NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (April 2022): Masters of Cinema have transferred Carl Th. Dreyer's Vampyr to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "Presented from an all-new 2K restoration by the Danish Film Institute, supported by the MEDIA program Creative Europe, and taking more than a decade to complete – materials from several European archives (including the BFI, CNC and DFI) have been meticulously scanned and assessed to create the highest quality and most faithful version of Vampyr possible." This is quite a revelation how much has been cleaned up from other digital editions - that we have previously compared HERE. This release deserved its own review page and we have compared some screen captures below that identify the impressive restoration. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Film integrity is kept intact and the grain is still flourishing - it's just all the visible scratches and marks are dramatically eradicated. This will make some noise in our year end poll as one of the top Blu-rays of 2022. In a word "WOW!".

NOTE: We have added 64 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original German language giving the separate option of both restored and unrestored choices. Vampyr was Dreyer's first sound film and, at the time of production, had to be recorded in three languages. We've included a few samples of the, optional English subtitles - over the original German text etc.. The uncompressed mono does wonders for the film's eerie, creepy and haunting moods. Masters of Cinema offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

NOTE: Masters of Cinema do not include an alternate version with English text.

Extras; repeated from their own 2008 DVD edition are the excellent, Tony Rayns commentary, Jørgen Roos' 1/2 hour documentary chronicling Dreyer’s career and Casper Tybjerg's 36-minute visual essay (noted in the comparison HERE) on Dreyer's influences in creating Vampyr. Also included are THE BARON (a 14-minute documentary about Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg), two deleted scenes, removed by the German censor in 1932 and the informal Guillermo del Toro commentary track. Del Toro humorously starts out with this disclaimer from the director; "This is not a scholarly dissertation, this is the equivalent of inviting a fat Mexican to your house and you feed him, and then you have to listen to him for a, mercifully, short time... then disagree, agree, insult, or share any of my opinions.". It is a very personal commentary track from a man who absolutely loves the film and talks extremely passionately about Vampyr. He is always a pleasure to listen to and revisit. New is a 22-minute video interview with author and critic Kim Newman on Vampyr's unique place within vampire cinema - plus two new video interviews - 50-minutes in total - with music and cultural historian David Huckvale on the film's score and, secondly, its adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu. A huge (literally) part of this package is a 100-page book featuring rare production stills, location photography, posters, the 1932 Danish film programme, a 1964 interview with Baron Nicolas de Gunzberg (producer and actor "Allan Gray"), an essay by Dreyer on film style, and writing by Tom Milne, Jean and Dale Drum, and film restorer Martin Koerber.

Carl Th. Dreyer's Vampyr gains even more impact via this dramatically improved restored HD video presentation. Vampyr's disorienting visual effects and sound design advance the film to a profound level giving you an esoteric impression - as if the viewing belongs only to a select few. Truly unique and masterfully realized. As stated in the Masters of Cinema Blu-ray description; "Now unveiled for the film’s 90th anniversary, one of the most visually and aurally distinctive horror films ever made finally comes to Blu-ray in the UK, in a definitive incarnation that achieves the full experience Dreyer intended audiences to have." No Cinephile's Blu-ray library will be complete without Vampyr... and the new restoration exemplifies that. Not to mention the book, new extras, inclusion of the two commentaries etc. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray gets our absolute highest recommendation.

NOTE: It is a "Limited Edition Box Set (3000 copies)", so those keen shouldn't wait to pre-order.

Gary Tooze