Secrets & Mysteries: Films by Pedro Olea: Limited Edition – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Spain, 1972 (The House Without Frontiers), Spain, 1973 (It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone)
Director: Pedro Olea (Both Versions)
Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Tony Isbert, Viveca Lindfors, José Orjas, Patty Shepard, Julio Peña, Luis Ciges, María Arias, Eusebio Poncela, Jesús Fernández, Margarita Robles (The House Without Frontiers), Carmen Sevilla, José Luis López Vázquez, Máximo Valverde, Eduardo Fajardo, José Franco, Helga Liné, Lola Merino, Raquel Rodrigo, Betsabé Ruiz, Enrique Ferpi, José Riesgo, Ángel Menéndez (It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone)

Release Date: February, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 95 Minutes 42 Seconds (The House Without Frontiers), 90 Minutes 8 Seconds (It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The House Without Frontiers), 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish (Both Films), DTS-HD Mono English (The House Without Frontiers)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $32.00

The House Without Frontiers: "Daniel, a young man in his twenties, moves from his hometown to the city of Bilbao in search of… a chance to discover himself. When he is not looking for work, he spends his time reading in the city library. One day Daniel encounters an elderly and seemingly kind old gentleman who commends his desire to educate himself. He says he might be able to find Daniel a job and sure enough, he starts work for an organization called The House Without Frontiers. After a short period of probation, Daniel is summoned to the organizations labyrinthine headquarters and is given his instructions. Although much is still not clear to him, it seems he is being asked to locate a young woman called Anabel Campos (played by Geraldine Chaplin). It turns out that Anabel, like Daniel, had accepted a job with the House Without Frontiers but fled the organization after a senior member of the tribunal was found murdered. Was she guilty? Is she in hiding or has she vanished without a trace?

During his search Daniel begins to question the exact nature of the House Without Frontiers. When he tries to ask his employers about the assignment, he is repeatedly thwarted in his attempts, culminating in an incident where he finds the main headquarters deserted and two construction workers walling up a doorway in the mansion.

He also discovers that he has fallen in love with this girl that he has never met." - synopsis provided by the distributor

It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone: "Martin (played by José Luis López Vázquez, a legend of Spanish film and theatre) is a middle-aged engineer employed by a big shipbuilding firm in the northern city of Bilbao. Quiet, diligent in his work and reserved, Martin is a model of respectability. His secretary, Monica (played by Helga Line) often asks about his wife, whom no-one has ever met and who seems to be an invalid.

Every evening after work, Martin returns to his big, gloomy house that looks out over the bay and towards the north Atlantic Ocean.

What his colleagues, and the world, do not know is what happens then, behind the closed doors of his dark villa. For Martin’s “wife” is certainly not dead. In fact, he has a very unusual relationship with her, one that he is very concerned to keep a secret.

One day a woman in her late 30s, Lina, moves into a rented apartment near to Martin’s house. She has an eight-year-old daughter, Cati, who is allowed to roam free during the day, as her mother works late in a nightclub in town and often has “gentleman callers” who tumble noisily out of cars in the middle of the night, much to Martin’s displeasure.

Cati is a curious child, with no friends and too much time on her hands. Very quickly she discovers Martin’s secret. And equally quickly she discloses it to her mother who decides to use it to her advantage. They move into Martin’s house, soon followed by Lina’s pimp, Mauro. Martin will be forced to take desperate measures to protect his quiet life and his “wife”." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (The House Without Frontiers), 4/5 (It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New HD transfer from negative".

The House Without Frontiers comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.2 GB

Feature: 26.4 GB

The source used for this transfer has been cleaned up, and it is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, compression is very good, and there do not appear to be any issues with digital noise reduction.

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New HD transfer from negative".

Here is additional information about the transfer, “The following film has been restored from the best available 35mm materials. However the picture still exhibits some instances of damage. We hope this does not detract too much from your enjoyment.”

It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.7 GB

Feature: 24.3 GB

Though the source materials used for this transfer have some shortcomings, The result is actually a transfer that exceeds expectations. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and there do not appear to be any issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish - It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish - The House Without Frontiers), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - The House Without Frontiers)

The House Without Frontiers comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Spanish audio track sounds more robust, and the English language track has some minor moments of background noise. That said, dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish language track and a second removable English subtitle track for one scene that is in Spanish when watching the English language track.

