THE EARLY FILMS OF BILL LUSTIG

Most of the films fans out there know of Bill Lustig as one of the more prolific cult/horror filmmakers of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Some of his more well know films are Maniac Cop and Vigilante, and they both are legendary cult classics. Today Bill is the owner of one of the most cutting edge re-releasing companies, Blue Underground. He is totally committed to quality, integrity and is a really great guy. I have gotten to know more about Bill, and we got  to spend some great time over this past summer. He is one of the most interesting guys I have ever met.

But before Bill, became a famous director, he began his career in a way that is quite common for most young independent film makers, but it is still a bit surprising and very interesting. In the 70’s, as Bill was starting his career, he directed two porno films, both were quite successful theatrically and still sell to this day, very well on DVD. They were known as the films of” Billy Bagg”(we learn why in the commentary).These 2 films payed in dozens of theaters across the country and made a lot of money at the World Theatre in NYC, as well as the Pussycat adn even at the Ofarell’s Screening Room in San Francisco.

The 2 films are ‘Hot Honey’ with Heather Young, Jack Hammer and Robin Byrd and ‘The Violation of Claudia’ with Sharon Mitchell, Jamie Gillis and Serena.

As part of a tribute, to the only 2 adult films of Bill Lustig’s career we are preparing to release a double feature of these films, so this past Saturday Bill was gracious enough to meet us at a Sound Studio in Burbank, in order to record a full length commentary for each film. In addition, Bill brought one of his friends who thought it would be an interesting commentary. He brought Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, who is one of the hottest up and coming directors today and has directed films like ‘Bronson’ , ‘The Pusher Trilogies’ and ‘Valhalla Rising’.

The content of the commentaries are simply amazing, The stories that Bill has to tell are absolutely amazing and Nic’s insight was remarkable. This is going to be a great release and any fan of Bill Lusting, should have this.

-Thanks so much to Bill Lusting and Nic Winding.

-Audio commentary shot at Bang Zoom Entertainment in Burbank.