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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2025): Kino have transferred Jess Franco's "The Vengeance of Dr Mabuse" to Blu-ray. The 1080P is a notable step above the DVD-Rs floating around, but colors shift mid-scene to pink and green. The overall image is soft and video-ey but in the accurate 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Cinematography, handled by Franco himself under the pseudonym Manuel Merino, features fish-eye lens distortions for close-ups, jagged editing that results in chaotic transitions - including day shots colliding with night scenes and occasional camera shadows creeping into frame - and a reliance on unusual locations like Alicante's modernist architecture, coastal bunkers, and amber-hued countrysides to create an eccentric, barely-budgeted visual flair that blends sci-fi gadgetry with exploitation excess. Sophomoric. Sets are minimalistic and oppressive, centered around a sinisterly lit laboratory crammed with clunky, flashing electronic devices reminiscent of a student film, shadowy basement cells, and dimly lit precinct houses, all contributing to a stark, cluttered environment that underscores the film's parody of authority and villainy while highlighting budget constraints through static, confined interiors. The overall HD presentation is imperfect complete with the production warts of a modest (or non-existent) budget and comprised sources albeit, possibly, the best available.

NOTE: We have added 46 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 (24-bit) in the original German language. Sound design remains understated, focusing on ambient beeps from lab gadgets and minimal effects to support the film's chaotic narrative rather than sophisticated layering, aligning with its exploitation roots and emphasizing visual eccentricity over sonic polish. This is anchored by Franco's own groovy jazz soundtrack, described as a stunning psychedelic score that lends a jazz-riffing energy to the proceedings, punctuated by sudden musical numbers such as nightclub stripteases where Jenny purrs lyrics like "I'm a wild cat. I'm a tiger," integrating erotic undertones with rhythmic flair. Dialogue remains filled with Franco's gibberish - rambling and chatty, with characters wittering on at length in scenes that parody interrogation tropes. Ambient effects like lab beeps and poison gas hisses with balanced fidelity. The lossless seems a fair representation of what this probably was like theatrically.  Kino Cult offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a commentary by film historians Troy Howarth (So Deadly, So Perverse: Giallo-Style Films From Around the World, Vol. 3) and Nathaniel Thompson (FrightFest Guide to Vampire Movies,) who provide insightful context on Franco's prolific 1970s output, the film's unauthorized ties to the Mabuse legacy, production anecdotes from the rushed Alicante shoot, performers (Ewa Strömberg, Jack Taylor, Fred Williams, etc.) and thematic links to the director's sci-fi horror oeuvre. It provided me with some chuckles and elevated my extremely low appreciation.

Jess Franco's "The Vengeance of Dr Mabuse" exemplifies the director's signature low-budget Eurotrash aesthetic, characterized by awkwardness often employing tilted angles, Dutch tilts, and colored gels to evoke a quasi-futuristic, misty atmosphere amid sun-drenched Spanish landscapes mimicking the American Southwest desert. Character-wise, Dr. Farkas/Mabuse is a far cry from Lang's hypnotic genius; portrayed by Taylor as a grimacing, hand-wringing schemer in hippy-dippy attire, he spends most of the film barking orders from his bunker, lacking depth and reduced to a caricature driven by petty greed rather than ideological fervor. In summation, this Kino Cult #34 entry serves as a solid upgrade for fans of Jess Franco's eccentric exploitation style, offering a technically competent presentation that highlights the film's campy charm and visual eccentricity on Blu-ray for the first time, best suited for completists rather than newcomers seeking comprehensive context; at its core, it's a welcome preservation of a flawed but endearing Eurotrash oddity.

Gary Tooze