The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) (NTSC)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Horror	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1973
Running Time	87:16
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Alan Gibson
Studio Distributor	Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Christopher Lee Peter Cushing Michael Coles William Franklyn Freddie Jones Joanna Lumley Richard Vernon Barbara Yu Ling Patrick Barr Richard Mathews
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	$14.95	Music	John Cacavas

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes, a lot.
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Hammer's inimitable Count Dracula returns in this, the last in a long series of vampire films starring the distinguished pair of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

    They're burning the midnight oil over at Scotland Yard, hard at work on what appears to be a case of vampirism. An undercover operative has been murdered while investigating a bizarre cult in London; a villainous group with high-profile judges, academics and politicians counted among its members. The cult's influence is very far-reaching and the staff at the 'Yard are well aware that if it's to be brought to a conclusion, the case must be conducted below board, with a team of incorruptible, independent help. Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) is called in, along with Dr. Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), an expert in vampirism who along with his gorgeous Granddaughter/Assistant Jessica (Joanna Lumley) is renowned in his field.

    Investigations soon lead the team to the building of D.D. Denham, a mysterious company with an even more mysterious CEO. How is Denham linked to the cult, and why are they researching a new, more virulent strain of the bubonic plague?

    It's impossible to go past the powerful on-screen pairing of Cushing and Lee, and these are the kind of films Hammer did best in their heyday. While it may not be the finest in the series, it certainly packs a punch and remains a staple in the vast Hammer catalogue.

Video

    This video transfer is on a par with the Anchor Bay VHS (NTSC) I imported more than a decade ago. This DVD's widescreen NTSC image is similarly letterboxed at 1.85:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced.

    Considering the film's vintage, the transfer is adequately sharp and clear with no dire issues to be concerned about. The most distracting artefacts are related to the source material; film grain, persistent vertical scratches, dirt and the like. I also noted many jumps and missing frames in places. Colours seem spot-on, particularly the deep reds.

    No subtitles are provided on this single-layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The film's original mono soundtrack is the only audio option, presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.

    The English dialogue is always clear and easy to discern in the mix. Audio effects and foley work is suitably well balanced throughout. Audio sync is fine.

    The soundtrack is in surprisingly good condition in relation to the video source; I noted only a few pops here and there, around what I would presume to be reel changes (reel change markings were absent, by the way). There's obviously no surround or subwoofer activity to report here.

    The film's score is credited to John Cacauas and is in my opinion one of the better scoring efforts from this Hammer period.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Theatrical Trailer (2:32)

    Simply the film's original theatrical trailer, looking very worse for wear and sporting a hip, funky 70s soundtrack.

    The NTSC video transfer shows the limitations of the source, and is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The audio transfer is fine.

    The extras are limited.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall