![Death Ship [1980] [DVD] [2014]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y0vgfQEqL.jpg)
Product Description At Last! The Video Rental Blockbuster of 1983 arrives on DVD, newly remastered from original vault elements and packed with extras! Unbeknown to the passengers on board a cruise ship in the Caribbean, a mysterious vessel is approaching - on a collision course! Despite the attempts of the crew to avert disaster, the liner is lost with all hands down, except for seven survivors. They are saved when they clamber aboard a ghostly freighter, where they discover an even worse fate. They are now prisoners on a former wartime vessel. As this ship speeds towards an unknown destination, they realise that something is intent on destroying each one of them in a grusesome and terrifying way... It's not a ship, it's a killing machine! From an original story by Hollywood legend Jack Hill (COFFY, FOXY BROWN, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS) and starring none other than George Kennedy (COOL HAND LUKE, THE DIRTY DOZEN) and Richard Crenna (RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD) comes the long-awaited UK DVD premiere of DEATH SHIP. Unseen in the UK since 1983, this deranged horror film is now widely regarded as a must-see cult classic! DVD Features & Bonus Extras: * Newly Created Widescreen (1.85:1) Presentation Enhanced for 16x9 TVs * English 2.0 (original PCM Mono) * Optional Hard of Hearing Subtitles * Audio Commentary with Director Alvin Rakoff, moderated by English Gothic author Jonathan Rigby * "From Blood Star to Death Ship" - An All-New Featurette with Director Alvin Rakoff, Writer Jack Hill and actors George Kennedy and Nick Mancuso * Theatrical Trailer (x 3) * The *uncensored" Bloody Shower Scene - darkened down in other releases * Picture Gallery (Posters, Stills, Press Books, Video Art) * Nucleus Promo Reel (at start of disc) * Trailers for 5 other Nucleus Films releases * RSDL dual layer high bit rate encode for optimum picture quality Synopsis Unbeknown to the passengers on board a cruise ship in the Caribbean, a mysterious vessel is approaching on a collision course. Despite the attempts of the crew to avert disaster, the liner is lost with all hands down, except for seven survivors. They are saved when they clamber aboard a ghostly freighter where they discover an even worse fate. They are now prisoners on a former wartime vessel. As this ship speeds towards an unknown destination, they realise that something is intent on destroying each one of them in a gruesome and terrifying way. From an original story by Hollywood legend Jack Hill (COFFY, FOXY BROWN, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS) and starring none other than George Kennedy (COOL HAND LUKE, THE DIRTY DOZEN) and Richard Crenna (FIRST BLOOD) comes the long-awaited UK DVD premiere of DEATH SHIP. Unseen in the UK since 1983, this deranged horror film is now widely regarded as a must-see cult classic! From the Contributor Alvin Rakoff (Director): Alvin Rakoff, former President of the Director's Guild of Great Britain, has directed more than 100 television dramas as well as a dozen feature films. Among other awards and nominations he twice won the coveted International Emmy Television Award. His work in theatre ranges from HAMLET at Bristol Old Vic, to a star-studded - Richard Briers, Wayne Sleep, Penelope Keith - charity performance before HM the Queen at Royal Albert Hall, and he is the first director to work with a very yound Sean Connery. P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Actor George Kennedy (as Ashland): WWII veteran, sandy haired, stocky actor who at one stage cornered the market at playing tough no-nonsense characters that were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy has notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV & film productions, and is well respected within the Hollywood community. Started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s & early 1960s (Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Maverick, Colt .45 etc ) before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was then a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy too, and his talents were in demand for Airport (1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber, Red Leary. See more
B**P
Death Ship [1980] - Review
This is one of the those movies that is a cult classic! So much so that it's popularity is pushing the cost up! I was lucky I got it for about a fiver including postage, but you could easily pay £10+ as it stands. It's a bit of Hokum, but it's good fun. Some folk might say it's that bad it's good! My DVD seemed to fit nicely on my HD TV so I guess it's been remastered. Don't forget to buy Ghost Ship. You'll enjoy them both! 5* for prompt shipping from the Seller!
S**L
Full Scream Ahead to the dead.
