The Age of Aquarius: New York City Sleaze Kings Part 2

"Terry Levene is one of the hardest working men I know. He would always put in 12 or 14 hour days. There was a lot of fun and variety in the work, and I always got along great with him."--Ron Harvey, Fangoria 79, p67

With hot porn on the plate and kung fu cookin' in the oven, Aquarius had some tantalizing titles ready to satiate the palette of rabid and roused patrons of danger seeking cinema. As mentioned in part one, the company, like other distribution company's, would sometimes flamboyantly over-hype the product in a valiant, if wildly dishonest effort to make the un-sellable sellable.

This was one of the wildest and wooliest aspects of going to the movies back in the day, or even just "window shopping", in an effort to pick and choose which flick to sit in on. The advertising often promised a lot of things that weren't quite delivered the way they were displayed to you. When you think about it, this sort of visual deception wasn't limited to the hucksterism prevalent in motion picture promotion. Ever seen a fast food commercial advertising some new item and upon buying one, it looks nothing like it did on TV?


Sometimes certain movies would be re-packaged and re-sold as something else entirely. Many times if a picture didn't go over too well, it would be re-dressed with a spiffy new poster design and given a brand spanking new title in an effort to attract the audience it missed the first time around. This didn't always work, either, but it wasn't for lack of the distribution company trying. Many times they'd come up with some truly deceptive doozies. You'd never see this sort of thing happening now, though. Could you imagine going into the theater and paying the high ticket prices of today to see some shitty movie you'd seen a year or more before?!

An example of this cinematic makeover would be the Italian crime picture from Michele Lupo released here as MEAN FRANK AND CRAZY TONY (1973). Aquarius released it in 1975 under the title POWER KILL, which rhymed with the use of a power DRILL seen on the artwork and in the film. Aquarius re-released the movie in 1981 as ESCAPE FROM DEATH ROW with a vastly different ad campaign that avoided the mafia trappings of the earlier ads.

Other methods were employed to spice up a picture, at least from the distributors perspective. One such tactic was to "touch up" the acquisition to mold it into something said distributor deems palatable for the paying audience. Taking a page from Roger Corman's playbook, Aquarius's tinkering ranged from negligible to blasphemous (refer to PART 1).

Foreign product always seemed to fall victim to radical re-editing to "trim the fat" to make these movies tolerable for the supposed short attention spans of the sleaze crowd. An example of this is Umberto Lenzi's ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH (1976), released here through Aquarius in 1982 under the title ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON. For whatever reason, Levene and his then partner Ron Harvey decided to eliminate the opening nine minutes and have the film start with tough cop Maurizio Merli chasing after a couple of purse-snatching youngsters on a motorcycle. After Merli stops them and rears back his hand, ready to unleash his patented "Merli Bitch Slap", the title appears; actually, it's a title card of Aquarius's approved poster font with newly designed credits laid over it. It's all a bit misleading considering this is an Italian production, yet these new credits give the impression that Aquarius was responsible for a bit more than merely re-cutting and scissoring Lenzi's movie.

At the time, nobody paid much attention to such things so long as licensors got paid, the distributors made their sale and the public (hopefully) got entertained. Nowadays, with the evolution of the industry and the sophistication of the patrons, this sort of playfully devious, unscrupulous behavior would be frowned upon. In some ways, this sort of cavalier approach to tinkering with an original product has simply morphed into the mass remaking machine of foreign films. In this case, the makers of the American versions sometimes avoid any inclination that they have taken their ideas from a different work entirely.

One of the elements of old fashioned movie marketing that's fascinated me was the way in which films were passed around from one part of the country to the next with multiple corporations handling distribution within their own territories. This always reminded me of the way professional wrestling was promoted regionally, or nationally back in the day with the various territorial big bosses trading their talent. That is till The Devil known as McMahon Jr. ruined it all by dis-associating himself from the territories, running them out of business, or buying them out. In the end, the magic of that sport was destroyed when he committed wrestling Hara-Kiri by ousting the wonders of Kayfabe (the illusion of wrestling as being "real") as scripted.
This aided in the slow erosion and eventual destruction of the carnival atmosphere the traveling wrestling shows had to offer.


