From Abel Ferrara, director of The Driller Killer and who would then go onto direct King of New York and Bad Lieutenant, comes a terrifying revenge-thriller in the tradition of Death Wish and Taxi Driver… Ms. 45 (aka Angel of Vengeance) is headed to 4k Blu ray this October. 

New York, 1980. The film focuses on Thana (played by Zoe Tamerlis who is raped at gunpoint on her way home from work and who upon getting back to the ‘safety’ of her apartment she is assaulted again by a burglar who is ransacking her house. Thana fight back this time and MS.45 is born  The film follows Thana as sees that sexual threat is everywhere in the city and decides to bring a .45 calibre solution to the problem.  Whilst many have said over the years that this is a ‘nasty film’ there are so many levels to this film so to simplify it as an exploitation film is doing is a disservice. Ms 45 is an early 80s look at sexual violence, female rage, and sexual harassment from every angle, whether its on the streets, in the workplace and even in the home. The direction and Abel Ferrara-ness of the film is a huge ingredient for the film of course, but its the central performance from Zoë Lund (who here is credited as Zoë Tamerlis) is top of the list.

Ms.45 is a film I saw in the early 90s having ‘discovered’ the filmography of Abel Ferrara through 1990s King of New York and 1992’s Bad Lieutenant. (which was co written by Zoe Lund) I was of course aware of Abel’s work from a very early age having been haunted in my local video store by the brutal cover art for his infamous 1979 film Driller Killer and having seen his name on the directing credits for a couple of episodes of TV’s Miami Vice but it was the Christopher Walken starring film King of New York that made me seek out the rest of Abel’s work which then led me to 1981’s Ms.45 (also known in some countries as Angel of Vengeance)

Ms. 45 for a while wasn’t the easiest film to track down. I did have it on VHS many years ago (as Angel of Vengeance, and in a cut version( by just over a minute and a half) but when the format change happened I don’t think I ever saw a UK release on DVD or bluray of Ms.45 until this Arrow Video release (thank you Arrow) 

This release of Ms.45 is wonderful.  The film has never looked better with the picture restoration and sound quality. Whilst the majority of Abel’s film have that brilliant gritty and handheld camera type look (and I love that about them) this new restoration hasn’t lost that look and feel to the movie but yet its still a stunning visual and audio upgrade to previous versions that I’ve seen over the years.  The film itself holds up very well and yes whilst there are some side characters who come off a a bit ‘cheesy’ The performance that will captivate you is that of Ms.45 herself played by Zoe Tamerlis, She holds the screen and holds the audience in her hands from start to finish. This is definitely Zoe’s film (that happens to be directed by one of my favourite directors Abel Ferrara) Ms.45 fits perfectly into that cinematic world of gritty New York, the same New York we see in 1974’s Death Wish, 1979’s The Warriors, the Al Pacino starring 1971 film The Panic in Needle Park and of course 1976’s Taxi Driver. None of those films make 70s and 80s New York look like a great place to live, but from a cinematic point of view, those films are very watchable from the safe distance of our comfy arm chairs in our homes. New York is very different nowadays from the New York we see in those films and its one of my favourite cities I’ve visited in my life.

 

As with most Arrow Video releases, it does bring along with it a nice list of special features for Ms.45 and whilst its not packed to the gills with extras, there are enough to educate you enough on Ms.45 than you would get if it was just the movie on a disc.  Check out the list below.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original 35mm camera negative 

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• There’s a brand new audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Rape Revenge Films: A Critical Study and Cultographies: Ms. 45 This is an interesting chat track where Alexandra dives deep into the Ms.45 world and the world of rape revenge movies in general. 

• The Voice of Violence, a new featurette with film critic BJ Colangelo (20 minutes) This is more a ‘video essay’ type featurette which is good, interesting and educational and BJ points out some nice touches within the film that I hadn’t noticed before watching this 20 minute featurette. 

• Where Dreams Go to Die, a new featurette with film critic Kat Ellinger (16 minutes) Also a ‘video essay’ style documentary and if you have seen other work by Kat Ellinger, you know that she does her work and is super knowledgeable on any subject that she is talking about.  Whilst im generally not a huge fan of the ‘video essay’ style featurettes on films, i am learning to really appreciate them and they are growing on me.

We also get the following three interview featurettes which are really interesting but are shorter than Id have liked (but I’m greedy when it comes to the films I love) 

They are an archive interview (Recorded in 2014 ) with director Abel Ferrara (8 minutes), an archive interview (Recorded in 2014) with composer Joe Delia (10 minutes) and an archive interview (Recorded in 2014) with creative consultant Jack McIntyre (10 minutes)

Even though I feel that they are too short, if you add up the run time of them. its nearly half an hour so I still look upon that as a positive that we are getting near half an hour of stories from the world of Ms.45

For short film fans there’s a couple of interesting shorts from filmmaker Paul Rachman which focus on the life of Zoe Tamerlis/Zoe Lund. Zoe XO is a film which hears some stories about Zoe from her husband Bob, This short runs for 6 minutes.  We also get Zoe Rising, a 2011 short film which hears the story of Zoe from her Mother (6 minutes) Both are worth watching although I do (again) wish they had been longer. 

There’s also a theatrical trailer and an image gallery included on the disc. 

For packaging fans (aren’t we all!) there’s a reversible sleeve which features original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde
• We get a perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing by Robert Lund, previously unseen photographs of Zoë Lund, plus select archival material including writing by Kier-La Janisse and Brad Stevens
and finally something which I would definably frame, a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde

 

Ms.45 is still a powerful film and always has been and this Arrow Video release is the best I have seen. It gets thumbs up because of its restoration, it gets thumbs up because the film is uncut, and it gets thumbs up because now it easy to get a film that for so many years was not easy to get at all here in the UK. For me this was a purchase more for the film itself rather than the special features As people who read this site or listen to my podcasts will know. I love special features and whilst this set isn’t feature packed!. Most Abel Ferrara films aren’t feature packed. An Abel Ferrara film is about the film itself and Ms.45 is a great release! Nice work Arrow!