transfer, but rather an accurate reflection of the cinematography and its limitations. The establish- ing shots, probably collected from stock or a second unit, are more crisply photographed than the rest of the picture, showing HD travelogue quality detail in the stonework of the castle, for ex- ample. The transfer seems to have had a rough time gauging how much contrast to apply. The blacks are pale, as they are in Japanese transfers, but deepen- ing them would have rendered several shots too dark to read, so this too seems a limitation of the cinematography rather than a fault of the transfer. One un- questionable fault of the transfer, though, is the absence of night filters for a couple of Naschy’s lycanthropic attacks; I failed to
note this problem in my earlier review, but seen here, the bright- ness of these scenes, combined with the absence of filters, makes them look denuded of atmo- sphere and more like documen- tation of a stage play rather than a film. My previous review praised this movie for its gothic atmo- sphere, so some of the film’s ef- fect has been attenuated, as well as enhanced, by this upgrade. VENGEANCE OF THE ZOM-
BIES gets off to a shaky start with its initially disappointing 1.33:1 formatting and some brief artifacting in the foggy (and, again, pale) darkness of a grave- yard, but it is, visually anyway, the richer and more satisfying of the two presentations. (It’s the weaker of the two movies, by a long shot.) As the film continues,
the blacks deepen and gain steadiness, which helps the film’s garish imagery to pop all the more. Cameraman Francisco Sánchez favored bolder lighting and sharper focus, and the art and wardrobe departments complemented his technique with juicy colors and attractive textures that make this title es- pecially worth watching on one of your set’s more vibrant view- ing modes. The stock footage establishing shots of Picadilly are so detailed that one is tempted to pause the movie to permit closer study of the landmarks and passers-by. In the scene where Aurora de Alba visits her lover at the “Cold Meat Factory” for a quick one, the bare white wall of her lover’s office now clearly shows a faint outline of dirt
Are those horns on Paul Naschy’s head, or is he just happy to see her? Find out in VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES.
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