Search - The Asylum on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1972 DVD Release: 07/25/2006 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 29 mins Studio: Dark Sky Films Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Horror, Thriller, Supernatural Horror

Four short stories by master of macabre Robert Bloch are related by the inmates of a mental institution. In the first story, Richard Todd murders his wife and cuts her body into little pieces -- but that doesn't stop her from seeking revenge. In the second, Peter Cushing orders crooked tailor Barry Morse to weave a coat from a magic fabric in order to bring Cushing's son back from the dead (this one was previously dramatized on the TV series Thriller). The third story stars Charlotte Rampling as a schizophrenic whose "doppelganger" is manifested in the person of Britt Ekland. The final tale involves demented toymaker Herbert Lom and his army of killer robots. Robert Bloch himself adapted his original source material for the screen. Asylum was also known as House of Crazies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Peter Cushing - Smith
Britt Ekland - Lucy
Herbert Lom - Dr. Byron
Patrick Magee - Dr. Rutherford
Robert Powell - Dr. Martin

Dark Sky provides another strong entry in their Amicus collection with this DVD edition of Asylum. The high-definition video transfer reflects the film rich, darkly-hued cinematography in high style, delivering an anamorphic, letterboxed image with plenty of depth to its colors and its level of detail. The disc uses the film's original mono mix for its audio and the mix is a solid one, with an appropriately thunderous use of Douglas Gamley's bombastic musical score. In terms of extras, there are theatrical trailers for Asylum and two other Amicus/Dark Sky releases, a featurette about the history of Amicus and a commentary track with director Roy Ward Baker, assistant cameraman Neil Binney and moderator Marcus Hearn. The commentary track is an engaging listen, with Baker and Binney offering plenty of technical info and behind-the-scenes memories while Hearn fills in the gaps and prompts them with questions. The featurette mixes interviews from Baker, producer Max Rosenberg and Freddie Francis (another director who worked with Amicus) to create an amusing thumbnail sketch of the studio's history, complete with some contradictory accounts of certain events that are likely to raise a few eyebrows. The package is rounded out by a nice image gallery, some text biographies and an insert in the disc case that includes some brief liner notes. All in all, this is a quality special edition, especially for the cheap list price, and a must for the film's fans. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide