WHEN WATCHING WARNER'S release of 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' you get to realise very quickly, like all their other Cushing / Hammer releases, THIS isn't going to be giving you ANY annoying specks, audio cracks or visual blips. Again, Warner has delivered us THE print we were all hoping and waiting for. . . .
LIKE THEIR PREVIOUS BLU RAY releases of DRACULA AD 1972 and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, it's an excellent job, of a super-cleaned up blu ray. The smae must also be said of superb FOUR FILM selection of the HORROR CLASSICS COLLECTION BOX SET which includes FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1968) in it's FIRST release on Blu Ray, THE MUMMY
(1959) TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970) and 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM
THE GRAVE' (1968). What we are getting, is a VERY good deal and when you
think about it, how ALL remastered or cleaned up, restored BLU RAYS should be! If you are a Cushing, Pleasence or Amicus Horror films fan, this latest addition to the Warner Archive Collection and the Amicus portmanteau series is definitely one for your collection 😉
OUR PCAS FULL REVIEW of Warner Brothers Archive Collection of Hammer films 'DRACULA AD 1972' can be found HERE!
THE PCAS FULL REVIEW of Warner Brothers Archive Collection of Hammer films 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' can be found RIGHT HERE!
OUR FULL PCAS FEATURE AND REVIEW OF 'WARNER BROTHERS : HORROR CLASSICS VOL ONE' you can find RIGHT HERE!
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I guess you can say we are VERY happy with the results of this release. The Warner Archive Collection release of this particular title, is the ONE all Amicus and Cushing fans have been awaiting on, a long time. THIS release, at last, completes the Amicus series of portmanteau films, available on blu ray. And WHAT A WAY to wrap it up!
THE VISUAL QUALITY:
The good news is, as yet, the Warner Brothers Archive Collection of films that feature Peter Cushing, haven't put a foot or frame wrong. . . and I'll tell you why. Over the years, many a release on blu ray, just when the price, the anticipation and the viewing seems to be all that you wanted, the film begins a scene that suddenly, doesn't look right. It's a 'day for night' shot, and guess what .. all the footage looks like it's mid day in Florida!! OR suddenly, the silent drama of the scene in the bedroom where, 'he's in the closet and he has a knife' is killed instead, by what sounds like someone has started frying eggs and bacon under the bed! You'll be pleased to read, that doesn't happen here. Great image quaily and no hiss, spit or crackle! Many of you regulars, will surprised that I haven't mentioned yet, one of my all time favorite scenes in an Amicus film.
YES, 'THE DOOR'! 'From Beyond the Grave, features a story starring actor Ian Ogilvy and the wonderfully looking Lesley Anne-Down. . . They are great, look very good, but not as breathtaking as the lighting and sets of the tale. As I hoped for, Alan Hume whose cinematography would be later greatly appreciated on a series of Bond films and Return of the Jedi, looks breath-takingly good...and certainly several steps up from the familiar DVD quality. And it's the clarity again, like many of the Warner Archive Collection, that is so special. There is LOTS of detail, lots of props, bits and pieces, textures and some of it you will see for the first time. Take a look at what has been the soft bundles and piles of junk and antiques in Peter Cushing's 'Temptations Ltd' shop. You can see why now, people were incited to go inside! 😉 Simon Wakefield's set design decor LOOKS quite different and here is the reason why these days he works on films like 'Batman Begins', 'Casino Royale' ... The definition of light and shadow also works so well now, it all now helps to create the suspense and drama. In 1974 when 'From Beyond the Grave' was in production at Shepperton Studios . . producer Milton Subotsky's favorite haunt fr production of the Amicus films . . the UK film industry was on its knees. However, not for this film. The production values are quite different from say, 'Tales from the Crypt' or 'Vault of Horror'. I have no idea where then lolly came from, but NOW you can see, it's ALL up on the screen...as THEY intended 😀 This is the best the film has ever looked, and probably ever will look. It's ANOTHER outstanding job from the Warner Archive!
THE AUDIO QUALITY:
BACK IN 1974, mono audio on films like 'Beyond the Grave' was still all the rave! Hard to believe now. It's just as difficult to believe that the audio on this film truly is from a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio (Mono) track root! The film sounds unlike many you may be used to from this era. It's quite a feat to mix such a track and get what accompanies the beautiful visuals, so both compliment each other so well. But, Warner has indeed done that. Douglas Gamley's music score, for the first time in my personal experience, has impact . . you can feel it! All shock sound effects and atmosphere enhancing sounds and notes, are just as you want them to be. HEARD, IN SYNC, MIXED and don't crackle or buzz! A supernatural event in itself, for a film of this age! The dialogue is very clear and crisp. Put your headphones on, you won't miss a trick. It's mono, but not as we know it, for sure!
SO TO SUM UP. Warner has done an excellent job. One can only hope they have MORE Hammer, Amicus, Peter Cushing Christopher Lee titles in their locker. If they do, we are onto a winner. Good value for money, EXCELLENT results that would make the very dedicated and talent folk who produced these films, very proud indeed!
YOU CAN PLACE YOUR ORDER for Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu Ray release of Amicus films, 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' : CLICK AND ORDER HERE!
The GIFS and images used in this feature do not contain footage from the Warner Brothers archive release . .
TEMPTED? IT'S COMING HERE SOON!
