The Raven 1963 1080p BluRay x265 Hevc 10bit AAC 1 0-HeVK

The Raven (1963), directed by Roger Corman, Arrow remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original theatrical stereo.

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057449/

Video encoded in two-pass 10.0 Mbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image.

Note : Another one from the Corman-Poe cycle, a very loose adaptation of Poe's famous poem, and a horror comedy of all things, but it's got a few things going for it. On one hand, Vicent Price is great at comedy, as always just on the edge of totally camp, but it's also got a hell of a cast in general, including Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Hazel Court, and a young Jack Nicholson, who's a good sport about running around like a fool in a sort of Robin Hood outfit. The comedy is very broad, but it's good fun, and the finale features what might be the first wizard duel on film (complete with goofy optical effects), at least I can't think of any earlier ones.

In the 16th century, sorcerer Dr. Erasmus Craven mourns the death of his wife Lenore in seclusion in his castle, only having contact with his daughter Estelle. One night, a talking raven appears at his window, and turns out to be fellow wizard Dr. Bedlo, who has been transformed into a raven by the powerful Dr. Scarabus, one-time rival of Craven's father. Craven helps Bedlo transform back into human form, but is uninterested in helping further until Bedlo reveals he's seen Lenore, very much alive, at Scarabus' castle. Craven, Bedlo, Estelle, and Bedlo's son Rexford set out to Scarabus' castle to investigate, but not all is as it seems...

This is a middle of the road remaster, clean enough, but not particularly sharp, and with a distinct orange push that I'm not incredibly fond of, but all in all it looks decent enough. The stereo track is also fine, shame about the lack of commentary tracks.

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