|
|
NIGHT
OF THE SORCERERS DVD
DEIMOS
DVD/BCI ECLIPSE
MY OFFICIAL TOTALLY UNBIASED REVIEW
September 5, 2007
It
has taken me a little while to find the time to sit down and collect my
thoughts in order to write a proper review of this disc. In the
time between its official release and the date of this review, there has
been much made about the release's "cut/uncut" status (as documented in
the DVD section of this site)...Beyond the fact that this DVD release
does differ from other previously released versions available, it has
also been noted pretty much across the board that this transfer is
simply amazing, and for a relatively obscure 70's horror film the
picture literally sparkles---having viewed the film, I happily agree.
Within this review I will provide screenshot comparisons of the new DVD
transfer and previously available versions (DEIMOS
version appears on the left in each instance where a comparison is
provided),
review the special features, and also sum up my own feelings regarding
the whole cut/uncut debacle...Read on, if you will.
THE FILM
Night of the Sorcerers is pure 70's late-night trash. I have
always considered this film to be like a visual pulp adventure comic
strip, and if you are willing to overlook some of the obvious flaws
and forgive it's retro-racist overtones (I use the term "retro-racist"
because it's only in viewing the film through today's PC filters that
certain scenes take on racist connotations--furthermore, a deeper
analysis of the film reveals quite an opposite intent) you'll
find a lot to like about this film. It is an absurd, lurid,
giddy, fantasy that has, for those willing to suspend their disbelief,
an enormous amount of entertainment value. (For more thorough
"plot" details, please see the "About the Film"
section)
THE VISUALS
As I mentioned, watching this film is like watching a pulpy adventure
comic strip come to life...In the previous home video versions, it may
have been hard to come away with that impression due to the general
washed out colors and murky transfers. Even the best of the
previous releases, while light years better than most, left a lot to
be desired in many of the darker scenes, making it hard to follow or
even see what was happening. Not so with this release. The
colors are vibrant, almost popping off the screen in some scenes,
contrast is superb. Some scenes are still a little grainy, and
there are some occurrences of artifacting in some of the night shots,
but all of that is minimal. BCI has claimed to have created a
high definition transfer using an original negative, and it really
does show.
One issue that is discussed in the liner notes is that of the use of
"Day-for-Night" filming. this was a technique used by director
Amando De Ossorio in most of his films, and although this transfer
manages to make these scenes look shockingly better than in previous
video versions, they have chosen not to apply any sort of digital
filtering to alter the look of these scenes, as they felt that would
be tampering with the original director's version. In my
opinion, the manner in which these day/night scenes are shot merely
adds to the fantasy aspect of the movie, and it is notable that the
jungle scenes are their deepest and darkest only when the action takes
places in and around the clearing.
THE AUDIO
BCI has done an excellent job of remastering the original mono
soundtracks--both the original Castilian language track and the
original English dubbed track created for American release. Both
tracks are now presented in Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. The music on
the soundtrack is crystal clear, allowing you to hear instruments that
were not possible to pick up before, speech is clear, and background
sounds are also nicely blended without sounding muddy. The only
issue of note is that BCI apparently had a synching issue with the
English dubbed track, causing it to be slightly off. Given that
it is a dubbed audio track to begin with, it's not TOO much of an
annoyance or distraction, and it seems to get a little better
about 1/3 of the way through, but the issue is worth mentioning just
the same.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Considering how obscure this film is, it was not surprising to find a
lesser amount of special features on this disc. What there is
however, is pretty golden, and all of it is accessible through a well
done animated menu that opens like a book...Like the fine literary
work that Night of the Sorcerers must have been based on....
 |
 |
For starters, BCI has created a wonderful booklet containing
informative and entertaining liner notes written by Mirek Lipinski,
author and creator of several notable web sites dealing with Spanish
cinema, including Latarnia Web.
Mr. Lipinski definitely knows his material, and he has contributed to
each of the Spanish horror releases in this series thus far.
Interspersed with his text are some great stills from the film, and a
few images of promotional material (some of which were contributed by
yours truly!!)
Next, there is the original theatrical trailer for the film, along
with a "coming soon to this theater" tag at the end that brings back
some pretty nostalgic memories. The trailer is presented in both
languages, so one only needs to select the language option to view
whichever you prefer. The trailer, like the film itself,
looks petty crystal clear, and appears to have been remastered as
well.
BCI has included a still gallery, which showcases a few of the foreign
promotional posters used for the initial release, the original
theatrical poster art by Jano, a couple of the video covers, a few
more lobby cards and images taken from the foreign sales brochure.
Although it is somewhat limited, the images are bright and clear, and
offer a pretty decent representation of materials that were used.
(AND, if I might add, I tried to find more materials while this disc
was being worked on in hopes I could provide more, but it was simply
not to be)
Lastly, there is a section containing alternate scenes and an
alternate credit sequence. Here is where you may find "clothed
versions" of the more racy scenes found in the film, which were
swapped in depending on the censorship rules of whatever country the
film was being shown in at the time, as well as some "solarized" shots
that were used in the ritual scenes in some versions. The
solarized shots were included in the VHS version I saw initially way
back when, and I must say I was a little startled to find them gone
when I watched this new DVD...I miss them a little, but to me the
scenes work better without them. Leading up to the next
subject...
CUT/UNCUT (UGH...)
As already mentioned in the "About the Film"
section, Night of the Sorcerers has had a rough and bumpy road
regarding its distribution and availability. Released to
theaters in several foreign countries and making its north American
debut on television via the AVCO/Embassy "Nightmare Theatre" program,
the film later had an extended life via home video, but the various
versions all seemed to differ slightly in length, as well as content.
The best explanation for that seems to be that in the time of its
initial release it was subject to the various censorship policies in
the various countries it was distributed to, and as a result, some
scenes were cut, some scenes were replaced with different footage, and
in some cases, even the credits were changed.
Although this particular presentation, stellar as it is, IS shorter
than the Japanese VHS version previously available by approximately
28-30
seconds, the extra footage was more than likely inserted after the
initial cut was completed, therefore BCI's claim that this DVD version
is "Complete and Uncut" is probably 100% correct---this version IS
more than likely the complete and uncut version as it existed
originally. Additional sequences such as the "solarization
effects" occurring during the ritual scenes found on many of the home
video versions were also probably inserted later, either to mask
on-screen nudity or to add a more "psychedelic" feel to the film.
Again, all of these sequences are included in the special features
section, so unless one is used to seeing this film with those scenes
in it, all of this is somewhat of a non-issue--although it does make
for a very interesting "non-issue" that is worth exploring outside of
the confines of this review.
To read what other fans of NOTS have to say on the subject, I invite
you to check out the links to the Latarnia forum discussions, provided
in the DVD section of my site.
SUMMARY
Overall, I am simply amazed that this film has finally received a
quality home video presentation such as this. It is obvious that
the folks at DEIMOS DVD (BCI ECLIPSE) care about the Spanish Horror
Series, as they have taken great pains to present the best product
possible. I look forward to the rest of the titles they have
planned, and hope that they will continue this line well into the
future.
RATING
Image Quality: 9 Sound
Quality: 8 Special Features: 8
Menu/Package Design: 10
BACK TO REVIEWS |
Night of the Sorcerers
Special Features:
*Complete Uncut Version
*Original Castilian Audio Track
*English Dubbed Audio Track
*Original Theatrical Trailer (in both languages)
*Alternate credit Sequences and scenes Filmed for foreign markets
*Still
Gallery including promo artwork
*Liner
notes by author Mirek Lipinski (webmaster of
www.latarnia.com)
*Anamorphic 1:66 Widescreen presentation with digitally remastered mono soundtrack
*Brand
new high definition transfer from the original negative |
