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

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (September 2023): 88 Films have transferred Harald Reinl's The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "4K Restoration from Original 35mm Internegative". There is a decidedly green caste to many of the interiors. The 1080P can looks generally impressive but their are color shifts - skin tones and backgrounds can change palettes but it is relatively clean without extensive speckles or any damage. It may have minor digitization but I didn't din that intrusive. There is depth and the image quality is quite acceptable bordering on impressive.

Severin Films released this as as part of their six-part collection "The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee" in 2021 and I suspect the transfer is the same.    

NOTE: We have added 88 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films give the options of DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in either English or German languages. The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism has few loud screams, galloping horses in drawn carriages but drama tends to come from the score by Peter Thomas (The Big Boss), sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The 88 Films Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Kim Newman (author of Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju) and Barry Forshaw (author the BFI Film Classics' The War of the Worlds book.) They discuss the various titles of the film deciding that The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism is one of the worst or certainly most salacious. They mention comparisons to Mario Bava, Roger Corman etc. and the liberty that is taken from the original Poe short story. They praise the film's extensive art direction and how it was a collage of different pieces. The commentary is that their usual high standard talking about the participants - cast and crew - location(s), and tangential films made around the time. There is also an interesting 8-minute video featurette comparing the film locations from 1967 vs. 2020. There are also two, 1/4 hour, German Super 8 Digest Versions of "Die Schlangengrub-Die Burg de Grauens" (Castle of the Walking Dead) and "Die Schlangengrub de Grafen Dracula" (translated as The Snake Pit of Count Dracula.) Included is an original German trailer and a short 'Modern' trailer. There is an alternate cover (see below) and a slipcase package.   

Harald Reinl's The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism is based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story "The Pit and the Pendulum". While the film's advertisement posters portray it more as a "graphic, amoral horror" - it's actually visually tame with only brief cuts and hints of the naked virgin-maiden tortures. The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism stars Lex Barker - who was huge in Germany, attractive Karin Dor ("One of the most beautiful women in Europe" - also in James Bond's You Only Live Twice), and, briefly, Hammer mainstay Christopher Lee as Count Regula. It has many appealing horror conventions; a prisoner in an iron mask who is dismembered, a place called 'Blood Castle' (if that wasn't enough of a warning,) an evil green-blooded Igor-like servant, a forest of hanged corpses, with human limbs growing out of trees, virgin's blood to achieve immortality... genre lovers will appreciate The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism beyond its salacious, less-appropriate, title. The 88 Films Blu-ray has pleasing a/v, a commentary and we can endorse to curious Euro-cult fans.

Gary Tooze