THE HEAD (1959) – world premiere HD release - Blu-ray Forum

Ivo Scheloske · 07-31-2022, 09:03 AM

After a short summer break, we resume our release schedule with a little (and undeservedly mostly overlooked) masterpiece from Germany:

THE HEAD
(orig. Die Nackte und der Satan)

Horst Frank as a mad scientist, who not only manages to keep severed heads alive, but also successfully transfers them onto a new body. So, basically, he is a better surgeon than his british ehhh german – very well-known – counterpart.

This film represents kind of the (missing) link between the German expressionist movies and the exploitation films of the 70s (like the “Schoolgirl Reports”).

We are proud to present the film for the first time ever in stunning HD quality. And I think that the specs (especially in regards to the extras) show that we gave this film the “VIP treatment” it so much deserves:

Packaging: Mediabook

Order-No. MB A: 31102
Order-No. MB B: 31103

EAN-Code MB Cover A: 4041036311025
EAN-Code MB Cover B: 4041036311032

Aspect Ratio: High Definition Widescreen (16:9 1,37:1) 1920x1080p
Sound: German DTS HD-MA 2.0 Mono / English DTS HD-MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: German/Englisch (removable)
Running Time: 96 min. (24fps)

Extras: Commentary by Dr. Rolf Giesen (German oly / Commentary by Tim Lucas (Enflish with optional German subs) / Commentary by Dr. Gerd Naumann, Christopher Klaese und Matthias Künnecke (German only) /German theatrical trailer / Alternative Movieversion in the theatrical AR 1.66:1 / US Titlesequenz / advertising flyer / ress flyer / Filmprograms / Picturegallery

Incl. 28-page booklet written by Dr. Rolf Giesen (German only.

Street date is the 19. August 2022. Pre-order will be possible sometime during next week.

Mr. Thomsen · 07-31-2022, 03:21 PM

Awesome news, Ivo. And a couple of very beautiful covers, I must say.

Jobla · 08-01-2022, 04:13 AM

I wonder if the alternate 1:66-1 version is in standard def? The 1:33-1 version is listed as HD, but there isn't an HD listing for the alternate version.

I will be preordering this release in August (hopefully tomorrow).

Mr. Thomsen · 08-01-2022, 09:57 AM

Available for pre-order at Wicked Vision now.

Cover A

Cover B

They are selling really fast, but most likely that is because none of the other well-known shops have opened up for pre-orders yet. I would expect them to be available at DTM, Beyond Media and probably also Amazon DE soon.

Erasmus Craven · 08-01-2022, 10:36 AM

Excellent news! Ordered Cover B from Wicked Vision.

Mr. Thomsen · 08-01-2022, 01:29 PM

I found it realy hard to decide, as I find both variants really beautiful.

I love the stylish look of cover B, which comes from a poster for the French theatrical release. It is a fun touch with those bats placed to censor the body parts that might offend the public.

In the end I went with cover A, which looks more like a classic film poster from the 1950s. It seems the artwork is taken from the Belgian theatrical poster, which again looks like it is based on photos from the German release. I wasn't able to find an example of the original German poster, though, and I wonder what that looked like?

I have only ever seen this film in a cut version. I never managed to get hold of the uncut German DVD, which was released more than a decade ago, so I am really looking forward to it.

@Ivo Scheloske, do you have any idea when your release of The Giant Leeches is going to come out?

RFK · 08-11-2022, 01:23 AM

Delighted to get this! I ordered cover B.

Jobla · 08-19-2022, 09:38 PM

Cover A for me!

Member-320773 · 08-21-2022, 03:56 PM

Keepcase released on 09/09/2022:

Jobla · 08-21-2022, 07:49 PM

Apparently the two initial Mediabook releases have sold out?

Good to see that there will be a single edition.

Mr. Thomsen · 08-23-2022, 10:21 AM

Has anyone's copy shipped yet?

I am looking forward to hear people's impressions of the disc.

Erasmus Craven · 08-23-2022, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

Has anyone's copy shipped yet?

I am looking forward to hear people's impressions of the disc.

Just received the shpping confirmation from Wicked.

Jobla · 08-23-2022, 05:23 PM

My copy from Amazon.de has shipped. It could take as long as two weeks to reach me in the states.

Mr. Thomsen · 08-24-2022, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erasmus Craven

Just received the shpping confirmation from Wicked.

Heh, I checked my mail when I saw your post, and Wicked also shipped mine yesterday.

Incidentally, I am re-reading Jonathan Rigby's excellent book Euro Gothic at the moment, and I just reached the part were he goes into some detail about The Head.

An interesting tidbit was that the production designer was Hermann Warm, who also worked on big classics like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Fritz Lang's Destiny/ Der müde Tod and Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc.

The producer, Wolf C. Hartwig, also sounds like quite the character! Not only did he produce this, he also produced that other infamous German horror-sexploitation movie of the period - Ein Toter hing im Netz/ Horrors of Spider Island (released by Severin not so long ago). And then he went on to produce the very popular sexploitation series Schulmädchen Report in the 1970s.

I was wondering whether anyone here might now about any articles or maybe even a book on Hartwig (German language is okay), outside the few links to obituaries on Wikipedia?

Mr. Thomsen · 08-30-2022, 12:31 PM

Mine arrived from Wicked Vision today! Very beautiful media book. I am really looking forward to dig into it tonight.

I also ordered Wicked Vision's own release of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, as that one boasts a new 2020 remaster, clearing up the mistakes from previous releases, including their own 2015 BD (IIRC most other releases have either been missing a bit of footage or have had issues with the color timing).

As mentioned above, the standard edition of Die Nackte und der Satan/ The Head is coming out on September 9, but if anyone craves the limited edition, DTM (shop.dtm.at) still have both variants in stock. I recently got the limited edition release of The Witchfinder General from them, and they packed it really, really well.

Jobla · 08-30-2022, 07:37 PM

My copy of THE HEAD arrived late last night from Amazon.de. I'm spot-checking it now. Looks great so far.

The 1:37-1 version is in HD, while the 1:66-1 transfer appears to be standard def. Both versions offer English audio and removeable English subtitles. Tim Lucas' audio commentary track accompanies the HD version.

The other extras are all in German. My German is lousy, but the booklet does have some really tasty illustrations.

I had expected the set to be region B-locked, but the display box claims regions A, B, and C.

Jobla · 09-22-2022, 04:19 AM

Looks like Amazon.de is preparing to ship the reissue version of THE HEAD (softcover, unlike the earlier Mediabook releases).

07-31-2022, 09:03 AM	#1
Ivo Scheloske Active Member Member since:Aug 2014	THE HEAD (1959) – world premiere HD release After a short summer break, we resume our release schedule with a little (and undeservedly mostly overlooked) masterpiece from Germany: THE HEAD (orig. Die Nackte und der Satan) Horst Frank as a mad scientist, who not only manages to keep severed heads alive, but also successfully transfers them onto a new body. So, basically, he is a better surgeon than his british ehhh german – very well-known – counterpart. This film represents kind of the (missing) link between the German expressionist movies and the exploitation films of the 70s (like the “Schoolgirl Reports”). We are proud to present the film for the first time ever in stunning HD quality. And I think that the specs (especially in regards to the extras) show that we gave this film the “VIP treatment” it so much deserves: Packaging: Mediabook Order-No. MB A: 31102 Order-No. MB B: 31103 EAN-Code MB Cover A: 4041036311025 EAN-Code MB Cover B: 4041036311032 Aspect Ratio: High Definition Widescreen (16:9 1,37:1) 1920x1080p Sound: German DTS HD-MA 2.0 Mono / English DTS HD-MA 2.0 Mono Subtitles: German/Englisch (removable) Running Time: 96 min. (24fps) Extras: Commentary by Dr. Rolf Giesen (German oly / Commentary by Tim Lucas (Enflish with optional German subs) / Commentary by Dr. Gerd Naumann, Christopher Klaese und Matthias Künnecke (German only) /German theatrical trailer / Alternative Movieversion in the theatrical AR 1.66:1 / US Titlesequenz / advertising flyer / ress flyer / Filmprograms / Picturegallery Incl. 28-page booklet written by Dr. Rolf Giesen (German only. Street date is the 19. August 2022. Pre-order will be possible sometime during next week.

07-31-2022, 03:21 PM	#2
Mr. Thomsen Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 Location:Denmark 4K collection:248 Blu-ray collection:3143 DVD collection:293	Awesome news, Ivo. And a couple of very beautiful covers, I must say.

08-01-2022, 04:13 AM	#3
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	I wonder if the alternate 1:66-1 version is in standard def? The 1:33-1 version is listed as HD, but there isn't an HD listing for the alternate version. I will be preordering this release in August (hopefully tomorrow).

08-01-2022, 09:57 AM	#4
Mr. Thomsen Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 Location:Denmark 4K collection:248 Blu-ray collection:3143 DVD collection:293	Available for pre-order at Wicked Vision now. Cover A Cover B They are selling really fast, but most likely that is because none of the other well-known shops have opened up for pre-orders yet. I would expect them to be available at DTM, Beyond Media and probably also Amazon DE soon.

08-01-2022, 10:36 AM	#5
Erasmus Craven Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Jan 2014 Location:Switzerland Blu-ray reviews:5 Trading Score:1	Excellent news! Ordered Cover B from Wicked Vision.

08-01-2022, 01:29 PM	#6
Mr. Thomsen Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 Location:Denmark 4K collection:248 Blu-ray collection:3143 DVD collection:293	I found it realy hard to decide, as I find both variants really beautiful. I love the stylish look of cover B, which comes from a poster for the French theatrical release. It is a fun touch with those bats placed to censor the body parts that might offend the public. In the end I went with cover A, which looks more like a classic film poster from the 1950s. It seems the artwork is taken from the Belgian theatrical poster, which again looks like it is based on photos from the German release. I wasn't able to find an example of the original German poster, though, and I wonder what that looked like? I have only ever seen this film in a cut version. I never managed to get hold of the uncut German DVD, which was released more than a decade ago, so I am really looking forward to it. @Ivo Scheloske, do you have any idea when your release of The Giant Leeches is going to come out?

08-11-2022, 01:23 AM	#7
RFK Blu-ray Guru Member since:Apr 2015	Delighted to get this! I ordered cover B.

08-19-2022, 09:38 PM	#8
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	Cover A for me!

08-21-2022, 03:56 PM	#9
Member-320773 Active Member Member since:Aug 2014 Trading Score:2	Keepcase released on 09/09/2022:

08-21-2022, 07:49 PM	#10
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	Apparently the two initial Mediabook releases have sold out? Good to see that there will be a single edition.

08-23-2022, 10:21 AM	#11
Mr. Thomsen Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 Location:Denmark 4K collection:248 Blu-ray collection:3143 DVD collection:293	Has anyone's copy shipped yet? I am looking forward to hear people's impressions of the disc.

08-23-2022, 05:23 PM	#13
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	My copy from Amazon.de has shipped. It could take as long as two weeks to reach me in the states.

08-30-2022, 12:31 PM	#15
Mr. Thomsen Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 Location:Denmark 4K collection:248 Blu-ray collection:3143 DVD collection:293	Mine arrived from Wicked Vision today! Very beautiful media book. I am really looking forward to dig into it tonight. I also ordered Wicked Vision's own release of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, as that one boasts a new 2020 remaster, clearing up the mistakes from previous releases, including their own 2015 BD (IIRC most other releases have either been missing a bit of footage or have had issues with the color timing). As mentioned above, the standard edition of Die Nackte und der Satan/ The Head is coming out on September 9, but if anyone craves the limited edition, DTM (shop.dtm.at) still have both variants in stock. I recently got the limited edition release of The Witchfinder General from them, and they packed it really, really well.

08-30-2022, 07:37 PM	#16
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	My copy of THE HEAD arrived late last night from Amazon.de. I'm spot-checking it now. Looks great so far. The 1:37-1 version is in HD, while the 1:66-1 transfer appears to be standard def. Both versions offer English audio and removeable English subtitles. Tim Lucas' audio commentary track accompanies the HD version. The other extras are all in German. My German is lousy, but the booklet does have some really tasty illustrations. I had expected the set to be region B-locked, but the display box claims regions A, B, and C.

09-22-2022, 04:19 AM	#17
Jobla Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2013 Location:Boulevard of Broken Dreams	Looks like Amazon.de is preparing to ship the reissue version of THE HEAD (softcover, unlike the earlier Mediabook releases).

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