Water may cover far more of the planet than any landmass ever will, but terribly unpredictable climatic conditions and an utter dearth of imagination tends to make movies set on water a rarity hoping to be cherished, whether the actual result deems that hope accurate. And horror on the ocean is even more scarcer, so sail forward 1980's 'Death Ship' for a cruise it can't loose, and Nucleus Films can be thanked for delivering a region 0 disc with almost as many extras as the US version has, more of that later.The premise itself is dead on smart, and one cult floater I'd never seen, and wanting to be rammed central by it, I finally set sail. My captain's report is that it ebbs and flows with fitful moments of inspired death-scenes and mounting dread, but also threatens to deadlock aimlessly with budgetary constraints that collides unfortunately to sink certain powerful set pieces that should be pivotal, hence the liner our guests and few crew are on getting prow beaten by the death-cruiser. It may as well not have happened, the ensuing carnage is virtually nonexistent, as stock footage from old disaster movies like 'The Last Voyage' are shot through to enact the resulting mayhem, and then nothing-it dawns the next morning and the eight survivors are already in a makeshift float, barely betraying they'd experience any more than falling in the swimming pool at Aunt Coral Reef's. And not even hitting them. And no remains of the ship is in view at all. So far, so pitiful, but once that freak freighter returns to pick them up, the film begins its promise, unhelpfully slipping up yet again, though,with an accidental long-shot of a window being opened by a crew-member-you can see his arm. Minutes later, the window is opened from inside the ship with no tell-tale physicality on show, supporting the possibility the enemy is an unseen menace. So not delete that first shot?Redubbing Sally Ann Howes, if not replacing her, as second mate Richard Crenna's wife would have been ship-shape, the stuff she literally comes out with is absurdly at-odds with the seriousness of the situation, she's the worst performer in the film, though gets by at other moments. She rivals almost the basically comatose mother in 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' with the delivery, and the kids playing her children are embarrassingly better than her.Handsome Steven Bauer lookalike Nick Mancuso drifts sadly into overacting mode in slowed-down stills that are supposed to represent a descent into madness at the mercy of the evil force on board, and the scenes of him in a big net and in a theatre room would have reverberated far more powerfully if they weren't dragged out so much. We get it, he's going mad, stop stretching the shot. Ditto a shower sequence for his girlfriend that many will liken to 'Psycho'-I care little about that, anyone can go in a shower, what bothers me if it just won't end. Sure it's memorable enough, but rather embarrassing to watch. She does it well, but once again, some producer's just have to oil up previously untroubled waters.But the floating menace, a monstrous 2000 plus tonne lumber freighter, is the perfect monster, not living yet very much alive. It looks fantastic, a rusting, cob-webbed single-decked bringer of doom, and we're given helpful oft-shots of the working mechanics of this Nazi-nightmare: of pistons going up and down like raised guillotine heads, windows and portholes opening and slamming shut by themselves and steering wheels, levers and other parts all moving to either point an unseen enemy to be revealed later, or-perhaps the ship itself? But why, you may ask? Well, cruise with it and you'll find out. Controversially (at the time), what truly gives this horror film weight and reality-based roots is a real-life travesty not so distant yet, but hey, look what 'Cloverfield' passed off as its right to exist. Scenes of long-rotting bodies covered in cobwebs and twisted into tortured positions are generally a marvel of set design, as is old-film footage of Holocaust horror, and the musical score adds the necessary pounding terror, intercut with screaming voices of the long-dead and the whispering voice of an old dictator as it plumbs its wishes and demands into ambitiously delighted captain George Kennedy, a little hammy in bits but generally an expectantly malevolent presence. Topped off is the terrifying roar of the foghorn as the ship prepares itself for a ramming-"here I come and here you go" it could be saying. Added to this is some truly spectacular stunt-work to that regarding deaths and death attempts that often wash over stupid mishaps, like the crew-hand opening the window, and worse, one character suddenly appearing from one room to the outside deck in a badly contrived life-attempt. You want to drown the film at moments like this, but the whole obliterates and actually drowns out the missteps overall. The mono Dolby audio is wonderfully clear as well, every word spoken bell-clear, though the musical score by Ivor Stanley, while good for the most part, threatens to become shrill and tinny at times. But overall-it's all ship-shape and swimmingly done.Plus any horror fan's got to appreciate the tidal wave of meaningful ambition and subsequent splash it truly made, rippling far and wide, becoming the biggest hit of its year-behind 'Kramer Vs Kramer' no less,whilst successfully merging the disaster movies of old with a unique horror premise, which certainly doesn't seem to have only inspired Dark Castle's 2002 'Ghost Ship', and the same year's 'Below' from 'Pitch Black' man David Twohy-set on a submarine yet with a big Nazi incorporation too. Then there's Christopher Smith's 'Triangle'-isn't it possible that these, and maybe more have cruised 'Death Ship' up and down like a forensic examiner, treading water, awaiting their sea of glory?For a film seemingly sunk in forgotten waters, for it to resurface with such a pack of very fine extras kind of justifies the money the film just by itself is probably not quite worth, though I don't doubt its stature as a must-sea horror (sorry) in a subgenre that includes truly little. A fascinating commentary between 'English Gothic' author Jonathan Rigby and director Alvin Rakoff uncovers from the deep truly enthrall and entertain, an equally astute and