Spirits of the Dead [DVD] [1973] [US Import]

Spirits of the Dead (as AIP re-titled it) is quite an unusual anthology horror movie from the later 60s, featuring three, almost experimental, adaptations of Poe stories from three well known European directors (Vadim, Malle, Fellini respectively). They're not particularly horrifying but there is an air of mystery about them, and they're particularly artistic explorations of Poe's tales of the weird and supernatural. Vadim's story is sexy (featuring Jane Fonda in an array of rather amazing costumes) but somewhat wayward, disjointed and long; Malle's segment is an intriguing look at a sadistic man with an apparent doppelganger that appears whenever his cruel nature reaches excessive heights; Fellini's final piece is a tale about a man who loses his head to the devil (famously showcasing Terence Stamp's convincingly deranged performance as a lost, cynical drunk).

An important film such as this is embellished with a superb transfer for the Arrow Blu-ray Disc - periodically grainy, often exhibiting fantastic clarity. There are a couple of audio language options for each segment and you may wish to flip between these depending on the tale (the first and third tales I believe work better in English due to the fact that the main characters are portrayed by English speaking actors who dubbed their own voices). The fact that Arrow has provided such an array of options is incredibly thoughtful and as a result this release blows the previous video/DVD/laserdisc editions away. The entire French language version is available as a separate entity (can be chosen from the brilliantly designed main menu) but the picture quality is not up the standard of the main presentation (though still probably better than DVD quality), plus the colours are very different. The AIP commissioned Vincent Price voiceover is available as a short extra too.

The main bonus is a 60 page booklet containing reprints of the three Poe stories that make up the film, plus two essays, one of which is the excellent Tim Lucas study of the film (originally from Video Watchdog in the late 90s). The presentation of this book is very professional and grants a great backdrop with which to understand the film. The Blu-ray Disc is encased in a thin Blu-ray case adorned with poster artwork on every side, and the book plus case are housed in a sturdy cardboard outer case making the whole package supremely attractive. Something I'd give 4.5 stars (though the film does take more effort than your average horror), this is an essential buy for fans of historical horror and foreign cinema and Arrow are to be congratulated - hopefully this, along with their other releases this year, is a sign of things to come.

Arrow should be massively applauded for this release.
"Spirits Of The Dead" has always been a difficult film to see but now, with this release, it can be enjoyed by everyone in high definition.
I will not review the film as previous reviewers have done a fine job on this page by already doing so.
What has changed slightly is the package. The 'second edition' of this disc, which is now being supplied by Amazon is a slightly different one. The disc and it's contents are all the same but the booklet which comes with it is not so large anymore as the Edgar Allan Poe stories have now been omitted.
Still this should not distract too much as the stories are widely available for free if you have a Kindle or other similar device and the film itself is worth the money on it's own.
Just so you know; The original edition with the 60 page booklet has the name "Edgar Allan Poe" in gold writing on the bottom of the sleeve (which is featured on the Amazon page) and the re-issue has the name in silver writing. Not much use if buying from Amazon as you cannot see the package you will be receiving but useful I feel if you happen to be buying it from an actual shop.

-> BLU-RAY review

Three short stories by Edgar Allan Poe: 1. "Metzengerstein"; 2. William Wilson (orig.:"Spirits of the Dead"); 3. Toby Dammit (ENGL. SOUNDTRACK also!!; orig.: "Never Bet the Devil Your Head") + three directors (Vadim, Malle + Fellini): This sums up to another compilation feature so fashionable in the 60s (Rogopag; Boccaccio 70; The Witches, The Sultans etc.; see also BB's autobio for her recollections of the coming together of this project). Federico Fellini's "Toby Dammit" surely is the highlight here.
"Metzengerstein" in my view being the Fonda siblings' (Jane and Peter) only joint on-screen effort ever. Well-made BD edition with fairly good picture quality incl. 60 pages booklet, except for subtitles which are sort of free form and don't follow original spoken dialogue.

Film: 6,5/10
Picture Quality: 8,5/10
Aspect ratio: 1,75:1 (orig.)
Cover data given "Aspect ratio: 1.85:1" incorrect
Run time 24fps: 2 01'25*
Audio:
- Int. (multilingual) F, I, GB
- GB
ST: GB o/-
RC: A,B,C
Chapters: 11
Extras:
- Off-Commentary by Vincent Price
- 60-pages Booklet Engl./French
- Flip-over cover (Engl.+ Japan. / Dutch version)
ASIN: B0038AL7M4
Studio: Arrow/TF1