6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set in early 18th-century Austria, the story is about a Witchfinder (Herbert Lom) and his young apprentice (Udo Kier). The two travel the countryside, terrorising people suspected of devil worship. When the Witchfinder goes too far by trying to rape a local girl, his apprentice rebels.
Starring: Herbert Lom, Udo Kier, Olivera Katarina, Reggie Nalder, Herbert FuxHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.64:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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
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).
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 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".
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