Search - Maniac [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Gore Movie Release: 1980 DVD Release: 08/21/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Italian Subtitles: Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Horror, Sex Horror, Slasher Film See Also: Maniac [Special Edition], Maniac [Limited Edition Tin], Maniac [Widescreen]

Joe Spinell, who appeared in Taxi Driver, stars in this unsavory horror film as Frank Zito, a character reminiscent of an even more disturbed Travis Bickle. Frank is an embittered loser who talks to himself and his dead mother, stalks a pretty model (Caroline Munro), and spends his spare time brutally murdering women. He then scalps his victims and puts the trophies on mannequins which he takes to bed with him at night. An unpleasant film with a relentlessly downbeat tone, Maniac! features graphic, bloody special-effects makeup by cult favorite Tom Savini, who meets a gruesome end in a cameo as "Disco Boy." Highlights include a realistic scalping by Exacto knife and an exploding head. The ending takes an interesting twist as Spinell hallucinates his victims returning to life and tearing him limb from limb. Spinell and Munro reteamed in 1982 for The Last Horror Film. Adult film star Sharon Mitchell (whom director William Lustig discovered in The Violation of Claudia) appears briefly as a nurse. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Joe Spinell - Frank Zito
Caroline Munro - Ann D'Antoni
Gail Lawrence - Rita
Kelly Piper - Nurse
Rita Montone - Hooker

One of the most notorious horror films from the 1980s, director William Lustig's Maniac has been given the four-star DVD treatment from the folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment. Presented in its original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions, the print is occasionally grainy and cannot help but betray the film's low-budget origins, though it should be noted that Lustig and company originally lensed Maniac on 16 mm and then blew it up to 35 mm for theatrical play. That said, the print looks fine overall save a few brief moments of digital artifacting. One major improvement over the previous DVD incarnation is a THX and DTS-ES 6.1 overhaul. Audio is also available in English 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Surround EX, as well as French and Italian Dolby Surround.
For this disc, Anchor Bay has utilized the same loose and entertaining audio commentary from the previous disc. Joining director Lustig are makeup artist Tom Savini, editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and star and co-writer Joe Spinell's assistant Luke Walter. Lustig talks freely about many of the guerrilla-filmmaking techniques employed during the shoot as well as the torrent of protests that met the film upon its initial theatrical release. But the best extra included on the disc is a 49-minute documentary on the late cult actor Spinell, which includes interviews with many of his friends, family, and co-workers as well as some great home video footage of him with director Steven Spielberg. The disc also includes numerous theatrical trailers and TV spots, radio spots, a "Gallery of Outrage" poster and still gallery, talent bios, and a lengthy 1980 radio interview with the director and stars. There is also a hidden Easter egg on the disc -- a sound bite of acclaimed director William Friedkin extolling the film's many visceral pleasures. ~ Derek Hill, All Movie Guide