Bill Barounis and Onar Films on DVD

Bill Barounis was a friend of mine in Greece who sadly passed away last year after a long battle with cancer. Bill was, among other achievements, the creator of the Onar DVD label which made many rare Turkish exploitation movies available in English subtitled versions. Below is a post and photo taken from the Mondo Macabro blog by Jared at Mondo Macabro DVD, re-posted here with their permission, on how to get some of these DVDs and, in the process, help Bill's family out.

I can heavily recommend "3 Dev Adam" ("3 Mighty Men" aka "Santo and captain America vs. Spiderman"), one of the most bizarre super-hero rip-off movies ever lensed!

~Brian H.



Last year our good friend Bill Barounis tragically died after a long battle with cancer. He left behind both a family and a large overstock of DVDs from his labor-of-love boutique label Onar Films. Thankfully, his friend Ali Murat Guven has endeavored to come to the aid of his grieving family by selling that overstock. I know there are many people who came late to the Onar party or simply weren't able to to pick up every discs at the time. Here's a chance to complete your collection and help out somone in need at the same time.

Here's Guven's statement on What and How:

ONAR FILMS DVD'S ON SALE
This sale is for the Family of our friend Vasilis "Bill"... The money will be send to his family.

For the orders outside Turkey: buyers add/pay their shipment . All will send to you with PTT (turkish post) Tracking number system. Sending time for Turkey is 1 week and Outside Turkey is 2 weeks. You can contact onarfilms.lastfilms@yahoo.com.
For the signed posters you have to mention your names!.
Ali Murat Guven

PS: I will add details for all your questions...

Prices and the list of the movies
25 lira - 11 euro - 14 dolar
30 lira: 13 euro - 17 dolar

3 DEV ADAM (LAST 85 copy) / Price: 25 lira
With a small poster signed by Aytekin Akkaya

ÖLÜLER KONUŞMAZ Kİ / AŞKA SUSAYANLAR (İki filmli DVD / LAST 80 copy) / Price: 30 TL
With a small poster signed by Aytekin Akkaya

KORKUSUZ KAPTAN SWING (Last 80 COPY) / Price: 25 TL

TARZAN İSTANBUL’DA (Last 90 COPY) / Price: 25 TL
With a small poster signed bu Kunt Tulgar

SÜPERMEN DÖNÜYOR / DEMİR YUMRUK DEVLER GELİYOR (İki filmli DVD / Last 70 COPY) / Price: 30 TL
With a small poster signed bu Kunt Tulgar (director of the Supermen Donuyor)

KİLİNK İSTANBUL’DA (Last 30 COPY) / Price: 25 TL

KIZIL TUĞ: CENGİZ HAN (Last 75 COPY) / Price: 25 TL

ALTIN ÇOCUK (Last 90 COPY) / Price: 25 TL

CASUS KIRAN (Last 15 COPY) / Price: 25 TL

CELLAT (Last 5 COPY) / Fiyatı: 30 TL

KİLİNK UÇAN ADAM’A KARŞI / KİLİNK SOY VE ÖLDÜR (İki filmli DVD / Last 80 COPY) / Price: 30 TL

This statement came sometime (last week) and I'd wager this no longer accurately reflect the numbers still in stock. Email for inquiries.

Bill was a man with a dream. He lived it, and he died with it. Keep that dream alive and order as many Onar DVDs as your wallet will allow.

FLASHBACKS: 5 QUESTIONS WITH ART HANSL

One thing that's really great about selling obscure movies here at Trash Palace is that every now and then I get contacted by someone that's actually been involved with one of them who is trying to track down a particular film. Recently I got a phone call from Art Hansl who a lot of people reading this blog may have seen as the lead in Mansion of Madness (1973) from Mexican director Juan López Moctezuma. While not as overtly horrific as Moctezuma's modern horror classic Alucarda (1978), Mansion of Madness (released to US theaters under the slightly more exploitative title Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon) is an original and offbeat telling of Edgar Allan Poe's story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether". In 1975 Art also went on to appear in another Moctezuma film Mary, Mary Bloody Mary. Art's adventures while working with Moctezuma on these 2 movies are just a small part of his new biography book "FLASHBACKS" out now from Robertson Publishing.

Art, seated on the right, shooting a scene from the bizarre Mansion of Madness.

"FLASHBACKS" is a very entertaining book and I admire Art's cards-on-the-table approach to writing. Tracing his life from a young lad in boarding school, to his adventures in the army and his antics in the entertainment industry, Art's writing pulls no punches. Of course the latter part of the book dealing with his film career was the most fascinating to me; after Art moved to Italy in the mid-sixties and began acting with small parts in extravagant toothpaste ads which lead to him landing the starring role in a low-budget (and seemingly lost) Italian spy film Missione apocalisse (1966) to working with Mexican directors René Cardona, Jr. and Juan López Moctezuma. Art's tales of low-budget film making (not to mention his womanizing shenanigans) make for one entertaining read. And I will admit that while I might not always agree with his political views it is refreshing to at least be able to appreciate someone who says it straight from the heart and doesn't dance around things politely -- and that's an understatement (and a compliment)! I will always admire someone who has the balls to discuss past foibles unashamedly, be it drunken frolics on the set of some movie or trying to hookup with some actress behind the scenes. And Art's self-decpricating approach to his acting career is often laugh-out-loud funny.

Art has also written several well received thriller novels all about murder and corruption centered around places he knows quite well like Mexico and Hollywood.

I asked Art these 5 questions:

1. Horrorwitz: We were talking on the phone about how Juan Lopez Moctezuma's Mansion of Madness has quite a big cult following and I noticed in your book you likened it's popularity to that of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Knowing that there's quite a few people that consider it a "good" movie and genuinely enjoy it as an Arthouse type of horror film, did it seem any different or better to you when you watched it again recently on DVD?

Art: I've got to be truthful here. I ran across some positive reviews on the Internet and thought maybe I was wrong in my pessimistic assessment of about forty years ago (all that laughter I endured after the picture came out!). So I sent for the DVD and damned if I didn't think it was worse than I did before. That doesn't mean I'm not grateful that some people liked it; I'm delighted to think I could be wrong. Juan was a good friend, as I've told you -- an intelligent, erudite guy -- and he seriously thought he'd made masterpiece, comparable to Fellini's work. I hope he's right and I'm wrong, but I'd really have to reach to buy that.

2. Horrorwitz: A lot of people reading this blog would find it fascinating that in the '60s you ended up in Italy, dating a model who acted in Fellini and Mario Bava movies, and you ended up starring in an Italian spy film and so on. Being in Italy at that particular time and doing all the things you did seems like such a special era. When all this was happening did it seem that way to you?

Art: The sixties were indeed still "Dolce Vita" days in Rome. Mary Arden's Mario Bava film Blood and Black Lace (1964), which she had just finished when I met her, was the first real "slasher" movie made and it remains a cult favorite. Rome was full of American actors making Sword and Sandal epics, Spaghetti westerns etc. They were all veterans of American films; I lucked in as a novice and learned on the job. My first starring part was in Mission Apocalypse (1966) a James Bond rip-off. We went to Switzerland, Yugoslavia, North Africa. I got mobbed in Zagreb, saw slaves trains near Marrakesh and we always had a large ration of lovelies working with and around us. So, yeah, it was an exciting time, a special era. I did a picture with Ursula Andress, Kirk Douglas and quite a few Italian stars. Sadly, we get jaded and tend to take things for granted. We all played hard, assuming it would never end. As I see it, I had Rome's best days -- and she had mine.

3. Horrorwitz: It seems that, over the years, you've met a few con-men, gangsters and mysterious sorts of fellows, and several of your novels have been about these types of men. Did any of these experiences have an effect on how you approached your first starring role playing a spy?

Art: I hung with some pretty heavy types in Mexico and occasionally in Italy, it's true. I'd have to say their influence showed more when I aged out of heroic parts and got to play heavies which, by the way, is a lot more fun. I was the main heavy in Taste of the Savage (1971), with Cameron Mitchell and Isela Vega, among other films. Maybe a sneer becomes me more than a smile. And yes, those guys and gals found their places in my novels. I've always been influenced by the James Cain school of writing. Most of my lead characters are less than noble, to put it mildly. Understandable? Hopefully. Clean-cut heroes? Never!

4. Horrorwitz: In 1975 you made another movie with director Juan López Moctezuma, Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary, where you got to work with the legendary John Carradine of whom you said some nice things about in your book. Have there been any other actors you've worked with who have also left a lasting impression on you?

Art: Well, Ursula Andress, who was a beauty, left an impression. On the first night of the shoot (on Anyone Can Play, 1968 --Brian H.), Brett Halsey and I were having dinner with her. However, her current guy, Jean Pierre Belmondo, flew in and arrived in time for dessert, putting an end to any relationship along the line I had in mind. Charlie Bronson was cool and professional, not a guy you got that close to, but he had enormous presence even under-playing. I played the heavy in Taste of the Savage with Cameron Mitchell, who tried to re-write the script, making him a pain in the butt. I changed my dialogue back because he was putting in language no one used in the nineteenth century West, so we didn't get along that well. Cristina Ferrare was starring in her first picture -- Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary -- directed by Juan, with myself and John Carradine in the cast. She photographed like a dream but really blew up and nearly quit when the honey wagon didn't show up on location and she had to go behind a bush. Guess she forgot she was in Mexico. These, of course, are just a few among many of the characters I worked with.

5. Horrorwitz: Are there any new projects you have coming out in the future?

Art: I finished a book called "LUCIFER'S SHADOW", a dark mystery in my favorite genre. Now comes the hard part, which is to sell it. However, my memoir "FLASHBACKS" is out in hard cover, as well as an edgy little thriller called "ALL FOR THE MONEY' (Both books just released and available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon). Or they can be ordered from most book stores even if they aren't on the shelves yet. They may give "SHADOW" a boost. "FLASHBACKS" has had a lot of coast to coast radio time and some T.V. exposure, so we'll see.

~~~

As of this blog posting Art is just now undergoing some knee surgery so I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery!!

LINKS:

Art Hansl's official website is at http://www.arthansl.com/

Robertson Publishing's webpage for Art Hansl and "FLASHBACKS" is at http://www.rp-author.com/Hansl

Art Hansl's filmography is at the Internet Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0360616/

Mansion of Madness is available from Mondo Macabro DVD at http://www.mondomacabrodvd.com/mod113.html

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL US THEATRICAL TRAILER FOR

MANSION OF MADNESS

COURTESY OF MONDO MACABRO DVD:

MONDO MACABRO BLOG-O ARE GO!

My favorite DVD label, Mondo Macabro, have finally started their own blog! Yes, I knew it was inedible, and from the looks of things they're they're off to a good start! They've already posted a 10 minute collection of totally fucking INSANE Lollywood (sic)* movie clips that yours truly had never seen before! Do yourself a favor, stop reading my boring-ass blog now and go immediately to the Mondo Macabro blog and check these clips out! Your brain will never be the same!

For me, the UK based Mondo Macabro label have not just put out a great cross-section of global trashploitation, but they also have the most interesting documentaries on their discs. You can always tell a lot of research and creative work went into them. And everything from the well written and highly informative liner notes to the other DVD extras, hell, even the dang covers, tells you these bloke's hearts are in the right place. To paraphrase Harry Flowers, these gentlemen "enjoy their work" and it shows. And now, being the conno-sewers of fine taste that they be, they've axed permission to quote yours truly on the front of their upcoming DVD release "Female Prisoner: Caged"!

My Mother will be so proud!

Yes, by quoting Horrorwitz on the front of this DVD (apparently Leonard Maltin was unavailable) MM have reached a new low! But you know, like all smart people, they realize that it's sometimes good to have friends in low places! And having that Trash Palace seal of approval only helps them to ensure the public that "Female Prisoner: Caged!" is 100% grade-A sleaze! (Which it is!) An early 1980s entry from Japan's Nikkatsu studios, I can promise you this: If you are a fan of women-in-prison films in general, if you enjoy seeing large-breasted Asian women beat the sushi out of each other, then this one will not disappoint! This is the third Nikkatsu DVD from MM and I for one am glad that these obscure Japanese movies are finally getting some international releases (with English subtitles too! Joy!).

If you think this fighting looks wild, wait'll you see them "kiss and make up"!

Amongst the many enjoyable Mondo Macabro releases are some long time personal favorites of mine: Juan Lopez Moctezuma's fierce supernatural nun horror film "Alucarda" and his chaotic, quirky and surreal Poe-based art horror "Mansion of Madness"; "Paris Sex Murders", the totally nutso Giallo with an all-star Euro-trash cast; Michel Lemoine's delirious Sadian horror "Seven Women for Satan"; the highly underrated dreamy French horror thriller "Blood Rose"; and the very best Jess Franco movie from his earlier period "Diabolical Dr. Z"! I can tell you as a long time collector of rare movies it is a bloody miracle some of these titles have seen the light of day in such nice looking and uncut versions! They should get an award for resurrecting banned titles like "Don't Deliver Us From Evil" (a movie who's DVD release still amazes me) and "Silip", an exploitation movie from the Philippines I had never heard of that left me slack-jawed (and one which they will surely burn in hell for!). Mondo Macabro are not a huge company and their labor-of-love elements show through. And sadly, it seems to me, that it's smaller labels like MM that have the most struggle in the massive DVD retail world. So support these guys so they can keep coming out with great titles like these for as long as possible!

Check out their blog and stop over to their official website for more amazing clips!

*Lollywood: Like Bollywood on speed with more fighting and sleaze.

LINKS:
Mondo Macabro official website: http://www.mondomacabrodvd.com/
Mondo Macabro blog: http://mondomacabrodvd.blogspot.com/