The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1971
Director: Graham Stark
Writers: Graham Chapman, Barry Cryer, Ray Galton, Alan Simpson, Spike Milligan, John Esmonde, Bob Larbey, Graham Stark, Dave Freeman
Cast: Bruce Forsyth, Harry Secombe, Leslie Phillips, Harry H. Corbett, Ian Carmichael, Alfie Bass, Spike Milligan

Release Date: May 27th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 108 Minutes 43 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"A madcap satire of English propriety, Graham Stark’s The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins unleashes Britain’s naughtiest, bawdiest comedians upon the capital vices. While it may fall short of its claim of being “the funniest film with the greatest all-star comedy cast ever,” its abundant sight gags and double entendres make it the perfect specimen of a unique form of risqué humor—and a veritable Who’s Who of 1960s British comedy. With its episodic structure, animated interstitials, and script work by Graham Chapman, the film often evokes the irreverent spirit of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, but the comedy of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is of a kinder and gentler nature, expressing a warm nostalgia for simpler times, before the sexual revolution turned such lovable comedians into cultural dinosaurs." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45 GB

Feature: 31.6 GB

It appears that this transfer uses the same source that Odeon used for their 2015 UK Blu-ray release; that said, the source looks great. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, black levels fare well, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction. Although there are moments where the image looks soft, image clarity is generally strong.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 50 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), an interview with stills photographer Keith Hamshere titled Sin Stills (5 minutes 6 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Harvey Harrison titled Never Forget (19 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Audrey Nicholson titled Stark Choices (22 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins was the only feature film that Graham Stark directed. He was a prolific actor whose career spanned five decades, and he is most known for his numerous collaborations with Peter Sellers, notably A Shot in the Dark.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is an anthology comedy featuring segments inspired by the seven deadly sins, and in between each segment are animated cartoon sequences. There is a cheeky pre-credits sequence of a woman running through the woods in a see-through nightie. When she disrobes, her naughty bits have objects strategically covering them. The opening setup creates a stage for a series of scenarios whose dialogue and visuals are laced with sexual innuendo.

Avarice: An affluent man forces his chauffeur to retrieve a fifty-pence coin that fell into the sewer.

Envy: A couple that has recently come into a large sum of money discovers a house they desire. When the current owners refuse to sell, the husband devises a series of schemes to persuade them to change their minds.

Gluttony: A man working at a health food company tries to hide his compulsive eating from his employer.

Lust: A man in a phone booth lusts after a woman in the booth next to him; unfortunately for him, the feeling is not mutual; she finds him repulsive.

Pride: Two cars come to an impasse on a narrow road because of their drivers' stubbornness.

Sloth: Characters refuse to work with each other instead of making the logical choice.

Wrath: Two men, furious at a park keeper for reprimanding them for littering, allow their anger to cloud their judgment. They engage in a series of poorly thought-out attempts to kill the park keeper, but each effort ends in failure.

The quality of these seven segments greatly ranges. The weakest segments are Lust and Pride, while the most inventive is Sloth, which is done like a silent film. The best segments are Avarice and Gluttony. Although more known for their horror output, Tigon did release quite a few comedies, more as a distributor than a production company. That said, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is their strongest foray into this genre; it is imbued with the saucy humor and innuendo that was prevalent throughout 1970s British comedies.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins gets a strong release from Kino Lorber that comes with a serviceable audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand: Tigon Collection – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1972
Director: Fred Burnley
Writers: Gordon Honeycombe, Rosemary Davies
Cast: Susan Hampshire, Frank Finlay, Michael Petrovitch, Michael Craze, Jack Lambert, Betty Duncan, David Garth, Anthony Booth, Marcia Fox

Release Date: August 4th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 95 Minutes 50 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £17.00 (UK)

"When troubled Anna (Susan Hampshire) comes to Jersey in an attempt to bring some meaning to her life, she finds herself falling in love with a man called Hugh, much to his brother’s repugnance. The pair flee to Scotland but when Hugh suddenly dies, Anna is left distraught. However, things get more complicated when Hugh appears to return from the grave..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation in original 1.85:1 aspect ratio."

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 26.1 GB

Though there are some very minor instances of debris and a noticeable source blemish around the 82-minute mark that lasts for a few seconds, the bulk of the source looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, black levels are strong, and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in great shape; it's clean, free of any distortion or hiss, dialogue comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (16 images—stills/posters/home video art), an interview with actress Susan Hampshire titled Both the Sea and the Sand (8 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with editor Norman Wanstall titled Jersey Journey (11 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with standby propertyman Brian Lofthouse titled Where Credit is Due (7 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author Stephen Thrower titled Slight Return (34 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with John Hamilton and Jasper Sharp, an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw, reversible cover art, a glossy O-ring (limited to the first pressing), and a 20-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled Love Beyond Death: Neither the Sea Nor the Sand written by Barry Forshaw and an essay titled Neither the Sea Nor the Sand written by Andrew Graves.

Summary:

Unsure if she still loves her husband, a woman goes on a vacation to clear her mind of her troubled marriage. While on vacation she meets and falls in love with a young man who works as a lighthouse keeper. They quickly forge an inseparable bond. Her newfound happiness is short-lived when he suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances. Her grieving of her lost lover is short-lived when his corpse shows up the next morning.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is one of the more unusual love story/horror hybrids that I have had the pleasure to come across. From its opening moments when the two lovers at the core of this story meet until its haunting coda, this film firmly establishes its objectives. The phrase “Till Death Do Us Part,” from the wedding ceremony in the Book of Common Prayer, is the easiest way to sum up the plot.

To say that the opening setup is pedestrian would not be an understatement; this section is dialogue-heavy moments getting to know the two main characters. Around the 35-minute mark, the tone shifts dramatically, coinciding with one of the characters having a transformation. That said, the opening setup, which is firmly entrenched in melodrama, tends to drag, while things pick up considerably when supernatural elements come to the forefront.

There are really only two of note: Susan Hampshire (Malpertuis), who portrays Anna Robinson, a woman in an unhappy marriage, and Michael Petrovitch (Turkey Shoot) in the role of George Dabernon, the man Anna falls in love with. Of these two performances Susan Hampshire does all of the heavy lifting; it is her character's words and emotions that drive the narrative.

The most surprising aspect of Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is the visuals, which are overflowing with atmosphere, and they take full advantage of the scenic seaside landscapes. Neither the Sea Nor the Sand was directed by Fred Burnley, who began his career as an editor before making the shift into directing. His direction is solid; it is a shame that Neither the Sea Nor the Sand was the only feature film he directed. Three years later he would die tragically at the age of 42.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand's most glaring shortcoming is its languid pacing, while its greatest strength is its fresh take on familiar genre elements. That said, just how much one will enjoy Neither the Sea Nor the Sand depends solely on those who don’t give up on it because of the aforementioned opening setup. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Neither the Sea Nor the Sand's positives outweigh any of its negatives.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand gets a solid release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras; recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Saucy 70s! - A British Sex Comedy Threesome: Deluxe Collectors Edition – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: UK, 1973 (The Sex Thief), UK, 1972 (Au Pair Girls), UK, 1969 (Zeta One)
Directors: Martin Campbell (The Sex Thief), Val Guest (Au Pair Girls), Michael Cort (Zeta One)
Cast: Jennifer Westbrook, David Warbeck, Henry Rayner, Gerald Taylor, Michael Armstrong, Terence Edmond, Diane Keen, Christopher Neil, Harvey Hall (The Sex Thief), Astrid Frank, Johnny Briggs, Gabrielle Drake, Me Me Lai, Nancie Wait, Joyce Heron, Daphne Anderson, Geoffrey Bayldon (Au Pair Girls), James Robertson Justice, Charles Hawtrey, Robin Hawdon, Anna Gaël, Brigitte Skay, Dawn Addams, Valerie Leon, Lionel Murton, Yutte Stensgaard (Zeta One)

Release Date: December 19th, 2022
Approximate Running Times: 93 Minutes 9 Seconds (The Sex Thief), 84 Minutes 29 Seconds (Au Pair Girls), 85 Minutes 50 Seconds (Zeta One)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English (All Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (All Films)
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £35.00 (UK)

"From the era that also bought us the seedier Carry On films and the Confessions… movies there also came a run of other ‘delightfully of their time’ British sex comedies. This beautifully presented set brings together three of those typically silly and salacious soft porn romps in Zeta One (1970), Au Pair Girls (1972) and The Sex Thief (1973). Combining elements of science fiction, crime and plenty of smut these movies could only have sprung from that strangely odd time which fell somewhere between the dying sixties and the Deep Throat generation.

Featuring an eclectic mix of talent including James Robertson Justice (Doctor in the House), Me Me Lai (The Man from Deep River), Charles Hawtrey, (Carry on up the Jungle) and Diane Keen (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush) these films are at least guaranteed to raise a smile if nothing else…

Daring, daft and unspeakably naughty, here is a threesome you’ll never forget." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5 (Zeta One), 3.25/5 (The Sex Thief, Au Pair Girls)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "The masters of Zeta One, Au Pair Girls and The Sex Thief were transferred in High Definition from best possible archive film materials and supplied by Tigon Film distributors.

Additional restoration was carried out by 88 Films at ITV Studios in 2022 to remove excess dust, instability and flicker."

The Sex Thief comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40 GB

Feature: 27 GB

Au Pair Girls comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 29.1 GB

Feature: 23 GB

Zeta One comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.1 GB

Feature: 24.9 GB

Though none of these transfers are reference quality, they are all still better than what has come before on home media. Zeta One is the best-looking of these three films, while the other two look similar quality-wise.

Audio: 3.5/5 (Zeta One), 3/5 (The Sex Thief, Au Pair Girls)

Each film comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The Sex Thief and Au Pair Girls have sibilance issues. The dialogue is consistently clear, the overall sound is well-balanced, and the audio range is satisfactory.

Extras:

Extras for The Sex Thief include overseas version (intro only) from hardcore version of The Sex Thief (2 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with burnt-in Dutch subtitles), an interview with Michael Armstrong titled To Catch a Thief (11 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled It Must Be Burglary - Making The Sex Thief, featuring production accountant David Ball, composer Michael Vickers, editor Peter Musgrave, art director Tony Noble, stunt arranger Paul Weston, and actress Veronica Doran (32 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw.

Extras for the Au Pair Girls include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), three extended scenes from the Export version (5 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and a featurette titled Au Pair Appeal (10 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), featuring actor John Standing, camera operator Geoff Glover, and first assistant editor Tariq Anwar.

Extras for Zeta One include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Angela Grant titled Outerspace Girl (10 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Robin Hawdon titled Zeta Man (9 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Earning a Crust, featuring assistant editor Jonathan Morris, and camera operator Geoff Glover (7 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw.

Other extras include a double-sided fold-out poster, and a 80-Page Perfect-bound Book with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled Boobs on Screen, Bums on Seats written by Simon Sheridan, Why i Made Sex Comedy an archival interview with director Val Guest, archival reviews for each film, archival images and other promotional materials, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

Besides being British, the other commonality of these three films is that they were produced or distributed by Tigon Films.

The Sex Thief: A novelist who writes trashy novels by day becomes a masked jewel thief by night, seducing his victims when he gets caught in the act.

Everyone must begin their journey at some point. That said, it's head-scratching that Martin Campbell, who directed films like GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale, began his career directing sex comedies like The Sex Thief. Though the premise of The Sex Thief is absurd and the narrative predictable, the direction is solid, particularly in the exaggerated sex scenes.

There is nothing memorable about the performances; David Warbeck (The Beyond), in the role of the protagonist, a novelist masquerading as a jewel thief, spends most of his time having sex. The humor, most of which is sexually laced, misses more than it lands. The funniest joke is how all of the women who have been robbed give different descriptions: a 6-foot-6 Russian who disguises himself as a midget. Worst of all, the narrative just plods along, never gaining any momentum. Ultimately, The Sex Thief is a forgettable comedy whose negatives far outweigh its positives.

Au Pair Girls: Four women from foreign countries go to England to work as au pairs, and sexy shenanigans unfold. 

Au Pair Girls was helmed by a director that one does not usually associate with sex comedies. Up to that point in his career, Val Guest was most known for his 14 collaborations with Hammer Films and his work in the science fiction genre. That said, Au Pair Girls would mark a shift in his career; most of his films after it would be in the comedy genre.

The main attractions of Au Pair Girls are the four actresses who portray the au pairs: Astrid Frank (The Resort Girls), Gabrielle Drake (There's a Girl in My Soup), Me Me Lai (Man from Deep River), and Nancie Wait (The Amorous Milkman). Each of these four women’s characters is given a different nationality, and the humor takes advantage of their traits. Of course, all of them shine their brightest when their more than ample assets are on display.

You have to give Au Pair Girls credit for never straying too far from its strengths. Though the focal point is a series of sexual rendezvous, that is not to say that sufficient time is not devoted to exposition. Au Pair Girls is filled with sexually laced humor that rarely misses its mark, and its gratuitous amount of nudity is a plus. Ultimately, Au Pair Girls is a fun time waster that holds up better than most 1970s British sex comedies.

Zeta One: A secret agent encounters a group of alluring women from another dimension who abduct women from Earth to repopulate their planet.

Co-written and directed by Michael Cort, Zeta One would be his only feature film. The camera just lets characters take center stage; his direction is flat, never delivering any personal flourishes. That said, it is not surprising that he did not direct another feature film.

Considering the premise—a film filled with beautiful, scantily clad women from another dimension—its lack of nudity feels like a missed opportunity. Another area that is not as strong as it could be is the narrative structure; it uses a wrap-around with a secret agent character whose retelling of his adventure with the women from another dimension. Before he even begins this story, there is a lengthy game of foreplay between him and a woman he works with. Needless to say, though Zeta One is a mess, it is not a complete loss.

The most surprising aspect is its cast of recognizable faces: Dawn Addams (The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse), Valerie Leon (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb), Yutte Stensgaard (Lust for a Vampire), and James Robert Justice (The Guns of Navarone), who portrays a major whose capture tortured some of the women from another dimension. In the case of the latter, it is documented that he was ashamed of working on a film like Zeta One. That said, the performance suits the story that unfolds.

Though billed as a fantasy film, it often employs its humor with tongue firmly in cheek. The planet Angvia, where the women from another dimension are from, is an anagram for vagina. The special effects are atrocious; the women from Angvia have fingers that are a deadly weapon, which they shoot like a gun. There are a lot of James Bond references; the secret agent character is a spoof of James Bond, and his boss's name is W. Ultimately, somehow, despite its shortcomings, Zeta One manages to be a mildly entertaining film in a campy way.

Saucy 70s! - A British Sex Comedy Threesome gives the three films in this collection their best home media release to date, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Haunted House of Horror: Tigon Collection – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1969
Directors: Michael Armstrong, Gerry Levy
Writers: Michael Armstrong, Gerry Levy
Cast: Frankie Avalon, Jill Haworth, Dennis Price, Mark Wynter, George Sewell, Gina Warwick, Richard O'Sullivan, Carol Dilworth, Julian Barnes, Veronica Doran, Robin Stewart, Jan Holden, Clifford Earl, Robert Raglan

Release Date: January 20th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 27 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK)

"Bored by their usual nightlife activities, a group of swinging London twenty-somethings decide to get their kicks by partying in an abandoned ‘haunted’ house. But when one of their number is found murdered, the gang is dragged into a world of horror." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation in original 1.66:1 aspect ratio."

The Haunted House of Horror comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 25.2 GB

This is another solid encode from Fidelity in Motion. The source looks great; colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. That said, though black levels are strong, there are a few moments where they are not as convincing.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a stills gallery (36 images - posters/stills/press book), a theatrical trailer under the title Horror House (1 minute 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer under the title Haunted House of Horror (2 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Mel Churcher titled A Party to The Haunted House of Horror (3 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with assistant editor Jonathan Morris titled Helping to Cut The Haunted House of Horror (3 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Micheal Armstrong titled House of Horrors - Micheal Armstrong on The Haunted House of Horror (32 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary The Making Of The Haunted House of Horror with comments by Micheal Armstrong, actresses Veronica Doran, Carol Dilworth, actor Mark Wynter, production secretary Jeanne Ferber, editor Peter Pitt, dubbing editor Howard Lanning, hairdresser Russ Carver, and camera operator Jimmy Devis (91 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with film critics Kim Newman and Sean Hogan, an audio commentary with film journalists Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, reversible cover art, a glossy O-ring (limited to the first pressing) and a 36-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with UK pressbook, Tigon double bill pressbook, excerpts from the screenplay kindly supplied by Michael Armstrong, and production stills and posters.

Summary:

Bored partygoers looking for a thrill go to a haunted house.

The Haunted House of Horror was written and directed by Michael Armstrong, who would go on to direct Mark of the Devil. In its original form, The Haunted House of Horror was a much different film. There would be numerous rewrites of the screenplay, which drastically altered Michael Armstrong’s original screenplay. Changing the killer's motivation is the most notable of these changes. AIP's (American International Pictures) meddling would also extend to casting; they would insist that Michael Armstrong use Frankie Avalon.

There is an unsettling pre-credits moment that takes place in the house where the later carnage happens. This moment does a superb job of setting the tone for the other moments that take place in the haunted house. Unfortunately, most of the moments outside of the haunted house are lacking, and the narrative tends to drag during these moments.

Some casting choices that did not happen, like David Bowie and Boris Karloff, are more interesting than the actors who were cast. When it comes to the performances, most of the cast are serviceable. The casting of Frankie Avalon really hurts The Haunted House of Horror; he does not fit in with the rest of the younger cast members. Where they are all British (he’s the only American), he looks older than they do.

Though billed as a horror film, The Haunted House of Horror spends more time looking like a swinging 1960s melodrama. Besides clothing and decor, the soundtrack, which features music by The Pretty Things, firmly entrenches The Haunted House of Horror in late 1960s swinging London. Composer Reg Tisley (The Body Stealers) delivers a moody score that really enhances the scenes in the haunted house.

It is 39 minutes before the first kill, and though it, like the subsequent kills, is gruesome, the overall body count is low. The narrative features a real head-scratcher; instead of reporting that one of their friends was brutally murdered, they cover it up and keep quiet about it. The last 35 minutes are best described as a whodunit in which the killers' motives are fully laid out. Ultimately, The Haunted House of Horror is a film of missed opportunities.

The Haunted House of Horror gets a solid release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer