The Doctor and the Devils [Blu-Ray]
Director: Freddie Francis
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-Ray
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
Synopsis:
Based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few hanged criminals per year – Rock eventually recruits two grave robbers (Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea) to secure a better supply of corpses. Coming to the gory conclusion that they will earn more the “fresher” the corpses, the two begin committing murder and delivering warm bodies to the doctor’s lecture chambers. Also starring Julian Sands, Patrick Stewart and Twiggy, The Doctor and the Devils brings classic chills from start to finish!
For those unfamiliar with the film, ‘The Doctor and the Devils’ is a cult classic period film released in 1985 and taking place in the nineteenth century. It follows the unlikely and unintentional connection between an esteemed doctor and a couple of lowlife murderers and drunks just trying to make an extra buck, or fifty. Soon the doctor is provided the fresh corpses he needs for his medical tests, but what he may or may not be aware of is that these two men are murdering innocent folks in order to make a buck by providing the doctor their corpses, hence forming an unintentional alliance that could have dire repercussions for them all. Directed by the late Freddie Francis (director of the original 1972 ‘Tales from the Crypt’ film) and starring an impressive and talented cast including the likes of Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Patrick Stewart, Twiggy, Julian Sands, Stephen Rea and more, ‘The Doctor and the Devils’ is an exceptionally well done cult classic for the horror fans who appreciate a period piece as well.
The deliciously diabolical cult classic period film ‘The Doctor and the Devils’ has finally arrived home in Devilish High Definition video and audio; finally available on Blu-Ray from one of the best studios around these days for horror fans, the always impressive Scream Factory. Along with unquestionably providing the best video and audio quality you’ll find for the film, along with some nice extras including interviews and a commentary track (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) this Blu-Ray release is a definite must own for fans of the movie.
VIDEO:
Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of ‘The Doctor and the Devils’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.35:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty impressive, up to par with Scream Factory’s usual high standards. The colors are rich and the details sharp, even the fast moving and darker sequences look fantastic; no notable faults could be found within on my end. Everything looks solid as a whole; both fans and newcomers to this cult classic should be more than pleased with this high definition video presentation.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless stereo track sounds pretty impressive and is easily the best this 80’s period film has ever sounded. All of the details, down to the background noise and the wonderful score sound clear and impressive and the dialogue is nice and crisp throughout. This DTS-HD MA stereo soundtrack sounds as good as it gets for films of this sort and should leave the masses quite satisfied.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of ‘The Doctor and the Devils’ also includes a couple of worthwhile extras. Included on the release is a Commentary with Author Steve Haberman; an Interview with Executive Producer Mel Brooks, Producers Jonathan Sanger and Randy Auerbach; as well as the theatrical trailer.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.