Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

The Sentinel Blu-ray Movie Review

The road to hell is evidently carpeted in a traditional floral pattern.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 14, 2015

Though some film fans may take issue with the pull quote adorning the cover of the new Blu-ray release of The Sentinel which proclaims it “one of the best horror films of the ‘70s” (take that, The Exorcist and/or The Omen), but few would probably argue with the fact that this lesser remembered outing from 1977 boasts one of the most fascinating casts of its era, at least for a horror film. Among the various stars wandering in and out of this outing (some admittedly in bits that are little more than cameos) are José Ferrer, Burgess Meredith, Arthur Kennedy, Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, Eli Wallach, Sylvia Miles, Jerry Orbach, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, Beverly D’Angelo, John Carradine, Tom Berenger and Deborah Raffin. Now that’s a cast, as most would agree, which makes it all the more unfortunate that all of this talent is put to use in a largely derivative if occasionally smarmily shocking story that plays more than a bit like Rosemary's Baby, with a frightened young woman navigating the terrors of a Gothic apartment house where the other tenants seem to be a bit on the demonic side. Adding to the film’s stumbling quality is the fact that the cast list above doesn’t actually include the two putative stars of the piece, Cristina Raines as the aforementioned damsel in distress, a model named Alison Parker, and Chris Sarandon as her boyfriend, a widower business entrepreneur named Michael Lerman. As co-writer, co-producer and director Michael Winner makes abundantly clear in his commentary included on this Blu-ray, the film’s cast “should” have included Martin Sheen in the Sarandon role, a casting choice Winner insists would have made the film materially better, which is admittedly an arguable stance to take. While Winner reserves most of his directorial umbrage for Sarandon, other less involved eyes might find at least as much to complain about in Raines’ performance, for she matches if not exceeds Sarandon’s somewhat wooden, listless quality.

The Sentinel was based on a novel by Jeffrey Konvitz, who came on board the film adaptation sharing writing and producing credits with Winner. As Winner mentions in his commentary, the original release of Konvitz’s book had been met with little more than a stifled yawn by readers already filled to the brim with similar entries like the aforementioned (book versions of) The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. Universal had optioned the book, but shelved the project when best seller lists failed to include the novel, but when the paperback version unexpectedly took off, the film was once again put into production, which is when Winner himself joined the project, reworking the screenplay to suit his own whims.

A brief prologue sets up the idea that there are some rogue Catholic priests, including Monsignor Franchino (Arthur Kennedy), who are obviously up to something involving “evil” (or, perhaps more appropriately, “eeeevil”). That at least sets a subliminal angst level in the opening moments which fitfully carries the film through a longish narrative arc which then introduces model Alison Parker and her boyfriend Michael looking (separately) for places to live. Ultimately, Alison meets up with enigmatic realtor Miss Logan (Ava Gardner), a woman who quite obviously knows more than she’s letting on when she shows Alison a rather luxe flat in a tony Brooklyn brownstone which has a rather amazing view of the Manhattan skyline. While Alison is wowed by the property, she’s a little curious by a figure seemingly staring out of the attic window of the apartment house. When Logan casually mentions it’s simply a blind priest who lives up there, Alison rather smartly wonders why someone blind would be staring out of a window.

Alison’s tortured psychological history is detailed in a rather disturbing flashback, the first time in the film that Winner goes all Fellini-esque with a number of outré looking folks doing somewhat questionable things. It turns out Alison had burst in on her elderly father whilst the old guy was frolicking with some women, something that pushed Alison to the breaking point, leading to an unsuccessful suicide attempt. She’s still haunted by the memory of her father (you will be, too, after seeing the scene in the film), and that tends to provide the subtext for much of what then occurs once she starts living in the apartment house.

