Jim Wynorski is a legend in the B-movie world, having racked up over 100 directing credits over the course of his 40+ years of working in the entertainment industry. Among those credits are Chopping Mall, Deathstalker II, The Return of Swamp Thing, Sorority House Massacre II, Hard to Die, Ghoulies IV, Demolition High, Piranhaconda, Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre, Attack of the 50 Foot CamGirl, and Murderbot – so it’s clear to see why Wynorski was the subject of a documentary back in 2009. The documentary is called Popatopolis, and the folks at Terror Vision have just brought it to Blu-ray for the first time ever! Copies can be ordered at THIS LINK.
Directed by Clay Westervelt, Popatopolis has the following synopsis: Jim Wynorski was the first to cast Traci Lords in mainstream cinema. He directed Heather Locklear in The Return of Swamp Thing. He discovered Jennifer Love Hewitt. Now, the man behind The Bare Wench Project and The Devil Wears Nada must make a movie in three days. He has a successful formula (a big chase and a big chest) and a catchy title (Witches of Breastwick). But now he must cut the schedule, the crew, the makeup, and the food to focus on the only “special effects” he can really afford: the buxom assets of Julie K. Smith, Monique Parent, and Stormy Daniels. Humorous and insightful, the award-winning documentary peeks into the pop-topping world of B-movies before they disappear from our shelves forever.
Terror Vision brings Popatopolis to Blu-ray with these bonus features: 3 Hour Workprint of Popatopolis – New Restoration/HD Presentation of Witches of Breastwick – Commentary w/ Clay Westervelt, Brooks Larson & Lee Sanders – Commentary w/ Monique Parent & Antonia Dorian – Visual Essay: #RestoreTheWynorskiverse by Someone’s Favorite Productions – New Interview w/ Jim Wynorski – New Interview w/ Clay Westervelt – New Interview w/ Monique Parent – Still & Poster Gallery – Interview w/ Gigi Erneta – Interview w/ Paul Coufos on The Lost Empire – Theresa Wynorski Deleted Scene – House of Julie Strain – Egyptian Premiere w/ Q&A (30min) – Jim on Screamers – Jim on Deathstalker II – Jim on Chopping Mall – Jim on Breaking Into Hollywood – Jim on Movie Budgets – Killbot Jr. – Monique Parent Commercial Reel – Popatopolis Promo Trailer – Newly Created Subtitles
The company notes, “Popatopolis was shot on DVX100 Mini DV and DVCam so our source is stuck at 480p so there isn’t much to improve on simply because we can’t with a digital master like this. However, this is the best the film has ever looked. That said, Witches of Breastwick was shot on a Sony HDW-F900 and we were able to do an upgrade and give it a great HD treatment! Funny how the bonus film looks better than the A feature but we hope you all enjoy this massive release.“
Are you a fan of the works of Jim Wynorski, and will you be picking up a copy of Popatopolis on Blu-ray? Let us know by leaving a comment below.