RONDO Awards - BEST DVD COMPANY

I first posted this a few weeks back, but with the Rondos in full swing I thought I'd repost it.

In the DVD Company of the Year category, my personal selection is, and has been for several years now, ALPHA VIDEO. Alpha Video is best known for low priced public domain movies. They typically have no (or very few) extras on the discs. Why, you might ask, would I vote for a DVD company like Alpha for best video company when they don't even have extras on their discs? Well, let me tell you...

Alpha Video has done more to keep classic horror alive than most video companies out there. People who are willing purchase expensive films from companies such as Criterion, for instance, are genre fans – they would buy these movies regardless of the price. It’s the non-genre fans who are paid the biggest service from Alpha Video, and that is exactly the way in which Alpha is helping keep classic horror alive.

Now don’t get me wrong – I LOVE many of the films that Criterion puts out. They have a really terrific selection of DVDs. I just am not going to spend 30-40 dollars on movies like THE BLOB, or FIEND WITHOUT A FACE, as fond as I am of those movies (and believe me, I really, really like both of them). As much as I might like to buy these, I am a father of three boys, and my discretionary income for DVD purchases is severely limited. I won’t buy a $40 DVD, but I might just pick up a 5 or 6 dollar print of something like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, SHOCK with Vincent Price, REEFER MADNESS, or any of a number of the fun films from their catalog. And I know there are many people out there just like me, folks who might otherwise not even think about buying an old horror movie, but for five bucks, why not?

Alpha has a terrific selection of movies in a variety of categories: Horror, Sci-fi, Exploitation, Serials, Silent Movies, old Television series, and more. Plus they’ve started distributing some newer material such as Mark Redfield’s terrific DR.JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, (which I highly recommend). Their covers are really top notch, and really make these DVDs stand out on the shelves.

So for these reasons I’m voting for Alpha Video for DVD Company of the Year in the Rondo Awards again this year. Good luck Alpha, and I hope all of you out there vote in the Rondo Awards this year.

And by the way, if anyone wants to get me THE BLOB or FIEND WITHOUT A FACE, feel free!!

Rondo Awards - Best Movie of 2007

One of my favorite things about the Rondo Awards is the fact that it reminds me of all the great work that was done in the previous year. I was recently reflecting on movies made in 2007 and could only recall a few. The complete list of nominees in the Rondo Awards is listed below.

BEST MOVIE OF 2007

BEOWULF
'1408'
GHOST RIDER
GRINDHOUSE
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
THE HITCHER

THE HOST

I AM LEGEND

THE INVASION

THE LAST MIMZY

THE MESSENGERS

THE MIST

THE ORPHANAGE

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: WORLD'S END

ROB ZOMBIE'S HALLOWEEN

30 DAYS OF NIGHT

300

28 WEEKS LATER

SPIDER-MAN III

STARDUST

SWEENEY TODD

Now, I didn't see all of these, and in fact only saw a handful. But looking at the entire list I can honestly say that 2007 saw some really great movies. 1408, SPIDER-MAN III , 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, 300, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - there are some heavy hitters in this bunch and some great horror movies, too.

My personal favorite of 2007, though, had to be Grindhouse. I went to see it with a big group of friends and it was just so much fun in the theater. It was a real experience - the fake trailers were a hoot and the double feature felt just like sitting at a drive in or, well, grindhouse watching some movies pulled straight from the 70s.

The fact they intentionally aged the film, complete with pops, scratches, hiss and even missing film reels made it a real treat. I'm not sure general audiences knew how to take it, but my friends and I sure did, and howled through the entire thing. Here's to Grindhouse - my choice for best movie of 2007!