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 RELEASE NAME    : Fantasm.Comes.Again.1977.DVDRIP.Xvid-SiCK
 IMDB        : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076015/
 VIDEO FORMAT : XVID, ~880 br (25 fps)
 ASPECT RATIO   : WS (576x320)
 AUDIO FORMAT : ~96 VBR mono
 LANGUAGE(S)  : English
 SUB(S)        : N/A
 FILES     : 1XCD
 COMMENT LINE : More guilty pleasures 
                         
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The original FANTASM has lost five minutes at the hands of the censors, so it
was no surprise when this sequel was also banned.

In August 1977 it was Refused Classification in print running 2682.60mtr
(98min 03sec) for reasons of indecency. A Reconstructed Version was finally
passed R18+ in December of the same year. The running time had been reduced
to 2614.00mtr (95min 32sec).

The Video Classic VHS from the early 80's, and the Movie Greats VHS from the
90's are both presumably censored.

Presented here uncut and complete 98min 32sec.

The second half of this double-bill is basically more of the same, but with
less humour than the first instalment. The linking sequences in Fantasm Comes
Again aren't as amusing as Bluthal's hammy overacting in chapter 1, though
it's always a pleasure to see Australian sexpot Angela Menzies-Wills in one
of her few film performances. Directed by the late Colin Eggleston (as Eric
Ram), the sequel benefits from higher production values but doesn't have
quite the same spirit as it dramatises a series of letters written to a
women's magazine agony aunt.

Highlights include the return of Uschi Digart for a roll in the hay that's
reminiscent of her tumble with Charles Pitts in Russ Meyer's Super Vixens
(1974) and Rainbeaux Smith (surely one of the most beautiful X-rated
performers of all time) getting all tangled up with her girlfriend and a
lucky male passenger in a stalled lift. The so-bad its good highlight is
supplied by legendary porn identity William A Margold (credited here as
Bill Margold) whose facial expressions during his swimming pool four-way
have to be seen to be disbelieved. Look closely and you'll also spot Johnny
Legend in the library in the opening sequence and our main man Mr Tony
Ginnane dressed as a monk in the final chapter.

Both were shot on 16mm and are presented in exceptionally high-quality 35mm
blow-ups here. The fleshtones and colour contrasts in Vincent Monton's
photography has been preserved remarkably well in an overall DVD
presentation that has been put together with great care and obvious love
for the films themselves. Ginnane's commentary tracks are among the most
informative and entertaining background briefings you'll ever hear and the
"Fantasm Penetrated" featurette is a neat addition to the packaging of
this guilty pleasure.

Shot in silhouette "Richard Bruce" tells us "it was consenting adults and we
all thought we were doing something funny and a bit liberated" before Ginnane
sums it up perfectly by adding "it was exploitation at its best...we were
young and frisky." Indeed, Ginnane and "Bruce"/Franklin were in their mid-20s
when they unleashed the kind of film to make Australian culture vultures
recoil while cinema and drive-in owners watched the turnstiles and snack bars
record monster turnover. Ginnane, who surely deserves the AFI's Raymond
Longford life-achievement award sometime soon, also says "I guess those days
are gone." He's right, but the release of this double-bill sure makes us glad
they existed in the first place.

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