The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre Blu-ray

Firstly, a HUGE thanks to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential. We are always trying to expand Patron benefits... you get access to the Silent Auctions and over 10,000 unpublished screen captures (in lossless PNG format, if that has appeal for you) listed HERE. Please consider helping with $3 or more each month so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you so much. We aren't going to exist without another 100 or so patrons.

Search DVDBeaver

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

Directed by Joseph Stefano
USA 1964

Legendary writer and producer Joseph Stefano (Psycho and TV’s The Outer Limits) and star Martin Landau (TV’s Mission: Impossible and Space: 1999) originally shot this controversial cult classic as a pilot for a potential TV series called The Haunted, a new show similar in concept to The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, but with much more focus on horror. The pilot was not picked up, so after adding some additional scenes, The Haunted became The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre. Robert Stevens (TV’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone) started directing the pilot, but became very ill and was replaced by producer Stefano. Terrified of being buried alive, a young woman installs a phone in her crypt. A few days after her untimely death, the phone suddenly rings and paranormal investigator Nelson Orion (Landau) is brought in to probe the case. Stunningly shot in black-and-white by renowned cinematographers William A. Fraker (Rosemary’s Baby) and Conrad L. Hall (In Cold Blood). The stellar cast includes Diane Baker (Mirage) and Judith Anderson (Rebecca).

***

The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre is a 1964 American made-for-television horror–thriller film starring Martin Landau, Judith Anderson and Diane Baker. It was written, produced and directed by Joseph Stefano, author of the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 thriller Psycho.

The film was a pilot for a proposed supernatural anthology series for CBS called The Haunted. The series was not picked up after CBS president James T. Aubrey left but some additional footage was filmed and it was released as a standalone film.

Nelson Orion (Martin Landau) is an architect by profession and paranormal investigator by choice. He is engaged to heiress Vivia Mandore (Diane Baker) who mistakenly thought herself free from the domination of her recently deceased mother-in-law. However, the old woman is determined to continue her controlling ways... from beyond the grave.

Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 21st, 1964

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

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

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	Ghost of Sierra de Cobre: 1:20:45.549 The Haunted: 0:53:05.348
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,617,383,069 bytes Ghost of Sierra de Cobre: 22,773,288,960 bytes The Haunted: 15,787,419,648 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.92 Mbps / 35.88 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Ghost of Sierra de Cobre Blu-ray:
Bitrate The Haunted Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1556 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1556 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
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,617,383,069 bytes Ghost of Sierra de Cobre: 22,773,288,960 bytes The Haunted: 15,787,419,648 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.92 Mbps / 35.88 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Includes THE HAUNTED (Alternate Cut) • Audio Commentary for THE GHOST OF SIERRA DE COBRE by Film Historian David J. Schow • Audio Commentary for THE HAUNTED by Film Historian Eric Grayson Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8 / 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (October 2020): Kino have transferred Joseph Stefano's The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Restoration". Included is the unrestored, 20-minutes shorter, original pilot of the TV movie The Haunted. We've compared a few captures below and The Haunted is fraught with scratches and blemishes - generally much more damage and looks a smidgeon softer. This is all despite having a max'ed out bitrate. The 2K-restored The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre 'cut' looks excellent in 1080P. Much tighter, excellent contrast and detail in the film's frequent close-ups. You can see the value of the restoration and the 1080P looks great in-motion. The Haunted is not bad - just weaker contrast, less detail and more damage/marks.

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 dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. It is light on effects (outside of the trifecta-created ghost sounds) but has a dramatic score by Dominic Frontiere (Barquero, Brannigan, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, The Invaders TV series, The Stuntman) actually taken from The Outer Limits episode "Specimen: Unknown". Kino offer optional English subtitles, for both cuts, on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by David J. Schow (author of The Outer Limits Companion) on The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre 'cut'. There is also a commentary on The Haunted, by the man who owns the print: Eric Grayson. They both know a significant amount about the two cuts - ex. Schow can tell you the difference in the number of phone rings in on specific early scene of each cut, how the screen was taken from three separate sounds - one a vacuum clearer, the negative reversals, the extended scenes etc. They talk about writer/producer/director Joseph Stefano - although this ended up being his only directorial credit and is most famous for the screenplay of Hitchcock's Psycho. They talks about getting rid of John Drew Barrymore - replacing him with Tom Simcox. The detail is impressive and endless - especially regarding the TV show The Outer Limits as there are many cross-overs including that Stefano produced 32 episodes and the Frontiere score. Both are excellent for the curious on this production that has a jumbled history. They clear up much of this and embolden my appreciation for both cuts.

Joseph Stefano's The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre has been quite illusive for fans - having not resurfaced, stuck on a shelf, till 2011. It's notable for many reasons - as discussed in the commentaries - also shot my multi-Oscar winning cinematographer Conrad L. Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, American Beauty). This is good! A lost masterpiece? maybe... although it always felt like a Rod Serling TV episode. The idea was a perfect Pilot - unsuccessfully debunking supernatural cases. It's a shame the Pilot never yielded the fruit of a series. There's a creepy mystery angle that makes it a worthwhile viewing. The Kino Blu-ray adds the shorter The Haunted original cut and the two highly educational commentaries. I love the line (quoting Madame de Pompadour) "I do not believe in ghosts, but I'm afraid of them." Absolutely recommended!