THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK (L’ORRIBILE SEGRETO DI DR. HICHCOCK), directed by Riccardo Freda/Radiance
A stunning new transfer from Radiance for a visually striking (and elusive) film. While the reputation of Freda’s remarkable psychodrama is high indeed outside his native Italy, few people have seen the version that the director intended, owing to some mealy-mouthed censorship that removed a crucial element in the narrative. Rather in the manner of the American dubbing of Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath – a sexual subplot was completely removed at the dubbing stage – the same sanitising process had already happened to Freda’s movie, corrected in this issue. Bava was something of a Freda protégé, as the latter gave him his first chances to direct, and both men suffered this crippling form of censorship. So what is the completely unacceptable element in the original that caused so much concern? Necrophilia, no less. In 1962, such a subject was simply not acceptable in American and British cinemas. Freda’s film begins with a man engaged in murky business over an open grave. Suddenly, a shadowy figure in a top hat appears and knocks the gravedigger unconscious. He opens the grave and the audience is shown the cold face of a female corpse. The intruder gently touches the face of the dead woman and then begins to run his fingers across her body. We are shown no more. The reputation of the film is probably due as much to what people know of its unorthodox central theme as to the stylishness of Freda’s direction (although that is considerable in itself). There are also the performances, notably the English actor Robert Flemyng, who conveys the dark obsession of the driven Hichcock with cold skill (English audiences are always given pause by the apparent misspelling of Hichcock, knowing that the best known possessor of that name spells it was a ‘t’). Bernard Hichcock is a doctor in 19th century London running a successful clinic with advances in anaesthesia ensuring fame and success. But he has a secret life, involving strange erotic scenarios with his wife Margaretha. In a darkened room, the doctor utilises his anaesthesia to create a necrotic state in her, which facilitates his sexual satisfaction. But things go wrong when he administers a lethal dose, and watches in horror as she dies painfully. Time passes, and Hitchcock returns from a trip to Italy with a new wife. The house is soon prey to night-time visitations, apparently by a dead woman. Yes, to some degree we are in Laura/Rebecca territory, but the situation here is far stranger in terms of psychopathology. The trump card of Riccardo Freda’s film is, of course, the casting of Hichcock’s new wife Cynthia. She is played by the undisputed queen of the Italian horror film, the English actress Barbara Steele, who began her life as a Rank starlet. Along with Freda’s delirious visuals, she perfectly encapsulates the gothic strain that is the director’s speciality. As his roving camera prowls the house and strange things happen, the audience itself is lured into a kind of narcoleptic dream state, quite as hypnotic as that engendered in Hichcock’s macabre love life.
INSIDE MAN, Danny A. Abeckaser, director/101 Films
Demonstrating a real command of cinematic suspense, Danny A. Abeckaser delivers the goods in this tense thriller. Emile Hirsch plays a beleaguered New York cop who inveigles his way into an infamous mafia family. Utilising real events, Abeckaser directs and also stars, and the film receives its UK premiere courtesy of 101 Films. Metropolitan Detective Bobby Belucci (Hirsch), finds his wife (Ashley Greene) in flagrante with another man he explodes with rage, savagely attacking his wife’s lover. And things become even darker from that point on.
DARK WINDS, various directors/Acorn
Canada and America can offer a number of examples of domestic ethnic detective stories, some written by people with an excellent knowledge of the people they use in their books. The popular series of novels by Tony Hillerman featuring the Navajo tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee provides a large amount of background information on the Navajo and Hopi Native Americans, and, by using the men’s different personalities, the author can explore their attitudes to the majority culture and their interaction with it. The first adaptation film has been slow in coming, but it has been more than worth the wait as this very solid version of Hillerman’s work proves. Created by Jack Ryan creator Graham Roland and executive–produced by Robert Redford and George R. R. Martin, the six-part series stars Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon as a duo of beleaguered Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest.
THE CRIMINAL ACTS OF TOD SLAUGHTER: EIGHT BLOOD-AND-THUNDER ENTERTAINMENTS, 1935 – 1940, various directors/Indicator
While it is tempting to view the period British films of the barnstorming actor Tod Slaughter as Dan is progenitors of the entertainments featuring such actors as Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, the comparison is not quite accurate. While Price in particular may frequently have his tongue in his cheek in his more macabre outings, Slaughter (his real name) in fact never really played his uncomplicated material straight, constantly winking at the audience and providing over-the-top enjoyment with his thickly sliced villainous turns. For many years, notorious films such as Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street were difficult to see in decent prints, but Indicator has done them proud, and viewers (except perhaps those looking for some degree of subtlety) will have a good time with this set. The eight films were made in collaboration with British producer-director George King; extras include some rare shorts and newsreel items.
HIGH TENSION, Alexandre Aja, director/Second Sight
Word-of-mouth is a powerful element when the establishing the reputation of a film, and the phenomenon certainly kicked in sizeably with the remarkable Haute Tension, director Alexandre Aja’s massively assured thriller. Even if the mechanics of the threat to the female protagonists were not so adroitly handled, the ingenious plotting — with its unexpected right turns – marks the film out as something special. This French shocker is accorded a new Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Dual Edition Box set release from masters in the field Second Sight Films; the 4K iteration is particularly eye-opening in its clarity.
BLACKHAT, Michael Mann, director/Arrow
Of contemporary directors, few have achieved the ironclad reputation that Michael Mann has. His move into the world of espionage was an unexpected one, but he was able to draw on the expertise that distinguished earlier work. Cinema audiences responded coolly to the film – so it’s time for a second look on home cinema, where the hacking plot looks ever more prescient. Chris Hemsworth – who has had to repeatedly prove there is more to him than his chiselled cheekbones – can now be seen as a strong conduit for Mann’s ambitions with this one. Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from this issue includes the hitherto difficult-to-see Director’s Cut, never before released on home video — here retrieved from the original digital files.
LE COMBAT DE L’ILLE, Alan Cavalier director/Radiance
As ever, the Radiance label can be guaranteed to come up with something both unorthodox and intriguing. Is Alan Cavalier’s debut film – a murderous sexual triangle — a thriller? A drama of character? An outing in the Nouvelle Vague school of French filmmaking? (In fact the iconic director Louis Malle was involved in the film — Cavalier was something of a protégé). The film might initially appear to be more mainstream with its charismatic leading players Romy Schneider and Jean-Louis Trintignant, but there is an experimental air to the proceedings and the character interaction suggests the early work of Claude Chabrol – as does the thriller aspect. It’s a fascinating curio.
SIGNORA VOLPE, various directors/Acorn
Emilia Fox is a popular actress in a variety of TV thrillers, and is on reliable form in this set, which affords a variety of pleasures even though it has been controversially received. Certainly, the escapism provided by the sumptuous locales is a surefire. The Italian-set sleuthing features Fox as Signora Volpe, an out-of-favour British spy turned amateur detective. Thre four-part crime series also stars Tara Fitzgerald and Jamie Bamber. special features, including a ‘Meet the Characters’ featurette sporting interviews with Emilia Fox and Tara Fitzgerald.
NEW FROM EUREKA
Eureka! has announced its December 2023 line-up. Featured amongst this line-up is a retelling of the classic story of the 47 ronin from the director of Battle Royale, one of the most unique thrillers from the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema; plus a re-issue of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of The Police Story Trilogy.
