Maniac: Limited Edition Collector's Tin DVD Set Review

Title: Maniac: Limited Edition Collector’s Tin DVD Set

Region: One

Genre: Horror

Stars: Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro

Writers: C.A. Rosenberg and Joe Spinell

Director: William Lustig

Feature length: 88 minutes

Extras: Audio Commentary With Co-Producer/Director William Lustig, Special Effects Make-Up Artist Tom Savini, Editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and Joe Spinell’s Assistant Luke Walter, Radio Interview With Co-Producer/Director William Lustig and Stars Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro, The Joe Spinell Story Documentary, Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, Gallery Of Outrage, Poster/Still Gallery, Talent Bios, and Bonus Shaped CD Movie Soundtrack

Languages: English DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete Digital Surround Sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and French and Italian Dolby Surround 2.0

Subtitles: English Closed Captions and Spanish Subtitles

Packaging: Tin Case

Chapter Stops: 23

Sound: DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete Digital Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound, and Stereo Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1980/DVD Release: 2001

Theatrical Distributor: Analysis Film Corporation

Home Video Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment

MPAA Rating: Unrated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“I met Joe Spinell in a taxi. He was a taxi driver and he was telling me he was an actor so I put him in the picture and he was quite a good actor and was in two of the films and would have had a really big part I was writing for him in the third one.” - Francis Ford Coppola at the Paramount Godfather DVD Collection Press Conference in Brooklyn, New York, June 11, 2001.

“Maniac” was one of the first films to use the then new Dolby Stereo Sound System in theaters and quickly earned a cult following through word of mouth and advertising in the newspapers and in publications like “Fangoria.” I was terrified by the images in that magazine, but like any genre film fan, I found myself attracted to looking the horrific special effects make-up shots by Tom Savini. A friend of mine’s older brother caught a late theatrical showing of “Maniac” and told him it was one of the bloodiest and scary films he ever saw. I actually never got the chance or should I say courage to watch the film until my friend rented a copy on VHS when we were undergrads in film school and he really got a kick out of it and invited me to over to watch it. At the time we were making really trashy exploitation flicks on super-8 and 16mm film for our class projects and we were renting tons of 1970s and early 80s horror films, exploitation flicks, crime dramas, and action pictures trying to find our voice as young student filmmakers. “Maniac” is a truly disturbing horror picture and at the same time, in my opinion anyway, a harsh dark comedy.

Perhaps that is sadistic, but it was Joe Spinell’s acting and the little nuances he would put into the character that made him in the role of “Frank Zito” the killer of “Maniac” so dynamic, funny, and frightening at the same time. For instance he takes a cracker to a baby doll in a birdcage and says “Polly want a cracker” and then just drops the cracker in the cage before he is even done with the sentence. In the famous shotgun scene that was shot under the Verazano Bridge off the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, he closes in on the female victim terrified in the backseat of the car, but he doesn’t just point the gun at her, he slowly inches the gun into the car until it is almost touching her head and then slowly pulls the trigger as we hear the victim’s final scream off screen. Then when his character discovers the lovely fashion photographer played by Caroline Munro, he attempts to pass himself off as this sweat hearted culture kind of guy walking around in sports jackets and taking her out to dinner, etc. The dichotomy of Spinell’s performance as both the killer and this guy trying to start a relationship with this beautiful woman gives his character greater depth and lightens up the film a bit while adding in this ironic and humorous twist. There can be no doubt that “Maniac” would not have been the successful horror film that it is today were it not for the natural talent of the late Joe Spinell.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has released “Maniac” as a special edition DVD and in a limited edition DVD tin box set that features a bonus CD soundtrack cut into the shape of Spinell’s “Frank Zito” character’s head. The contents aside from the CD are the only difference between the regular DVD and the Limited Edition Tin that is numbered at only 5000 for collectors. Like previous Limited Edition Collector’s Tin DVD Sets from Anchor Bay, “Maniac” is packaged in a rectangle tin case with the DVD and CD packaged in a jewel case inside and a collectable card with the scene selections on one side and an image of newspaper advertisements from the film’s original theatrical run on the other side.

The film was available previously on DVD-Video through Elite Entertainment, but with that DVD now out of print, Anchor Bay has released a version of “Maniac” that beats the original Elite Entertainment DVD release in nearly every way. In fact I did some side by side comparison while I was screening the film so that I could better review this new release and also tell consumers who might have the original DVD release what is it that differs between the two DVD-Video Editions. To begin with the Anchor Bay release features a brand new anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer that is THX certified complete with the THX Optimizer program so viewers can fine tune their monitors and sound systems so they can take advantage of the new transfer and soundtrack options and view the film in the way the filmmaker would like it to be seen. The film was originally shot on 16mm and blown up to (1.85:1) so there is a noticeable amount of grain that is inherent to the blow up of the picture as well as the film stocks that were used back in 1979 when the feature was in production. So while the new transfer is anamorphic and THX certified, it does not look as good as a film made today. However the colors are more vibrant with more accurate hues of purple, red, and black than the previous Elite transfer, which had a letterboxed (1.85:1) transfer without any anamorphic enhancement. Comparing the two transfers side by side I found that while the Elite version has a picture quality with colors that seemed more washed out than the Anchor Bay version, the Elite version has less visible grain than the Anchor Bay release.

Another important point to note is that while both the Elite Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD-Videos feature the unrated versions of “Maniac”, the Anchor Bay version contains the theatrical version with the “dinner date” scene edited back into the film while the Elite Entertainment Edition featured a Director’s Cut with the scene edited out, though it was made available as an extra feature. I prefer the version with the scene in the film because I think it adds more dimension to the character than the version where the scene is edited out. While the Elite Entertainment release featured an English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and the original Dolby Stereo Soundtrack, this new Anchor Bay Edition features a brand new English DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete Digital Surround Soundtrack that is by far superior to any other mixes that I have heard. It is more aggressive, louder, and clearer than the old 5.1 and stereo mixes. A new English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Soundtrack is provided as well and is also quite good though not as loud as the DTS-ES 6.1 Soundtrack. French and Italian Dolby Surround 2.0 Soundtrack options are also included along with English Closed Captions and Spanish Subtitles encoded on to the dual layered disc. The feature length Audio Commentary Track with Co-Producer/Director William Lustig, Special Effects Make-Up Artist Tom Savini, Editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and Joe Spinell’s Assistant Luke Walter is the same screen specific audio commentary track that was included on the original Elite Entertainment DVD release with the extra footage edited back in providing the only difference between the commentaries.

There is a wonderful documentary entitled “The Joe Spinell Story” that runs 49 minutes and features brand new videotaped interviews with William Lustig, Luke Walter, Caroline Munro, Robert Forrester, Richard Lynch, and Jason Miller, who passed away shortly after the interview he gave for this documentary. The documentary really conveys a great fondness to the late actor, who was also a writer and painter and was one of the most sought after character actors in and out of Hollywood. Even Steven Spielberg wanted Joe to appear in “Jaws” and there is some vintage videotaped footage of Joe and Steven together during the televised announcements of the Oscar nominations for Best Picture of 1975 and when Spielberg is not nominated for Best Director for “Jaws” it is a panic to watch Joe Spinell rant on camera with a much younger Steven Spielberg looking somewhat disappointed, but amused and maybe embarrassed by Joe Spinell’s antics. I must state that after watching “The Joe Spinell Story” my respect and appreciation for the man increased ten fold. The documentary features a few clips from the promo footage for the unfinished sequel to “Maniac” entitled “Mr. Robbie: Maniac II”, but only the Elite Entertainment DVD has the complete footage for the unproduced sequel complete with the soundtrack, which may make owners of the Elite Entertainment release want to hold on to their originals since it is the one and only feature the Anchor Bay version does not have that could still make it a valuable collector’s item.

There is also a 19-minute radio talk show interview with Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, and William Lustig being interviewed by Paul Wonder for “Soundtrack” back in the early 80s and the interview gives listeners an example of Spinell’s quick wit. There are also 7 theatrical trailers that include the (1.85:1) U.S. R-Rated and Unrated Theatrical Trailers coupled with an International Trailer and two German, a French, and Italian Trailer. There are also 9 murky looking (1.33:1) TV Spots and 4 radio spots. The quality on the trailers is better than the Elite counterparts and only the Anchor Bay version features the radio spots.

There is a “Gallery Of Outrage” with reprints of critical reactions to “Maniac” as well as a funny letter from the Philippines’ Board of Motion Pictures and Television detailing their reasons for denying a theatrical release of “Maniac” in that country. Another extensive gallery of lobby cards, photos, and one-sheet art is also included along with extensive talent bios and credits lists for Joe Spinell and Caroline Monroe.

The compact disc audio soundtrack included only within the Limited Edition Collector’s Tin DVD Set features 16 tracks and runs 32 minutes and 46 seconds. The main menu is animated with voice bytes of Spinell as “Frank Zito” in character from the film and there are animated transitions to standard interactive still frame menus and all are easy to navigate.

Anchor Bay Entertainment’s “Maniac Limited Edition Collector’s Tin DVD Set” is available now along with the DVD only release at retailers on and offline.