Saturday, June 18, 2022

UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE On Blu-ray From Severin

 






Included in Severin's THE EUROCRYPT OF CHRISTOPHER LEE COLLECTION 2 Blu-ray box set is the 1959 Italian horror spoof TEMPI DURI PER I VAMPIRI, known in English-speaking countries as UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE. 

I wrote a blog post on this movie a few years ago (dandayjr35.blogspot.com/2017/04/uncle-was-vampire.html). It's not a wild knockabout farce--it's a lighthearted, leisurely paced story in which Lee has a supporting role to short, pudgy Italian comic Renato Rascel. It will be a revelation to Lee fans who have not seen it. Lee plays his role in a non-comedic manner, and some of the individual shots of him in this film are just about as atmospheric as any in the Hammer Dracula series. Lee here looks very much like he did in DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, and many of the facial and physical mannerisms he uses would crop up again in his future performances as the Count.  

UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE has never had an official U.S. home video release until now. (This Blu-ray is listed for Regions A,B, and C.) The disc case claims that the uncut theatrical version presented on this Blu-ray has been scanned in 2K from the dupe negative. The aspect ratio is 2:35.1. 

I have to say that the visual quality of this print looks soft and faded--the color is not very vibrant--and the picture is a bit jittery at times (before the start of the film there's an onscreen text from Severin saying that the print has stability issues). The movie doesn't look all that much better than the version of it I watched on YouTube. One has to assume that this was the best print Severin could obtain. This version has the Italian soundtrack and credits, with English subtitles provided. 

This disc also has a alternate Italian TV version of UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE, which is not in HD but is in widescreen. The picture quality on this is mediocre, and it's also about five minutes shorter than the theatrical version. The TV version does have a brand new commentary with Lee biographer Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons. The duo are fans of UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE, and they give out detail on the mostly Italian cast & crew, and they also discuss how influential HORROR OF DRACULA was on the production. 

A short featuette is also included, entitled COMMEDIA DRACULA ALL'ITALIANA, with Euro film historian Pasquale Iannone. He discusses the making of the film, and the program has a number of behind the scenes photos. 

It's nice that UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE has finally gotten a major home video release for English-speaking audiences, along with some fine extras. The movie itself is more silly than funny, but it did give Lee a chance to play an actual vampire who wasn't Dracula--and he didn't have to appear foolish to do so. 


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