Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Mark of the Devil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 4, 2015

Michael Armstrong's "Mark of the Devil" a.k.a. "Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video U.S. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new audio commentary with the director; outtakes; interviews with Udo Kier, Michael Holm, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schoner, and Herbert Lom; new featurette with author and critic Michael Gingold; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Anthony Nield, plus an interview with Reggie Nalder by David Del Valle, all illustrated with original stills and artwork. In English or German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

The witch

The film is set in an Austrian village at the turn of the 18th century where an ugly witch-hunter named Albino (Reggie Nalder, Il Casanova di Federico Fellini) kills anyone that questions his authority. The place is so isolated that there is no one the villagers can ask to confront Albino.

Eventually, the supreme witch-hunter Lord Cumberland (Herbert Lom, 99 Women) arrives in the village and announces that Albino has abused his authority. Lord Chamberlain’s apprentice, Count Christian von Meruh (Udo Kier, The Story of O), is enormously pleased with the announcement and assumes that it is only a matter of time before life in the village returns to normal. But when his mentor targets a local beauty (Olivera Katarina, I Even Met Happy Gypsies) and later on attempts to force an innocent man to give his wealth to the Church, Christian realizes that he is just as dishonest and vile as Albino.

Meanwhile, Albino and his men decide to compromise Lord Chamberlain, but things get out of control when the villagers rise to end the madness.

Made in Germany but officially dubbed in English, Mark of the Devil is a low budget horror film from the early ‘70s with a tremendous reputation. Once described by its distributors as "positively the most horrifying film ever made", and now considered a genre classic, it offers an experience that is virtually impossible to forget.

Unfortunately, the experience is also hugely disappointing. After the promising prologue, the film quickly collapses and a series of uneven episodes begin rehashing the same elements -- sex, violence, and gore -- until it becomes glaringly obvious that the narrative is simply underdeveloped. Indeed, there is no direction to be followed and the main characters are so transparent that at times it is truly painful to watch them try to look respectable.

The visuals are equally underwhelming. During the mass sequences, for instance, it is too obvious why the camera is positioned in certain ways and most transitions feel very uneven. (Some of the well documented tensions between Michael Armstrong and Adrian Hoven are clearly responsible for the noticeable unevenness). During the graphic sequences the close-ups are also too long and too repetitive, only further solidifying the feeling that the film is really a lot more interested in pushing buttons than having something meaningful to say about a an unusual period and the awful practices that defined it.

On paper the cast looks impressive, but in front of the camera only Kier leaves a lasting impression. Lom and Nalder are disappointingly stiff. Katarina looks appropriately attractive, but the lines she utters are never believable. Jeff Wilkens is not a convincing executioner.

Mark of the Devil was lensed by cinematographer Ernst W. Kalinke, who is best known for his contributions to Harald Reinl’s Winnetou films.

Arrow Video’s Blu-ray release of Mark of the Devil features the film’s fully uncut version, which is approximately 97 minutes long. (The back cover of the Blu-ray release incorrectly states that the film is 108 minutes long).

Mark of the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.64:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Armstrong's Mark of the Devil arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video U.S.

The following text appears in the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Mark of the Devil was digitally restored for this release by Turbine with all work done at DigiSite and Imagion Facilities in Germany. The original negative was transferred, graded and restored in High Definition. For a few scenes, a dupe negative had to be sourced, resulting in some inconsistencies in presentation. This is down to historic censorship issues with the film, in which scenes of extreme violence were originally removed. The original English Soundtrack that accompanies the film exhibits occasional lapses in picture synch, owing to the fact that a great many voices were dubbed in post-production.

Special Thanks: Michael Armstrong, Till Krafzik/Atlas Film.
Additional Grading: David Mackenzie."

The overwhelming majority of the film looks very fresh and very vibrant. Clarity and depth are also very pleasing. The opening credits are a bit rough -- some wear marks and printed dirt spots are noticeable -- but then depth quickly improves. Colors are stable and always appear natural. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. However, in different parts of the film the grain could be slightly overexposed or underexposed. The major fluctuations can be traced back to the different elements that were accessed during the restoration, but time has also contributed to the unevenness (see screencaptures #6 and 9). There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. There are no serious transition issues and overall image stability is good. However, occasionally light shakiness (within the frame) can be spotted throughout the film (a good example can be seen around the 00.08.27 mark as Vanessa walks away). There are no large damage marks and debris, but some tiny scratches and flecks remain. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, there is room for minor improvements, but the film has a very solid organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region A/B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you need to have a native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Mark of the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) and German LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles have been provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the lossless English track and liked it a lot. It is very easy to tell that the audio has been carefully restored as dynamic intensity is very good and there isn't even a whiff of background hiss. Some light unevenness can be spotted at times, but this is an inherited limitation that can be traced back to the original post-production overdubbing. Michael Holm's score easily breathes throughout the entire film, though the range of nuanced dynamics is rather limited. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Mark of the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Mark of the Devil. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Gallery - a gallery of posters, press books, lobby cards, VHS sleeves, and other promotional materials for Mark of the Devil. The materials were provided by Christian Holzmann.

• Outtakes - a gallery of outtakes. Music only. (4 min).

• Interviews -
  
  1. Udo Kier - in this video interview, actor Udo Kier discusses the production history of Mark of the Devil (and mentions an interesting scene that could have been used at the end of the film but was cut), Adrian Hoven's uncredited contribution to the film, the character he plays and how the film changed his career, etc. In German, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).
  
  2. Michael Holm - in this video interview, composer Michael Holm explains how he scored Mark of the Devil and discusses the film's success in the United States, its promotion, etc. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).
  
  3. Herbert Fux - in this video interview, actor Herbert Fux recalls how he was approached to play Jeff Wilkens, the Executioner, and discusses the production history of Mark of the Devil. In German, with optional English subtitles. (24 min).
  
  4. Gaby Fuchs - in this video interview, actress Gaby Fuchs recalls how she was cast to play Deidre von Bergenstein, and discusses some of the film's most controversial sequences, her interactions with the rest of the actors during the shooting process, the film's cult status, etc. In German, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).
  
  5. Ingeborg Schoner - in this video interview, actress Ingeborg Schoner recalls how she was offered her part in Mark of the Devil, and discusses her work with the rest of the actors, the film's publicity, etc. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).
  
  6. Herbert Lom - in this audio interview, actor Herbert Lom explains how he was cast to play Lord Cumberland, and discusses the dubbing of the film, some of the changes that were made to the original script, etc. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Mark of the Devil: Then and Now - this new video piece compares key locations from Mark of the Devil as they were shot in 1970 and how they appeared when they were filmed in 2014. Music only. (8 min).

• Hallmark of the Devil - in this featurette, author and critic Michael Gingold (Fangoria Magazine) discusses the publicity campaign for Mark of the Devil in the U.S (and specifically the emergence of the notorious "barf bag"), the film's cult status, and some other notable films from Hallmark Releasing's catalog. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Mark of the Times - this exclusive new documentary focuses on the new wave of British horror that emerged during the '60s and '70s. Included in it are excerpts from interviews with director Norman J. Warren, screenwriter David McGillivray, author Kim Newman, director Michael Armstrong, and professor Peter Hutchings, amongst others. The documentary was produced by High Rising Productions. In English, not subtitled. (48 min).

• Audio Commentary by Michael Armstrong - in this exclusive new audio commentary, director Michael Armstrong spends a great deal of time discussing the production history of Mark of the Devil, the film's publicity and censoring, its cult status, etc. The commentary is moderated by Calum Waddell.

• Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Anthony Nield, plus an interview with Reggie Nalder by David Del Valle, all illustrated with original stills and artwork.

• Cover - reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys.

Mark of the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mark of the Devil has a tremendous reputation, but I think that it is a missed opportunity. It wants to be taken seriously, but its script is very average and the cast is less than impressive. If you have already seen the film and like what it has to offer, then you will be very pleased with Arrow Video's Blu-ray release. The film has been restored and looks quite good in high-definition. More importantly, the release comes with a number of very good supplemental features, including an exclusive new audio commentary with Michael Armstrong. If you have not seen the film, I would recommend that you find a way to rent it first as it is quite graphic at times and certainly not one that can be considered a "safe blind-buy".