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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons
Ireland 1982
In the dark she felt the key turning in the latch and a voice spoke to her: open the door, whispers Maura (Mary Ryan), the odd, intense daughter of an impoverished rural family in early 1800s Ireland who is accused of witchcraft after she's seen consorting in the woods with a conjurer and fiddle player named Scarf Michael (Mick Lally). Her neighbors and even her own family become increasingly consumed by fear and superstition, as Maura starts to experience surreal, poetic flashes of her latent abilities. A major rediscovery for fans of folklore, fantasy and folk horror, The Outcasts was the first feature directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons, famed for his work as writer on Blood on Satan's Claw. The Outcasts plays like an ancient ballad somehow captured on film, filled with the sorcery of earth and woods, musicians hooded in pagan straw masks and skirts, prejudice, myth, religion and yes, ghosts - and everywhere the peat and the mud and the bone-chilling cold. There's a queer sweetness in the air. It's an unnatural state of affairs, as one character murmurs. Ryan delivers an unforgettable performance as Maura with her piercing, raven-like beauty, matched by Lally as the nearly-mythic Scarf Michael. Co-starring Cyril Cusack, with a superb, lyrical score by acclaimed traditional folk composer and guitarist Steve Cooney. Recently restored by the Irish Film Institute, The Outcasts emerges as one of the great gems of Irish cinema - released for the first time ever in the U.S. by Deaf Crocodile. *** The Outcasts (1982), written and directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons, is a haunting Irish folk fantasy set in rural Ireland in 1810, before the Great Famine. The story centers on Maura O’Donnell (Mary Ryan), a shy, introverted young woman ostracized by her superstitious community. Living with her widowed father Hugh (Don Foley) and sisters, Maura’s life shifts when her sister Janey’s pregnancy sparks tension with a neighboring family. At Janey’s wedding, Maura encounters Scarf Michael (Mick Lally), a mysterious fiddler and shaman-like figure steeped in Irish mythology. He opens her eyes to a magical, imaginative world, becoming both her lover and mentor. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: November 12th, 1982 (Cork International Film Festival)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review:
Deaf Crocodile - Region 'A' - Blu-rayBox Cover |
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Also released on Blu-ray in the UK by BFI: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Deaf Crocodile - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 1:45:50.541 | |
Video |
1.66 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,057,378,294 bytesFeature: 28,475,551,296 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.9 2 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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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 Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
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Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Deaf Crocodile
1.66 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,057,378,294 bytesFeature: 28,475,551,296 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.9 2 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Interview with director Robert Wynne-Simmons (1:23:07) • Interview with composer Steve Cooney (48:07) • Visual Essay by Rod Stoneman (28:40) • "The Judgement Of Albion - Prophesies of William Blake" (1968, 26:20) - Wynne-Simmons’ tribute to the visionary poet and artist William Blake. (Courtesy of Robert Wynne-Simmons and the British Film Institute.) EARLY 8MM FILMS • "The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time" (1:27) - – this madcap comic short features (incredibly) Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave and a young Peter O'Toole! • "Bomb Disposal" (4:29) - featuring a cameo by Sammy Davis Jr. • "L'Eredita di Diavolo" (14:24) – eerie ghost story shot in a derelict mansion once owned by Percy and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein). • "The Scrolls" (25:19) - Wynne-Simmons’ most ambitious early film has surreal overtones of 1960s series such as “The Prisoner” and “The Avengers”.
Custom Blu-ray Case inside hardcase Chapters 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: We have added 58 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
Amusingly the extras start with this caveat:
"The included special features are not rated and are for
entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed herein are
those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the
views or opinions of Deaf Crocodile Films, Inc., or any of its
affiliates, partners, subsidiaries, parent companies, licensors, former
teachers, aunts, uncles, cousins, clergy, siblings, parents, grand
parents, great-grand parents, local officials, favorite baristas, hair
stylists, the guy at the car wash, masseurs, waiters, or most
importantly any current or future robot overlords.".
