We write the year 2015. One retro wave follows the next. Electro-Pop is bigger than ever. All around the world, current productions reference the sound that emerged from pre-reunification Germany. So where are the originals – the bands and artists of that time – today? Many can be found doing the rounds at eighties parties held by local radio stations. Others are investing the royalties from their back catalogues in the cultivation of organic vegetables. Not so for Camouflage. That's right – THE Camouflage – the masters of sadness dressed up in electronic songs. The band flitted directly from the small German town of Bietigheim-Biss- ingen all the way to the United States in 1987 with "The Great Commandment". Their music brilliantly combined the icy coolness of Kraftwerk, the pop of OMD and the melancholy gloom of Depeche Mode. Yet the temptation to indulge in nostalgia has always remained very feint with this band. So it's no surprise that Camouflage now emerge with their 8th album “Greyscale” – a strikingly current and compelling album, both musically and lyrically. The music on “Greyscale” sounds expansive and atmospheric, yet is simultaneously compelling and tight. 

Once again responsible for the production is Heiko Maile, who has enjoyed success as a film music composer for several years now. Stylistically confident, he contrasts electronic elements, guitars, sonic experimentation and beats with acoustic instruments, such as the string ensemble of the Babelsberg Film Orchestra. Great support for the musicality and sound of the album came from renewed collaboration with two of the band’s most loyal companions: Volker Hinkel (guitar, production) and Jochen Schmalbach (production, mixing), both of whom have been involved with Camouflage over many years, as part of the live band and all other activities. In “End of Words” there is even a children's choir, which sounds as if Kubrick himself set it in scene. It’s nothing less than cinematic! The record sounds modern, yet Camouflage always maintain the connection to their own original sound, for which they became famous.

The beats and basses, synth arpeggios and pads all reveal their unmistakable fingerprint, equally as characteristic as the touchingly poignant voice of singer Marcus Meyn. Another great quality of this music: Camouflage is not just some superficial band that bases its existence on churning out dance stompers and love songs. Their music and lyrics touch on nothing less than the big questions of our time. Hope is also a theme. “Count on Me” is a declaration of unconditional love. Here Marcus Meyn shares the vocals with Peter Heppner of Wolfsheim. Together they sing: “The truth will set me free, I can always count on you, as you can always count on me.” You can also count on the band Camouflage. They refuse to stand still. They do not live in the past. With “Greyscale” they have created a beautiful, powerful piece of music for the here and now – about ourselves and our lives. 

All-star Hong Kong extravaganza about patriots vs. traitors in 1930s Shanghai featuring Shaw Brothers veterans David Chiang and Ti Lung, and superstar Andy Lau (INFERNAL AFFAIRS);

from the director of FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN

Synopsis:

Thirteen deadly warriors versus an entire army. During the Sino-Japanese war, a Chinese patriot steals damning evidence that exposes traitorous intentions within the government. Planning to bring the evidence from Shanghai to Hong Kong and break it to the public he becomes an assassination target. In order to ensure a safe passage he employs an elite ensemble of fighters - The Shanghai Thirteen to protect him on the mission. With obstacles ahead and pursuers behind, bloody battles ensue.

THE SHANGHAI 13 is directed by CHANG Cheh.

Starring

Andy LAU (INFERNAL AFFAIRS, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS)

Jimmy WANG Yu (ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN)

CHEN Kuan Tai (FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, GALLANTS, THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS)

Danny LEE (THE KILLER)

TI Lung (A BETTER TOMORROW, DRUNKEN MASTER II)

The film will come to DVD in UK on 09 February 2015.

Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band, Nightrage, has announced an April 24, 2015 release date for its sixth studio album, The Puritan, due out on Despotz Records. You can watch video for the first single “Kiss of a Sycophant,” here:

The Puritan – an uncompromising, eerie, dramatic and melodic death metal journey in its purest essence – welcomes new Nightrage vocalist, Ronnie Nyman, to the mix. Nyman joins founding member, guitarist Marios Iliopoulos, and bassist, Anders Hammer, after performing with the band last year on its Japanese and Russian tours. Album number six was produced by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, Devin Townsend, Soilwork) and George Nerantzis at Dugout Productions in Uppsala, Sweden. 

www.facebook.com/nightrage

THE MONTH OF VALENTINE’S LOVE JUST GOT EVEN HOTTER!

88 FILMS BRINGS YOU A QUADRILOGY OF CULT CLASSICS!

FROM A FLESH-FLAUNTING FAVOURITE TO THREE FEAR-PACKED POT BOILERS, FEBRUARY IS AN EXCITING MONTH AT 88 FILMS!

Now in our third year, 88 Films is looking towards 2015 with the hopes of bringing our fans yet more in the way of under-looked genre gems, certified masterworks of marginal cinema and an array of slice and dice standouts with our Slasher Classics sub-label. This month, 88 Films drives their proverbial movie machine into top gear with four famous popcorn flicks that we believe few fans of cult craziness will want to avoid!