compelling 42 minute featurette involving several of the actors, writer and director swims pleasingly, has a few irrelevant ducked scenes and a picture gallery, plus selected pages of the original story with its earlier working titles (about three others). The 1.85:1 widescreen presentation enhanced for HD can only rescue the film's picture quality so far, by itself the dim lighting and dull colours aren't any crime, but the early scenes right at the movie's start during the night are so static-filled and blurry they threaten to do your head in, and it also blurs out a bit at some later stages, with a few black line stains visible on the print. A shame, but if you appreciate we can only have this now thanks to a large amount of time and money spent on activating the transfer from the original Brit theatrical print, the Canadian original negatives being consigned to the deep abyss with its processing lab, it still a case of swimming over sinking. And there are worse transfers out there. Best of all-at least found footage film-making with intention to be grainy for authenticity (bull!) didn't exist back then.Most shocking of all is Rakoff's displeasure with his finished film, and his bemusement at the high regard its now held, and I can't go higher than three stars myself, but mine is a ***(8/10) for good, not an amazon *** for fair or average, and he just doesn't seem to like horror films. But likeable this most certainly is, and durable too, especially with that wicked oil tanker of evil. Yes 'Deep Rising' is far more me-it has the monster and the budget to make a ship collision look and feel exactly what it should, plus the aftermath, but I admire 'Death Ship' for doing what only the 80's could-to take a suggestive threat conveyed with pure clarity, a main pollutant today of horror movies where all are so desperate to "keep it real" that real horror, ironically, is actually kept down so forcefully it lays down and dies, leaving a perfectly ordinary and utterly worthless thriller/drama/action film in its place. Gulity parties are all around, many in the found-footage department.While I was surprised enough to hear ghosts were actually supposed to feature in the film from the writer and the producer, they were actually exorcised in preference for what was chosen, and as it was 1980 back then, I utterly identify that being the correct choice, because what was used was truly different and truly worked, pre-dating the Stephen King mini-series from 2002 'Rose Red' (ironically too the 'Ghost Ship'/'Below' year) in that sense. If it were made today, I wouldn't, but then it wouldn't, would it, be made today, which is exactly my point, and a far better one that the absurd moans on its release that the German dialogue (only used in scattered moments of the broadening identity of the threat wasn't understood, and it is here that audiences' patience and rationality and common sense are just undeserving of such a movie. For God's sake when a threatened animal warns you with a charge, glare or snarl it's going to attack, you don't wait and wish for it to develop human speech so you can understand its intent. For this reason, our extras seem to actually trounce the US ones which actually include the German speaking lady on the soundtrack telling you in English what she-or the ship-was saying! Seriously, whilst being bilingually challenged isn't a social inadequacy, an inability to grasp the obvious is. Whoever these fans were at its time of release, don't all gasp for air at once, talk about 20,000 leagues of lost logistics under the sea!
M**Y
a good horror film, with good actors, gets'a good blu ray release.
this movie was a major release in 1980. It did pretty well too. It played most american cities that year and it has the recently died george kennedy in it. nick manusco is a underrated actor too. He should have bigger than he was. And richard crenna aalways did a good job in a movie. So we have three fine actors doing a good job in this film. Which is the original ghost ship. The evil ship rams a liner and the people take shelter on the death ship and old nazi ship that is hunting for more victims. Its' a good idea for a film and they did the best they could with a low budget here. The rotting corpses in this film look pretty real too. I am glad this was put out in a normal release in the uk. because in most areas it was a limited release. But here we get to see this good horror film in a nice print on blu ray for a affordable price. Is this a great movie? no, but it's effective and the blu ray is well done.
T**N
Ship Ahoy!!
This film was one of the first VHS we rented when we bought our first video player back in the early 80's and I remember enjoying it then, so had to buy the DVD. I find it quite creepy and George Kennedy and Richard Crenna are good for the film. The basic storyline revolves around an old WW2 German ghost ship that purposely collides with a passenger liner, sinking it. The survivors are picked up by the ghost ship and the it is a case of survival for the new passengers as they start to get getting bumped off by unseen forces.
M**N
Finally, this Canadian horror classic on widescreen DVD!!!
Glad to finally have found this classic from 1980 on DVD after all these years! It's not the greatest print (dirt, debris, scratches) but it beats the heck out of my old VHS tape from years past. This seems to be the best print of it available, so you won't hear me complain! It also has special features which was a shocker to me. Unfortunately for those here in the US, this version is Region 2 and not NTSC (so you will need multi region player). This print is anamorphic widescreen and looks better than what I expected. Don't know if any other company will release this film, so grab this version if you are a fan of this classic. Now you can see where the horrible movie "Ghost Ship" came from (I admit, this isn't much better!). Just glad to have it on DVD!!
T**E
... copy of death ship it has always been a favourite of mine
Many thanks for the Blu-Ray copy of death ship it has always been a favourite of mine, great to see it at last on the format it needs ! It arrived safely, and as promised. Look forward to watching it again. Many thanks, Tim
A**R
Good
Good
S**E
Good
Thanks
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