From Lucio Fulci (former medical student and proclaimed Godfather of Gore) comes the City of the Living Dead. When a psychic medium (Catriona MacColl) has a vision of a priest hanging himself in the town of Dunwich, it sets in motion a chain of events that become ever more supernatural. Dunwich becomes saturated in mist, people become possesed by evil and the priests apperation seemingly reveals itself to those about to die. Can she and a journalist (Christopher George) stop it in time?
If you know Fulci, then you know what you will get here. If you dont then to summarise – You get a blood soaked, brain smashing, drill bit blood splattering fest that is a lot richer than this description sounds. Fulci takes on the Catholic Church, Capitalism and culture iconography among other things. He also has a cameo and a story line that is unbalanced by great to watch either seriously or as a way of letting off stream for a hard day at the coal face. Some take it too seriously but it deserves to be valued.
The extras are a mix of previously packaged items on the DVD release (and a subsequent Blu ray release). The rich but often very fuzzy 4K transfer, also has a synch sound issue that means voice and mouth are out of wack. /this all would equals the cinema experience (I have seen it on a 35mm print so it looks good). The new interviews which equal about an average in content and detail, with those interviewed seemingly running over a lot of trodden ground. The real value however is Stephen Throwers new feature. Fulci’s biographer Thrower lays down what the city was to Fulci, what he wanted it to be seen as in hindsight and how we still come back to it, often as being his best work.
LIMTED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original uncompressed 1.0 mono and optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Original English and Italian soundtracks
- Newly translated, optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Audio commentary with star Catriona MacColl and journalist Jay Slater
- Audio commentary with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice and writer Calum Waddell
- We Are the Apocalypse, new interview with writer Dardano Sacchetti
- Through Your Eyes, new interview with Catriona MacColl
- Dust in the Wind, new interview with cameraman Roberto Forges Davanzati
- The Art of Dreaming, new interview with production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng
- Tales of Friendship, new interview with cinematographer Sergio Salvati
- I Walked with a Zombie, new interview with actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice
- They Call Him “Bombardone , new interview with special effects artist Gino De Rossi
- The Horror Family, new interview with father and son actors Venantino and Luca Venantini
- Previously unseen interview with composer Fabio Frizzi
- Archival interview with actor Carlo De Mejo
- Building Fulci s City, a new video interview with Stephen Thrower, author of the definitive tome, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
- Reflections on Fulci, a new appraisal of Fulci s Gothic period by actor, writer and director Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories)
- The Dead Are Alive!, a new video essay by Kat Ellinger on Lucio Fulci and the Italian zombie cycle
- Behind the scenes 8mm footage with Roberto Forges Davanzati audio commentary
- Alternative US Gates of Hell opening credits
- Original trailers and radio spots
- Extensive image gallery featuring over 150 stills, posters and other ephemera from the FAB Press and Mike Siegel archives
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- 6 Double-sided lobby card reproductions
- Limited edition 60-page booklet
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