Martin: Limited Edition – Second Sight Films (UHD/BluRay/CD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1976
Director: George A. Romero
Writer: George A. Romero
Cast: John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest, Elyane Nadeau, Tom Savini, Sara Venable, Francine Middleton, Roger Caine, George A. Romero

Release Date: March 27th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes 46 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 HDR10+
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £39.99 (UK)

"A troubled young man, who believes himself to be a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and religious cousin in a small Pennsylvania town where he tries to redeem his blood-craving urges after he falls for a lonely housewife, all the while his hostile cousin becomes convinced that the young man is actually Nosferatu." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.75/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "A Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration of a 35mm dupe negative supervised and approved by Director of Photography Michael Gornick."

Martin comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.5 GB

Feature: 54.3 GB

Martin was shot on 16mm reverse stock and then blown up to 35mm for theatrical exhibition. Obviously, considering the source materials, Martin is a film that is not going to look flawless. That said, Second Sight Films has done a remarkable job with the source used for their transfer.

Though there is a softness that is inherent to the source, the image clarity in general looks very good. Colors and flesh tones look good, and while black levels generally look good, there are a few moments where they are not as strong. Also, there is a thick, healthy layer of grain, and the image always retains an organic look.

Martin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.8 GB

Feature: 27.2 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Stereo English), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. The mono track sounds great; there are no issues with sibilance or hiss, the dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Also, range-wise, this track far exceeds expectations; ambient sounds and the score are well-presented. That said, despite the fact that the other two tracks included with this release also sound very good, they don’t have the same impact that the mono track does. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer, a TV spot, two radio spots (4 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a short film by Tony Buba titled J Roy - New And Used Furniture (11 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), An archival featurette titled Making Martin: A Recounting (9 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Donald Rubinstein titled Scoring the Shadows (17 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary Taste the Blood of Martin (69 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with screenwriter/director George A Romero, actor John Amplas and actor Tom Savini, an archival audio commentary with George A Romero, producer Richard P Rubinstein, Tom Savini, cinematographer Michael Gornick and Donald Rubinstein, an audio commentary with film critic Travis Crawford, and an audio commentary with film critic Kat Ellinger.

The extras are the same on the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray.

Other extras exclusive to this limited edition include five collector's art cards, a CD with Donald Rubinstein’s score, and a 108-page booklet with an essay titled Folie a Deux: Colour and Microchrome, Fantasy and Reality in George A. Romero’s Martin written by Daniel Bird, an essay titled Martin written by Tony Williams, an essay titled A Virgin Among The Living Dead; On Martin, Sxuality, and Original Sin written by Kat Ellinger, an essay titled The Angry Young Vamp: The Kitchen Sink Credentials of Romero’s Grimmest Horror Film written by Andrew Graves, an essay titled Freak Rapist Asshole written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an essay titled ‘Monsters Within Us’ written by Jon Towlson, an essay titled ‘You Get Used to Your Life’: Realism and Fantasy in George A. Romero’s Martin written by Elena Lazic, an essay titled Martin: The Novelisation written by Simon Ward, an essay titled ‘And That’s Another Thing About Those Movies’: Martin and the 1970s Independent Vampire Film written by Miranda Corcoran, an essay titled ‘People are the Hardest Thing’ - George A. Romero’s Martin written by Stephen Thrower, Reaping the Seeds of Dysfunction: George A. Romero’s Martin written by Heather Drain, an essay titled Cinema Over Braddock: Martin and the Films of Tony Buba written by Travis Crawford, Acknowledgements, and Production Credits.

Summary:

The vampire is one of horror cinema’s most durable and celebrated characters. And though most vampires do not diverge too far from the character traits established by Dracula, every now and then someone comes along and puts a new spin on vampires. Case in point: George A. Romero’s Martin, a different kind of vampire film that stands apart from any vampire film that came before or since.

Martin’s narrative dives into the head first, before determining who anyone is and what their motivations are. The opening moments are a scene on a train in which the protagonist attacks a woman on the train. This scene firmly establishes Martin’s Modus operandi. This scene firmly establishes Martin’s Modus operandi. From there, Martin goes to live with his uncle, who is determined to keep him from harming anyone else. Will Martin hold his bloodlust at bay, or will he fall into familiar trappings?

When discussing Martin, one cannot stress the importance of its lead, John Amplas. He delivers a phenomenal performance that perfectly captures Martin’s social awkwardness. Another strength of Martin's, and more specifically John Amplas, performance is how effectively the line is blurred between whether Martin is a vampire or just a mentally ill person. That said, the rest of the cast ranges from good to adequate.

Donald Rubinstein’s (Knightriders) exceptional score is another aspect of Martin that one must not overlook. His score does a superb job reinforcing the sinister story at hand. Though the score is mostly made up of avant-garde music cues, it is a music cue with angelic voices that stands out as the most powerful music cue.

From a production standpoint, Martin is a textbook example of a low-budget film. The narrative has a deliberate pacing that does a great job building and maintaining tension, and the finale provides a very satisfying coda. Another strength is how effectively the narrative employs flashbacks via black-and-white footage. Also, when it comes to the visuals, which are filled with symbolism, and the editing, both of these things are immaculate. Ultimately, Martin is an extraordinary film that is a must see if you are a fan of vampires and George A. Romero.

Martin gets a definitive release from Second Sight Films, 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