Similarly, the growing monetary power of the major studios along with blockbuster movies like JAWS (1975) and STAR WARS (1977) signaled the beginning of the end for the trash palaces who would ultimately find sanctuary on home video.

For me, the handling, distribution, and demise of the independent film company in some ways mirrored what ultimately happened to old school, carny style wrestling promotion. But prior to that, all was right in the increasingly sleazy world of movie showmanship. Below is an eloquently elucidated explanation of the way independent companies handled their many acquisitions as told to me by film historian, writer and Temple of Schlock co-founder, Chris Poggiali.

"Independent film companies such as New World Pictures, Dimension Pictures, and Film Ventures International used a system of sub-distributors around the country to save themselves the money, time and hassle of operating their own national distribution departments. These sub-distributors, also known as states’ rights companies or exchange offices, would handle the distribution for the independents in specific territories. For example, Clark Film Releasing covered Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and either Louisiana or Alabama. They released the Jean Rollin double bill DEMONIACS and STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN AT NIGHT on their own but mostly sub-distributed for indies like Crown International Pictures in the aforementioned territories. Speaking of Crown International, they got started in the business as an exchange that handled the 13 western states for a number of indies, most notably (and profitably) American International Pictures. In the mid ‘60s, flush with success from their Poe pictures and Beach Party movies, AIP decided to break away from Crown and start its own national distribution system; this cost Crown a chunk of money because they were no longer collecting a commission on all of the AIP titles.

With his Cinemation Industries, Jerry Gross tried to get around the exchange system by opening field offices in the top five or six territories and handling his own distribution on the national level, but it was an expensive operation and within five years Cinemation was bankrupt. Roger Corman, on the other hand, mostly stuck to exchanges in the major territories (I think his New World Pictures did have an Atlanta office for a few years); Aquarius sub-distributed all of his Concorde releases in New York in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Marvin Films and Bedford Entertainment also handled indy pics in New York but the major sub-distributor was Aquarius.

Aquarius made a name for itself in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and was the company that handled DEEP THROAT during its most controversial days. David Friedman (Entertainment Ventures), Bob Cresse (Olympic International) and other west coast nudie filmmakers didn't have a strong footing on the east coast so they needed someone like Terry Levene to handle their films in the New York area. There was a strong adult movie presence in New York at that time, with its own players and distributors; Aquarius was located in the Selwyn Theater building, right in the heart of 42nd Street, and Levene knew all the theater managers and owners and could get the films in the top houses."

"Our strategy was always to make these films look as American as possible."--Ron Harvey, Fangoria #79, p54.

Aquarius had their share of big ticket moneymakers and small change grossers. Among the big movies the company could lay claim to was their brief Northeastern release of the almighty HALLOWEEN (1978) prior to it going out big the following year in America and internationally.

The company also managed to briefly put the infamous killer santa flick, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984) back into circulation when civic protest groups figuratively set fire to it. Despite bearing an incredible ad campaign and doing good business, the film was pulled due to all the controversy it was attracting like a magnet.

One of Aquarius's low points was said to be ZAAT (1972), better known under the title of THE BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z. This Florida lensed creature feature was about a scientist who turns himself into a giant, walking catfish monster who avenges himself on those who wronged him. It was a staple of Saturday Morning television when I was growing up in the early 1980s.


EVILS OF THE NIGHT (1985) is easily one of the worst horror films the world has never seen in its plot about aliens seeking blood for some eternal life elixir and using two mechanics to aid in their mission. Atrocious in the extreme, the poster designed for this no budget wonder allegedly riled George Lucas resulting in a cease and desist order. It must have been the image of the Millennium Falcon on the poster that irritated him? The Force was not with Aquarius on that particular title.

SNUFF MAXIMUS MEETS THE BROOKLYN BUTCHER

Italian genre product was always a hot ticket for demanding trash fanatics and Aquarius wrangled several of Italy's most reprehensible cinematic felons. Of course, some of these titles didn't come away unscathed before hitting the hallowed ground of what was once 42nd Street.

DR. BUTCHER M.D. (1980) aka QUEEN OF THE CANNIBALS aka ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST is arguably the epitome of imported Euro gore epics. What makes it special is the amount of work that went into redressing it into something they thought would be more accessible for the rabid American audience.

For whatever reason, the Aquarius brass figured QUEEN OF THE CANNIBALS (1980) was a bit too sluggish in places. After shaving off some of the running time, they figured it was now a bit too short. According to Ron Harvey, to accommodate their now shorter acquisition, a portion of an unfinished Roy Frumkes picture, TALES THAT'LL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT, was tacked onto the beginning of the movie. This amounted to just a few minutes of footage.

Interestingly enough, Frumkes has a different story as to why Aquarius wanted to acquire footage from his unfinished production; this dealing with an apparently failed animated credits sequence. Instead of putting more money into it, Levene asked for footage from Frumkes.

Like some of the running time, the films original score was stripped away like the flesh of the poor victims in the movie. A new, and annoying electronic score by Walter Sear was put in its place.


The carpet was rolled out further for this one in what amounted to a gory gala the likes of which hadn't been seen since the William Castle days. If ever one could compare exploitation movie hucksterism with the travelin' carny lifestyle, it was with DR. BUTCHER M.D.

The legendary Butchermobile was an ingeniously devilish idea that was born when Terry Levene and Gore Gazette founder Rick Sullivan joined forces for the greater gory of exploitation cinema and its NYC fans. This flatbed truck had an operating table and other medical paraphernalia. The old Psychotronic Magazine's own Michael Weldon played the good doctors human guinea pig. The Butchermobile cruised Manhattan and the outer reaches of New Jersey to peddle the services of the Doctors theatrical practice. But not to worry, if you can't make it, "he makes house calls!" Despite these ghoulishly opulent efforts, DR. BUTCHER M.D. reportedly didn't sell as many tickets as would have been hoped.

LOVE ME DEADLY

Aquarius Releasing soldiered on displaying an incredibly gruesome amount of intestinal slinging fortitude with even more despicable Euro trash including Joe D'Amato's masterpiece BEYOND THE DARKNESS (1979), released here as BURIED ALIVE. The nausea worthy grotesqueries of D'Amato's movie were left alone for this necrophilic tale of graphic torture, murder, cannibalism and "acid bath revenge!"

The films title never actually happens (well, almost), but this misleading moniker was likely forgotten about after some amazingly realistic gore effects caused the film to come under scrutiny that real corpses were used in some of the nastier scenes.

Unleashed on videotape through Thriller Video, this release got rented out a lot, at least in my neck of the woods. Films like this and MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY were in heavy rotation at school when a bunch of us kids would sit around and talk about what we'd seen on Kung Fu Theater over the weekend, or some disturbing piece of filth we had rented at the video store.

"Believe it or not, we actually improved 7 DOORS by cutting out all the boring scenes."--Ron Harvey, Fangoria 79, p55

In what would appear to be a bid to attract additional revenue from patrons and neighborhoods put off by the brutality inherent in unrated movies (is there such a thing?), Levene and company decided to take one of their Italian acquisitions and have the MPAA brand it with an R rating thereby gutting the gore. Unfortunately, the film they did this with just happened to be Lucio Fulci's Gothically moody, spectacularly gory film THE BEYOND (1980), a film that was released here with the much more splashily attractive moniker of 7 DOORS OF DEATH.

Walter Sear was again recruited to contribute to an already fine score by Fabio Frizzi, including the replacement of the opening credits cue. Some reportedly bogus comments from both Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel (who later claimed to have never seen the film) were plastered at the top of the films poster design. None of this seemed to make much difference, however, as 7 DOORS OF DEATH made a bigger splash on VHS, and eventually DVD when the uncut version was finally released giving fans a reason to toss out those bootlegs.

THE MOST VIOLENT FILM EVER!


Aquarius fared much better with the release of SAVAGE MAN, SAVAGE BEAST (1975), a popular, graphically gruesome Mondo movie that made a name for itself built around some alleged real death footage involving castrations and a man devoured by lions.

The poster artwork is among the most graphic ever seen. I'd imagine only the seriously hardcore houses would carry it with that kind of explicit imagery adorning the outside of the theaters or even in the lobby's.

Looking for something of a similar nature, Levene and the boys got their hands on Umberto Lenzi's CANNIBAL FEROX (1981), an Italian production among the most notorious trash epics the world has ever seen. In addition to launching thousands of lunches, Lenzi's magnum opus has amassed a staggering amount of exposure over the years. That its profitable theatrical run had zero advertising save for the marquees and the revolting, viscera-packed trailer is a testament to the rude, raw and rowdy power the film possesses enabling word of mouth to do all the advertising that was necessary.

Also against it were the limited number of play dates afforded an unrated picture at the time. Lenzi's lovingly offensive gut-muncher spit in the eye of other exploitation pictures that carried a rating, ultimately accruing a ghastly reputation in the process. The promotion of the film was simply brilliant with its gruesome painted artwork and collage of images from the film itself. Proudly proclaiming "The Most Violent Film Ever!" splattered across the top, how could trash film lovers and the morbidly curious not resist? This wasn't simply an occasion where the ballyhoo matched the film, it was a case where the film surpassed audience expectations.

The films title is also brazenly sadistic and exemplifies the film perfectly in lieu of what transpires onscreen. The title, itself, being born and mangled from a line of dialog spoken from Lorraine De Selle late in the picture.

The film also scored big on videocassette and was one of a few titles from Thriller Video wherein hostess Elvira decided to pass on lending her presence to the feature. But that wasn't all. Lenzi's cannibal camp out is likely the only Italian endurance test to ever make it to prime time American television.

In the late 80s, horror was everywhere including the news where it was widely reported that horror films supposedly had some sort of influence over children to turn them into mini-serial killers. An episode of 20/20 built solely around horror featured clips from the FRIDAY THE 13TH series and EVIL DEAD 2 in its bid to show America what its children were watching. Among these clips was a sequence wherein a group of women were sitting around watching MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY of all things. The looks on their faces was priceless to say the least. In a way, Lenzi's phenomenal chunk-blower (to use a term coined by the late, great Chas. Balun) had finally hit the big time.

The Age of Aquarius is past now, replaced by a cold, computerized approach to film marketing. The old fashioned and deceptive methods of movie showmanship is pretty much a dead art form with the advent of technology and the resultant sophistication of the paying audience. Still, there's nothing wrong with pondering those bygone days when times were much simpler and a lot more fun was had when embracing the movie going experience.

THE END

Most of the poster images from WRONG SIDE OF THE ART.

Butchermobile and ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST images from Media Blasters DVD.

MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY images from Grindhouse Releasing DVD.

The Age of Aquarius: New York City Sleaze Kings Part 1

STEP RIGHT UP FOR THE TRASHIEST SHOW ON EARTH!

Out of all the late, great, sleazy distribution companies that brought slathering trash fans their foul fix during the 1970s and beyond, arguably the most famous would have to be Terry Levene's Aquarius Releasing distribution company based in New York City. Specializing in every avenue of ill-mannered movies, Aquarius Releasing was responsible for some creatively ornate hucksterism for some of the most vile motion pictures the world has ever seen.

Spanning pornography, homegrown horror and sleaze including several of the more notorious Euro trash pictures, Levene's company outlasted many others hanging in there for around two decades before the advent of the video store and big ticket blockbusters aided in killing off exploitation trash peddlers forever.

