MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965)

Label: Radiance Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 89 Minutes 29 Seconds (Italian Version), 87 Minutes 32 Seconds (English Version)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Mario Bava

Cast: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Angel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Ivan Rassimov

Planet of the Vampires (1965), aka Terrore Nello Spazio, directed by the Italian master of the macabre Mario Bava (A Bay of Blood), begins with deep space exploration ships Galliott and the Argos receiving and answering a distress signal emanating from the unexplored planet Aura, seemingly possessed by an unseen force, with only expedition leader Captain Markary (Barry Sullivan, Violent Naples) able to resist and snap his crew back to their senses. The ship is damaged while landing leaving them stranded, and the crew of the sister ship Galliott have all been killed, having been affected by the possessive force. They bury the bodies of the crew on the planet, but several of the corpses disappear and the buried don't stay buried long, the same force that attempted to take over the crew seems to be able to inhabit the dead as well.

Some of the crew explore Aura and attempt to salvage parts from Galliott to fix their own ship and get off the planet, and while exploring Markary, Sanya (Norma Bengell, The Hellbenders), Wess (Ángel Aranda, The Colossus of Rhodes) and Carter (Ivan Rassimov, All the Colors of the Dark) come across the wreckage of an alien craft, inside they find the skeletal remains of a large species of aliens... hmmm, sounds familiar, no?

Back at the Argos two of the crew from Galliott mysteriously arrives, Kier (Federico Boido, Super Fly T.N.T.) and Capt. Sallis (Massimo Righi, Blood and Black Lace), and attempt to steal the ship's Meteor Rejector device, and are revealed to be dead corpses controlled by the spirits of the dead Aurans who use to inhabit the dying planet, revealing their plan to take over the minds of the crew and use their bodies and technology to return tot heir home planet. When the possessed corpses of the Argos crew storm the Argos crewmembers Dr. Karan (Fernando Villena, Horror Express) and Tiona (Franco Andrei, Requiem for a Secret Agent) die, leaving Markary, Sanya and Wess to recover the Meteor Rejector device and fend off the attack and get off planet, or die in the process.

Bava's sci-fi horror is widely regarded as one of the most influential genre films ever made, heavily influencing Alien with chilly off-world Gothic atmosphere, fantastical production design, mind-bending in-camera special effects, and of course Bava's deeply saturated Technicolor chiaroscuro lighting schemes that give it a candy-colored nightmare vibe with plenty of alien phantasmagoria. The stylish high-collared leather space suits with yellow edging, whose influence can be seen in everything from X-Men to Prometheus. The fog-shrouded planet surface is also quite dazzling, I remember watching this as a kid on TV and even in that fullscreen, truncated version it stood out to me as being particularly stylish, an the down-turned finale really blew my hair back at the time. It holds-up and then some, now gorgeously restored in eye-popping 4K, fully uncut, with Dolby Visions, this slice of space-terror from Mario Bava still has plenty of wow-factor.

Audio/Video: Mario Bava's space-terror Planet of the Vampires gets a region-free 4k Ultra HD from radiance Films, 4K restoration of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and carried out at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale, presented in HDR/Dolby Vision, presented here in glorious 2160p Ultra HD, framed in 1.85:1 widescreem. I'd not seen the previous Radiance Blu-ray from 2024 and have only had the 2022 Kino Blu-ray of this flick, and watching this new Radiance 4K was pretty mind-blowing, this blows that release away. The restoration is absolutely gorgeous and filmic throughout, rich textures and copious fine detail, hair and skin pores are wonderfully resolved, the leather space suits look marvelous. The Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grades also shine, with Bava's color lighting really looking vibrant and moody, as where the Kino release cannot even compare, looking lifeless and pale by comparison. Black are deep and nicely nuanced, while contrast looks perfectly dialed-in, it's quite sharp looking, with pleasing depth and clarity. On this release we also get both the English and longer Italian cuts of the film here, as where the Kino releases offered just the English cut, in 4K UHD and 1080p HD on the accompanying Blu-ray.

Audio comes by way of English or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Both tracks sound excellent, the moments of ray guns zapping and the engines of the rocket ships are robust and crisp, and the eerie electronic score from Gino Marinuzzi Jr. (Hercules and the Captive Women) sounds wonderful as well. The English version also has the option to watch with the

Kendall Schmidt’s alternate synthesizer score, which was commissioned decades later for the home video release.

Radiance's release has some terrific extras, we get an Archival audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014) that was recorded on what would have been Bava's 100th birthday. Lucas is a wealth of information about the film, getting into the cast and crew, the special effects, Bava's ingenious use of in-camera effects, the score, the differences in the versions, and so much more - this is an essential listen for fans of the film.

We also get the 41-min Transmission from a Haunted World Mario Bava and the Space Gothic, a documentary feature which explores Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between gothic and science fiction, which is co-directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger and features interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, John Llewellyn Probert. The 13-min Archival interview with Lamberto Bava (2022), the director's son who worked on the film, het gets into his experiences working for his father.

A nice add is the 17-min Super 8 Version of the film - this is a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as Planet der Vampire, using the restored footage, with both English or Italian audio options. The last of the disc-extras is the 4-min Joe Dante and 3-min Josh Olsen Trailers From Hell episodes, plus the 2-min Trailer, as well as a Press and Image Gallery, with 49 images from the Tim Lucas/Alan Y. Upchurch collection.

This 2-disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Limited Edition set, limited to 5000 copies, arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, as well as the original Terrore Nello Spazio illustrated artwork. Tucked away inside are a Limited Edition 20-page booklet featuring a new translation of Renato Pestriniero’s original short story, plus Six Exclusive Postcards featuring movie posters and promotional material for the film, which look phenomenal.

This is housed inside a very attractive Rigid Slipbox featuring more Time Tomorrow artwork, with Radiance's signature removable OBI strip, leaving the packaging free of marking aside from the logo on the spine. Also tucked away inside is an Limited edition 80-page Illustrated Bound Book featuring writing from Jerome Reuter ('Gazing Into the Abyss of Deep Space and the Realms of Horror'), Martyn Contiero ('A World of Endless Night: The Artistry of Planet of the Vampires'), Barry Forshaw 'The Birth of Alien: Visiting Planet of the Vampires'), George Daniel Lea (Planet of the Vampires: Utopian Possibilities'), and Kyle Anderson ('Terror from Space: Lovecraft and Cosmic Horror in Planet of the Vampires', as well as cast and crew credits and notes about the transfer.

Radiance dual-format release is really the definitive version of the film to own, we get both versions of the looking impeccable, loads of disc extras, and some very attractive packaging ephemera, this set gets the highest recommendation I can give, it's essential, period dot.

Special Features:

- 4K restoration of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and carried out at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale, presented in HDR/Dolby Vision

- 4K UHD and Blu-ray presentation of the Italian (90 mins) and English (88 mins) versions of the film

- Uncompressed mono audio

- Archival audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014)

- A documentary feature which explores Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between gothic and science fiction. Co-directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger; featuring interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, Johnny (41:00)

- Archival interview with Lamberto Bava (2022, 13:09)

- Super 8 Version - a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as Planet der Vampire in English or Italian (17:10)

- Joe Dante (3:49) and Josh Olsen (2:30) trailer commentaries - the filmmakers provide a short overview of the film (2013)

- Trailer (2:15) 9

- Press and image gallery from the Tim Lucas / Alan Y. Upchurch collection (49 Images)

- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

- Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Kyle Anderson, Martyn Conterio, Barry Forshaw, George Daniel Lea and Jerome Reuter plus archival materials

- Limited edition 20-page booklet featuring a new translation of Renato Pestriniero’s original short story

- A collection of six exclusive postcards featuring promotional material

- Limited Edition of 5,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Screenshots from the Radiance Blu-ray (Italian Version):