Mark Turner Ed Wood's name is synonymous for bad movies. It's not that he didn't try or even that all of them were intentionally bad. But most of them ended up that way with his film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE being hailed as one of the worst movies ever made. But Wood had a passion for film (and for cross dressing in angora sweaters) that pushed him to make movies in whatever way possible.And so it is that AGFA (American Genre Film Archive) is now releasing THE VIOLENT YEARS to blu-ray. AGFA is making a name for themselves releasing movies that are not on the most watched list, not on the most wanted list and not on the best movie ever made list. What they've done is saved movies that have a historic value to film lovers, restoring them and offering them in the best format possible. It doesn't matter if the movie is a stinker, all movies deserve to be preserved for history's sake if nothing else. And in the end there is a certain fan base out there who will clamor to pick up a film like this, reveling in just how bad it is.The story here, as in most Wood films, is fairly flimsy. Paula Parkins is the once bright and shining teen who, due to neglect and no attention from her parents, turns down the wrong path. She leads a pack of degenerate girls into a gang doing things like robbing a gas station, pajama party orgies (if you can call them that) and eventually murder. If it weren't for the bad writing and terrible dialogue you might think this was one of those government films from the 50s warning of the dangers of girl gangs. Instead it's just a low budget movie that was probably a filler at some point.Just to be clear Woods didn't direct this film. Instead he was the writer on the film and that dialogue I spoke of becomes clear with each second of film that runs on screen. With such memorable lines as "I shot a cop. So what!" be read by actors in need of acting lessons it's easy to see why this film garners laughs today.If that weren't enough there's a second feature on this disc as well. Count them, two for the price of one! What a bargain! Well it would be if it were a good movie. Instead it's another movie along the same lines as the first. This time though we have a young man whose brother is a condemned killer sent to the electric chair causing him to seek vengeance on those who sent him there. More bad acting, bad dialogue and weak production values makes this a perfect companion piece to the main feature.To show the dedication AGFA has for movies like this consider the extras and work put into this release starting with the fact this is a 4k scan from the original 35mm camera negative. You'll also get a commentary track with filmmaker Frank Henenlotter and Ed Wood biographer Rudolph Grey, a collection of trailers from Something Weird, a memorabilia scrapbook and more.The honest truth is that most will not want to add this to their collection let alone watch the movie. But from a historical aspect it does make for a somewhat interesting viewing. Fans of all things Ed Wood will not want to pass this one by. Lovers of bad movies will want to have it on hand as well. All others be warned in advance.

Michael_Elliott The Violent Years (1956) *** (out of 4) As our film opens, a judge is putting down a couple parents for their lack of skills when it came to raising their child. When then flashback to what led to these events and we're introduced to four females who are on a crime spree.Please don't let my three star rating fool you. THE VIOLENT YEARS is not a good movie. It's poorly acted, poorly directed, it was written rather poorly and on every technical level it is pretty bad. With that said, if you are a fan of bad movies then there's so much good stuff here that you'll certainly have a great time with the movie. This certainly fits the term "so bad it's good." In case you're not aware, Edward D. Wood, Jr. wrote the screenplay to this film so there's the outrageous, silly and at times pathetic dialogue that his fans have come to love. There are some really silly lines throughout the short running time so that's one fun bit. Another fun thing is just how silly the entire story was and especially these four girls trying to act tough. The poor acting just doesn't make it that believable so you'll be laughing at how "tough" they are and especially during one sequence where they rape a man (off screen of course).If you're familiar with the exploitation movies from the 1930s and 40s you'lll be somewhat shocked that the stories weren't updated in films like this. No, it's the basic "blame the parents" routine and it's rather funny that after a couple decades people were still pointing their fingers at the parents and trying to play the criminals up as victims. Either way, THE VIOLENT YEARS is a really bad movie that manages to be a lot of fun as long as you know what you're getting.

bkoganbing Never let it be said that Ed Wood was afraid to tackle some burning social issues and he does so again here with his usual skill. The Violent Years talks about female delinquency as wealthy, but bored Jean Moorhead gathers around her some followers and they form a girl gang. These chicks are out for action and with them being masked, the law thinks that it's after your typical male holdup gang as the girls start going through all the local filling stations.But these brazen harlots don't stop there. Unmasked they terrorize couples in a frequented lover's lane and tie up the women and then force men to their sexual wills. I don't know about you, but that's normally the kind of thing that is not best done under pressure at the point of a gun. In the end Moorhead is pregnant and commits murder and the wages of sin are exacted by the long arm of the law in the person of noted character actor I. Stanford Jolley who looks like he's needing some laxative as he intones the sentence and his views on parents who do not give good supervision and values to their kids. Poor Jolley who is the only person in this cast who has a decent resume probably fired his agent after he signed him up for this.Ed Wood, they'll never be another like you.

SukkaPunch After purchasing Ed Wood's, 'The Sinister Urge' my collection of Ed Wood material was nearly complete. However, there was one film that still hung over my head, which I felt I needed to see. This film was 'The Violent Years'. The Violent Years was a film written by Ed Wood, with heavy involvement from a few of Wood's stock cast members and rumors that Wood allegedly had a small hand in the direction.As I read various websites I found more information on the film. I learned that it was Ed's most successful film, I also discovered that he was quite proud of it, Even Showing the Poster for The Violent Years in his film 'The Sinister Urge.' Naturally, it was a must have.Upon receiving it in the mail, I popped it in my DVD player, grabbed some popcorn and sat in my recliner. Immediately I found myself disappointed. Like any Wood film, the dialogue is a little ridiculous, but unlike his other films, it was just so gosh darn boring. I found myself caring very little for any of the characters in the film, they annoyed me more then anything. The male victim 'sex attack' scene that everyone likes to talk about is boring and just ungodly stupid.This movie lacks all the charm of any of the other non-porno films related to Wood. Wood was, present but not key in the direction of this film and it really shows.I really don't have a lot more to say about this film. I would recommend it only for completion-ists, or people who really like '50s juvenile delinquency flicks. But that is all. -RECOMMENDED ONLY TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GETTING THEMSELVES INTO.-