The Arrow Thread

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I also have that DVD box set and the Embodiment of Evil Blu-ray. I think I've seen those 'Coffin Joe' films once, with Embodiment of Evil only prior to reviewing it back in 2009!

They seem to be a collection that people own but don't really want to watch them anymore than a single time going off the three commenters here.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

They seem to be a collection that people own but don't really want to watch them anymore than a single time going off the three commenters here.

This was something I wrote in my review of the Coffin Joe collection:

"I watched these films over three days and was bemused, bored and amazed by what I saw. The content is quite advanced for the time with some extremely innovative scenes and themes where Marin explores the more complex elements of the human psyche – one film sees Zé do Caixão imprison a scientist and his wife to test out whether love or instinct truly exists and the climax is as shocking and horrifying as it is puzzling. Several films begin with Marin/Coffin Joe introducing the themes with some extremely ambitious existential philosophising and I got the impression that Marin was introducing themes that he couldn’t possibly investigate and expand on fully in less than ninety minutes. If I was being harsh, I’d call him pretentious but he doesn’t seem to care in the Strange World of Mojica Marins documentary where it appears he makes the films for himself and if you don’t like them then fine as there are others that do.

These aren’t for the easily offended as there are scenes of sexual violence and cannibalism so I imagine this set is aimed squarely at those who are already fans and, if a few more followers are picked up along the way, so much the better.

The Disc

The Picture
The films appear to be VHS to DVD transfers as the picture quality isn’t great and you get occasional wobble and distortion at the top and sides of the image. The early films look like they were shot on 16mm so it’s unsurprising that they don’t have the most pristine of pictures. Some of the effects are very good as Marin mixes special make-up effects with real mutilation so one scene will have characters really injecting themselves and a scene where real body piercings take place are followed by a group of cannibals biting off and eating someone’s skin so Marin carefully blurs the line between real and fake to make the fabricated scenes all the more effective.

The Sound
The soundtracks are quite frankly horrible with frequent dropouts and wild fluctuations in volume. Some films appear to have a large amount of dubbing but others have direct sound recording which is far from clear. As I don’t speak Portuguese, this isn’t too much of an issue as all the films are subtitled but this is where another problem arises. I’m used to the odd typo in subtitled films but haven’t come across many where the accuracy level is between 75 to 90 per cent. Words are frequently spelled wrong, sentences are incorrectly structured and it seems that no care or attention has gone into typing the subtitles – maybe they were done by a Brazilian with English as the second language but there is really no excuse for howlers like this:
“Both our live”
“Did you heard that?”
“Until them. Good night”
“Why did you brought us here?”
“Completelly”
“Chears”
“Scisors”
“Worderful”
“He’s oficially dead”

Marin has a strange taste in music as, accompanying the score, he uses familiar tunes, particularly the Hallelujah Chorus which, in one film, comes at the end when the beginning had Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head as the score!

Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of José Mojica Marins’ work then you’ll no doubt welcome this release but I can’t see it making too many new fans – it’s really preaching to the converted. If you like Marins’ films then this will be a set that you’ll snap up straight away but if you’re only mildly interested then I’d rent or borrow before committing to handing over cash for eight films, some of which you might never watch. I found them interesting, curious, intriguing and occasionally very dull but the AV quality and subtitling at times made for infuriating watching and I imagine hardcore fans would feel the same.

[Graveyard]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

I love the first two Coffin Joe films, the other ones i like having in my collection but i'm not in any hurry to rewatch them, this older set will do me for now.

Attachment 247381

I have this one too, I like that cover very much. The two first movies are great, after that Mojica decided to take some LSD and make movies at the same time..

[nosferatu42]

I don't have a problem with people taking drugs and making films, we'd have a lot more interesting films, but hey I was born in the 70's.

For me the first two films are low budget but he's obviously trying to create a character or do something different, throwing loads of ideas together to make something unique.

After that they just seem a bit shoddy and slapped together, even Embodiment of evil feels like a cynical cash grab riding on the tail of him getting more later day recognition.

The first films feel like he's trying to make waves, a protest against religion and conformity.

Weirdly my nephew kinda looks like him and is exactly that kinda geezer, unfortunately he doesn't wear a top hat and cuts his nails regularly.

Boo hiss....

[Graveyard]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

After that they just seem a bit shoddy and slapped together, even Embodiment of evil feels like a cynical cash grab riding on the tail of him getting more later day recognition.

The first films feel like he's trying to make waves, a protest against religion and conformity.

This describe exactly why I like the first two movies, and I agreed with the EE. I only watched once, and I enjoyed it. But I can see coming across has a cash grab, maybe his porn movies were not making enough money

[Susan Foreman]

"***NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE COMING!***

Join us this Friday (August 25th) at 3.00pm BST / 7.00am PT / 10.00am ET for our November new title reveals!"

Suggested titles include 'Black Swan', 'Nailgun Massacre', 'Nails', 'The Dentist', 'Tetsuo', 'Jagged Edge', 'Hostel', 'Mad Max', 'Nightmare On Elm Street', 'Your Vice Is A Locked Room', 'Vice Squad' and the 'Coffin Joe' box set

[nosferatu42]

My suggested title is some shitty film that nobody wants to buy.
Arrow haven't been hitting the target lately.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

My suggested title is some shitty film that nobody wants to buy.
Arrow haven't been hitting the target lately.

Agree it’s either something mainstream, far too niche or a 4k re-release with the same artwork and features as the original Blu-ray we all bought a couple of years back.

Luckily for us there is a multitude of better boutique labels now.

[Steel76]

It will probably be a huge disappointment, as usual.
I expects something artsy-fartsy or mainstream crap.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I'm sure they'll release something good for the American market whilst we get another Ring box set.