Maniac

MANIACreleased at a time when slasher films were very popular 1980-1981yes an extremely Graphic & Disturbing Horror film about a serial killer that Murders innocent womenco-written by Actor Joe spinell who also plays the lead role in this film as serial killer Frank zitowho is Haunted by the traumas of his childhood abuseand when the Horrific memories begin to happen inside his mind he goes on a killing spree in New york cityexceptionally Great performance by Joe spinell who was also Executive producer on the filmin some scenes where he acts out Disturbing Psychological problems of his CharacterActress Caroline munro plays Joe's Girlfriend in the film, Great acting by Caroline munro toalso brilliantly Directed by William Lustigthe films storyline is hugely inspired by serial killers from the 70's & 60's that have been sexual abused or Physically abused as a childthe killing/Murder scenes are very Graphic some are hard to watch for surei do love Horror films i'm a big fan of the Halloween films & Freddy krueger's Nightmare on elm stbut for this particular Horror film Tom savini's special Blood & Gore effects were that realistici had to fast forward some scenes that were to just to Graphicespecially the Graphic Head scalping scene which is one of the Highlights of the filmthe women actress's that are seemed to be murdered in the film are mainly porn actress'esthat had be starring in Adult films during 1975-1980well the Distributor of this film BLUE UNDERGROUNDhave now released this on Blu-ray advertised as 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION with a new High Definition transfer in 1:85:1 widescreen & a new 7.1 Master audio mix aswell as a 5.1 surround sound mixi tell you what the picture quality looks very sharp & clear for sureand the new 7.1 master mix, what a boost in the sound qualitymuch better than the 2 Disc set from years agoi'm also happy to say that all the special features from the 2 Disc DVD set have been carried over to this blu-ray toANNA AND THE KILLER Retrospective interview with Caroline munroTHE DEATH DEALER, retrospective interview with Tom saviniDARK NOTES interview with Jay chattaway who did the music scoreMANIAC publicity featuretteMANIAC controversy featurettethe 2 Audio commentary tracks from the dvd release have been included on this blu-rayone of the commentaries is by William lustig, Tom savini and Luke walter who was Joe spinell's assistant in his Lifeplus the Theatrical trailers, TV spots, Radio spotsall on 1 blu-ray Disc, incredible.the JOE SPINELL STORY the 50mins Documentary on Joe spinell's life is also included in this blu-ray casebut on a 2nd DVD Discan excellent 50mins for some fans of Joe spinell or this MANIAC filminterviews with Caroline munro, William Lustig, Tom savini, Luke walter, Joe spinell's mothersome of Joe's work colleague's from other films that Joe had a Acting roleJoe's film Maniac is talked about in Great detail alot of Great personal stories are sharedan emotional Doco to especially when his Death is talked aboutfor some reason this 50min Doco was not added to the blu-ray Disc which i think there was more than enough roomfor another 50mins of Data on 1 Blu-ray Discso even thou this blu-ray does no advertise as being 2 Disc set, there's a 2nd Disc included in the blu-ray caseJoe spinell tragically Died in January 1989, read wikipedia about his Deathi loved his Acting roles, Joe was a Great performance/Character Actor & a Great film writerbut very unfortunate never got the respect & recognition he Deserved as an Actorhe had some Great acting roles before Maniac,Joe had a small part as Rocky's best friend in ROCKY II which he had alot of screen time to show his talentJoe was also in the Godfather II & Sylvester stallone's Nighthawks where he plays the Police lieutenanti guess not all Great performances Actors will get the respect they Deserve in the Acting businessi guess some very Good Actors do fall through the cracks.tragically Joe was one of themif you have the old 2 Disc DVD set,Blue underground re-issued the film on blu-ray again in 2012 but with out the Joe spinell Documentaryand Different cover art toso time to upgrade & get the 30th Anniversary blu-ray version which has very Good clear sharp picture qualityplus the Audio mix has been boosted to a big 7.1 master mixplus all the special features have been carried over to5 stars i gave this blu-ray release

There are so many great slashers of the 1980's and Maniac is definitely one of several. This movie isn't just another awesome showcase of the great Tom "Sex Machine" Savini's brilliant gore effects but a well thought out masterpiece. It did indeed give Savini another great slasher to be involved with in 1980 besides Friday the 13th.The movie focuses on a severely psychotic and traumatized Norman Bates like serial killer named Frank Zito. Frank has nightmares, carries a torch for his sick mother, lives alone, has several mannequins surrounding him, is possibly schizophrenic, and has an arsenal of weapons at his finger tips. The momma's boy serial killer moves about Manhattan and the rest of New York City stalking beautiful women to not only kill but scalp and put their scalps on top of his mannequins heads.Frank's weapons of choice are a double -barrellled shotgun, a switch blade, and a bayonet.Some facts about the film: It was directed and co-produced by William Lustig. It was also produced by Andrew W. Garroni. Joe Spinell co-wrote it with C.A. Rosenberg, developed the story, and of course Joe played the lead character of Frank Zito. The musical Score is by Jay Chattaway. Cinematography is by Robert Lindsay. It was distributed by Analysis Film Releasing Corporation. It was released in New York City on December 26, 1980 and got a limited release in the rest of North America on March 6, 1981. It's filming dates were from between October 21 1979-January 1980. It's estimated budget was $350,000. Finally it grossed $6,000,000 in the U.S.This movie gives way to awesome and realistic gore effects via Savini, some good nudity, beautiful cinematography, especially the effective dark and dreary scenes, also there are some beautiful scenes and great colors. The beach scene and the subway scene are a couple of examples of this. The kill scenes are wonderfully edited as well. Frank "Maniac" Zito is a considerably complex character in that on one hand you might hate him for killing innocent beautiful women, on the other hand you might feel sympathy towards him for being such a momma's boy whose mother is dead and who can't help but be severely twisted and psychotic, yet on another hand he can come off like a charming and nice guy. These complexities about Frank make him an incredibly interesting character overall. That campy pop song Showdown is likely to stay inside your head long after the movie, even if you don't want it to. The tension involving what Frank will do to his victims plus the occasional uncertainty of when he will snap prove quite exhilarating. Joe Spinell's performance is undeniably briiliant and flawless. He not only stays in character perfectly, but he manages to balance the dichotomy of going from insane to seemingly normal at first without a hitch. At no time did he ham his performance much less make you doubt that his character is severely deranged.Overall, If you're looking for some awesome gore created by the brilliant Tom "Sex Machine" Savini, some good nudity, an interesting plot, a complex killer, excellent cinematography, perfect edits and pacing, intense scenes of stalking and killing, a brilliant performance by the late Joe Spinell, an atmospheric and at times feeling of isolation, and just an all around masterpiece of an early 80's slasher film than this movie is definitely for you. 10 stars out of 10.

Great reissue of MANIAC (1980 ) on Blu-ray disk , it sure is a hardcore horror film this version is uncut with plenty of extras to watch as well . They sure don't make like they use too

Muy buena edición cargada de extras y con subtítulos en español. Si te da igual leer, es muy recomendable frente a la edición basurera que sacaron aquí.

wow par quoi commencer 1 quelle performance de joe spinell 2 le film est bien monter malgré quelque scene qui passe d une a l autre a l occasion mais rien pour nuire au film 3 les scenes de meurtre pas toutes mais quelles une son tres explicite voir choquante pour les personnes sensible (mais quand on fait un achat d un film qui s appelle maniac et avec la pochette qui veut tout dire ...) 4 oui il y a de petite longueur mais rien pour nuire au film au contraire sa nous plonge dans la lourdeur du film on se sans presque voyeur 5 a la finale ce film est classique .

Bottom line is this... this is not a great looking blu-ray. All honesty probably a 2.5-3 out of 5 stars, however, it is an upgrade over any previous copy, and the extras. If you are buying a 1980s gore soaked nasty bit of film making like this here, then you, more than likely, like me... are pumped for some extras and this two disc edition is just loaded. Commentaries, documentaries... you name it, its here. A great sleazy flick from the decade that reinvented horror. Worth it for the Tom Savini effects alone

La película para el presupuesto es muy buena y un clásico del slasher. A pesar de que se le dió un buen tratamiento a la imagen y al sonido, estos no son impecables. Vienen extras interesantes, pero tanto éstos la película no vienen subtitulados.