6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The son of the infamous Dr. Orloff clashes with his father when he begins to stalk and dismember prostitutes in order to get parts to reanimate his dead mother.
Starring: Howard Vernon, Antonio Mayans, Rocío Freixas, Tony Skios, Rafael CayetanoHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jess Franco's "The Sinister Dr. Orloff" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with actor Antonio Mayans; exclusive new program with author and critic Stephen Thrower; and exclusive new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Sinister Dr. Orloff arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro.
Quite a few of the films that Jess Franco made for the Spanish production company Golden Films International, S.A. have been released on Blu-ray by Severin Films, and The Sinister Dr. Orloff, which is from the same bunch, is one of the best looking ones. Obviously, Franco's smallest films, and the films from this arrangement were quite small, will never look as spectacular as big projects like The Girl from Rio, so you need to adjust your expectations, but the overall quality of the presentation here is very, very good. Despite obvious fluctuations, delineation, clarity, and depth are typically very nice, and the entire film looks healthy. Color balance is convincing, too. However, some areas show a bit of unevenness that appears to have been introduced by aging. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Also, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
I have to mention first that I found the English subtitles incredibly frustrating. They are very small and in some areas almost impossible to read. I have a big TV too, so this was pretty disappointing. The quality of the audio is slightly inconsistent, but this is to be expected from a small Jess Franco film. There is dynamic unevenness and the music can sound a bit flat. The dialog is clear and easy to follow.
If you plan to begin exploring Jess Franco's oeuvre, The Sinister Dr. Orloff must not be one of the first ten films you see. You should plan to return to it much, much later, long after you have viewed the likes of Attack of the Robots, She Killed in Ecstasy, Vampyros Lesbos, and Venus in Furs. The Sinister Dr. Orloff reintroduces one of Franco's beloved characters, but it is a small and flawed film that only completists will appreciate. This recent release from Mondo Macabro presents a very nice 4K restoration with several very good exclusive new bonus features, one of which is with Franco's frequent collaborator Antonio Mayans. RECOMMENDED only to Franco completists.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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