criterionforum.org

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:56 am**

NIGHT OF THE DEMON
(Jacques Tourneur, 1957)
Release date: 22 October 2018
Limited Blu-ray Edition (UK premiere on Blu-ray)

Preorder here

Based on M R James’ classic tale of terror, ‘Casting the Runes’, and adapted for the screen by regular Hitchcock collaborator Charles Bennett, Jacques Tourneur’s (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Out of the Past) Night of the Demon is considered to be one of the seminal horror films of Twentieth-Century cinema. Released on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK, the film is presented here in four different versions, and is accompanied by an incredible array of new and archival special features. Also includes a Limited Edition exclusive double-sided poster and 80-page book.

INDICATOR LIMITED 2-DISC BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:
• The BFI’s 2013 2K restoration of the 96-minute version
• High-definition remaster of the 82-minute cut
• Original mono audio
• Four presentations of the film: Night of the Demon – the original full-length pre-release version (96 mins), and the original UK theatrical cut (82 minutes); Curse of the Demon – the original US theatrical cut (82 mins), and the US re-issue version (96 mins)
• Audio commentary with film historian Tony Earnshaw, author of Beating the Devil: The Making of ‘Night of the Demon’
• Speak of the Devil: The Making of ‘Night of the Demon’ (2007): documentary featuring interviews with actor Peggy Cummins, production designer Ken Adam and historians Tony Earnshaw and Jonathan Rigby
• Dana Andrews on 'Night of the Demon': a rare audio interview with the actor conducted by Scott MacQueen
• The Devil’s in the Detail (2018): Christopher Frayling on Night of the Demon and acclaimed production designer Ken Adam
• Horrors Unseen (2018): a discussion of the celebrated director of Night of the Demon by Chris Fujiwara, author of Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall
• Sinister Signs (2018): an analysis by Kim Newman, author of Nightmare Movies
• Under the Spell (2018): the celebrated British horror writer Ramsey Campbell discusses the unique combination of M R James and Jacques Tourneur
• The Devil in Music (2018): a new appreciation of Clifton Parker's score by David Huckvale, author of Movie Magick: The Occult in Film
• The Devil Gets His Due (2018): film historian and preservationist Scott MacQueen on the release history of Night of the Demon
• The Truth of Alchemy (2018) a discussion of M R James and ‘Casting the Runes’ by Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof
• Cloven In Two (2018): a new video piece exploring the different versions of the film
• Escape: 'Casting the Runes' (1947): a radio play adaptation of James’ original story
• Super 8 version: original cut-down home cinema presentation
• Isolated music & effects track on the US theatrical cut
• Original US Curse of the Demon theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography, including rare production design sketches from the Deutsche Kinemathek’s Ken Adam Archive
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited Edition exclusive 80-page book containing a new essay by Kat Ellinger, M R James on ghost stories, a history of the film’s production through the words of its principle creators, a profile of witchcraft consultant Margaret Murray, the film’s history with the BBFC, a look at the different versions of the film, contemporary critical responses, a look at Charles Bennett’s original scripted ending, and film credits
• Limited Edition exclusive double-sided poster
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited Edition of 6,000 copies
• ...AND MORE!
• All extras subject to change

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:19 am**

This is a magnificent compilation which I will definitely be getting despite having the French blu set. My only quibble would be the omission of the Tourneur doc le medium by Alain Mazars that was doing the rounds on French TV a couple of years back. Was there an attempt to get it it at all?
Hold the front page I just saw ¨AND MORE¨ and couldn't believe it. Here`s hoping... or maybe its being held over for the Tourneur /Lewton box

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:34 am**

So the BFI restoration is a good one?

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:19 am**

I’ll just state that nice work!

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:57 am**

Hell yeah.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:21 am**

That this movie would get such a generous treatment restores some of my faith in the cinema gods.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:58 am**

For all the technical detail and how everyone who collects blu rays is somehow an expert on color timing, aspect ratios, on what does and what does not sell, I'm pretty baffled that no home video fans have learned that things will come eventually when they are done, and the longer it takes, the better it has the potential to be.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:25 am**

Wow! Deeply impressed and impressive. I too have the French Blu and was naively mulling over whether it would be worth the double dip but - no contest. Wasn't Criterion originally referred to as something like 'film school in a box'? Move over guys, what with the Boetticher and Fuller and William Castle sets, there's a new kid on the block.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:31 am**

I think the fandom built around this movie and Tourneur at-large outside of Out of the Past is inexplicable at best, but this looks like an incredible package for those more receptive to the film. I can't imagine anyone who was looking forward to this not being glad Indicator waited a year to corral all the parts together.

And honestly, when was the last time anyone praised Criterion's dearth of special features? Arrow and now Indicator have been running circles around Criterion for some time now while the OG spreads itself thin with streaming services

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:49 am**

I suppose Tourneur is also well known for I Walked With A Zombie ("one of the first Zombie movies"), but even outside of it, movies like Cat People, Nightfall, Way of the Gaucho, Anne of the Indies and Canyon Passage probably are part of the reasons for the fandom too.

However, I wonder if the "fandom" isn't more focused on Demon itself rather than the director as a whole.

domino harvey wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:31 am
And honestly, when was the last time anyone praised Criterion's dearth of special features?

Recently, it has been quite the opposite actually, and many time, special features content were discussed because they were too sparse rather than exhaustive.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:02 am**

I think actually Indicator and Arrow have generally been able to include more in their releases due to higher budgets, all thanks to the way they do business. Arrow are churning out titles and have built up a reputation amongst cult cinema fans for consistency, which means there's a bit of buffer when taking a gamble on other titles (usually weirder Arrow Video titles and most Arrow Academy). Indicator have a similar springboard - thanks to word-of-mouth, consistent quality and delivering in-demand titles, they've prospered.

Funnily enough you see older labels like Criterion, BFI and Eureka being a little more cautious and often slacking on either extras or transfers. Eureka are generally more reliable, I find, but this year they've put way more thought into their Eureka Classics range rather than their MoC staple. Perhaps they're attempting to strike a balance similar to Arrow and Indicator?

Anyway, took long enough but I'm glad Night of the Demon is finally here, and only £6 more than a regular title for an extra disc, a thicker booklet, a poster and a slipbox. I'm definitely pre-ordering this one as soon as it goes up (probably from HMV).

Let's hope they can do Nightfall next, then perhaps Anne of the Indies and Way of the Gaucho (even as a double-set?).

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:20 am**

rapta wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:02 am
Funnily enough you see older labels like Criterion, BFI and Eureka being a little more cautious and often slacking on either extras or transfers. Eureka are generally more reliable, I find

I'd be wary about making such a general point. Arrow, Eureka and Indicator are also regularly stuck with older HD masters of debatable PQ (see most of Arrow asian output), while Criterion probably has the lower rate for this, with the BFI following since they're doing many restorations themselves in the first place.
On extras, it seems also quite varying but also somewhat historical for some labels : the BFI releases never really felt loaded in this regard to me, to the point I never really expect their releases to shine in this department (though they do have recent releases that ARE vastly loaded). I like how they compensate(d ?) for that in their Flipside collection by including more or less related short movies but still.

So it seems to me too strict of an opposition. I understand what you mean, but I'd have a hard time demonstrating it in the facts, which is why I think it's not exactly true.

I also always supposed that budget for extras at Criterion wasn't really an issue. They've made truly tremendous releases of movies that don't feel like they'd have a huge appeal anyway, probably compensated financially by higher sellers. That's why their lighter releases (especially a few years ago) were more surprising and felt like a conscious decision to step back a bit there. Maybe it IS just a question of budget, but I doubt it. And if it is, one could wonder if maybe they could just lower the prices of their newer restorations to sell them more, instead of making them pretty much unaccessible to many labels because they're just so expensive.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:31 am**

Impressed to see Ramsey Campbell on the extras - in addition to being a great writer of horror fiction he is also an astute critic of the field in both film and literature.

I wonder if part of the reason for its cult-favourite status is how much of an anomaly in the wider British horror field it actually is. It's not a Hammer / Amicus film, has no Lee / Cushing / Price appearance and yet is not the "respectable" "subtle" horror of either The Innocents or The Haunting although it has a higher budget than much other UK horror. It does have some parallels to that other great one off oddity (which comes near the end of the UK horror boom) The Wicker Man - for a start, both deal with sceptics coming face to face with magic (of whatever form) and having their preconceptions brutally challenged.

Posted: **Thu Aug 02, 2018 12:22 pm**

tenia wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:20 am

rapta wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:02 am
Funnily enough you see older labels like Criterion, BFI and Eureka being a little more cautious and often slacking on either extras or transfers. Eureka are generally more reliable, I find
I'd be wary about making such a general point. Arrow, Eureka and Indicator are also regularly stuck with older HD masters of debatable PQ (see most of Arrow asian output), while Criterion probably has the lower rate for this, with the BFI following since they're doing many restorations themselves in the first place.
On extras, it seems also quite varying but also somewhat historical for some labels : the BFI releases never really felt loaded in this regard to me, to the point I never really expect their releases to shine in this department (though they do have recent releases that ARE vastly loaded). I like how they compensate(d ?) for that in their Flipside collection by including more or less related short movies but still.

So it seems to me too strict of an opposition. I understand what you mean, but I'd have a hard time demonstrating it in the facts, which is why I think it's not exactly true.

I also always supposed that budget for extras at Criterion wasn't really an issue. They've made truly tremendous releases of movies that don't feel like they'd have a huge appeal anyway, probably compensated financially by higher sellers. That's why their lighter releases (especially a few years ago) were more surprising and felt like a conscious decision to step back a bit there. Maybe it IS just a question of budget, but I doubt it. And if it is, one could wonder if maybe they could just lower the prices of their newer restorations to sell them more, instead of making them pretty much unaccessible to many labels because they're just so expensive.

Sorry yes I'll admit I was generalising. Criterion obviously have stronger experience with restoration, as do the BFI, and Arrow are increasing that with more and more high-profile films being restored in-house (e.g. Twelve Monkeys, Heathers, The Thing). I was talking more about consistency of the catalogue of a whole, and I still think Indicator and Arrow are the best at that, with Criterion and Eureka not far behind. BFI have been a bit up and down in recent years - recent disappointments being My Beautiful Laundrette using an older master than Criterion, and the encode for La Belle et la Bête being less than optimal. At least when Arrow and Eureka use the same master as Criterion, they always either match or improve on the encode and make the effort to include a similar array of extras.

I suppose the differences are due to budgets, time constraints, and various priorities though. Indicator have been very steady so far though, with barely a hiccup in sight, so all credit to them for their efforts. More power to them!

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:21 am**

domino harvey wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:31 am
I think the fandom built around this movie and Tourneur at-large outside of Out of the Past is inexplicable at best

and at worst?

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:03 am**

whaleallright wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:21 am

domino harvey wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:31 am
I think the fandom built around this movie and Tourneur at-large outside of Out of the Past is inexplicable at best
and at worst?

It's true that Tourneur`s elevation to the pantheon of auteurism is pretty much a French affair and much like Franju`s invocation of the 'insolite' / uncanny is predicated principally on his use of the French notion of 'trouble' or unease. In Demon we witness the dismantling of empirical scientific conviction equally due to the framing and skewed point of view shots as to the events that unfold.(In this it shares similar attributes to how Lynch assembles scenes). No doubt this will be covered in greater depth and with greater insight by Chris Fujiwara in his piece on this release and is one of the extras I am most looking forward to,'Horrors Unseen'. Ironically the very thing that Tourneur railed against -the reveal of the Demon- is emblazoned across this otherwise very attractive package.

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:15 am**

As confirmed by Powerhouse's dedicated page, Night of the Demon's limited edition print run has been increased to 8,000 copies due to unprecedented demand. Although that will definitely be it, as the artwork has been formally signed off for manufacture with that number printed on it.

And I'm also very happy to confirm that the current disc specs are by no means final. One particularly happy outcome of there being so much love for the film both here and elsewhere is that various suggestions have been made since the announcement, and two or three definitely look achievable.

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:26 am**

May I ask the kind of suggestions that were made and those deemed achievable ? Are these more extra-feature related or directly linked to the movie presentation(s) ?

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:14 pm**

If I was at liberty to reveal any more details right now, I'd have done so - sorry!

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:10 am**

Damn, it's selling out quickly and now I'm worried I won't be able to snag a copy. I get paid on Sunday, hopefully it will still be available by then on Amazon.

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:19 am**

Amazon charge on dispatch rather than order, so no need to wait.

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 4:57 pm**

Pre-ordered it because knowing myself, I would have decided to buy it after it became out of print.

Hoping that Amazon UK doesn't cancel a bunch of orders like they did for The Apartment...

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:37 am**

I bought the bundle on Powerhouse site. Just to lock them both in. Though Amazon recently lowered the Castle price, I don't think it is going to get much cheaper than the bundle price. I am trying to curb my buying every disc I like as I know there is no way at this point I'll even re-watch what I have now all over again, but these two will definitely get a couple watches and for seeing the extras it'll be worth the price.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 7:22 pm**

TheRanchHand wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:37 am
I bought the bundle on Powerhouse site. Just to lock them both in. Though Amazon recently lowered the Castle price, I don't think it is going to get much cheaper than the bundle price.

The Powerhouse bundle is a good deal, but it is much more advantageous to order from Amazon UK for buyers outside of the EU since Amazon deducts the Value Added Tax from the price (I do not know how it will work post-Brexit), especially since Amazon UK also lowered the price on Night of the Demon this weekend. As things stand now, buying the two sets from Amazon in one order comes to £ 7 less for Canadian customers than getting the Powerhouse bundle, including respective postage and other fees. I suppose it may be similar for US customers.

So there is a moral dilemma involved: directly supporting an excellent publisher who is doing exemplary work with a wide variety of titles, or sparing one's pocketbook.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 8:38 pm**

After the fiasco with the Apartment, if it's limited and selling out and you can order directly from the label, do that, even if it does cost a couple more bucks

criterionforum.org

48 Night of the Demon

48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon

Re: 48 Night of the Demon