Harlequin a.k.a. Dark Forces

Harlequin's a pretty puzzling little film, though you'll feel on more familiar footing if you're versed in the history of Rasputin.  David Hemmings (Deep Red) plays a rising political star who seems to have it all: wealth, influence, a beautiful and devoted family.  But all that fortune is overshadowed by the fact that his young and only son is dying of leukemia, and no doctor can save him.  Enter Robert Powell (Mahler, Tommy), a mysterious man who claims to be a magician able to cure the boy.  He's swiftly welcomed into their home, but it could be a dangerous problem if this powerful figure's motivations prove to be less than purely altruistic.

Update 10/5/18 - 3/19/25: 88 won the blu-ray duel, but Indicator has swooped in to snatch its victory by taking Harlequin to the next level: 4k.   Let's see what their fancy new edition has done for this distinctively quirky piece.

I'd hesitate to even file it under horror, though it's certainly horror adjacent, at least at times.  Harlequin's as much a drama or even a bizarre political thriller as it is anything else.  There's some tension at the end, but I wouldn't say this film is ever trying to scare you.  It's probably easiest to just call it Ozploitation.  It's another 80s import penned by screenwriter Everett De Roche, the man behind of the biggest and best Ozploitation titles like Patrick, Long Weekend, Razorback one of my favorites: Fortress, but it's not almost not even fair to the "exploitation" half of the "Ozploitation" label.  I mean, it has its moments of brief nudity and a more than satisfying amount of unnatural spectacle.  It's certainly fun and weird, but its meter leans more towards Classy than Trashy.  It's smartly assembled and very well acted; you could almost pass it off as a classic Dennis Potter teleplay for the BBC except maybe for what happens to the maid.  If you can imagine a combination of The Visitor and Brimstone and Treacle, you've pretty much arrived at this movie.

In the special features they talk about how they originally wanted David Bowie for the lead role, which makes perfect sense... but they might've actually been better off with Powell.  Well at least in terms of artistic product, maybe not box office.  And speaking of performances, he might've had these types of roles on speed dial by now, but Oscar winner Broderick Crawford (All the King's Men, The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover) is still pretty unforgettable as the political heavy who'd grown used to pulling everyone's strings.  Even the kid is pretty good.  I just saw A Simple Favor yesterday, and boy, was that a rough reminder of how child performances can be a serious sand trap even for the major Hollywood players.  This isn't one for the gore hounds, but if you get this movie and don't dig it, try showing it to your parents.

This film's seen a couple of interesting releases, all sorts of half special editions.  Image first put it out on DVD here in the US, with a nice widescreen transfer and audio commentary in 2004.  And naturally Umbrella/ Shock put it out in Australia shortly after.  Then Synapse re-released it as a special edition in 2008, albeit with no new features or anything.  Scorpion Releasing finally gave it its HD debut in 2013 with their limited edition blu-ray, which still basically just had the commentary and little else to demarcate it a special edition.  But then 88 Films jumped into the fray with their limited and more genuinely special edition blu.  And now Indicator/ Powerhouse has entered the picture, restoring the film in 4k with even more features on their limited BD (4000 units) and UHD (6000 units) editions.

1) 2013 US Scorpion BD; 2) 2018 UK 88 Films BD; 3) 2025 UK Indicator UHD.

Well, 88 may've made a fancier edition than Scorpion, but they didn't come up with a new transfer.  Not that I was too disappointed since I wasn't exactly counting on one - if they'd paid for a new scan, they'd've been spelling it out in the marketing.  No, I was expecting something pretty close, and this is nothing if not close to the Scorpion blu.  I was able to match very slow-moving frame grabs by spotting identical flecks; they're virtually identical.  And the original transfer wasn't exactly showroom floor material in the first place.  But I'm not sure that's so much anything the labels are doing wrong so much as just the source material being a little dodgy.  Like, look at how smeary the letters are on the title card, with the whites of the small print bleed into each other.  Sure, it's better on the UHD, but it's not exactly crisp.

1) 2013 US Scorpion BD; 2) 2018 UK 88 Films BD; 3) 2025 UK Indicator UHD.

Which is probably why, in their booklet, Indicator promises, "[n]o grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way" (appreciated!  Thank you, Indicator).  There's a softness to the photography throughout, which is clearly intrinsic to the film, and I reckon that's just the way the filmmakers made that optical title card.  Scorpion's packaging describes the transfer as "Brand New 16 x 9 (2.35:1) Widescreen Master in HD from Original Vault Elements," which leaves things a bit vague. 88 got a bit bolder, touting "Restored HD master from the Original Negatives."  And now Indicator clarifies theirs as a "[b[rand new 4k restoration from the original negative."  Anyway, it looks like old 35mm film.  Grain is evident, and light damage is persistent (less so on the new Indicator) but never to the point of distraction.  Colors look a little faded.  And that brings us to the only real distinction between the two blus.  88's is a shade darker, which I prefer, because again, the film looks faded.  It's a minor distinction you'd never notice outside of a direct comparison like this, and certainly not a reason to double-dip, but the slim edge went to 88.

"Went" because the new UHD, of course, trounces them both.  The most distinct improvement is the boldness of the colors.  The new HDR looks fantastic, but I'm sure even their 1080p blu-ray puts the older discs weathered look to shame.  A blue sky and blue sea instead of all white behind those credits?  Imagine!  It's bolder, far more vivid and pulls in more detail from the highlights and shadows that were blasted out in the previous editions.  Look how much more you can see in Hemmings' lamp in that second set of shots, for example.  The resolution isn't as much of a boon, because, as I already mentioned, the film has an inherently soft look; but the contrast and broader gamut make the image considerably more life-like and less aged.  And the composition has been tweaked, too.   While the aspect ratio is still 2.35:1, the framing has been adjusted, so we see a little more to the left of Godzilla in the first set of shots, and the top edge isn't clipping Hemmings' hair in the second.

Audio-wise, all three discs seem to have the same mix, the original mono track, in DTS-HD on Scorpion, LPCM on 88 and back to DTS-HD for Indicator.  But here's where 88 took a bigger step forward: they included English subtitles where Image, Synapse and Scorpion had none.  Thankfully, Indicator has them now, too.

For many, the bigger competition may be taking place in the special features department, anyway.  So let's start with Scorpion.  Their main feature is the same audio commentary that's been around since the Image days with director Simon Wincer and producer Anthony I. Ginnane.  It's quite good, though.  They're very involved and have a lot to say.  The other bits are mainly hold-overs from the DVDs, too.  There's an isolated musical score track, and the original theatrical trailer under the alternate title, Dark Forces.  Scorpion adds one thing, though, a Katrina featurette where she gives her usual overview on the film details, and even dresses up in a harlequin costume for some, uh, interpretive dance?  There's also a couple bonus trailers and some cool interior artwork showcasing Harlequin's many colorful posters.

Now, I wasn't expecting 88 to mess with the Katrina skit, but I'm a little surprised they dropped the isolated music track, since that's also been a staple of all the past DVD releases.  They got the important thing, though: the commentary.  And even more importantly, they got a bunch more that no previous release has ever had.  They have a new, on-camera interview with everyone's favorite critic Kim Newman, who mostly gives a general overview of Ozploitation in general, but does touch on Harlequin specifically as well.  And there's a brief, vintage television interview with Hemmings and Powell, which is rather silly.  The host keeps talking about how she's so taken with the two of them and doesn't ask them much about the film except how it must be hard to shoot a film out of sequence.  But I'm glad 88 uncovered it; it's fun.

Most significantly, however, is a roughly hour long collection of on-camera interviews with Wincer, Ginnane, De Roche and actor Gus Mercurio.  Now, the interviews start with a bit of disclaimer that, "[t]he following interviews were conducted by director Mark Hartley for his documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (2008)."  It's been a long time since I've watched that film, but to be clear, while these interviews were surely for that doc as described, I'm fairly certain these are not just clips lifted from that film (or its many DVD special features).  These are in-depth interviews all about Harlequin, not just Australian horror in general, and really just what a Harlequin special edition calls for.  They're very forthcoming about everything from the commercial aspects of making this film for an international market to working around some of the cast members' alcoholism.  Also, instead of the Dark Forces trailer, they have a Harlequin-titled trailer.  88's blu comes with reversible artwork, the other side matching Scorpion's.  And limited initial pressings also include an 8-page full color booklet with notes by Calum Waddell and some cool poster art, plus an attractive slipcover.

And now Indicator?  They carry over everything from the 88 disc, and happily, the isolated score is back.  Better still, they've come up with even more new extras.  There's a short on-camera interview with the screenwriter from 2007 taken from a local Australian television station.  And there are audio-only interviews with the director, associate producer and production designer.  These suckers are long (the director's is feature length!), so buckle in, but the latter two have never been interviewed for this film on disc before, so they're very welcome additions.  And there's a new expert interview (in addition to Newman's) by Australian film historian Stephen Morgan.  We also get three trailers, three galleries, and at least for these initial limited runs, an impressive 80-page booklet.  It's all housed in a tough side-loading box, and yes, the little J-card passes Grindhouse Mike's "does it fit in the box," albeit not ideally (it sticks out past the book and disc case ever so slightly).

Just back from The Phantom Zone, apparently.

As a genuine fan of this film, I've been only to o happy to triple-dip for the 4k upgrade and new special features.  The jump from Scorpion to 88 was a real "for enthusiasts only" move, but I can recommend the jump from either of those to the Indicator more broadly.  And yeah, if you're purchasing this film for the first time, this is the easily definitive and obvious choice.  I'm a little surprised this film got such high-end treatment, but it seems like the Australian film market takes good care of its cult titles.

Whither Amadeus? Hither Amadeus!

There have been rumors of a 4k Ultra HD release of Amadeus for several years now.  It's been said to be coming from Warner Bros and Criterion at different times.  I even fell for one of those shady Twitter accounts that announced it as if they had real insider information, before I found they were just posting best guesses are scoops for clicks.  I still feel a little bad for perpetuating it by posting the artwork they created on a forum and sharing a link to the fake news.  I guess you could say that this post is my penance for that.  What can I say?  I was naive!  But that naughty account has since vanished, and we're just left with the false hope.  As far as I know, there's no further reason to expect an Amadeus 4k outside of the "it's always possible" realm.  I mean, it is a high-profile Academy Award winning "Best Picture," and there have been rumors of a restoration possibly being "in the works."  But nothing's been legitimately announced.

Update and Error Correction 6/8/23 - 7/3/23: First of all, a huge thanks to Kevin and Chris in the comments for helping me set this screw-up straight.  Your instincts were completely correct!  To be clear, the 2009 DVD is the theatrical cut, not the director's cut (which is a good thing, because it means fans can still access the TC without tracking out the long OOP disc from the 90s).  And the good news for everyone is that, in the business of sorting my mistake out, I got my hands on a 1997 DVD, so we've wound up with more thorough coverage as a bonus.

Update 2/26/25: The rumors have finally proven true!  Or more accurately, perhaps, enough time has passed that the initially false rumors eventually stumbled into the facts bearing themselves out.  Whatever, same difference!  We now have Amadeus restored in 4k on UHD.  Just one cut, but what did you expect?  An edition with no compromises?

You might expect a three-hour drama about an 18th century composer to be a pretty dry, homework-like affair.  But oh no, 1984's Amadeus is a vibrant, exciting picture.  The conflict between F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce runs deep.  Think There Will Be Blood, but resonating on an even more profound level.  Milos Forman adapts the original stage play with a lavish production, clearly expenses were not spared.  Hulce gives a wild performance, but surrounded by first class players like Jeffrey Jones, Abraham and The Funhouse's Elizabeth Berridge, it all works magically.  In either cut.

A controversial moment from the "Director's Cut."

Yes, I have to confess, I feel a little ambivalent on the director's cut issue.  I don't feel the longer cut hurts the pacing any - what's an extra twenty minutes when you're already pushing three hours?  You either have the attention span or you don't.  And some of the added material is pretty good, like the bit with the dogs.  It's all well done.  On one hand, I don't really disagree with critics who say it demonizes Salieri too much, with the nudity and all making him excessively lecherous.  On the other hand, that's a key moment from the play, so who are any of us to say it doesn't belong?  In the commentary, Forman says he only cut the stuff for time because Warner Bros wouldn't release a three hour film, not because he disagreed with the characterization.  So, eh... 🤷

Anyway, the movie's strengths are still at play in either version.  Idealistically, I always think studios should err on the side of providing all the options, though, so any future release really ought to include both cuts, satisfying the filmmakers and their adherents, as well as the purists looking for the original theatrical experience.

But instead it continues to be a binary issue.  Warner Bros' original 1997 DVD, now long out of print and very hard to find, was an anamorphic, widescreen but barebones presentation of the theatrical cut as a 2-sided flipper disc (you have to take the disc out and turn it over to watch the second half of the film).  That was followed by the Two-Disc Special Edition in 2002, where they switched to the director's cut.  The two-disc version is a dual-layered disc, so the whole (longer) film plays without flipping or switching discs.  It's also a special edition, with an hour-long documentary on the second disc.  In 2003, there was a limited edition 3-disc set, but it's basically just the same 2-disc set in special packaging.  That third disc is a soundtrack CD.  Then, in 2009, they re-released the old flipper disc in an amary case - meaning back to the theatrical cut and no extras.  Also in 2009, however, WB released their blu-ray edition, which brought back the extras for their HD presentation.  There was a standard edition and a mediabook which also included that soundtrack CD.  But both are the director's cut only.  And finally, in 2025, the pendulum has swung all the way back to the other side.  Amadeus has been restored in 4k on a new UHD release from Warner Bros, but it's only the theatrical cut.

1) 1997 WB DVD; 2) 2002 WB DVD; 3) 2009 WB DVD;
4) 2009 WB BD; 5) 2025 WB UHD.

1) 2002 WB DVD; 2) 2009 WB BD.
(This shot doesn't appear on the '97 or '09 theatrical cut DVDs.)

(This shot doesn't appear on the 2025 theatrical cut UHD either.)

The original (and 2009 reissue, which is the same disc), is framed at 2.29:1, which is tweaked to 2.30:1 on the 2002 disc.  But if you look at what's actually in frame, the difference is far greater than a mere .01 in geometry.  It's zoomed in, effectively cutting off parts of the image along the sides and bottom.  Then the BD widens out it out further to 2.41:1.  It doesn't reveal more; the DVDs are just slightly vertically stretched, which the BD corrects.  The flipper DVDs are also, you won't help but notice, considerably more overcast with a warm hue, giving them a much yellower look in the shots above.  The 2002 DVD and BD are clearly using the same root master, with the same corrected colors, but the boost to HD on the blu makes a nice difference, giving a clearer cleaner image with distinctly sharper detail.  With less compression, the colors manage to appear more nuanced and naturalistic, too (look at the flesh tones in the second set of pics, for instance).  That said, even on the BD, grain is light; but this was shot on 70mm, so it should be substantially finer.

Now, the UHD is a smidgen taller again, measuring in at 2.39:1, which it achieves by revealing slivers more picture along the top and bottom.  The increased resolution is nice, too.  Look at the delightfully bored girl on the lower left corner of the first set of shots.  Even on the blu, her jewelry is largely reduced to pure white pixels, which are far more nuanced and polished in the UHD.  Her bow even suggests some subtle edge enhancement on the BD, which is replaced by pure naturalism on the UHD, where we can also see deeper hints at the pattern on the surrounding fabric.  Color-wise, besides finding more depths in the highlights like the aforementioned jewelry, the UHD returns to the warmer and yellower tone of the older DVDs.  But there it's more of a wash, whereas here, differing colors are still allowed to stand out, untarnished.  That is to say, for example, the rose in the second girl's hair is bright red when it had previously been faded, and the next girl's dress pure blue, where the yellow hue on the previous DVDs managed to make it lean greenish.  Those gold columns really shine like gold now, where they never did before.  And yet we can still see areas (i.e. the sheet music) of true white.

Audio-wise, they all give us a 5.1 mix with optional English subtitles, in TrueHD on the blu.  The 2002 DVD also had a stereo mix, though, which the blu-ray again drops.  But this is a music film that famously played in theaters with a six-track mix, so the 5.1 is the one we want.  The UHD gives it to us in DTS-HD, and the back of the case actually says 5.0, but when I examine the audio on my PC, it's still split into six channels.  Honestly, it doesn't sound hugely different from what's come before it.

As far as foreign language options, the DVDs also had a French 5.1 dub and French and Spanish subs.  The blu has a French, Spanish, German and Italian dub (all 5.1) and subtitles in fifteen additional languages.  The UHD goes back to just the French and Spanish dubs, and the back of the case suggests they're in DTS-HD, but upon inspection, they're actually lossy.  And they've cut down the massive list of subtitle options to just English, French and Spanish.

Now, the 2-disc DVD and the BD have the same extras, while the 1997 and 2009 DVDs have nothing but the trailer, plus a music-only track that actually isn't on the other discs.  The 2002 DVD and the BD have the trailer, but more importantly they have an audio commentary by Forman and writer Peter Shaffer.  It's a good discussion that answers a lot of questions and does a good job filling the entire running time.  Then there's an hour-long 'making of' documentary that talks to Forman, Shaffer, the producer, Hulce, Abraham, Berridge, Jones, Vincent Schiavelli, the music director, the AD, the production designer and choreographer.  It covers some identical ground as the commentary, but otherwise it's excellent and absolutely enough.  I'm not saying I wouldn't appreciate more good extras on another release, but honestly, we've got what we really need.

And the new UHD?  Well, if you didn't mind the loss of the director's cut (seriously, two discs with 1 cut on each disc doesn't sound that unreasonable), here's where you'll be disappointed.  That Forman/ Shaffer commentary was on the director's cut, and since that's gone, so is the commentary - what a loss!  The trailer's gone missing, too.  They couldn't at least have stuck the old 2009 disc in the package as a supplement?  Maybe they're intentionally holding back for a 50th anniversary release?  At least the documentary is still here, and we do get something new: a 23 minute retrospective, where most of the stars and crew from the documentary return to reminisce about the film via webcam.  It's a step down from the first one, and often redundant, but it's fun, and nice we got something fresh.  Oh, and the new release also comes in a slipcover.

So, bottom line?  A big "yes!" to this new disc, but with a strong emphasis on the caveat to hang onto your BDs, which I'd originally described as a "decent placeholder for now."  It turns out it's going to hold onto it's relevancy in our collections for a long time to come.  But never the less, the next time you watch Amadeus, it should be on this new 4k.

Let's Talk Scream of Stone

I've been getting caught up in new releases lately, and while I certainly intend to always cover them (and am planning another one for my very next post), I don't want to lose sight of the lesser known, but no less essential discs included in my mission statement.  And one title I've had on my list to address here is Werner Herzog's 1991 drama Scream of Stone.

Frankly, it's a very trite sports movie about two rival mountain climbers competing over a girl, but it stars Donald Sutherland and Mathilda May, the world's most gorgeous nude space vampire from Lifeforce.  Herzog regular Brad Dourif also appears in a supporting role, where he gets to play a hardcore eccentric.  And you might notice the poster says it's "based on an idea by" Reinhold Messner.  That's a mountaineer who'd worked on the 1985 documentary The Dark Glow Of the Mountains with Herzog, and who would go on to write a book called Scream of Stone in 2020 (about the same mountain, but it's not this story).  Anyway, Dark Glow is easily the superior film.  This, on the other hand, seems to mostly exist as an excuse for Herzog to travel to South America and capture stunning mountaineering footage in exotic and challenging locales.  So it's kind of a dud overall, but aspects of Scream of Stone will always hold up as genuinely impressive and worth seeing.  Besides, what kind of film fan isn't a Herzog completist in 2025?

Scream of Stone debuted on disc in 2004, from the UK label Cinema Club (the same ones who released Return Of the Living Dead 3 uncut when everybody else put out the R-rated version).  Unfortunately, even for its time, it left a lot to be desired: non-anamorphic, PAL, single-layered and looks like it was struck from a video tape master.  There have been a couple subsequent DVDs released around the world: one from the Netherlands, another in Australia (from a company called Payless, which should tell you something), a third in Italy and a fourth in Korea.  I don't have any of them to compare, but they're all marked as 4:3 on the back of their cases, so I think it's safe to assume they're roughly equivalent.

2004 Cinema Club DVD.

Again, Cinema Club's DVD is non-anamorphic, and it's window-boxed to a weird 1.50:1 AR.  It looks like a tape rip, bit it still sports film damage as well.  I guess this was mastered from a tape of a worn film print.  It's plagued with all sorts of ugly haloing and fuzziness.  But hey, surprisingly, the picture isn;t interlaced!  So that's one thing.  The audio track is a rather hissy English 5.1 mix, which surely can't be right for a low budget, German flick from 1991.  There are no subtitle options except for a few burnt in ones when a local native is approached for a quick scene.  And naturally, there are no extras, not even a trailer.  The fact that these DVDs is all we've got is made all the more frustrating because we know an higher definition master exists from 1.66:1 clips shown in Herzog's 2019 documentary, Nomad: In the Footsteps Of Bruce Chatwin.  Here's a quick comparison:

2004 Cinema Club DVD top; 2020 Music Box BD of Nomad bottom.

Ready to be even more frustrated?  There is a better version out there!  It's still a DVD, but it's dual-layered in 1.85:1 and is actually a nice little special edition, with a commentary by Herzog, The Dark Glow Of the Mountains as a special feature, storyboards, photos and yes, the trailer.  Some pressings even come in a slip cover.  Art Haus released it in 2005.  But it's not English friendly!  Yes, this movie is in English - the English audio here matches the actors' lip movements - but apparently the AH DVD is a German dub with no subtitle options.  Womp, womp.  So this Cinema Club is still the best we can get unless we're fluent in German.

Look, I know this isn't Herzog's best work, but this movie is just sitting here waiting for Shout Factory or somebody to give it a proper blu-ray release.  The master already exists, an audio commentary by Herzog is just sitting there waiting to be licensed (and they've ported over other Art Haus commentaries in the past).  Come on, guys.  There's gotta be enough die-hard Herzogians out there to support at least a small run!

The Luxury Antiviral

With Brandon Cronenberg's more recent films getting lavished with all kinds of fancy, 4k editions, it's nice that Severin has seen fit to go back and give the same treatment to his 2012 debut, Antiviral, which I still hold this out as his best work  With it's creative and genuinely insightful science fiction take, and first class execution, it was the film that suggested this nepo baby might actually be the successor capable of picking up the ball his father had seemingly dropped when he moved into more milquetoast drama.  The concept, the look, the performances (Caleb Landry Jones really goes for it), the score... every element really comes together; it instantly turned by from a skeptic to a convert.  So a fancy, new 3-disc limited edition?  Hell yeah!

IFC originally released Antiviral as a new release on separate DVD and blu-ray releases in 2013.  They've been the sole, go-to discs in the US until now.  Severin has issued a new, limited edition 4k 3-disc set, consisting of a brand new 4k scan of a 35mm protection internegative on UHD, that same transfer on 1080p BD, and a second BD including an earlier cut from its Cannes premiere.  Cronenberg tells us in the intro to the Cannes cut that "it's not better version or the director's cut, but it is a part of the film's history that was lost until now."  It's mostly the same as the final theatrical cut, but with the deleted scenes back in, and a few other minor alterations, satisfactorily concluding a subplot for a secondary character.  A standard edition has already been announced for March, but it will just be a 2-disc set, without the Cannes cut.

a scene only in the Cannes cut

So this is an interesting one.  For starters, Antiviral was shot digitally in 2k, so why are we getting a 4k scan of a 35mm protection internegative?  Isn't that just going a generation further removed?  Fortunately Cronenberg and his DP, Karim Hussain, are on hand in the special features to explain.  And it basically boils down to the limits of the color timing at the time of release - particularly in the subtle variations of white - where they had to time it differently for DCP screenings and for film prints.  This new transfer's HDR allows them to essentially merge the best of both worlds.  But this should temper your expectations for any gains in resolution with the 4k.  And it should also be pointed out that the Cannes cut included on the 3rd disc utilizes the digital transfer for anyone who would still prefer that version over the new film scan.  So let's get into it.

1) 2013 IFC DVD; 2) 2013 IFC BD; 3) 2024 Severin BD;
4) 2024 Severin UHD; 5) 2024 Severin (Cannes cut) BD.

