Picked up on US import the German produced 'krimi' film The Strangler at Blackmoor Castle, a fairly literal translation of the film's original title, Der Würger von Schloß Blackmoor. It was made in 1963 and features sexy one time Bond-girl-to-be Karin Dor, who lives in a castle that has attracted the attention of a black-gloved killer who's interested in acquiring some diamonds that he knows are hidden somewhere. It's kind of clunky, peppered throughout with odd stabs of German humour, which occasionally work in their idiosyncratic naivety. Castle location is brilliant, and the Scooby Doo-esque unmasking of the killer is a bit of a cracker. Also the distinctive music score by Oskar Sala is a real highlight - unfortunately he didn't do much else outside of TV projects and shorts.
Released on DVD by Alpha Video, the fullscreen B&W transfer is reasonable for them, but ugly in any kind of wider context, while the English dub track is merely functional. What's worst is the fact that it's cropped (probably from 1.66:1), frequently transforming talking actors into disembodied voices. The film's okay but I would welcome the chance to watch it one day in German language with a decent widescreen transfer. I bought this disc because it was the only viable way to see the movie, but Alpha Video wouldn't know how to treat a film properly if a restoration course slapped them round the face. There are no extras of course (unless you count still images of other releases by Alpha). Strangely, many of Alpha's DVD covers are very nicely designed, with fundamentally sound understanding of colour use, this one being no exception.
Paul, this sounds like it could be fun. I'm always on the lookout for offbeat stuff that I've never seen, and I get the impression this film has a kind of attractive hokey quality. I may have to pick up that less than perfect Alpha disc.
ReplyDeleteColin
Hi Colin
ReplyDeleteI got it from Play (surprisingly I found it at all, because the title is spelt wrong!), and it's currently even cheaper than when I bought it: http://www.play.com/DVD/Region_1/4-/2478531/Strangler-of-Balckmoor-Castle/Product.html?searchstring=strangler+of+blackmoor+castle&searchsource=0&searchtype=allproducts&urlrefer=search
Not a good DVD as I say, but for an obscure film it's worth checking out. I really would prefer these films to be presented properly though, and would have been willing to pay more for a decent version.
Hope you're doing well, Colin!
Cheers for the link Paul. Yeah, I'm doing fine mate, hope you are too.
ReplyDeleteColin
By the way, Colin, Digital Fix are advertising for writers at the moment - have you ever considered it? I can't make up my mind whether to try - I kind of like having complete freedom, but it could be a good thing if it worked out.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about it before, but the freedom aspect is important to me though; I like to be able to write about whatever takes my fancy whenever it suits.
DeleteAnother problem that, for me anyway, is the fact I like to story, characterization, performances and such. Writing for a site like The Digital Fix requires more technical analysis, and knowledge for that matter, than I feel I could offer.
I know what you mean. I quite like the technical analysis side of it myself, but as with you the freedom thing is a big issue. I can imagine getting sent through some French art film or a mundane straight-to-disc sequel to a teen romcom or something that I barely have enough enthusiasm to sit through, but I've gotta write about it anyway! Of course the flipside is that it could broaden my tastes somewhat I guess but it's just the obligations that are the problem - I have enough of that at work! Thanks, Colin.
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