Review: Martin Limited Edition 4K UHD
4K UHD & Blu-ray: Martin (1976)
Martin (John Amplas) is a young man who believes that he is a vampire (whether he is or not is left to you to decide when the end credits roll), not your usual “shy away from crucifixes, hide from the sunlight” vampire, rather one who hungers for blood and takes it by drugging his victims first.
Moving in with his religious cousin Cuda (Lincoln Maazel), who believes that Martin IS a vampire, they are joined by Cuda’s granddaughter Christina (Christine Forrest …future wife of writer/director George A. Romero) and housewife Mrs Santini (Elyane Nadeau), who stirs up a lust for something other than blood within Martin.
Interspersed within the ongoing narrative are black and white flashbacks to Martin’s past…or are they glimpses into the workings of his mind and how he perceives things? Nothing is ever clearcut, always leaving a sense of ambiguity for the viewer, teasing you to watch again and read the events in a different way…and if ever a release of Martin warranted repeat viewings it is this superb 4K UHD release from Second Sight Films.
Originally shot on 16mm, this is a 4K scan and restoration of a 35mm dupe negative supervised and approved by Director of Photography Michael Gornick. While never being able to look as pin sharp as the latest big budget releases, Martin looks as good as I’ve ever seen it on my multiple rewatches over the years.
While finer details are not there (they never were in the first place), the colours and black levels give a richness to the picture that I’ve never seen before, with the blood spilling as colourful as it’s ever been.
There is a significant amount of film grain throughout, but considering the source material this was to be expected, and to be perfectly honest it is not distracting and it keeps the original filmic look which I like when watching older low budget indie films.
The special features are of the exemplary quality that has become a hallmark of a Second Sight Films release, containing not 1, but 4 commentary tracks (2 legacy, 2 new) to entertain and inform you, along with a documentary, interview and more.
This is yet another Second Sight Films release that is not only a must buy for fans of the film, but also well worth grabbing ASAP if you’ve never seen it before, as this is by far the best way to watch it.
A fantastic addition to anyones collection.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- A Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration of a 35mm dupe negative supervised and approved by Director of Photography Michael Gornick
- 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs both including bonus features
- UHD presented in HDR10+
- Audio commentary by George A Romero, John Amplas and Tom Savini
- Audio commentary by George A Romero, Richard P Rubinstein, Tom Savini, Michael Gornick and Donald Rubinstein
- A new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- A new audio commentary by Kat Ellinger
- Taste the Blood of Martin: A new feature-length documentary including location tour
- Scoring the Shadows: A new interview with composer Donald Rubinstein
- J Roy – New And Used Furniture: a short film by Tony Buba
- Making Martin: A Recounting
- Trailers, TV and radio spots
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with original classic artwork
- 108 page book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Miranda Corcoran, Travis Crawford, Heather Drain, Kat Ellinger, Andrew Graves, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Elena Lazic, , Stephen Thrower, Jon Towlson, Simon Ward and Tony Williams plus rare stills and behind-the-scenes images
- Original Soundtrack CD by Donald Rubinstein
- 5 collectors’ art cards illustrated by Adam Stothard
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Second Sight Films via Aim Publicity.
