Subtitles (both):

English, none

Extras:

• Remembering Dead of Night Featurette (1:15:35)
• Restoration Comparison (3:31)
• Stills Gallery

• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas
• Remembering "Dead of Night" - Documentary (1:15:36)

Description: A portmanteau work from four of Ealing’s best directors, Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. Starring Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave and Googie Withers, Dead of Night represented a departure for Ealing from the classic comedy mode and is instead a spooky psychological thriller made up of five chilling ghost stories.

 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Studio Canal - "Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

Audio :

Aside from a 3-minute 'Restoration Comparison', and stills gallery we get the lengthy, but enjoyable, Remembering Dead of Night composite of interview soundbytes with the likes of Kim Newman, John Landis, Keith Johnston, Danny Leigh, Matthew Sweet, Jonathan Romney and Reece Shearsmith. I appreciated not only the history of Ealing and it's evolution but specifics on the production and importance and reference as the premiere portmanteau horror of it time. It is good and the time flies by.

There are 2 extensive extras found on this Kino Blu-ray. The first is an audio commentary from the always reliable Tim Lucas. Lucas dives deep into the history of the film and its production, as well as how the film was received. The other extra is the feature-length documentary "Remembering 'Dead of Night'" which features input from a handful of experts including critics/authors Kim Newman, Danny Leigh, Matthew Sweet, and Jonathan Romney, as well as senior lecturer at the University of East Anglia Keith Johnston, actor and writer Reece Shearsmith, and director John Landis. This is a brilliant documentary that rises above the typical talking-heads fare, giving the film a contextual appreciation (especially when viewed along with the exceptional commentary from Lucas). A handful of Kino trailers (for "The Spiral Staircase", "The Lodger", "The Undying Monster", "Tales of Terror" and "Twice-Told Tales") rounds out the disc.

Studio Canal - "Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Dead of Night has many intangibles - discussed in the supplement piece - that raise its value. A kind of spooky charisma. This is an excellent film - odd, both erratic and inclusive. The Christmas Story, Haunted Mirror and Ventriloquist are brilliantly buoyed by the tension in the score  - as well as the impressive performances.  With the tenuous story links, there is reason to reflect on previous segments - creating its own haunting manner. I loved it despite some disjointed pacing. But there are so many attributes here that it offers a timeless quality for revisitation. The Studio Canal Blu-ray provides only a decent a/v presentation and includes an educational supplement. Fans of the the genre and Ealing Studio efforts should certainly enjoy.

"Dead of Night" is the grandaddy of all Horror Anthology films, and it hasn't lost its effectiveness over the years. The film oozes style and creates a rather haunting mood, which is only boosted by this newly restored 4K presentation from Kino. The documentary and commentary only make this an even more valuable release. Pick this one up immediately.