‘Impulse’ Blu-ray Review: A Shocking Side To William Shatner
Anthony Arrigo
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It isn’t often a film’s home video release is eclipsed by its own bonus features, let alone enough to warrant a purchase in that specific regard, but the package Grindhouse Releasing has put together for William Grefé’s Impulse (1974) is among the most impressive I have seen. Clocking in at well over 17 hours (using my own crude math), the supplements include audio commentaries, two full-length bonus feature films, numerous interviews, Q&A sessions, film-making seminars, industrial films, short films, still galleries, and a couple dozen trailers.
The best part is everything here is so damned interesting. William Grefé never rose to prominence outside of his Florida locale but the material here taught me how accomplished the man is in his own right. Like how he directed the second unit stunt work on the 007 film Live and Let Die (1974), or that he made corporate films for Bacardi, taught in-depth filmmaking courses, and was quite the guerilla cineaste. I have a deep appreciation for regional filmmakers who put forth their best effort to make genre films, even if the final product isn’t what most would consider successful. Grefé is unquestionably one of those people.
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Impulse, from what I can tell, was the most profitable film of Grefé’s career, taking in between $4-5 million from its nationwide release. That’s likely due to its star: William Shatner, arguably the biggest actor to appear in Grefé’s oeuvre (unless you want to count a very-past-her-prime Rita Hayworth). Five years on from his most famous role as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), Shatner plays Matt Stone, a grifting lothario whose MO is to wine and dine women before bilking them of their savings and then making sure they can never tell of his misdeeds. As a child Matt killed his mother’s abusive boyfriend (with a sword!) so he’s been numb to the idea of death for quite some time.
Matt’s new mark is Ann (Jennifer Bishop), a single mother who is instantly charmed by his outgoing personality and penchant for brightly patterned polyester shirts. He takes her on dates, dotes on her, and makes her feel like she’s the most important woman in the world. And to him, she is, because he’s going to ask her for a fat stack of cash and his romantic nature is nothing more than a façade for that assurance. Standing in Matt’s way, however, is one small speedbump: Tina (Kim Nicholas), Ann’s young daughter who doesn’t trust Matt as it is. After a snooping Tina witnesses an altercation between Matt and his old jailhouse “buddy”, Karate Pete (Harold Sakata), she’s given the best reason of all to want Matt out of her and her mother’s lives. But Matt doesn’t give up easily when money is on the line.
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What could have easily been a passable but forgettable low-budget film gets elevated to something entertainingly deranged thanks to Shatner’s seriously unhinged performance. The thing with Shatner is he never intentionally acts hammy or leans into his absurdities – this is just his style of acting; what he thinks will work best on camera. The way he’s able to deftly vacillate between charming and sleazy, disarming and disturbing, is the sort of thing he strangely does best. Shatner has a knack for stopping his emotions on a dime and doing a full 180 to reveal an entirely different persona.
In one scene he’s at a theme park (Busch Gardens!) eating ice cream and playfully flirting with Ann when a woman with a handful of balloons suddenly gets in his way. While Ann is unaware, hopping on an escalator, Matt grabs the balloons, gets in the woman’s face, and tells her “People like you should be ground up and turned into dog food”, before joining Ann and acting like absolutely nothing just happened. Matt Stone is a warped, frustrated, duplicitous, dangerous character and Shatner was a fantastic choice to embody the role.
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I have something of a soft spot for regional horror films because making a movie is hard work and often times you can see the effort both cast and crew are putting forth on screen. William Grefé’s favored combo was bringing together seasoned actors with locals. Here, alongside Shatner we’ve also got Harold Sakata, best known as Oddjob in Goldfinger (1964), and Ruth Roman, who had a role in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1955). But both lead actress Jennifer Bishop and the girl playing her daughter, Kim Nicholas, don’t have many screen credits. Still, both actors deliver solid performances, especially Nicholas, who has a real screen presence as the daughter struggling with a few major life issues.
Grindhouse Releasing’s Blu-ray edition of Impulse comes from a 4K scan of rare archival elements. As a title card says before the start of the picture, the original negative was destroyed and the print used for this restoration was damaged and faded. Given that preface I had expected the worst but the work done on the 1.85:1 1080p image is quite good and aesthetically in line with how viewers might expect a ‘70s grindhouse feature to appear. Contrast can be variable, and color saturation looks a bit wonky, but I don’t need every cheap ‘70s thriller to look like it was color graded yesterday.
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The only print issues were some emulsion scratches and minor flecks, but this is otherwise a clean picture. Julio Chavez’s cinematography is surprisingly adept. He gets some cool angles and composes interesting shots, like the opening murder of Matt’s mom’s boyfriend, as shot through a fireplace, and with Matt’s opening kill when a car is run into the lake.
The English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track is in line with the image, which is to say its limitations are evident but it handily does the job. The sound mix isn’t exactly stellar or refined but I could always hear and understand the players on screen. There are no hisses or pops. I couldn’t find any information on a composer, only a “musical director” named Lewis Perles, leading me to believe the music was cobbled together with library cues. That would make sense on limited funds. There is also a French 2.0 mono track with a “haunting” alternate score. Subtitles are available in English.
As I said, the supplements in this set are outstanding, even more so when considering the (obviously subjective) quality of the main feature itself. Grindhouse’s two-disc set comes in a thick clear case with a booklet, art card of Shatner, reversible cover art, and a slick embossed slipcover.
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The first Blu-ray disc contains an audio commentary with director William Grefé, who is never at a loss for words.
“The Making of Impulse” (HD, 14:27) is an engaging look back at how the production came together.
“Shatner Saves Sakata” (HD) offers a look at a stunt gone wrong, with commentary from either William Grefé (1:31) or William Shatner (1:45).
“40th Anniversary Screening: Tampa Theater – Nov. 7, 2015” (HD, 27:10) – William Grefé is joined on stage by Roger Carlton Sherman, the production designer, for a chat and Q&A following a screening of the movie.
Theatrical trailer A (HD, 1:18) and B (HD, 2:52) are included.
The Devil’s Sisters (1966, SD, 1:24:16, 1.33:1) is the first of two bonus features found on this disc.
Special features for the film include “Devil’s Sisters Resurrected Intro” (HD, 2:42) with William Grefé talking about his inspiration for the picture and how it came together. He also supplies an audio commentary track. “Devil’s Sisters Revisited” (HD, 9:21) is a making-of piece. “Bill Grefé and the Devil’s Sisters” (HD, 1:20) has the director recount the true story that launched the film. “Sisters of the Devil Radio Spot” (0:13) is a rare audio clip. “Devil’s Sisters Still Gallery” (HD, 1:20) features production stills.
The Godmothers (1973, SD, 1:17:39, 1.33:1) is the second bonus feature film, this one starring and co-written by Mickey Rooney. The only extra feature is an intro by William Grefé (HD, 3:55).
Moving on to Blu-ray disc two, here we find the bulk of the bonus material.
INTERVIEWS includes:
“Between the Treks: Shatner in the 1970s” (HD, 26:26) is a great featurette discussing what Shatner was up to between the end of Star Trek and the start of the first motion picture, looking at his various and varied features made during these years.
“Kingdom of the Shatner: William Shatner Live in Santa Monica, Oct. 9, 2022” (HD, 1:04:37) has the legend on stage at the Aero Theater, where he sits down for a lengthy Q&A with a moderator and audience after a screening of Impulse.
“Doug Hobart – The Corpse Speaks!” (HD, 33:58), although he plays a dead man in Impulse the actor, who is old friends with William Grefé, has plenty to say about their time together in the film business.
“Bill is Furious” (HD, 1:17:46) has the director holding court and telling loads of tales from his days in the industry.
“Bill Grefé Miami Stories” (HD, 24:45) covers some of the weird and wild tales from his lifetime in Florida.
Bill’s Sea Stories” (HD, 43:17) features even more aquatic tales. One thing you learn on this disc is William Grefé loves to engage people with his stories and he’s a fascinating interview subject.
“Bill Grefé 2011 Interview” (HD, 12:34), this legacy interview contains ever more information about the man.
“Live and Let Die News Report” (SD, 2:39) is an awesome piece from 1974 focused on the second unit work William Grefé was responsible for directing on the 007 film.
“Legend Award” (SD, 9:25) has some horror and genre luminaries talking up the director and giving him his kudos.
FILM-MAKING SEMINARS features three parts, with William Grefé teaching a class how to become a filmmaker.
“Session 1” (SD, 2:05:00), Session 2 (SD, 1:43:00), and Session 3 (SD, 1:20:00) offer an exhaustive course on his methods.
INDUSTRIALS contains a trio of corporate films William Grefé made with some big names.
“Bacardi: Shatner” (SD, 19:32), has the lead Impulse actor taking a tour of the famous rum’s facilities. Now I know why they use a bat in the logo. This is a really fun piece, too.
“Fame with William Shatner” (SD, 12:09) is all about the benefits of getting into filmmaking for investors.
Similarly, “Investing in Movies with Lauren Bacall” (SD, 23:01) has the legendary actress sitting down with William Grefé to talk about why people might want to spend their money on features.
SHORT FILMS features four recent movies done by Grefé.
“Thumbs” (HD, 6:09), Ice Man (HD, 4:56), A Cask of Amontillado (HD, 9:22), and Underwood (HD, 21:09).
STILL GALLERIES features the following:
“Production Stills (15 images), Press (45 images), Drive-In Delirium Newspaper Ad Gallery (HD, 4:43), Video Releases (10 images), Bill Grefé (9 images), Revival (23 images) and Cover Art by Dave Lebow (21 images).
Finally, the disc contains nearly two dozen previews for other titles released on home video by Grindhouse.
Special Features:
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- Provocative, in-depth interviews with director William Grefé
- KINGDOM OF THE SHATNER – William Shatner Live in Santa Monica – Oct. 9, 2022
- Additional interviews with producer and make-up artist Doug Hobart (FLESH FEAST, SCREAM BABY SCREAM) and art director Roger Carlton Sherman
- Audio commentary by William Grefé
- Haunting alternate French soundtrack
- Hours of rare cinematic treasures from the vaults of William Grefé
- Two bonus features! – THE DEVIL’S SISTERS and THE GODMOTHERS
- Glossy illustrated booklet with liner notes by acclaimed underground filmmaker Jacques Boyreau
- Beautifully embossed slipcover with new art by esteemed painter Dave Lebow
- Still galleries, trailers
- AND OTHER SURPRISES
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Impulse
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Special Features
Summary
Not only did I have a blast with Impulse but the package put together by Grindhouse is just incredible. You’ll leave with the same high praise and appreciation of Grefé as I did. This is a stellar release.
