Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Bucket Of Blood, A
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
Bucket Of Blood, A
Released by: The Film Detective
Released on: October 20th, 2015.
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Dick Miller, Antony Carbone, Barbara Mouris
Year: 1959
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
In Roger Corman's 1959 film A Bucket Of Blood, we meet a busboy named Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) who toils away at his crummy job at a beatnik coffeehouse owned by the crotchety Leonard (Antony Carbone). Here Walter swoons over on of their regular customers, Carla (Barbara Mouris). Walter wants more out of life - he wants to be a great artist, he wants to be able to win the girl and he wants to be the popular guy, but he makes a lousy living and lives alone in a cruddy little apartment.
One night, his landlord's cat gets stuck between the walls of his apartment and Walter's. With the best of intentions, Walter pulls out a knife and tries to cut the kitty out but he winds up stabbing the cat and it dies. It's then that Walter sees an opportunity - he covers the cat's corpse in the modelling clay he had been toying with and then brings it to the coffeehouse where it's instantly appreciated as a great work of art! Soon enough, a prestigious art collector has made Walter an offer for the piece and everyone in the scene is asking to see more of his work. It's not long before Walter starts working on bigger and more impressive sculptures, but to do that he's going to need to do more than just accidentally kill a cat… Walter will have to resort to the ultimate sin.
At this point in his career Corman wanted to do something different and with A Bucket Of Blood, he did just that. This is as much a dark comedy as it is a horror movie, if not more so, and the film's gallows humor mixes quite flawlessly with its murder set pieces and odd twists. Corman, shooting in black and white, keeps the film going at a good pace and offers humor and horror in pretty equal doses. He's also savvy enough to not overshoot and keep the modest production well within the confines of its low budget. The sets are minimalist but completely effective and as the story doesn't call for scores of makeup effects or particularly elaborate murder set pieces, everything fits quite well.
At the center of all of this is Dick Miller, in a role that he'd carry with him throughout his life (he's played characters named Walter Paisley quite a few times since he made this film). It's not often that Miller, one of Hollywood's finest character actors, gets to play the lead but here he takes it and he runs with it. He's fantastic in the part, his odd facial features lending themselves well to the quirky character he plays and making the darker second half of the film a fair bit more intense for it. The supporting players all do fine work here as well, with Carbone putting in a memorable turn as the grouchy coffeehouse owner and the lovely Barbara Mouris quite fetching as the apple of Walter's eye, but really, this is Miller's show through and through.
Video/Audio/Extras:
A Bucket Of Blood arrives on Blu-ray (well, technically a BD-R) from The Film Detective in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and it looks quite nice. Transferred from an archival 35mm print the image is free of noise reduction and edge enhancement and while it isn't exactly spotless, print damage is never a serious problem, in fact it's actually fairly unobtrusive. Detail and depth are solid throughout and contrast looks good and we get some frequently impressive texture as well. Contrast does bloom occasionally but that's an exception and not a rule. Black levels are decent and contrast is fine - this looks very nice.
The only audio option for the feature is a DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track, with optional subtitles provided, also in English only. Clarity and balance are pretty solid here and there aren't any major levels spikes in the mix, nor are there any problems with any hiss or distortion. The score in particular has pretty nice range here.
Aside from static menus and chapter selection there are no extras features on this Blu-ray.
The Final Word:
A Bucket Of Blood is not only a rare horror comedy done right, but it's one of Dick Miller's finest moments in front of the camera. Corman directs the picture with a quick pace and some nice style while Miller makes the most of this leading role, stealing every scene he's in and delivering an iconic performance. The Blu-ray release from The Film Detective might be light on extras but it looks and sounds quite a bit better than any other version out there (at least that this reviewer has seen).
Posting comments is disabled.
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (271)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2512)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (298)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Andrew Legge
Cast: Emma Appleton, Stefanie Martini, Rory Fleck Byrne
Year: 2022
Purchase From Amazon
Lola – Movie Review:
Irish filmmakers Andrew Legge’s 2022 movie, ‘Lola’, which was made during Covid-19 lockdowns, is a wildly creative movie made in the found footage style that defies expectations, provides plenty of food for thought and manages to make...-
Channel: Movies
04-10-2024, 04:09 PM -
-
Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: April 9th, 2024.
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, Henry Eikenberry
Year: 2024
Purchase From Amazon
Lisa Frankenstein – Movie Review:
The feature-length directorial debut of Zelda Williams, 20214’s Lisa Frankenstein takes place in 1989 and follows a teenaged girl named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) who, two years ago, lost her mother...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:40 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Gianfranco Giagni
Cast: Roland Wybenga, William Berger, Stéphane Audran
Year: 1988
Purchase From Amazon
Spider Labyrinth – Movie Review:
Professor Alan Whitmore (Roland Wybenga) is an American who works as a Professor of languages studies and has a fascination bordering on obsession with translating pre-Christian religious texts. He was also locked in a closet...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:37 PM -
-
Released by: Mondo Macabro
Released on: April 9th, 2024.
Director: Arizal
Cast: Barry Prima, Eva Arnaz, W.D. Mochtar
Year: 1982
Purchase From Amazon
Special Silencers – Movie Review:
When director Arizal’s 1982 epic begins, we meet a man named Gumilar (W.D. Mochtar), a sinister dude who has constantly bloodshot eyes. He’s meeting with a man about some sort of business deal, but a flashback shows us how some time ago he killed...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:35 PM -
-
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Piero Regnoli
Cast: Walter Brandi, Lyla Rocco, Maria Giovannini, Alfredo Rizzo, Marisa Quattrini, Leonardo Botta
Year: 1960
Purchase From Amazon
The Playgirls And The Vampire – Movie Review:
Piero Regnoli’s 1960 goofy gothic horror, The Playgirls And The Vampire, revolves around a quintet of beautiful showgirls - Vera (Lyla Rocco), Katia (Maria Giovannini),...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:30 PM -