DEAD OF NIGHT

DEAD OF NIGHT

Produced by Britain's Ealing Studios and released in 1945 following a ban on the production of horror films during the war, this spooky portmanteau has endured over the decades as one of the most critically acclaimed entries in the anthology sub-genre.

It opens with fidgety architect Walter (Mervyn Johns) driving up to a country house where he's been promised some work. As he turns into the manor grounds, he's taken aback by the familiarity of the building before him. Moments later he's greeted at the front door by Eliot (Roland Culver), and is once again alarmed to recognise this apparent stranger.

Indeed, as Walter is ushered into the house's living room, he comes face to face with five people - all of whom he insists he's seen before, in a recurring dream. Probed by one of the party, Dr Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), Walter insists that whenever he wakes from said dream he can never fully remember its details. But he does recall that it turns into a nightmare at some point...

As the group begin to debate whether it is possible that Walter could have dreamt of them all previously, having never - to his knowledge - met them before, Van Straaten becomes so vociferous in his condemnations of any suggestion of the paranormal, that they start to challenge him one-by-one with stories of their personal experiences. As the group convince Walter to stay put and see whether his vague memories of his dream will come to pass (will Van Straaten break his glasses; will a dark-haired lady arrive shortly; will someone get hurt?), can the psychiatrist offer rational explanations for the tales that are to unfurl in the meantime?

These commence with racing car driver Hugh (Anthony Baird) and his account of how he foresaw a bus crash while incapacitated in hospital.

Next up is the tale of a group of children gathered at a stately home for a Christmas party, and who uncover something spooky when they indulge in a game of hide-and-seek within the building's darkest corners.

A haunted antique mirror proceeds to terrify married couple Peter (Ralph Michael) and Joan (Googie Withers) in the third story.

Then we're on to the golf course for a fourth yarn, a more light-hearted affair concerning two best friends (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne) who become rivals when a beautiful woman (Peggy Bryan) catches both men's eyes at their local golf club, thus leading into death and ghostly goings-on.

Finally, club ventriloquist Maxwell (Michael Redgrave) has trouble convincing others that his pithy-tongued dummy is truly alive.

Telling stories is one thing, but what will become of Walter and his new acquaintances come the film's end...?

I was fortunate to see DEAD OF NIGHT on the big screen at Dead By Dawn festival several years back. A likeminded audience sat engrossed to the screen, enchanted by a vintage film that was still capable of making them laugh at one moment, and then gripping them into silent appreciation of its almost insidiously creepier scenes the next.

Expertly paced, beautifully performed and cannily shot, DEAD OF NIGHT is a great example of how to deliver a horror anthology picture. It works so well because the wraparound story in particular is so strong, and comes to a genuinely intense finale. Even after that, there's a nice little twist in store right at the very end of proceedings.

True, the film is episodic and therefore - like every other film in this sub-genre - uneven. Perhaps having four directors (Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer) is responsible for some undue tonal shifts and the fact that at least two segments are inferior. In fact, to be harsh, there's really only the ventriloquist tale and the linking wraparound that are top notch.

Even so, the film retains an abundance that helps even the least satisfying moments (the Christmas party; the golfers' story) remain agreeable.

In short, despite its flaws, DEAD OF NIGHT is a deserved classic.

DEAD OF NIGHT has enjoyed DVD releases already in the UK (a good-looking but barebones disc from Optimum and then included as part of a 4-film set from Warner Bros, respectively). Now it's the turn of Studiocanal, who have taken the opportunity to remaster the film in HD.

As a result, the film is being re-released on blu-ray and DVD. The DVD was made available to us for review purposes.

The film looks very good indeed in this uncut presentation, framed correctly at 1.37:1 and benefiting from deep, bold contrasts that work well alongside strong detail and a keen sense of depth. Some scenes are understandably softer than others - an age things, as opposed to a sign of unwanted noise reduction. Natural grain is welcome in an otherwise clean print, the film having been preserved in excellent condition.

English mono audio gets a clean and clear mix throughout. Minor hiss on some dialogue betrays the age of the film, perhaps, but is not bad enough to ruin playback pleasure. Optional English subtitles are also on hand for the Hard-of-Hearing. These have a thin black borderline which makes them easily readable against any background, and - save for very occasional hiccups (missing words, the odd typo) - are well-written.

An animated main menu opens the disc with a sepia-tainted montage of clips from the film. From there, a static scene-selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

It's nice to finally have something substantial in the way of extras for this film. "Remembering Dead of Night" is a spiffing documentary which, at 72 minutes in length, is almost as long as the 98-minute main feature. It features some insightful and contextual historical musings from critics such as Matthew Sweet, Jonathan Romney, Kim Newman and Danny Leigh, along with the thoughts of famous fans such as Reece Shearsmith and John Landis.

This is a little boring visually - basically a talking-head spectacle with too few clips from the main feature - but it is intriguing, especially once the experts start analysing the film in chronological order. It's interesting to learn that the circular ending was created by accident, and Kim Newman's retelling of another theory with regards to what happens next after the end credits have rolled is fascinating.

Next up we have a before and after comparison, designed to illustrate the wonders of this latest HD restoration. The results really are plain to see throughout this 3-minute, split-screen offering.

Finally, there's a nice gallery of 12 monochrome photographs taken on the set of the film's shoot.

A great disc for a great film.

Also available on blu-ray.

By Stuart Willis


 
Released by Studiocanal
Region 2
Rated 18
Extras :
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