Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of movie
trailers. Even as a child, my favorite part of the theater-going
experience was the pile of trailers that ran before the show.
In the days of video rental, I actually enjoyed the forced
trailers that ran before the feature. And to me, no DVD  is
“ultimate,” “special,” or “deluxe”
without the original theatrical trailer included with the
film. Now, if your idea of a good time is not watching
128 minutes worth of nothing but trailers, stop reading right
now. But if you are like me, continue on and I’ll tell
you all about my time with Synapse Films' new release, 42nd
Street Forever: Volume 1.
42nd Street Forever gives us a collection
of trailers that try to re-create the grindhouse experience,
when the rattrap theaters that lined the titular New York
City street were the epicenter of the exploitation film world.
Distributors at the time had an interesting challenge: How
to sell these low-budget films with zero title recognition,
precious few “stars,” and sometimes, not even
titles originating from the United States. Make no mistake,
these weren’t “art” films, and in the days
before hardcore pornography, they weren’t automatic
ticket sellers either.
What was great about these trailers, and movie trailers in
general, is looking back and learning how films were sold
to their target audience. In this case, the more blood, butchery,
and boobs, the  better.
These guys weren’t just selling the sizzle. Sometimes
they didn’t even have the steak to back it up. What
you get in this disc, as was the case with nearly all exploitation
press materials at the time, is a variety of methods used
to push these films. There are trailers that appear to come
directly from the producers of the film, there were ones that
were redubbed in English, there were those that were obviously
recut and/or renamed by the distributors, and best of all,
there were those that had original material shot specifically
for the trailer itself (sometimes by the distributor and sometimes
by the filmmakers themselves.)
Trailers are a true art form. It takes incredible skill and
talent to boil down a full-length feature into a few short
minutes, showing you enough to get excited about it, not showing
you too much, and still trying to maintain something of a
beginning, middle, and end.
 The
great joy of discs like these is that you can discover films
you never knew about, show friends pieces of films that you
talk endlessly about (without subjecting them to the entire
feature), and relive titles you’ve seen and either love
or hate. You also can begin to discern what makes a successful
trailer on the most basic of levels; either by seeing a trailer
that completely blows away the film it is trying to sell or
by leaving you with the absolute need to track that title
down and see it for yourself.
42nd Street Forever: Volume 1 contains 47
different trailers for films running the gambit of the exploitation
genres that dominated the grindhouse and drive-in circuits
from the late ‘60s to the early ‘80s. You get
horror, splatter, blaxploitation, sci-fi, giallo,
sword & sandal, mondo, martial arts, kaiju,
sexploitation, and some that  defy
classification. You also get surprise looks at “name”
actors, including: John Carradine, Fred “The Hammer”
Williamson, Sylvester Stallone, Godzilla, Peter Cushing, John
Saxon, Dan “Grizzly Adams” Haggerty, William S.
Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, John Holmes, Ravi Shankar and Roger
Moore. You’ll also see: Tits, lesbians, limp cocks,
gay bikers, werewolf bikers, black cowboys, Stallone porn,
bad effects, worse dubbing, armless and legless kung-fu masters,
animal mutilation, naughty nuns, primitive dental care, indiscriminate
use of the ‘N’ word, epic Roman battles, and so
very much more.
For the fact that trailers are the stepchild of film restoration,
and the original prints were never considered much worth keeping,
let alone keeping stored properly, I was amazed by the generally
decent condition of all of those presented on this disc. Sure,
you have a few that are faded out, are rife with film breaks,
or have some damage, but considering the life of a film trailer
(most destined for the garbage bins after the title is finished
in distribution) I was pleased. Everything is presented in
its original scope, with most being 1.78:1 (although some
interesting artifacts include the sex romps shot in 70mm!)
 My
personal favorites in this series include:
The Italian Stallion (1970) - This was a
ragged little porno film that Sylvester Stallone shot while
a starving actor in New York. The original title was The
Party at Kitty and Stud’s. Once Rocky hit in a big way and Sly was a superstar, an enterprising
distributor dug this gem out and retitled it to capitalize
on Stallone’s fame. This is one of those trailers that
include footage shot specifically for it, and it is both laughable
and extraordinarily clever in its bold cashing in. Take special
note of the posters and lobby cards in the background. Ah,
the wonderful days before lawsuits.
The Rape of the Sabines (1961) - An Italian-made
Peblum recalling the founding of Rome. While there was obviously
some money spent in making this  would-be
epic, the incompetence abounds. The real clincher here is
seeing a very young and very fey Roger Moore mince about as
Romulus.
Superfuzz (1980) - I was excited to see
this among the trailers on this disc because I remember, when
I was 11, thinking that this movie was the bomb! Well, bomb
is right. Sometimes, the opinion of your 11-year-old self
isn’t to be trusted. The trailer was just embarrassingly
bad and I fear I had shit taste as a young  lad.
Also, I never knew that this was an Italian production, although
that goes on to explain an awful lot.
Boss Nigger (1975) - Best tagline ever:
“White Man's Town... Black Man's Law!” Released
at the height of the blaxploitation explosion and the waning
years of the Italian-style of gritty and violent Westerns,
this has Fred Williamson as the sheriff in the old west. Chock
full of great lines and totally un-PC action, I was just dying
to find this title after watching. Sadly, it isn’t available
on video, so this trailer will just have to do for now.
 The
Depraved (1971) - Starring the friggin’ HOT
Swedish actress Christina Lindberg (Thriller: A Cruel
Picture), this is the single film from the entire
lot that I just have to see, based on the trailer.
To me, this is what exploitation cinema is all about: Nihilism,
instincts and intentions in complete contrast to the mainstream,
a truer reflection on the pure cruelty of human beings, and
the balls to show it all on screen. Sadly, this also isn’t
yet on video.
 The
Pink Angels (1971) - Gay bikers. What else is there
to say, except that hilarity certainly ensues. Oh yeah, and
Dan Haggerty is one of ‘em. I say, get this released
on DVD now!
Other titles include: The Undertaker And His Pals, The Flesh And Blood Show, Women And Bloody Terror / Night
Of Bloody Horror, Blood Spattered Bride / I Dismember Mama,
Corruption, The Butcher Of Binbrook, Ginger, Creampuffs, The
3 Dimensions Of Greta, Hard Candy, The Centerfold Girls, Panorama
Blue, Wicked Wicked, Teenage Mother, Charlie And The Hooker,
Matango, The Green Slime, Destroy All Monsters, The Crippled
Master, Werewolves On Wheels, They
Call Her One Eye, Maid
In Sweden, Behind Convent Walls, Secret Africa, Shocking Asia,
Chappaqua, Welcome Home Brother Charles, The Legend Of Nigger
Charlie, The 44 Specialist, The Bullet Machine, Death Drive,
The Raiders Of Atlantis, Star Crash, Confessions Of A Summer
Camp Counselor, Sunset Cove, Superfuzz, Death Will Have Your
Eyes, Death Has Blue Eyes, A Black Veil For Lisa, Ironmaster,
The Deadly Spawn, and Devil’s Nightmare.
Presentation
As mentioned above, I was
amazed by the generally decent condition of all of those presented
on this disc. Sure, you have a few that are faded out, are
rife with film breaks, or have some damage, but considering
that most trailers are destined for the garbage bins after
the title is finished in distribution, I was generally pleased
with the quality here. Everything is presented in its original
scope.
Extras
As for extras, you aren’t going
to find any. What do you want? This is a title that is essentially
nothing but extras, so I can’t think of anything
that could be added to this disc. Well, perhaps one-sheets
would be cool; but honestly, they are boring as hell on a
DVD. A better idea would be to release a companion book with
this title that includes all the paper goods (one-sheets,
lobby cards, stills, etc.)
Overall
I thought Synapse did a hell of a job in compiling this series.
They sort of arranged the titles in some logical sense, and
it would make a fun party game to shout out why they put each
trailer where they did. I would certainly recommend this to
fans of exploitation cinema as well as people who enjoy film
trailers. There are over two hours here, so you can either
watch it all the way through (like I did) or go to the menu
and choose the title you want to see. It really depends on
your patience, and your “state of mind.”
I am happy to see that they called this “Volume 1”
and I hope that they continue the series. I also hope that
this is a sign of titles that they are trying to acquire for
future DVD release.
Note: There was a previous release of this title from
Ban 1 Productions, but don’t sweat it if you already
have that one. This version was assembled by the same guys,
but it only has a couple of repeats.
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