Fans of counter-culture splatter and art-house splendor were treated to fang-tastic news. The long-awaited HD/UHD release of Paul Morrissey’s Blood for Dracula (1974) from Severin Films has been announced.
To explain why this is so exciting, I think a little history/context is needed. Morrissey, a talent that came out of Andy Warhol’s factory, has strictly controlled the rights to his early films. In fact, prior to this, no other Morrissey film has made it onto a 1080p HD format. Previously, Criterion re-released both Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) (also rumored to be in the works, but confirmed not from Severin) and Blood for Dracula.
These, as you might imagine, are long out of print and, can be expensive on the secondary market. Other missing Morrisey films on Blu-ray include Women in Revolt (1973) (starring Warhol superstar Candy Darling) and maybe most famously Chelsea Girls (1966) which never had an official US VHS, let alone DVD. Fans have long wanted a release of these movies, lest they be totally lost to time. Filmed in Italy, Blood for Dracula is a visually stunning film. In fact, cinematographer Luigi Kuveiller shot such films as Dario Argento’s Deep Red (1975), Lucio Fulci’s gore-soaked The New York Ripper (1982) as well as working on the legendary Italian film L’Avventura (1960).
It will be quite something to finally see Blood for Dracula not only in Blu-ray quality HD but also UHD. Of course, a ton of special features are planned but are under wraps for now. This title will be included in Severin’s “Nuke the Mid-Year Sale” which runs from Friday, June 25 until Monday, June 28.
I caught up with the co-founder of Severin, David Gregory, who was kind enough to give me a statement regarding the hotly anticipated release:
Blood For Dracula has been a personal favorite for decades and has always been at the top of my list whenever I’m asked about dream titles to put out on Severin. And here we are. Thanks to the help of my friend and colleague and celluloid master Joe Rubin, we were able to finally get the legitimate license after years of trying. And we got the negative from which to make the stunning new 4k scan.
This film has never looked great on home video but that’s about to change. And the UHD digipak package comes with the movie on Blu-ray too along with hours of new special features as well as a CD of the score by Claudio Gizzi, perhaps my favorite soundtrack ever. A proper dream release.
Before we let you go, we have officially launched our merch store! Check out all of our amazing apparel when you click here and type in GVN15 at checkout for a 15% discount!
Make sure to check out our podcasts each week including Geek Vibes Live, Top 10 with Tia, Wrestling Geeks Alliance and more! For major deals and money off on Amazon, make sure to use our affiliate link!
Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