These guys treated the movie-going experience much like going to a carnival. Not a circus, mind you, but those types of low-rent traveling sideshows populated by a gaggle of seedy and sleazy ringleaders replete with their nomadic assistants of eccentric taste and character. During this time, you'd get a show outside the theater as well as inside of it. Often times the actual movie never quite matched the bloody, bombastic ballyhoo that was used to get you into that darkened, sometimes dangerous theater; but then that was part of the show... and the fun.

EURO PORN SIN-SATIONS

Sex sells, and Levene and his company enjoyed many a fruitful year doing some East Coast showboating of everything from lustfully adventurous fluff as Germanic imports THE LONG SWIFT SWORD OF SIEGRFIED (1971) by Adrian Hoven to SWINGING WIVES (1971) by popular sexcapader, Ernst Hofbauer. The former title is notable for an early "Adults Only" role by Austrian actress Sybelle Danninger; better known on these shores as Sybil Danning.

Trash fans will of course recognize the name of that films director, Adrian Hoven from the notorious MARK OF THE DEVIL (1970).

The films star, Raimund Harmstorf will also be familiar to exploitation fans from his tough guy roles such as the gruesome excess of Eurocrimer BLOODY FRIDAY (1972) and the dark and violent latter era spaghetti western CALIFORNIA (1977). He's also among the cast of Castellari's cult favorite INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (1978).

The name Ernst Hofbauer likewise won't be lost on sexploitation seekers from parlaying his porn wares in a successful string of SCHOOLGIRL REPORT movies. Hofbauer's skills and monetary success were not lost on Sir Run Run Shaw, possibly the world's only multi-millionaire movie mogul who frequently dabbled in the grubbiest trash imaginable. Hofbauer was recruited for a Shaw-German co-production entitled VIRGINS OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1974), co-directed by Shaw's own house sleaze specialist, Kuei Chi Hung.

While Aquarius didn't handle VIRGINS (infamously deceptive producer Edward L. Montoro's Film Ventures carried it under the title of THE BOD SQUAD), they did put their hands around Hofbauer's NEW HOT REPORT: WHAT MEN DON'T THINK IS POSSIBLE; re-christened SWINGING WIVES. Judging by the eye-catching poster design, I'd say it was a safe bet this clenched cash from the hands of many a male patron looking for a quick thrill.

FIGHTING FISTS & KUNG FU KICKS!

Kung Fu movies became all the face smashing, eye-gouging rage in the early 70s after Warner Brothers made a mint off of Shaw Brothers KING BOXER (1972). Branded with the savage moniker of FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH, the film became the first such picture to open the doors for Chinese action films on these shores before Bruce Lee hit the scene. Incidentally, KING BOXER was not a huge success in its native Hong Kong.

While big studios like Warner and MGM were handling some of the Shaw library, small outfits like Aquarius were picking up the leftovers; of which there were legion. Levene touted minor league swordplay features like THE INVINCIBLE SUPER CHAN (1971), but changed the title to FORCED TO FIGHT. The advertising was pretty accurate here with little in the way of carnival level barkering to sell this films wares. The 'WARNING' regarding the amount of action is true, but nothing is mentioned of the gory shenanigans, which is surprising. The only clue given is the silly blood spots painted onto the images.

I've never seen the original version of this, but the film shows signs of being shorn of footage despite the plot being virtually non-existent save for the standard revenge potboiler. It's a terrible movie all around, but garnered a reputation over the years among hardcore Fu fans. In a rare occasion, the dubbed English version I saw utilizes some of the voice actors normally associated with Italian trash imports. CLONES OF BRUCE LEE (1977) also had a version that used different dubbers as well.

One of Aquarius's other kung fu flicks was QUEEN BOXER (1972), a popular film among martial arts film circles to this day. It was the first big movie of Judy Lee aka Chia Ling, and was also one of many films to follow in the wake, and spin off from the massive success of Chang Cheh's THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972).

Whoever designed the ad campaign for the US release was obviously aware of the splash Judy Lee had made and incorporated this into the poster ballyhoo, even going so far as to proclaim her 'the female Bruce Lee'.

