Night of the Demon/Curse of the Demon (Tourneur, 1957)

[HerrSchreck]

Another rarely seen horror classic on a fabulous DVD, recently acquired.

Winding down with head-bobbin' fatigue, but didn't wanta sign off before sending up a flare on this extraordinary disc of this extraordinary film. For vintage horror fans, fans of noirish horror like the Lewtons (particularly impossible-to-define masterworks like THE SEVENTH VICTIM) I can't recommend this film enough. I'd seen it once decades ago and had never forgotten it. Beevs reprinting of Rosenbaum's TEN OVERLOOKED FANTASY FILMS ON DVD reminded me about this film, and the disc from Columbia Tristar is excellent, including both cuts of the film and a beautiful transfer.

Jacques Tourneur certainly learned a lot from Val Lewton about "making the nape hairs stand up" by playing on childhood fears, on the element of darkness and fog, and fright of the unknown-- what you don't show vs what you do show. This film is just excellent-- a wonderfully acted film starring a gruff aging Dana Andrews, made in England (shot in parts on Stonehenge!) using an excellent cast of veteran finely trained stock actors... par for the course.

Do. Not. Miss.

[viciousliar]

The film and the DVD is superb - save for that goddamn, ridiculous demon creature that the film company forced upon its director - killing much of the film's subtlety and ambiguity in the process - allegedly they thought it necessary as to secure the movie's appeal to a wider audience.

[Scharphedin2]

I own this, but am ashamed to say that I have not yet viewed it. However, I was under the impression that one of the cuts was 'sans' demon (Tourneur's original vision)? In any event, which is the better version of the film?

[Napoleon]

They both contain the Demon. Night is the full version. Despite being longer it flows much better.

[Kinsayder]

The monster is in both cuts. I think the effect works well enough: it's not overdone and it crystallizes the horror of the movie by showing us there's something real to be afraid of. Tourneur said that he only wanted to show four frames of the monster right at the end ("Did I see it or didn't I?"), but that the additional monster shots were foisted on him by the producer. However, Tony Earnshaw, in his book about the film, presents evidence that Tourneur always intended to show more of it, even in the death of Harrington scene at the start.

For me, the only minor infelicities in this movie are the stuffed panther moment and Andrews' slightly pickled performance (the story goes that he was so drunk when he arrived in Britain that he fell down the steps of the plane). But there is so much else that works, exceptionally well: the chase through the woods, the séance, the hypnosis scene.. A genuine classic.

[tryavna]

Whether or not you like the fact that the demon is shown in the film, at least the producers/director had the good sense and good taste to base the demon's appearance on 16th ad 17th century wood-prints.

[Ledos]

A good film, but I agree with those who disapprove of the inclusion of the demon. It really makes the film sink from being a near masterpiece to just well-produced horror entertainment. Try watching the movie pretending you never see the demon and it becomes clear how many scenes, just like some of the Lewton movies, actually play on the ambiguity of not knowing whether something supernatural is going on or not. This aspect is sadly lost by putting in that stupid demon (which, it must be admitted, looks impressive - it just doesn't belong in this movie).

[Stephen]

Tonight sees a re-released remastered print at the British Museum & BFI c/o Sony Pictures & Park Circus.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news ... ight-demon

With a release due soon in France perhaps we can anticipate an edition in the UK. I seem to remember an abandoned Special Edition DVD a few years back with a Tony Earnshaw commentary/video contribution. It would be terrific if those extras finally saw the light of day.

[shaky]

DVDBeaver review of the Wild Side Video blu-ray:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/dvdrevie ... _demon.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tenia]

FYI, the French subtitles are optional, and I confirm that the BD is Region A compatible.
The same for Gun Crazy.

My only problem with Night of the Demon is something which can already be seen on Gary's caps : there are very tiny vertical lines on the whole movie. It's not scratches, it's more something akin to the horizontal lines from One from the Heart, for instance. It's not especially disturbing, but while watching the movie, it was giving the impression that something was wrong with the picture, without knowing exactly what to point out. It gives kind of a raw picture. When I did screencaps for my own review, then I understood.

[tenia]

Are you saying these are not vertical tracks/tramlines on the print but something else? Electronic even?

I'm far from being as educated on film stocks than some people here. I have thus no idea where it's coming from but I'd have a hard time finding any reasons for these tramlines (seems a good word to express the look of it) to be print-related.

If anybody more knowledgeable could weight in, that would of course be of huge help to understand where this is coming from.

It's actually something which I have seen in the exact same type on Carlotta's The Boston Strangler BD. In both cases, it doesn't hamper a lot the PQ (especially because I had to zoom a lot on screencaps to point out what was the problem), but it does give the picture a unidentifiable strange look.

[EddieLarkin]

I don't know what they are, but yes they're definitely visible in the Beaver caps if you look closely. They do look quite similar to what can be seen on the One from the Heart caps.

[HerrSchreck]

I think what you're seeing in the One From ... caps seems to be just the blockiness of low resolution.

The pixel patterning that you're seeing in the Night/Curse is something I've seen from time to time and I can't figure out if it's a format anomaly of image reproduction/capture, or it takes place in telecine or encoding and is visible on any and all displays. Bigger tech heads, I'd be interested in knowing what this subtle striping is.

[Finch]

I was going to buy this disc but seeing the steep prices and those vertical lines makes me want to hold off until we get a review from Svet on Blu-Ray.com and other sources. Would be interested in your opinion when you got to see the disc for yourself, David. Cheers.

[HerrSchreck]

Having problems with links.... stay tuned.

[EddieLarkin]

My resizing may have resulted in the pattern looking blocky in the OftH caps. The original ones are obviously more valuable, but you do have to strain to see it. Jeffrey Kaufman references it in his review and awards a 1/5 because of it. Either way, it certainly looks more "electronic" on OftH than it does on NofD

[tenia]

Here is a link to a homemade screencaps of The Boston Strangler, where the same issue is also visible :

[HerrSchreck]

Where? The wood grain on the door? I don't see any cap-wide patterns.

Of course, I'm getting older and can no longer read the date off of a penny.

[tenia]

If you click on the capture, you can get it full screen, and will be able to see the same vertical pattern, especially on Curtis' face.

[Finch]

Jeffrey Kaufman references it in his review and awards a 1/5 because of it. Either way, it certainly looks more "electronic" on OftH than it does on NofD

That's the same Jeffrey Kaufman who gave Desk Set 4 stars for the video but then maybe he's enamoured with the teal look.

[cdnchris]

The vertical pattern in the enlarged cap is very obvious. Almost makes it look like a canvas.

[tenia]

I am particularly wetting my pants in anticipation of reading 160 pages of Eddie Muller text in French on Gun Crazy in that disc's booklet.

220 pages, actually (but with photos and all).

However, again, I'd like to emphasize than while this vertical pattern is there, it's not completely disturbing when watching the movie. The disc is not FUBAR due to this.

[tenia]

I haven't seen the vertical lines on Gun Crazy, only on the Tourneur. I do think that Gun Crazy has a more defined picture too, probably less filtered also, maybe less rough.