The Lucio Fulci Collection Volume 2 (Manhattan Baby/The New York Ripper)

Rating:
Summary: Like A Controversial Value Meal
Review: Anchor Bays collections of newly released, more importantly UNCUT, Italian horror movies are impressive, and these two are no exception to that rule. The movies themselves, two highly disputed - each in their own rights - films, are worth a watch, one for mood and one for its bloody wholesomeness, and this set works as well. The picture quality, especially compared to earlier takes on both movies, is good considering the alternatives, the interviews are worthwhile in explaining exactly why Lucio chose to do the films, and the price is a good deal when you factor in separate costs.
To the movies:

Manhattan Baby
Manhattan Baby, considered a failure by many critics that wanted Fulci to conform to the formula of horror that made him successful, was actually one of his more entertaining movies. This was because it did break from the proverbial mould, building more on a storyline and an ever-present, overwhelming scene of doom. Unlike many of his earlier movies (Zombie, The Beyond) that brought this bleak overview with them as well, Lucio decided to try a new avenue in this presentation, one that only briefly sprinkled gore into the cinematic formula, causing much of the fallout experienced. He said that he wanted to present a more metaphysical terror, using a small array of special effects in the process, that would give his film a more Catholicist, "evil can be beaten but not truly destroyed," mentality. Well, mission accomplished.
The storyline, with its Egyptian focal point, deals with the manifestation of an ancient evil that is awaken (and overused) by a little girl after her foolishly curious archeologist father prods at things best left alone. It has some nice scenes with pieces of dark humor mixed together with catchy "manifesations/proofs of the dark forces present," plus some humorously cheap scenes that keep the movie from taking itself too serious. All in all, its fun and a bit dark at the same time, and is a good film for horror lovers/Lucio fans that remember his Sci-fi trials/Westerners and not simply his gore films.

NewYork Ripper
Sometimes it seems that Lucio, one of the better gore/horror directors to have ever graced the screen, and his releases, ranging from Zombie, The Beyond, Demonia, The New Gladiators, Four of the Apocalypse, can't get a break. Well, The New York Ripper, overly wrought with commentary about unpleasantry that "shocks" and an "overriding unpleasantness (that) makes it an acquired taste at best," is no exception to the bias rule. Railroaded by critics for a sadistic approach to serial killing (and leaving me to wonder when serial killing became a flower picking contest in the process) and then banned by most international venues except in the most butchered formats, this exceptionally brutal film mingles many facets together to paint a bleak rendition of what drives men to murder.
We are given the oddities of a serial killer that chooses a Donald Ducklike voice (which is later explained in the movie) as he vents his anger on the unsuspecting female population of New York and plays mind games with the detective supposedly hot on his trail. Filled with razor blades slicing through varied body parts, throats meeting unfortunate demises, people acquiring unfortunate limps, and an almost sad ending, this movies meets the criteria of something pleasantly contrived.

If you adhere to the opinions of the general public, then perhaps the horror of Field of Dreams would be more to your liking. On the other hand, if you enjoy a fully uncut presentation of gore and serial killing, you'll love this.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Package
Review: Here are a couple of diverse goodies. Manhattan Baby is my favorite of the two. Not as much gore as most of Fulci's stuff but a very good story about a girl possesed by evil. New York Ripper on the other hand is a more typical slasher flic with a high body count and perhaps one of the most brutal murder scenes i have seen in the movies. Anchor Bay has done great things with these movies as the picture and sound quality is very good.

Rating:
Summary: ONE GOOD FILM IN THIS SET....
Review: I went for this 2 disc set because it did not work out much more than buying 1 film on it's own, but only liked one of the films,that being The new york Ripper.The case boasts that both films are razor sharp transfers,this is not a lie.ok so they do not look brand new but have been cleaned up pretty well for the age of the films.I knew that Fulci's films were supposed to be fairly shocking,but the ripper does not dissapoint for sleazy nudity ,sex and violence at all.it is not as hardcore as say,baise moi,but sex/horror fans should be pleased with this,even if the effects have dated badly now.The 'quacking' killer taunting the cops as many others have commented does also seem a bit ludicrous.The film is also a passable thriller in it's own right.
unfortunatelay, I cannot find much good stuff to say about Manhattan baby.The story,effects acting etc do not make up much of a movie for me,maybe one for real Fulci fanatics.Let's face it,the producer admits on the making of feature on the dvd'the budget was slashed and we basically ended up with a poor movie' That summed it up,and I watched it sadly as well(before viewing the extras!)Anyway,I will definetly be checking out some more of Lucio Fulci's movies when I get a chance,it was very interesting to see what all the fuss was about,and not being completeley dissapointed for a change.