Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist – Synapse Films (Blu-ray)

Release Dates: USA, 2014 (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist), USA, 2023 (Other Men's Careers)
Directors: Ryan Meade (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist), Christopher J. Dinnan (Other Men's Careers)
Cast: Jonathan R. Ayers, Betsy Baker, Josh Becker, Bruce Campbell, Don Campbell, Brian Rae, Ted Raimi, Ellen Sandweiss, Scott Spiegel, Tom Sullivan, Theresa Tilly (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist), Lucy Lawless, Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Sheldon Lettich, Gary Jones, Josh Becker, Joseph LoDuca, Tom Sullivan, Ron Zwang, Bruce Schermer, Paul Harris (Other Men's Careers)

Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Approximate Running Times: 103 Minutes 26 seconds (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist), 77 Minutes (Other Men's Careers)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist, Other Men's Careers)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Stereo English (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist, Other Men's Careers)
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Sam Raimi's 1981 film The Evil Dead is a horror masterpiece that has terrified audiences for over 40 years and spawned sequels, a remake, video games, toys and even a television series. The original film's iconic special effects and make-up were created by Tom Sullivan, a Michigan artist and sculptor who became friends with Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell and producer Rob Tapert when they were in college. Ryan Meade's Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist is a feature length documentary about the life and art of Tom Sullivan and his involvement with the EVIL DEAD film series. Assembled with amazing archival Super 8mm film footage, Hi8, VHS, and vintage audio tapes and photographs, it's a unique and sentimental portrait of a man who helped make one of the greatest horror franchises of all time. Also contains amazing behind-the-scenes footage, original location visits, all-new interviews with Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Danny Hicks, Hal Delrich, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly and more!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video:

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.6 GB

Feature: 14.9 GB (Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist), 11.1 GB (Other Men's Careers)

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist and Other Men's Careers both use newly shot footage and archival footage. The newly shot footage obviously looks better than the archival footage.

Audio:

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist and Other Men's Careers each come with one audio option, a LPCM stereo mix in English. Both audio tracks sound clear and balanced. That said, there are a few instances where an archival source is not in that good of shape, and for these moments, there are non-removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a stills gallery titled Snap Shots, Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist Trailer #1 (3 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist Trailer #2 (3 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a short film directed by Ryan Meade titled Bong Fly (18 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Bong Fly behind the scenes (10 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), mega master Bong Fly trailer (2 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a short film directed by Ryan Meade titled Comos Locos (29 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Other Men’s Careers trailer (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Tom Sullivan vintage interview from a program titled In the Spotlight (50 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Josh Becker extended interview segments (6 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Tim Philo unedited interview (48 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Turkey or Chicken bonus clip (1 minute 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Boobie bonus clip (54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), The Cry of Cthulhu bonus clip (2 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and a documentary titled Other Men’s Careers (77 minutes, LPCM stereo English, 1.78: 1 aspect ratio, no subtitles).

Summary:

The Evil Dead is widely regarded as one of horror cinema’s greatest films. Though there has been a lot written about The Evil Dead and its key creative talent has been interviewed over the years, Director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell are the two names most associated with The Evil Dead. This Blu-ray release from Synapse Films presents two documentaries about two individuals, special makeup effects artist/art director/illustrator Tom Sullivan and lighting: second unit/sound: second unit Josh Becker, who played a role in the making of The Evil Dead.

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist is a documentary about Tom Sullivan, whose special makeup effects and illustrations are arguably the most important element in the success of The Evil Dead. He also worked on Within the Woods, the short film that led to The Evil Dead, and contributed to Evil Dead II.

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist is a well-rounded documentary that covers his childhood, Famous Monsters magazine’s role in peeking his interest in makeup effects, and his origins as a makeup effects artist. Other topics include all of his collaborations with Sam Raimi, with the focus being on The Evil Dead. Also, this documentary delves into his personal tragedies, like the death of his wife and a head injury from a car crash.

Other Men's Careers is a documentary about Josh Becker, a filmmaker who was childhood friends with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Topics discussed include how he became interested in cinema, how he met Bruce Campbell, and shooting Super 8 films with his friends. Other topics include his contributions to The Evil Dead, and a well-rounded overview of all the films he directed. This documentary also covers his other collaborations with Sam Raimi, like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.

Both of these documentaries feature comments from most of those who were involved in The Evil Dead and others who have worked with Tom Sullivan and Josh Becker. And though most of the interviews are newly shot, there is also archival footage, notably of Sam Raimi, who only appears via archival sources. That said, all of the participants are unfiltered in their comments; this is not your watered-down discussion that populates too many Blu-ray extras.

Besides two solid documentaries, Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist and Other Men's Careers, this Blu-ray comes with a wealth of extra content that provides further insight into Tom Sullivan and Josh Becker.

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist is an exceptional release from Synapse Films that is a must-have purchase if you're a fan of The Evil Dead, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer