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Synopsis
Four classics from Hammer, each presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Whether it's a madman brandishing a welding torch, a mythical monster whose looks can kill, an ancient royal with diabolical powers, or a mad woman wielding a pair of scissors, this set has something to unease everybody. Containing a wealth of new and exclusive extra features – including title-specific documentaries, cast and crew interviews, expert appreciations, introductions and more – this stunning Blu-ray-only Limited Edition box set is published in a horribly limited, numbered edition of 6,000 units.
Picture 8/10
Available exclusively in the Indicator box set Hammer Volume One: Fear Warning, Michael Carreras’ Maniac receives a new Blu-ray. The film is presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on a dual-layer disc in 1080p/24hz. Though a UK release the film (and the set) is region free.
I’m not sure where this restoration comes from (I don’t yet have copies of the booklets) but, man, does this final presentation look good. Maniac may be the weakest looking one in the set but I really use the word loosely. Any faults that remain lie specifically within the source materials but even then there isn’t too much to report on: there are really only a handful of tram lines and small bits of dirt, and then finally a few sequences with stains. Outside of these scattered instances the restoration work has managed to clean up the image and it looks superb in this regard.
The black and white image presents excellent contrast and gray scale, with clean tonal shifts and fairly deep blacks. The digital presentation nicely renders the film’s grain and doesn’t present any anomalies of any sort. It’s very clean and incredibly stable, quite film-like in the end.
On the whole the set’s presentations are really remarkable and a surprise overall, but Maniac’s presentation really floored me and I knew right from this title this set was going to be something really terrific.
Audio 6/10
The lossless 1.0 PCM mono track features some background noise but it’s otherwise clean and sharp. Dialogue is intelligible and fidelity isn’t half bad. Nothing special but there’s certainly nothing that stands out against it.
Extras 4/10
The set overall is packed with features but Maniac ends up coming out with the short-end. There’s a decent making-of called White-Hot Terror: Inside ‘Maniac’ featuring narration by Claire Louise Amias and interviews with author Jonathan Rigby and cultural historian John J. Johnston that goes over its production (unsurprisingly it was a bit scatter shot with changes to the script as shooting went on) and it’s use of interesting locations. It’s very informative but short at 11-minutes. But they also add an interview featuring Lindsay Anne Hallam talking about actor Nadia Gray, offering a fairly in-depth look into her career and some of her more notable roles. This is then followed by a 5-minute piece featuring interviews with focus puller Trevor Wrenn and clapper loader Ray Andrew, the two sharing a few tales about the production and its quick, low-budget shoot. We also learning, rather amusingly, how the film’s ending was created. It’s a fun segment but sadly short.
We then get the film’s trailer followed by a navigable gallery of promotional material, featuring more than 60 posters, lobby cards, clippings, press books (with some close-ups), and so forth. There is then a shorter gallery of on-set photographs. Each title in the set apparently comes with a booklet as well but at the moment I don’t have copies of them.
The title doesn’t receive a lot but the supplements provided here manage to still give some great context and insight into the film.
Closing
Maniac isn’t the most feature loaded disc in the set but it’s restoration and final presentation is surprisingly good, the final image looking clean and quite film-like. It’s still a nice way to start out Indicator’s new box set.
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