The Long Hair of Death (1964)

[bigshot]

I screened this last night and was pleasantly surprised. The image and sound are pretty good. (I watched the Italian audio with English subtitles.) I had never seen the movie before, but it made me very happy. I've always loved Bava's Black Sunday and wished there were more gothic horrors in that style. This one nails it. It has the dramatic lighting and creepy old castle... even the secret door at the back of the fireplace. Great costumes and makeup, and Barbara Steele is fantastic in this picture too. Well worth picking up if you're a fan of Black Sunday.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by bigshot

I screened this last night and was pleasantly surprised. The image and sound are pretty good. (I watched the Italian audio with English subtitles.) I had never seen the movie before, but it made me very happy. I've always loved Bava's Black Sunday and wished there were more gothic horrors in that style. This one nails it. It has the dramatic lighting and creepy old castle... even the secret door at the back of the fireplace. Great costumes and makeup, and Barbara Steele is fantastic in this picture too. Well worth picking up if you're a fan of Black Sunday.

You've sold me!

[Vw Driver]

I was just thinking of picking this up after looking up some of Barbara Steele movies. The cover art is fantastic.

[cakefactory]

I liked this movie quite a bit, much more than the three in that Severin set, even though Castle of Blood is usually held up as her best B&W horror outside of Black Sunday. I don't recall the transfer being spectacular, but I also don't recall it being a scanner abomination like most of the color Raro transfers. Maybe it was and I was just too into the movie to care.

[oddbox83]

Saw this last night for the first time, I really liked it though I didn't have a clue what was going on, the supernatural elements were WTF when they went in an unexpected direction and didn't make any sense until the end when you realise

[Show spoiler]they were playing with the count as well as the audience.

If the 88 Films disc is the same master as the Raro one (which I believe it is) I was a bit disappointed by the way it's been treated digitally. DNR and automated debris removal tools are cranked up too high leaving a soft look with DNR artefacts on fast movement. The debris removal leaves a twinkling look as bits of genuine detail get randomly removed. Audio noise reduction is a bit heavy as well as being inconsistent, sometimes you can hear the hiss returning on quiet moments (adaptive noise reduction artefact) along with an underwater sound, a tell tale sign of overuse. Basically, you can tell all the tools have been used, and that is when they fail. You shouldn't even be able to tell they've been there when used properly. At least the good B&W scan still shines though, though it seems some film damage was sustained during shooting as some is visible on certain shots only as if one days shooting or whatever was damaged.

[NoirFan]

^
That's Raro for you! Have they released any films whose transfers they didn't ruin/digitally manipulate in some way? A label to avoid entirely.

[UseY0ur1llusi0n]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

DNR and automated debris removal tools are cranked up too high leaving a soft look with DNR artefacts on fast movement.

bigshot's favorite.

[The Great Owl]

This Blu-ray escaped my attention when it was first released, but I just placed an order for the Raro disc, since it appears to have the same transfer as the 88 Films Region B disc and since Barbara Steele movies are a must for my collection.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Barbara Steele movies are a must for my collection.

Not ones that look like this!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Not ones that look like this!

The Raro Blu-ray and the 88 Films Blu-ray look to be identical with regard to the transfer, and, sadly, they are the best high definition options currently on the table.

(I checked this site's review and the DVD Beaver review before pulling the trigger.)

[oddbox83]

Yeah failing anything better it’s not disastrous, just annoying. And like I said, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. It does help that I only paid £6 for the U.K. version.

[kinkyqueen]

Solid 9/10 for me

[ol_Dut]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The Raro Blu-ray and the 88 Films Blu-ray look to be identical with regard to the transfer, and, sadly, they are the best high definition options currently on the table.

(I checked this site's review and the DVD Beaver review before pulling the trigger.)

The transfers are the same from what I'm given to understand - so it all comes down to price. For a film of this vintage, the image does not look that bad to my eye - even given the clean-up work. Most importantly, the film is an absolute treat from start to finish and Steele's work is as admirable as ever in this one. LHOD was dead center in my Barbara Steele marathon this past Halloween and until/unless something better comes along, I'm happy to have it in my collection.

[oddbox83]

Barbara Steele is wonderful. Her acting talent first caught my eye as Dr Hoffman in Dark Shadows and went on to play 3 different characters in that one series.

[LanceL]

Which release should I consider? The Raro or 88 Films?

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by LanceL

Which release should I consider? The Raro or 88 Films?

The Raro is fine, but don't order it directly from them; you'll be waiting forever.

[crikan]

I avoided this release for years because of the negative comments, Raro's reputation and the price. I wish I hadn't. This release looks and sounds more than fine. Much better than a typical Raro release. It's not stunning or definitive, but I found nothing wrong.

The film is terrific. Possibly my favorite Barbara Steele.

[llj]

This movie's reputation should increase as more people watch it. I was really pleasantly surprised by it. It's more a revenge gothic drama with supernatural elements than a 'horror' but it's absolutely uncompromising in its goal and construction of said revenge plot. Barbara Steele is fantastic of course, and her performance really plays with the audience, as you spent much of the film wondering if she's lost her memory because her performance absolutely betrays no such indication that she's setting anything up.

But the real surprise here is George Ardisson as Kurt. What a complete piece of shit this character is. A Class A cinematic douchebag. Ardisson does so well a job at making you hate him that the final scenes when he gets what's coming to him basically turns it into a feel-good movie! How he nails it is he never completely goes over the top and turns into a 'fun' caricature. He plays his douchery up with his smug grin sometimes (Ardisson's comically huge jaw also helps you want to punch his smug face even more) but he skews more towards exaggerated realism than villainous caricature, so this is the kind of character the audience would nod their heads and say "Yup, I know a shithead like this in real life."

And this is also one of the few movies where the revenge dished out actually feels equal to the original act. Too many movies have a revenge where the villain gets less than he deserves. In this one, the villain gets exactly what he deserves.

[Richard--W]

I'm content with the 88Films edition.

[mikey horror]

Any word on this getting a re-release?