The Count Yorga Collection
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1970, 1971 / 1.85: 1 / 190 Min.
Starring Robert Quarry, Michael Murphy, Mariette Hartley
Written by Bob Kelljan, Yvonne Wilder
Directed by Bob Kelljan
An aristocratic bloodsucker from the old country is the main attraction of Bob Kelljan’s Count Yorga, Vampire, but what drives the movie is an actual motor, a 1969 Volkswagen bus with a blood red trim. That amiable vehicle, the stoner’s favorite mode of transportation, is front and center in several pivotal scenes (Yorga even hitches a ride) and comes to symbolize the film’s premise; an old-fashioned vampire at large in The Me Decade. The set-up is ripe for a satire like Joe Dante’s The Howling, but instead of taking the stuffing out of horror movie cliches, Kelljan is dead serious about the undead.
Robert Quarry plays Yorga, a vampire whose standard uniform of cape and tuxedo sets him apart from the...
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1970, 1971 / 1.85: 1 / 190 Min.
Starring Robert Quarry, Michael Murphy, Mariette Hartley
Written by Bob Kelljan, Yvonne Wilder
Directed by Bob Kelljan
An aristocratic bloodsucker from the old country is the main attraction of Bob Kelljan’s Count Yorga, Vampire, but what drives the movie is an actual motor, a 1969 Volkswagen bus with a blood red trim. That amiable vehicle, the stoner’s favorite mode of transportation, is front and center in several pivotal scenes (Yorga even hitches a ride) and comes to symbolize the film’s premise; an old-fashioned vampire at large in The Me Decade. The set-up is ripe for a satire like Joe Dante’s The Howling, but instead of taking the stuffing out of horror movie cliches, Kelljan is dead serious about the undead.
Robert Quarry plays Yorga, a vampire whose standard uniform of cape and tuxedo sets him apart from the...
- 11/15/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
A successful formula in horror is this: keep making what sells, but when the black ink begins to turn red, it may be time to tweak that formula. Come to think of it, “tweaking” may be a solid descriptor for Werewolves on Wheels (1971); this is a film that boasts not only bikers and werewolves, but a satanic cult behind it all! Can three genres and subgenres bump uglies and still provide coherent entertainment? Coherence? No. Entertainment? Most assuredly.
One could start with the title, getting the ball rolling on marketing, and as with most low budget bonanzas, delivering something not quite as good as one’s imagination. But recalibrated for that 1970s nihilistic molasses, it rides just fine.
Released in late November, WoW did well on the drive-in circuit and escaped critics’ wrath as just another second (or third) billed programmer. After all, the biker subgenre had been on fire...
One could start with the title, getting the ball rolling on marketing, and as with most low budget bonanzas, delivering something not quite as good as one’s imagination. But recalibrated for that 1970s nihilistic molasses, it rides just fine.
Released in late November, WoW did well on the drive-in circuit and escaped critics’ wrath as just another second (or third) billed programmer. After all, the biker subgenre had been on fire...
- 11/27/2021
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
As the ‘60s gave way to the ‘70s, vampires on film were stuck in a rut of crumbling castles and cotton candy cobwebs. It was time for an update; to rid the screen of the stagecoaches and street lamps. It was time for Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), a fun little romp brought into the modern age by a world class turn from Robert Quarry as the titular bloodsucker.
Yorga was released by American International Pictures (we’re back in Aip territory – and it’s a glorious place to be) in June stateside, with a rollout around the world shortly thereafter. But that wasn’t the easiest thing to do; the filmmakers had to submit Yorga a few times to the MPAA to achieve their desired rating – a Gp (equivalent to a PG at the time), which they eventually received. And wouldn’t you know it? The film was very successful, especially on the drive-in circuit.
Yorga was released by American International Pictures (we’re back in Aip territory – and it’s a glorious place to be) in June stateside, with a rollout around the world shortly thereafter. But that wasn’t the easiest thing to do; the filmmakers had to submit Yorga a few times to the MPAA to achieve their desired rating – a Gp (equivalent to a PG at the time), which they eventually received. And wouldn’t you know it? The film was very successful, especially on the drive-in circuit.
- 1/7/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Arrow Video announced the UK release of The Count Yorga Collection on Blu-ray and DVD. Also in today’s Highlights: a look at six preview pages from the hardcover edition of the Dead Vengeance comic and DVD and Digital HD release details for Sean K. Robb’s Scars.
The Count Yorga Collection UK Blu-ray / DVD Release Details & Cover Art: From Arrow Video: “Updating the vampire mythos to early 1970s Los Angeles, these much-loved cult classics star Robert Quarry (Dr. Phibes Rises Again) as the svelte Count Yorga, living in a mansion in the southern California hills with his equally mysterious “brides”. Introducing himself as a mystic from Bulgaria who’s an expert on séances, his true nature is given away by the title of his first film, Count Yorga, Vampire, long before the hapless Donna (Donna Anders, Werewolves on Wheels) and her friends discover the truth.
The sequel, The Return of Count Yorga,...
The Count Yorga Collection UK Blu-ray / DVD Release Details & Cover Art: From Arrow Video: “Updating the vampire mythos to early 1970s Los Angeles, these much-loved cult classics star Robert Quarry (Dr. Phibes Rises Again) as the svelte Count Yorga, living in a mansion in the southern California hills with his equally mysterious “brides”. Introducing himself as a mystic from Bulgaria who’s an expert on séances, his true nature is given away by the title of his first film, Count Yorga, Vampire, long before the hapless Donna (Donna Anders, Werewolves on Wheels) and her friends discover the truth.
The sequel, The Return of Count Yorga,...
- 5/9/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Before grindhouse director Bob Kelljan turned exclusively to television by the late 1970s, he had accidentally carved out a small triptych of derivative American vampire flicks, beginning with his first solo effort, 1970’s Count Yorga, Vampire. The actor turned director initially starred in his first co-directed effort, the incest drama Flesh of My Flesh (1969), but the success of his Dracula rip-off would carry on to a 1971 sequel before assuming duties for the Blaxploitation sequel Scream Blacula Scream (1973). Initially conceived as a soft-core porno, Kelljan eventually crafted this into a sort of Bram Stoker parody, although not everyone involved in the production seemed to be aware of this.
With his coffin arriving on a boat, Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) is relocated to modern day Los Angeles where he poses as a medium, holding swank séances at parties conceived by bored suburbanites. He’s invited to Donna’s (Donna Anders) home to...
With his coffin arriving on a boat, Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) is relocated to modern day Los Angeles where he poses as a medium, holding swank séances at parties conceived by bored suburbanites. He’s invited to Donna’s (Donna Anders) home to...
- 12/1/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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