An unexpected change right off the bat, we've gone from the IFC discs being 1.85:1 to the Severin discs (all transfers) are now 1.78:1.  That sounds like a small step backwards, but seeing how heavily involved Cronenberg Hussain seem to have been with the new restoration, I guess 1.78 is how they prefer it.  The difference amounts to a little more picture along the top and bottom of the newer transfer rather than anything extra along the sides of the old ones.  And another surprise?  IFC's DVD is interlaced.  That's pretty unusual for an HD-concurrent release that modern.  Thankfully their BD is not similarly affected, but that means there's a bigger jump in quality between the two IFC discs besides the fundamental distinction between standard and high definition.

Severin's new transfer naturally adds a layer of grain to the image that the IFC discs lack, because it's the only one taken from film.  That grain is still surprisingly soft, even on the UHD, but I guess that's no great loss since it kinda doesn't belong there anyway.  Severin's Cannes cut, naturally, does not have this grain element, and some purists will be glad to have it for that reason.  Zooming in super close to all of these reveals practically no discernible distinction in actual detail from the original picture in any of these transfers (except, of course, in the DVD, which is naturally cloudier).  But it should be noted that the UHD is able to retain imagery that all the other discs crush out in the shadows, evident in the second set of shots.  In summary, I'd say the UHD does have the generally best transfer, but it's a distinction most viewers wouldn't even notice.  And some sticklers might still prefer the IFC blu for not adding the... not fake, but extraneous grain, and maybe even for keeping the traditional theatrical AR.

Antiviral started life with a 5.1 mix, and it's on every disc.  The DVD is lossy, whereas all the blus and UHD present the film in DTS-HD.  Severin also adds a stereo mix, also in DTS-HD.  Every release also includes optional English subtitles, with IFC also throwing in Spanish ones.

In terms of special features, IFC was already satisfactorily decked out.  It has a pretty great audio commentary by Cronenberg and Hussain, which occasionally gets a little silly and immature (I recommend switching it off before their original "I want to snort your nail clippings" song over the closing credits), but is 99% very illuminating.  And then there's a terrific, half-hour making of documentary, comprised of interviews with the cast and crew and on-set footage.  There's also just over five minutes of interesting deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Cronenberg.  And there are a handful of 2-3 minute featurettes, which are pretty skippable, since they're mostly cut from the same footage used in the doc.  There may be one or two brief soundbites that are unique to them, but it's not worth sifting through.  Finally, there's the trailer and a couple bonus trailers.  Oh, and some brief test footage from their infrared cameras, used in some background shots.

Broken Tulips

Severin carries all of that over, and they add some great new stuff.  There's a new on-camera interview with Cronenberg and Hussain, which is described as them discussing the new restoration.  And they do for the first couple minutes, but then they go on to talk about the film in plenty more retrospective aspects.  And they include the short film Cronenberg made to sell this film to investors called Broken Tulips (also in 1.78).  Cronenberg and Hussain have also recorded a new introduction for the Cannes cut, though that and the infrared test footage are only on the 3-disc version.  Also exclusive to the 3-disc set is the fancy slipcover, a 30-page booklet by author Claire Donner.

I called The Mask of Satan the gem of Severin's latest Black Friday releases, but that doesn't mean it's the only one worth getting.  This is a top shelf release of an underrated classic.  Although, with that said, anyone who doesn't consider themselves an extreme fan may be content with the original IFC release, since the new transfer and additional bells & whistles aren't that far beyond what we've already got.  This is the premium, luxury edition for those who've got to have the very best.  Everyone else may be happy to save a few - or more than a few - bucks and splurge elsewhere.

Demons Part VIY: The Mask Of Satan

Ooh, I've been waiting for this one!  And I don't just mean that it took Severin approximately two months to ship my Black Friday order. 😉  Lamberto Bava's Mask of Satan is a title I've been eager to own since the days of laserdisc, but it's never been released on any format.  The best I'd been able to manage was a bootleg DVDR I purchased at a horror convention years and years ago; and I was happy to get that.  So, while this may not be the single greatest I-horror title in the pantheon, I was thrilled when Severin announced it as a special edition blu-ray.  Curiously, they describe their release as "the first time ever in North America," which is typically a delicate way to hype a quasi-debut without mentioning the film's already been released in other parts of the world, sort of like saying a scan is from "original film elements" when a label can't find the original negatives.  But if there's another blu out there anywhere in the world - Japan, Italy, Spain, anywhere - I've never heard of it, and believe me, I've searched!  I would've bought it.  But if it is out there, I'm glad I never found it now, because I'd be double-dipping for this anyway.

