6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A young bachelor Mino Alberti, lives in an old manor with his overprotective mother and his faithful maid, is just a few days before getting married, his fiancee dies in a mysterious car crash. Soon afterwards Mino begins to lose his sanity and lures young women into his house with nefarious intentions.
Starring: Franco Nero, Gioia Pascal, Erika Blanc, Olga Solbelli, Marina MorganForeign | 100% |
Horror | 96% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM Mono
English: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror.
This is the time of year when spookiness is almost literally in the air, but it may also be an appropriate time to consult any number of experts prone
to
helping identify genres, at least for those who may be interested in battening down exactly what this or that generic term might refer to. The
recently
reviewed
megaset from Severin All
the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror spent a good deal of time in both an accompanying documentary as well as several
commentary tracks trying to define exactly what "folk horror" might or might not be, with some fairly divergent opinions emerging, but
perhaps thankfully, there seems to be at least a bit more consensus about what constitutes so-called "gothic horror". In that regard, Mark
Thompson Ashworth provides introductions for the four films Arrow has aggregated for the Gothic Fantastico set, and in one of them he
cites Touchstones
of Gothic Horror, a book by David Huckvale which lists tropes like staircases, storms, ruins, heaving cleavage and ornate coffins, most of which
at least
are on display in this quartet at various times.
Arrow has lumped all four films together in terms of its verbiage on the transfers included in the insert booklet which accompanies this set:
The Blancheville Monster (Horror), The Third Eye (Il terzo occhio) and The Witch (La strega in amore) are presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Lady Morgan's Vengeance (La vendetta di Lady Morgan) is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian mono audio.The Third Eye becomes increasingly psychedelically tinged as Mino becomes more and more unhinged, and as such, this transfer has to account for a number of challenges, including lots of opticals and askew framings. Perhaps surprisingly, then, detail levels remain remarkably intact throughout this presentation, and fine detail is often quite evocative, as in the probably obvious use of pounds of pancake makeup on Blanc as the deceased Laura. Fine detail can admittedly fall prey to various stylistic flourishes that are employed, but in reasonably "normal" framings, looks excellent. Grain resolves naturally throughout.
The original 35mm camera negatives for The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye and The Witch were scanned and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The films were graded at R3Store Studios, London. The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives by L'Immagine Ritrovata and Bad Princess Productions, London.
The original 35mm camera negative for Lady Morgan's Vengeance was scanned in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications Services, Rome. Grading and restoration were completed at R3Store Studios, London. The mono Italian language track was remastered from the optical sound negative by Bad Princess Productions, London. The audio synch for all three films will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period.
All original materials used for the restorations of The Blancheville Monster, The Third and Eye and The Witch were made available from Movietime.
All original materials used for the restoration of Lady Morgan's Vengeance were made available from Variety.
The Third Eye features LPCM Mono track in the original Italian and an English dub. Kind of interestingly, Mark Thompson Ashworth briefly mentions that there was no English language version of this film, so I can't account for that discrepancy, but the good news here is, whatever the provenance of the English language track, there's virtually no difference that I could perceive between it and the Italian track, in terms of general mix or amplitude. Both tracks offer secure renderings of effects, score and dialogue, though there's still the somewhat boxy sound that accompanies all of the audio options in this set. Optional English subtitles are available.
Fans of Franco (and/or Frank) Nero are probably going to be more than a little surprised by his characterization in this film, which owes more than a bit to Anthony Perkins' inimitable work as Norman Bates, but which frankly may ultimately be even more over the top than that memorable performance, if only because this film doesn't obfuscate some of Mino's murderous tendencies the way the Hitchcock film does with regard to Norman. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very appealing, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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