INVALUABLE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN EPIC ARTIST (2014)
Label: Synapse Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 103 Minutes 23 Seconds
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Stereo (No Subtitles)
Director: Ryan Meade
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Danny Hicks, Hal Delrich, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly
Ryan Meade's Invaluable; The True Story of an Epic Artist (2014) is a bonafide fan-made doc about Michigan artist Tom Sullivan who created the special effects for The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness, including the gore-tastic stop motion sequences and the design of the iconic Book of the Dead. While I am familiar with his name after years of watching Evil Dead extras on the multitude of special edition releases I have to be honest and say that like probably many, his larger story has evaded me until now, but that's all a thing the past thanks to Ryan Meade's fantastic doc dedicated to the talented Mr. Sullivan.
The doc is assembled from interviews with key participants in the Evil Dead trilogy including Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Danny Hicks, Hal Delrich, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly, these stitched together alongside archival super 8mm film footage, Hi8, VHS, convention shot footage, and vintage audio tapes and photographs, to create wonderfully raw behind-the-scenes looks at not just the making of the Evil Dead films but an intimate look at the Tom Sullivan's work in those films and the magic he brought them, as well as his early life and post-Evil Dead career. It's great to hear Sullivan himself wax nostalgic about his early love of Harryhausen and Famous Monsters magazine, creating his own early super 8mm films in the Harryhausen tradition, the at times difficult process of making the films with Raimi and creating the gory effects we all know and love, as well as stories from the cast and crew about how resourceful, creative and determined Sullivan was, proving to be an integral part of the creative process. Sadly, there is no new footage of Sam Raimi himself, but he is represented in archival audio clips. There's also a treasure trove of behind the scenes footage and stills, clips from early 8mm films, plus props used in the films, it's total eye-candy for fans of these flicks.
The doc along with Sullivan himself takes us back to the ruins of what's left of the cabin in the woods used for the film, the Tapert family farm house cellar where the cellar cabin scenes were shot, the home that served as the communal residence for the cast and crew during filming, and the Redford Theater were the film originally premiered. It's a deep-diving and thorough examination of Sullivan's contributions to the film, as well as his personal life which is marked by personal tragedy and some psychological issues he suffered following a car wreck, the doc does good work fleshing out Sullivan's story and contributions to the franchise in addition to some terrific work he did for Cthulhu related projects, like the Call of Cthulhu role playing game books, and the never-made The Cry of Cthulhu film, telling the story of some shady happening behind the scenes of that project.
The production side of this is a bit unrefined, it has a very homemade fan-made feel, because that's exactly what it is, a fan-made doc, but as a fan of the films and Sullivan's work I found it so endearing and chock full of tasty behind-the-scenes content that it transcends any production inadequacies it might have. I think that the people who are gonna salivate over this are the hardcore extras feature fans who re-watch the those featurettes and docs Mark Showstrom, Rob Bottin, Rick Baker, Tom Savini, Steve Johnson, KNB Effects, Chris Wallace, Craig Reardon, and Dick Smith are the ones who will be slobbering all over this. I don't know that this will have broad appeal to mainstream horror fans who just watch the flicks and don't get too deep into what goes on behind-the-scenes, but for the deep-diving 'I gotta know how this was made' sort of movie watchers this is movie-magic cat-nip.
Audio/Video: Invaluable arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Synapse Films in 1080p HD widescreen ( 1.78:1), the doc was assembled with archival Super 8mm film footage, Hi8, VHS, and vintage audio tapes and photographs, and it has a very low-res fan-made feel to it, but what bleeds through is the heart behind it all and the deep appreciation for artist Tim Sullivan. It's never not-watchable, but it's also not the usual polished sort of doc you might be used to from Red Shirt Pictures, Ballyhoo Motion Pictures or Reverend Entertainment. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Like the video the sources are varied and are not always delivering top-notch audio, but again, the heart shines through and the contest is wonderful. There are no subtitles for this one, but I certainly would have appreciated it if it did.
Extras are plentiful and start off with a bonus documentary Other Men's Careers from director Christopher J. Dinnan that focus on the life of filmmaker Josh Becker (Running Time, Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except!, Lunatics), another Evil Dead alum, this one is a bit better produced, has a lot of the same talking heads as the Invaluable doc, and Becker is really a fascinating character, a talented director, and also a difficult personality by most accounts. He's a very candid guy, his opinions on Tarantino and del Toro are made me laugh a bit. Plus we get a pair of Ryan Meade directed shorts; the 19-min Bong Fly and the 30-min Cosmos Loco, which are very Kevin Smith Clerks-styled comedies, the latter also featuring Tom Sullivan and the Book of the Dead, plus we get 11-min of Bong Fly Behind-the-Scenes footage. There are also extras that are related to the dock, these come by way of a 48-min Unedited interview with Tim Philo, cinematographer of The Evil Dead, 7-min of Extended interview segments with Josh Becker, plus 5-min of Bonus Clips by way of "Turkey or Chicken", "Boobie", and "The Cry of Cthulhu". Another excellent extra is the 51-min Vintage Tom Sullivan “In the Spotlight” interview from 1989, which looks like a cool public access program. Disc extras are buttoned-up with the 4-min Snap Shots - Motion Stills Gallery, plus trailers by way of the 3-min Invaluable Trailer #1, 3-min Invaluable Trailer #2, the 2-min Megan Master Bong Fly Trailer and the 2-min Other Men's Careers Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork, inside there's a Synapse Films Catalog booklet.
This was previously available as a small-batch barebones DVD available directly from Ryan Meade, it's great to see it it get a wide HD release from Synapse Films and pumped-up with some great extras, hopefully it gets into the hands of many more fans who are sure to love it.
Special Features:
- Other Men's Careers – A bonus documentary about the life of filmmaker Josh Becker (77 min)
- Vintage Tom Sullivan “In the Spotlight” interview (1989) (50:31)
- Unedited interview with Tim Philo, cinematographer of The Evil Dead (48:17)
- Extended interview segments with Josh Becker (6:34)
- Turkey or Chicken - Bonus Clip (1:27)
- Boobie- Bonus Clip (0:54)
- The Cry of Cthulhu - Bonus Clip (2:17)
- Ryan Meade short films: Bong Fly (18:58) & Cosmos Locos (29:52)
- Bong Fly Behind-the-Scenes (10:29)
- Snap SHots – Motion Stills Gallery (4:04)
- Reversible Cover Art
- Invaluable Trailer #1 (3:26)
- Invaluable Trailer #2 (3:29)
- Megan Master Bong Fly Trailer (2:29)
- Other Men's Careers Trailer (2:20)
If you're a die-hard Evil Dead franchise fan you need to own this, it doesn't matter of you've watched every extras on the multitude of special edition releases, or listened to all the commentary tracks, this scrappy independent doc is chock full of never-before-seen nuggets, props, footage and stills that are sure to put a grin on your face. This is right up there with Document of the Dead, Just Desserts The Making of Creepshow, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th Franchise, and Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary, a little rougher around the edges but no less essential in my opinion.
Screenshots from the Synapse Films Blu-ray:
