Maniac

Manufacturer: Blue Underground
Starring: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Gail Lawrence, Tom Savini, Kelly Piper
Directed By: William Lustig

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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Ryko Distribution
EAN: 0827058102490
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: Blue Underground
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Blue Underground
Region Code: 0
Release Date: 2007-01-30
Running Time: 88
Studio: Blue Underground
Theatrical Release Date: 1980

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Editorial Reviews:

Frank Zito (a career performance by co-writer/co-executive producer Joe Spinell of ROCKY and THE GODFATHER fame) is a deeply disturbed man, haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. And when these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Now Frank has begun a relationship with a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munro of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), yet his vile compulsions remain. These are the atrocities of a human monster. This is the story of a MANIAC.

Experience MANIAC like you've never seen or heard it before. Directed by William Lustig (MANIAC COP, VIGILANTE) and featuring landmark gore effects by Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRIDAY THE 13th), this notorious classic was censored all over the world for its graphic violence and remains banned in England and Germany to this day. But MANIAC is more than just one of the most relentlessly depraved films of our time; it is quite possibly one of the most disturbing horror movies ever made.

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Very disturbing portrait of madness
Comment: I actually saw this film in a theater when it came out in 1980.
The local "word of mouth" spread like wild-fire.
Only one theater was showing it, one showing, at night!
You had to be at least 18 to get in, and in those days, they werent
kidding.
All I knew about it at the time was, nothing like it had ever been done
before, it was over the top violent and graphic.

Well, that was an understatment!
When the "maniac" title character jumped on the hood of the car and
aimed a shotgun at the driver (played by Tom Savini), I fully expected
the camera to cut! It didnt!!! Not only did the camera not cut away, we
see all the action in slow motion!! Even then, after the shotgun blast,
the camera dwells on the carnage for several seconds as we see blood and flesh drip from the car's front seat.

I knew I was in for a ride.

I think this film is shocking enough today on DVD, but back in 1980, it
was totally unpresidented. It had gotten such a negative reputation, I
had to be careful who I told I had seen it, and worse, loved it!

I was sure this one was destined for the garbage incinerator!!

Ya know, as a film buff, and having studied film in college, I can sit
and debate Antonioni, or Bresson, or whoever with the best film snob,
but this movie is one of my personal favorites.

For it's own, it works for me as cineama. It shocks and disturbs like
nothing I have seen. It possitivly suspends the viewer in utter dispare,
loathing, and fear.
By the end, I feel drained and dirty.

There is no actual story here, just a few days spent inside the head of
a very sick person. It's all from his point of view.

Unlike some of it's contemporaries like Friday the 13th, there is absolutly no snickering and giggling when a abnoxious horny teenage is
dispatched. The killings here have a gritty, dirty reality that is very
disturbing. The entire film is humorless and unrelenting to the graphic
end.

This is one of those movies, like In a Glass Cage or Salo, or Cannibal
that pushes the envelope, and puts you in a world where even your darkest
dreams never go.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Quite good
Comment: Maniac is a stange slasher movie as it is all from the view-point of the killer. I found this a bit dissapointing at first as the killer isnt exactly likeable and we just seem to see scenes of him killing women (mostly women) and nothing else. But part way through, he befriends a women who becoms another protagonist and I found the movie more interesting from here.

There is quite a decent body-count in Maniac and the deaths that there are are quite bloody and a couple were very suspecful (especially the girl in the subway). The excellent gore effects were done by Tom Savini who also did the gore effects for the origional Dawn of the Dead and another slasher movie called Rosemary's Killer (AKA The Prowler).

The DVD claims to be "uncut" but is infact cut by 54 seconds, so I would reccommend buying the American Region 1 DVD if you want the movie fully uncut. As far as I know, the majority of this cut is made up in the infamous "scalping scene" near the start of the movie.

Above average slasher which is generally creepy in parts and has a genuinly disturbing ending.

Customer Rating:

Summary: ugly. joyless. classic.
Comment: maniac is revered by many horror fan boys as one of the greatest genre movies of all time. if you've ever wondered how a serial killer spends his days, this movie's for you. it's no secret who the killer is and you spend much of the movie in his sick, tormented head.

unlike murder set pieces and it's ridiculous, exaggerated, frequently palumbo-created hype, this movie actually was the subject of much controversy upon it's release in 1980. it was banned from many theaters across the states and across the majority of europe and australia for it's graphic violence and a perceived violent objectification of women.

joe spinell (the godfather) does a fantastic job as the mentally and sexually disturbed frank zito. i truly think this movie would have failed without him.

with that being said, i must state that, basically, this is a joyless and very difficult watch. after my first viewing, i remember just kinda staring at the dvd menu for awhile unable to really comprehend what i had just watched. there was no felling of elation. i wasn't pumped and excited after another kick butt horror flick. i felt dirty and was actually kind of depressed.

i only just recently watched maniac again and, immediately following it's completion, wondered why i had subjected myself to it for a second time. with that being said... you're not a true horror fan without having this in your collection... if for no other reason than for the scene with tom savini.

Customer Rating:

Summary: MANIAC COULD HAVE BEEN A MASTERPIECE FALLS SHORT
Comment: i have watched maniac many many times. the seedy new york city backround gives the movie legitimacy. also, the late 70's and early 80's era (music, clothes, hairstyles, cars etc...) i grew up in massachusetts. i remember the combat zone in boston. i remember the atmosphere. the atmosphere in the maniac makes for the believability of this happenning in real life. the killing scenes to me are overated. i have seen many many other horror movies with much better killing scenes. my favorite killing scene in the movie is the strangulation of the prostitute. the scene was over the top and not realistic as to the struggle that was put up by the prostitute, but i thoroughly enjoyed how the scene was filmed. i got the feeling how it would feel to be strangled it is not a pleasant thought. i like the main character the maniac. i know too many people in my life who are the average joe looking type. i do not think anybody could pick out a maniac. it is always the people you do not suspect in real life society as well. i like the maniac not only for his common appearance but for the compassion i felt for him. i like him. i trust him. as i watch the movie and the killings. i still have compassion for him. unfortunately, the script was lousy. the script was downright bad and the ending ruined the movie for me. the photographer, the maniacs so called love interest was a 100 % total waste of time. too many reviewers mention her because she was attrative. being pretty does not make a movie for me. in the photographers place we could have had a couple of more killings instead of wasting my time. the whole plotline with the photographer was silly and the ending in the graveyard let me down bigtime. the maniac has good aspects and bad aspects. i think the bad outweighs the good in this movie, but i do think with the right script this good have been a horror classic.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Ugly and rotten to the core. Joe Spinell is the epitome of creepiness.
Comment: Maniac is a dark and dreary place to be as the lunatic walks around New York at a time when it was filled with sex peep shows and prostitution.The atmosphere surrounding the Maniac is a depressing one,filled with doom,so don't expect any humour or campiness as they made this one to have a certain realism.There is never much insight into explaining the motives behind the carnage,other then the fact that the psychopath has cigarette burns all over his body and you get the idea that it was done when he was at a young age as he calls out mommy and burns his mannequins.He uses the scalps of his victims and then brings them home for his mannequins and then lays around the place being every bit of a weirdo pyschopath.The gore was done well by the Master Savini.A slasher with a tinge of melodrama from the overly creepy goon Joe Spinell.You'll feel as though you have just been rolling around a garbage dump and in need of a deep cleansing shower after watching this one.

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