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The Violent Years (1956) - Blu-ray Review

5 beers“I shot a cop . . . so what!”

Good citizenship.  Self-restraint.  Politeness.  Loyalty.  These four words of social graces are written on a chalkboard that four girls pass by during the pre-credits scene in Ed Wood’s penned cult classic, The Violent Years.  They are four words that these women – Jean Moorhead as Paula Parkins, Barbara Weeks as Jane Parkins, Arthur Millan as Carl Parkins, and Theresa Hancock as Georgia – will madly violate and then redefine to serve their own individual needs when it comes to surviving as a modern woman. 

The Violent Years rocks.  This HD release is yet another fine partnership between AGFA and Something Weird and its debut on blu-ray, thanks to a screaming mad 4k scan of the original 35mm negative is both exciting and unforgettable. 

Absentee fathers and missing mothers!  These girls need discipline, not a blank check.  Just watch them destroy the school!  Uncaring and firing revolvers at every uniform they see, their reckless attitude makes them all a danger to the civilized world.  And they must be dealt with.  Quickly.

It is, of course, a life of crime and violence that this spoiled girl gang turns to and this, The Violent Years, is their story and their condemnation.  Directed by William Morgan and operating very much like the rock and schlock flick that it is, this 65-minute long movie is about a gang of juvenile delinquent high school girls who disrobe other women and than, sneaking off for some privacy, rape their boyfriends.

And, yes, it goes there.

The first robbery committed by the girls is of a gas station.  They keep a gun leveled on the grease monkey who walks toward them as two other gang members head toward the shop.  One stands guard.  The other robs it, and then, swinging with a untapped force, the fourth and final girl knocks the grease monkey over the head.  He is not killed, but the girls, with each new activity, find themselves in more and more hot water.  AND THEY WANT IT THAT WAY!

With a father always working into the wee hours of morning and a mother who hands over blank checks, The Violent Years susses out the responsible parties with finger pointing moments.  Parents!  Do your jobs!  In spite of its basement level budget, The Violent Years is a captivating black and white flick that gives audiences a softer side to well-organized crime.  It is both hokey and a hell of a lot of fun to watch and re-watch.  

And, as rebellious as the girls are, it is absolutely amazing to see how well they take an order and then see it to its rewarding conclusion.  Hilarious hijinks ahead!   

Ed Wood’s script is pretty basic, with clunky dialogue that is actually spit out by four females who do one hell of a job of burning down the entire town.  The film is a cult classic, for sure, and so much of this entertaining tale works that one simply can’t dismiss it. 

One seen, never forgotten.  This is the thrilling tale of The Violent Years, a film that actually (and successfully) predicts the current state of the modern teenage wasteland.  Ed Wood is a poet (writing lines like “a new dress instead of a caress” and, apparently, a prophet and this, right here, is his ode to nihilism in a field of playboy bunnies. 

So what?!

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The Violent Years (1956) - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
65 mins
Director
: Wm. M. Morgan
Writer:
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Cast:
Jean Moorhead, Barbara Weeks, Art Millan
Genre
: Crime | Film-noir
Tagline:
Girl Gang Wolfpacks of the Back Streets... violence... and vice.
Memorable Movie Quote: "These aren't kids. These are morons!"
Theatrical Distributor:
Headliner Productions
Official Site:
Release Date:

DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
November 21, 2017
Synopsis: Written by legendary Hollywood outsider Edward D. Wood, Jr. (PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE), this is the story of Paula Parkins, a good-girl-gone-bad who leads her degenerate teenage hellcats down a path of gas station hijackings, pajama party orgies, and cold-blooded murder!

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The Violent Years (1956) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: AGFA | Diabolik
Available on Blu-ray
- November 21, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

The Violent Years is presented with AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1, thanks to this partnership between Something Weird and AGFA.  Hues are great and minimal damage remains on the transfer.  The booklet has specifics on the transfers of the two films” included here:  This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics film scanner from the original 35mm camera negative.   Anatomy of a Psycho is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.  Every effort has been made to retain the original theatrical experience of the films. The monaural soundtracks were remastered using Pro Tools HD. The digital transfers were performed by the American Genre Film Archive in Austin, TX.  a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track provides the sound.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Holy Shit!  This commentary from filmmaker Frank Henenlotter and Ed Wood biographer Rudolph Grey and is a blast!  Bold and outrageous, it doesn’t disappoint.

Special Features:

We get aborted footage from a film Ed Wood was going to direct, an extra era-friendly movie, trailers for other b-movies in the Something Weird vault, a trailer for this movie itself, and ….. just a damn good time.

  • The Violent Years Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
  • Gutter Noir Trailers from the Something Weird Vault (15 min)
  • Hellborn (10 min)
  • Bonus Movie: Anatomy of a Psycho (73 min)

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The Violent Years (1956) - Blu-ray Review

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