First up is ESKIMO NELL - one of the most celebrated British sex comedies of the 1970s. Featuring a witty script from MARK OF THE DEVIL’s Michael Armstrong (who also stars) and directed by a young Martin Campbell - years before he helmed the James Bond gems GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE – ESKIMO NELL is a hilarious satire on the low-budget British skin-flick industry of the time. The story focuses on three inexperienced filmmakers (Armstrong, Christopher Timothy and Terence Edmond) who attempt to make a movie version of the notoriously rude poem ‘The Ballad of Eskimo Nell’, with disastrous results. This classic British rib tickler features a cast of famous faces including Roy Kinnear (THE THREE MUSKETEERS), Katy Manning (DOCTOR WHO), Christopher Biggins (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW), Diane Langton (CARRY ON ENGLAND) and a cameo from the decade’s premiere sex kitten Mary Millington in her début movie appearance. Digitally re-mastered from the original film elements, and with a host of special features, ESKIMO NELL makes its way onto British BluRay for the very first time.

ESKIMO NELL SPECS:

Available: 16/02/2015, RRP 19.99 Blu-ray, £12.99 DVD

- New HD Transfer from preserved 35mm Film Elements Transferred and restored at Pinewood Studios

- Brand-new audio commentary with Michael Armstrong and historian Simon Sheridan

- Reversible sleeve with alternate poster art - Booklet notes by Simon Sheridan
- WILD LOVERS Bonus short Mary Millington film - Stills Gallery 

- Theatrical trailer

- All Regions

Next up is the continuation of our Slasher Classics line with three timeless terror totems.

Leading the lacerations is one of the most notorious and controversial horror shockers of all time: 1980’s matriarchal masterpiece MOTHER’S DAY. In this frequently censored frightener, we are introduced to three twenty-something women who are about to embark on a camping trip to hell. Our helpless heroines are stalked and snatched by a pair of psychosexual brothers and their insane parent - but oestrogen proves tough to overcome and MOTHER’S DAY ultimately provides us with a chair-gripping, sanguine- stained battle of the sexes. Prepare to be disoriented and disturbed by one of the true greats of eighties independent terror! Considered to be an essential entry in the backwoods-slasher genre, MOTHER’S DAY debuted in 1980 to critical confusion - but gained a fan following that includes such Hollywood heavyweights as Eli Roth (HOSTEL) and Brett Ratner (RUSH HOUR). Indeed, Ratner would eventually produce a lavishly budgeted 2010 remake, starring Rebecca De Mornay, although - as in most cases - it is the original which is most potent and powerful! Thirty-five years after its premiere, MOTHER’S DAY has lost none of its knife-sharp satire and this influential splatter outing remains recommended to the most seasoned of scary movie fans.

MOTHER’S DAY SPECS

Available: 23/02/2015, RRP 19.99 Blu-ray

- Fully Uncut!

- Audio Commentary by Charles Kaufman and Rex Piano

- Charles Kaufman Intro -Rex Piano Intro - Behind the Scenes Super 8 Footage
- Eli Roth on Mother’s Day

- Charles Kaufman and Saw’s Darren Lynn Bousman talk Mother’s Day 

- Theatrical Trailer

- TV Spot

- Graduation Day Trailer 

- 88 Films Trailer Reel

- Booklet by Dr. Calum Waddell featuring a conversation with star Nancy Hendrickson

- All Regions

Also arriving with a bloodstained bang in February is 1987’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE! And if you loved THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES then you are sure to pig-out with the sicko-shocks of eighties fright-favourite SLAUGHTERHOUSE. This corpse-ridden classic introduces one of the screen’s most memorable madmen in Buddy a cleaver-wielding backwoods baddie who, along with his father Lester, doesn’t take kindly to trespassers. Buddy was brought up killing and packing meat, but now his rage turns to teens and market-capitalists seeking to buy-out his dad’s property. The end result is a tongue-in-cheek terror totem that returns from the dusty VHS vaults to BluRay in this great new worldwide premiere HD master - scanned from the original negative by director Rick Roessler!

SLAUGHTERHOUSE SPECS

Available: 23/02/2015, RRP 19.99 Blu-ray

- Brand New Director Approved UNCUT HD Transfer

- Rick Roessler Interview

- Audio Commentary by Rick Roessler and executive producer Jerry Encoe

- Jerry Encoe Interview

- Raw On-set Footage

- Buddy Meets the Public Classic Featurette

- Theatrical Trailers

- TV Spots

- Collector’s Booklet By Dr. Calum Waddell 

- All Regions

Last but certainly not least we come to one of the original UK video nasties: 1981’s DON’T GO IN THE WOODS. This delirious camper-crippling offering doubtlessly attracted the attention of the anti-horror brigade due to its misanthropic madness and non-stop splatter action. A must-see slasher shocker, DON’T GO IN THE WOODS is a Utah-lensed, limb-lopping bout of slice and dice lunacy which also packs in plenty of comedic carnage and a natural park setting that provides a touch of creepy claustrophobia. Once banned but now available in all of its uncut outrageousness, 88 Films is proud to present DON’T GO IN THE WOODS with a new HD transfer overseen and approved by director James Bryan!

Available: 23/02/2015, RRP 19.99 Blu-ray

- Fully Uncut!

- Brand New 2K transfer overseen and approved by director James Bryan
- Audio Commentary by Director James Bryan
- Group Commentary by Deron Miller, Mary Gail Artz and James Bryan
- The Making of Don’t Go in the Woods -Talk Show Appearance -Theatrical Trailer
- Poster & Production Stills Gallery -88 Films Trailer Reel -Reversible Sleeve
- Collector’s Booklet By Dr. Calum Waddell featuring an interview with James Bryan 

- All Regions

Out on 31st March on Imagine on DVD

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: HIM & HER

Director: Ned Benson

Stars: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis

One couple's story as they try to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.