Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales Of Terror [Limited Edition]

[Akijama]

https://mvdb2b.com/s/GothicFantastic...dEdition/AV475




While Mario Bava remains the best-known purveyor of Italian Gothic horror, many other filmmakers tried their hand at the form throughout the 1960s. Gothic Fantastico presents four titles from this classic period, all of which demonstrate Italy's ability to expand genre beyond the classic literary monsters that dominated elsewhere. Gaslighting abounds in Massimo Pupillo's Lady Morgan's Vengeance - a tale of romance and mystery sprinkled with sadism and the supernatural - as newlywed Sir Harold Morgan tries to destroy his bride with help from his sinister maid. Meanwhile, the perverse influence of Poe is used to great effect in Alberto De Martino's The Blancheville Monster - a tale of family curses and madmen in the attic, as Emilie de Blancheville returns home to her brother Roderic and finds her own family out for her blood. Mino Guerinni's The Third Eye features an early role for Italian cult icon Franco Nero and a plot that borrows elements from Hitchcock, layered with a whiff of necrophilia. Finally, Damiano Damiani's The Witch takes a more avant-garde approach, when a young historian is lured to work for an ageing woman, only to be held captive when he becomes obsessed with her beautiful daughter. Madness, obsession and messed up families are the order of the day in these four lesser-known monochrome gems from Italy's peak Gothic period, restored in 2K from their original negatives for the first time alongside an array of in-depth extras.

Bonus Materials
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
New 2K restorations from the original negatives
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
Original Italian and English front and end titles on The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye and The Witch
Original lossless mono Italian soundtracks
Original lossless mono English soundtracks on The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye and The Witch
Optional English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
New video introductions to each film by Italian film devotee Mark Thompson Ashworth
Image galleries
Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Roberto Curti, Rob Talbot, Jerome Reuter, Rod Barnett and Kimberly Lindbergs
Fold-out double-sided poster
Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
DISC 1: LADY MORGAN’S VENGEANCE
New commentary by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
New video essay by author and producer Kat Ellinger
New video interview with actress Erika Blanc
Newly edited video interview with actor Paul Muller
Newly edited audio interview with director Massimo Pupillo
The complete original cineromanzo, published in Suspense in April 1971
Trailer
DISC 2: THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER
New commentary by filmmaker and film historian Paul Anthony Nelson
New video essay by writer and pop culture historian Keith Allison
New video interview with author and filmmaker Antonio Tentori
Opening credits for the US release of the film
Trailer
DISC 3: THE THIRD EYE
New commentary by author and critic Rachael Nisbet
New video essay by author and filmmaker Lindsay Hallam
Newly edited video interview with actress Erika Blanc
DISC 4: THE WITCH
New commentary by author and producer Kat Ellinger
New video essay by author and academic Miranda Corcoran
New video interview with author and filmmaker Antonio Tentori
Sales Points
First time on Blu-ray for four highly-regarded horror films from Italy's Golden Decade
In the tradition of Mario Bava and including adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe and Gilles de Rais

[Hammerlover]

Looks interesting. I'm down for it.

[snipemonkey]

I must have this.

[amputd]

Looks great!

[Mark E. Desade]

All over this. That cover though... Just looking at it I'm ready to call my doctor for a Zoloft script.

[DrEricVornoff]

Yep... I pre-ordered this with Diabolik today.

I love me some 60s Italian Gothic Horror.

This was the only Arrow announcement this month I grabbed because...

[Nosferatu31]

Anyone see any of these films?

[RiFiFi1955]

Haven't seen any of these but will purchase to support Arrow in hopes they put out more Italian works and I am sure that I will find enjoyment in the films themselves.

[The_Chex]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu31

Anyone see any of these films?

If you enjoy Barbara Steele's black and white gothic chillers (Castle of Blood, An Angel for Satan, The Long Hair of Death), you'll have a good time with The Blancheville Monster. It's along those same lines with a prominent role played by Helga Line.

[AliasCane]

"La Strega" is a faithful adaptation of "Aura", a rare mexican gothic novel by highly regarded Carlos Fuentes. Funnily enough, even when the book is very much read (it's in the mandatory high school syllabus), the movie wasn't shown in this country (Mexico) in the 60s or 70s, because the cultured elite considered it was a "betrayal" that Fuentes (for many years the spearhead of mexican contemporary literature along with elitist but brilliant poet-essayist Octavio Paz) had consented to have his book turned into what many saw as Euro-Exploitation.
I've never seen the film, and I really look forward to see it. I think it was unfairly obscured back in the day.

[agentalbert]

Are all of these b&w?

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by agentalbert

Are all of these b&w?

Yes.

[amputd]

Review up at the Beaver. Looks good!

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film11/blu-...or_blu-ray.htm

[DrEricVornoff]

Originally Posted by agentalbert

Are all of these b&w?

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

Yes.

Didn't realize this... now I'm even more excited!

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by amputd

Review up at the Beaver. Looks good!

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film11/blu-...or_blu-ray.htm

The screenshots look amazing. Can't wait to get this!

[OceanBlue]

This gothic horror boxset from Arrow was one of their announcments from the past few months which has stood out for me, and which I was most interested in getting (along with the gialli boxset which includes Smile Before Death, but until I'm confident that the issue(s) with it has been resolved (one of them was the lack of English subtitles on one of the extras), I won't be getting that Arrow release yet).

[munin]

How are the movies in this? Reviews on Letterboxd seem pretty middling.

[strumdogg]

Cereal At Midnight unboxing/review:

GOTHIC FANTASTICO Review: Italian Gothic Horror Box Set From Arrow! - YouTube

[Citizen K]

Yeah, will most likely end up getting this.

[GasmaskAvenger]

The Third Eye is the only movie in the set i'm familiar with and actually had seen a good chunk of prior to this set being announced, mainly because it served as the source material for Joe D'Amato's infamous sleazefest "Buio Omega".