A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2019

Roger Corman's "A Bucket of Blood" (1959) arrives on BLu-ray courtesy of Olive Films. The supplemental features on the disc include rare promotional and production materials for the film; interviews with Roger Corman, Dick and Lainie Miller, and Charles B. Griffith; audio commentary by Elijah Drenner; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

An artist is a lot more attractive than a busboy

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is true, and the validity of this statement has been tested many times over the years. What about horror and the ugly? Are they just as subjective as beauty? The answer should be obvious, but if it isn’t you should take the time to see Roger Corman’s A Bucket of Blood.

Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) makes ends meet as a busboy in a popular beatnik café. He is in love with Carla (Barboura Morris), a co-worker, who is single but does her best to ignore him because he is too slow in the head and often requires long explanations which tend to frustrate her.

After a long and exhausting night, Walter accidentally kills Frankie, his landlord’s favorite cat, but instead of laying the poor animal to rest he wraps it up in clay and on the following day brings it to the café. The owner of the café (Antony Carbone) and his most popular clients are so impressed by the tremendous piece of art that a busboy’s hands have produced that they encourage Walter to do more. Even Carla expresses admiration for Walter’s strikingly realistic statuette, which immediately inspires him to go to work again.

Soon after, Walter invites the owner of the café and Carla to come to his place and see his latest work -- a sculpture of a man with a big crack on his head. It is so realistic that Carla immediately declares it a masterpiece. Back at the café, Maxwell (Julian Burton), an influential poet who understands art better than anyone else amongst its beatnik friends, senses the emergence of a genuine artist with a truly impressive style, but he publicly embraces Walter only after he reveals his next project – a sculpture of a naked woman that looks almost exactly like a bubbly local model (Judy Bamber) that frequents the café.

The beauty -- or depending on your point of view horror -- of this film comes from its ability to deliver one of the simplest yet most accurate summations of art and artists that you would ever find in all of cinema. What is even more impressive is that it does it on a budget, and while actually being very effective as a genre film as well.

Its identity is defined by a casual attitude, but this is essentially a large veil that hides a whole range of truths about art, artists, and the often utterly ridiculous ways in which the two are legitimized. (It is where the horror comes from). However, Corman takes such pleasure in the delivery of the truths that he actually gives plenty of ammunition to the other side to resist them for as long as possible. This is the reason why the film does not immediately evolve into a low-budget mockery and actually still looks rather remarkably fresh.

The performances range from average to decent to good, but it would be unfair to point a finger at the actors and speculate that they were not up to the challenge that they were presented with. This film really is a classic Corman production, which means that it was done with the smallest number of takes and as fast as possible so that the man behind the camera felt satisfied. (Corman had $50,000 and five days to get the job done. Once the shoot was complete, he ordered his crew to preserve the sets and shortly after used them again while working on The Little Shop of Horrors).

*This new release of A Bucket of Blood is sourced from an exclusive new 4K remaster of the film.

A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K remaster, which is very nice. I have only two minor complaints: First, there are a few white specks that remain and they could have easily been picked up with digital tools over the course of a single day. Second, there a few sequences where the encode barely gets away without producing compression artifacts. There is nothing that distracts, but it is close. So, a few encoding optimizations would have ensured an all-around very solid organic presentation of the film. The end result, however, is still great. Density levels are very nice, depth is solid, and fluidity is as good as I expected it to be. The grading job is equally convincing, and I think that it is one of the main reasons why the film looks so attractive now. There are no stability issues, though a few transitions are predictably shaky. (This is an inherited source limitation). All in all, I think that this new Blu-ray release offers quite a dramatic upgrade in quality over previous home video releases of the film. I like it. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The jazzy score has a nice all-around thickness that allows some smaller dynamic nuances to become more prominent. Of course, it also helps that there are no age-related anomalies like distortions, pops, and hiss. However, if you turn up the volume enough, you will notice that some segments from the cafe reveal unevenness in the upper register. This is undoubtedly a limitation of the low-budget production.

A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Creation Is. All Else Is Not - in this video interview, Roger Corman explains how A Bucket of Blood came to exist and discusses the specific arrangement he had with AIP that allowed him to continue working as fast as he can. There are a few very nice observations about his working relationship with writer Charles B. Griffith as well the main themes that made the film a genre classic as well. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080p).

• Call Me Paisley - in this video interview, Dick and Lainie Miller recall how they met and married in 1959, and discuss the making of A Bucket of Blood as well as their career paths. The interview was conducted in Los Angeles in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - Elijah Drenner, director of That Guy Dick Miller, offers a wealth of information about the production of A Bucket of Miller, Dick Miller's legacy, Roger Corman's amazing career, etc. Outstanding commentary.

• Interview with Charles B. Griffith - in this archival audio interview, screenwriter Charles B. Griffith discusses his professional relationship with Roger Corman and some of the classic projects that they did together. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Bits of Bucket - visual essay comparing the original script to the final version of the film. The essay is narrated by Elijah Drenner. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080p).

• Essay - an essay on the film by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of You Don't Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives of Dick Miller. In text-format.

• Rare Prologue - the rare material that is provided here is from a German release of A Bucket of Blood, which was marketed as a sequel of House of Wax and retitled The Legacy of Professor Bondi. In German, with imposed German subtitles. (10 min, 1080p).

• Super-8 "Digest" Version - a silent 8mm version of A Bucket of Blood. With printed English subtitles. (9 min, 1080p).

• Theatrical Trailer - a vintage trailer for A Bucket of Blood. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• German Theatrical Trailer - a vintage German trailer for A Bucket of Blood. In German, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Gallery - a gallery of newly discovered on-set photography.

• Booklet - a 6-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay on the film by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of You Don't Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives of Dick Miller, as well as technical credits.

A Bucket of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Can you imagine the praise that A Bucket of Blood would have received from prominent critics if one of the Nouvelle Vague directors had conceived it? The noise would have been deafening, and many of these critics probably would have declared that they are in awe of its wit and illuminating sense of humor. I wish Roger Corman would have found a way to introduce a couple of 'professional' critics amongst the beatniks in the cafe and then show them getting excited like that clueless art buyer that pops up early into his film and negotiates a 'great deal'. It would have instantly provided his film with a timeless relevance. Olive Films' Signature Edition of A Bucket of Blood is sourced from a very nice new 4K remaster and comes with a lovely selection of bonus features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.