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Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (The Paul Naschy Collection) – Scream Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1973
Director: Carlos Aured
Writers: Carlos Aured, Paul Naschy
Cast: Paul Naschy, Diana Lorys, Eduardo Calvo, Eva León, Inés Morales, Antonio Pica, Luis Ciges, Pilar Bardem, Maria Perschy

Release Date: June 20th, 2017
Approximate running time: 89 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $59.99

"A series of brutal slayings start to occur shortly after the arrival of convicted rapist who gets hired on as the caretaker of an estate. All the victims have two things in common they have blue eyes and blonde hair. What can motivate such a diabolical mind to remove their victims’ eyes?" - Synopsis

Video: 3.5/5

There’s no information given about this transfer. It looks like the same source BCI used for their 2008 DVD release.

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 28.7 GB

Feature: 26.9 GB

Just like BCI’s release, this new release from Scream Factory presents Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. And though the source looks clean, it also looks dated. Colors are nicely saturated, and image clarity and black levels look good. It should-be this transfer exhibits digital filtering.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio mixes sound clean, clear and balanced. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Spanish language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery, Spanish opening credits (5 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Spanish), two trailers for Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (2 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles and 2 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn (the Naschycast).

Extras not ported over from BCI’s 2008 DVD release include an introduction by actor Paul Naschy, an audio commentary with Paul Naschy and director Carlos Aured and a booklet with liner notes about Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll written by Mikek Lipinski.

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll is part of The Paul Naschy Collection, a box set released by Scream Factory. The other films in this box set are Horror Rises from the Tomb, Vengeance of the Zombies, Human Beasts and Night of the Werewolf. This box set comes with twenty-four page booklet that comes with liner notes Horror Rises from the Tomb, Vengeance of the Zombies, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, Human Beasts and Night of the Werewolf written by Mikek Lipinski.

Summary:

Though there were many Italian/Spanish thriller co-productions in the 1970’s. There is a clear distinction that can-be made between Italian/Spanish and a Spanish thriller. With most of the latter being restrained thriller that owed more to Agatha Christie than the more violent Italian thriller. That said, there are a few rare exceptions of Spanish thrillers that hold their own when compared to their Italian counterparts.

Case in point Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, a Spanish thriller borrows elements from the Giallo genre and Gothic horror films like Georges Franju’s Eyes without a Face. Most notably how the killer's identity is not revealed until the end and the killer's attire is in line with Giallo cinema’s black gloved killers. And the gory murder set pieces do not disappoint. Also, there’s an ample amount of nudity in Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll. With most of its female cast spending time out of their clothes.

The cast for Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll features a bevy of Euro beauties most of which end up getting seduced by Paul Naschy’s character Gilles. The four women leads are Diana Lorys as Claude the eldest sister who right arm was deformed from an accident, Maria Perschy Yvette who's confined in a wheelchair due to a past trauma, Eva León plays Nicole a nymphomaniac and rounding out the main cast of women is Inés Morales as Michelle a nurse recently hired to take care of Yvette. In the lead role is Spanish film icon Paul Naschy as Gilles, a loner drifter just out of prison. Overall the acting is very good all around with Eva León in the role of Nicole stands out more than the rest of the cast.

Pacing, plot twists and characters motivations are all fully realized. Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll's dream/flashback sequences that is filled with bold colors and at times they are reminiscent of the flashbacks in Deep Red. Another similarity to Deep Red occurs via Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll’s superb score composed by Juan Carlos Calderón. Every time the killer is about to take out another victim, the same music plays over each kill. The killers’ musical motif is none other than “London Bridge”. Ultimately, fans of Giallo cinema should thoroughly enjoy Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll.

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll gets a good audio/video presentation that comes with a pair of insightful extras, recommended.