425 Black Magic Rites

[MichaelB]

BLACK MAGIC RITES
(Renato Polselli, 1973)
Release date: 26 June 2023
Limited Edition 4K UHD (World premiere) and Blu-ray (separate editions)

Pre-order on 4K UHD or Blu-ray.

From the mind of one of Italian genre cinema’s most outrageous and uncompromising filmmakers comes Black Magic Rites (Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel Trecento... aka The Reincarnation of Isabel), Renato Polselli’s (The Vampire and the Ballerina) delirious masterpiece of erotic horror.

When beautiful Laureen throws a wild party at the castle which she has just inherited, she is blissfully unaware that its dark cellar harbours an occult sect that is hellbent on avenging the death of Isabel, who was burned at the stake 600 years earlier as a witch. The occultists’ satanic rituals call for the blood of virgins… Could Laureen be next?

Starring Mickey Hargitay (Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?) and Rita Calderoni (A Quiet Place in the Country) this bizarre, psychedelic fusion of eroticism and Italian Gothic horror is presented in an all-new 4K restoration from the original negative.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES
• Brand-new 4K HDR restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original Italian mono soundtrack
• Audio commentary with critics and authors David Flint and Kim Newman (2023)
• The Seventh Art According to Ralf Brown (2023): far-reaching documentary on the first half of Renato Polselli’s career featuring an archival interviews with the filmmaker and his actor-collaborator Mickey Hargitay, as well as new contributions from director and programmer Luca Rea
• Gianfranco Reverberi on ‘Black Magic Rites’ (2023): the composer revisits his haunting score
• Lovely Jon on Gianfranco Reverberi (2023): the DJ and soundtrack enthusiast deconstructs the film’s delirious compositions
• Stephen Thrower on ‘Black Magic Rites’ (2023:): the author and musician analyses Polselli’s nightmarish cult classic
• Alternative The Reincarnation of Isabel title sequence
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Miranda Corcoran, a career-spanning archival interview with director Renato Polselli by Jay Slater, an archival autobiographical piece by Polselli, a look at the career of actor Mickey Hargitay, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• World premiere on 4K UHD
• Limited edition of 10,000 numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US

All extras subject to change

#PHILE425U
BBFC cert: 18
REGION FREE
EAN: 5060697923056

[Aspect]

In a strange coincidence, I watched this yesterday on the Kino Cult streaming service, which is free for anyone wondering. This is definitely one that curious parties might want to stream first. I enjoyed it for what it was (colorful, nonsensical, sleazy, and full of obnoxious "virgins" ripe for sacrificing), yet my mind tended to wander during the many extended sacrifice scenes. Definitely could have used a trimmer edit. It won't end up one of my favorite Euroshlock flicks, but it's worth a watch for those interested (you know who you are).

Incidentally, all the Rollin flicks that Indicator seem to be releasing now are also on the Kino Cult streaming site. Those are the definition of "try before you buy" in my opinion. They have their good points, but on the whole they're super boring and amateurish. Call me crazy, but I prefer Franco's style and panache (at least from his superior 60s and early 70s eras).

[yoloswegmaster]

Incidentally, all the Rollin flicks that Indicator seem to be releasing now are also on the Kino Cult streaming site. Those are the definition of "try before you buy" in my opinion. They have their good points, but on the whole they're super boring and amateurish. Call me crazy, but I prefer Franco's style and panache (at least from his superior 60s and early 70s eras).

I watched my first Rollin title just recently (The Nude Vampire) and coincidentally also found it very boring. Would the 2 Rollin films that Indicator is releasing be in the similar vein to that of The Nude Vampire?

[Aspect]

I haven't seen The Nude Vampire, but since he made it the year before The Shiver of the Vampires, I would think the style is very similar. From what I've seen (around five of his films - my favorites being Fascination and The Grapes of Death), his movies are very consistent in pacing and style. They're definitely all made by the same guy. Personally, I don't feel he has a great feel for cinema as I find them static and enervating. A lot of people like The Shiver of the Vampires the most of all his films because there's some eccentric comedy in it, but for me it has the same faults as all the others. Shiver has a kick ass guitar funk score though. Again, I'd stream it first.

[J Wilson]

I picked this up on VHS back in the day, based on a Video Watchdog review, which pushed the "you gotta see this masterpiece" hyperbole and I was pretty annoyed when it turned out to be awful and stupefyingly tedious. That it's getting a deluxe 4K edition isn't surprising, almost anything can get a features-laden release these days, but...this?? I chuckled at the "erotic horror" description, as the "eroticism" within is basically a lot of tit shots and a somewhat rapey sex scene with an unattractive chunky guy with a twitch set to Dixieland jazz. It's delirious! As mentioned above, it's the definition of try before you buy.

[reaky]

I find it odd that these films, so often discounted to £6 in Screenbound sales, are now thought to be good bets for deluxe editions three times the price or more. I guess it really is the packaging and extras that sell catalogue titles.

[dwk]

...I guess it really is the packaging and extras that sell catalogue titles.

Have you ever visited the Blu-ray.com forums? Like half the posts in the Vinegar Syndrome thread are about the number of slipcovers left in-stock. That place is full of posts of people hoping that Arrow gets the rights to Suspiria so they can have a chipboard case to put on their shelves next to the other Arrow chipboard cases. Labels have become, as David Gregory joked in an episode of the Severin Films podcast, cardboard merchants. (Of course he made this joke when addressing the forum whining about Severin's 4 Flies UHD having a slipcover instead of a slipcase.)

[swo17]

I mean, this does have an 80-page book though

[EddieLarkin]

Surely the extra value is reflected most in the new transfer (these films have been stuck with old masters for a long time now), new format, and new supplements/book, in that order? The box is just window dressing.

It's no surprise to me that a no effort release like the Screenbound Blu-ray (off the shelf master, no extras, no booklet) struggled to sell even at a bargain bin price.

[reaky]

I wouldn’t have thought there were many buyers who’ve been patiently waiting for their favourite exploitation nudie to get the 4K 80-page book / hard sleeve treatment, but Indicator must have done their research.

[dwk]

I mean, this does have an 80-page book though

Yeah and Indicator tends to have the best booklets, but I doubt if half the posters over there actually open what they buy.

I just find that forum's obsession with slipcovers/slipcases utterly bizarre. But enough of that place.

[tenia]

I wouldn't surprised this will sell more than if they were to release a Truffaut movie (even one of his more popular ones).
I mean, that's pretty much VS' business model, and they seem to me to be amongst the biggest indie labels in terms of sales.

[yoloswegmaster]

Genre films (especially horror films) have generally sold well on all formats, so it's not too much of a shock that VS would be raking in dough by selling these types of films. It's most likely why Indicator decided to release genre titles as their foray into the 4K market instead of releasing something like Bartleby or Hoffman or any of the films in the John Ford box (random note but I'm surprised that this box hasn't sold out yet).

[rapta]

It's no surprise to me that a no effort release like the Screenbound Blu-ray (off the shelf master, no extras, no booklet) struggled to sell even at a bargain bin price.

Doesn't help that they even put no effort into the covers they use, let alone the film itself (or the extras, though sometimes they surprise on that front; see their disc for The Harder They Come, for example). Also there are dozens of titles I'd love to see Indicator rescue from Screenbound, namely Wise Blood, Under the Volcano, La Ronde and Knife in the Water. 88 Films and now Indicator have been 'upgrading' a lot of their horror titles, but there are some neglected gems in their library I'm surprised these labels haven't touched yet (I think even Eureka, Arrow and BFI have occasionally licensed from Screenbound too).

[SeizureMilk]

I think that outside of the slips and the films released, the main draw is the idea of the limited stocks, once something's gone, it's gone forever. Which on the surface is a bad business model, but really it gives people this chance to be part of a "limited time event", even the standards are in small stocks. Now I only own a Partner release of Zerograd I can't really judge their overall extras but it appears there's plentiful in every release (especially Archive and Ultra) giving it even more of this luxury feel. It's like drinking Coke at a beatdown old diner in the smackdown of nowhere vs. a fancy 5-star gourmet restaurant, it's still the same Coke but there's more prestige in fancifuls than in commonalities or less-thans. Plus it also helps that those are the only places to legally purchase outside an old format outdated format like VHS so it comes with this idea of "first and only chance" which can boost sales more, for example Sidekicks which outside of Chuck Norris' sets had no actual U.S. release. It's all about business. Thank you for reading.

[therewillbeblus]

In a strange coincidence, I watched this yesterday on the Kino Cult streaming service, which is free for anyone wondering.

Thanks for suggesting this - I had no idea it existed! It's helpful to see this plus the two Rollins in quality streaming. I only watched the first twenty minutes or so of Black Magic Rites before I hit the sack last night, but I had a very different impression - I really enjoyed the experimental visual collages, more than most of the Italian giallos of this period, which tend to disengage me with similar but uninspired rote application of style (so I guess my subjective 'bar' for enjoying this kind of fare is set at being engaged if not wholly captivated by this form of aesthetic intervention). We'll see how the rest of it holds up, but it's already been a valuable service for sampling, since I probably would've passed on this sight unseen without the access

[Aspect]

Totally, you’re welcome. I only discovered it when looking to watch Demons 2, of all movies (which I hadn’t seen for some reason). I’ve been on it pretty regularly the past few months filling in lots of viewing gaps. I also plan on picking up some of the titles I watched in upcoming sales, so I guess it works out for Kino.

The app’s a little wonky on my android tv. I can’t seem to make a playlist or search, but I can do those things on my iPad and then just watch on the tv. Doesn’t matter overall when, as you said, the picture quality’s so good.

[therewillbeblus]

Interesting, creating watchlists works on the app on my Roku TV, though I had to make a free account on my computer first

[therewillbeblus]

We'll see how the rest of it holds up

Finally got around to watching this all the way through, and it's exactly the kind of gonzo erotic horror I covet: A totally bonkers, phantasmagoric application to narrative and aesthetics at once. I probably dislike 99% of this subgenre's output, but when the filmmakers take us on a consciously nonsensical ride, weaving from image to image and place to place, abandoning any internal logic with expert craftsmanship, I find myself taken under its spell as the film's liberal explosion of ideas matches my loose investment while watching them unfold. It's nice when a film winks at the audience and shares its temperament for the material, while also issuing surprises of mild arousal rather than vying for acute shock. It's comfort food horror, but that's all I really expect and want from this stuff. Not quite on the level of the insanely-inventive In the Folds of the Flesh, but much closer to that than most of the hackneyed cousins of its ilk

[swo17]

Release pushed back to 24 July (UK) and 25 July (US/Canada)

[MikeFH]

Release pushed back to 24 July (UK) and 25 July (US/Canada)

I’m glad to say my copy of the 4K UHD version arrived today (in The Nederlands). #0057 of 6,000

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[MichaelB]

Musique Machine:

I’d say if you enjoy bizarre ‘n’ deranged erotic horror Black Magic Rites is a must, with the folks at Powerhouse going the extra mile with the extras, and the wonderful 4k scan.