The Broken Mirror / Unquiet Death – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: France/Belgium, 1975 (The Broken Mirror), Tunisia/France/Belgium, 1970 (Unquiet Death)
Directors: Claude d'Anna (Both Films), Férid Boughedir (Unquiet Death)
Cast: Max von Sydow, Laure Dechasnel, Micheline Presle, François Arnal, Monique Fluzin, Claire Wauthion, Marie Verschueren, Féodor Atkine (The Broken Mirror), Aly Ben Ayed, Ursule Pauly, Sophie Vaillant, Sylvia Céline, Abdallah Chahed (Unquiet Death)

Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Approximate running times: 103 Minutes 58 Seconds (The Broken Mirror), 76 Minutes 39 Seconds (Unquiet Death)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French (Both Films), DTS-HD Mono English (The Broken Mirror)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

The Broken Mirror: "Anne Lawrence lives in Brussels , where she works as a restorer of rare paintings. When Anne becomes pregnant, her widowed mother visits her, which brings back memories from Anne’s past. Her mother asks Anne about the time she went missing and was found, lost in the city, clutching a strange painting with no knowledge of where it came from. Anne is fascinated by the painting but also scared of it. She becomes determined to discover why it now seems so important to her.

Strange incidents start to occur. Anne is pursued through empty streets by a large car with a hidden driver. She sees a man with a gloved right hand watching her from the deserted house across the street. She becomes frightened by her own reflection in mirrors.  As Anne sinks ever deeper into the mystery of her past, she finds herself entering a nightmare of fear and sudden violence from which she seems unable to escape." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Unquiet Death: "Three sisters visit their uncle in his island home. He dies suddenly and they find themselves alone with their late uncle’s manservant." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (The Broken Mirror), 3.75/5 (Unquiet Death)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "The Broken Mirror was digitally restored from the original negative. Unquiet Death was digitally restored from 35mm elements."

The Broken Mirror and Unquiet Death come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.6 GB

Feature: 19.6 GB (The Broken Mirror), 12.7 GB (Unquiet Death)

The source used for The Broken Mirror’s transfer looks excellent. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated and at times vivid, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are all solid, and the image always looks organic.

The source used for Unquiet Death’s transfer is in great shape; any source imperfections are minor. Colors and flesh tones look correct, the image generally looks crisp, black levels fare well, and compression is solid.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - The Broken Mirror, DTS-HD Mono English - The Broken Mirror), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - Unquiet Death)

The Broken Mirror comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks are in excellent shape. Dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, things sound robust when they should. Quality-wise, the differences between these two tracks are minimal. Included are removable English subtitles for the French-language track and a second removable English subtitle track when watching the English-language track for French text.

Unquiet Death comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clear and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with director Claude d’Anna titled The Secret Illusion for The Broken Mirror (31 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Laure Dechasnel for The Broken Mirror (19 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with Claude d’Anna titled Produced by Gust Verren (5 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a short film directed by Claude d’Anna titled Curtain Call (7 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Férid Boughedir titled A Conversation with Férid Boughedir and Lucas Balbo for Unquiet Death (33 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), and an interview with Claude d’Anna titled Possessed by Cinema for Unquiet Death (30 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles).

Summary:

The Broken Mirror: The narrative revolves around an art restorer who becomes obsessed with a painting she worked on but cannot remember anything about it.

The Broken Mirror is a psychological melodrama that has Roman Polanski’s influence written all over it. Specifically, these three films Repulsion, a protagonist who is often alone, starts to see things that others in her life do not see. Rosemary’s Baby, the protagonist, is also recently pregnant, and her anxiety about becoming a mother plays a role in the story at hand. And the protaginist sees someone in a window in the house next door, which is reminiscent of The Tenant.

The deliberate-paced narrative quickly draws you into the story that unfolds. And though characters' motivations are left in the dark, This ambiguity perfectly suits the story at hand.

Though the bulk of the screen time is essentially one character by themselves. Every performance in The Broken Mirror is solid, especially Laure Dechasnel’s portrayal of Anne, the art restorer. She delivers a remarkable performance that does a superb job of capturing her character's state of mind. Even more impressive is that The Broken Mirror was her first film, and she would only appear in two other films. Another performance of note is Max von Sydow's (The Seventh Seal. Despite limited screen time, his characters' presence looms large.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where The Broken Mirror does not excel. The premise is superbly executed, and a phenomenal ending brings everything that preceded it together. Is the man that the protagonist saw in a window real? Who is this man, and what secret is she about to uncover? Other strengths include solid set design, a minimal score, and ambient sounds that reinforce the forbidding mood, and every inch of The Broken Mirror is exquisitely photographed. Ultimately, The Broken Mirror is an extraordinary examination of perception.

Unquiet Death: The narrative revolves around three sisters who have been living on an island with their uncle, who recently died. Living with them is their uncle's servant, who helps them prepare to leave the island. From there, a series of events unfold that force them to remain on the island.

What starts off as a straightforward story about dysfunctional characters in search of an exit from the life they have been living quickly transforms into a story about classism that's heavy-handed when it comes to the social commentary.

Though the three spoiled sisters start off with power over the man servant, he quickly turns the table on them. The narrative is not much more than a series of moments in which characters degrade each other. The performances are best described as adequate; the cast are mere props and nothing more. That said, there is striking imagery throughout that is filled with symbolism. Ultimately, Unquiet Death is a high-brow art film that most viewers will find a chore to sit through.

The Broken Mirror gets an exceptional release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, a second feature film, and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Ravishing Dany – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: France, 1972 (Ravishing Dany), France/Greece, 1965 (The Girl Can't Stop)
Director: Willy Rozier (Both Films)
Cast: Sandra Julien, Jürgen Drews, Michel Paulin, Jacqueline Laurent, Jacques Dynam, Lisa Livane, Jacques Marbeuf, Angelo Bassi, Sébastien Floche, Jacques Hansenne (Ravishing Dany), Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Georges Rivière, Jean Sobieski, Claude Cerval, Jenny Astruc, Jacques Harden, Zeta Apostolou, Georges Lycan, Despo Diamantidou, Dimos Starenios, Kostas Baladimas (The Girl Can't Stop)

Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Approximate running times: 83 Minutes 12 Seconds (Ravishing Dany), 92 Minutes 39 Seconds (The Girl Can't Stop)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Ravishing Dany), 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Girl Can't Stop)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French (Both Films), DTS-HD Mono English (Ravishing Dany)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Surely one of the weirdest “sex comedies” ever, the story concerns Danielle (’Dany to my friends’), a freelance fashion model in early 1970s France, played here by Sandra Julien of The Shiver of the Vampires fame. She wants to buy a car and so is saving the travel portion of her fee for that purpose. To get from gig to gig she hitchhikes." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Ravishing Dany), 4.5/5 (The Girl Can't Stop)

Here’s the information provided about Ravishing Dany's transfer, “Brand new 2k restoration from original negative.”

Ravishing Dany comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 15.6 GB (Ravishing Dany), 18.8 GB (The Girl Can't Stop)

The source used for Ravishing Dany is in great shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and the image looks organic.

The source used for The Girl Can't Stop looks excellent. Image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, compression is very good, and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - Ravishing Dany), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Ravishing Dany), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono French - The Girl Can't Stop)

Ravishing Dany comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Though both of these tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, The French-language track sounds more robust. Included are removable English subtitles for the French-language track. It should be noted that the English-language track has some dialog in French and Italian.

The Girl Can't Stop comes with one audio option: a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. This track sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Ravishing Dany (1 minute 30 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), XXX inserts (2 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono with music from the film playing over the inserts), an interview with director’s daughter, Catherine Rozier (17 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Christophe Bier reads Willy Rozier (19 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), a featurette tilted Dany and the Censors (25 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), and a bonus feature film, The Girl Can't Stop.

Summary:

Though both films that are included as part of this release were directed by Willy Rozier, If you went blind into Ravishing Dany and The Girl Can't Stop without knowing anything about these two films, you would be hard pressed to see a distinctive style. Also, it is interesting how much cinema evolved in the seven years between these two films when it comes to onscreen nudity and depictions of sex.

Ravishing Dany: The narrative revolves around Dany, a freelance fashion model who saves money by hitchhiking from job to job. Along the way, she meets an assortment of sexual deviants who try to take advantage of her.

The main attraction of Ravishing Dany is Sandra Julien in the title role. She rose to prominence in the early 1970s, notably starring in Jean Rollin’s The Shiver of the Vampires. By the mid-1970s, she would disappear as quickly as she arrived on the scene.

She is perfectly cast in the role of Dany, a character who serves as an object of desire. And her curvaceous frame ensures that she more than fulfills this role. Needless to say, she spends plenty of time topless or nude.

Content-wise, Ravishing Dany is pretty standard fare for 1970s softcore erotica. Like most of its contemporaries, the plot is secondary to the moments of erotica. With the narrative being nothing more than a means to showcase Sandra Julien in a series of risque moments. That said, most of the moments of erotica and onscreen nudity are actually brief.

Some of the colorful characters that the protagonist meets in her sexual misadventures include a man who confuses women and sheep, a man who escaped from an asylum, a transvestite singer, a prince, and a priest. That said, there is an abundance of absurd moments that ensure there is never a dull moment. Another strength is a briskly paced narrative. Ultimately, despite its predictability, Ravishing Dany is an entertaining romp that fans of 1970s softcore cinema should enjoy.

The Girl Can't Stop: The narrative revolves around a businessman on the verge of bankruptcy who uses his wife to seduce a banker in hopes that he will give him the needed cash flow. Along the way, his wife becomes too attached to the banker, putting their scheme in jeopardy.

What starts off as a melodrama quickly evolves into something that's closer to film noir. At the heart of The Girl Can't Stop is a tale about blackmail that has an ample amount of well-placed twists, notably a superb ending that perfectly brings everything together that preceded.

Performance-wise, the cast is all great in their roles, especially Georges Rivière (Castle of Blood) in the role of Manuel Liparos, the husband who is more concerned about money than his wife. Another performance of note is that of Jenny Astruc in the role of Marika, a femme fatale-like character.

At just under ninety-three minutes in length, there are a few times where the narrative tends to drag. Fortunately, these moments do not serve to derail the narrative flow, which for the most part does a good job building momentum.

The Girl Can’t Stop is a French-Greek co-production that was shot in Greece. And from a production standpoint, it takes full advantage of Greece's picturesque landscapes. Also, though blackmail is the central theme, another theme that runs throughout is pleasure and pain. With the banker character forcing S&M upon unsuspecting women. That said, despite some of the illicit subject matter, The Girl Can’t Stop does not dive full-on into the realm of exploitation cinema. Ultimately, The Girl Can’t Stop is a well-made crime drama that at times exceeds the sum of its parts.

Ravishing Dany is a solid release from Mondo Macabro that gives both films strong audio/video presentations and a trio of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

The Manchurian Candidate – Kino Lorber (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1962
Director: John Frankenheimer
Writers: Richard Condon, George Axelrod, John Frankenheimer
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver

Release Date: June 20th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 126 Minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: PG-13
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $39.95

"When a platoon of Korean War G.I.s is captured, they somehow end up at a ladies’ garden club party. Or do they? Major Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra, Von Ryan’s Express) can’t remember. As he searches for the answer, he discovers threads of a diabolical plot orchestrated by the utterly ruthless Mrs. Iselin (Lansbury) and involving her war hero son (Laurence Harvey, A Dandy in Aspic), her senator husband (James Gregory, The Silencers) and a secret cabal of enemy leaders." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative."

The Manchurian Candidate comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 87 GB

Feature: 85.4 GB

The source used for this transfer looks excellent. Image clarity is outstanding, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. That said, this transfer easily beats all of this film’s previous home video releases.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English), 3/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Though both audio tracks sound clean, the lack of the original mono track is disappointing. That said, the DTS-HD 5.1 track is the stronger of these two audio tracks. For a remix track, it does a very good job expanding the original mono source. Then there is the DTS-HD stereo track that has odd panning and echo issues. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director John Frankenheimer.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival outtake with filmmaker William Friedkin titled Phone Call (26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival outtake with actress Angela Lansbury titled How To Get Shot (1 minute 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with William Friedkin titled A Little Solitaire (13 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Angela Lansbury titled Queen of Diamonds (14 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival extra with actor Frank Sinatra, John Frankenheimer and screenwriter George Axelrod.

Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing) and trailers for The Train, The Holcroft Covenant, 52 Pick-Up, Ronin, Room at the Top, Touch of Evil, and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).

Summary:

Directed by John Frankenheimer, whose other notable films are Birdman of Alcatraz, The Train, Seven Days in May, and Seconds.

The narrative revolves around A former sergeant who was given a medal for his bravery in the Korean War is brainwashed and turned into an assassin by communist sympathizers that want to take over America by executing a coup d’état.

The Manchurian Candidate was made during a time when McCarthyism and its aftereffects were still fresh in the majority of Americans minds. At the core of McCarthyism was a political witch hunt to expose anyone who supported or sympathized with communism. And by the time support for McCarthyism began to wane, there were literally hundreds who were falsely accused, imprisoned, and blacklisted from their professions.

Thematically, The Manchurian Candidate would explore the things that have since become synonymous with McCarthyism. Also, when The Manchurian Candidate was first released, the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. was at its height due to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which started ten days before this film was released. And the threat of communists infiltrating the USA was considered a real possibility. This type of threat runs deep throughout The Manchurian Candidate, a film that features a protagonist who has been brainwashed by communists. This character has been programmed to essentially be a weapon that the communist sympathizers plan to use to gain control of The United States government.

The narrative is meticulously constructed to the point that no detail, no matter how small, is insignificant. Another area where The Manchurian Candidate excels is in its well-defined characters, whose motivations are always crystal clear. Outside of the protagonist, Raymundo Shaw, there are no gray areas with the other characters, as they are all either portrayed as good or bad. And not to be overlooked is The Manchurian Candidate’s stunning use of black-and-white cinematography and wide-angle lenses, which reinforce The Manchurian Candidate’s paranoia overtones. Also, there are many remarkable moments visually. The one that stands out more than any other is the sequence where Raymond Shaw and his platoon are being brainwashed. In this scene, the camera moves in a 360-degree motion around the room, which reveals its realities. Shaw and his platoon believe that they are at a garden party with a group of elderly ladies, when in reality they are in a room full of communists all wearing their military uniforms.

From a performance standpoint, one would be hard pressed to name many films that, from top to bottom, have as many great performances as there are in The Manchurian Candidate. These three actors anchor The Manchurian Candidate. Laurence Harvey (Darling) in the role of Raymond Shaw; Angela Lansbury (Bedknobs and Broomsticks) in the role of Raymond’s overbearing mother; and Frank Sinatra (The Man with the Golden Arm) in the pivotal role of Major Bennett Marco. Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury’s characters serve opposite purposes with regard to Raymond Shaw's character. Where Frank Sinatra’s character is the one who helps unravel the conspiracy. It is Angela Lansbury’s character who is the mastermind behind the said conspiracy. And as good as they are in their respective roles, The Manchurian Candidate would not have worked as well as it does without Laurence Harvey’s tour de force performance. Ultimately, The Manchurian Candidate is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking that has not lost any of its potency.

The Manchurian Candidate gets a first-rate release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid transfer and insightful extras; unfortunately, the audio options are a massive disappointment.

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 VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer