The Devil Rides Out (1968)

[edmonddantes]

Im curious as to what non religious persons thought of this?

Im a catholic, and Ive made a bit of research on satanic rites and cults. I actually believe in those things, in evil personified, but never saw it in a movie in a way that I thought was remotely realistic, except for this (actually in some of jodorowskis films you can see a bit of white and black magic). I thought for the most part it looked believable in this movie and I had that same feeling when reading an occultist book or having assisted to a magic ritual, but I do wonder if non religious people found laughable those scenes.

As for the movie its definitely a top tier hammer, very near the top, only liked more the hands of the ripper. Christopher lee makes for a terrific good guy, a powerful hero for once, instead of the usual underdog good guy who barely makes it against evil mostly by luck.

Only one thing annoyed me, the unsurpassable clumsy idiot that portrayed Leon Greene, but I want to praise Terence Fisher direction, vigorous and educated, with very good sense and always picking the right choices as a director.

[Hammerlover]

I'm not particularly religious, so those aspects of the film have never bothered me one way or the other. Like you, I consider it top tier Hammer, and a cracking good horror film in general. Incidentally, Leon Greene's performance was at least partially hampered by the fact that he was dubbed by another actor (Patrick Allen). Personally, I've always thought he was a stalwart, if somewhat stiff, presence in the film...and one of the few actors who can make Christopher Lee look like a normal-sized individual!

[edmonddantes]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

I'm not particularly religious, so those aspects of the film have never bothered me one way or the other. Like you, I consider it top tier Hammer, and a cracking good horror film in general. Incidentally, Leon Greene's performance was at least partially hampered by the fact that he was dubbed by another actor (Patrick Allen). Personally, I've always thought he was a stalwart, if somewhat stiff, presence in the film...and one of the few actors who can make Christopher Lee look like a normal-sized individual!

Like someone said above I wished Lee had been cast as the hero more times, he really is by far the best thing in the movie.

special mention to Charles gray, he was also a really good villain.

really good edition too, loved the extras though I havent seen them all for lack of time

[Hammerlover]

Charles Gray is SUPERB in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. It is, by far, his greatest screen role IMO.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

Charles Gray is SUPERB in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. It is, by far, his greatest screen role IMO.

Oh I won't be coming back. But something will.

[Streetlight]

How noticeable are the special effects in the original version?

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by Streetlight

How noticeable are the special effects in the original version?

Pretty noticeable, but I've learned to live with them.

[Streetlight]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

Pretty noticeable, but I've learned to live with them.

Which BD would you recommend for 1st time viewers? Shout! or Studio Canal?

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by Streetlight

Which BD would you recommend for 1st time viewers? Shout! or Studio Canal?

Definitely Scream/Shout! Factory. It's mastered from the interpositive and includes some new extras.

[John Earls Umbrella]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

Charles Gray is SUPERB in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. It is, by far, his greatest screen role IMO.

Apart from Blofeld that is

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by John Earls Umbrella

Apart from Blofeld that is

Oh I do like that one as well!

[octobercountry]

I'm curious, just how many effects shots were improved in the revised version? Only things I noticed were: smoke effects behind the apparition in the observatory, flames behind the death's head reveal, and a better lightning strike.

So, we're talking around ten seconds that are slightly different between the two versions of the film, no big deal. I do think each of those effects shots are better in the revised version, without calling attention to themselves. But on the Shout disc it's hardly worth watching the whole film for those ten seconds, when the picture quality is so obviously superior on the new scan of the original cut.

[octobercountry]

Ah, now this is curious... I watched the "making of" documentary on the Shout disc; at one point portions of the angel of death scene were being shown onscreen while someone talked over the footage. However, the soundtrack for this scene was playing in the background, loudly enough to hear, and I was surprised to find that it was in stereo.

From what I could tell, it actually sounded rather good---added to the atmosphere of the scene, with some highly directional sound. But I'm wondering, where did this track come from? Was the film ever given a stereo remix? Because both versions of the film on this disc are in mono.

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by octobercountry

Ah, now this is curious... I watched the "making of" documentary on the Shout disc; at one point portions of the angel of death scene were being shown onscreen while someone talked over the footage. However, the soundtrack for this scene was playing in the background, loudly enough to hear, and I was surprised to find that it was in stereo.

From what I could tell, it actually sounded rather good---added to the atmosphere of the scene, with some highly directional sound. But I'm wondering, where did this track come from? Was the film ever given a stereo remix? Because both versions of the film on this disc are in mono.

It's always been in mono, to the best of my knowledge; even James Bernard's score was recorded monaurally.

[octobercountry]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

It's always been in mono, to the best of my knowledge; even James Bernard's score was recorded monaurally.

That's what I assumed.... Though it makes me wonder where that bit of stereo audio came from, then...

[BluPat]

I gotta watch my Blu-ray of this soon. I've never seen the movie. But Hammer and Christopher Lee, you can't go wrong.

[Russhole]

Originally Posted by BluPat

I gotta watch my Blu-ray of this soon. I've never seen the movie. But Hammer and Christopher Lee, you can't go wrong.

No better time than now. Happy Halloween.

[BluPat]

Originally Posted by Russhole

No better time than now. Happy Halloween.

True! Happy Halloween as well!

[Jobla]

It's a classic!

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by BluPat

I gotta watch my Blu-ray of this soon. I've never seen the movie. But Hammer and Christopher Lee, you can't go wrong.

You can actually, Lee's dialog-less appearances in the later Dracula films don't rank amongst his best works, but TDRO is an excellent showcase for him in a heroic part. I've read rumors that he was enthusiastic about the idea of a Duc de Richleau franchise, but it didn't work out.