;The World's Fastest Indian,
The Frighteners,and King Kong is now available. No, there still is no reliable info on The Lord of
the Rings finding its way to HD or BluRay. In addition to other small additions, you will now find information on films that were put on the original laserdiscs,
including one special find - Starlight Hotel and I have located someone who will put a copy on dvd-r, if you are interested.
06 July 2007 - Information, including reviews, on 'Out of the Blue' is now available for viewing. Also, with the addition of
'30 Days of Night', 'Down By the Riverside', 'The Last Magic Show' and 'The Waimate Conspiracy', there now are 13 trailers to check out in the
Sneak Peek Trailers section. FWIW, this is the 6th anniversary of this website. More significantly, my great
granddaughter was born in Wellington today to Katie and David Ostler. Welcome Samantha.
01 July 2007 - The results of the Peter Jackson poll is now available on the Index Page.
While you are checking that out, you are welcome to participate in the new poll on Bruno Lawrence.