We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate a small amount to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a tiny niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

We are talking about a minimum of $0.10 - $0.15 a day, perhaps a quarter (or more) to those who won't miss it from their budget. It equates to buying DVDBeaver a coffee once, twice or a few times a month. You can then participate in our monthly Silent auctions, and have exclusive access to many 'bonus' High Resolution screen captures - both 4K UHD and Blu-ray (see HERE).

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.


 

Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Night of Death" or "Die Nacht des Todes")

 

Directed by Raphaël Delpard
France 1980

 

Young Martine begins working as a nurse at Deadlock House, a secluded grande retirement home, but from the beginning not everything is as it seems, strange residents each with their own quirks and a rather macabre dietary supplement to their vegetarian diet are ruled by the strict Miss Helene, and her suspicions are soon raised when her co-worker who has taken her leave for two months leaves without her suitcase.

***

When the caretakers at a remote retirement home in France begin disappearing without a trace, a newly hired nurse discovers that Deadlock House harbors a dark secret. Aside from their unique vegetarian diet, the elderly inhabitants of Deadlock House seem like your typical, bored retirees. But why is one particular resident growing increasingly aggressive, and what's with that that spooky song the house director keeps obsessively pounding out on the rickety old piano? The more newly arrived nurse Martine (Isabelle Goguey) learns about this bizarre retirement home, the more she realizes that she should have thought twice before accepting the job.  

Theatrical Release: October 22nd, 1980

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

   

  

 
Distribution Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:34:32.416         1:34:32.416 
Video

1.66:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,991,273,853 bytes

Feature: 12,995,733,504 bytes

Video Bitrate: 15.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,967,069,382 bytes

Feature: 28,235,038,080 bytes

Video Bitrate: 36.28 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Le Chat qui Fume Blu-ray:

Bitrate Camera Obscura Blu-ray:

Audio DTS-HD Master Audio French 1290 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1290 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 16-bit)

LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English, None English, German, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Le Chat qui Fume

1.66:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,991,273,853 bytes

Feature: 12,995,733,504 bytes

Video Bitrate: 15.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Edition Details:

• NUIT HORRIFIQUE AVEC ISABELLE GOGUEY (35:34)
• LE TOURNAGE DE LA MORT AVEC RAPHAEL DELPARD (32:44)
• COMPARATIF IMAGE (21:44)
• FILM ANNONCE LA ROSE ÉCORCHÉE (2:54)
• FILM ANNONCE LA SAIGNÉE
• FILM ANNONCE HAINE
• FILM ANNONCE VIGILANTE
• FILM ANNONCE MANIAC
• FILM ANNONCE NEXT OF KIN
• FILM ANNONCE LE RETOUR DES MORTS-VIVANTS 3

Blu-ray Release Date: June 10th, 2019

Digi-pak Blu-ray Case inside cardboard slipcase

Chapters 11

Release Information:
Studio: Camera Obscura

 

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,967,069,382 bytes

Feature: 28,235,038,080 bytes

Video Bitrate: 36.28 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Interview with Raphaël Delpard (32:43)
• Interview with Isabelle Goguey (35:33)
• Image Gallery

• DVD


 Blu-ray Release Date: January 24th, 2020
 Media Book Blu-ray Case

Chapters 16

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Camera Obscura Blu-ray (January 2020): Camera Obscura, out of Austria, have taken the recent restoration of Raphaël Delpard's La nuit de la mort! (Night of Death) to their own, substantially more robust, Blu-ray transfer. It has the exact same running time, to the 1/1000th of a second, as the Le Chat qui Fume 1080P rendering out of France from the year before. The Camera Obscura is on a dual-layered Blu-ray disc with a max'ed out bitrate - more than double that of the French release. The image is crisper and superior in-motion with richer black levels, better layered contrast and a slightly darker image.

On their Blu-rays, both Camera Obscura and Le Chat qui Fume use 16-bit tracks, although the French edition has a DTS-HD Master where the Austrian company transfer via a linear PCM - both in the original French language. I can't distinguish much difference, to be honest. The score is credited to Laurent Petitgirard (conductor for Claude Chabrol's La Cérémonie, L'Enfer, The Swindle, The Color of Lies etc.), sounding supportive in the lossless (and uncompressed). Both offer optional English subtitles (as well as German for Camera Obscura) on their, respective, Region FREE Blu-rays.

While both offer the same 1/2 hour interviews, in French, with director Raphaël Delpard and star Isabelle Goguey only the Camera Obscura has the option of subtitles (in German or English). The Le Chat qui Fume includes trailers and an image comparison showcasing the restoration, the Camera Obscura has an image gallery and includes a second disc DVD - as does the French package. The Camera Obscura Mediabook has photos and a German-language essay.

Well, La nuit de la mort! (Night of Death) is very graphic Euro-trash cinema. Certainly not to all tastes. It evokes a bit of Rosemary's Baby and has a haunting location but the perverse imagery focusing on cannibalism will turn off many. I think the comparison was revealing though to see the 'extra-mile' that Camera Obscura will go for their English-friendly Blu-rays. I look forward to reviewing more of their impressive products.

Gary Tooze

 

Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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

 

1) Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

More Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray Captures
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Box Cover

   

  

 
Distribution Le Chat qui Fume - Region FREE - Blu-ray Camera Obscura - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!