STACK #139 May 2016

EXTRAS NEWS

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The deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Force Awakens are cursory at best (an earlier introduction to Leia, Kylo Ren searching the Falcon, a snowspeeder chase with unfinished FX), but the four-part documentary Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey is excellent. Given the cast and crew were subject to a code of silence during production, it's great to finally hear them all talk at length about their characters and the daunting task of doing justice to the Star Wars legacy. There's also some vintage behind-the-scenes footage from A New Hope and Empire , a brief tour of the Lucasfilm archive, and a glimpse of some cool, unused concept art. BEST OF BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES

CRONENBERG COLLECTION ViaVision release three of the Canadian cult director's films on DVD & Blu-ray.

D irector David Cronenberg's early films rank among his very best, establishing his fascination with "body horror" that would become a recurring theme throughout his work during the 1970s and '80s. Shivers (1975) reveals the grisly consequences of an experiment to create a benign parasite that will replace human organs. The end result, however, is "a cross between an aphrodisiac and a venereal disease", spreading contagion through an island apartment complex and turning the residents into sex-crazed zombies. Not only does the film pre-empt the 'rage virus' movie cycle of later decades, it also features torso-bursting creatures three years before Alien . Rabid (1977) explores similar themes to Shivers , only this time an experimental skin graft technique creates a vampiric organ in the armpit of patient Rose, played by adult movie star Marilyn Chambers in her first non-porn

role. Rose's thirst for blood leaves her victims infected with a virulent strain of rabies, which quickly turns into a full blown pandemic that overwhelms Montreal. The third film in the collection, The Dead Zone (1983), is a departure for Cronenberg – an adaptation of Stephen King's best-seller in which accident victim Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) awakens from a five-year coma with the ability to forsee the future. One of the best King adaptations, as well as featuring one of Walken's finest performances, The Dead Zone is a cracking thriller that's still recognisably Cronenberg despite the radical shift in tone and subject. Complementing the release of The Cronenberg Collection are two genre films making their Blu-ray debut: the X-Files -inspired The Mothman Prophecies (2002) starring Richard Gere, and the biblical apocalypse thriller The Seventh Sign (1988), in which our salvation depends on Demi Moore. • Available May 4

EXTRAS

They said it.

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WIN AN EPIC CANON 80D DIGITAL SLR CAMERA

"It’s one thing making a record, but it’s another thing talking about it. There’s some questions I just don’t know the answers to... but we've made all the right decisions, we feel."

H

ow could there be only one?" asks the trailer voiceover guy in the promo for Jaws 2 . He's refrerring to monster

ove live music? We’ve given in to your demands

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Great White sharks, but the same can be said of Jaws movies following the runaway success of Spielberg's 1975 classic, which spawned three sequels subject to the laws of diminishing returns. Now Jaws 2 , Jaws 3 and Jaws:The Revenge are coming to Blu-ray for the very first time. Jaws 2 is easily the best of the bunch (it

and have brought back our fabulous Snapped competition, starting this

month. Submit your live gig photographs (old or new) and you could walk away with this versatile camera, perfect for capturing striking stills or full HD video.The Canon 80D provides everything you need at your fingertips to advance your photography and video skills. Features include exceptional image quality with a new 24.2MP CMOS sensor, a new 45 all cross-type point Auto Focus system which freezes action with ultimate precision, and built-in Wi-Fi and dynamic NFC connectivity making it simple to connect and share full resolution JPEGs to your smart device. • Head to stack.net.au to find out more .

still has Chief Brody), while Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge ("This time it's personal!") are for completists only. At the time of writing it's still unknown

as to whether Jaws 3 will be available in 3D, as seen in cinemas back in 1983. • Available June 2

- Chris Cheney, The Living End

• Read the full interview on pages 10–11 of STACK Music

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MAY 2016

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