Cry of the Banshee: Limited Edition - Hammer Films (UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: UK/USA, 1970
Director: Gordon Hessler
Writers: Tim Kelly, Christopher Wicking
Cast: Vincent Price, Elisabeth Bergner, Essy Persson, Hugh Griffith, Patrick Mower, Hilary Dwyer, Sally Geeson

Release Date: February 9th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 91 Minutes 15 Seconds (Director's Cut), 86 Minutes 50 Seconds (AIP Re-edited Theatrical Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £22.99 (UK)

"Lord Edward Whitman, who rules his domain with an iron fist, massacres a coven of witches. But some still survive and their vengeful leader summons a demonic spirit to destroy Whitman's family." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Director's Cut, AIP Re-edited Theatrical Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Held by Pro-Tek Vaults in Burbank for MGM, the 35mm original negative for the Director’s Cut of Cry of the Banshee was scanned at 4K resolution (16 bit) and restored extensively using Phoenix and PFClean software. In addition to the usual dirt and defects, the main issues with the image were general instability and density/color fluctuations causing flicker throughout. By careful processing, these effects were minimized, allowing for a more even, stable picture.”

Cry of the Banshee (Director's Cut) comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.5 GB

Feature: 53.5 GB (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio), 36.5 GB (1.37:1 Aspect Ratio)

Cry of the Banshee (AIP Re-edited Theatrical Version) comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.5 GB

Feature: 54.8 GB

This release comes with multiple versions and aspect ratios, all of which look excellent. Flesh tones look healthy; colors are nicely saturated; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include an image gallery (posters/stills/press book), an interview with author and film critic Kim Newman (13 minutes 29 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with author, filmmaker, and horror film fan Chris Alexander for the director's cut.

Extras on disc two include a radio spot (32 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a TV spot (56 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 28 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), and an archival interview with director Gordon Hessler titled A Devilish Tale of Poe (17 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include a slipcover and liner notes and information about the transfer on the inside cover.

Summary:

Gordon Hessler directed Cry of the Banshee. He’s known for The Oblong Box, Scream and Scream Again, Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

A witch conjures up a banshee to attack and kill a cruel witch-hunting magistrate and his family.

After the success of Roger Corman’s The Fall of the House of Usher, American International Pictures embarked on a decade-long endeavor to produce a series of films based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. While the earlier films in the series were direct adaptations, many of the later films deviate significantly from Edgar Allan Poe’s original stories. Cry of the Banshee is a film that falls into that latter category, while Gordon Hessler’s other AIP Poe film, The Oblong Box, was an actual adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same name.

Cry of the Banshee has more in common with Witchfinder General than it does with Edgar Allan Poe. Both films share Vincent Price in the role of a witch hunter, and while he gives another outstanding performance, unfortunately the film as a whole is nowhere near the quality of Witchfinder General. Cry of the Banshee is a significant film in the career of Vincent Price; after working with AIP since 1960, he was no longer the draw he once was for them.

Very early on, it becomes clear that Cry of the Banshee is a film that is in no hurry to get anywhere. The narrative moves at a languid pace that ensures there’s never any momentum, and a predictable climax serves as the final nail in the coffin. While Gordon Hessler’s direction is by the numbers at least when it comes to exploitative elements like nudity and carnage, Cry of the Banshee delivers. Ultimately, Cry of the Banshee represents a missed opportunity that might have faded into obscurity were it not for Vincent Price’s standout performance.

Hammer Films gives Cry of the Banshee its definitive home media release. 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Big Heat: Hong Kong Cinema Classics – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1988
Directors: Johnnie To, Andrew Kam
Writer: Gordon Chan
Cast: Waise Lee, Joey Wong, Matthew Wong, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung, Kirk Wong

Release Date: February 10th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.99

"Inspector Waipong Wong has to put his life and resignation from the Hong Kong Police Department on hold to investigate his former partner's mysterious murder. What he and his crack team of three other cops uncover is a plot far more sinister than they originally anticipated." - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative."

The Big Heat comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 64.1 GB

Feature: 63.8 GB

This is another exemplary restoration; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

The Big Heat comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 27.6 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and action sequences sound robust. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and English SDH subtitles for the English language track. It should be noted that subtitles and audio can only be chosen via the audio setup menu, and they cannot be turned off while watching the main feature.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with author and film critic David West.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic James Mudge titled The Heat Is On (15 minutes 6 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with academic Gilbert Po (22 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with actor Waise Lee titled Big Shot! (17 minutes 58 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with David West.

Other extras include a slipcover.

Summary:

Johnnie To co-directed The Big Heat. His other notable films include All About Ah-Long, Running Out of Time, The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Thrown Down, Election, Election 2, and Exiled.

An investigator postpones his retirement after his former partner's murder. He forms a team that looks into and brings to justice his former partner’s killer. His investigation uncovers that those responsible currently serve on the police force, and they will do anything they can to stop him from exposing them.

Although most people were introduced to the cinema of Johnnie To via his crime films from the later 1990s onward, my introduction was his forays into melodrama (All About Ah-Long), fantasy (The Heroic Trio), and martial arts (The Mad Monk). Looking back on that selection of films and getting to know more of Johnnie To’s filmography, it's clear how diverse of a filmmaker he is. This brings me to The Beat Heat, a film made during the height of the heroic bloodshed film cycle.

While The Big Heat contains elements typical of heroic bloodshed films, it does not fully belong to this genre. This distinction is particularly evident in its portrayal of violence, which adopts a more realistic style, contrasting with the stylized carnage characteristic of heroic bloodshed films. That said, it is intriguing seeing how Johnnie To's approach to the crime film genre greatly differs almost a decade before he turned it on its head.

Hong Kong cinema of the 1980s was driven by its stars, and when it comes to The Big Heat’s cast, it takes the opposite approach. Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow) is cast in the role of the protagonist, Inspector Waipong Wong, a character who's ready to walk away from law enforcement when he’s first introduced. Known for mostly portraying villains, he delivers a solid performance in the role of the hero.

The most notable cast member is Joey Wong (City Hunter); she portrays a nurse who becomes involved with a cop. Her character sporadically pops up and it feels like she was brought in as a star in a cameo role to add some name recognition. Another performance of note is Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung (Hard Boiled), who portrays a detective that lives on the edge. He was also one of The Big Heat’s action choreographers.

Although Johnnie To is the credited director, he took over for Andrew Kam, who was fired by Tsui Hark, a hands-on producer who often clashed with his directors. That said, The Big Heat is more of a Tsui Hark film than a Johnnie To, as it bears more of the former's hallmarks. The narrative unfolds at a swift pace, effectively balancing exposition with action sequences. Regarding the latter, the action scenes are outstanding, and The Big Heat reserves its finest moments for a blood-soaked revenge finale. Ultimately, The Big Heat is a solid action film that fans of gun fu should thoroughly enjoy.

Shout! Factory gives The Big Heat an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer