6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When horror's biggest star announces his retirement from the genre, two dimwit screenwriters and a pair of actresses are sent to the actor's castle...
Starring: Peter CushingHorror | 100% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin Films' Cushing Curiosities set.
Severin has celebrated arguably lesser known efforts featuring one of the more legendary horror actors often associated with Hammer Studios with
both
The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee
Collection and The
Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2. Now they're doing similar service for that other legendary horror actor often
associated with
Hammer Studios, and one who of course famously co-starred with Lee in any number of films. As the title of this collection may suggest, the offerings
in Cushing Curiosities are a bit peculiar at times, but that perhaps only gives them added allure for a certain demographic. Severin has
assembled an impressive array of supplements, including some excellent commentaries by Jonathan Rigby, who also contributes an incredibly
thorough overview of Cushing's career in a perfect bound booklet included with this set. Adding to the allure here are some generally solid
technical merits (with perhaps one notable exception).
Tender Dracula is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. The back cover of this release states the has been "restored by Pathe, scanned in 2K from the original negative and authorized by the director". I frankly can't even remember the last time I saw this strange film, but it may have even been a bootleg VHS copy, but one way or the other, this is a surprisingly ravishing looking presentation of a lesser known cult item. The palette is really nicely suffused for the most part, though there's a certain gray undertone to the castle sequences in particular. Detail levels are typically excellent, especially in close-ups where textures on costume fabrics or even highly detailed background wallpapers or headboards are offered with considerable precision. Grain is tightly resolved throughout.
Tender Dracula features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options in either English or French. Both tracks can show a very slight phased quality to some of the piano cues in particular, though that said, it sounds like a prepared piano in any case, which may suggest some of the effect was intentional. Other underscore sounds nicely clear and full bodied. The French track arguably has a very slightly muffled sound when compared to the English track, but that difference is incremental. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Some curmudgeons may want to argue that Boris and Alfred weren't the only addled screenwriters involved with this film, and indeed there's a weird slapdash quality to things that obstructs coherence on more than one occasion, and which perhaps even more saliently deprives the film of what was evidently intended to be a certain farcical humor. Technical merits are solid and the supplements quite interesting, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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