Got Told Me To – Blue Underground (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1976
Director: Larry Cohen
Writer: Larry Cohen
Cast: Tony Lo Bianco, Sandy Dennis, Deborah Raffin, Sylvia Sidney, Richard Lynch, Andy Kaufman

Release Date: July 19th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 41 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Mono English, Dolby Digital Mono French
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"A rooftop sniper guns down 14 pedestrians on the streets of New York City. A mild-mannered dad takes a shotgun and blows away his wife and children. A cop goes on a sudden shooting spree at the St. Patrick's Day Parade. And each of these unlikely killers makes the same dying confession: "God told me to." Now a repressed Catholic NYPD detective (Tony Lo Bianco of THE HONEYMOON KILLERS and THE FRENCH CONNECTION) must uncover a netherworld of deranged faith, alien insemination and his own unholy connection to a homicidal messiah with a perverse plan for the soul of mankind." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "now presented in a new 4K restoration from the original uncensored negative, with Dolby Vision HDR."

Got Told Me To comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 59.8 GB

Feature: 56.7 GB

Got Told Me To comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.1 GB

Feature: 23.6 GB

Though Blue Underground’s 2015 Blu-ray looked great, this new transfer looks equally as great. Contrast, black levels, and image clarity are slightly stronger than they were on Blue Underground’s 2015 Blu-ray release. That said, this new transfer features a different color scheme than Blue Underground’s 2015 Blu-ray release. Most notably, some blues appear more teal. Ultimately, this is a solid transfer that most viewers will be thoroughly satisfied with.

Audio: 5/5 (Dolby Atmos English)

This release comes with four audio options, a Dolby Atmos mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and a Dolby Digital mono mix in French. For this review, I listened to the Dolby Atmos track. This is another solid Atmos track that does a great job of making everything sound more robust. Included with this release are the following subtitle options: English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD include Demon advertising: theatrical trailer (1 minute 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #1 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and TV spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), God Told Me To advertising: theatrical trailer (1 minute 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #1 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #3 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #4 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and TV spot #5 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with writer/producer/director Larry Cohen, and an audio commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a poster & still gallery (55 images), Demon advertising: theatrical trailer (1 minute 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #1 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and TV spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), God Told Me To advertising: theatrical trailer (1 minute 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #1 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #3 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #4 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and TV spot #5 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Tony Lo Bianco titled Heaven & Hell On Earth (11 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with special effects artist Steve Neill titled Bloody Good Times (9 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival extra titled Lincoln Center Q&A with Larry Cohen (8 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival extra titled God Told Me To Bone – New Beverly Q&A with Larry Cohen (8 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Larry Cohen, and an audio commentary with Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth.

Other extras include reversible cover art, and a limited-edition slipcover (First Pressing Only).

Summary:

There are a lot of moving parts in Got Told Me To, and just when you think that things have finally settled, along comes another unexpected turn that puts a new spin on everything that had preceded it. Also, there are moments where Got Told Me To feels like a police procedural, only to momentarily venture off into the realm of science fiction. Other elements that Larry Cohen throws into this melting pot of genres and themes include aliens, infidelity, paranoia, and religion.

Though Got Told Me To is filled with several moments that require a leap of faith. It is ultimately its narrative's lack of cohesion that is bound to confuse the majority of first-time viewers. Needless to say, it requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate Got Told Me To's nuances. And when it comes to exploitation cinema, far too often, the more shocking moments are the ones that are bound to garner the most attention. Fortunately, in regards to this "Give Me a Break," it is actually its more dramatic moments that have the most potency.

The entire cast delivers excellent performances in their respective roles. With the standout performance coming from Tony Lo Bianco (The Honeymoon Killers) in the role of the protagonist, a detective named Peter J. Nicholas, Another performance of note is Richard Lynch (Invasion USA) in the role of Bernard Phillips, a Christ-like figure with a vagina on his torso. Ultimately, Got Told Me To is a solid film that exceeds the sum of its parts.

Got Told Me To makes its way to 4K UHD via an excellent release from Blue Underground that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer