The Beast Must Die - Peter Cushing

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

(aka "Black Werewolf" )

directed by Paul Annett
UK 1974

For self-made millionaire Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart, WILD AT HEART), the "most dangerous game" is not man, it is the werewolf. He has invited five guests with strange pasts to his isolated country house for the weekend including lyncanthropy expert Dr. Lundgren (Peter Cushing, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS), pianist Jan (Michael Gambon, THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER), disgraced medical student Paul (Tom Chadbon), former diplomat-turned-TV-host Bennington (Charles Gray, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW), and Davina (Ciaran Madden, who later co-starred with Gambon in the UK TV series version of the Maigret detective stories), a friend of Newcliffe's wife Caroline (Marlene Clark, GANJA AND HESS). With the help of security expert Pavel (Anton Driffing, FAHRENHEIT 451), Newcliffe has rigged his estate with microphones, cameras, motion detectors, and armed guards for his werewolf hunt. Can you deduce the identify of the werewolf or will the werewolf whittle down the cast before "The Werewolf Break." While James Blish's novella "There Shall Be No Darkness" identified the werewolf in the first paragraph, Amicus has turned their adaptation into a TEN LITTLE INDIANS-style whodunit. Like the 1965 adaptation of the aforementioned Agatha Christie novel, THE BEAST MUST DIE stops for sixty seconds to offer the audience the opportunity to guess the identity of the werewolf before it is revealed. Although not really exciting or suspenseful, THE BEAST MUST DIE features a fine cast (including a game Charles Gray, the always professional Cushing, and the underrated Clark), a funky score by Douglas Gamley, a laughable werewolf, and feels strangely non-British despite the Shepperton Studios locations.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 1974 (USA)

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DVD Comparison:

Dark Sky/MPI (The Amicus Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Image Entertainment (The Euroshock Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!

(Dark Sky/MPI (The Amicus Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment (The Euroshock Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Dark Sky/MPI Region 1 - NTSC	Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:32:57	1:32:03
Video	1.76:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.21 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.92 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Dark Sky/MPI (The Amicus Collection)
Bitrate: Image Entertainment (The Euroshock Collection)
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
Subtitles	English, none	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Dark Sky/MPI Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.76:1 Edition Details: • Audio commentary by director Paul Annett moderated by Jonathan Sothcott • DIRECTING THE BEAST featurette (4:3; 12:56) • Theatrical Trailer (4:3; 0:58) • Trailers for AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS (16:9; 0:56) and ASYLUM (16:9; 1:26) • Poster and Stills Gallery • Cast & Crew Filmographies DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007 Amaray Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: 10 April 2001 Snapper Case Chapters 12

Comments

While the Euroshock DVDs of AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS and ASYLUM were interlaced, the barebones disc of THE BEAST MUST DIE features a progressive transfer. While the 1.66:1 aspect ratio would seem to be more appropriate to the British film, Dark Sky's 1.76:1 anamorphic HD-mastered transfer reveals more picture information on the sides (with some still noticeable vertical cropping).

Both prints still have their faults which may be down to cheap processing. The colors look a bit more naturalistic on the Euroshock edition but the detail is better on the Dark Sky version (the Euroshock seems to have been sharpened) which ports over the audio commentary and featurette from the OOP Anchor Bay UK release. The Dark Sky disc is available separately (HERE) but the boxed set can be acquired for under $20.

- Eric Cotenas

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(Dark Sky/MPI (The Amicus Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment (The Euroshock Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)