7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Seeking shelter from a pounding rainstorm in a remote region of Wales, several travellers are admitted to a gloomy, foreboding mansion belonging to the extremely strange Femm family. Trying to make the best of it, the guests must deal with their sepulchral host, Horace Femm and his obsessive, malevolent sister Rebecca. Things get worse as the brutish manservant Morgan gets drunk, runs amuck and releases the long pent-up brother Saul, a psychotic pyromaniac who gleefully tries to destroy the residence by setting it on fire...
Starring: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest ThesigerHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Anyone who has ever visited virtually any retail establishment will probably concur that there is often something akin to a “seasonal disconnect”, with the emporium promoting items that are (at least) a few months in the future. Therefore, it’s not unusual to see swimwear shortly after the first of the year, or (to mention one of the more vexing examples) Christmas displays as early as October or even September. Similarly, Halloween offerings can show up in midsummer in some locations, and that includes spooky films coming out on Blu-ray, which often arrive to be placed into my review queue months before anyone in their right mind should be thinking about trick or treaters. Commendably, Cohen Film Collection got The Old Dark House to me only a few weeks before Halloween, and it’s a wonderful way for any film lover to start getting into an appropriately spooky mood for the scary but sometimes silly holiday. The Old Dark House has an arguably outsized reputation for what is ultimately a kind of slight film, a reputation bolstered by the kind of ironic fact that the film was considered lost for many years. As is documented in one of the supplements included in this release, director Curtis Harrington’s friendship with James Whale led to Harrington insisting that Universal search its vaults for elements, something that Universal supposedly did repeatedly while insisting they were coming up empty. Harrington’s persistence finally paid off when the original negative was found, albeit with a very badly decaying first reel. More backstage finagling by Harrington finally got Eastman House to pay for what amounted to a “restoration” in those days, using a secondary source to replace the damaged original first reel (Harrington clearly states that Universal found the negative, while some online data states that Harrington found a print). With some legal hoops having to be jumped through due to William Castle’s 1963 version of The Old Dark House, the 1932 Whale version, while rescued from the ash heap of history (and/or vinegar syndrome), still wasn’t that widely seen, but with the advent of home video it’s become one of the curios of early horror cinema. Distinctly different in tone from some of Whale’s other early horror efforts (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein), The Old Dark House may frankly never raise many fright fueled goosebumps, but it’s weirdly entertaining nonetheless, positing a group of hapless tourists in an isolated mansion when a torrential downpour strands them in the backwoods of Wales.
The Old Dark House is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Sourced off a new 4K restoration, this new transfer easily improves upon the quality of the old Kino DVD, with much better detail levels and a more sumptuous rendering of Arthur Edeson's evocative cinematography. The film is often drenched in shadows, and blacks are especially impressive throughout the presentation. There are some very minor variances in clarity and sharpness, interestingly not really having to do with what I assume was the damaged first reel (in fact I noticed no substantive difference in quality between the opening minutes and the rest of the presentation). Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation but can look a bit heavy at times (see screenshot 13). Contrast is superb throughout the presentation and the restoration has delivered a viewing experience devoid of any major age related wear and tear.
The Old Dark House's LPCM 2.0 mono track can't totally overcome some inherent deficiencies, almost all having to do with the vagaries of time and/or the original recording techniques. There's hiss and occasional crackle apparent throughout, and noticeable distortion in some of the blaring musical cues, as well as the repeated motif of gusts of wind that are used to (supposedly) subliminally up the angst levels at certain junctures. But dialogue makes it through the gauntlet relatively unscathed, and generally speaking (and with an understanding of the aforementioned context) the track is eminently listenable with no overly distracting issues.
This release ports over the supplements from the old Kino DVD, with the exception of the Gallery, and adds a new interview with Sara Karloff:
I had a high school coach who, in "mentoring" a bunch of teenaged boys intent on relieving themselves of their sexual innocence, once told us, "The anticipation is greater than the realization." The same warning might be said for those who have never seen The Old Dark House, for while immensely enjoyable on its own often gonzo terms, it has little of the innate spookiness of some of the other early Universal horror opuses. The film is long on style if at times a bit short on narrative follow through and even internal logic. This new restoration by Cohen offers sumptuous video but audio that definitely shows (sounds?) its age. Highly recommended.
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