Mask Of Satan has always struck me as the most Demons-like of all the unofficial Demons sequels (this one was known as Demons 5).  Ostensibly, of course, it's a remake of his father, Mario Bava's Mask of Satan, a.k.a. Black Sunday, where a woman is accused of witchcraft, killed by having a spiked mask hammered into her face, and resurrected a hundred or so years later to seek revenge.  But they immediately, with Barbara Steele and her zombified husband lurking around a mansion in the original, and a bunch of yuppies turning into monstrous maniacs in an ice cave here.  And hey, Demons also had a Black Sunday-inspired metal mask starting off the horror, worn by Michele Soavi, who also has a major role in this.  The only thing really separating this from the Demons franchise proper is the fact that the demonically possessed in this film spend most of their time behaving like rude pranksters rather than feral killers.

Rewatching this more recently, I was surprised to see Nikolay Gogol's name in the credits.  Indeed, both this and the original Mask of Satan claim to be remakes of his famous story Viy, famously adapted directly in 1967.  And sure, both films feature a resurrected witch, but otherwise Mario's Mask feels even more dissimilar to Viy than it does Demons.  However, watching Lamberto's Mask with Viy in mind, yeah, now I see it.  Sure, it's a modern updating that takes plenty of liberties, but there's definitely more Viy in here than Black Sunday or Demons, especially the climax, when our hero draws a protected ring around himself in the haunted church while various monsters and spirits fly circles around him.

Putting aside its associations to other films and stories, though, 1989's Mask of Satan is a good time in its own right.  Bava's pretty much got the band back together with some wild special effects by Sergio Stivaletti (one in particular really stands out!) and an lush score by Simon Boswell.  Everything takes place on one elaborate set, enhanced by one or two impressive outdoor locations, with the kind of colorful photography we've all come to love and expect in classic I-horror (for no reason at all, one nook in the ice cave emanates a bright green glow).  You do feel the lack of gore, which is probably an unavoidable consequence of this being a made-for-TV project.  I wouldn't hold this up as high as the official Demons movies, but it's a respectable runner up.

2024 Severin BD.

Presented in a pillarboxed 1.67:1, we're told Severin's blu is a 2k scan taken from the original negative and, in terms of colors, contrast, etc, it looks pretty great.  The film's grain is barely even hinted at, though, and I know 2k ain't 4k, but you'd never see a 2k scan on 1080p looking like this come out of Arrow.  It is a dual-layer disc, with the film taking up more than half the space itself, but I wouldn't be at all surprised this is a transfer Severin was just handed from an Italian lab.  Honestly, it's the kind of thing that will irritate the "pixel peepers" among us, but most viewers won't mind or even notice, because it's such an attractive transfer otherwise.  Talk about colors "popping," that one girl's ski jacket practically irradiates your living room with pinkness whenever it's in front of the camera.

Interestingly, there is no English dub, but besides the Italian, there is also a Spanish track, both of which are in DTS-HD.  And Severin has gone the extra mile to include two sets of English subtitles, one matching each dub.

Mary Sellers

Severin's blu isn't over-crowded with special features, but what it's got is excellent.  Basically, there are three on-camera interviews, and each one is a great addition.  First, Bava himself gives an enthusiastic and comprehensive overview (except he doesn't address the Demons connection at all), talking about everything from how this was originally planned as a six-part international film series of witchcraft to the fact that this film hasn't been available on disc until now is because the negatives were lost and just recently located.  Then we've got tighter interviews with two of the lead actresses: Mary Sellers and Debora Caprioglio, who talk about their experiences on this film and their careers in general.  Yes, Debora is asked and explains her relationship with Klaus Kinski.  Besides that, though, there's not much else.  But this does come in a super cool, embossed slipcover if you order it direct from the label.

So do I recommend this?  Heck yeah, I'm dancin' in the end zone!  Not that it's a classic, but it is good - it impresses a little more now, too, seeing it in full quality - and ticks a very long awaited title off of our lists.  This is a film fans have been pestering Anchor Bay and everybody else about for decades.