The Devil's Bride: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Soviet Union, 1974
Director: Arunas Zebriunas
Writers: Sigitas Geda, Arunas Zebriunas
Cast: Vaiva Mainelyte, Gediminas Girdvainis, Regimantas Adomaitis, Vasyl Symchych, Regina Varnaite, Bronius Babkauskas, Juozas Meskauskas

Release Date: September 16th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 76 Minutes 33 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Lithuanian
Subtitles: English (Non-Removable)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"The story revolves around a devil named Pinčiukas (Gediminas Girdvainis) who is booted out of Heaven and drops into a frog pond owned by farmer Baltaragis (Vasilijus Simčičius). Quick as you can say “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” Pinčiukas promises him the hand of his beautiful blonde love Marcelė (Vaiva Mainelytė) in exchange for their as-yet unborn daughter Jurga (also played by Mainelytė as an adult), and wicked complications ensue over the years." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The Devil's Bride has been beautifully restored by the Lithuanian Film Centre for its first-ever U.S. release by Deaf Crocodile."

The Devil's Bride comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.4 GB

Feature: 17.4 GB

The source looks excellent; this is another solid encode from Fidelity in Motion. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Lithuanian with non-removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill titled The One Who Carries a Tune Rock n’ Roll Sessions and the Devil (13 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Lithuanian film critic Ieva Šukytė about the history of Lithuanian cinema and The Devil’s Bride, moderated by Deaf Crocodile’s Dennis Bartok (53 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Monika Edgar, director Arūnas Žebriūnas’ daughter, about her father’s career and the making of The Devil’s Bride, moderated by Dennis Bartok (54 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Michael Brooke.

Summary:

A devil banished from heaven makes a deal with a mill owner for his soul and his daughter; only when it comes time to collect are there complications.

The Devil’s Bride is a fusion of folk horror cinema and musicals with Faust thrown in for good measure. The tone and look of The Devil’s Bride firmly fit into the psychedelic movement that began in the late 1960s in America. While The Devil's Bride incorporates many flower child aesthetics, it presents them through the lens of Lithuanian culture, resulting in truly one of the most bizarre cinematic experiences.

The narrative dives in headfirst with a big musical number with angels performing for God as he sits on his throne. There is no spoken dialogue; everything is communicated via singing. That said, the narrative is not difficult to follow, and it has a kinetic energy that propels things forward.

While the musical numbers will undoubtedly attract the most attention—and justifiably so—it is important not to overlook the visuals. They are rich with vibrant colors and feature visually striking moments that effectively utilize the 2.35:1 scope frame. Another area where The Devil’s Bride excels is the performances, especially Gediminas Girdvainis, who portrays a devil named Pinchiukas. Ultimately, The Devil’s Bride is a one-of-a-kind fantasy musical that is overflowing with imagination.

The Devil’s Bride gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras; highly recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of The Devil's Bride that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page book with rare production artwork and photos, an essay by film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and an essay by film critic and author Walter Chaw.

Written by Michael Den Boer