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

ADDITION: Anolis, Blu-ray (January 2020): Anolis, out of Germany have transferred Michael Reeves' The Sorcerers to Blu-ray. in one of their special limited edition, three cover release options. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate and looks very strong in 1080P. Colors have some shifts but contrast seems stable and I suspect they were at the mercy of the best available print source. It is very clean (see an example of the infrequent frame-specific damage below) and looks solid in-motion showing some appealing grain textures. I found the HD presentation surprisingly satisfying in terms of detail in the film's many close-ups. Depth is prevalent and the funky 60's colors add further flavor to the visuals.

NOTE: We have added 22 more large resolution Blu-ray captures for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Anolis use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono tracks (16-bit) in the original English language or an optional German DUB. It's fairly unremarkable but clean and clear with a score by Paul Ferris (Revenge of the Blood Beast, The Blood Beast Terror, Witchfinder General), adding some tension. Anolis offer optional German subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Anolis Blu-ray has two audio commentaries (both in German) - the first by Dr. Rolf Giesen and Dr. Gerd Naumann and the second with Uwe Sommerlad and Volker Kronz. German-language fans will likley appreciate them. What I loved was the 1.5 hour (longer than the feature!) 2019 documentary 'The Magnificent Obsession of Michael Reeves' directed by Dima Ballin. It is in English with optional German subtitles and has input from journalist Gavin Baddeley, writer Tom Baker, author Ingrid Cranfield, film journalists and commentator Kat Ellinger (who wrote this documentary, I believe), author Steve Haberman, Benjamin Halligan, music lecturer David Huckvale and actor Ian Ogilvy (who plays Mike Roscoe in The Sorcerers.) This is wonderfully made by Diabolique Films discussing Reeves' career and early life, his young obsession with film and much more. I found it very educational and made me appreciate this director's worth. We also get 'Paul Ferris The Sorcerer's Apprentice' running 11-minutes - a profile on the composer by David Huckvale - it is in English with optional German subtitles. There is 3-minutes of the opening German title sequence, galleries with German advertising, another with Poster and Stills plus on with the original German Theatre Program. There are also trailers in English and German, and the handsome Digibook case has pictures and text in German.

This Blu-ray package has a lot of value from the UK-centric 60s horror charisma of The Sorcerers to the extensive documentary supplement, commentaries (albeit only in German) and the appealing, thick, digibook case. I gained a lot of appreciation for the film and director with the extras and this is certainly something I will revisit via this fine Blu-ray presentation. 17-year old Susan George was a pleasant surprise despite her limited screen-time. An easy recommendation! 

Gary Tooze