Night Gallery: Season Three Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Night Gallery: Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 21, 2023

"Night Gallery: Season Three" (1972-1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Craig Beam as well as multiple new audio commentaries. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The girl with the hungry eyes

The third and final season of Night Gallery has a different format. Each of its episodes is approximately twenty-five minutes long, which is half the running time of the episodes from the first two seasons, and tells a single story. Also, even though Rod Serling’s writing contributions remained largely the same, it was producer Jack Laird who shaped the identity of the original content. Laird directed a couple of episodes, too.

In an exclusive new audio commentary for The Return of the Sorcerer, critics Kim Newman and Stephen Jones suggest that the shortening of the running time of the new episodes had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the quality of the original content. This is debatable. Some of the shorter episodes are quite good, but several utilize quite a bit of filler material as well. For example, one of the strongest episodes, She’ll be Company for You, maintains a brisk tempo but at the center of it is an outstanding character transformation that easily creates the impression that its running time is substantially longer. In it, a widower is gifted a cat that unexpectedly and very quickly forces him out of his comfort zone and he becomes paranoid. The character arc is outstanding but the camera rarely moves away from the man. Similarly, in The Other Way Out a man has a bizarre encounter in a secluded mansion at the end of which he is forced to pay for his sins. Again, the camera is focused on the man and his misery. However, in Fright Night, one of the weaker episodes, a man and his wife move into an old house where a mysterious trunk introduces them to a blood-curdling stranger that makes it impossible for them to establish proper identities. As a result, the bizarre experience looks uncharacteristically rushed. The same can be said about The Return of the Sorcerer, which has a very promising beginning and a very underwhelming finale. In it, an aging sorcerer hires a naïve translator to work on Necronomicon, the ancient book of the dead, but the job turns out a lot more complicated and dangerous than described. Several segments of this episode are really good, but there is just not enough time to tell a great story that takes advantage of all opportunities to impress.

The quality of the acting is inconsistent as well. For example, in The Girl with the Hungry Eyes the two leads, Joanna Pettet and James Farentino, are not a very good match for the type of story that is told, which is largely why its resolution feels underdeveloped. In Whisper, Sally Field clearly struggles to legitimize the misery of the medium she plays as well. In Spectre in Tap-Shoes, Sandra Dee needs a lot more time to reveal how serious her condition is – or not.

Fortunately, despite the new format, each of the shorter episodes retains the attractive visual style of the longer episodes from the previous two seasons. The decors, lighting choices, and camerawork range from very good to excellent. The outdoor footage is shot at several very good locations as well.

The longer episodes from the previous seasons were scored by multiple composers, each choosing to emphasize different harmonies that were essential for their atmosphere. All of the shorter episodes were scored by Eddie Sauter. While the quality of the music is good, there are three, possibly four episodes where it feels like it has an essential role to play. In the remaining episodes, the music is just a decoration and is instantly forgettable.

Some of the directors that were hired to work on Season Three are John Badham, Jeannot Szwarc, Gene R. Kearney, Gerald Perry Finnerman, and Edward M. Abroms.

Night Gallery: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Night Gallery: Season Three arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

If you have seen Night Gallery: Season One and Night Gallery: Season Two, you should know what to expect from Night Gallery: Season Three. I think that each of the shorter episodes looks as good as the longer episodes from the previous two seasons. Some fluctuations are again present, so expect to see areas with uneven density levels and some sporadic softness. Some of the softness is introduced by careful degraining adjustments, but I think that delineation and depth remain quite pleasing. The most obvious examples can be spotted during wider outdoor footage, such as the one screencapture #25 is taken from. Close-ups look very good. Color balance is wonderful. The primaries are nicely saturated and healthy, while the supporting nuances are set right. In some areas, the dynamic range of the visuals could be better, but I think that meaningful improvements would emerge only in 4K. Image stability is very good. All episodes look healthy. (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).

Night Gallery: Season Three 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.

I mentioned in our review that the quality of the music Eddie Sauter composed for the shorter episodes is a notch below that of the music that is used in the longer episodes, so some of its characteristics reflect this as well. Still, I think that there are decent to good dynamic contrasts whose native qualities are well reproduced. Clarity, sharpness, and depth are very good. I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review.

Night Gallery: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Commentary One - Audio Commentary for "Return of the Sorcerer" by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones.

• Commentary Two - Audio Commentary for "Return of the Sorcerer" by Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Three - Audio Commentary for "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Four - Audio Commentary for "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" by Author/Historian David J. Schow.

• Commentary Five - Audio Commentary for "Rare Objects" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Jim Benson, Featuring Comments by Creator/Writer Rod Serling, Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Actors Mickey Rooney and Raymond Massey, Director Jeannot Szwarc and Night Gallery Artist Tom Wright.

• Commentary Six - Audio Commentary for "Rare Objects" Film Historian Craig Beam.

• Commentary Seven - Audio Commentary for "Spectre in Tap-Shoes" by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes.

• Commentary Eight - Audio Commentary for "You can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan/Smile, Please" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Jim Benson, Featuring Comments by Actors Ozzie Nelson, Lindsay Wagner, Michael Lerner and Roger Davis; Director John Badham and Night Gallery Artist Tom Wright.

• Commentary Nine - Audio Commentary for "You can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan/Smile, Please" by Novelist/Critic Tim Lucas.

• Commentary Ten - Audio Commentary for "The Other Wat Out" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Eleven - Audio Commentary for "Fright Night" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Twleve - Audio Commentary for "Fright Night" by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes.

• Commentary Thirteen - Audio Commentary for "Finnegan's Flight" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Jim Benson, Featuring Comments by Creator/Writer Rod Serling, Guillermo del Toro, Actors Burgess Meredith and Cameron Mitchell, Makeup Artist Leonard Engelman, Barry Sullivan's Daughter, Actress Jenny Sullivan and Night Gallery Artist Tom Wright.

• Commentary Fourteen - Audio Commentary for "Finnegan's Flight" by Television Music Historian Dr. Reba Wissner.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Commentary One - Audio Commentary for "She'll be Company for You" by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes.

• Commentary Two - Audio Commentary for "She'll be Company for You" by Film Historian Craig Beam.

• Commentary Three - Audio Commentary for "The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Jim Benson, Featuring Comments by Creator/Writer Rod Serling; Actors Joan Van Ark and Gary Lockwood; Director Jeannot Szwarc; Makeup Artist Leonard Engelman and Night Gallery Artist Tom Wright.

• Commentary Four - Audio Commentary for "The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes" by Television Music Historian Dr. Reba Wissner.

• Commentary Five - Audio Commentary for "Something in the Woodwork" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Six - Audio Commentary for "Something in the Woodwork" by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones.

• Commentary Seven - Audio Commentary for "Death on a Barge" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Eight - Audio Commentary for "Death on a Barge" by Novelist/Critic Tim Lucas.

• Commentary Nine - Audio Commentary for "Whisper" by Night Gallery Author/Historian Jim Benson, Featuring Legendary Filmmaker Guillermo del Torro, Actors Sally Field and Dean Stockwell; Director Jeannot Szwarc; Writer David Rayfiel; Cinematographer Gerald Perry Finnerman; Associate Producer Burt Astor and Night Gallery Artist Tom Wright.

• Commentary Ten - Audio Commentary for "The Doll of Death" by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones.

• Commentary Eleven - Audio Commentary for "Hatred Unto Death/How to Cure the Common Vampire" by Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani

• The Syndication Conundrum Part Three - a look at the show's troubled life and reruns. Produced by film historian Craig Beam. In English, not subtitled. (56 min).

• Leaflet - a season guide with short descriptions of the original pilot and each segment from Season Two.

Night Gallery: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The new format does have an impact on the overall quality of the third and final season of Night Gallery. I think that there is still a lot to like in it -- "She'll be Company for You" and "The Other Way Out" are fantastic episodes -- but there are several obvious misfires as well. However, there is no doubt in my mind that anyone that has viewed and enjoyed Season One and Season Two would want to spend a couple of nights with the final season, which looks very good on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.