7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
Starring: Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan HieronimkoForeign | 100% |
Horror | 38% |
Supernatural | 1% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.19:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.2:1
German: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo & PowerDVD verified. 2 separate "German" set-up options (Restored & Unrestored)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Vampyr" (1932) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival audio commentary by critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns; archival audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro; documentary film produced by Jorgen Roos; visual essay prepared by film scholar Casper Tyberg; and more. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in aspect ratio of 1.19:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
This release is sourced from a new 2K restoration of Vampyr that was completed by the Danish Film Institute in 2020. For the purpose of this review, I did some direct comparisons with Criterion's presentation of the film from 2017.
The one and only notable difference that I could spot is the presence of some additional cosmetic work. However, you should not expect a dramatic difference because the nature of this work varies quite a bit and plenty of the surface wear that is present on the previous presentation remains. In fact, it appears that in some areas work has been done simply to tone down what is essentially impossible to remove without destroying the integrity of the visuals. You can see examples of such visible wear/damage that is still present on the new presentation in screencaptures #5, 16, 17, and 27). Also, the various native density fluctuations that overemphasize the grain and grain exposure still create minor image 'pulsations' that retain dark spots and other small wear. I did not notice any meaningful discrepancies in the grading of the new presentation that might have affected the grayscale of the visuals. If any exist, they would be unrecognizable to casual viewers, or even viewers who are familiar with Criterion's presentation of the film. I think that image stability is identical as well. However, minor shakiness can be spotted, especially in peripherals where the impact of aging is typically most pronounced, so it would be very difficult to identify any new stability enhancements. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: German LPCM 1.0 and German (unrestored) LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The quality of the restored lossless audio is very difficult to critique because there are numerous native limitations on it. Obviously, background hiss has been eliminated as best as possible and there are various stabilizations, but the effects of the aging process remain. Also, I think that viewing the film with the unrestored audio is a very similar experience because of the naturally muffled sound.
Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr has never been ignored or forgotten, but since the VHS era it has enjoyed a renaissance that has prompted a lot of people to reevaluate it. It really is a lot more than just a great Gothic horror film -- it is an uncharacteristically bold and in some ways even prophetic mind-bender that I think has directly and indirectly influenced the work of generations of different directors across the globe. This upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a recent 2K restoration of the German version of Vampyr that was completed by the Danish Film Institute in 2020. Should you consider picking it up if you already have Criterion's release? No. There are minor cosmetic improvements on it, but the rest is identical. I was actually not surprised at all that this is the case because the previous 2K restoration and reconstruction that was finalized in 1998 was already very good. If you do not yet have Vampyr in your library and need a Region-B release, it is time that you consider an upgrade. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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