Search - The Lucio Fulci Collection Volume 3 (City of the Living Dead/Don't Torture a Duckling) on DVD

Anchorbay has done it again!!!!!

Roule Duke | the Green Inferno | 04/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a fan of Lucio Fulci and needing a copy of City of Living Dead, I decided to buy the 2 disc set even though I hadn't seen Duckling before, I am lucky I made that decesion.First of all City is basicly the same plot as Beyond and even stars Catriona MacColl from Beyond. A priest hangs himself opening the gateway to hell and MacColl sees this in a phsycic vision and is scared into a coma. A report saves her from the grave as she is buried alive and they set out to close the gateway. While there are zombies in this film they are noit traditional ones, they have supernatural powers and rip the back of their victims skulls off. The priest zombie makes victims bleed from their eyes and vomit up their guts, this happens in a really great scene. There is also a brilliant head drilling scene, which is in my opinion one of Fulci's best effects. While not as good as Beyond, City is still a great Fulci film, with plenty of atmosphere and Catriona MacColl looking very cute, I haven't seen her in anything but Fulci films, it's a shame though as she is such a cute actress.Duckling, which I though would be the weak movie, was surprisingly a brilliant. While I have heard of it refered to as a giallo, it really is more of a great mystery involving a series of child murders. While there are a few stalking scenes, Duckling lacks the gloved killer vibe of the standard giallo. What stands out in this film is the lack of Fulci gore, except one scene involving a witch being beaten by vigilantes and also Fulci proves with this film that he is capable of directing a coherrant plot driven film and makes a truely gripping film experience.While slim on special features compared to the Beyond DVD, Anchorbay has as usual done an exceptional job of transfering these films to DVD. The pictures are generally as crisp as the day they were shot and really any Fulci fan should snap these up as there will never be better versions available."

One Masterpiece, One Disappointment

black_womens_network | Scottsdale, AZ United States | 07/09/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"*Hi! As always, my review is based on QUALITY of the DVD's and not on the movie, acting, or direction.DUCKLING: Picture-3.5, Sound-3.5
CITY OF DEAD: Picture-2.0, Sound-3.0Thus, my overall rating is 3 stars. If I was rating "Duckling" alone, I would round it up to 4 stars by itself.This is an excellent two-pack to buy if you enjoy Lucio Fulci. The price of the two-pack is about the same as if you buy one separately, so get 'em both at once. The case has kind of a hard-to-get-to insert card because the 2nd DVD flops around on a stiff plastic round. The insert card has Chapter Lists, one movie on each side -- that's it.I watched "City of the Living Dead" first and I'm glad. There's not much to enjoy. The picture is lousy and grainy -- this, from a 1980 film. It is not true 16x9; in fact, it is more like a box on the screen. Sound is empty with no depth. Dolby 5.1? I don't know; it's barely stereo. The best part of the movie is seeing Catriona MacColl."Don't Torture a Duckling" is a superb film. There is a bit of gore, but this movie would earn plenty if released today in theatres. The sound is listed as mono (true) and is sharp and clear, becoming a bit distorted during loud parts. It is a true 16x9 picture and superior to "City of the Living Dead".Whew. Both films feature good-looking female actors, as you'd expect in any Argento, Bava, or Fulci film. The prize here is Florinda Bolkan -- who gets top billing. Now I know why. She is very, very beautiful although in somewhat of a dirty and disheveled role. She is taller and larger than some of the policemen -- I like that -- and her performance is dramatic and superb. She did not receive an easy part to perform. It's always good to find a new female hero although the film is from 1972. She continues to work in film. I'm glad I found her, and I will be looking for more of her work. She literally spells the word GLAMOUR despite the grubby part here.There is one very disturbing violent scene that many will not enjoy. I didn't like it one bit, and most women will not either. Whether it adds to the narrative or belongs in the film is up to you to decide. This is an "uncut" version so I guess Fulci wanted it in there.There seems to be a transportation challenge in this movie as people on their feet can travel faster than automobiles. All the scenes are very interesting!I will view "Duckling" again and again. "City..Dead" is probably worth a view once every five years or so.*"