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The Reptile [Blu-ray]
(John Gilling, 1966)
Review by Gary Tooze / Colin Zavitz
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Film Productions Video: Studio Canal / Shout! Factory
Disc: Region: 'B' / 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)Runtime: 1:30:05.666 / 1:30:11.447 Disc Size: 32,761,761,129 bytes / 49,185,758,200 bytes Feature Sizes: 24,277,616,640 bytes 1.66:1 - 17,189,228,544 bytes / 1.85:1 - 24,111,833,088 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.57 Mbps / 24.00 Mbps / 32.0 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 12 / 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case ( both)Release date: June 18th, 2012 / July 30th, 2019
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 / 1.85:1 and 1.66:1Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit 1.66:1 - Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
1.85:1 - DTS-HD Master Audio English 1576 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz
/ 1576 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps /
24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles (both): English, none
Extras: • The Serpent's Tale (21:50)• World of Hammer with Roy Skeggs - Episode Wicked Women (24:54) • Restoration Comparison (2:17) • Trailer (2:02) DVD available
•
Presented In Two Aspect Ratios – 1.66:1 And 1.85:1
Bitrates:
Description: This Hammer horror classic is set in Cornwall, where the village folk are dying from mysterious snakebites. Nearby a young woman suffers under a curse which regularly transforms her into a reptile. Made at Bray studios, on the same sets that were used for 'Plague of the Zombies.'
The Film: This chilling monster film metaphorically examines the horrors brought home by British colonialism. Harry and Valerie (Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel) inherit the Cornwall home of Harry's brother, who died under mysterious circumstances. The local villagers are tight-lipped and afraid, and the couple's neighbor, the hostile Dr. Franklin (Noel Willman), hides in a large mansion with his frightened daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pearce) and a strange foreign man (Marne Maitland). The truth is that Franklin had been investigating a secret tribe of snake-people on his last trip to Borneo, and they had reacted to his intrusion by making Anna one of them. As a result, the girl turns into a hideous cobra-woman every winter, with bulging eyes, a scaly face, and large, venomous fangs. Other than the unusual monster, The Reptile may as well be a direct remake of Hammer's The Mummy, a film which this one apes in many of its contrivances. Director John Gilling does manage some effective setpieces, such as the sulfur-spring below the mansion, which keeps Anna warm as she writhes beneath a blanket to shed her skin. Underrated character-actor Michael Ripper appears in one of his more substantial roles as Tom, the local pub-owner, who goes from avoidance to digging up graves and risking his life to save the couple. There are some inconsistencies in Anthony Hinds' script, but the film is handsomely mounted and delivers its share of shocks. Excerpt from MRQE located HEREDown in remoter Cornwall, courtesy of Hammer horror, a doctor is busily experimenting and villagers are foaming at the mouth, turning black, and dying of snake venom. Made back-to-back with Plague of the Zombies and shot on the same sets, it's slower and moodier than its companion-piece but strikingly Conan Doyleish in its stately costume horrors. Jacqueline Pearce is terrific as the unfortunate cobra-girl, victim of her father's pursuit of forbidden knowledge. Excerpt from Timeout located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Reptile gets a reasonably strong transfer to Blu-ray from Studio Canal in the UK. It is dual-layered with a high bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. It has some inconsistency with the opening (around the title sequence), appearing quite weak but straightens up after that looking stronger as it rolls along. Generally the visuals are pleasing with a few exceptional scenes showing great clarity and depth. Colors are flat but authentic and there is no noise in the darker sequences. The 1080P supports acceptable contrast adding some minor depth in the 1.66:1 frame. There are hints of manipulation but suggest it is merely the less-stable source. It's quite clean showcasing some hi-def detail and there are no unforgivable flaws with the rendering. This Blu-ray gave me a pleasurable 1080P presentation. Nothing less than I was anticipating.
Hammer films' "The Reptile", directed by John Gilling, now appears on Blu-ray thanks to Shout! Factory. The film is available in either 1.66:1 (like the Studiocanal Region 'B' release) or 1.85:1. The former has a moderate bitrate (taking up around 17GB) and is framed just as the previous Studiocanal Blu-ray was, where as the 1.85:1 version (taking up around 24 GB) has a high bitrate and looks better in motion. Regardless of the aspect ratio, the Shout! Factory benefits from having a stronger contrast, showing an at times darker and lighter image, with a much wider range. Skintones look much more lifelike and warmer. Detail is pretty on par with the Studiocanal, and I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that this really isn't a giant leap in quality.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
More Blu-ray Captures
Audio :Studio Canal utilize a linear PCM mono track at 1536 kbps. It is clear, flat but has a bit of punch. Don Banks (The Evil of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Shroud) score adds to the fog-soaked atmosphere and benefits from the lossless transfer. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Whereas the previous Studiocanal Blu-ray featured a 16-bit uncompressed linear PCM audio track, this new Blu-ray from Shout! Factory very similar, though with a 24-bit lossless DTS-HD Master audio in 2.0 mono. Don Banks' (The Evil of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Shroud) score adds to the creepy atmosphere just as well as the previous Studiocanal track. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.
Extras : Studio Canal include two new featurettes. The Serpent's Tale runs a full 22-minutes and gives some informative background on the production from Hammer expert Marcus Hearn. There is also a 25-minute Roy Skeggs World of Hammer segment - Wicked Women - which is as good as it sounds! There is a remarkable, split-screen, restoration comparison and a trailer. The package also contains a DVD of the feature.
Shout! Factory present 2 new extras while carrying over a handful of previously released extras. The first new extra is a commentary with film historians; Steve Haberman, Constantine Nasr And Ted Newsom. This is a wonderful, in-depth, screen-specific commentary track. The 3 start out by discussing the use of Hitchcock's plotting device used in Psycho, and it goes on from there. Next up is the 22-minute interview with 1st Assistant Director, William P. Cartlidge. Cartlidge starts by discussing how he got into working with Hammer, and humbly states that he benefited from nepotism. I appreciate his dry sense of humor and candid style. Well worth a watch. Following this is the 22-minute "The Serpent's Tale", a making-of short documentary on "The Reptile". The 25-minute, "World Of Hammer – Wicked Women" follows, as do trailers for "Rasputin The Mad Monk". A TV spot and a still gallery round out the disc.
Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
The Reptile is a good time, even if it is not up to some people's Hammer standards. Scream Factory's new Blu-ray certainly bests the previous Studiocanal, giving the option of watching the film in one of two aspect ratios, not to mention a superior visual presentation (though by a slight margin). Recommended to Hammer fans.
Gary Tooze February 11th, 2014 Colin Zavitz August 5th, 2019
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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