Neighbor Charles Chazen (Burgess Meredith) seems harmless enough, but as anyone who thought similarly about Minnie and Roman Castevet knows, looks can be deceiving. Other interlopers, like a really bizarre couple played by the wonderful Sylvia Miles and Beverly D’Angelo, are more obviously out there, and probably not in a good way. Meanwhile, Alison starts suffering from all sorts of afflictions, including an inconvenient tendency to faint at inopportune moments during photo shoots.

A lot of this material is rather promising, and there’s little doubt that Winner stages it with a good deal of bizarre élan. But here’s the thing: there’s virtually no real suspense in the film, and not just because the marketing campaign, reproduced on the cover of the Blu-ray (“There must forever be a guardian at the gate from hell. She was young, she was beautiful, she was the next”), gives away the whole kit and kaboodle from the get go. Instead, Winner settles for some admittedly unsettling shocks, including some nice startle effects when Alison goes exploring what exactly is going bump in the night.

The film’s subplot involving Michael and his nefarious past is a bit more ham handed, not helped by Sarandon’s smirking, unnuanced portrayal (how much more effective the film would have been if there had been a bit of ambiguity here). Winner goes for the gusto in a completely ludicrous but still discomfiting climax, which ends up playing like a reboot of Freaks or precursor to American Horror Story: Freak Show, in a sequence which invited quite a bit of critical opprobrium back in the day due to its use of some severely deformed people. The imagery here is, as in several other moments in the film, patently and viscerally disturbing, but ultimately things are just so downright silly that audiences may be stifling laughter instead of gasps.

The Sentinel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Sentinel is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is by and large a very solid presentation with only some transitory issues that may rise to the level of concern for the more demanding videophile. Elements utilized for this transfer show a minimal amount of age related wear and tear, though there is some variability in both fade and general densities on display at various times, aspects which can materially affect the palette. Generally speaking, though, colors appear accurate if not especially vivid, with flesh tones occasionally veering toward the pink side of things. There are a number of optical shots where grain and dirt take an expected uptick. Otherwise, grain looks natural and resolves well, with only a few moments that flirt with compression anomalies. Shadow detail is negligible in several very dark sequences, something that probably only helps increase the unsettling mood.

The Sentinel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Sentinel's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is a bit narrow sounding, lacking just a bit of depth in the lower registers, but still delivering the requisite amount of force for startle effects and a good rendering of Gil Melle's score. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized, though just a couple of lines can tend to get swallowed in noisier scenes, as in the big climax.

The Sentinel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Assistant Director Ralph S. Singleton (1080p; 23:56) is a very interesting sit down with Singleton, who discusses his career in general terms as well as his work on The Sentinel.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 2:35)


• TV Spots (1080i; 1:39)


• Movie Stills (1080i; 2:47)


• B&W Press Photos (1080i; 2:30)


• Lobby Cards and Posters (1080i; 2:34)


• Commentary with Writer/Producer Jeffrey Konvitz. Konvitz is hosted by Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson, and gets into some of his own personal history as well as changes both he and Winner made to his original conception along the way.


• Commentary with Writer/Producer/Director Michael Winner. Winner is pretty brutally honest throughout this commentary and isn't especially kind to some of the cast (Chris Sarandon might not want to listen to this particular commentary), but is full of great anecdotal information about how the film came to be as well as the shoot itself.


• Commentary with Actress Cristina Raines. Raines is hosted by the operator of a blog called Hill Place, and reveals that no love was lost between her and Michael Winner, among other interesting anecdotes.

The Sentinel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's quite a bit of interesting content in The Sentinel, though a lot of it is patently derivative. What's so compelling about the film is actually Winner's presentation, where he goes more or less completely overboard in several scenes that depict depravities of various sorts. Some may find some of these elements fairly smarmy and objectionable, but they're unforgettable (for better or worse). It's hard to outright recommend The Sentinel to the public at large, but horror fans and/or those who are gobsmacked by the sheer concatenation of cast members may well want to check this out. Technical merits are generally very good and as usual Scream Factory has assembled impressive supplements for those considering a purchase.