City of the Dead

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

City of the Dead

#1 Post by Ribs » Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:58 am

Image

IN WHITEWOOD, TIME STANDS STILL…

Christopher Lee was already a horror icon when he started filming The City of the Dead in 1959. Having played Frankenstein’s Monster, Count Dracula and The Mummy for Hammer, this new picture would allow him to extend his range to the American Gothic – and witchcraft in a small New England village…

Lee plays Professor Driscoll, an authority on the occult who persuades one of his students (Venetia Stevenson) to research his hometown, Whitewood, once the site of witch burnings in the 17th century. Booking herself into the Raven’s Inn, she soon learns that devil worship among the locals hasn’t been consigned to the past.
Produced by future Amicus founders Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, and beautifully shot by Desmond Dickinson (whose credits ranged from Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet to Horrors of the Black Museum), The City of the Dead is a wonderfully atmospheric and still shocking slice of horror that stands firmly alongside with its Hammer contemporaries.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

New 4K digital restoration by the Cohen Film Collection and the BFI
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of two versions of the film: The City of the Dead and the alternative US cut, Horror Hotel
Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by film critic Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 and Christopher Lee: An Authorised Screen History, recorded exclusively for this release
Trailer
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vic Pratt

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Dr Amicus
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
Location: Guernsey

Re: City of the Dead

#2 Post by Dr Amicus » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:21 pm

Fantastic news - this a great film, not Amicus per se but I still made sure I covered it at depth in my thesis. Rosenberg came up with the tagline (mainly for the US / Horror Hotel) release - "Ring for Doom Service", and was apparently justifiably proud of it!

I remember the first time I saw it, it had been a late night screening on TV and I'd taped it. I was up at about 5.30 to watch it before going to school - and was raving about it all day.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: City of the Dead

#3 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:26 pm

Dr Amicus wrote: "Ring for Doom Service"
Awesome

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Banasa
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:35 am

Re: City of the Dead

#4 Post by Banasa » Mon Feb 13, 2017 11:12 am

Quietly, Arrow has added the extra features for this release. I've bolded the new features.

• New 4K digital restoration by the Cohen Film Collection and the BFI
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of two versions of the film: The City of the Dead and the alternative US cut, Horror Hotel
• Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by film critic Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 and Christopher Lee: An Authorised Screen History, recorded exclusively for this release
Audio commentary by director John Llewellyn Moxey
Audio commentary by actor Christopher Lee
Archive interview with John Llewellyn Moxey
Archive interview with Christopher Lee, conducted by critic Brad Stevens
Archive interview with actor Venetia Stevenson
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vic Pratt

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: City of the Dead

#5 Post by tenia » Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:51 pm

Looks like the technical details changed :

Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original negative
New 2K digital restoration by the Cohen Film Collection and the BFI

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reaky
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:53 am
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: City of the Dead

#6 Post by reaky » Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:37 am

I had notification of dispatch on 11/4, but nothing's arrived. Has anyone received this?

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Banasa
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:35 am

Re: City of the Dead

#7 Post by Banasa » Tue Apr 25, 2017 10:49 am

DVDBeaver

A step up from the VCI in terms of a transfer but it is much brighter than any previous home video version. :-k

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: City of the Dead

#8 Post by M Sanderson » Mon Jun 05, 2017 5:12 am

Generally very well reviewed title though on The Digital Fix and Blu Ray dot com

Will look forward to finding out myself.

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jsteffe
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: City of the Dead

#9 Post by jsteffe » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:54 am

Banasa wrote:DVDBeaver

A step up from the VCI in terms of a transfer but it is much brighter than any previous home video version. :-k
To me the VCI Blu-ray looks fairly flat, with too much emphasis on the midtones. This new restoration has lots of healthy contrast, with a full range of tonality. I think it looks more convincing on the whole (based on the Beaver frame grabs).

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Ovader
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:56 am
Location: Canada

Re: City of the Dead

#10 Post by Ovader » Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:12 am

Just finished watching this film (from another source) on of all dates as February 1st which creeped me out since unbeknownst to me this date is a plot device. I'm never great at expressing my admiration for films but this really is an impressive film with all the dread, mystery, atmosphere, cinematography and
SpoilerShow
the fate of what I considered the lead character similar to other 1960 characters as in Psycho and L'avventura's Anna.
Definitely worth more viewings once I find an Arrow edition with a booklet. Loved the jazz soundtrack.

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jazzo
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:02 am

Re: City of the Dead

#11 Post by jazzo » Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:02 am

Every month, I keep waiting for the damned Cohen version of this BR to be announced.

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