Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video (both):

Audio:

• Bio text screens
• Original Italian theatrical trailer & gallery of stills and poster art
• Liner notes by Antonella Fulci, David J. Schow, Eli Roth and Martin Beine
• BONUS CD - the original soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi!
• Chilling GLOW-IN-THE-DARK slip cover - limited to first 3000 copies
• Mini portrait of Lucio Fulci - suitable for framing - limited to first 3000 copies

• BRAIN FOOD: ANALYSING LATE DAY FULCI - Brand new documentary on the misfires and masterpieces of Lucio Fulci’s late period career featuring CAT IN THE BRAIN screenwriter Antonio Tentori, legendary film critic Kim Newman, Dark Side magazine editor Allan Bryce and more... (46:02)
• Fabio Frizzi - Live in Hollywood - Oct. 2, 2015 (7:35)
• Trailer (1:58)

4-page liner notes by Calum Waddell

Bitrate:

***

Grindhouse Releasing has set a July 12 street date for the new deluxe 3-disc Blu-ray edition of Lucio Fulci’s nightmare classic CAT IN THE BRAIN. The movie will be touring theaters all over the U.S. this summer, starting June 2.

CAT IN THE BRAIN is a psychological masterpiece in the tradition of such cinematic classics as PSYCHO, STRAIT-JACKET, ERASERHEAD and Fellini’s 8 1/2. Acclaimed Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, director of ZOMBIE and THE BEYOND, stars in this blood-soaked epic as a director being driven insane by his own movies. Fulci is thrust into an ultra-violent nightmare of death and depravity where murder and madness consume his sanity in a vortex of violence.

“CAT IN THE BRAIN is my favorite Fulci movie,” says Grindhouse Releasing co-founder Bob Murawski. “How could it not be? It’s wall-to-wall gore and stars Lucio Fulci playing himself. It delivers on all levels.”

 

 

Excerpt from The VideoVacuum located HERE

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

Grindhouse Releasing's Blu-ray of A Cat in the Brain looks a shade inconsistent but I would guess that would be on-par with the original production. The beginning shows weaknesses but once the plot is in flight - it seems to settle down with a few impressive sequences in terms of detail via close-ups. No doubt thought, the overall visuals are modest considering the format but it seems to have been transferred adeptly.  This Blu-ray gave me a watchable viewing in regards to the 1080P picture quality.

88 Films does a dual-layered transfer disc and the feature has a max'ed out bitrate. The colors are warmer and richer than the Grindhouse Releasing and, to my eye, it looks better. I suspect it is from the same source but we can see the UK 1080P is more technically robust.

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

1) Grindhouse Releasing - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) 88 Films (UK) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Grindhouse Releasing - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) 88 Films (UK) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Grindhouse Releasing - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) 88 Films (UK) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grindhouse Releasing offer the option of DTS-HD Master mono track 24-bit in both English or Italian language. There are effects in the film - mostly gore-violence-related, but that do carry some depth. They sounds quite deep and ominous at times. wonderful score by Fabio Frizzi, composer for Fulci's The Beyond, Zombie (1979) and City of the Living Dead (1980) and Sergio Martino's The Scorpion with Two Tails (1982) to name a few.  The dialogue was sometimes cloudy and less consistent to distinguish - which would probably on-par with the production. There are optional English subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.

Audio is a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) and I couldn't detect much difference with the Grindhouse DTS-HD Master. It seems to do a faithful job of exporting the score by Fabio Frizzi and the effects. 88 Films, also, has both the English and Italian language tracks with optional English subtitles (see sample above) and their Blu-ray disc is Region 'B'-locked.  

Extras :

Grindhouse Releasing stack the package with extras starting with on the first Blu-ray disc (single-layered) that houses the Italian and US Trailers. There is a second Blu-ray - solely for the other supplements which include in-depth interviews with director Lucio Fulci and star Brett Halsey running 3/4 of an hour, there are also new interviews with composer Fabio Frizzi (Frizzi and Fulci - 30:32), screenwriter Antonio Tentori (27:13), cinematographer Sandro Grossi (27:55) and poster artist Enzo Sciotti (17:53) plus 7-minutes of Frizzi 2 Fulci North American Tour. Antonio Tentori interviews Lucio Fulci from a 1987 radio show running over 1/4 of an hour. There are two vintage video pieces; Lucio Fulci - The Television Years and Genre Terrorist - each running over 40-minutes. Memories of Lucio has a brief 5-minutes with 3 stars reminiscing. There is a stills gallery and Lucio Fulci's heroic appearance at the 1996 NYC Fangoria Weekend of Horrors for over 20-minutes, some Bio text screens and the package has liner notes by Antonella Fulci, David J. Schow, Eli Roth and Martin Beine and there is included a bonus CD with the the original soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi.

In the supplements, 88 Films include a brand new, 46-minute, documentary entitled Brain Food: Analysing Late Day Fulci about the misfires and masterpieces of Lucio Fulci’s late period career featuring Cat in the Brain screenwriter Antonio Tentori, legendary film critic Kim Newman, Dark Side magazine editor Allan Bryce and others. There is also the duplicated extra Fabio Frizzi - Live in Hollywood footage from Oct. 2, 2015. There is also a trailer and the package has a 4-page liner notes by Calum Waddell.

 

Grindhouse Releasing - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Grindhouse Releasing - Region FREE - Blu-ray 2

88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

BOTTOM LINE:
A Cat in the Brain not your typical Fulci. It's an odd one. It's certainly bizarre bordering on the ridiculous - but that can be part of its charm. The director's fans will get the most out of this, I think. There hints of his other work but it's hard to exist as a sole entry simply on the extensive gore. The value of the Blu-ray is certainly escalated by the supplements - but it further appeals to the fan-base or completists. Recommended to that niche!

88 Films release has some attractive positives over the Grindhouse with the superior video and the valuable 3/4 hour extra Analysing Late Day Fulci. I also like the cover. The film remains lesser Fulci but has appeal for Giallo or the director's completist fans.

Gary Tooze

July 5th, 2016

March 2nd, 2018