THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA : WARNER BROTHERS BLU RAY : REVIEWED SCREEN CAPTURED GIFS AND GALLERY

SPOILERS ALERT! IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, MOST YOU WHO HAVE come here to read this review will know that 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' was the last film in the Hammer Dracula series, to star Christopher Lee as The Count, and also the final time that Peter Cushing would star as Lee's Van Helsing. . .  but I'll say it anyway, because that detail helped to shift and style the film, a film that at first, looks NOTHING like a Hammer Dracula movie!

SUCH WAS THE DISTRIBUTORS unease at what they took to be a miss matched plot, featuring a James Bond type villain vampire, and not knowing how on earth to market it, 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' sat for five years gathering dust in the Warner Vault after production wrapped in 1973, until SIX years later when ex Amicus Films partner, Max Rosenberg picked it up with his bargain basement company, Dynamite Films to then, crop, chop and re-edit the film and before kicking it out in the US, to see if it had any more takers, than the UK limited release had failed to attract . . .

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, MOST YOU WHO HAVE come here to read this review will know that 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' was the last film in the Hammer Dracula series, to star Christopher Lee as The Count, and also the final time that Peter Cushing would star as Lee's Van Helsing. . .  but I'll say it anyway, because that detail helped to shift and style the film, a film that at first, looks NOTHING like a Hammer Dracula movie! Such was the distributors unease at what they took to be a miss matched plot, featuring a James Bond type villain vampire, and not knowing how on earth to market it, 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' sat for five years gathering dust in the Warner Vault after production wrapped in 1973, until SIX years later when ex Amicus Films partner, Max Rosenberg picked it up with his bargain basement company, Dynamite Films to then, crop, chop and re-edit the film and before kicking it out in the US, to see if it had any more takers, than the UK limited release had failed to attract . . .

ROSENBERG'S also recrafted the title, 'COUNT DRACULA AND HIS VAMPIRE', offers all you need to know about, why Amicus films always had such naff titles when they hit UK cinemas. It's true, SATANIC RITES, is nowhere in the same realm as Cushing and Lee's first Hammer DRACULA outing in 1958. But back in the days of 1958, Hammer were not only treading on new ground, they were also actually creating some very new earth, ALONG with those steps! Back then, critics blew their gaskets and censors were forever poised with their red pens!  What The Satanic Rites of Dracula gives us is, had it been succesful, a NEW direction and and style, just like back in 1958! 😉

'SATANIC' THOUGH IT HAD STEAM, arrived late at the platform, and after Lee had played the Count in FIVE other Hammer visits to Castle Dracula, wearing out the terrified villagers and squeezing the last drop of any originalty from his many buxom wench-like drought stricken vampires victims. The 'SATANIC' concept was new, refreshing and quite savvy. But it would take decades, before an audience would finally see the point, of more than Dracula's fangs. The truth is the 'Hammer Dracula Truck' had long run out of fuel and backers, the Gothic scene was thought of, as past it and well worn, long beyond the point of predictable. Hammer films were looking for a new direction, a post- Gothic box, in which to repackage and wrap Lee's Dracula. A Dracula which was still bankable and box office, if only they could get Lee to agree to return and also create a 'new scene'.

IT WAS 'THE SCENE', in the truest post psychedelic sense, that provided the new direction and path. For traditionalists, this caused a problem, in two ways. One, the film that had first stepped into this new setting for the Hammer Dracula return . . . after the hit and miss garish and gory 1970 'SCARS OF DRACULA'. .  was DRACULA AD 1972. Based in London, with a gang of hip and trendy 'youngsters' it was dressed in flared pants, flower power vests, platform shoes and had a soul and funky 'Shaft-like' score. And two, all these rebooted qualities even in 72, were slightly out of date and late, by the time Hammer brought their new and relevant setting to the big screen. It's never a good idea to bring in 'men in suits' and already in their late 50's to create a trend or fashion, their idea of youth / gang langauge and lingo for 'the kids'. Their spin and take, has usually already been long taken away and past it.

AND SO, it was declared, even though the NEXT film, would be in some sense a sequel to DRACULA AD 1972, it would drop most of the fashion statements, and focus the concept not on long hair, hot pants and 'time', but craftily pick up a genre, that had been picking up BIG box office returns and small screen profits and followers for the last few years. The world of Spies, Intrigue, Bankers, Science and the James Bond Villain! The script writer, in my personal opinion got it spot on, not just with SATANIC RITES but DRACULA AD 1972 also. Hammer had run out of DRACULA puff, both 'SCARS' and 'TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA' suffer from Christopher Lee's reluctance to appear in the films, reducing his screen time, affecting the story, side tracking into support casts love stories and 'dirty mac brigade' titillation . ..  more importantly, everything produced after the 1968 DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, failed to provide DRACULA with a worthy and competent advisory. Van Helsing Hammer's box office vampire slayer, was AWOL! It was only when Cushing returned, and the story was given some historical character back bone detail, that Dracula truly engages in, that we are to some respect, back in the frame of anything resembling what we love about that 1958 classic. Danger. Emotion. Conflict and Reason. 

THE SCRIPT WRITER for both films, AD and Satanic was Don Houghton. Don had written episodes of the BBC series DOCTOR WHO, ACE OF WANDS and 38 episodes of drama and doctor stories in tv's 'EMERGENCY WARD 10'. Though not really responsible for the flapping fashion, the 'cool man' dig it lingo, Don's feel for drama and tension is spot on and would serve him well just a few years later, in the very popular tv series, 'The Professionals'. Houghton's mixing of the Hammer Gothic DRACULA, with a wink to black magic and the historical baggage of the Van Helsing family, worked like a treat! For some, that is. As in 1972, there are still some traditionalist Hammer fans, that will not watch AD or Satanic Rites nor except the changes that Broughton brought to these productions. . .   Even though, there are many moments of high drama within the re-connection and appearance of Lee and Cushing, battling on the screen together again, that offer some great scenes and moments. Moments that had not been seen in previous Hammer Dracula movies, for quite sometime.

IF YOU HAVE SEEN any of the grotty, blurred and rip off VHS and DVD's of 'SATANIC RITES' over the past 30 odd years, you'll have an idea of what most of the story is about, even though watching the fuzzy film, was like it was being reflected on a Fun House Mirror! Needless to say, all that pirated, time wasting and expensive lack of visual quality, has now all gone! The TECHNICAL WONDER of the remastered film, has like the story, been pushed into a NEW AGE, and lovingly remastered onto BLU RAY! 😚😉

SO DOES THE WARNER BROTHERS BLU RAY get THE RITES... RIGHT? Firstly, the good news is, you can take all your previous DVD dodgy copies and put them to rest or in the trash. The Warner Brothers scare ANOTHER MAJOR HIT with their remastering. The colours are beautiful and quite vivid. Skin tones and texture are not waxy, but look real and features are sharp. The blacks are BLACK. There is great depth to interior shots and some of Director Alan Gibson's focus pulls, are a treat to watch. 

SEVERAL TIMES I saw things on screen, I had never seen before. The close up's on Cushing's face, are very clear, as with the details on Christopher Lee's facial reactions, they look surprisingly powerful and different, if you have become used to that blurred DVD version. During the DRACULA death scene, new ellements can now be seen and these too look amazingly clear and again contain touches, you would have not seen before. While watching all these new qualities, you'll be pleased to hear... just THAT! The quality of the audio is excellent. I have watched this blu ray, exactly as I watch all my movies, wearing headphones. I don't want to missed anything! Presented as it was, back in 1973, the soundtrack in mono with a musical score, that has never sounded better. I could not hear any distortions, even when the Valerie Van Ost vampire screamed or the motor cycles or thunder rumbled!

WARNER BROTHERS yet again, score maxium points, continuing their very high standard of remastering excellence, first started with their outstanding Hammer Horror Collection Volume One release box set. Any Hammer, Cushing, Lee, Dracula fan or collector, who has suffered years of the dire poorness of previous releases of this film, would be truly missing out on what is now, the best gob-smacking experence of the film, at last available to watch, enhanced and worth every penny or cent! HIGHLY recommended! 

 

 A FULL REVIEW, GALLERY AND SCREEN CAPTURES from WARNER BROTHERS remastered blu ray of DRACULA AD 1972, coming VERY soon . . 

 

COMPETITION! WIN COPIES OF LIMITED EDITION OF HAMMER FILMS 'SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST' REMASTERED BLU RAY : SEVEN COPIES UP FOR GRABS

THE TWILIGHT TIME SPECIAL EDITION RELEASE of the remastered blu ray of Hammer films 1960 'Sword of Sherwood Forest, is a pretty neat package and a great addition to anyone's Hammer or Peter Cushing collection. Twilight has done grand job on the remastering, and Cushing looks every bit the villain of the piece, as the Sheriff of Nottingham, very sharp images and good enough to eat in glorious Eastman colour. It's a great job, on a not so well known Hammer film, that makes you wish the studio, director Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing had produced more adventures, with this same cast. We are VERY please to have SEVEN COPIES... courtesy of TWILIGHT TIME.... as prizes in the PCAS Competition, which is NOW LIVE at the  FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is go along to the CLICK HERE  and go along to the Facebookbook PCASUK Fan Page and FOLLOW the directions on the Competition Banner...simple! There you will find the Competition Question and how to enter. As with all PCASUK Competititons, it's FREE and open to everyone, where ever YOU are! A FULL REVIEW of Twilight Times 'Sword of Sherwood Forest' will appear here on the website, TOMORROW! GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN ORDER YOUR COPY FROM TWILIGHT TIME : HERE!

 

CALLUM MCKELVIE: PHIBES RISES : CUSHING POPS IN : VINCENT DELIVERS ANOTHER CLASSIC! DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN!

Dr Phibes follows it’s titular character as he seeks retribution for the death of his wife by murdering the nine members of the team who he believed failed her on the operating table. Sounds simple? Did I forget to mention that he kills them in ways relating to the seven plagues of Egypt, has an enigmatic mute assistant called Vulnavia whom he waltz’s with to music played by his clockwork band, talks through a gramophone and wears a mask of his own face?

WHEN HELEN CUSHING passed away in 1971, the effect on Peter was profound. Physically and emotionally devastated, he threw himself into his acting, working as consistently as he could, up to his death in 1994. However several films which were slated to star Cushing surrounding Helens death, quickly had to find alternatives. So Andrew Kier, ended up replacing Cushing in Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb and Joseph Cotton took over his role in one of the subjects of today’s piece, 'The Abominable Dr Phibes'. 

PHIBES IS A MASTERPIECE  of camp comedy. With a deliciously morbid sense of humour and a tremendous amount of style, the film turned out to be one of the most unique and inventive British Horrors at the point when the death knell was just beginning to sound. However you’d be forgiven for thinking the Cushing connection was only a curious, ‘what if’. A year later, its sequel and the real focus of this article- Dr Phibes Rises Again, managed to go even further than the first in terms of outrageous black comedy and eccentricity. 

NOT ONLY THAT, but Rises Again, features an incredibly small cameo from Peter Cushing, making up (to some extent) for his having to turn down the role of Dr Versailius in the first film. Re-watching the films again however had me pondering…would Cushing’s presence make that much of a difference? And if so would it have improved the film? or perhaps changed it beyond recognition?

DR PHIBES follows it’s titular character as he seeks retribution for the death of his wife by murdering the nine members of the team who he believed failed her on the operating table. Sounds simple? Did I forget to mention that he kills them in ways relating to the seven plagues of Egypt, has an enigmatic mute assistant called Vulnavia whom he waltz’s with to music played by his clockwork band, talks through a gramophone and wears a mask of his own face? Yes, whilst the plot in itself is somewhat simplistic it is these eccentricities that give both Phibes films their flair. And what of Phibes himself? 

THE FILM WAS DESIGNED as a vehicle for Vincent Price and despite having very little dialogue, his immense presence steals the show and works perfectly with the vision for the film created by director Robert Feust. Arguably, at this stage in his career Price had developed a persona as an exaggerated Gothic gentleman, and by the late 60’s one can’t help but  sense Price having a great deal of fun with this image of the ‘merchant of menace’ and sending himself up. Phibes exploits this and the title character draws on many of the tropes associated with Price, the lavish tastes and exaggerated classiness.

WHAT OF JOSEPH COTTEN and Versualias then? The role Cotten role was  to have been taken by Cushing? Admittedly the role itself isn’t particularly rewarding, he’s the staunch stoic hero to Price’s maniacal villain.  True, a Price-Cushing standoff would doubtless of been a highlight of both men’s careers, but let’s not forget that the two characters only come together for the final ten-minutes or so. Not only that but with Price’s voice hampered somewhat by the silted pronunciation needed for the character, one wonders if it really would have lived up to expectations. On the other hand Joseph Cotten is somewhat thought of simply as a replacement for Cushing and I don’t think that’s fair. Let’s remember the kind of world that Feust is trying to create. The film is set in the 1920’s but draws on the 30’s as well, an art-deco world of parties, music and dinner jackets. A tongue in cheek pastiche of old Hollywood glamour. 

NOW LET'S CONSIDER what Joseph Cotten is known for; Citizen Kane, The Third Man, not to mention his work with the Mercury theatre company. True, a little later than Phibes is set but all titans of old Hollywood. Indeed there’s something incredibly anachronistic about Cotton in the film at all, he seems like a man out of time. Could it be, perhaps that he was chosen for this reason?  That in the same way that Phibes exploits Prices’s persona, that the role of Versualias exploits Cotten’s Hollywood image. Certainly he was chosen as a replacement, but I can’t imagine Feust not jumping a little bit with joy when he realised he was going to have one of the stars of Citizen kane in a sequence that involved an operating table and a lot of acid…

SO CUT TO A YEAR LATER and the inevitable sequel. Often given a bad wrap, I must confess to being something of a fan of this one. The eccentricity of the first film is taken to it’s logical conclusion and Feust opts to go bigger and broader. Purposefully sending up the 1920’s obsession with everything Egyptian following in the wake of Tutankhamun, this film features a heavier dose of the mystical, lacking in the first film. Here Phibes embarks on a quest to find the mythical river of life, which he believes will bring resurrection for his wife and eternal life for them both. Of course along the way he encounters a rival team of archaeologists and sets upon dispatching of them in ways equally as eccentric and theatrical as those featured in the first film.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS lodged against the film, namely why Phibes is going to the trouble of killing these people in these ways when he doesn’t even know them. In the first film there was some level of logic to it, with his motivation being revenge and him therefore wanting them to suffer. In Rises Again however, one can’t help but feel that Feust is spoofing his own work up. Why does Phibes go to all this bother? Well because he can! After all, why does he transport the body of his wife around in what appears to be a carnival attraction? It’s perhaps a case of style over substance, but good god is it stylish.

PRICE HIMSELF also hams it up even further than before, his voice being allowed to flow naturally instead of the stilted style used in the first film. He’s given a great deal more dialogue too, narrating many of his own scenes and getting to state a lot of delightful nonsense about the ancient gods of Egypt and so on and so forth. Not only that but the opportunity for comedy is heightened here, with ‘wonders with the local fish’ and ‘if music be the fruit of love…’ being two favourites of mine.

ROBERT QUARRY appears in the film as Biederbeck, a sort of Man Who Could Cheat Death type figure, also hunting for the river of life. Quarry is something of a personal favourite of mine, with a natural presence and gravitas. Really, it’s nothing short of a crying shame that his career as leading man of horror didn’t take off more. Unfortunately, it’s well known that there was possible tension between he and Vincent Price due to AIP potentially grooming him to step into the ageing Price’s shoes.

WHATEVER THE CASE, this didn’t happen and Quarry got no further than starring in a handful of horror projects in the 1970’s. And Cushing? Well it really is a blink and you’ll miss it performance. A funny and light-hearted moment, it’s not one that allows for much commentary. However since we’re on the topic of possible could-have-beens for Cushing, I have to admit that whilst the idea of him as Versualias in Phibes doesn’t fill me with excitement, there is one role in the Phibes films that does. Now despite my love for Quarry (and really he is fantastic) the idea of Cushing as Biederbeck is one that really does inspire me with the possibilities. 

BIEDERBECK is a far more threatening match and his final confrontation, in which the two characters discuss the merits of eternal life, not for themselves but for love, is a far more intriguing stand-off than anything between Phibes and Versualias. Perhaps some of this dialogue would have been a little much for Cushing, the emotional resonance maybe being a bit strong- however roles in films such as The Ghoul and Tales from the Crypt, show a utilisation of his emotional distress that lead to some of his finest performances. 

WHATEVER THE IMPACT of Cushing may have been, ultimately we will never know. The films as they stand are two of the finest British horror films to emerge during this period and never cease to be endlessly entertaining.

Written by Callum McKelvie
Edited and Images Jamie Somerville
and Marcus Brooks

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