Raw
Meat 4K
(1973/aka Death
Line
(MVD/MGM/Blue Underground 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B-* Extras: B+
Film: B+
One
of the most underrated horror films of all, Gary Sherman's Raw
Meat 4K
(1973, aka Death
Line)
is at the same time, the peak of classical British Horror and full
blooming of modern British Horror as Hammer was trying to find its
next groundbreakers, Amicus and Tigon tried to soldier on and others
were getting more creative and daring. You can read all about the
film in my older review of the Blu-ray edition at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15035/Death+Line+(1973+aka+Raw+Meat/MGM/Blue+Underg
Some
people are actually watching this only for the mystery plot and
allowing the rest of the film to go over their heads and missing out
on what is really happening and going on here. Several elements
(call MI-5?) are a plus, but the screenplay leaves no stone unturned
and the combination of Donald Pleasence and Christopher Lee here is a
real plus as Pleasence was about to delve deeper into the horror
genre, all the way to taking a role Lee turned down: Dr. Loomis the
original Halloween
films.
Why
this is not more well known or popular is amazing, but so many great
films, even in the Horror Genre are, but Raw
Meat
was ahead of its time and especially now, that is more obvious than
ever.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image pulls off what I had
hoped for when the older Blu-ray fell a bit short visually, one of
the best back catalog transfers of the year, albeit dark and creepy,
so don't expect all kinds of razor sharpness or brightness because
that is not the look legendary Director of Photography Alex Thompson,
B.S.C., chose. Instead, we get a combination of Horror darkness and
what was developing as then-modern London, which we will see in
subsequent Horror films like American
Werewolf In London,
Schizo
and endless, often classic British TV episodes, series and telefilms
in the genre. There are even shots that are so good, they are demo
shots that rate above my letter grade above.
Color
is very warm, rich and consistent, while we still get some fine
detail and depth throughout. The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High
Definition image is not bad like its older predecessor, but no match
for the 4K disc.
*As
for sound, the three soundtracks are new, lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby
TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) and
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes, plus the PCM 1.0 Mono
from the previous Blu-ray set and comes from its original optical
mono soundmaster. The new multi-channel mixes are not upmixes and
offer some sound we could not hear before, but there is an issue with
distortion. The separate Dialogue, Music and Sound Effects (aka
D/M/E) actually survived (great news for fans) and that is where the
Dolby
Atmos and
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mixes come from.
However,
there are some distortion issues in the new mixes that made me wonder
what happened to the sound. I will give some examples:
At
7:45, the Elevator Operator and lead couple are talking, but their
dialogue sounds slightly more distorted in the Atmos & 5.1 mixes
than even the Mono, but there is similar slight distortion on the
edge of their voices in all mixes. Guess it was something that could
not be fixed, though they sound a little warmer, fuller and slightly
richer on the Mono, but then you loose the other sound elements.
At
9:00, the echoes on the Atmos & 5.1 mixes are a bit more tiny
than the Mono.
AT
9:31, it is not as bad.
And
in Chapter Five, 21:25, when Alex says ''Will
You Knock It Off, Patricia?,''
it lacks fullness and it sounds like the distortion you can hear at
the tip of the Mono is somehow cutting into his voice, while it is
being shrunken slightly.
Between
differences in the masters, mixing and remixing choices, some of this
probably could not be avoided, while maybe some different choices
could have minimized these issues in others. I have to admit I had
some similar encounters with all the Connery James Bond films in 4K
(save parts of Diamonds
Are Forever)
if not necessarily with dialogue and in all cases, unless we could
hear all the elements throughout, which would take hours, its hard to
say what could be adjusted and what had to be left alone. With all
this, be sure you try all mixes to see the one you like best, but it
reminds us how hard it is to upgrade monophonic films to stereo all
the way to Atmos, Auro 3D or DTS: X. Now you know in advance of
screening any of this. We'll be examining more such releases soon.
Extras
in this solid slipcase packaging (one of the year's best) include an
expanded Poster and Stills Gallery adding to the fine one from the
last release, plus a new feature length audio commentary track by
Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, then the rest of the extras are
repeated from the previous Blu-ray-only release, including that very
enjoyable feature length audio commentary track with
Co-Writer/Director Gary Sherman, Producer Paul Maslansky, and
Assistant Director Lewis More O'Ferrall, three solid featurettes in
Tales
From The Tube:
Interview with Co-Writer/Director Gary Sherman and Executive
Producers Jay Kanter & Alan Ladd Jr., From
The Depths:
Interview with Star David Ladd and Producer Paul Maslansky and Mind
The Doors:
Interview with Star Hugh Armstrong, plus a DEATH LINE Trailer, RAW
MEAT Trailer, RAW MEAT TV Spots and RAW MEAT Radio Spots. The only
thing missing is the excellent booklet from before.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
