6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Hammer Films' dual reputation for screen shock and flamboyant costume adventure meld in this tale of the real-life "holy man" whose evil charm held the fate of an entire nation in its grip. In early 20th century Czarist Russia, Rasputin (Christopher Lee), a wild-eyed peasant monk, mysteriously demonstrates his healing powers by saving a woman's life and asking only for wine and Bacchanalian celebration in return. Soon Rasputin uses his evil charm and powers to become increasingly manipulative and violent. Ferocious, devious, sensuous and other-worldly, this uncouth peasant ingratiated himself into the lives of the sophisticated royal class. Christopher Lee's multi-layered performance as the monk rates as one of the best portrayals in any film.
Starring: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, Francis Matthews, Suzan FarmerHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Biography | Insignificant |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.55:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Rasputin: The Mad Monk was a Hammer Films production tailor-made for Christopher Lee. The legendary actor was coming off a reprisal of his iconic title role in Dracula: Prince of Darkness. Hammer reused the same tavern and frozen lake as it had for that production and at least three other actors returned to appear opposite Lee in Rasputin.
As the film opens, an innkeeper (Derek Francis) is tending to his wife (Mary Quinn), who's unwell and bedridden. Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lee) walks into the pub demanding wine and is promptly summoned to the bedroom. He places his large hands over the face of the publican's wife. This seems to drain the illness and bacteria out of her. The tavern owner is elated to see his spouse revived and awards Rasputin with several bottles of wine. Rapsutin gets drunk and begins flirting with the innkeeper's daughter, which draws the ire of her fiancé. He attacks Rasputin and during the tussle, the monk lops off one of his hands. Although the innkeeper defends Rasputin for healing his wife, the monk is brought before the monsignor and excoriated for his transgressions. At a drinking house, Rasputin catches the eye of Sonia (Barbara Shelley), the lady in waiting at the royal palace. Rapsutin is upset because Sonia laughed at the way he danced and orders her to apologize. She doesn't initially but later does when she goes to the abode of Dr. Boris Zargo (Richard Pasco), which is where Rasputin is staying. Rasputin uses his hypnotic powers to persuade Sonia to cause Prince Alexei (Robert Duncan), the Czar’s son, into having an accident. This is one of Rasputin's strategic ploys so Sonia can ask the Tsarina (Renée Asherson) to summon him and heal the boy. Rasputin's grander scheme is to fall into the good graces of the Romanovs so he can eventually become the czar.
Look into my eyes!
Scream Factory's release of Rasputin: The Mad Monk comes on a single BD-50 (disc size: 48.79 GB) and is presented in two aspect ratios – 2.35:1 and 2.55:1. This also was was the case on Studiocanal's 2012 Special Edition. By comparison, Anchor Bay's 1999 DVD was cropped to 2.10:1.
Studiocanal includes a prefatory note (not included on the Scream) before the start of the feature: "Rasputin: The Mad Monk was shot in 4-perf CinemaScope with anamorphic lenses, 'squeezing' a 2.55:1 picture into a standard 35mm 1.37:1 frame. The film was intended to be matted down to 2.35:1 and this was achieved by losing detail at the left (more) and right (less) of the picture. We have restored the film 'open gate' at its entire shooting ratio, so we can show more of the picture as filmed." The DeLuxe color looks absolutely stunning. The picture is sharp and clear. Black levels are very deep (see Screenshot #5). It's great to have the 2.55:1 as a bonus as it brings back the days of the ultra-widescreen ratios that graced cinema palaces in the '50s and '60s. While the curvature is noticeable along the edges, it didn't bother me. Scream has encoded the CinemaScope transfer at a mean video bitrate of 32012 kbps while the 2.55:1 averages 16263 kbps.
Screenshots 1-8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 = 2.35:1 Version
Screenshots 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 = 2.55:1 Version
Shout! provides twelve chapters for the 92-minute feature.
Scream supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1582 kbps, 24-bit) on the CinemaScope version and an identical DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1582 kbps, 24-bit) on the 2.55:1 version. Much consternation has been heaped on the subpart to par sound quality on the various DVD and Blu-ray editions of Rasputin: The Mad Monk. Thankfully, the audio sounds better here than on the others. It doesn't get off to a promising start, with the 20th- Century Fox fanfare sounding tiny and thin. (It's kind of like listening to a stadium speaker 100 yards away.) Fortunately, range and amplitude improves throughout. I had to turn up my Onkyo receiver a little higher beyond normal listening levels but I could comprehend spoken words without having to turn on the optional English SDH. Don Banks's robust and dramatic score also sounds solid.
When I first saw an original trailer for Rasputin: The Mad Monk, I thought Hammer overplayed the film's melodramatic moments too much. In seeing it for the first time from start to finish, I liked Lee's commanding performance, the beautiful costumes, art direction, and cinematography very much. I'm not, however, especially fond of Hinds's screenplay, which doesn't give Rasputin enough depth. Hinds also misses on the politics of the era and key figures in the court such as Nicholas II. Scream Factory delivers the same excellent restoration that's on the Studiocanal UK package. The lossless mono mix, while an improvement over others, could use a complete remastering effort. All extras have been ported over from the AB and SC. Scream has added a very fine commentary track with Nasr, Haberman, and Newsom. Amazon.com is currently running a sale on Shout! Factory titles and Rasputin is worth picking up when it's back in stock. A STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
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