Lake of Dracula Blu-ray - Midori Fujita

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me" or "Bloodthirsty Eyes" or "Dracula's Lust for Blood")

directed by Michio Yamamoto
Japan 1971

Lake of Dracula begins with a young girl suffering a terrifying nightmare of a vampire with blazing golden eyes. Eighteen years later, the dream is revealed to be a hellish prophecy when a strange package containing an empty coffin mysteriously turns up at a nearby lake.

Posters

Theatrical Release: 31 August 1973 (USA)

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Comparison:

Artsmagic - Region 2 - PAL vs. Toho Video - Region 2 - NTSC vs. vs. Arrow Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas and for the Screen Caps!

1) Artsmagic - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT

2) Toho Video - Region 2 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Arrow Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers			Released, by Arrow on Blu-ray, one day later in the US
Distribution	Artsmagic Region 2 - PAL	Toho Video Region 2 - NTSC	Arrow Video Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:36	1:21:27	1:21:34.806
Video	2.31:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.53 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.51:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.58 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 49,369,476,731 bytes Feature Size: 25,410,565,056 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.97 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Artsmagic
Bitrate: Toho Video
Bitrate: Arrow Video Blu-ray
Audio	Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	Japanese Dolby Digital 1.0 mono	LPCM Audio Japanese 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DUB: LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, none	Japanese, none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artsmagic Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 2.31:1 Edition Details: • Mori Kishida Biography •Portrait Gallery •Movie Stills • Artwork •Preview for 'Zatoichi' • Promotional Gallery DVD Release Date: 5 August 2002 Amaray Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Toho Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.51:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by producer Fumio Tanaka moderated by Noruma Oyama •Theatrical Trailer (2:12) DVD Release Date: Amaray Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Arrow Disc Size: 49,369,476,731 bytes Feature Size: 25,410,565,056 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.97 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Kim Newman on The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, a new video appraisal by the critic and writer (16:03) - on *The Vampire Doll* BD disc. • Stills gallery • Original trailers (2:04, 2;12 + 2:23) • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp Blu-ray Release Date: May 21st - 22nd, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Chapters: 11

Comments

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

ADDITION: Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray (June 2018): Arrow Video bring us Michio Yamamoto's The Bloodthirsty Trilogy with two Blu-ray discs. Vampire Doll, REVIEWED HERE is on the first disc. The second Blu-ray disc has both Evil of Dracula and Lake of Dracula.

NOTE: As Michael Brooke informs us in our Facebook Group in regards to Day of Anger: 'As the producer of Arrow's release, I can confirm first hand that the UK and US discs are absolutely identical... The booklets are also identical, but there are minor cosmetic differences on the disc labels and sleeve to do with differing copyright info and barcodes, and the US release doesn't have BBFC logos. 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy' is the same situation.

The second Blu-ray has "Lake of Dracula" shared with "Evil of Dracula" on a dual-layered disc. The 1080P is in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and we lose some information notable on the right edge as compared to the Tartan DVD. It has a thicker, heavy film-like appearance - tighter and sharper with richer colors. It has a high bitrate and looks solid in-motion with a few example of frame-specific damage but nothing that dramatically hurts the viewing. The higher resolution is, predictably superior in the most significant visual areas.

Arrow use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Japanese. There are campy horror effects and another cool score by Riichirô Manabe (Cruel Story of Youth). Like the others it sounds thin but probably accurate to the original production and an appealing representation via the lossless. Arrow have included a linear PCM mono, English DUB not mentioned in the menu screens. It's not poor and I watched about 1/4 of the film with it on. There are optional English subtitles on the Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Extras on this first disc include Kim Newman on The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, as a new 16-minute video appraisal by the excellent critic and writer. There is also a stills gallery and this second Blu-ray has trailers for all three films of the trilogy. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin and for the first pressing consumers get a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp.

Enjoyable for both horror fans and those keen on Japanese cinema. There is a kitschy quality imbedded in the cultural representation. I enjoyed it a lot. Recommended!

-Eric, Colin and Gary

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(Artsmagic - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Toho Video - Region 2 - NTSC - RIGHT)