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The films are in their original 1.85:1 widescreen ratios and in 1080p high defintion and, on the odd occasion, there’s a slight flicker to the print plus some flecks here and there, but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a film of this age and, quite frankly, those are part of the charm, given their 40+ years vintage, especially when most of the time there’s a fantastic defintion and clarity that, on the face of it, doesn’t feel like that old a print for either of them.
For the record, I’m watching on a Panasonic 50″ Plasma TV with a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
Sound-wise, the films were made in mono but what they lack in split-surround effects, they more than makes up with in atmosphere.
Oddly, in the second film towards the end, the effect of Phibes’ voice is occasionally muted somewhat, but this can’t be due to mastering here. It can only be due to the way the audio was originally laid down for the film. It sounds like Vincent Price talking normally, rather than through his vocoder set-up.
The extras across the two discs are as follows, most of which are in HD:
- Dr Phibes and the Gentlemen (13:14): The League of Gentlemen, aka Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith talk about various aspects of Price’s films where lots of people die including all the deaths featured in the Phibes films as well as Theatre of Death.
- Daughter of Phibes: Victoria Price on her father’s career (13:11): Following on from her piece on the Theatre of Blood Special Edition Blu-ray, Victoria Price talks about her father’s career and how he thought it was more effective to see horror in films if it was implied rather than splattered across the screen.
- The Doctor Will See You Now (8:36): Film historian and horror movie commentator David Del Valle gives his thoughts on Vincent Price, including how you should appreciate such talented and generous people while they’re here because you won’t be able to do so when they’re gone.
- Original trailers (2:38 and 2:10): Both in 1.85:1 and showing most of the deaths within them both. If you haven’t seen them first, then watch the films before you see the trailers.
- Booklet: Also included in the package is a 100-page booklet featuring many stills from the film, plus a number of pieces about various aspects a la Phibes, including one that ventures other theories about potential Phibes sequels, plus contributions from Tim Burton and Caroline Munro.
- Audio commentaries: Two on the first film, individually, one from director Robert Fuest, and the other from co-writer William Goldstein; and on the second film from Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog magazine.
As you put the discs in, the menus burst into life with clips from the films and a piece of the music within. There are subtitles in English, but when it comes to the chaptering, I feel one should come every five minutes on average. Arrow, like many other distributors, go for a low 12 however long the film. I would like them to increase that number.
|
ABOMINABLE RISES AGAIN PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
10 8 8 7 6 |
| OVERALL | 8 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 94 / 89 minutes
Year: 1971 / 1972
Distributor: Arrow Films
Released: June 9th 2014
Chapters: 12 each
Cat.no: FCD918
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: 1.0 Dual mono
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: 2*BD50
Director: Robert Fuest
Producers: Ronald Dunas and Louis M. Heyward / Louis M. Heyward
Screenplay: James Whiton and William Goldstein / Robert Fuest and Robert Blees
Music: Basil Kirchin / John Gale
Cast for both films:
Dr Anton Phibes: Vincent Price
Inspector Trout: Peter Jeffrey
Superintendent Waverley: John Cater
Victoria: Caroline Munro (uncredited)
The Abominable Dr Phibes cast:
Dr. Vesalius: Joseph Cotten
Rabbi: Hugh Griffith
Dr. Longstreet: Terry-Thomas
Vulnavia: Virginia North
Crow: Derek Godfrey
Sgt. Tom Schenley: Norman Jones
Goldsmith: Aubrey Woods
Darrow: John Laurie
Dr. Whitcombe: Maurice Kaufmann
Mrs. Frawley: Barbara Keogh
Lem Vesalius: Sean Bury
Nurse Allen: Susan Travers
Dr. Hedgepath: David Hutcheson
Dr. Dunwoody: Edward Burnham
Dr. Hargreaves: Alex Scott
Dr. Kitaj: Peter Gilmore
Dr Phibes Rises Again cast:
Darius Biederbeck: Robert Quarry
Vulnavia: Valli Kemp
Diana Trowbridge: Fiona Lewis
Harry Ambrose: Hugh Griffith
Captain: Peter Cushing
Miss Ambrose: Beryl Reid
Lombardo: Terry-Thomas
Hackett: Gerald Sim
Baker: Lewis Fiander
Shavers: John Thaw
Stewart: Keith Buckley
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.