Sadly, the actress on the front wearing a Japanese style Gi and holding two eyeballs in her hand is not Judy Lee. The splash box 'Warning' is aptly applied, though. It also wasn't unusual for American kung fu movie posters to feature scenes not in the actual film, or for the flick to pass itself around with a myriad of different titles.

BRUCE IS LOOSE!

When Bruce Lee died in 1973, a flood of bruceploitation pictures flooded the market around the world in what amounted to a crass maneuver to continue marketing a known commodity with seemingly zero sympathy or respect for the man who had recently, and rather mysteriously, died. Even the big HK studios were in on the game, although some might say intentions were originally sound. Shaw Brothers (who almost had Lee's services as an actor at one point) got Bruce's mistress to star and co-produce BRUCE LEE: HIS LAST DAYS, HIS LAST NIGHTS (1976) aka BRUCE LEE & I.

Golden Harvest, the company whom Bruce saved from bankruptcy, made a mockery of him with some laughably bad sequences in the then unfinished GAME OF DEATH (1978) and pushed forward making money off of the man's death with TOWER OF DEATH in 1981.

The worst however, came from other studios marketing actors as Bruce Lee-a-likes such as Bruce Li, Bruce Le and Dragon Lee among a handful of others. A boatload of these cheap knock-offs made it to these shores and the advertisements amplified the exploitation element to an alarmingly hilarious degree. Like numerous other independent companies, Aquarius feverishly dipped their hands into this bowl of (mis)fortune cookies to grab some of these inexpensive Bruce clone movies in the hopes of making a few bucks.

Arguably the most sensationally titled movie of this unholy bunch would have to be BRUCE LEE FIGHTS BACK FROM THE GRAVE (1976), a Hong Kong-Korea no budget wonder starring a guy billed as Bruce K. L. Lea. This was the actors only known credit and he looks far more like Jimmy Wang Yu than Bruce Lee. While the original version of this picture has nothing to do with Lee, the distributors devised one of several infamous instances of movie malarkey by shooting a sequence that would tie in with the ridiculously exploitative title. In this case, the film opens with a shot of a tombstone that reads 'Bruce Lee 1940-1973'. As this kung fu disco music wails on your eardrums, some dude ferociously erupts from a makeshift grave before the films title crosses the screen. It lasts all of about 30 seconds before the actual movie begins.

The poster design is also a marvelous bit of marketing deception. While we do see a character undoubtedly "fight back from the grave", we never see him tussle with a winged demon creature that's depicted on the artwork. The movie is not only blessed with an amazingly trashy ad campaign, but the trailer hammers home the films inherent poverty row gaudiness, bargain basement acting and mediocre fight scenes that was vital for the success of such below average fare.

To add another layer of insanity to this nonsensical crapola, the face of Sho Kosugi appears on a business card taken from a wallet stolen by a villain! Kosugi is no stranger to American movie fans having starred in movies like ENTER THE NINJA (1981), it's even better, gorier semi-sequel REVENGE OF THE NINJA (1983), NINJA 3: THE DOMINATION (1984), NINE DEATHS OF THE NINJA (1985), PRAY FOR DEATH (1986), RAGE OF HONOR (1987) and BLACK EAGLE (1988) among others.

Arguably more famous than anything else attached to the stigma of this movie is the long standing rumor that Umberto Lenzi directed this mess under a pseudonym. It's since been proven false, even from the man himself, but there are still those who cling to this bit of filmmaking fantasy presumably because it adds to the mystique of the era and the lengths to which these distributors would go to get your ass in the theater.

Also in 1976, Levene and company imported BODYGUARD KIBA, a 1973 Japanese movie starring "The Incredible Sonny Chiba". The wildly popular Nipponese actor had recently raised a ruckus in theaters via the Sensational THE STREET FIGHTER released on these shores courtesy of New Line Cinema Even scissored up to separate itself from an MPAA branded 'X' rating, Chiba's brutal showcase did big business. Of course, Aquarius tampered with their Chiba acquisition, too, but in an entirely different way.

