Scream and Scream Again | The HD Blu-ray comparisons of this prime slice of Surrey-ealism

So, UK fans have finally been treated with the UK Blu-ray debut of Scream and Scream Again, featuring both the US and UK versions, courtesy of the newly-formed Radiance Films (September 2023).

The film had its first Blu-ray release by Twilight Time in October 2015 (region-free), featuring just the US cut. Both cuts were later included on the Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber in April 2019 (region A) in the US (and the UK, but also Region A) and by Wicked Vision in Germany in April 2021 (region free), where it made its European premiere.

So, is the Radiance Films Blu-ray HD release of the cult 1970s Frankenscience-thriller worth a region-free ‘triple-distilled dip’? Below is how it stacks up against the previous releases.

But in a nutshell… Given that the same Kino print is used in all of the releases (with some extra restoration work carried out on the digital file for the Radiance release), it’s really down to the extras. For me, the Wicked Vision release comes up trumps against the US releases, and even if you can’t read German, it includes a fabulous 24-page booklet.

But I’m really happy to include the new Radiance Films UK release to my Vincent Price collection, if only for the inclusion of the interviews, both new and archive (the Julian Holloway and Clifford Earl ones are the most interesting), Ramsey Campbell’s contribution, and Anne Bilson’s essay (I so chuckled at her calling the film ‘a prime example of Surrey-ealism’). Plus, Jonathan Rigby is always a pleasure to listen to (and comes up with some real trivia gems about some of the film’s major and minor players while also comparing the film with the source novel) – while Kevin Lyons makes a suitable sidekick (offering up some local info on the filming location.

However, as to me gleaning any new info myself from those interviews and commentary… well, a couple of things have been added to my 20 Things You Must Know About… however, the location of the Crossways house used at the end of the film remains a mystery to us all.

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET…

  • High-definition digital transfer of both the US and UK cuts. The British cut was supplied by Kino and is the same one used on the Wicked Vision release.
  • UNIQUE Audio commentary with Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons. Twilight features a commentary by David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, KIno has Tim Lucas, and Wicked Vision has David Del Valle and writer/producer Phoef Sutton.
  • UNIQUE Interviews with…
    – Actor Christopher Matthews (October 2020, 7 min)
    – Actor Julian Holloway (May 2023, 8min)
    – Editor Peter Elliott (July 2019) and Props-person Arthur Wicks (January 2023, 4 min)
  • Archive Interviews with…
    – Actor Clifford Earl (2015, 18 min): UNIQUE: This was filmed by Derek Pykett, but I don’t think it has been included in any previous DVD releases.
    Uta Screams Again: actress Uta Levka (2000, 8.43) Available on both the Twilight and Wicked Vision releases)
  • UNIQUE Ramsey Campbell on Christopher Wicking and ‘Peter Saxon’ (2023, 11min)
  • Gentleman Gothic: Gordon Hessler at American International Pictures (2015, 23min) Ported over from Twilight release and also included on the Wicked Vision release.
  • Super 8 Version The Radiance release is a re-creation of the German version, with Scream and Scream Again title in English. The Twilight release has the title: The Living Corpses of Dr. Mabuse, while the Wicked Vision release is: Die lebenden Leichen des Dr. Mabuse.
  • Deleted scenes (included in the UK version)
    – Slyvia and Keith are Watched
    – Bellaver throws rocks
    – Extended Discussion and End as Vincent says: ‘But the dream?’. And Lee replies: ‘ There is only time for nightmare’, before ending with a shot of the empty operating theatre.
    These are also available on the Wicked Vision release.
  • Mick Garris: Trailers from Hell (2013, 2.33min) Also on Kino and Wicked Vision releases.
  • Trailer A blue-tinted German dubbed version is on the Wicked Vision release, while the Twilight Time and Radiance Films releases have the US trailer with the classic Cushing credit error.
  • UNIQUE Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
  • UNIQUE Limited edition booklet featuring two essays, An Exquisite Corpse of Incongruous Surrey-ealism by Anne Bilson (2023) and A Termite in a Crazy Circus: Chris Wicking (1998/2023) by Julian Petley, cast and crew info and transfer notes
  • UNIQUE Three postcards
  • UNIQUE Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip 
  • NOT INCLUDED: Radio Spot US language version available on Twilight and Kino releases, and a German version available on Wicked Vision.
  • NOT INCLUDED: Isolated score track Included on the Twilight release.

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The Mad Magician on Blu-ray

Produced on the back of the expected success of 1953’s House of Wax, The Mad Magician returned Vincent Price to the world of three-dimensional horror for a third time (Dangerous Mission was released in March 1954, with The Mad Magician following in May).

Here he plays Don Gallico, a creator of illusions for stage magicians, including the Great Rinaldi (John Emery). But his opening night is thwarted by his boss, Ormond (Donald Randolph), who has already stolen Gallico’s wife (Eva Gabor) and now wants his latest invention – the buzz saw. In a moment of madness, Gallico decapitates his employer.

To cover up the crime and the ones that follow, Gallico dons a series of elaborate disguises, but he hasn’t counted on his assistant Karen (Mary Murphy), her detective boyfriend Alan (Patrick O’Neal) and mystery writer Alice (Lenita Lane) from getting in his way…

Originally released on Blu-ray in the US by Twilight, The Mad Magician gets its UK premiere Blu-ray from Indicator with a Limited Edition (3,000) release featuring the following special features…

• 2K restoration
• 3D and 2D presentations
• Original mono audio
• New audio commentary with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons
Three-Dimensional Magic (2020): and appreciation of The Mad Magician and the 3D filmmaking boom of the 1950s by cinematographer Frank Passingham and archivist Tom Vincent, presented in 3D and 2D
• Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation in anaglyphic 3D
Pardon My Backfire (1953), Three Stooges short presented in 3D and 2D
Spooks! (1953), Three Stooges short presented in 3D and 2D
• Image gallery
• Original theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitles
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Kat Ellinger on Merv Taylor, a look at the career of producer Bryan Foy, an archival interview with director John Brahm by David Del Valle, the promotional campaign of The Mad Magician, contemporary critical responses, Jeff Billington on the Three Stooges’ 3D shorts, and film credits

READ MORE ABOUT THE FILM HERE

Check out the trailer and a gallery of shots from the Indicator Blu-ray

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Tower of London (1962) | Roger Corman’s gothic horror take on Shakespeare’s Richard III gets a UK blu-ray release

‘You’ll need someone to hang onto when you come face to face with the blood-chilling terrors in the tower!’

In this tale of murder, ghosts and guilt directed by Roger Corman for Admiral Pictures, 1960s cinemagoers were dared to spend 83-minutes (actually 79-minutes) in the Tower of London – a monument to the corruption of the soul – according to the film’s narrator (Paul Frees).

It is the year 1483 and the body count begins following the death of Edward IV as Vincent Price’s Richard murders his way to the throne of England, killing his brother Clarence, his political rivals, his nephews and even his beloved wife Anne.

Tortured by guilt, the ghosts of his victims return to haunt the newly crowned monarch, and ultimately lead him to his death on a muddy field at the Battle of Boswell from the sharp end of a double-edged battle-axe.

Tower of London (1962)
Vincent Price as Richard III in Tower of London. Click on the photo to see our fab gallery of original lobby cards and UK pressbook

Produced by Roger Corman’s brother, Gene, Tower of London was an attempt by Admiral Pictures to cash in on the success of American International Pictures successful Poe pictures, but was ultimately let down by its cut-price production values. But the one thing it has got going for it is Vincent Price.

Being the go-to guy for gothic horror in the early 1960s, only Vincent could take on this twisted sibling to the macabre Poe-universe, which made him the King of Horror following his genuinely menacing turns in The Fall of the House of Usher and Pit and the Pendulum, and his multiple roles in Tales of Terror.

Plagued by Hamlet’s ghosts and cursed to die like Macbeth, Vincent Price’s take on Richard III – based on ‘a screenplay by Leo Gordon from stories by Poe and Shakespeare’(*) – is like no other – and nor should it be. It’s a virtuoso one-man show in which he goes from quietly ominous to all out ham hysterics – the kind of which would enshrine Vincent’s unique style forever more.

While its not his best work – Price himself admitted he could have done more with the character– his trademark arched eyebrows, wild-eyes and lip curling leers are certainly worth the price of admission, while the occasional flashes of subtlety serve to remind us that Vincent was also capable of truly great performances when reigned in. This would be most evident in 1968’s Witchfinder General, but also in Roger Corman’s HP Lovecraft horror The Haunted Palace.

Tower of London (1962)Vincent’s Richard is not purely evil, unlike his satanic Prince Prospero in Masque of the Red Death. Instead, he presents Richard as a man whose guilty conscience drives him to madness. Before the histrionics begin, Vincent does inspire genuine sympathy for his character in a couple of genuinely poignant scenes: one in which the ghosts of the little princes try to lure him into committing suicide, and when Richard’s mother, the Queen, shows her hatred for her son’s physical deformities (a hump and a limp hand).

Of course, when Vincent turns on the ham, you can’t help but be reminded of his horror film opus, Theatre of Blood, in which he played the vengeful Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart. Venting in the same ‘voice beautiful’ that Lionheart was accused of by his critics in the black comedy horror, Vincent becomes Lionheart personified. It’s quite a hoot.

For more frightfully fun facts about Tower of London, click here…

Tower of London (1962)Arrow’s High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of Tower of London has been transferred from original film elements by MGM, and includes the original 1.0 mono audio (uncompressed on the Blu-ray) and optional English subtitles. This is a super transfer and a must-have in your Vincent Price library, although the cover art really isn’t to my taste. There’s also a collector’s booklet with an article by John Upton (but this was not included with my screener).

Included in the disc are two archive interviews with Roger and Gene Corman, who spill the beans on the problems behind making the picture, as well as a splendid slideshow featuring behind-the-scenes photos (that I have never seen before) from the collection of Brett Cameron, which plays alongside Michael Anderson’s rousing theme tune.

The other bonus is an audio commentary from Hollywood historian David Del Valle in which he describes Vincent’s Richard as ‘a Todd Slaughter performance’, which he ‘dials up to 12’ in the ‘Plantagenet fun house’ haunting scene, and gives a ‘150-watt leer’ in the battle scene. It’s all great fun to listen to. Del Valle also sets the record straight about Vincent’s acting prowess: that for all the camp barnstorming, he was indeed an actor of wide range, which culminated in his one-man show Diversions & Delights. Nice one, David.

The film’s supporting actors also get the Del Valle once over, including Richard Hale, who appeared in The Incredible Docktor Markesan episode of TV’s Thriller and the chap playing the Duke of Clarence (Charles Macaulay), was Dracula in Blacula.

Tara Gordon, the daughter of the film’s screenwriter Leo Gordon, also features in the commentary. Her father’s amazingly varied career could have made a feature-length commentary by itself, and though I would have like to know more, we do get to hear from her about her dad’s association with Roger Corman and his co-writer Amos Powell, who shot himself, while her story about her dad’s fart machine is hilarious.

(*) Roger Corman interview (Arrow Blu-ray, bonus feature)

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