Ron Sullivan: The Early Years

This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Richard Hilliard) was limited to 2,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the packaging and the 40-page book.

Presented in partnership with Something Weird Video...

From nudies to roughies to ultra weird regional curiosities, the sexploitation world welcomed any filmmaker working in any genre, so long as the limits of nudity and sex on screen were pushed as far as they could go - but never all the way. DISTRIBPIX, one of the legendary names in the genre (and whose extensive library will be the backbone of this line), will offer single, double, and even triple feature Blu-rays highlighting works from every corner and crevice of softcore smut, from the dawn of nudie cuties to the all-but-hard 70s, with plentiful lost and never on disc films along the way.

Before becoming known as one of the masters of big budget theatrical hardcore under the name Henri Pachard, Ron Sullivan cut his teeth making dark, brooding, and often outrageous sexploitation thrillers which reveled in the macabre as much as they did eroticism. Presented here are a trio of Sullivan's finest early efforts, all newly scanned and restored from 35mm negative materials and on Blu-ray for the first time, from Distribpix. In LUST WEEKEND (1967), Sullivan's directing debut, a naive couple are lured by a group of sadistic perverts to a large country manor where they are subjected to increasingly depraved and violent acts of torture. An unflinchingly grotesque and sublimely weird roughie, Sullivan expertly merges sex and horror through an underground filmmaking aesthetic, which decades later still packs plenty of squirm-inducing jolts. In THE BIZARRE ONES (1968), Sullivan continues his fascination with sexual perversions, focusing on man-hating Deirdre who picks up a young male hitchhiker and lures him to her country dungeon wherein he is subjected to the torments of Dierdre and her equally vicious friends. Featuring appearances from Warhol superstars Taylor Mead and Louis Waldon, this trippy and unusual roughie more than lives up to its title. In SCORPIO 70 (1970), Sullivan tries his hand at a more transitional narrive in this flashback structured story of smuggling, sexual indiscretions, and ultimately murder, all aboard a boat. Featuring an early starring role for Jennifer Welles (Career Bed) in addition to a catchy original soundtrack by James Taylor, this softcore thriller produced by Sam Lake (The Nesting) is at last making its home video debut.

directed by: Ron Sullivan
starring: Claire Adams, John Keeler, Mary Lamay, Eva Piatkowitz, Claire Eclaire, Cherrie Winters, Steve Treadwell, Gary West, Sagg Taras, Jennifer Welles, Stacey Michaels, Michael Hanes, Hollis Solomon, Blaine Quincy, Iris Brooks, Jessica Stuart and Tomba
1967, 1968, 1970 / 220 min (combined) / 1.37:1, 1.37:1, 1.33:1 / English DTS-HD MA 1.0