7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an escaped prisoner from her past; a Russian count in the early 1800's who stumbles upon a family in the countryside trying to destroy a particularly vicious line of vampires; and a 1900-era nurse who makes a fateful decision while preparing the corpse of one of her patients - an elderly medium who died during a seance...
Starring: Michèle Mercier, Boris Karloff, Mark Damon, Harriet Medin, Lidia AlfonsiHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 51% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and audio commentary with film historian Tim Lucas. In English, without optional subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Michele Mercier
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mario Bava's Black Sabbath arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
There are some tiny specks, a few scratches, and minor contrast fluctuations. Occasionally, some light color fluttering can be spotted as well. Depth and clarity, however, are pleasing. Obviously, there is room for improvement, but there are no traces of recent digital corrections and as a result the film does have a fairly stable organic appearance. There are a few shaky transitions, but overall image stability is good. Finally, there are no serious encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, even though Black Sabbath can look better in high-definition, this is certainly a good presentation of the film that should please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.
Depth and clarity are good. Les Baxter's jazzy score also breathes quite easily. The dialog is stable and easy to follow, but a full remastering job will certainly eliminate some of the extremely light background hiss that occasionally sneaks in. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.
I am unsure why the AIP cut of Mario Bava's Black Sunday and the Italian version of the film had to be released separately, but it is great to see that both are now available on Blu-ray in the United States. The AIP cut certainly can look better in high-definition, but I think that the current presentation is quite good. If you enjoy Mario Bava's work, consider adding it to your collections. RECOMMENDED.
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1960
Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga
1972
Operazione paura
1966
Lisa e il Diavolo / The House of Exorcism
1973
I vampiri
1957
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà | Glow in the Dark Cover | Limited Edition to 3000
1981
Reazione a catena
1971
幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形 / Chi o suu ningyô
1970
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Collector's Edition
1970
Featuring The Girl Who Knew Too Much / La ragazza che sapeva troppo
1963
La notte dei diavoli
1972
La noche del terror ciego | Standard Edition
1972
1980
2018
Paura nella città dei morti viventi | Standard Edition
1980
Un gatto nel cervello | Glow in the Dark Cover & Mini Portrait of Lucio Fulci Limited Edition to 3000
1990
La morte ha sorriso all'assassino
1973
殭屍
2013