Apple CEO John Ternus whipped out his iPhone Duo on the Emmys red carpet, to the delight of the press gaggle. The Internet immediately started whining, as it does.

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards were a big success for Apple TV. As the new CEO of Apple, John Ternus was in attendance, and he used the opportunity of a red carpet interview to flash the iPhone Duo in front of the cameras.

In a clip posted by Deadline to X, Ternus reaches into his tuxedo, pulls out the iPhone Duo, and opens it up. After a squeal of delight from the reporter, the grinning Ternus folds the iPhone Duo up and puts it back in his pocket.

While the reporter was obviously happy to see the device in person, the Internet was not.

Internet peanut gallery

Comments below the post included a lot of discussion about Ternus, but quite a few about the iPhone Duo itself. Chiefly that it had a seemingly bad display.

“That matte screen is so bad it’s making me think about getting a Fold 8,” one person writes. “The quality of inner screen so suck” another bashes out along with emojis of a sad face.

Others touched on how you couldn’t see the crease because of the lack of brightness. “Borderline unusable in natural daylight” another declared.

Some believe it wasn’t his daily driver because it allegedly didn’t show any apps nor touch the screen itself. Except the clip shows him swiping up with his thumb and the screen moving.

A dim viewpoint

When it comes to answering the question of why the screen is not super-bright in the interview, there are quite a few possible reasons for it. Some more obvious than others.

For a start, the red carpet is the worst place to judge a display on a device. We’re talking about an area that is very brightly lit, with a different light characteristic than daylight, so that the stars can be filmed by the broadcast cameras.

This is a ton of light, and any consumer-grade device will have trouble competing with that situation. It also doesn’t help that the broadcast cameras are set up to use this light so that the humans it sees look great, not necessarily a light-emitting device like a smartphone screen.

The second and most obvious reason is that Ternus didn’t have the brightness turned up in the first place.

Whipping out the iPhone Duo in an off-the-cuff moment is different from a choreographed PR exercise which would’ve stuck the brightness as high as possible. It’s probable that a prepared moment would’ve “fixed” the environmental lighting too so that the iPhone Duo looked perfect.

A multi-layered problem

Then there’s the iPhone Duo display itself. We know it’s using many layers of glass and other trickery to try and hide the inevitable crease, and that affects how the display appears to others, especially when it’s someone viewing at an angle.

Apple’s use of nano-texture is also at play here, since it’s an etched texture designed to scatter light and to minimize environmental glare. It’s not a one-way effect, as it does marginally soften the image of the iPhone Duo’s OLED panel.

The iPhone Duo has many layers of glass – Image Credit: Apple

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It also means that the contrast is affected when there’s more environmental light to compete against. Under bright lights, the screen will look more grey and washed out than if you looked at the same screen in a dark room.

The decision to go for a matte display for the iPhone Duo was for consumers to have a better experience under normal usage. A glossy screen, as used by rivals, would look bright and make it more attractive for sales, but it would be a detriment for everyday use.

Under such extreme viewing conditions, it’s completely understandable for the iPhone Duo to not be presented perfectly in Ternus’ hands.

After all, the bright light there was to make the stars the awards were about shine brightly.

In brief: Nvidia’s RTX 4090 and 5090 have become notorious for melting power cable connectors. While the two flagship GPUs have drawn renewed attention to the problem over the past several years, users should remember that lower-wattage cards and cables aren’t immune, even with power monitoring devices, as one unlucky AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX user recently discovered.

Redditor AwarenessHour9192 recently complained about a melted power connector on a PC graphics card, an issue commonly associated with Nvidia’s top-of-the-line GPUs. However, this time the affected card was an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

The user reported black screens and other problems with his PC over the course of months and could not diagnose the issue, even after a workshop reinstalled Windows and ran benchmarks. Only after disassembling the tower did he discover burn marks on the GPU’s power connector.

Nvidia’s RTX 4090 and 5090 have frequently experienced the same problem over the past few years. While the company attempted to close the issue long ago by blaming user error, users have largely blamed its 16-pin power connectors and the 5090’s near-600W power draw, with cases continuing to emerge. YouTube channel TecLab recently renewed awareness of the flaw by demonstrating two extreme ways to circumvent it.

First, they lowered a 5090’s operating temperature by soldering its PCB directly to the power cables, bypassing the connector entirely. On another unit, they proved that the 16-pin connector might be unnecessary by replacing it with a triple 8-pin setup without sacrificing performance, which also lowered temperatures.

AwarenessHour’s issue occurred with AMD’s last-gen flagship GPU, which draws only 400W via an 8-pin connector. Furthermore, instead of plugging the power connector directly into the graphics card, he passed it through a Thermal Grizzly WireView power monitor, which is designed to prevent this exact problem. Luckily, the monitor prevented the damage from reaching the GPU, whereas many other cases have left severe burns on Nvidia graphics cards that now cost over $5,000.

While AwarenessHour has not yet determined what caused the meltdown, Thermal Grizzly fortunately replaced the power connector and the WireView. The incident shows that even GPUs with modest TDPs and 8-pin power connectors can suffer from melted connectors. Users should still take care when installing them and check for physical damage if they experience video output issues.

Roblox has announced several new updates at its 12th annual Roblox Developers Conference (RDC). The event brings together developers, artists, designers, brands, and influencers from the Roblox creator community. This year, the company focused on new ways to play, create, and earn on the platform. The announcements include Roblox Everywhere, browser and offline play, new AI creation tools, Roblox Wallet, and Moments. The event also marks 20 years of Roblox’s platform development with its community.

New Ways to Play and Stay Connected

Roblox is increasingly expanding how players can access games across different devices. The newly launched Roblox Everywhere program would let creators deliver their games as separate applications on mobile phones, PCs, and consoles. Roblox would provide the required technology and services behind these apps. Players could also launch games in the Chrome browser without downloading the Roblox application. This browser option will arrive by the end of this year, with more browsers planned later.

Roblox will also add an offline mode and merge it with online mode in the same game. This could mean more single-player modes and more gameplay for people who aren’t always online. Another platform development will be increased support for 2D and puzzle games, with more creation features. These will include an orthographic camera, animated image containers, and direct sprite sheet imports. The platform will also add new UI elements, including blur, text shadow, and gradients. Meanwhile, the Friends chat tab and voice typing will help players stay connected between games.

New Ways for Creators to Earn and Grow

Roblox is also giving creators new ways to earn and manage their income. Creators have earned more than $5 billion through DevEx since 2013. They earned around $1.7 billion on the platform over the past 12 months. Roblox is now introducing Roblox Wallet for eligible creators. The wallet will let creators receive earnings in real currency and get automatic payments each business day. Roblox will first launch it later this year for eligible independent creators in the US aged 18 and above. The company plans to expand it globally next year.

Roblox is also introducing the Roblox Card, which will connect to the Wallet balance. Creators will be able to spend their available balance wherever the card is accepted. The card will start rolling out next year. Meanwhile, Roblox is expanding Moments, where players can watch gameplay videos and jump directly into games. Moments is now fully available in the US. Videos from Experience Details Pages will also appear there soon. Roblox is also updating discovery rankings to match younger and older players better. It is testing rankings based on how many new players a game brings to the platform.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned security teams that ransomware gangs have now joined ongoing attacks exploiting a critical VMware vCenter vulnerability patched in July.

Broadcom addressed the security flaw (tracked as CVE-2026-59310) on July 29, describing it as a critical directory traversal vulnerability in the vCenter Syslog server that unauthenticated attackers can exploit to execute arbitrary code.

The company also warned customers in a supplemental FAQ at the time to treat fixing CVE-2026-59310 as an emergency and install patches as soon as possible.

Two weeks later, digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) company QUIRSO reported finding over 361 IP addresses across 47 countries compromised after a suspected advanced persistent threat (APT) actor began exploiting the vulnerability to deploy a reverse SSH tool for persistence and remote access.

Days later, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added CVE-2026-59310 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog and ordered government agencies to secure their vCenter systems within three days.

Over the weekend, CISA updated its KEV catalog again to flag the security vulnerability as actively abused by ransomware gangs.

Internet security threat monitor Shadowserver currently tracks over 450 VMware vCenter servers exposed online; however, there is no information on how many have already been patched against this flaw.

VMware targeted by ransomware gangs

While the U.S. cybersecurity agency has yet to share any details about the ransomware attacks targeting CVE-2025-60710, VMware servers are commonly targeted because compromised vCenter or ESXi servers can provide access to an organization’s network and sensitive data stored on internal systems.

In recent years, multiple ransomware gangs have developed dedicated encryptors to target VMware virtual machines, as enterprise organizations now commonly use them to manage and store corporate data.

CISA also warned in February that ransomware groups began exploiting a VMware ESXi sandbox escape vulnerability (CVE-2025-22225), which Chinese-speaking threat actors have targeted in zero-day attacks since at least February 2024.

Since the start of the year, the cybersecurity agency has also flagged VMware Aria Operations (CVE-2026-22719) and VMware vCenter Server (CVE-2024-37079) flaws as exploited in attacks in February and March.

Over the last five years, CISA has tagged 26 VMware vulnerabilities as exploited in the wild, nine of them also abused by ransomware operations.

Join Mikko Hyppönen and security leaders from the NFL, CHANEL, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit on what AI-speed attacks change, what defenders should stop doing, and how to validate, decide, fix, and re-validate at machine speed.

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At the recently concluded 2026 CEDIA Expo, Dirac announced that the NAD CI SA2-120 BluOS Streaming Amplifier Module and NAD CI S2 BluOS Streaming Module are now certified to support Dirac Live Room Correction. The addition expands access to advanced room optimization across NAD’s custom installation product lineup.

The NAD CI Modular Series is a flexible, high-performance audio solution engineered to simplify custom installation projects. Its compact modular architecture enables easier system expansion and more efficient installations while maintaining NAD’s well-regarded sound quality.

The timing is significant. CEDIA’s preliminary 2026 U.S. Professional Smart Home Market Analysis estimates the residential integration market at nearly $34 billion, underscoring just how substantial the custom installation business has become. That figure represents an extrapolated estimate of the overall professional channel rather than $34 billion in directly reported or audited sales.

An earlier CEDIA study estimated the U.S. market at approximately $29 billion, although changes in methodology and a much larger 2026 survey sample mean the two figures should not be treated as a precise measure of year-over-year growth. What is clear is that residential integration has become a very large market, creating considerably more opportunity for brands that can provide dealers with complete audio ecosystems rather than individual components.

That puts NAD and parent company Lenbrook in an interesting position. Lenbrook’s North American portfolio gives integrators access not only to NAD amplification and BluOS streaming products, but also to DALI’s extensive range of architectural loudspeakers. The DALI PHANTOM lineup includes in-wall, in-ceiling, on-wall, outdoor, and subwoofer solutions designed specifically for custom installation applications.

The combination allows integrators to build systems around NAD electronics, BluOS multi-room streaming, Dirac Live room correction, and DALI architectural loudspeakers without having to assemble every part of the system from unrelated brands and distribution channels.

Dirac Live Room Correction further optimizes performance for the unique acoustic characteristics of each listening space, helping integrators deliver clearer, more balanced sound throughout the home.

The technology addresses acoustic problems created by the interaction between a sound system and its surrounding environment. Dirac Live corrects both the magnitude and phase of a system’s response, helping reduce uneven frequency response, timing issues, and imprecise imaging. The result can be tighter and more accurate bass, improved clarity, and a more cohesive soundstage.

“Every room shapes sound in ways that even premium audio hardware cannot address on its own,” said Rikard Hellerfelt, VP and Head of Consumer Electronics at Dirac. “By expanding Dirac Live Room Correction to NAD’s CI SA2-120 and CI S2, we’re giving professional integrators a powerful tool to unlock the full performance of distributed audio systems while creating consistently exceptional listening experiences across the home.”

NAD CI SA2-120 Streaming Amplifier Module

Part of the NAD CI Modular Series, the NAD CI SA2-120 combines high-quality amplification and BluOS music streaming in a compact, space-saving design for single- and dual-zone applications. It is engineered for reliable, long-term operation.

Feature Highlights:

• New: Dirac Live Ready for room correction
• BluOS Enabled: Includes multi-room streaming with access to 20+ services and internet radio, with dual independent BluOS Zones
• Bluetooth: aptX HD two-way Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and TIDAL Connect
• Physical Inputs: HDMI eARC, combo analog/digital input, USB
• Physical Outputs: Subwoofer output, snap-on Phoenix speaker connection blocks
• Network Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet
• DirectDigital Amplification: 2 x 120 W or 4 x 60 W
• Dynamic Power Management: The CI SA2-120 automatically optimizes power distribution
• Control Options: IR input with learning via BluOS (IR extender kit required), programmable 12 V trigger input, drivers for Control4, Crestron, URC, RTI, NICE, Lutron, and KNX, plus remote monitoring via Domotz
• Power: Universal AC power supply
• Cooling: Thermostatic fan cooling with front-to-rear airflow for reliable stacking
• Placement Options: Compact 1/3-width x 1U-height chassis with ChassisLink

For complete details on the NAD CI SA2-120, refer to its Official Product Page

NAD CI S2 Streaming Module

The NAD CI S2 delivers two independent zones of BluOS streaming, giving integrators a flexible, scalable solution for multi-room audio systems.

Feature Highlights:

• New: Dirac Live Ready for room correction
• BluOS Enabled: Supports dual independent BluOS Zones. Provides access to 20+ streaming services, internet radio, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and TIDAL Connect
• Physical Inputs: TOSLINK, digital coaxial (with Dolby decoding), analog RCA
• Physical Outputs: 2 x stereo RCA, subwoofer output
• Hi-Res Audio: Supports up to 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution playback with no downsampling
• DAC: Audiophile-grade ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M DAC for detailed, low-distortion audio
• Control Options: IR input with learning via BluOS (IR extender kit required), programmable 12 V trigger input, and drivers for Control4, Crestron, URC, RTI, NICE, Lutron, and KNX
• Placement Options: Compact 1/3-width x 1U-height chassis with ChassisLink
• Network and Power Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE or 12 V DC power input (<10 W power consumption)

For complete details on the NAD CI S2, refer to its Official Product Page.

”For custom integrators, every project presents a unique acoustic environment,” said Peter Gibb, Custom Install Product Manager, NAD Electronics. “Bringing Dirac Live Room Correction to the CI SA2-120 and CI S2 pairs the flexibility of our modular CI platform with powerful room optimization, helping integrators achieve exceptional, consistent sound across a wide range of spaces and system configurations.”

CI PA4-60 Power Amplifier Module

The CI series also includes the CI PA4-60, a versatile four-channel power amplifier that expands system design options for larger distributed audio systems.

Feature Highlights:

• Note: Dirac Live is not applicable
• DirectDigital Amplification: 4 x 60 W or 2 x 120 W (continuous into 8 ohms)
• Dynamic Power Management: The CI PA4-60 automatically detects speaker loads and routes power accordingly
• Load-Invariant Design: This feature accommodates long cable runs and difficult speaker loads
• Inputs: Two RCA line inputs with gain control and stereo/mono selection. Global/local input switching provides flexible signal routing. Stereo/mono selection is available for Inputs 1 and 2.
• Outputs: RCA loop output from Input 1 for daisy-chaining, plus two 4-pin snap-on Phoenix speaker connection blocks
• Control Options: 12 V trigger input, 12 V trigger input/output, front-panel switch, and signal sensing
• Power: Universal AC power supply
• Cooling: Thermostatic fan cooling with front-to-rear airflow for reliable stacking
• Placement Options: Compact 1/3-width x 1U-height chassis with ChassisLink

For complete details on the CI PA4-60, refer to its Official Product Page.

Competition 

The CI (Custom Installation) category is becoming more competitive, and adding Dirac Live Compatibility to NAD’s entries helps to make their CI SA2-120 BluOS Streaming Amplifier Module and CI S2 BluOS Streaming Module stand out. However, if you take Dirac Live out of the equation, there is competition in the CI space for both streamers and streaming amplifiers, including: NAIM’s impressive CI-Uniti 102 ($1,499) streaming amplifier down to WiiM’s modestly-priced CI A80 Streaming Amplifier and CI MOD S Streamer ($449 each)

The Bottom Line

Dirac Live has proven to be one of the better room-correction platforms available for improving the sonic performance of a loudspeaker system. It can be deployed in everything from a DIY two-channel setup to a professionally installed system, making it especially useful when speaker placement and room acoustics are less than ideal.

Bringing Dirac Live into NAD’s CI lineup gives installers another level of control, but there are some caveats. First, it is not free; installers or end users must purchase a license to use Dirac Live Room Correction (pricing information is provided in the next section). It should also be noted that Dirac Live Bass Control and Dirac Live Active Room Treatment are not supported by the CI SA2-120 or CI S2 at this time.

That is somewhat interesting because Dirac Live Bass Control is available for several of NAD’s non-CI streaming components, including the M10, M10 V2, M10 V3, M33, M33 V2, C 658, and M66. However, Dirac’s current compatibility listings do not indicate support for Dirac Live Active Room Treatment on any NAD product.

What makes the new CI implementation noteworthy is not simply the presence of Dirac Live. The technology is already widely used in AV receivers, surround processors, integrated amplifiers, and other products aimed at both consumers and professional installers. What remains relatively uncommon is native Dirac Live Room Correction inside compact, rack-friendly streaming modules designed specifically for scalable distributed audio systems.

That gives the NAD CI SA2-120 and CI S2 a potentially meaningful advantage. Competing CI products from Naim and WiiM also provide DSP or room-correction capabilities, but they take different approaches. NAD is offering installers BluOS multi-room streaming, professional control-system integration, and Dirac’s automated measurement and correction platform within the same modular ecosystem.

Dirac has made significant headway in the room-correction market, with support from roughly 30 audio brands and numerous products within those lineups. It competes alongside platforms including Audyssey, Anthem Room Correction, Yamaha YPAO, Pioneer MCACC, Trinnov Optimizer, and proprietary systems from other manufacturers. They all attack the same fundamental problem in different ways: the room has an enormous influence on what ultimately reaches your ears.

Price & Availability

NAD CI Series Components can be purchased through Authorized Dealers at the following prices: 

• NAD CI SA2-120 Streaming Amplifier – $1,899
• NAD CI S2 Streamer – $1,199
• CI PA4-60 Power Amplifier – $1,099

Dirac Live Room Correction Licenses for the NAD CI SA2-120 and NAD CI S2 are priced between $159 and $249.

The NAD Dirac Room Calibration Kit, which includes the equipment needed to perform precise Dirac Live room measurements, is available for $49 through NAD

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In the spring of 2020, as a new and highly contagious virus spread throughout the country, the US came to a standstill. The economy shut down, cities emptied, and white-collar workers were sent home en masse. Platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams surged in usage as WFH became ubiquitous. From remote schooling and virtual weddings to app-based grocery delivery and livestreamed concerts, the pandemic accelerated and cemented society’s increasing reliance on digital platforms. Already one of the most powerful forces in the American economy, the tech sector suddenly became the infrastructure underpinning every aspect of life.

Tech giants went on an unprecedented hiring spree, scrambling to meet new demand and cement their dominance. Where tech workers already had tremendous labor market power in the preceding decade, the postpandemic boom for technology tilted the balance even more sharply in favor of workers. Demand for technical skills exploded, and tech companies scrambled to recruit engineers, designers, and data scientists, often without fully knowing what to do with them.

Between 2019 and 2022, Amazon and Facebook more than doubled their head count, growing by 92 percent and 93 percent, respectively. Microsoft added nearly 80,000 new employees, while Google brought on over 60,000. With so many workers joining the industry, many were onboarded to teams with no immediate tasks, held in reserve for future projects that hadn’t yet been planned—they were, in other words, hired with nothing to do.

Tech’s pandemic-era hiring boom was underwritten by an extraordinary financial backdrop shaped by over a decade of loose monetary policy. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to near zero to stimulate the economy. And for most of the 2010s, rates remained near zero, creating what economists call an era of zero interest rate policy, or ZIRP.

With money easy to borrow and venture funds flush with cheap capital, tech firms expanded aggressively, and office workers reaped the rewards: skyrocketing salaries, unprecedented job mobility, and the leverage to demand more from their employers. The result was a golden age for tech workers. Many could choose which projects to join, pursue skill development on the clock, or even negotiate permanent remote work arrangements. In this environment, tech workers were prized assets, courted and catered to in ways rarely seen in other industries.

Then inflation hit as an unprecedented flood of pandemic-era stimulus cash went into the hands of consumers, and the Fed responded with one of the most aggressive tightening campaigns in decades. Rates were raised from near zero to roughly 5.5 percent, with the bank making 10 consecutive hikes in just 15 months. As intended, the economy turned cold. The S&P 500 fell 19.4 percent, the largest drop since 2008. Sectors across the board felt the slowdown. Real estate activity plummeted as higher mortgage rates discouraged potential homebuyers. Top retail and entertainment firms, from Walt Disney to Nike to Home Depot, were similarly hit as consumer spending drew back.

But more than any other sector, the tech industry, which had soared to unprecedented heights during the pandemic, fell the hardest. Having experienced outsize gains during the easy-money boom years, tech’s rapid ascent was followed by an equally dramatic crash.

Major tech firms began missing Wall Street’s expectations. Amazon reported sluggish growth and razor-thin margins. Google saw four consecutive quarterly declines in profit, hit hard by a slowdown in digital ad spending. Microsoft also faced headwinds, with its cloud business, its key growth driver, showing signs of deceleration. The exuberance that had fueled the postpandemic rally evaporated, and the air came rushing out of the sector’s inflated valuations. Almost $4 trillion in combined market value vanished from Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Facebook lost two-thirds of its value. Amazon lost half. And nearly $1 trillion was shaved off Microsoft’s valuation. At year’s end, the industry fell 30 percent, making 2022 the third-worst year in the industry’s history, after the 2008 financial crisis and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000.

My ancestors might not have invented motion pictures (we invented the telephone, but that’s a debate for another time), although we did give them our own unique flavor, as is our way. Recent weeks have brought us an assortment of tasty imports from il Bel Paese on Ultra HD and 1080p discs. Let’s dig into this eclectic Italian buffet, served up with operatic flair.

Bay of Blood Limited Edition 4K (Severin Films)

It’s Zillow gone wild as a greedy assortment of relatives, opportunists, and unsuspecting vacationers brutally slay one another in a series of grisly homicides in order to secure ownership of a wealthy heiress’s coastal estate. This 1971 giallo murder mystery holds an interesting place in horror history, deconstructing the genre with its subversion of the usual conventions while also giving rise to the slasher subgenre. Director/co-writer Mario Bava is, in fact, credited as the father of the “body-count” movie, and his penchant for promiscuous young adults wandering into a secluded, wooded retreat only to be picked off one by one—shot frequently through a disorienting, first-person killer’s perspective—is oft-copied, as are some of his specific kills.

To bring those to life, future Oscar winner Carlo Rambaldi designed a baker’s dozen of graphic set pieces, delivered with minimal cutaways. Combine all that with Bava’s high-art visual style on a shoestring budget, a cynical black-comedy tone, and a twist ending, and you’ve got an essential addition to any horror collection.

Severin’s impressive five-disc limited edition includes the English version and both the original and re-released Italian cuts, all in 4K as well as HD. There’s an expert commentary on the English discs and loads of new/archival supplements on both HD Blu-rays, among them cast/crew interviews and featurettes, plus storyboards. Exclusive to this boxed set is the soundtrack CD of the lush, loungey score composed by frequent Bava collaborator Stelvio Cipriani.

Furthermore, this limited edition arrives with an authentic (and fully functional) reproduction of the vintage Carnage* barf bag as distributed in select theaters, scanned from what may be the only original still in existence.

*One of several alternate titles for Bay of Blood dreamed up by the marketing team, along with Twitch of the Death Nerve, Blood Bath, and even Last House on the Left Part II.

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Movie

★★★★★★★★★★ Picture

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Extras

Where to buy: $34.99 at Amazon (September 1, 2026)

Italo-Crime Collection 4K (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

The prolific, genre-fluid screenwriting duo of Vincenzo Mannino and Gianfranco Clerici turned their typewriters to several gritty poliziotteschi (“police-style”) thrillers made during the peak era of Eurocrime cinema. The international casts include Italian stars alongside well-known stateside thespians Stuart Whitman, Martin Balsam, John Saxon, Martin Landau, and a deliciously evil Henry Silva.

Lock and load for:

• The Counsellor (Il consigliori, 1973)
• Blazing Magnum (Una ombra nell’ombra, 1976)
• Weapons of Death (Napoli spara!, 1977)

Directed by Alberto De Martino, the first two are pretty blatant ripoffs of Hollywood hits The Godfather and Dirty Harry, respectively. In The Counsellor, a disillusioned consigliori tries to leave the mob, triggering a bloody syndicate war that pulls him back in to save his padrino. Blazing Magnum finds a ruthless Canadian detective (go with it) launching a violent investigation to avenge the death of his sister. Back in Naples, a relentless cop wages war against an unpredictable mob kingpin in Mario Caiano’s Weapons of Death. All are uniquely captivating, displaying that rough cinematic edge that only ’70s crime dramas managed to harness.

These are new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, presented in standard dynamic range, in their original Italian with available English dubs and optional subtitles. Magnum and Weapons share a single disc, and all three movies have a new historian audio commentary track. The third disc is an HD Blu-ray with an entire alternate version of Blazing Magnum (“Shadows in an Empty Room”), plus video essays, featurettes, and archival interviews.

Worth mentioning, the three movies are being released individually by Kino Lorber day-and-date as well, but as HD Blu-rays only.

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Movie

★★★★★★★★★★ Picture

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Extras

Where to buy: $49.99 at Amazon (September 22, 2026)

Disco Italiana and The Music Machine Blu-rays (Severin Films)

Back when I did celebrity interviews, I never had as many people asking to tag along as when I met John Travolta, his enduring foundational popularity built largely upon his back-to-back hits Saturday Night Fever and Grease. For further proof of just how big a deal he became, check out Severin’s four-disc Blu-ray/CD discoploitation box, dedicated to the late-’70s subgenre of low-budget films rushed into production to cash in on the global craze that J.T. inspired. Dubbed “Disco Italiana” (not sure why the noun and adjective don’t agree, but this isn’t a lesson in Italian grammar), it collects some peculiarly familiar stories and one familiar mug:

• American Fever (1978)
• Grease Rock (Brillantina Rock, 1979)
• John Travolto: The Face With 2 Left Feet (L’importante è non farsi notare, 1979)

In American Fever, a young mechanic with big dreams gets mixed up in some crazy schemes while moving up the ranks of the local disco scene. Grease Rock follows a conspicuously hair-gelled dude who pursues a wealthy American girl through street-gang rivalries and high-stakes dance-offs. Which brings us to John Travolto: The Face With 2 Left Feet, wherein a shy, clumsy cook takes advantage of his resemblance to a certain movie star to win the heart of a popular DJ. Each includes our choice of English or Italian mono audio.

Pure goofy ’70s fun.

The 12-track John Travolto soundtrack CD is split between the score by Burtt Asch (née Berto Pisano) and songs like “Disco Quando” and “Hot Cha Cha.” All three movies have commentary by well-credentialed authorities, plus a portion of an on-camera interview with Alan Jones, author of Discomania: Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them.

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Movie

★★★★★★★★★★ Picture

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Extras

Where to buy: $37.49 at Amazon (July 28, 2026)

The Music Machine Blu-ray (Severin Films)

To be fair, discoploitation was not limited strictly to Italy, and The Music Machine (1979) is the definitive British example, produced at a time when pop cinema was pivoting more into mod revivals or punk rock. Another lovable loser aims to hustle his way into our hearts, this time an aimless North London bloke who teams with an upper-class partner to challenge the reigning dance champ and win a career-making competition. Like the three films noted above, Music Machine charms with its wholly unironic depiction of the dance floor as a sanctuary of total freedom.

Several of the actors, the choreographer, and a songwriter are interviewed, along with a returning Jones, who also takes us on a tour of the movie’s Camden Town locations.

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Movie

★★★★★★★★★★ Picture

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Extras

Where to buy: $14.99 at Amazon (July 28, 2026)

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