WITCHFINDER GENERAL

Director:  Michael Reeves

Starring: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Hilary Dwyer

THE SORCERERS

Director:  Michael Reeves

Starring: Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey, Ian Ogilvy

It’s a shame that Vincent Price and Boris Karloff aren’t around to offer their thoughts on Witchfinder General or The Sorcerers commentary tracks, but there’ll be a chorus of fans singing the praises of this pair of Michael Reeves discs from Metrodome.

The Witchfinder disc contains the original “Directors Cut” (sic) version of the film (with the edits made by the BBFC for its theatrical release reinstated) and the so-called “Export Cut”, which contains the alternate sequences with more nudity and violence (the version released here on VHS by Redemption, and reissued by VCI's Cinema Club imprint), with the same dramatic drops in quality for the restored footage). The 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer is generally very good, but the film, about a sadistic roving witch-hunter, is flecked with dirt and damage. It is, however, a big improvement on previous versions.

The Sorcerers, Reeves’ 1967 film about an elderly couple (Karloff and Lacey) who use a machine to live vicariously through a young man (Ogilvy) is nowhere near as well liked as Witchfinder, but it has its own kitsch appeal and may yet attract a loyal cult following. Metrodome’s disc, taken from the same print that’s aired regularly on Channel 4, is constantly speckled with dirt and is also relatively grainy, but it’s unlikely that this presentation (in anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio) will be improved in the foreseeable future. Both discs have robust Dolby Digital mono 2.0 soundtracks (at 224kbps).

Both discs contain a slightly abridged (23 minute) version of the concise Eurotika documentary Blood Beast – The Films of Michael Reeves (it even includes a frame of the advert bumpers, where they’ve not been edited out properly!) This offers a brief look at Reeves’ career, which ended tragically with his suicide in 1969. Both discs also contain a gallery of marketing materials, worthwhile production notes by horror expert Kim Newman and trailers for both films. The Witchfinder disc also contains a mediocre Witchfinder General-inspired music video by Cathedral.