Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Theater of Blood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 15, 2021

Douglas Hickox's "Theater of Blood" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by screenwriter/producer Alan Spencer; an archival episode of Trailers From Hell; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Vincent Price is Edward Lionheart, a great actor who has had a brilliant season but has been repeatedly snubbed by a group of influential critics. After losing a prominent acting award, Lionheart vows to punish the critics in ways they will surely appreciate.

One after another the critics are killed with style and imagination that have just about everyone but the Inspector in charge with the investigation convinced that Lionheart is the killer. But how could this be? Surely after jumping into the Thames he must have died.

Directed by Douglas Hickox in 1973, Theater of Blood is a gruesome yet irresistibly funny film with arguably one of the greatest casts ever assembled for such a project. Diana Rigg, Jack Hawkins, Ian Hendry, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, and Milo O'Shea are only a few of the terrific actors that step in front of the camera to join the gruesome fun.

Price is superb as the madman Lionheart. Assisted by tramps and talentless actors, he frequently recites Shakespeare while punishing the critics who have destroyed his career. Throughout the film the enthusiastic Price undergoes numerous very diverse character transformations -- with the angry Shylock arguably being the best one -- and all of them are very effective.

The supporting cast is equally impressive. For example, in one of the most outrageous sequences in the entire film a trendy critic (Morley) is asked to taste a vintage dish which may or may not have been prepared with parts of his favorite puppies. The brilliant facial expressions and manners make everything work to perfection here. There is also a truly intense sword-fight featuring the chief critic (Hendry) which must have required multiple takes. Even Rigg, who played the sexy Emma Peel in The Avengers, has a key role and leaves a lasting impression.

Other similarly themed films can often look somewhat rough, but Theater of Blood is stylishly lensed by cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky (Hickox’s Entertaining Mr Sloane, Mike Hodges’ Get Carter) and convincingly edited by Malcolm Cooke (John Schlesinger’s Far from the Madding Crowd, John Guillermin’s Death on the Nile). Indeed, despite its episodic structure, the film has a brisk pace from the get-go.

The film is complimented by a truly unusual but absolutely brilliant soundtrack composed by Michael J. Lewis (Stuart Burge’s Julius Caesar, Jack Gold’s The Medusa Touch). Beautiful flute and oboe solos are part of a rich string orchestration that would have been perfect for a big-budget period drama. The main theme, in particular, is wonderful.

Theater of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Theater of Blood arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from the same old master that MGM licensed to Arrow Video for this Region-B release of Theater of Blood in 2014. I can't say that it does a decent job of reproducing the film's native qualities. From time to time it produces pleasing close-ups, but most of the darker footage looks very flat and/or soft. On a larger screen it is frequently easy to see how the grain becomes very noisy and begins to collapse. Color balance can and should be a lot more convincing as well. Color saturation, in particular, can be dramatically improved, and if it is, the entire film will acquire a much more attractive appearance. Image stability is good. Some small blemishes remain, but there are no large distracting debris, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Theater of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I think that the lossless track is quite good. However, if it is remastered there will be areas where clarity and balance will be improved. How much? The difference won't be dramatic, but while I was revisiting the film I could identify small areas with minor fluctuations that will be addressed with modern digital tools. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Theater of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Promotional Materials - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Vintage theatrical trailer.
  2. Radio spots.
  3. TV spots.

• Trailers From Hell - a vintage episode of Trailers From Hell with screenwriter/producer Alan Spencer. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary One - in this exclusive new audio commentary, screenwriter/producer Alan Spencer very effectively deconstructs Theater of Blood and shares plenty of information about the casting choices that were made for it, Vincent Price's career, the era in which the film was made, and explains why the film can actually be 'very educational'. It is a wonderful commentary.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by film historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Theater of Blood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Douglas Hickox's Theater of Blood was Vincent Price's favorite film. It isn't difficult to see why -- it has a tremendous cast and its blending of humor and horror is very effective. It is also complimented by one of the very best soundtracks that I have heard created for a film of this caliber. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an old and rather shaky master that was supplied by MGM. I want to recommend it because Theater of Blood is a very fine film with a terrific wicked sense of humor, but it would be a shame if it turns out to be its definitive release on the home video market. This film deserves a better treatment. RECOMMENDED.