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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "The Conqueror Worm" )
directed by Michael Reeves
UK 1968
Not as well-known as Robin Hardy's more eccentric and complex The Wicker Man (which was also packaged and sold by its distributors as a common exploitation flick), this third film by then-24-year-old Michael Reeves (his last film before an untimely death) is nevertheless one of the best examples of the witchcraft subgenre of horror film. Starring Vincent Price as real-life witchhunter Matthew Hopkins (ca. 1619 - 1647), Witchfinder General is an intense and brutally violent film not merely for its time (which resulted in multiple cuts made at the behest of the British Board of Film Censors) but even now, retaining its power to shock much more so than gore films of the same period, as the emotional stakes here are established with beautiful economy. It is possible that Price never gave a better performance than this one, as he completely eschews camp theatrics in favor of a subduedly sinister and menacing depiction of sadistic evil masked behind a cloak of piety. Price plays Hopkins as an unmerciful reptile with a genteel manner and an appetite for torture, creating in Witchfinder General one of cinema's most frightening villains. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: August 14, 1968 - New York, New York
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Tigon had a relatively small output (producing films from 1967-73) with modest budgets but are best remembered for its horror films, directly competing for audiences with Hammer and Amicus. They eventually drifted into distributing, mostly, sexploitation films. |
Zeta One (1969) |
The Blood Beast Terror (1968) |
Witchfinder General (1968) |
Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) |
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) |
Hannie Caulder (1971) |
Au Pair Girls (1972) |
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Comparison:
Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Coming to 4K UHD in the UK by 88 Films in March of 2024: |
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Distribution |
Prism Leisure Region 0 - PAL |
Odeon Entertainment Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Shout! Factory Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:22:48 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:26:42.488 | 1:26:50.038 |
Video |
1.77:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,226,356,307 bytes Feature: 20,136,585,216 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,922,433,195 bytes Feature: 23,215,577,088 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1568 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz /
1568 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1568 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1568 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2035 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz /
2035 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1562 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1562 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | None | None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Prism Leisure Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 25 |
Release Information: Studio: Odeon Entertainment
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,226,356,307 bytes Feature: 20,136,585,216 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • The
Blood Beast: The Films of Michael Reeves (23:50 in 576i) Chapters 24 |
Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,922,433,195 bytes Feature: 23,215,577,088 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• Play Movie with Introduction (2:56) /
Outroduction (2:03) by Vincent Price • Theatrical Trailer (2:06)
• Additional Vincent Price Trailers
Chapters 12 |
Comments |
NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
ADDITION: Shout! factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (September 2013'): This is part of Shout Factory's Vincent Price Collection Blu-ray.
***
ADDITION: Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray (December 11'): Surprising and impressive release from Odeon Entertainment. Visually - we have what looks like a different, and cleaner, print. The transferred image is brighter with far more detail. It has added more information at the top of the frame and trimmed an equal amount at the bottom. Still some noise but it's not overwhelming. Colors perk-up and there is some depth. This looks quite good in-motion and has more than 5X the bitrate of the DVD.
Audio goes lossless with a DTS-HD 2.0 channel at 1568 kbps. It is not the most active film effects score but there are some potent screams. No separation but there is some bass response via the original music by Paul Ferris. Nothing particularly notable but appears to be authentic and without major dropout of hiss. There are no subtitles but the Blu-ray disc is region FREE. Extras run the gamut starting with an audio commentary by the informative duo of Benjamin Halligan and Michael Armstrong who cover many topics in their discussion of the film and the production participants. We get the Alternate Opening and Closing Credits in 1080P but all other video supplements are in SD PAL. We get a 5-minute alternate scene from 'Export Version' and 10-minutes of Vincent Price on the TV Talk show Aspel and Company. Most interesting is the documentary found on the UK DVD - The Blood Beast: The Films of Michael Reeves. It runs almost 24 minutes. There is also Michael Reeves 10-minute effort Intrusion - both as a silent short film or with a commentary from Halligan and Armstrong. Blood Crimes - Witchcraft is a featurette discussing the cultural activities found in the Olde England time frame of the Witchfinder General. It runs just shy of 24-minutes. Lastly are a trailer and Stills Gallery. Great stuff! There is a strong sense of realism built into Witchfinder General. It does a decent job as a period piece and makes for a strong horror. Odeon have created a great region FREE package here with the 1080P image, uncompressed audio and extensive extras including an educational commentary. For fans of the genre this is an easy recommendation! Gary Tooze ***
ON THE DVD:
A
satisfying package replete with numerous supplemental features, the
most valuable of which is a 23-minute documentary about Michael
Reeves, the young director of Witchfinder General whose early
death from a drug overdose was likely an indirect consequence of
postproduction meddling with Witchfinder Generation and his
difficulty in finding financing for subsequent projects. Interviews
with friends, acquaintances, and colleagues (including Ian Ogilvy,
who stars in Witchfinder General and worked with Reeves on
his two previous films) attest to the passion and intelligence of
Reeves both as a filmmaker and as a citizen. Also included are
trailers for this film and Reeves' previous work, The Sorcerers,
and a music video for the heavy metal band Cathedral, which
incorporates footage from Witchfinder. Production notes by
British film critic and author Kim Newman, an image gallery of
posters and advertising materials, filmographies, and nifty animated
menus round out a rather complete edition that should more than
appease fans of this overlooked film. |
Menus
Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL
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Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP vs. Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
1) Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Prism Leisure (Special Edition) - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Odeon Entertainment - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Box Cover |
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Coming to 4K UHD in the UK by 88 Films in March of 2024: |
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Distribution |
Prism Leisure Region 0 - PAL |
Odeon Entertainment Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Shout! Factory Region 'A' - Blu-ray |