The Flesh and the Fiends Blu-ray

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

(aka "The Flesh & The Fiends" or "Mania" or "Psycho Killers" or "The Fiendish Ghouls")

Directed by John Gilling
UK 1960

More Fearsome Than Frankenstein... More Demonic Than Dracula! Edinburgh, 1827. Irish immigrants Burke (George Rose, A New Leaf) and Hare (Donald Pleasence, Halloween) hit upon the idea of selling the bodies of the recently deceased to eminent surgeon Dr. Robert Knox (Peter Cushing, The Skull). Dr. Knox, knowing that experimental vivisection is the only way for medicine to make progress, forms an uneasy alliance with the self-styled body snatchers. When Burke and Hares’ supply of available corpses begins to run out, they decide to speed the process along by murdering the poor and the homeless. Men and women, old and young, everyone becomes a target for the deadly duo, but even as the body count rises, Knox turns a blind eye to their methods in order to further his research. But after one of his own medical students is murdered, Knox finds it difficult to remain impassive. With the public out for the killers’ blood and the Medical Council out to disgrace him, Dr. Knox must use all of his skill and intelligence to preserve the dignity of his profession and to justify his controversial actions in the face of near-universal condemnation. Co-written and directed by John Gilling (The Reptile) and co-starring Billie Whitelaw (The Omen).

***

In 1828 Scotland, Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Knox does medical research on cadavers he buys from murderers Burke and Hare, without questioning the unethical procurement methods.

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 2nd, 1960

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

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	UK Cut: 1:34:37.963 / US Cut: 1:14:12.573
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,552,574,088 bytes UK Cut: 25,226,274,816 bytes US Cut: 20,247,625,728 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.93 Mbps / 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate The Flesh and the Fiends Blu-ray:
Bitrate The Fiendish Ghouls 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) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps US Cut: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1557 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1557 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None (no subtitle options for the US cut)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,552,574,088 bytes UK Cut: 25,226,274,816 bytes US Cut: 20,247,625,728 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.93 Mbps / 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas • Includes alternate cut THE FIENDISH GHOULS aka MANIA (1:14:12) • Trailers Blu-ray Release Date: July 7th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9 / 9

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (June 2020): Kino have transferred John Gilling's The Flesh and the Fiends to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master" for the original U.K. version. Kino also include the 20-minute shorter U.S. cut, The Fiendish Ghouls a.k.a. Mania in 1080P - sharing the same Blu-ray. While both are in-and-around the 2.35:1 aspect ratio the US cut is cropped - or may just be zoomed-in. Regardless they appear to be from different sources with the US cut being more consistent. They both have very high bitrates.

More of an issue is that this feature source has compromised density reflecting in variable contrast often with brightness flaring, there are jump cuts, sometimes a wobbly gate (damaged sprockets?), and a bit of warping noticeable at the end of reel changes. So the 1080P presentation is very inconsistent. I've added some comparison shots below but it seems that mostly the poor contrast or compromised segments were the ones removed for the US cut - that and the nudity and some violence (20-minutes is a lot of film to take out!) The US cut is more consistent but it is no where near the same film. So bottom line - it is watchable if you can accept the inconsistencies in the HD presentation. It can vary from one frame to the next - as indicated by examples below. But I have seen slaughtered versions of The Flesh and the Fiends before in some of its alternate titles - and this looks the best, by a wide margin, in my experience. You can still see the presence of heavy grain and some pleasing detail in a few of the close-ups. I certainly don't blame the transfer - this film has had a history of degraded available prints. It wouldn't surprise me if this wasn't the best one in existence.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language for both cuts. There aren't an abundance of effects but a dynamic score by Stanley Black (The Long and the Short and the Tall, Happy Ever After, Valentino, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, War-Gods of the Deep, 1960's Hammer film Stop Me Before I Kill! etc.) adding further tension in the lossless transfer. There is hiss that surfaces in spots but nothing fatal. Kino offer optional English subtitles for the UK cut (none for the US cut) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Aside from the US cut the Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas for the UK cut of the film. He immediately states that The Flesh and the Fiends is an unnerving movie and that it is based on the infamous William Burke and William Hare grave robberies and murders (1827 - 1828). He proclaims that in his entire life of watching films, when he saw The Flesh and the Fiends, as a young boy, it is the only movie to make him physically ill. He continues the commentary making eloquent statement like: "The sharp authenticity of Billie Whitelaw's Scots accent is as valuable to this moment's verisimilitude as much as the convincing art direction of John Elphick." Solid gold. Tim covers a lot of the actress Billie Whitelaw and takes a few short breaks. He describes the differences in some of the cuts - ex. nude scenes for the export version, a continental cut and that this is the full 94-minute British cut. His commentaries are so filled with prepared details that they can easily be indulged in multiple times gaining new data in each subsequent viewing. He's the best. There are also some trailers but none for The Flesh and the Fiends.

It's wonderful to finally get John Gilling's The Flesh and the Fiends in a superior digital presentation. Granted it is full of warts but it's the the best viewing I have ever had. Tack on the inclusion of the bastardized US cut and the invaluable Lucas commentary. This film has a real creepiness to it, probably because of the realistic and callous murder scenes. I'm very happy to own the Kino Blu-ray with the a/v imperfections - it's a film that fans of this genre and era should see. Recommended!

Gary Tooze