It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. The audio is in good shape; there are no issues with hiss or distortion. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, things generally sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for The House Without Frontiers include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), English language end credits sequence (1 minute 23 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), an interview with director Pedro Olea (19 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), and a short film directed by Pedro Olea titled The Playground (16 minutes 18 seconds, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles).

The Playground: A couple with a young child is at odds about their son playing with other children at a nearby playback. The mother wants to toughen the child up, while the father wants to coddle the child. And a sinister ending brings the father's concerns into full perspective. 

Adapted from a short story, The Playground, written by Ray Bradbury.

Extras for It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone include an interview with actor Maximo Valverde (38 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an interview with Pedro Olea (28 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), and a short film directed by Pedro Olea titled Anabel (33 minutes 22 seconds, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles). 

Anabel: A young woman who has lived all along is visited by a woman who resembles her deceased mother. Has her mother returned from the dead, or is this woman playing upon the young woman’s longing for her deceased mother? 

Inspired by the literary works of Edgar Allen Poe, Anabel is a Gothic horror tale that has all the hallmarks one would expect from Edgar Allen Poe.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover, 12 card cards reproducing lobby cards and poster art for the film, and a 24-page booklet written by Ismael Fernandez, who discusses Pedro Olea, The House Without Frontiers, and It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone.

Summary:

The House Without Frontiers and It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone were both directed by Pedro Olea, whose other notable films are The Ancines Woods, Torment, and The Fencing Master.

The House Without Frontiers: A young man from the country looking for work who has recently arrived in the big city is hired by a secret organization that wants to find a missing woman.

Before any characters are established, a brutal moment of torture in which a man is being stabbed to death for violating the rules of a secret organization opens The House Without Frontiers. And though this moment does hold the key to the events that unfold, notably when it comes to the fate of the protagonist, The House Without Frontiers is the type of film in which knowing less about it is better when watching it for the first time.

The narrative is essentially the protagonist retracing the steps of the missing woman. And along the way, flashbacks are employed as those who knew her provide backstory about her. With everything coming to a head in a finale where he uncovers what happened to her and discovers his own fate.

The most surprising aspect of The House Without Frontiers are the performances, especially those of the two leads, Tony Isbert (Tragic Ceremony) in the role of the young man from the country and Geraldine Chaplin (Doctor Zhivago) in the role of the missing woman. Another cast member of note is Patty Shepard (The Witches Mountain), who was a staple of Spanish and Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s.

The mystery behind the missing woman is the driving force of the narrative. And though the deliberate-paced narrative does have a few moments where things lull, this is easy to overlook since there is an abundance of atmosphere, which greatly enhances the sinister tone of what is unfolding. Ultimately, The House Without Frontiers is a cerebral psychological thriller whose circular ending makes the events that preceded all the more potent.

It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone: A lonely man lives in isolation with a life size doll, as does his wife.

Based solely on premise, It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone is full of possibilities. And though such a premise could veer into salacious territory in which the protagonist does perverted things with his doll, the opposite actually occurs. What unfolds is a story about personal loss and the toll it has taken on the protagonist.

Content-wise, It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone is a melting pot of genres. There is melodrama, suspense, and some humor thrown in for good measure. That said, in the case of the latter, it is best described as dark humor.

The cast of colorful characters and the performances are all very good. The standout performance is by José Luis López Vázquez in the role of Martin, the man who lives in isolation with his life size doll. He delivers a pitch-perfect performance that makes it easy to sympathize with Martin. Lola Merino in the role of Cati, an annoying little girl who lives next door to Martin, is another performance of note.

When it comes to the premise, it is easy to see some connections to Psycho. Both films have protagonists who have someone close to them who died, but in their minds that person is still alive. Living in fear that their secret will be exposed is another connection between these two protagonists. And nowhere is this clearer than how blackmail plays a significant role in It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone does not excel. The narrative does a phenomenal job holding your attention, and a jaw-dropping finale perfectly brings everything that preceded it to a head. Another strength is Alfonso Santisteban’s (The Killer Is One of 13) score, which reinforces the melancholy mood of the story at hand. Ultimately, It's No Good for a Man to Be Alone is an expectational film that is arguably Pedro Olea’s crowning achievement as a filmmaker.

Secrets & Mysteries: Films by Pedro Olea is another solid release from Mondo Macabro that gives both films strong audio/video presentations, two short films that share similar themes to the two main features, and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note: This edition is limited to 2000 copies.

Written by Michael Den Boer