The movie is really quite harmless, and it's a pleasant diversion from much of the raunch that passes for humor today.
Video:
The look of the film is very fifties in its bright, almost garish colors, and the sound is likewise very fifties in its jazz-inflected musical score. Columbia TriStar present the transfer in widescreen (1.72:1) and standard-screen (1.33:1) ratios, both of them on the same side of a double-sided disc and both of them easily accessed from the main menu. The widescreen version provides about 15-20% more image to the far left and right than the standard version, while the standard version, filling the whole screen, provides slightly more top and bottom material. The standard version is a not a typical pan-and-scan affair in this regard, so the choice is six of one, half a dozen of another. My personal preference is always to go with the size originally shown in theaters, widescreen in this case, but it's worth the viewer's time to investigate both versions. The print looks good for its forty-odd years. Some small age degradation is noticeable, though, especially in wide shots of plain blue sky, and darker scenes can show up with alternating columns of differing dim hues.
Audio:
The mono soundtrack renders dialogue crisply and clearly but otherwise doesn't do much except send sporadic thumps through the subwoofer.
Extras:
Of bonus items there are but few, production notes and talent files, mainly. Twenty-eight chapter stops are helpful, and spoken languages and captions in English and Spanish, plus a theatrical trailer.
Parting Thoughts:
The film's title, by the way, derives from the use of a bell, book, and candle in exorcism rites. It has nothing to do with the plot, really, but it sounds nice. In fact, the whole film is nice. Oh, and its oft-cited gay subtext (witches substituting for gays) seems almost quaint in retrospect. The movie is really quite harmless, and it's a pleasant diversion from much of the raunch that passes for humor today.
The look of the film is very fifties in its bright, almost garish colors, and the sound is likewise very fifties in its jazz-inflected musical score. Columbia TriStar present the transfer in widescreen (1.72:1) and standard-screen (1.33:1) ratios, both of them on the same side of a double-sided disc and both of them easily accessed from the main menu. The widescreen version provides about 15-20% more image to the far left and right than the standard version, while the standard version, filling the whole screen, provides slightly more top and bottom material. The standard version is a not a typical pan-and-scan affair in this regard, so the choice is six of one, half a dozen of another. My personal preference is always to go with the size originally shown in theaters, widescreen in this case, but it's worth the viewer's time to investigate both versions. The print looks good for its forty-odd years. Some small age degradation is noticeable, though, especially in wide shots of plain blue sky, and darker scenes can show up with alternating columns of differing dim hues.
Audio:
The mono soundtrack renders dialogue crisply and clearly but otherwise doesn't do much except send sporadic thumps through the subwoofer.
Extras:
Of bonus items there are but few, production notes and talent files, mainly. Twenty-eight chapter stops are helpful, and spoken languages and captions in English and Spanish, plus a theatrical trailer.
Parting Thoughts:
The film's title, by the way, derives from the use of a bell, book, and candle in exorcism rites. It has nothing to do with the plot, really, but it sounds nice. In fact, the whole film is nice. Oh, and its oft-cited gay subtext (witches substituting for gays) seems almost quaint in retrospect. The movie is really quite harmless, and it's a pleasant diversion from much of the raunch that passes for humor today.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]4041[/release]