6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
An ancient African prince, turned into a vampire by Dracula himself, finds himself in modern Los Angeles.
Starring: William Marshall (I), Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala, Gordon PinsentHorror | 100% |
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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The name "Blacula" has been whispered in cult horror circles for decades. I've heard the name. I've watched as friends grin when the flick is mentioned. I've seen the iconic shots from the movie, even the nods and references on classic episodes of SNL and other '70s and '80s sitcoms. And yet Blacksploitation Prince of Darkness Blacula has eluded me all these long years. I nearly laughed out loud and shuddered with joy (seriously) when Sandpiper Pictures announced its high definition release alongside a fleet of other other potentially campy catalog gems. I'm a dork, I know. But one of the delights of this gig is being "forced" to watch cult classics I might not make the time for otherwise. Does Blacula hold up? Surprisingly so. It's something of an era-bound blast too, partially because William Marshall, a Shakespearean stage actor with the voice of a velvety underworld god, is so sincere and so unironically good. Although it's also important to be in the right headspace going in. Cherry-apple blood, hisses that flash fangs, a high collared cloak, glowing crosses, flaming vamps, afro'd Van Helsings... how has it taken me this long to bask in the tragic, dramatic horror'sploitation that is Blacula?
Sandpiper, working with a solid but slightly flawed master, brings Blacula to Blu-ray with a notable 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. Grain occasionally has a less-than-filmic appearance, no doubt the result of a bit of heavy handed noise reduction that's more easily spotted in problematic shots and extremely dark sequences. (Where grain likely would have spiked substantially and where far smoother, almost ink-blotted fine details reside in its place.) However, barring those thankfully infrequent instances, the film fares quite well. Grain is typically reliable and consistent, and rarely hinders the nuances of facial lines, hair or costume fabrics. Detail is more than decent, with clean, natural edges and reasonably well-resolved textures, even if the film overall often features a softer 1970s appearance than it might have had Blacula been granted a more thorough, technically proficient, high budget restoration. Colors, though, are more than adequately represented here, with striking primaries, exciting bursts of red, bottomless black levels, and warm, lifelike flesh tones. Contrast is also excellent, bringing a welcome vibrancy to the image without draining it of the lifeblood of its original photography. This is probably as close as fans will get to William Crain and cinematographer John M. Stephens intentions for the film in the foreseeable future.
Blacula's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix is less exciting but nevertheless represents a dutiful, faithful presentation of the film's original sound design. Voices are intelligible and well-prioritized, minus a handful of instances where volume leveling and other on-set/post-production audio issues impede fidelity. Likewise, sound effects are largely canned and tinny, but come with the low budget '70s horror territory. There obviously isn't any LFE support or rear speaker activity to speak of. That said, that doesn't mean the mix is weightless and ineffective.
Sandpiper's Blu-ray release of Blacula includes a trailer. Nothing more.
Blacula took me by surprise and definitely was not the film I was expecting. And yet I still enjoyed it as a walker of two worlds: serious '70s blaxploitation that holds up remarkably well and, at the exact same time, campy nostalgia that hasn't aged so well. Its Blu-ray also walks two worlds, albeit less successfully: one in which it offers a solid AV presentation, the other in which its video transfer is a bit flawed, its lossless audio offering doesn't include a new 5.1 remix, and its supplemental package amounts to little more than a trailer.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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