Erik the Conquerer

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Erik the Conquerer

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri May 12, 2017 10:47 am

Image

In 1961, director Mario Bava (Rabid Dogs, Kill Baby Kill) turned his hand to the historical adventure genre, capitalising on the recent success of 1958’s Kirk Douglas vehicle The Vikings. The result was a colourful, swashbuckling epic of treachery, heroism and forbidden love: Erik the Conqueror.

In 786 AD, the invading Viking forces are repelled from the shores of England, leaving behind a young boy – Erik, son of the slain Viking king. Years later, Erik (George Ardisson, Juliet of the Spirits), raised by the English queen as her own, becomes Duke of Helford, while across the sea, his brother Eron (Cameron Mitchell, Blood and Black Lace) assumes leadership of the Viking horde and sets his sights on conquering England once again, setting the two estranged brothers on a collision course that will determine the fates of their respective kingdoms…

Featuring a bombastic score by frequent collaborator Roberto Nicolosi (Black Sunday) and memorably co-starring the stunning Kessler twins (Sodom and Gomorrah), Erik the Conqueror showcases Bava’s immense talent for creating awe-inspiring spectacle with limited resources. Now restored in high definition for the first time, Arrow Video is proud to present this cult classic in all its original splendour.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
  • Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
  • Original Italian and English mono audio (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
  • Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
  • New audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava – All the Colors of the Dark
  • Gli imitatori, a comparison between Erik the Conqueror and its unacknowledged source, The Vikings
  • Original ending
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

Costa
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 5:10 pm

Re: Erik the Conquerer

#2 Post by Costa » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:32 pm

I hadn't realised that this was restored at Ritrovata.
Does anyone know, maybe MichaelB, how did it escape the Ritrovata teal and yellow fate?
Has something changed?

This looked gorgeous!

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Erik the Conquerer

#3 Post by Adam X » Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:11 pm

There are several releases that've proved it's possible to colour time out their particular tendencies; I guess most labels just don't bother.

Costa
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 5:10 pm

Re: Erik the Conquerer

#4 Post by Costa » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:57 am

Adam Grikepelis wrote:There are several releases that've proved it's possible to colour time out their particular tendencies; I guess most labels just don't bother.
Do you mean that Arrow did a further color correction?

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tenia
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Re: Erik the Conquerer

#5 Post by tenia » Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:37 am

They might have not been left alone to do the color grading.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Erik the Conquerer

#6 Post by Adam X » Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:31 am

Costa wrote:Do you mean that Arrow did a further color correction?
I think maybe their Blood & Black Lace was one title, but I was actually referring to releases from Camera Obscura (Amuck!, I think?) and Mondo Macabro (Lizard in a Woman's Skin?). If I remember right, CO's released at least one more (or are going to? Maybe it's The Bloodstained Butterfly?), where they've done further colour (re)correction to bring the film back to its correct colour scheme. I remember they stated not so long ago that one of thesr titles was the last that they weren't going to grade in-house due to the amount of time & effort they'd had to go to.

I'm only going from memory, so I may have some of these titles mixed up. It's likely the same occurred with Erik the Conquerer, or as tenia said, Arrow were more directly involved.

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tenia
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Re: Erik the Conquerer

#7 Post by tenia » Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:59 am

Subkultur definitely color corrected Wake Up & Kill, for what looks like more convincing results.
I don't think Lizard was color corrected, or at least, the French and US release are basically identical in this regard.
As for Arrow, Deep Red was color corrected post restoration.

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