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The Plague of the Zombies [Blu-ray]
(John Gilling, 1966)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Film Productions Video: Studio Canal / Shout! Factory
Disc: Region: 'B' / 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:29:53.208 / 1:30:02.647 Disc Size: 34,003,367,419 bytes / 40,059,974,335 bytes Feature Size: 23,392,954,368 bytes / 27,940,503,552 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.38 Mbps / 34.00 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase / Standard Blu-ray Case Release date: June 18th, 2012 / January 15th, 2019
Video (both): Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English
1573 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1573 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English
1639 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1639 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: English, none / English, none
Extras: • Raising the Dead (34:01)• World of Hammer - Episode Mummies. Werewolves and the Living Dead (24:49) • Restoration Comparison (4:32) • Trailer (1:55) DVD available
•
NEW Audio Commentary With
Filmmakers Constantine Nasr And Ted Newsom And Film
Historian Steve Haberman
Bitrates:
Description: Within a remote eighteenth century Cornish village, an evil presence lurks within the darkness of the witching hour, a mysterious plague relentlessly taking lives at an unstoppable rate. Unable to find the cause, Dr Peter Thompson enlists the help of Professor James Forbes. Desperate to find an antidote what they find instead are empty coffins with the diseased corpses missing. Following a series of strange and frightening clues, Thompson and Forbes are lead to a deserted mine where they discover a world of black magic and a doomed legion of flesh eating slaves, the walking dead.
The Film: A wonderfully atmospheric outing from Hammer Films, who diverged from their often successful variations on Universal's classic monsters into the world of zombies, a genre which had yet to receive its infusion of terrifying new blood with the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. The plot, which owes a debt to the Bela Lugosi chiller White Zombie, involves a mad Cornish squire, who solves an annoying labor crisis in his tin mines by turning local villagers into voodoo-controlled zombies. Dr. Thompson (Brook Williams) and his daughter Alice (Jacqueline Pearce) soon discover the unpleasant nocturnal habits of the shambling undead slaves -- including their tendency to go on murderous rampages when not directly under the squire's control. At the request of Alice, Sir James Forbes (André Morell) arrives on the scene to investigate. The superb script by Peter Bryan employs an interesting subtext about the rift between the British aristocracy and the exploited working class, but the film is less a political allegory than a spooky, atmospheric horror opus that ranks among Hammer Films' finest. Excerpt from MRQE located HEREPerhaps a little tame these days, compared with modern gore-shock, but Gilling's Hammer chiller about zombies being exploited by a Cornish tin-mine owner (echoes of the classic White Zombie) is highly atmospheric. Often imaginatively directed (in particular a splendid, nightmarishly green-tinted vision of the undead rising from the graveyard earth), it boasts really classy photography (Arthur Grant) and an outstanding performance from Jacqueline Pearce (the admirable snake-woman from The Reptile, here being beheaded to save her from untimely zombification). Excerpt from Timeout located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Like most of the other Hammer UK Blu-rays, The Plague of the Zombies gets a pleasing transfer from Studio Canal. It is dual-layered with a high bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. It has some color inconsistency - leaning to a yellow/greenish bias at times. Not misaligned but can give that impression. Generally speaking, the visuals are solid with a few exceptional scenes showing impressive clarity and depth. Primary colors can appear dullish and there is no noise in the darker sequences. The 1080P supports acceptable contrast adding some minor depth in the 1.66:1 frame. I don't see heavy signs of manipulation but suggest it is merely the less-stable source. It's quite clean showcasing a responsive, if not dynamic presentation. This Blu-ray provides a substantially improved video viewing over SD.
Well, the Shout! Factory is darker, with deeper black levels, and has richer colors (red and greens). It gives the impression of being sharper but I suspect some minor digitization - overall though I thought it looked very appealing on my system. This is also dual-layered but is a shade more technically robust with a max'ed out bitrate. I think its does give a superior HD presentation without peering too closely into the microscope.
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. India-born James Bernard (Dracula Prince of Darkness, These Are the Damned, Across the Bridge, The Curse of Frankenstein) score adds to the 'regal mansion' and 'quaint village' atmosphere and benefits from the lossless transfer. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Here the Shout! Factory also advance with a 24-bit lossless audio transfer (DTS-HD Master). It is described by Arrow as 'NEW Restored Audio'. The Bernard score benefits as does the film's atmosphere. Shout! add optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.
Extras : Raising the Dead is a 34-minute featurette and has John Carson and Jacqueline Pearce from the film discussing their memories of The Plague of the Zombies, with English film critic Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema and Studies in Terror: Landmarks of Horror Cinema, focusing on the historical relevance of the film in Hammer's vast stable of horrors. We get another World of Hammer Episode with Roy Skeggs - this one entitled Mummies. Werewolves and the Living Dead and runs just shy of 25-minutes. There is also a brief Restoration Comparison, with split screen demonstrations, a trailer and the dual-format package includes a DVD.
Shout! really go-to-town with the supplements adding two new commentaries. The first with filmmakers Constantine Nasr And Ted Newsom And Film Historian Steve Haberman - and they make frequent comparisons to Hammer's The Reptile (that they find to be the exact same film) also directed by John Gilling but don't seem overly keen on The Plague of the Zombies. I also enjoyed the second commentary - with author/film historian Troy Howarth who makes frequent references to other Hammer films and past interviews, plus the cast's other projects as well as digging deep into the minutia of The Plague of the Zombies - he always does a thorough job - and this is rife with valuable content. Shout! Factory also include (found on the Studio Canal) a 25-minute World Of Hammer – Mummies, Werewolves & The Living Dead piece as well as the 35-minute Raising The Dead: The Making Of The Plague Of The Zombies and a short split-screen restoration comparison. Include are theatrical trailers and a stills gallery.
Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
I am very pleasantly surprised at the lengths that Shout! Factory have gone with this Hammer Blu-ray release and it bodes well for future output from this production company for Hammer Studios films. As for The Plague of the Zombies - it improves upon ever facet of the UK edition and is presently the definitive digital release of this atmospheric zombie horror in classy UK setting. It's wonderful! Gary Tooze March 15th, 2014 January 20th, 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.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
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