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The Keep: Limited Edition
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Vinegar Syndrome Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (1st January 2025). |
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The Film
 Michael Mann’s "The Keep" (1983) is a fascinating and enigmatic film that blends horror, supernatural elements, and war drama into an almost dreamlike narrative. Despite being visually striking and conceptually ambitious, the film struggles to find coherence within its own sprawling ideas. Adapted from F. Paul Wilson’s 1981 novel, "The Keep" represents Mann's first foray into genre filmmaking, and while it showcases his signature style and visual sensibilities, it also presents significant narrative and tonal challenges. At the core of film is a story set during World War II in an isolated Romanian fortress that harbors an ancient evil. When a group of Nazi soldiers occupies the keep, they unknowingly unleash a powerful, malevolent entity. As the creature begins to terrorize the soldiers, a Jewish historian named Glaeken (Scott Glenn) is brought in to try to stop it, leading to a confrontation that blends existential horror with mystical elements. While this premise has the potential for a gripping narrative, the film quickly becomes mired in its own complexity, struggling to tie together its disparate themes and characters. One of the film’s most notable achievements is its visual style. Michael Mann, known for his attention to visual detail and atmospheric tension, imbues The Keep with a haunting, almost surreal aesthetic. The use of shadow, fog, and striking lighting creates a chilling atmosphere that mirrors the oppressive dread within the keep itself. The film’s elaborate set design also plays a crucial role in evoking a sense of isolation and impending doom. The fortress, with its labyrinthine corridors and Gothic architecture, feels almost like a character itself—mysterious, foreboding, and unnervingly eternal. Tangerine Dream’s electronic score further enhances the film’s otherworldly mood, adding to the sense of unease. Their haunting synthesizer music provides an emotional undercurrent to the film’s supernatural themes, amplifying the sense of danger and loss. The soundtrack is one of the film’s strongest points, standing out as a bold departure from conventional horror scores of the era. Despite its impressive visuals, The Keep suffers from significant narrative issues. The film attempts to juggle several complex storylines: the Nazi occupation, the ancient evil, the mystical intervention of Glaeken, and the relationship between Glaeken and the German officer's wife, Eva (Alberta Watson). However, the script fails to effectively weave these threads together into a coherent whole. Characters are introduced with little development or backstory, making it difficult for the audience to engage with or care about their fates. The motivations of the characters—especially the antagonistic Nazi officers—feel one-dimensional, reducing them to archetypes rather than fully realized individuals. A shame considering the cast also includes the likes of Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne, and Ian McKellen. Moreover, the pacing of "The Keep" is erratic. The film meanders through long stretches of atmosphere-building, only to abruptly escalate into bizarre, chaotic moments that feel unearned or poorly explained. Key plot developments are left underexplored or abruptly abandoned, and the film's resolution, which involves an enigmatic confrontation with the evil force, feels anticlimactic and confusing. Some sequences, such as the emergence of the creature or the mystical transformations of Glaeken, are visually arresting but lack the narrative grounding necessary to make them resonate emotionally. These issue may be resolved in Mann's original cut of the film which ran three and a half hours, however we'll likely never see this version. I suppose film fans have to be satisfied with this cut down 95 minute version for the time being. On a thematic level, the film explores a range of ideas, including the destructive nature of fascism, the consequences of unleashing primal evil, and the ambiguous relationship between good and evil. The supernatural elements of the film suggest a kind of cosmic struggle between ancient forces, with the Nazis representing a destructive and misguided force of evil. At the same time, Glaeken’s role as a reluctant hero who is both deeply connected to and separate from the ancient evil introduces a moral ambiguity that invites deeper reflection. However, these themes are often obscured by the film’s lack of narrative clarity and its tendency to lean too heavily into its visual style at the expense of emotional and thematic depth. The film also tackles the notion of sacrifice, as Glaeken’s ultimate fate is tied to the idea of self-destruction in order to protect humanity. Yet, the film struggles to make this sacrifice emotionally compelling, as the character of Glaeken is not given enough development to make his journey feel impactful. "The Keep" is a film of great potential but also one of significant missed opportunities. Michael Mann’s directorial flair, combined with an intriguing premise and atmospheric visuals, sets the stage for a truly unique horror film. However, its convoluted narrative, underdeveloped characters, and tonal inconsistencies prevent it from fully realizing its ambitious goals. As a result, the film feels like a cinematic experiment that falls just short of being a genre-defining work. While it remains a fascinating artifact for fans of Mann’s career and aficionados of 1980's genre cinema, it is ultimately a flawed, unfinished narrative that lacks the clarity and emotional resonance it desperately needs.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.39:1 mastered in 4K 2160p 24/fps using HEVC codec and enhanced with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This image comes courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome licensed from Paramount Pictures from a newly scanned & restored print in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative. Then result is fantastic and comes as a complete surprise considering the last time this film got a home video release it was on VHS and LaserDisc, no DVD, no Blu-ray. Thanks to VS they rescued this film from Paramount's vault and delivered a beautiful 4K transfer for fans. The detail looks good, blacks and deep and bold, skin tones look great, there's still film grain present. Overall a top notch effort.
Audio
The film includes an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (48kHz, 24-bit) track, the film's original audio, dialogue is crisp and clean, surround effects are typical of 80's genre films, lacking some depth but the stereo track does some heavy lifting. Overall I was impressed. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
Vinegar Syndrome has delivered a wonderful collection of supplements over 2 discs, below is a closer look. DISC ONE: 4K UHD This disc features the film in 4K (95:44) and includes a newly recorded feature-length audio commentary by film historian Matthew Aspery Gear, Gear provides a great track chronicling the history and development of the film, the production process, and the struggles Mann had in trying to get his vision onto the screen only to have it cut down and truncated for release. DISC TWO: BLU-RAY This disc includes a standard definition version of the film, along with the majority of the supplements. The same audio commentary by film historian Matthew Aspery Gear is also included here. "I, Molesar with Michael Carter" a 2024 interview (25:20), the actor shares his memories from the film and on his role. "An Evil Most Ancient: The Make-up FX of The Keep" is a 2024 interview with Nick Maley (24:35) comments on his work creating the creature effects make-up. "Something is Murdering My Men: Writing The Keep" is a 2024 interview with author F. Paul Wilson (24:01), a fascinating feature about the book and the adaptation process into the film, famously Wilson was so unimpressed by Mann's adaptation of his work, that he wrote a short story called "Cuts", in which a writer puts a voodoo curse on a director, who has mangled his work. "Other Sounds for Other Worlds: The Music of The Keep" is a 2024 interview with Johannes Schmölling (11:13), the Tangerine Dream musician talks about crafting the score for the film and on his collaboration with Mann. "Out of the Darkness: Producing The Keep" is a 2024 interview with Gene Kirkwood (6:58) provides his side of the story on producing the film. "What He Left Unfinished: Decrypting the Visual Effects of The Keep" is the final 2024 interview with Peter Kuran (5:55) the VFX director talks about what could have been. The disc also features the film's original trailer (2:17), a TV spot (0:36), and a still gallery (1:06).
Packaging
This is a Limited Edition set only available directly from Vinegar Syndrome and is limited to 12,000 copies and comes with: - Double sided sleeve. - sip-case - Hard outer box that holds the slip-cased Keep case and the booklet. - A 44-page liner notes booklet "A Freudian Fairy Tale on the Nature of Fascism" by Bilge Ebiri, "You Were Created by the Sages; Return to Your Dust" by Caroline Golum, "Castle Keep: Michael Mann Interview" by Harlan Kennedy from Film Comment, November-December 1983. The 4K UHD BD is ALL region but the BD is locked to region 'A'.
Overall
A wonderful curiosity that finally has seen a release after years of being buried in Paramount's vaults. VS delivered a jam-packed excellent edition for fans of a flawed genre picture from Mann's early career.
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