The Corner Penthouse

This is one of an ongoing series of reviews that looks at various Blu-ray compilations of movie trailers and TV spots, most notably Umbrella Entertainment's Drive-In Delirium series and Garagehouse Pictures' Trailer Trauma series. Today's review details Trailer Trauma 5: '70s Action Attack!. Read on to find out more...

As the title implies, this release contains trailers from the 1970s, with the main focus being Grindhouse-type films: action, crime/gangster, martial arts, trucker/motor vehicle, exploitation, and blaxploitation. There are very little mainstream Hollywood motion pictures represented here, so this release may not be to everyone's liking. Of course, if you like LOTS of nudity and mature content, then this WILL be to your liking. This disc would be rated R, if it were rated in the U.S. There are a lot of blue "bands" before or after the trailers, which is annoying to sit through.

The trailers are not shown alphabetically or chronologically. I'm really not sure what the order is, though some similar-themed films are kept together. There is one trailer per chapter, and for the first time, the compilation title is included separately. This means that Trailer #1 is on Chapter #1, Trailer #2 is on Chapter #2, etc. All of the movie years come from the IMDB and are assumed to be correct. The trailer list included inside the case doesn't list the years. I looked EVERYTHING up in the IMDB and used that.

I should note that Garagehouse messed up in the order of trailers #70 and #71: The Daring Dobermans (1973) and The Doberman Gang (1972). The first film is the sequel to "The Doberman Gang", so the order should have been reversed. Incidentally, the two Dobermans movies are the only Family films on any of these Blu-rays, aside from one Charlotte's Web VHS trailer on one of the Drive-In Delirium releases.

-- SPECIFICATIONS --

The total trailer runtime is 3:03:12. The full chapter/trailer list is below, following this review. All content is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono. There are no subtitles, but were you really expecting any?!? All trailers are shown in full 1920x1080 high definition, with various aspect ratios per each film. The disc is region-free and plays fine on U.S. Blu-ray players.

-- PICTURE & AUDIO QUALITY --

Almost all of the trailers were sourced from dirty/damaged film reels. As such, most of them are littered with scratches and dirt, with picture that doesn't always have the best color balance. The quality IS better than the first two Trailer Trauma volumes, but still not on the same level as the Drive-In Delirium releases. A lot of the trailers have audio that starts in-progress a second or two after the video starts, and a few are cut off at the end. I noted the worst of these in the list below.

I should note that Garagehouse Pictures are well aware that the content is not up to the high quality one would expect from a Blu-ray release, as the note below is included inside the case.

The 35mm trailers included in this volume have been scanned in 4K and digitally mastered in HD. The sound has been digitally mastered from the original optical tracks. None of the trailers have been restored and appear here in all their worn glory. All trailers are presented in their original aspect ratios, which is not always indicative of the ratios of the actual features themselves. The occasional matting seen at the top and bottom of your screen is normal.

However, I'd like to point out that (1) The note is INSIDE the case, so you are not given this warning BEFORE you make your purchase and open it up; and (2) These Trailer Trauma releases are not cheap bargain bin releases, and for roughly $30 each, I would expect better quality. Some may disagree with me, and even appreciate the defects as they make the trailers feel more "vintage" and "authentic", but I have to call it like I see it. Also, why is it that the cheaper-priced Australian-imported Drive-In Delirium releases have better quality for a lot of these same trailers?

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention that a small chunk of trailers - almost all from chapter 71 through 77 - have audio that is off sync from the video. I can't believe that no one noticed this in the Quality Assurance process.

-- SPECIAL FEATURES --

There is an Audio Commentary with Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger. There is also the following Garagehouse Pictures Trailers (11:07): Foes (1977), The Intruder (1975), The Dismembered (1962), The Satanist (1968), Trailer Trauma #1 Blu-ray, Trailer Trauma #2 Blu-ray, and Ninja Busters (1984/2015).


-- PACKAGING --

The single disc comes inside a standard 12mm clear Blu-ray case. The reverse/inside of the case artwork is a trailer list on the left side and part of the right side under the disc, while the other half of the right side contains cover art for a few other Garagehouse Pictures releases (with the quality note and credits underneath).

-- CONCLUSION --

So far, the best in the Trailer Trauma series was #3, with #4 coming in right behind. This fifth volume isn't as good as those, but is a HUGE step up from the first two volumes. While I'm not a big fan of the various genres represented (no horror this time), there were actually a few films I want to check out. A few of these trailers can be found in better quality on the various Drive-In Delirium releases, as noted in the list below.

• Trailer Trauma 1
• Trailer Trauma 2: Drive-In Monsterama
• Trailer Trauma 3: '80s Horror-Thon
• Trailer Trauma 4: Television Trauma
• Trailer Trauma 5: '70s Action Attack!

The Blu-ray set was purchased with my own money and was NOT provided to me by anyone involved in the production or distribution of it.



I noted trailers that are also found on the Drive-In Delirium (DID) volumes, but I can't guarantee that they are the exact same trailer. They're for the same movie, under the same title, and they don't seem different from what I remember seeing on the DID releases. In all likelihood, they ARE the same trailer.

[program title is separate] 01. Born to Kill (aka Cockfighter) (1974) 02. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) (audio in prog) (ALSO ON DID3) 03. The Getaway (1972) (audio in prog) (ALSO ON DID5) 04. Bloody Friday (1972) (English dubbed) 05. Charley Varrick (1973) 06. Three Tough Guys (aka Tough Guys) (1974) 07. Three the Hard Way (1974) 08. Hit! (1973) 09. Gordon's War (1973) 10. Tick... Tick... Tick... (1970) 11. Payday (1973) 12. Buster and Billie (1974) (edit in middle) 13. Joyride (1977) (Casey Kasem narration) 14. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) (audio in prog) 15. Return to Macon County (1975) 16. Angels Die Hard (1970) 17. Viva Knievel! (1977) 18. C.C. and Company (1970) (small audio edit in middle, cut off at end) 19. The Loners (1972) 20. The Losers (1970) 21. Run, Angel, Run! (1969) 22. Cain's Way (aka Cain's Cutthroats) (1970) 23. High Plains Drifter (1973) (audio in prog) 24. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) 25. Junior Bonner (1972) 26. Camper John (1973) (audio in prog) 27. The No Mercy Man (1973) 28. Black Shampoo (1976) 29. Trouble Man (1972) (ALSO ON DID1) 30. Cleopatra Jones (1973) (edit in middle) 31. Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975) (in prog) 32. A Small Town in Texas (1976) (audio in prog, off sync, ends abruptly) 33. The Gravy Train (1974) (audio in prog) 34. Open Season (1974) 35. Tomcats (1977) (cut off at end) 36. The Super Cops (1974) 37. Cops and Robbers (1973) (audio in prog) 38. Dirty O'Neil: The Love Life of a Cop (1974) (audio in prog) 39. Busting (1974) (ALSO ON DID5) 40. Law and Disorder (1974) 41. Rolling Thunder (1977) (ALSO ON DID1) 42. Mr. Majestyk (1974)

43. Vigilante Force (1976) (ALSO ON DID1) 44. Big Wednesday (1978) 45. White Line Fever (1975) 46. High-Ballin' (1978) 47. Convoy (1978) (edit in middle) (ALSO ON DID3) 48. Fast Company (1979) 49. Sorcerer (1977) 50. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) (audio in prog, audio cut off at end) 51. Corky (1972) (audio cut off at end) 52. The Driver (1978) 53. The Warriors (1979) (two very minor edits in middle) (ALSO ON DID1) 54. Hickey & Boggs (1972) (audio slightly in prog) 55. Crimebusters (1977) 56. Zorro (1975) (cut off at end) 57. Triple Irons (1971) 58. Five Masters of Death (1974) 59. Kill or Be Killed (1976) (audio from something else at very end) 60. The Steel Edge of Revenge (1969) 61. Blood of the Dragon (1971) (audio in prog, audio cut off at end) 62. The Young Dragon (1979) 63. Deadly China Doll (1973) 64. Wildcat Women (aka Black Lolita) (1975) (trailer is partially in red/blue 3-D) 65. The Abductors (1972) 66. Hustler Squad (1975) 67. The Hot Box (1972) 68. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976) 69. Bonnie's Kids (1972) (audio in prog) 70. The Daring Dobermans (1973) (sequel to "The Doberman Gang") (audio in prog) 71. The Doberman Gang (1972) (audio in prog, off sync) 72. The Murder Gang (aka Black Heat) (1976) (audio off sync) 73. Blackout (1978) 74. The Silent Partner (1978) (audio off sync) 75. High Velocity (1976) (edits at begin, audio off sync a bit) 76. The Mechanic (1972) (ALSO ON DID1) 77. The Family (1970) (audio slightly off sync) 78. The Italian Connection (1972) 79. Prime Cut (1972) (audio in prog, picture rust-colored) 80. Emperor of the North Pole (1973) (audio in prog) 81. Hard Times (1975)

THE END