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(aka "I vampiri" or "The Vampires" or "Lust of the Vampire" or "The Devil's Commandment" or "Evil's Commandment")
Directed by Riccardo Freda / Mario Bava
Italy 1957
A mad scientist captures young women in Paris and drains them of their blood in service of an evil Duchess. Also known as Lust of the Vampire, Riccardo Freda’s I vampiri mixes the Bathory and Frankenstein stories to create its gothic tale, Italy’s first horror film. Made as a challenge by Freda at breakneck speed, cinematographer Mario Bava would complete direction and post-production of the film, adding his signature in the process. With its baroque imagery and stunning visuals, I vampiri forged the path for Italian horror and remains a landmark of Italian cinema history. *** A mad scientist captures young women and drains their blood, in order to keep alive an ancient, evil duchess. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: April 6th, 1957
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray | |
Runtime |
Italian (i Vampiri): 1:21:31.303 US (The Devil's Commandment): 1:12:18.751 UK (Lust of the Vampire): 1:05:36.223 |
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Video |
Italian (i Vampiri): 2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 49,165,103,334 bytesFeature: 22,032,780,864 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
US (The Devil's Commandment): 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,165,103,334 bytesFeature: 5,347,784,256 bytes Video Bitrate: 9.14 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
UK (Lust of the Vampire): 2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 49,165,103,334 bytesFeature: 15,121,014,144 bytesVideo Bitrate: 26.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Vide |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Italian (i Vampiri) Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate US (The Devil's Commandment) Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate UK (Lust of the Vampire): Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
Italian (i Vampiri): LPCM Audio Italian
1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 112 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 112 kbps / DN -30dB US (The Devil's Commandment): Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB UK (Lust of the Vampire): LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit |
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Subtitles | English, None - none on US (The Devil's Commandment) | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Radiance
2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,471,315,571 bytesFeature: 30,857,963,520 bytesVideo Bitrate: 31.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Tim Lucas (2023) • Thirst of Blood - a featurette on the making of the film with Fabio Melelli, Mario Bava and Dario Michaelis (17:17) • Interview with Lamberto Bava (14:44) • Interview with Leon Hunt, author of Mario Bava: The Artisan as Italian Horror Auteur (2024 - 20:53) • Devil's Commandment trailer (1:41) Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters (see below) Booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969
Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 11/ 10 / 11 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: We have added 64 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
On their
Blu-ray,
Radiance use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the
original Italian language for the I Vampiri
version. I Vampiri
has aggressive moments that come through authentically flat and with
minor depth. There is a
dramatic and haunting score by Roman Vlad - his real name - (The
Horrible Dr. Hichcock
Beauty
of the Devil,
Caltiki,
Jules Dassin's
The Law,) and, uncredited,
Franco Mannino (A
Man on His Knees,
The
Driver's Seat,
Visconti's
L'innocente and
Conversation Piece, John Huston's
Beat the Devil, and Freda's
Murder Obsession)
sounding clean with
reasonably consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer.
Radiance offer optional English subtitles (although none for the US
version) on their Region FREE
Blu-ray.
The Radiance
Blu-ray
Riccardo Freda + Mario Bava's I Vampiri
is discussed in term so its incredible Bava cinematography and being
Italy's first horror film of the sound era. It's filled with gorgeous,
black / white, sets and atmospheric lighting. We are in late 50's Paris,
where a series of mysterious murders of young women - each of the same
blood type - have the gals drained of their blood. That spells
'Vampire'... yes? Maybe not; themes of vanity, immortality, privilege...
evoking Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) in the titular TV episode
The Youth Killer, where he discovers a babe (Cathy Lee Crosby),
who maintains her agelessness and beauty by... sacrificing youths. Not
as bad as the, more modern, Hollywood, blood-harvesting, adrenochrome
conspiracy feeding off the adrenalin of children to keep looking, let's
say, media-worthy. I Vampiri
is squarely in my wheel-house; suspenseful, macabre, dark secrets, a
foreboding castle with decayed interiors, hints of vampirism, and Bava's
inventive Poe-esque aura. Delightfullll! This is a huge keeper for me -
the film looking its best ever on Radiance Blu-ray |
Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample
1) Radiance (UK version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Radiance (Italian version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Sinister Cinema - Region FREE - NTSC TOP 2) Radiance (US version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND 3) Radiance (UK version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Radiance (Italian version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |