Severin Films Has Tabbed Dec. 12 For The Release Of Danza Macabra, Volume 2: The Italian Gothic Collection Featuring Barbara Steele In Castle Of Blood On 4K Ultra HD

If you are a genre fan, or a film buff, or just a lover of movies in general, then put this collection on your shopping list in December.   You don’t even have to know what ALL of these films in the collection are about, you just have to know that screen legend Barbara Steele stars in the focus title and in 4K (Barbara Steele in 4K, think about it) … on that alone, this is a must!!

So what are we banging the drum about?   This would be Severin Films, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, and the Dec. 12 release of Danza Macabra, Volume 2: The Italian Gothic Collection.

Consider everything beyond the three-discs devoted to director Antonio Margheriti’s 1964 release of Castle of Blood (aka: Danza Macabra), starring screen goddess Barbara Steele, bonus materials.   Seriously … Castle of Blood, as presented here by Severin Films, stands on its own.

Released in Italy in 1964 as Danza Macabra, it was picked up by Woolner Brothers Pictures for domestic consumption as an English-dubbed horror release (Castle of Blood) with eight-minutes worth of footage hacked out of it.   It starred Barbara Steele and that was all that mattered.

Severin Films has new 4K film restorations (that’s the 4K Ultra HD disc) of both films — Danza Macabra and Castle of Blood.   The companion Blu-ray discs individually house Danza Macabra (presented in Italian with English subtitles) and Castle of Blood (that’s three discs in all devoted to just this one film).

Bonus features include a newly prepared commentary with Rod Barnett of “NaschyCast and the Bloody Pit,” who is joined by Adrian Smith.   There are also a selected scene commentary with Barbara Steele and Barbara Steele archivist Russ Lanier and five featurettes — “Exploring the Castle of Blood,” “The Director Who Didn’t Like Blood,” “Enigmatic Elegance: Unveiling the Haunting Legacy of Barbara Steele in the Italian Gothic,” “Return to the Castle” and “Antonio Margheriti Remembers Castle of Blood.”

The next two Blu-ray discs in the collection are the 1969 four-part mini-series from actor/writer/director Giorgio Albertazzi, Jekyll.   Remastered from the RAI-TV tape masters and presented with newly prepared English subtitles, Jekyll runs over four hours and includes three companion featurettes as a bonus — “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Albertazzi,” “Building the World of Jekyll,” “The Double Spiral Staircase of Jekyll and Hyde.”

Blu-ray disc number five contains a new 2K restoration (from the best 35mm print elements available) of writer/director Corrado Farina’s long out of print 1971 vampire horror tale titled They Have Changed Their Face.   Starring Adolfo Celi, Giuliano Disperati and Geraldine Hooper, the film is presented in Italian with optional English subtitles.

There are two commentary options.   The first teams director Corrado Farina with Albert Farina, while the second is from author Kat Ellinger (“Daughers of Darkness”).   

Also included are three short films from Corrado Farina — The Son of Dracula, Ring Around the Rosie and The Canticle of the Creatures — the feature-length documentary titled Praised be My Lord and a pair of featurettes — “The Farina Method” and “Bloodsucking Capitalists.”

The sixth and final Blu-ray disc in this marvelous collection from Severin Films is writer/director Paolo Lombardo’s 1972 release of The Devil’s Lover.   This is newly scanned (uncut) in 2K from the vault negative.

The Devil’s Lover is presented in Italian with optional English subtitles.   Bonus features include commentary from the host of “Girls, Guts, Giallo,” film scholar Annie Rose Malamet, and two featurettes — “Lady of the Night: The Feminism of Rosalba Neri” and “Out of the Woods.”

Rounding out the material included in the Danza Macabra, Volume 2: The Italian Gothic Collection is a CD soundtrack of The Devil’s Lover.

Shortening all of this down.   Barbara Steele, Severin Films, Dec. 12 … easy.