Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Rasputin: The Mad Monk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson June 18, 2021

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!

Lee's turn as Rasputin is a tour de force. His sonorous voice and tall stature commands the viewer's attention. Screenwriter Anthony Hinds (credited under his regular pseudonym, John Elder) is more interested in the myths surrounding the monk than the historical facts. I didn't have a problem with that insomuch I did with the extreme poles that he posits the character. On one end, Rasputin is a good sorcerer with supernatural healing abilities. But on the other end of the pole, he's portrayed as an instrument of Satan hellbent on becoming a supreme ruler. There really isn't anywhere in between. This isn't at all the fault of Lee but in the two-dimensional ways his character is scripted.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary with Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr, Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman, and Filmmaker/Film Historian Ted Newsom - Nasr is the main moderator here for this commentary that runs for the full run time. The trio delve into a "facts versus myths" discussion of the real Rasputin counterposed with the figure in Hammer's film as well as other cinematic incarnations. Nasr reads selections from a draft of the script. Newsom is the most amusing (or annoying, depending on who's listening), putting on his best Russian accent and imitating Lee's character. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Stars Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, and Suzan Farmer - This feature-length track was recorded for Anchor Bay's 1999 DVD as part of the label's The Hammer Horror Collection. Lee is the primary speaker and offers a lot of memorable stories and anecdotes about making Rasputin. He discusses the historical research and photographs he studied of Rasputin. Shelley is the second best contributor on the track. Farmer and Matthews chime in from time to time. Some talk at the same time. It would have been better if AB had a moderator to guide the discussion. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• Tall Stories: The Making of RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK (25:23, 1080p) - Studiocanal included this featurette on its 2012 "Double Play" Special Edition. We hear from authors Denis Meikle (A History of Horrors), Jonathan Rigby (Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History), Andrew Cook (To Kill Rasputin), David Hackvale (Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde) as well as actors Barbara Shelley and Francis Matthews. In English, not subtitled.

• Brought to Book: Hammer Novelisations (15:09, 1080p) - As a big fan of novelizations, I was looking forward to this featurette and it delivers a good overview of most of Hammer's novelizations. Interviewed are Rigby, actor/writer Mark Gattis, and author/publisher Johnny Mains, who befriended Hammer novelizer John Burke late in his life. In English, not subtitled.

• The World of Hammer: Costumers (25:50, upscaled to 1080p) - This 1994 TV episode presents excerpts from several of Hammer's period and adventure films, including Brigand of Kandahar (1965), A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967), Devil Ship Pirates (1964), Dick Turpin: Highway Man (1956), The Pirates of Blood River (1962), The Scarlet Blade (1963), Stranglers of Bombay (1959), Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), and Wolfshead (1969). No clips from Rasputin: The Mad Monk. The only film with Chris Lee here is The Pirates of Blood River. Oddly, the wardrobes aren't discussed in any detail. Oliver Reed narrates this pillarboxed presentation. In English, not subtitled.

• The World of Hammer: Hammer Stars: Christopher Lee (24:59, upscaled to 1080p) - This TV episode, which also aired in '94, first appeared on the AB disc. It shows scenes from ten of Lee's movies, including Rasputin. Oliver Reed again narrates the program. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailers (5:49, upconverted to 1080p) - the first film-sourced trailer was produced to promote the double bill of Rasputin: The Mad Monk and The Reptile, which included free beards for patrons! The Rasputin trailer appears as if it was taken from a 16 mm copy (with rounded colors) and is presented in multi-aspect ratios. The 2.55:1 framing is letterboxed. The second trailer is for Rasputin only. It's shown in ultra-widescreen and is 16x9 enhanced.

• TV Spots (1:25, 480i) - two restored spots, each presented in black and white (1.33:1), for the double feature of Rasputin: The Mad Monk and The Reptile.

• Still Gallery (3:23, 1080p) - a slide show comprising forty-six distinct images. There are a variety: posters, lobby cards, publicity snapshots, on-set photographs, and ads in print pubs. Several of the stills show what looks like Sidney Hayers directing the actors and hair stylist Maude Onslow fixing the actors' hair.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.