On their
Blu-ray,
Deaf Crocodile use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the
original English language. The Outcasts
has few deep effects but there are a few. The sound design and score of
The Outcasts play a crucial role in amplifying its folk horror and
mystical atmosphere. The audio landscape is sparse yet evocative, rooted
in the natural and cultural setting of rural Ireland in 1810. Ambient
sounds - like howling wind, squelching mud, distant thunder, or the
crackle of a hearth - anchor the film in its rugged environment. These
organic noises aren’t just background; they heighten the sense of
isolation and foreboding, making the silence between them feel heavy and
tense. Dialogue is minimal and delivered in soft, lilting Irish accents,
often swallowed by the vastness of the landscape, which adds to Maura’s
quiet, outsider vibe. The music was credited to Stephen Cooney (The
Clash of the Ash) and some parts of the score were, reportedly,
composed by Robert Wynne-Simmons himself (who also wrote and directed.)
It’s a haunting blend of traditional Irish folk music and eerie,
minimalist tones that weave the film’s dual threads of realism and myth.
Central to the soundtrack is the fiddle, reflecting Scarf Michael’s role
as a fiddler and shaman. The music starts with simple, melancholic
melodies - think slow reels or laments - that echo Celtic traditions,
played with a raw, unpolished edge. As the story darkens, the score
shifts: the fiddle takes on a wilder, more discordant quality, layered
with low drones and subtle percussion that suggest something ancient and
otherworldly stirring beneath the surface. Key moments - like Maura’s
visions or the ritual drowning - are underscored with a mix of keening
strings and faint, ghostly chants, evoking Irish sean-nós singing or
even pre-Christian rituals. It’s not a loud or bombastic score; its
power lies in restraint, letting the notes linger or fade into the wind,
mirroring the film’s slow-burn pace. The interplay between diegetic
sounds (like Scarf Michael playing his fiddle in-story) and the
non-diegetic score blurs the line between reality and magic, pulling you
deeper into Maura’s awakening. For a low-budget indie film, the sound
and score punch above their weight, creating an immersive, unsettling
mood that complements the visuals perfectly. The 2024 restoration and
uncompressed transfer undoubtedly gives the audio a crisper, more
defined presence without losing its rough-hewn charm. Deaf Crocodile offer optional English
subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked
Blu-ray.
The Deaf Crocodile
Blu-ray
Robert Wynne-Simmons's The Outcasts
is an Irish folk fantasy released in 1982, set in rural County Kerry in
1810, decades before the Great Famine. It’s a slow-burning tale of Maura
O’Donnell (Mary Ryan), a shy, awkward girl shunned by her superstitious
village. Her life shifts when Scarf Michael (Mick Lally), a wandering
fiddler with shamanic vibes, arrives at her sister Janey’s wedding. He’s
a figure out of Irish myth - wild-haired, cloaked, and tied to the
land’s ancient magic. As crop failures and deaths plague the community,
Maura’s blamed as a witch, leading to a harrowing abduction and
near-drowning. Michael’s mystical intervention saves her, sparking her
transformation into a seeker of forbidden knowledge, even as it isolates
her from her family. Visually, it’s a study in contrasts: the mundane
grit of peasant life (mud-caked boots, smoky cabins) meets bursts of the
uncanny (Michael’s ethereal rescues, Maura’s visions). The cast,
including Don Foley (Anne Devlin, 1981's Tristan and Isolde)
as Maura’s father and Cyril Cusack (Gone
To Earth,
Tam Lin,
The Day of the Jackal) as a conflicted priest, grounds the
fantasy in human stakes. Mick Lally’s Scarf Michael steals the show -
his roguish charm and eerie stillness make him a Celtic trickster
incarnate. Mary Ryan, in her only major role, brings a quiet intensity
to Maura, her wide eyes tracing her arc from victim to enigma.
Thematically, it’s rich with layers. It’s a feminist fable - Maura’s
empowerment defies the patriarchy of church and village - but also a
meditation on outsiderhood, echoing Blake’s prophetic outcasts and
Yeats’ mystic wanderers. The title nods to both Maura and Michael,
misfits in a world that fears the unknown. Robert Wynne-Simmons's The Outcasts
is a mix of genres - perhaps too gentle for horror and too dark for
fantasy. I really enjoyed it and am very
happy with the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray
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Menus / Extras
Deaf Crocodile - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Box Cover |
|
Also released on Blu-ray in the UK by BFI: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Deaf Crocodile - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |