Malpertuis: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Belgium/France/West Germany, 1971
Director: Harry Kümel
Writer: Jean Ferry
Cast: Orson Welles, Susan Hampshire, Michel Bouquet, Charles Janssens, Mathieu Carrière, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Walter Rilla, Dora van der Groen, Daniel Pilon, Sylvie Vartan

Release Date: October 13th, 2025 (UK), October 28th, 2025 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 125 Minutes 16 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Dutch
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £19.99 (UK), $44.95 (USA)

"Jan (Mathieu Carrière, Police Python 357), a sailor newly arrived onshore, is unsure about returning to land but makes the journey to visit his childhood home only to find it no longer there. He goes to Bar Venus and joins his friends, but an altercation leaves him knocked out cold. He wakes up in Malpertuis, a gothic mansion presided over by his uncle, Cassavius (Orson Welles). All the inhabitants of Malpertuis are waiting for Cassavius to die and the opportunity to inherit his vast fortune. But Cassavius wishes anyone who inherits to stay there forever. Jan investigates as those who leave meet with mysterious deaths." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Malpertuis was restored in 2023 from the original negative and magnetic sound by the Royal Belgian Film Archive—CINEMATEK, with the support of 'A Season of Classic Films', an initiative of ACE—Association of European Cinematheques, which is part of the Creative MEDIA program of the European Commission.

The film exists in two versions, one presented at Cannes in 1972 by the producer and a French director's cut version made in 1973.

Both versions were scanned and used to reconstruct the Finnish version. The digital restoration was carried out in 4K.

Color grading was carried out under the supervision of director Harry Kümel."

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

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 28.9 GB

When compared to this film’s previous home media releases, this new transfer is vastly superior in every way. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Dutch with removable English subtitles. The audio is in excellent shape; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival locations featurette with Harry Kümel titled Malpertuis Revisited (4 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with novelist Jean Ray titled Jean Ray, John Flanders 1887 - 1964 (7 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Michel Bouquet and Harry Kümel from Belgian television (13 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Susan Hampshire titled Susan Hampshire: one actress, three parts, features screen tests and contributions from cast and crew (11 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette on the casting of Welles, including rare outtakes of the actor titled Orson Welles Uncut (25 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and French with removable English subtitles), an archival documentary tilted Malpertuis Archive,  featuring Harry Kümel, actor Mathieu Carrière and director of photography Gerry Fisher (37 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and French with removable English subtitles), an interview with author and gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby (26 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Harry Kümel (19 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Harry Kümel and assistant director Françoise Levie, Malpertuis: The Cannes cut (103 minutes 52 seconds, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), a short film titled The Warden of the Tomb, directed by Harry Kümel, based on a Franz Kafka play (36 minutes 43 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Dutch with removable English subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and a 80-page book with cast & crew information, an essay titled The French Connection written by Lucas Balbo, an essay titled The Trickster’s Maze written by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo, an essay titled Post-War European Horror and the Labyrinth of Malpertuis written by David Flint, an essay titled Malpertuis and the Golden Age of Transcendental Horror written by Willow Catelyn Maclay, an essay titled From Art House to Doom House: Harry Kümel’s Short Films written by Jonathan Owen, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

For the reading of his will, a wealthy man summons his greedy heirs to Malpertuis, his isolated mansion. Once there, they learn that their newfound fortune comes at a price: they must remain forever in Malpertuis, and when the last two survivors remain, they must marry.

After the success of Daughters of Darkness, Belgian filmmaker Harry Kümel, for his next project, would once again return to the world of horror and the supernatural with his next film, Malpertuis. The film would discover its source and inspiration in the Jean Ray novel of the same name. For Harry Kümel’s film adaptation, he simplified the plot into one main narrative instead of the novel’s many separate narrators. Making the plot into one narrative is what makes the film work so well, and it also flawlessly suits Harry Kümel’s directing style.

Malpertuis from the outset looked like a surefire hit on paper, and with the addition of legendary actor Orson Welles as the lead, Cassavius, the film almost immediately gained credibility in the international film world. The addition of Orson Welles would ultimately prove to be a double-edged sword with his frequent attempts at changing the script or altering how a scene should be shot. To Welles's credit, he would agree to work an additional day for free to get the work he helped delay done, and this time the production finally got to see the brilliant version of Orson Welles; he effortlessly and quickly knocked out dialog and scenes.

Visually, Malpertuis is filled with beautifully composed shots and perfectly paced moments of building tension. Fans of Harry Kümel’s Daughters of Darkness should thoroughly enjoy Malpertuis, which visually resembles Daughters on many levels. I found the first half of the narrative, where Welles' character Cassavius gathers his heirs together and lets them know his final will and testimony, to be slow at times. After the death of Cassavius, that is where things really begin to shine and get bizarre. The narrative is flawless; after this moment, as in each moment, he builds up to the film's unforgettable finale, which reveals all the secrets of Malpertuis.

Acting-wise, the cast are all excellent, with the main standouts being Orson Welles as Cassavius, Mathieu Carrière as Jan, and Susan Hampshire in four roles: Nancy/Euryale/Alice/Nurse. Welles has his moments, with most of his performance feeling like a standard Malpertuis-for-hire acting job. The true standout in Malpertuis is undoubtedly actress Susan Hampshire, who captivates in nearly every scene she occupies. Ultimately, Malpertuis is an exceptional film that has been overlooked for far too long; hopefully fans of horror/supernatural films will finally discover Malpertuis and succumb to all of its devilish charms.

Malpertuis has never looked or sounded better on home media, and this release comes with a wealth of insightful extras. That said, Malpertuis gets a definitive release from Radiance Films; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer