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Scars Of Dracula [Blu-ray]
(Roy Ward Baker, 1970)
NOTE: After comparing the Studio Canal UK and DE Blu-rays of Fear in the Night HERE. They are determined to be, essentially, the exact same discs in Europe. Same running time to the 1/1000th a second, same bitrate, same image, same audio (with the of a inclusion of a German DUB and optional German subtitles) and same extras - minus the second disc DVD but the 7-Blu-ray Hammer Film Edition has all the other films (The Horror of Frankenstein, Scars of Dracula, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Demons of the Mind, Straight on Till Morning, Fear in the Night, and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde).
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Hammer Studios Video: Studio Canal (DE) / Shout! Factory Disc: Region: 'B' / (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:35:17.920 / 1:34:57.024Disc Size: 30,032,956,231 bytes / 46,646,797,129 bytesFeature Size: 26,416,193,088 bytes / 25,539,618,816 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.01 Mbps / 32.00 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 12 Case: Slim Blu-ray case / Standard BD CaseRelease date: October 30th, 2017 / November 23rd, 2017 / September 10th, 2019
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 / 1.85:1 + 1.66:1Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1394 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1394 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio German 1621 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1621 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1580 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1580 kbps / 24-bit (DTS
Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps 1.66:1: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1583 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1583 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: English (SDH), German, none
English (SDH), none
Extras: • New Featurette - Blood Rites: Inside Scars of Dracula (18:00)• Trailer for Scars of Dracula (2:23)
•
Presented In Two Aspect Ratios – 1.66:1 And 1.85:1
Bitrate:
Description: At a remote castle a vampire bat dribbles fresh
blood over mouldering remains, resurrecting the infamous
Count Dracula (Christopher Lee). Terrified villagers set
fire to the castle but later discover that a swarm of
vengeful bats has killed the women and children that sought
sanctuary in the local church. Dracula’s latest reign of
terror has begun.
The Film: Anyone wondering why Hammer Films felt the need to transplant Count Dracula to Swingin’ London in Dracula AD 1972 need look no further than Scars of Dracula (1970). This tepid continuation of the studio’s Dracula series proves, with little room for argument, that Hammer’s ability to deal with the vampire in his native Gothic setting had long ago dwindled to nothing. All devoted fans get for their troubles is a rehash of old ideas, a terribly insufficient plot, and a bad mishandling of Dracula as a character. Excerpt from classic-horror located HERE
The film begins with one of said bats puking blood over Dracula's
remains, which reconstitute themselves into a fully-clothed Dracula. The
bat then starts squeaking at the Count, Lee listening intently as if to
say: "What's that you say, Batty? Is someone trapped down the well?
I'd better fetch the sheriff..." Of course he doesn't, that would be
silly. Instead, he goes off and kills some busty wench, the scars on her
neck alerting us that this film is called Scars Of Dracula. Having been woken from his undead slumber by an horrifically artificial vampire bat (Its a puppet!! as Brian Conley would no doubt cry), ol Dracster sets about putting the willies up the local village bumpkins with his usual bloodthirsty ways. Meanwhile, a few rungs up the social ladder in toff-land, womanising bounder Christopher Matthews upsets the Old Bill and goes on the run all the way to the castle. And, in case you were wondering, garlic bread ain't on the menu. Excerpt from MovieGazette located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Scars Of Dracula gets yet another impressive transfer to Blu-ray from Studio Canal. It's dual-layered with a high bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. It's crisp with rich, tight colors and a consistent texture. The 1080P supports solid contrast and realistic colors in the original 1.66:1 frame. It's very clean showcasing some pleasing detail and minor depth. Like the others in this boxset - there are really no flaws with the image. This Blu-ray supports Scars Of Dracula exceptionally well in this HD transfer.
I repeat many of my comments from Blood From the Mummy's Tomb Blu-ray review: Shout! Factory have limited the space on the dual-layered disc again by including both 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 aspect ratio version, in separate transfers. It's a small amount lost on top and bottom for the 1.85:1. The image quality is the same for the 1.85:1 when compared to the Studio Canal, with the 1.66:1 having a less-robust transfer (17,779,654,656 bytes with a 22.00 Mbps video bitrate). It looks to be from the same source as far as I can determine and the image, in-motion, is still textured and appealing.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The Blu-ray of Scars Of Dracula offers a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1394 kbps (24-bit.) There are plenty of aggressive effects which have a bit of punch but with varying degrees depth. There is an optional German DUB and optional English (see sample) or German subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Again, the differences are imperceptible to my ears as Shout! Factory use a DTS-HD Master 2./0 channel mono (24-bit) in the original English language. India-born, Hammer regular, James Bernard (The Devil Rides Out, The Plague of the Zombies, Dracula Prince of Darkness, These Are the Damned, Across the Bridge, The Curse of Frankenstein) score adds a wonderful, orchestrations with violins that definitely benefit from the lossless transfer. There are optional English subtitles on Shout! Factory's region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.
Extras : Studio Canal add a 18-minute featurette; Blood Rites: Inside Scars of Dracula that has the usual guys giving interesting input on the production. There is also a trailer for Scars of Dracula.
Where the two packages differ the more significantly are the extras. Shout! Factory include the same (as on the Studio Canal Blu-ray) 18-minute Blood Rites: Inside Scars Of Dracula with Jonathan Rigby (author of English Gothic), Kevin Lyons (Documentation Editor at the BFI), Alan Barnes (author of The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films) and John J. Johnston discussing the film's history, public reaction and production details. But then they augment the package with many more supplements starting with a new audio commentary by Constantine Nasr and Film Historian Randall Larson. Nasr makes the case for while the film doesn't seem to work - dissecting specific scenes - lack of attention to effects (the initial bat) and much more. There are also an older commentary (from the DVD), with Christopher Lee and Director Roy Ward Baker, moderated by Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearn and I had never heard this - it is very revealing with Lee being very frank about details, the Hammer style, modern audience experiences and much more. Excellent. There are trailers, an extensive stills gallery.
Studio Canal (1.66:1) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
Once again, Shout! Factory have advanced upon the European Hammer Blu-rays - with, not only the dual ratios, but the extras that include two commentaries. Scars of Dracula isn't premium Hammer but it retains such appeal with Christopher Lee and some sexy gals with exposed cleavage. With the supplements - there is enough value her to double-dip or make an initial purchase. Gary Tooze December 1st, 2017 August 31st, 2019
NOTE: After comparing the Studio Canal UK and DE Blu-rays of Fear in the Night HERE. They are determined to be, essentially, the exact same discs. Same running time to the 1/1000th a second, same bitrate, same image, same audio (with the of a inclusion of a German DUB and optional German subtitles) and same extras - minus the second disc DVD but the 7-Blu-ray Hammer Film Edition has all the other films (The Horror of Frankenstein, Scars of Dracula, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, Demons of the Mind, Straight on Till Morning, Fear in the Night, and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde).
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Gary Tooze
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