Mark of the Devil (1970) (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray REVIEW)
Director: Michael Armstrong
Starring: Herbert Lom, Udo Kier, Olivera Katarina
RATED: UR/REGION 0/1:85/2160p/NUMBER OF DISCS 3
AVAILABLE FROM Vinegar Syndrome
In the midst of the European witch trials, a small Austrian town is subject to the sadistic whims of self-appointed witchfinder Albino, who inflicts torture and agonizing death on those he accuses of conspiracy with the Devil. But when the zealous Lord Cumberland arrives, along with his executioner and aristocratic young attendant Christian, to take over the responsibility of local witch-hunting, the town is plunged into even greater depths of terror and depravity as he metes out ever more brutal tortures on the populace, all in the name of God. As Lord Cumberland’s maniacal practices reach a fever pitch, and Christian’s would-be love interest, Vanessa, ends up as his latest target, Christian is thrown into a crisis of faith, as the perilous edge of violence draws ever closer.
Everyone loves a good witch hunt every now and again. And this movie here at least gives us a few very interesting characters while goes through the motions of pure madness. It also tosses in some oddly calm music that I think may be the same music (or close to it) as was used for the intro to Hobo With a Shotgun. It’s an odd picture overall. It looks more classy than the norm, but still comes off as an exploitation film. We have nudity mixed in with some violence. While some of the violence is pretty cool (burning people alive and tongues being ripped out), I don’t think you’ll need the barf bag that a lot adds about this movie would suggestion that you will need. Still, it’s not too shabby for it’s time. I will at least give credit to the film for it’s overall presentation and that is only made better by this 4K release.
The film builds a few layers to it’s overall story. It does drag however in a few spots in the middle. That dragging is enough to bring the film down just a bit, but not too much to cause any sort of alarm. The witch hunting (as corrupt as it is) turns into a bit of a cat and mouse game before the film wraps up. And when it does wrap up, if you’ve managed to invest into some characters it might bug you a bit. The thing is, there’s not a lot here to make you care about the characters. Is it well made? Yes, it is. Does it have some nice violence? It sure does. But the thing is, as pretty as the cast might be (for the most part), you still can’t get emotionally attached to it. It’s still not bad for what it is. I was a big fan of the Arrow release of this but I have to even admit that Vinegar Syndrome went above and beyond and tops that release.
Extras
- THREE-DISC SET (ONE 4K BLU-RAY DISC/TWO BLU-RAY DISCS)
- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Audio Commentary track with director Michael Armstrong, moderated by Calum Waddell
- “Performing God’s Work” – a new interview with director Michael Armstrong
- “The Devil’s Apprentice” – a new interview with actor Udo Kier
- “Words of the Devil” – a brief guide to the screenplays of Michael Armstrong with lecturer and film historian Dr. Adrian Smith
- “A Hell of a Place” – the locations of MARK OF THE DEVIL
- “Mark of the Times” – a documentary from 2014 on the new wave of British horror filmmakers which emerged in the ’60s and ’70s
- “Hallmark of the Devil” – author and filmmaker Michael Gingold on Hallmark Releasing, the controversial distributor behind MARK OF THE DEVIL’s original U.S. release
- 2013 Q&A with director Michael Armstrong
- Archival interview with actor Herbert Fux
- Archival interview with actress Gaby Fuchs
- Archival interview with actress Ingeborg Schöner
- Archival interview with composer Michael Holm
- Archival audio interview with actor Herbert Lom
- Outtakes
- Alternate German language title sequence
- Archival artwork & image gallery
- English trailer
- Reversible cover artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- 4K BLU-RAY: REGION-FREE
- BLU-RAY DISCS: REGION-A “LOCKED”
