The Sentinel Blu-ray - Cristina Raines

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

Directed by Michael Winner
US 1977

In the wake of such Satanic-themed thrillers as Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen comes The Sentinel. When New York fashion model (Cristina Raines) splits with her fiancé (Chris Sarandon) and moves into an old brownstone, she soon discovers she has more than she bargained for in the lease. As luck would have it, a mysterious blind priest (John Carradine) who lives upstairs happens to be guarding the doorway to Hell, and she has been chosen as his replacement. Incidentally, when the door is finally opened, out spills an assortment of deformed humans whom director Michael Winner hand-picked from hospital wards and circus sideshows.

***

This one too often slips under the radar. Directed by Michael Winner, who also directed the Death Wish series starring Charles Bronson and the 1978 remake of The Big Sleep starring Robert Mitchum, The Sentinel played the bridesmaid to international Satanic thrillers such as The Exorcist, released four years earlier, and The Omen, one year earlier. But it shouldn't have. This film truly is a "winner" and boasts an impressive cast including Burgess Meredith, Ava Gardner, John Carradine, and Christopher Walken. The film, edited by Winner under the pseudonym Arnold Crust, sticks with viewers because of its crisp cinematography, taut screenplay, and star-studded cast.

New York fashion model Alison Parker and her attorney boyfriend Michael Lerman are young lovers in New York City seeking to settle down. However, the reluctant, independent Parker wants her own apartment, and she eventually settles on a building inhabited by a surreal cast of characters, most notably a blind priest who stares at her from the building's top floor.

Excerpt from Classic Horror located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 7th, 1977

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Comparison:

MediumRare - Region 0 - PAL vs. Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) MediumRare - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers		Coming to Blu-ray in the UK in March 2021 from Final Cut"
Distribution	MediumRare - Region 0 - PAL	Shout! Factory Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:28:03 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:31:52.715
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.77 mb/s PAL 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 28,471,113,804 bytes Feature Size: 21,887,416,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 21.94 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1848 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1848 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2001 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2001 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1804 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1804 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1797 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1797 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MediumRare Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Intro by Michael Winner (:43) • Commentary by Michael Winner • Stills • Bios (text) • Trailer (2:27) DVD Release Date: May 19th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 36	Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory Disc Size: 28,471,113,804 bytes Feature Size: 21,887,416,320 bytes Total Bitrate: 21.94 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by actress Cristina Raines • Audio Commentary with writer/producer Jeffrey Konvitz • Interview with assistant director Ralph S. Singleton (23:56) • Audio Commentary with director Michael Winner • Theatrical Trailer (2:35) & TV Spots (1:39) • Still Galleries: Movie stills, B+W press photos (2:30), posters and lobby cards Blu-ray Release Date: September 22nd, 2015 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 12

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray September 15': The The Blu-ray is cited as being "2015 High Definition transfer of the film from Interpositive". It's superiority over the PAL SD transfer is quite apparent - the 1080P image is brighter, sharper, more accurate flesh tones (warmer), no compression artifacts and exhibits both grain texture and depth, .

Shout! Factory use an buoyant DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 1858 kbps. As the film progresses the haunting effects become more apparent and demonstratively aggressive. The score is just as creepy by Gil Melle (The Andromeda Strain, The Deliberate Stranger, 7 episodes of Kolchak the Night Stalker and Frankenstein: The True Story) and the lossless brings out the best in the tight high-end. Shout! Factory have optional English subtitles (see sample below) and the Blu-ray disc is region 'A'-locked.

Both discs include the Winner commentary and a trailer - the Blu-ray really goes the extra mile with 2 more commentaries - one with actress Cristina Raines and another with writer/producer Jeffrey Konvitz. There is also a 24-minute interview with assistant director Ralph S. Singleton recalling details of the production, some TV Spots and Stills Galleries.

I always found this one of the most scary of the 70's wave of religious-based horror efforts. It liberally steals from all its predecessors but is stacked with stars - young and old - like Martin Balsam, John Carradine, José Ferrer, Ava Gardner, Arthur Kennedy, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach, Christopher Walken, Jerry Orbach, Beverly D'Angelo, Tom Berenger etc.. This Shout! Factory Blu-ray pumps up the value with the supplements and the film is even more 'uncomfortably spooky' in the higher resolution. To horror aficionados and nostalgic fans - this is absolutely recommended!.

Gary W. Tooze

Menus

1) MediumRare - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

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Screen Captures

Subtitle sample - Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray