And Soon the Darkness Blu-ray

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

Directed by Robert Fuest
UK / France 1970

The 2024 4K UHD of And Soon the Darkness is reviewed / compared HERE

Two young British nurses bicycling through the desolate French countryside. A mysterious stranger on a lonely stretch of road. The women become separated and soon after, one of them disappears. Now the remaining girl, alone and frightened, begins an increasingly desperate search for answers among the strangely uncooperative locals. Where is her friend? Was there a murder? And as the darkness approaches, is the killer now stalking her? Pamela Franklin (The Legend of Hell House) and Michele Dotrice (The Blood on Satan’s Claw) co-star in this unsettling shocker directed by Robert Fuest (The Abominable Dr. Phibes). And Soon the Darkness remains a favorite of thriller fans for its sexual menace, sinister style and one of the most quietly chilling final twists in ’70s British cinema. Original story and screenplay by Brian Clemens (See No Evil) and Terry Nation (The House in Nightmare Park) with top-notch cinematography by Ian Wilson (The Crying Game, Below).

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Two British nurses -- Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) -- take a vacation in the French countryside. Jane actually wants to tour the countryside, while Cathy wants to spend the time enticing men. After an argument while in a small French village, Jane leaves. When she returns, Cathy is gone. And if that weren't worry enough, it appears that the handsome young man Cathy flirted with on their journey is apparently a sex-crazed serial killer. In a panic, Jane tries to get some help from the villagers, but the townspeople are curiously uncooperative.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: July 4th, 1970

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Coming out one day earlier on Blu-ray in the UK from Studio Canal: Coming to 4K UHD from Kino in August 2024:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:39:18.661
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,879,071,140 bytes Feature: 28,958,091,264 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,879,071,140 bytes Feature: 28,958,091,264 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary with Director Robert Fuest and Co-Writer/Co-Producer Brian Clemens, Moderated by Journalist Jonathan Sothcott • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Troy Howarth Radio Spots (1:33) • AND SOON THE DARKNESS - Trailer (2:45) • SUDDEN TERROR - Trailer THE MIND BENDERS - Trailer THE BLACK WINDMILL - Trailer THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF - Trailer Blu-ray Release Date: October 15th, 2019 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9

Comments:

The 2024 4K UHD of And Soon the Darkness is reviewed / compared HERE

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (September 2019): Kino have transferred the 1970 British thriller And Soon the Darkness to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It is described as being from a "Brand New 4K Master". Pale blues may lean to teal but the detail is impressive in the film's close-ups. The greens of the French countryside are rich and full and there is depth with grain support. This is a surprisingly strong image transfer.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language (with some French). The film is fairly passive in terms of effects but has a fabulous Herrmann-esque score by Laurie Johnson (famous for The Avengers TV series theme, Dr. Strangelove, First Men in the Moon, Hammer Studios' Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter and many more) sounding a bit deeper with more consistent dialogue. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray has the same extras as their DVD from 2007. Kino add two audio commentaries. The first is from the old DVD with director Robert Fuest and Co-Writer/Co-Producer Brian Clemens, moderated by journalist Jonathan Sothcott. They discuss the film's production links to the recently expired The Avengers TV series, the wonderful Clemens-plot, the Laurie Johnson score and much more. In the second commentary Troy Howarth talks about how And Soon the Darkness was difficulty to see and how he now appreciates the film's subtleties like the difference between the two female leads. It is excellent. There are three radio spots and a trailer.

And Soon the Darkness is an excellent thriller. It has a 70's Brit feel, has a great plot and suspenseful score. I loved seeing it after 20+ years. The package has further value with the commentaries. It's a film I am very happy to own on Blu-ray. An solid recommendation!