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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Death Ship arrives on worthwhile disc,
By AJ (Notts, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Death Ship [1980] [DVD] (DVD)
Having picked up a second hand copy of the VHS some years back, I have been eager for the film to be released on DVD, and now it has arrived I am impressed.
Nearly two decades previous to the copycat 'Ghost Ship' (compare the cover art for the two films and you'll spot the similarities straight away!) the film still stands up as an unnerving atmospheric chiller, with weird camera angles, zoom shots of the empty ship and an atmosphere of impending doom throughout. The gore is quite tame when compared to many modern horrors, but inventive and original for the 1980's. The plot is pretty basic.The survivors of a sunken cruise liner board the 'Death Ship' desperate for sanctuary, what they get of course, is another thing altogether, and let's just say not many make it out alive. The dark, dirty waters surrounding the ship, and the empty, long corridors of the vessel give the film an instant 'grubby' feel, you know from the outset something is not quite right, it oozes atmosphere from the start. The DVD itself is exceptional, not the sort of cult film you'd expect to get the full extras treatment, but it does. Deleted scenes, commentary and 45 minute documentary tell you much more than you'll ever need to know about the film, coupled with three theatrical trailers and previews for other titles. Picture quality is a vast improvement on the VHS version. The sleeve boasts a high bit rate for exceptional picture quality, which is perhaps a slight exaggeration. Occasional print damage and grain is evident, but considering this was sourced from the only surviving 35mm film print (as the original negatives are lost) it is perfectly acceptable, and certainly better than most low-budget cult horrors that get released these days on obscure DVD labels. Overall, if you are a fan of the film this is a welcome release after the lack of Video/TV showings over the years, with enough extras to ensure satisfaction.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Death Ship,
By
This review is from: Death Ship [1980] [DVD] (DVD)
I was so thrilled to have finally found this movie! I saw it once long ago in the 80's when there were still drive-in movies in the states. I looked on the U.S Amazon website and got only a spanish version of this movie... This movie is a great cult classic in line with other greats like The Fog and the original Prom Night (Jamie Lee Curtis). I knew that the recent movie Ghost Ship had to have been based on this movie. What a treat!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Diamond in the Dung.,
By
This review is from: Death Ship [1980] [DVD] (DVD)
Like at least one other reviewer here the lurid cover art of Death Ship drew me in as young, impressionable boy standing in the local dodgy video store in the early eighties shortly before many of the horror and exploitation films therein were whipped from our shelves by the fledgling BBFC and consigned to that cinematic void that lurks somewhere between obscurity and cult-fame.
Of course the over-zealous authorities did us a favour really. Ridding the shelves of films that in many cases were utter dross, propelled forward by enticing cover art. However there were some diamonds among the dung, Death Ship being a particularly shiny one, and it truly is a mystery how such a great film remained almost completely unavailable and unknown until it's recent repackaging and rerelease. Despite a few B-movie clangers like the ridiculous day/night differential in the opening scenes Death Ship isn't true horror trash. For a start, it's got a famous-ish cast including George Kennedy, Richard Crenna and not to mention that bloke who went on to play Donnie in Frasier! But the area in which this film really sets itself apart is the set. The Death Ship in reality, I understand, was a decommissioned Canadian freighter of some description (albeit from the sixties rather than the forties) and most of the movie was filmed either on the decks or in the vessel's actual interior. It certainly looks the part with the ship's black, rust streaked exterior and grim, outdated interior brilliantly telling the tale of a Nazi interrogation ship given a life of it's own by the ghosts of it's past. As the eerie first half of the film gives way to the helter skelter second half there are some truly sinister moments with the old woman's disfigurement at the hands of some innocent looking candies ranking as particularly shocking as was Nick Mancuso's wretched demise in the ship's flooded hold. Rather less impactful was the supposedly infamous shower scene in which the gorgeous Victoria Burgoyne takes a bloody shower. The reality is however, overlong and sightly tedious. I guess I could complain a little bit about the lack of answers provided. For example what was with all the frozen sailors and airmen? Were they poor unfortunates the ship had picked up for interrogation during the Second World War? But perhaps I should be grateful that the Death Ship just sailed off into cinematic obscurity rather than ruin it's poise by spelling every single thing out to the audience. In short, this is a cracking horror yarn that deserves to take it's rightful place in the annals of history.
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