Breakdown of the contents of the 'Magic, Myth & Mutilation: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael' set:
DISC ONE: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1967-1979
* Tristan & Iseult (1970) (60:09)
* Happy Ever After (1974) (47:59)
* Secrets (1977) (88:03)
* Almost a Movie! (1979) (48:06)
"Murphy's Lore, Part 1: Origin" 2017 featurette (21:27)
Surviving Film Fragments (1967-1979):
- Atlantis: City of Sin (1967) (6:02)
- Boadicea (1968) (5:28)
- Gods and Heroes (1971) (2:31)
- Seventh Day (first version, 1976) (7:07)
- Insight (1978) (3:13)
- Seventh Day (second version, 1979) (5:07)
- Seventh Day (second version) Outtakes (2:11)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1967-1979 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (64 images)
DISC TWO: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1980-1982
* The Cell (1980) (13:38)
* Stay (1980) (58:29)
* Death in the Family (1981) (54:51)
* Invitation To Hell:
- Original Version (1982) (43:53)
- Revised Version (2008) (46:53)
* The Last Night (1982) (46:36)
* Invitation to Hell & The Last Night (double bill):
- The Last Night & Invitation to Hell (90:10)
- Invitation to Hell & The Last Night (90:10)
(1.) Audio commentary on "Invitation to Hell" with Michael J. Murphy, Phil Lyndon and Sally Duncan (28 July 2008)
(2.) Audio commentary on "Invitation to Hell" with Johnny Walker (6 July 2022)
Audio commentary on "The Last Night" with Michael J. Murphy, Phil Lyndon and Sally Duncan (28 July 2008)
"Invitation to Hell and The Last Night Together Again" 2008 featurette (15:00)
The Last Night Alternative Titles and Credits (2:11)
Stay Outtakes (2:29)
Stay Theme (3:06)
Reissue Trailers:
- Invitation to Hell Trailer (1:57)
- The Last Night Trailer (0:47)
- Invitation to Hell & The Last Night Double-Bill Trailer (1:10)
Custom Video Reel (2:12)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1980-1982 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (68 images)
DISC THREE: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1983-1985
* Quälen aka The Hereafter (1983):
- Play as Quälen (84:25)
- Play as The Hereafter (US VHS Title) (84:25)
* Bloodstream (1985):
- Play director's cut (79:44)
- Play bootleg version (80:47)
"Michael J. Murphy Presents" 2015 featurette (18:40)
16mm Test Footage (3:12)
Bloodstream Promo (2:41)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1980-1982 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (27 images)
Quälen Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (91 images)
Bloodstream Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material [script] (60 images)
DISC FOUR: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1986-1987
* Tristan AKA Legend of a Hero (1986):
- Tristan (108:40)
- Legend of a Hero (87:44)
* Death Run (1988)(73:36)
"Murlyn's Cave" 2023 featurette (21:55)
Legend of a Hero Trailer #1 (1:39)
Legend of a Hero Trailer #2 (1:14)
Death Run Trailer #1 (2:12)
Death Run Trailer #2 (0:59)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1986-1987 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (41 images)
Tristan Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (79 images)
Death Run Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (47 images)
DISC FIVE: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1988-1989
* Avalon (1988) (84:08)
* Moonchild (1989) (87:35)
"Murphy's Lore, Part 2: Method" 2017 featurette (20:37)
Avalon Trailer #1 (2:20)
Avalon Trailer #2 (1:26)
Moonchild Trailer (1:35)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1988-1989 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (29 images)
Avalon Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (68 images)
DISC SIX: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1990-1991
* Torment (1990) (90:23)
* Atlantis (1991) (82:32)
Audio commentary on Atlantis with Michael J. Murphy, Judith Holding and June Bunday (3 January 2010)
Atlantis Featurettes:
- "The Making of Atlantis" (2000) (7:10)
- "The Making of Atlantis" (2009) (6:52)
Atlantis Alternative Titles and Credits (5:34)
Bloopers Reel (from Death Run, Moonchild, Torment, Atlantis, Second Sight) (5:21)
Torment Trailer (2:13)
Atlantis Trailer #1 (2:02)
Atlantis Trailer #2 (2:17)
Galleries:
- The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1990-1991 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (44 images)
- Atlantis Image Gallery: Original Script Gallery (67 images)
DISC SEVEN: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1991-1993
