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Theater of Blood – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1973
Director: Douglas Hickox
Writers: Anthony Greville-Bell, Stanley Mann, John Kohn
Cast: Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Robert Coote, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Milo O’Shea, Eric Sykes, Madeline Smith, Diana Dors

Release Date: September 7th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 26 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"After years of suffering deadly reviews, hammy Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart (Price) decides it’s curtains for his critics. Bumping off his detractors with executions inspired by the Bard, Lionheart stages a beheading in the manner of Cymbeline, a stabbing inspired by Julius Caesar and even an untimely removal of a pound of flesh improvised from The Merchant of Venice—proving once and for all that all the world really is a stage... for murder!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Theater of Blood comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.2 GB

Kino Lorber Feature: 30.6 GB

Arrow Video Feature: 31.8 GB

This release uses as its source the same source that Arrow Video used for their 2014 Blu-ray release.

Here’s the information provided about Arrow Video’s transfer, “The HD master for Theatre of Blood was produced by MGM and delivered by Hollywood Classics. The transfer from a new 35mm Interpositive was done on a Spirit DataCine and the audio was made from the restored mono optical soundtrack negative, with all work completed by Todd-AO Video in Hollywood, CA. The project was managed by Eric Benson/MGM.”

Though the image generally looks crisp, it lacks clarity during darker sequences. And though grain is present, it looks thicker in some scenes than in other scenes. That said, this transfer is comparable to Arrow Video’s transfer. With the main difference being Kino Lorber’s transfer in some scenes looks brighter than Arrow Video’s transfer.

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 subtitles. The audio is in good shape, dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. That said, range-wise, things are limited.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a limited edition slipcover, a trailer for Theater of Blood (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), two television spots for Theater of Blood (1 minute 28 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), four radio spots for Theater of Blood (3 minutes 1 second, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), Trailers From Hell with Alan Spencer who discussed Theater of Blood (3 minutes 33 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Nick Redman and an audio commentary with screenwriter/producer Alan Spencer.

Other extras include trailers for The Raven (2 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), The Comedy of Terrors (2 minutes 33 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), Master of the World (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), The Last Man on Earth (1 minute 51 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), The Tomb of Ligeia (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Scream and Scream Again (2 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles) and House of the Long Shadows (2 minutes 28 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles).

Extras on the Arrow Video Blu-ray not ported over for Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray include an interview with Vincent Price biographer David Del Valle titled A Fearful Thespian (10 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Madeline Smith title Staged Reaction (9 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) an interview with Victoria Price titled A Priceless Pot-Boiler (11 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Michael J. Lewis titled A Harmony for Horror (17 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with The League of Gentlemen, Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, a bonus segment with composer Michael J. Lewis (3 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and a thirty page booklet that contains cast & crew information, an essay titled The Making of Theater of Blood written by Cleaver Patterson, a reproduction of original press book excerpts and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Vincent Price had a long career which spanned seven decades. And though his name has become synonymous with the horror film genre, it was not until his association with American Film International that he would so firmly entrench himself in the genre for which he is now one of its most recognized icons. Also, by the time that Theater of Blood came around, he was wrapping up his partnership with AIP and the horror film genre was going through its own transformation.

Content-wise, it would be difficult to find a script better suited to Vincent Price, an actor whose star has been somewhat diminished in the eyes of critics due to his extensive work in the Horror film genre.The premise of having an actor track down his critics and disposing of them by using the works of Shakespeare is sheer poetic justice. And though Theater of Blood is firmly rooted within the horror film genre, Vincent Price’s extraordinary performance proves without a doubt that he was an actor of great range.

Narrative wise, the plot is flawlessly laid out, with each new act of revenge distinctively different from the next. Also, though there are deaths onscreen and an ample amount of bloodshed, the way in which many of these deaths are shown is often laced with subversive humor. Most notably, a scene where a critic is forced to feed his two beloved dogs, or the scene where Vincent Price’s character, named Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart, poses as a hairdresser and electrocutes another critic with hair rollers. Needless to say, humor plays an integral part in the subject matter at hand.

Besides Vincent Price’s aforementioned performance, the rest of the cast also show up with their "A" game. Another stand out performance is Diana Rigg (‘The Avengers’, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) in the role of Edwina Lionheart. She gives a pitch perfect performance that perfectly contrasts Price’s performance. From top to bottom, this is a superb cast that features several recognizable faces, like Ian Hendry (Repulsion), Jack Hawkins (Zulu), Dennis Price (Vampyros Lesbos), Milo O’Shea (Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy) and Price’s future wife, Coral Browne (The Ruling Class).

Right from the get go, Theater of Blood establishes an infectious tone that makes it near impossible not to root for the killer. Also, unlike an atypical horror film where frightening the viewer is the number one adjective, Theater of Blood goes against the grain with its tongue-in-cheek humor, which also helps lessen the blow of some of the more gruesome deaths. There are so many factors that make or break a film, and in regards to Theater of Blood, it is one of those rare occasions where everything just seems to fall into place. With that being said, it is not difficult to see how Theater of Blood was Vincent Price’s favorite film that he worked on.

Theater of Blood gets a solid release from Kino Lorber that ports over an existing audio/video master and comes with a pair of insightful audio commentaries, recommended.

Kino Lorber