6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Prophet Finis Hominis escapes from jail and resumes his mission of saving humanity from its moral ruin.
Starring: José Mojica MarinsForeign | 100% |
Horror | 93% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Portuguese: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Inside the Mind of Coffin Joe collection from Arrow Video.
If you know about Coffin Joe, no introduction is necessary, and if you don't, no introduction could probably ever suffice. That said, for those who
aren't aware of this weirdly iconic Brasilian character, he (it?) sprang from the febrile imagination of one José Mojica Marins, a writer and
director
who in addition to those tasks in fact played
Coffin Joe in several films aggregated in this gonzo new collection from Arrow Video. Rather interestingly, and perhaps saliently, one
supplement in this immense set has the redoubtable Stephen Thrower refusing to call Marins "insane", despite the fact that other pundits
have described Marins as meeting that clinical definition, while another supplement is devoted to Marins as a "neuro divergent"
and at least possibly ADHD afflicted filmmaker. That rather wide gamut of reactions will probably be matched by the general public, though if
Marins was "crazy", he was crazy like a fox, as they say, and his films, while intentionally provocative and rather frequently
horrifyingly
graphic in terms of bodily immolations and the like, generally have rather impressive production values, which suggests a certain competency at
least. One way or the other, virtually all of Marins'
films are suffused with mood, even if narrative structures can be on the wobbly side. This is another impressive effort from Arrow Video
that is obviously designed to cater to a cult audience, but that particular demographic should find themselves very well served by this release.
When the Gods Fall Asleep is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers some general information about all of the transfers, followed by more individualized information about this particular film, as follows:
The Coffin Joe films by José Mojica Marins have been exclusively restored by Cinecolor, in cooperation with One Eyed Films and Arrow Films. All restoration work was overseen by producer Paulo Sacramento in collaboration with Arrow Films.Additionally, a prefatory text card offers the following further information:
The original film elements sourced for this project represent the best existing film elements available, and while every effort has been made to present these films in the highest quality possible, some instances of damage remain, in keeping with the condition and age of these materials. Likewise, the audio soundtracks which at times have a slightly rough quality of are in keeping with their production origins. In places audio synch will appear loose as very little audio was ever recorded live and the mixes were generally recorded and created in post-production.
When the Gods Fall Asleep / Quando os Deuses Adormecem is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with mono Brazilian Portuguese audio.
The film was scanned and restored in 4K resolution from an original 35mm print, the only known existing film element for this title.
The audio was remastered from this original 35mm print.
2023 4K restoration executed at Cinecolor Brazil Lab with the support of Arrow Films and under the supervision of Mojica's last producer, Paulo Sacramento.This presentation, while certainly more than watchable, can't help but suffer when stacked up against some of the other transfers in this set, due to some recurrent and unignorable damage that the source print element had and which whatever restoration gauntlet was undertaken has not addressed. While the palette is still really nicely suffused and quite vibrant, and is arguably one of the stronger things about this transfer, as can easily be seen in several of the screenshots I've uploaded to this review, there is rampant scratching, including some that cover the full vertical length of the frame and can be quite long lasting. Other, perhaps slightly less problematic, age related wear and tear also shows up. Detail levels are still relatively intact even given some of the masking the damage does. Grain can be on the slightly gritty side, but has no major resolution issues. My score is 3.25.
Digital restoration done from the only existing 35mm print scanned by Cinemateca Brasileira.
The audio files were restored from the preexisting telecine of a 35mm print.
When the Gods Fall Asleep features LPCM Mono audio in the original Portuguese. This is another somewhat boxy and hollow sounding presentation, and as with some of the other audio tracks in this collection, there can be slight but still discernable flutter in some music cues, as well as a kind of brash high end that is again perhaps most noticeable in the musical moments. Dialogue and narration are presented without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.
Arrow has packaged When the Gods Fall Asleep and The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures together on one disc, with the following supplements:
When the Gods Fall Asleep might have a whiff of that oft quoted "sophomore slump", when contextualized as the second Finis Hominis film. Video is pretty badly scratched a lot of the time, but is still watchable, and this disc offers more really appealing supplements, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão
1968
Delírios de um Anormal
1978
Inferno Carnal
1977
A Estranha Hospedaria dos Prazeres
1976
O Ritual dos Sádicos / O Despertar da Besta
1970
Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver
1967
À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma
1964
Encarnação do Demônio
2008
Finis Hominis - O Fim do Homem
1971
1970
She-wolf
1983
1963
San gow 1999 / Shan gou 1999 / 山狗1999
1999
Shiryô no wana
1988
Gau wan ok mung / Gou hun e meng / 勾魂惡夢
1999
Drácula contra Frankenstein / Dracula vs. Dr. Frankenstein
1972
Grave
2016
Yǎng guǐ / 養鬼 / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1982
La Cruz del Diablo
1975
Slipcover in Original Pressing
2012