* Second Sight (1991) (89:58)
* Road to Nowhere (1993) (95:25)
"Mike Gives Us a Tour of His Home and Studio: Unused B-roll from Murphy's Lore" 2015 featurette (11:16)
Road to Nowhere Alternate Credits (1:30)
Road to Nowhere Trailer (2:13)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1991-1993 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (34 images)
DISC EIGHT: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1995-1999
* The Rite of Spring (1995):
- Original version (90:22)
- Re-edited version (81:18)
* Tristan (1999):
- Original version (108:11)
- Re-edited version (101:29)
"Horror-on-Sea 2013 Presents: An Exclusive Interview with Michael J. Murphy - Recorded on New Year's Day 2013 with Questions Supplied by Darrell Buxton" 2013 featurette (64:13)
The Rite of Spring Behind the Scenes (40:20)
Tristan Alternative Titles and Credits (3:52)
The Rite of Spring Trailer (2:15)
Tristan Trailer (2:57)
The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 1995-1999 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (15 images)
Tristan Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (159 images)
DISC NINE: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 2004-2009
* Roxi (2004) (96:14)
* Skare (2009) (86:34)
Audio commentary on Skare with Michael J. Murphy and Judith Holding (22 January 2009)
"The Making of Roxi" 2004 featurette (12:50)
"The Making of Skare" 2009 featurette (14:42)
Roxi Outtakes (27:39)
Skare Alternative Opening and end Credits (3:26)
Skare Outtakes (13:34)
Skare Readthrough (46:19)
Skare (the lost 2001 version):
- Rushes (36:37)
- The Leftovers (2:50)
- Fight Rehearsal Footage (2:23)
- Oliver Price Selected Footage Commentary (5:34)
- Michael J. Murphy on Chris Jupp's Beast (4:28)
Trailers:
- Roxi Trailer (2:03)
- Skare Trailer (1:37)
Galleries:
- The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 2004-2009 Image Gallery (25 images)
- Roxi Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (124 images)
- Skare Image Gallery: Original 2001 Shooting Script (122 images)
- Skare Image Gallery: Original 2006 Shooting Script (125 images)
- Another Man's Poison Image Gallery: Short Story (71 images)
DISC TEN: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 2012-2015
* ZK3 (2012) (78:37)
* Nekros: Isle of the Dead (2014) (97:03)
* The Return of Alan Strange (2015) (81:59)
"Murphy's Lore, Part 3: Legacy" 2017 featurette (24:56)
"The Making of ZK2" 2012 featurette (11:10)
ZK3 Premiere (Paxos Film Awards 2012) (10:33)
Nekros: Behind the Scenes (Final Version) (16:17)
Nekros: Behind the Scenes (Rough Assembly) (53:19)
"Wish You Were Here" 2012 featurette (3:01)
The Return of Alan Strange Pick-up Take (0:35)
The Return of Alan Strange Green Screen (0:37)
Trailers (Play All - 5:02):
- ZK3 Trailer (1:29)
- Nekros: Isle of the Dead Trailer (1:58)
- The Return of Alan Strange Trailer (1:34)
Galleries:
- The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy 2012-2015 Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (39 images)
- ZK3 Image Gallery: Original Shooting Script (66 images)
This release is already being touted as being 'release of the year' at
DVDCompare "Holy zarking fardwarks, major hardcopy disc release alert of the year!
I had never heard of Michael J. Murphy (1951-2015) prior to the announcement that Powerhouse Films were going to restore, remaster and release this whopping 26-film set which brings together all surviving films (he made 30 between 1967 and 2015).
This amazing complete career package of the late British micro-budget director is must have for anyone into Z-grade, micro-budget film production or genre cinema in general. Disc one in the set contains the first four surviving films plus all known fragments of his other now lost or never completed productions dated between 1967-79. Image and sound quality are problematic but not due to the herculean efforts of those individuals producing this set, they've done the absolute best it's possible to do with the surviving elements. I've given both 'B-' because of this. Extras are excellent nd extremely strong and my rating of 'A+' applies to the whole set rather than this first disc alone.
An absolutely essential purchase for those so inclined and given the over year long gestation period I hope Powerhouse Films and those specific individuals responsible for bringing this mammoth set to release are justifiably rewarded by nominations come the end of 2023 for the best release of the year.
Highly recommended."