The Mystic Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Mystic Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 16, 2023

Tod Browning's "The Mystic" (1925) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new program with critic and author David Skal. In English, with original English intertitles. Region-A "locked".

Some very spooky, very shady business

The similarities, and there are many, are so obvious it is absolutely impossible not to declare that The Mystic was the blueprint for Nightmare Alley. After that, the only thing left to do is debate which is the better film. I will not do it because I think that both are very nicely done but are effective for different reasons. I am only going to mention something important that needs to be considered whenever the two films are compared. Tod Browning made The Mystic in 1925, while Edmund Goulding made Nightmare Alley in 1947, which means that the two directors worked with very different filming equipment. However, and I find this very, very interesting, while the two films produce different visuals their outstanding atmosphere is very similar.

Somewhere in rural Hungary, the notorious American criminal Michael Nash (Conway Tearle) approaches a trio of traveling gypsies who perform tricks for money in a small magic show that they have created. Recognizing the quality of their work, Nash offers to help the gypsies get to America, where they can work with him and make real money. They would stage seances for wealthy people willing to reconnect with dead family members and loved ones for a proper fee. Shortly after, the group boards a ship bound for New York.

In a posh Victorian home in New York, the partners then choreograph an elaborate show during which the famous medium Madame Zara (Aileen Pringle) summons the ghosts of dead various people her clients miss dearly. The show is so impressive that even New York’s notoriously skeptical top police inspector (DeWitt Jennings) begins suspecting that Madame Zara might have some real paranormal skills.

As many of the city’s wealthiest residents flock to book a séance with Madame Zara, Nash identifies the perfect target that could quickly and permanently transform the lives of the cheaters -- a very rich orphaned heiress, Doris Merrick (Gladys Hulette), who misses her late father. At the right time, Nash approaches the target and, with the help of Madame Zara, she reconnects with the ghost of her late father who promptly instructs her to transfer her wealth to the cheaters. However, when Nash prepares to collect, something snaps inside him and the entire scheme begins to collapse.

Even though it is always obvious that the cheaters are cheating, the overlapping of the surreal and the drama is done very effectively, which is why the atmosphere that flourishes in The Mystic is so good. (This exact development materializes in Nightmare Alley as well). What is not always obvious is what is happening in the heads of the cheaters and whether all of them are committed to being team players, and this is where all the surprises emerge from. Nash is the biggest enigma because for a long time it very much looks like he is directing a bigger scheme, not the one his partners have agreed to participate in.

While clearly a smaller project, The Mystic frequently looks as good as and at times even better than Freaks. It is primarily because the group footage is wonderfully choreographed, acted, and shot. In an exclusive new program, author and film historian David Skal even links The Mystic to Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler because stylistically these films are in fact quite similar. In Lang’s classic film, all the drama and excitement are simply moved to a grand stage where the number of actors, massive sets, and advanced lighting are frequently breathtaking.

The Mystic is presented with an exclusive new score by musician and composer Dean Hurley, who is a frequent collaborator of David Lynch. The score is unique and very effective. It blends minimalistic sounds and carefully manufactured noises, whose synchronization with the visuals at times can just about fool one into believing that Browning somehow had something to do with them.

The Mystic Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i transfer, The Mystic arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital master was created from a 35mm safety fine grain, which was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner at Roundabout Entertainment in Burbank, California. Color was done by Mishel Hassidim at Resillion in New York.
Disc mastering: NexSpec."

The overall quality of the presentation is very good, and the visuals here have a far more consistent, healthy appearance than the ones seen on The Unknown. However, Freaks remains the most impressive looking film in the box set.

Delineation and clarity are mostly pleasing, but it is easy to tell that many visuals look a tad softer than they should. The same can be said about depth, though its consistency is better. Of course, this is to be expected given that The Mystic is nearly one hundred years old and the surviving materials were clearly not in optimal condition. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is good, too. However, if you have a very large screen, you will notice that some very small fluctuations in the density levels can produce minor unevenness. The surface of the visuals can be described as healthy, but for obvious reasons is not in ideal condition. (The Mystic looks dramatically better than The Unknown). The grayscale is very, very nice. All in all, I think that The Mystic looks very solid on Blu-ray. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

The Mystic Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Music LPCM 1.0. Obviously, the film can be seen with original English intertitles, so there are no optional English SDH subtitles.

Just like The Unknown, The Mystic is presented with an exclusive new music score that was composed by Dean Hurley. However, this score is quite unique -- it blends minimalistic sounds and carefully manufactured noises that create quite an atmosphere. The lossless track reproduces a studio recording, and I while viewing the film, I did not encounter any technical issues to report in our review.

The Mystic Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by David Skal - in this new program, author and Tod Browning biographer David Skal introduces The Mystic and quickly addresses the period from which the film emerged and its unique qualities. Also, Mr. Skal links it to two notorious classic films. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Booklet - 38-page illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Farran Smith Nehme as well as technical credits.

The Mystic Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tod Browning's The Mystic is as good as advertised by those that had been lucky to see it in years past, quite possibly even better. It clearly provided the blueprint for Edmund Goulding's Nightmare Alley, which was an inspiration for other great films as well. Freaks will remain Browning's most famous film, but I sincerely hope that more of his work is made available on Blu-ray because he truly was a very special director with a tremendous imagination. The Mystic has been recently restored and is included in Criterion's Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers, a two-disc set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.