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Death Has Blue Eyes – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Greece, 1976
Director: Nico Mastorakis
Writer: Nico Mastorakis
Cast: Jessica Dublin, Maria Aliferi, Peter Winter, Hristos Nomikos

Release Date: April 5th, 2021 (UK), April 6th, 2021 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 80 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC & 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"When local gigolo Chess (Chris Nomikos) greets his vacationing friend Bob Kovalski (Peter Winter) at Athens airport, the pair embark on a string of scams and erotic dalliances that eventually lead them into contact with an elegant wealthy woman, Geraldine Steinwetz (Jessica Dublin), and her glamorous daughter Christine (Maria Aliferi). Geraldine blackmails the two cheeky bachelor boys into acting as bodyguards for Christine, whom it transpires has telepathic abilities and has had her eye on them for some time. After fleeing from a series of assassination attempts, it soon becomes clear that Geraldine herself might not be quite whom she seems, as the two young men find themselves caught up in a political conspiracy of international dimensions." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new restoration from the original camera negative approved by the director".

Death Has Blue Eyes comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.3 GB

Feature 1.85:1 Ratio: 19.3 GB

Feature 1.33:1 Ratio: 19.3 GB

Though this release offers two aspect ratios to choose films. Quality wise both transfers are very similar. Print debris is minimal, colors and flesh tones look correct, black levels and image clarity look very good.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. There are no issues with hiss or distortion, dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, an image gallery, theatrical trailer (2 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles ), extended theatrical trailer (3 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Dancing with Death: tracks from the Death Has Blue Eyes original soundtrack (42 minutes 3 seconds - 14 tracks), an interview with director with Nico Mastorakis titled Nico Mastorakis (In His Own Words) (24 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Maria Aliferi (17 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Greek with English subtitles) and twenty-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Nico Mastorakis; The Greek Tycoon written by Julian Grainger and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Nico Mastorakis was a versatile filmmaker who had a knack for capitalizing on whatever genre was popular. Nico Mastorakis followed up his brutal debut Island of Death with Death Has Blue Eyes, an action-sci-fi hybrid.

Though Death Has Blue Eyes like its predecessor Island of Death had limited resources to work with. The result is two films that couldn’t be farther apart. Where Island of Death successfully maximized its resources, the same cannot be said about Death Has Blue Eyes.

Content wise, Death Has Blue Eyes is equal parts giallo and Carrie, with some soft-core erotica thrown in for good measure. And though the narrative moves forward to a conclusion. Along the way there are many nonsensical moments, which ultimately affect the pacing.

That said, anyone who’s familiar with the cinema of Nico Mastorakis is sure to get the most out of Death Has Blue Eyes, while everyone else will find it a chore to get through.

Arrow Video gives Death Has Blue Eyes a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of insightful interviews.