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The Sorcerers [DVD] [1967]

DVD ~ Boris Karloff

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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1 new from �12.90 1 used from �11.99

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	76% buy the item featured on this page: The Sorcerers [DVD] [1967] 4.6 out of 5 stars (5)
	8% buy Twins Of Evil [1971] [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (4) �8.78
	6% buy The Devil Rides Out [DVD] [1968] 4.9 out of 5 stars (22) �3.98
	5% buy Witchfinder General [1968] [DVD] 3.4 out of 5 stars (5) �3.28

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Product details

Actors: Boris Karloff, Elizabeth Ercy, Ian Ogilvy, Victor Henry, Sally Sheridan
Directors: Michael Reeves
Writers: Michael Reeves, John Burke, Tom Baker
Producers: Michael Reeves, Arnold L. Miller, Patrick Curtis, Tony Tenser
Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
Language English
Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Prism Leisure
DVD Release Date: 1 Sep 2003
Run Time: 82 minutes

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00005Y40Z
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 60,474 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The Sorcerers, the second film directed by the lost "wunderkind" of British cinema Michael Reeves, may not have the scope and visceral impact of his masterpiece, Witchfinder General (1968), but there's enough fierce originality here to show what a tragic loss it was when he died from a drugs overdose aged only 24. The film also shows the effective use he made of minimal resources, working here on a derisory budget of less than £50,000--of which £11,000 went to the film's sole "named" star, Boris Karloff.

Karloff plays an elderly scientist living with his devoted wife in shabby poverty in London, dreaming of the brilliant breakthrough in hypnotic technique that will restore him to fame and fortune. Seeking a guinea-pig, he hits on Mike, a disaffected young man-about-town (Ian Ogilvy, who starred in all three of Reeves' films). But the technique has an unlooked-for side effect--not only can he and his wife make Mike do their bidding, they can vicariously experience everything that he feels. At which point, it turns out that the wife has urges and desires that her husband never suspected.

Karloff, then almost at the end of his long career, brings a melancholy dignity to his role; but the revelation is the veteran actress Catherine Lacey as the seemingly sweet old lady, turning terrifyingly avid and venomous as she realises her power. The portrayal of Swinging London, with its mini-skirted dollybirds thronging nightclubs where the strongest stimulant seems to be Coke rather than coke, has an almost touching innocence, but Reeves invests it with a dream-like quality, extending it into scenes of violent death in labyrinthine dark alleys. By this stage, some ten years after it started, the British horror cycle was winding down in lazy self-parody. Reeves had the exceptional talent and vision to revive it, had he only lived.

On the DVD: The Sorcerers DVD has original trailers for both this film and Witchfinder General (both woefully clumsy); filmographies for Reeves, Karloff and Ogilvy; an "image gallery" (a grab-bag of posters, stills and lobby cards); detailed written production notes by horror-movie expert Kim Newman; and an excellent 25-minute documentary on Reeves, "Blood Beast", dating from 1999. The transfer is letterboxed full-width, with acceptable sound. --Philip Kemp

Special Features

English
Region 0

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars uneven but very interest film, 30 Oct 2002

By	Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This was the second film of shooting star director Michael Reeve. Not as stylish or deft as Witchfinder General ( also staring Ian Ogilvy), it has a very interested premise, though hurt by inferior film quality. Karloff, in one of his final performances, gives an excellent portrayal of an ageing scientist that ruined his reputation with his advanced ideas. Now living in poverty with his wife, they are barely getting by.

He picks up Ogilvy, out look for kicks, and brainwashes him so he now is the tool of the two elderly people. Boris is working to achieve a mind-sharing, so older people can enjoy travelling and do all the things they could not. His wife is bitter by their years of poverty, and sees this as a chance to get things she could before and talks Karloff into using Ogilvy to steal a mink stole. What she finds in the mind sharing is more exhilarating. She drinks in the power of being able to do anything she wants. As her control grows, she pushing Ogilvy into killing, just to feel the rush. Only Karloff can stop her.

It is a well acted, interesting premise, worth collecting for Karloff fans, Ogilvy fans or fans of the short works of Michael Reeves.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic 60s Horror, 30 Aug 2006

By	Green Man Music "green-man-music" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Sorcerers [DVD] (DVD)

"The Sorcerers" is the tale of an elderley couple who construct a machine by which they can access the sensations of younger people, and through controlling their victim, relive their youth. They seduce a young man back to their home and through him begin to experiment with an ever-darkening range of activities.

This is top stuff, worthy of an Avengers or Man From UNCLE scenario. The acting is excellent, of a way higher standard than you'll get in a modern horror, with the elderly wife particularly good as she becomes seduced by an almost demonic lust for macabre thrills.

Made in the '60s, the whole backdrop (and its music) is excellent too, with many scenes set in a mod club where the victim (Ian Ogilvy, later "The Saint") hangs out with his friends looking for new experiences and highs.

A thoroughly recommended piece of '60s horror, with a nice tight story, an atmospheric background and good acting.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Film!!!, 3 Jun 2002

By	"sophiecutegirl" - See all my reviews

Whilst features of this DVD are basic the film itself is great. In one of very few color films that Boris Karloff stars in he is a hypnotist who develops a way of experiencing the sensations of his patients. However his wife gets obsessive and gains more and more control of one of the "guinea pigs" in the trial run of the experiment and leads to the downfall of all three involved. This is a must watch film because it has a gripping storyline and a lot going on at the sidelines. A very good performance from Karloff.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Security and Contamination
The Sorcerers was Michael Reeves's second film, but his first for Tony Tenser's Tigon productions. Popularly classed as a horror film, it transcends the barriers of such a... Read more

Published 12 months ago by B. Mccann

4.0 out of 5 stars Karloff + Michael Reeves = One Fascinating Low Budget film..
I first saw this movie at a drive-in back in 1971 along with several other features which I don't recall. Read more

Published on 8 Aug 2006 by Chip Kaufmann

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