Retitled THE BODYGUARD, the original Japanese version has yet to surface in America, or even Japan (that I'm aware of) on DVD. The English version, thanks to the fine folks at Aquarius, alters the plot to have Chiba playing himself. Here he's a movie star who goes on national television and announces he's gonna start moonlighting as a crime fighter in an effort to eradicate drugs and every form of street scum known to man.

They also added an hilarious opening sequence that begins with a biblical passage from Ezekiel 25:17 spoken by 'Chiba the Bodyguard'. This same passage was blown out of proportion for its inclusion in PULP FICTION (1994). We then join martial artists Bill Louie and Aaron Banks in the bowels of some grungy NYC martial arts dojo replete with posters of other Aquarius kung fu flicks. Here, they discuss and demonstrate the merits of Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba.

The films trailer is pure brilliance and among the greatest forms of carny style showmanship of the entire exploitation canon. It's also graced by the soulful rasp of the immortal Adolph Caesar. Some of these names would be used to even greater, yet spectacularly embarrassing effect in the next picture.

"Bruce's great-grandfather was one of China's greatest samurai master swordsmen of the 19th century."--narration by Adolph Caesar

Continuing with kung fu, Aquarius struck again in an even bigger way by "making their own damn movie". This time it came down to creating an entire feature film built around leftover Bruce Lee footage from television programs and rare, early movie appearances. New Aquarius employee Ron Harvey (who also has an altercation with Fred Williamson in the film) conspired with Terry Levene along with director Matthew Mallinson to create this nominally awful, yet strangely entertaining patchwork creation; the sort of thing Godfrey Ho would become well known for several years later.

FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (1980) is an important footnote in the annals of sleaze cinema. The film exemplifies the word exploitation in every frame and Aquarius lovingly wallows in it like a pig in shit. It's easily one of the most controversial and monumentally offensive films ever released by the company, or any company for that matter. Loved for its brazen absurdities, the film is likewise seethingly hated for its gross inaccuracy of Bruce Lee's legacy, not to mention the shoddiest re-dubbed dialog that makes the HK equivalents look professional by comparison. It also pads out its running time with scenes from an earlier Aquarius acquisition, the aforementioned Taiwanese swordplay gorefest, THE INVINCIBLE SUPER CHAN aka FORCED TO FIGHT (1971); these scenes purported to show how great of a Chinese samurai warrior Bruce Lee's great-grandfather was!

Adding an incredible amount of marquee value towards this abomination, Levene and Harvey managed to get Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson, martial artists Ron Van Clief, Bill Louie and Aaron Banks to participate in newly shot footage where they all play themselves. Adolph Caesar, the greatest voice actor in movie trailer history (his pipes have graced numerous trash film trailers) also plays himself here interviewing the various participants and narrating the proceedings in typical mockumentary style.

The action and stock footage are plentiful, facts are thrown to the four winds much like a Ric Meyers publication, or commentary track, and the re-dubbed dialog laid over the existing Bruce Lee footage is laughable in the extreme. The mixing and matching of Chinese and Japanese cultures will no doubt offend many and cause a case of the chuckles to others.

It's glaringly obvious Levene and company were seeking to make a fast buck and very much succeeded considering most folks weren't concerned with accuracy, or logic at the time. They just wanted to be entertained and FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH delivers that in spades as painfully bad as it may be. The rib tickling hilarity reaches its apex an hour into the flick when Bill Louie, decked out in a Kato costume, saves two women from being raped, eventually fighting off the gang with two pairs of nunchucks.

One of the all time Best of the Worst, FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH was Aquarius's malignant masterpiece. They would continue to tinker with other films they acquired, but nothing at all quite like what they accomplished with this bizarre amalgamation that wreaks more havoc on Bruce Lee's legacy than probably all the Bruceploitation movies combined. The Deadly Arts of Kung Fu, as it would turn out, wasn't the only genre style Aquarius were proficient in.

CONTINUED IN PART 2...