6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A visit to a wealthy and reclusive friend lands a young man in a world of fear and despair.
Starring: Liam Aiken, Annalise Basso, Joe Adler, McNally Sagal, Kimleigh SmithHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 27% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.65:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
House of Usher began Roger Corman’s long history of adapting various works of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as offering stars like Vincent Price a regular paycheck, and it continues to be one of the best remembered versions of what is really almost a short story sketch rather than a fully formed “tale of the grotesque” (to purloin part of a title of a Poe collection published in his lifetime). That said, there have actually been several adaptations of the saga of the Ushers done for both the large and small screens, ranging back to the silent era and a 1928 French effort co-written by Luis Buñuel, La chute de la maison Usher (evidently one of two silent versions released that year), to a 1979 made for television version starring Martin Landau, to 1989’s The House of Usher starring Oliver Reed, to a gay themed House of Usher that came out in 2008. Even the notorious Jess Franco also took a stab at this Poe evergreen, with Franco’s 1982 outing Neurosis , though for purposes of comparison to The Bloodhound, a 2006 entry once again called The House of Usher may be the closest in that it restages Poe’s venerable story in the present day.
The Bloodhound is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.65:1. This is another film of recent vintage where I haven't been able to dredge up a lot of authoritative technical information on the shoot, though the closing credits state "Shot with Panavision Cameras & Lenses". I haven't found anything definitive with regard to the resolution of the DI, but this is one way or the other a rather striking presentation quite a bit of the time, though it's often intentionally kind of flat looking. Odd grading choices are often utilized, like the slightly blue-green cast to the opening scene of the mountain river, to later cool blues or warmer ambers and almost crimson purples in the interior of the Leuret home, but the film's palette is very nicely rendered in this transfer. Quite a bit of the interior footage is seemingly purposefully dimly lit, and in some midrange shots fine detail levels may falter slightly, but on the whole, there are commendably precise accounts of some of the detailed patterns in things like drapery fabrics or even paneling. A couple of nighttime moments are understandably less revealing in terms of overall detail levels.
The Bloodhound features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is, like the film itself, evocative without being overtly flashy. From the opening moments, which mix the gurgling sounds of a stream with what sounds like tapping on some object, the sound design is kind of subliminally unsettling, an aspect that is probably best exemplified by the sometimes astringent chamber score. The film has long stretches without a ton happening on the soundtrack, but then there can be bursts of florid activity as in a concert of some Mozart music, and dynamic range is therefore quite wide. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Bad Dream (HD; 1:06) offers shadowy hands and a women's chorus singing.
- The Muffled Hammerfall in Action (HD; 00:51) is, kind of ironically given my comments about a certain Kubrick sci-fi classic above, a bit of a light show.
- The Mosaic Code (HD; 00:32) is a fun abstract piece with pixellated multi-colored squares.
- Wiggleworm (HD; 00:48) is largely in black and white and is frankly more nightmareish, with superimposed body parts, among other images.
The Bloodhound has the kind of cool, detached and emotionless quality that some tend to associate with at least a few notable films by Kubrick, but that aspect may not in fact help develop any real tether to either Francis or JP. Still, The Bloodhound is a fascinating exercise in style, and the really appealingly out there shorts by Picard also included on this disc as supplements prove he's a considerable talent. Technical merits are solid for those who are considering a purchase.
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1944
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Un Silencio de Tumba
1972
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Slicover in Original Pressing
1984
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1990
1959
4K Restoration
1974
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Voci dal profondo / 1000 Copies
1991
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Vinegar Syndrome Archive
1988
Limited Edition
1998
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1976
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