“A must see for any horror fan.” – Horror Society THIS IS WHERE THE STORY OF “THE EVIL DEAD” BEGINS… Sam Raimi’s 1981 film THE EVIL DEAD is a horror masterpiece that has terrified audiences for over 40 years and spawned sequels, a remake, video games, toys and even a television series. The original film’s iconic special effects and make-up were created by Tom Sullivan, a Michigan artist and sculptor who became friends with Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell and producer Rob Tapert when they were in college. Ryan Meade’s INVALUABLE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN EPIC ARTIST is a feature length documentary about the life and art of Tom Sullivan and his involvement with the EVIL DEAD film series. Assembled with amazing archival Super 8mm film footage, Hi8, VHS, and vintage audio tapes and photographs, it’s a unique and sentimental portrait of a man who helped make one of the greatest horror franchises of all time. Also contains amazing behind-the-scenes footage, original location visits, all-new interviews with Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Danny Hicks, Hal Delrich, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly and more!
For thoughts on Invaluable: The True Story Of An Epic Artist, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Invaluable: The True Story Of An Epic Artist comes to Blu-Ray from Synapse Films with a fine high definition master that presents this movie about as well as the source will allow. The feature collects an array of material in shifting levels of quality depending on the source, but the creative team seems to have attempted to provide the highest quality that would have been possible at the time this film was made. The archival clips and home videos used are as stable as you could hope given the inconsistent quality of the source material.
The newer interview segments look fairly clear and stable, but even with this being filmed only about a decade ago you can tell the advances we have made in high definition recording. The subjects do present with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the footage come with a nice saturation which is presented favorably. This release does not display compression artifacts or digital nuisances. Synapse Films has delivered a solid disc that should please fans.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray disc comes with a perfectly serviceable LPCM 2.0 track which gets the job done in all respects. The sound quality of the music brings some life to the proceedings as it flows through the room with precision. Dialogue is clearly defined up front in the center channel as you get fun anecdotes filmed in stable environments. Archival clips mostly remain stable outside of a handful of moments of baked-in limitations. The presentation is not a sonic juggernaut, but it accomplishes what is needed. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Other Men’s Careers: An additional 77 minute documentary is provided here which takes a look at the life and career of director Josh Becker, who is one of the most lively participants in Invaluable. While not the selling point of this disc, it is a really great companion to the main feature.
- Bong Fly
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- Short Film: The 19-minute short film is provided here from director Ryan Meade.
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- Behind-The-Scenes: A nearly 11-minute look at the making of this film is provided.
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- Mega Master Bongfly Trailer: A two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided for this short.
- Cosmos Locos: A 30-minute short film is provided here from director Ryan Meade.
- Tom Sullivan – Vintage Interview: A 51-minute interview in which Sullivan sits down with two young horror fans to discuss his work and show off some props.
- Josh Becker – Extended Interview Segments: A nearly seven-minute look at unused moments from the Josh Becker interview that provided more amusing moments.
- Tom Philo Unedited Interview: A 48-minute extended interview with Philo who has so many interesting insights into The Evil Dead and Tom Sullivan.
- Bonus Clips: Various additional moments are included with the cast of The Evil Dead and Tom Sullivan.
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- Turkey or Chicken (1:27)
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- Boobie (0:54)
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- The Cry of Cthulhu (2:17)
- Stills Gallery
- Tom’s Behind The Scenes Video Archives: A terrific assortment of fly-on-the-wall footage of time spent on these various productions which gives you everything from deep dives into makeup effects and stunt work to shot set up and more. Many would probably find these videos to be worth the price of admission alone.
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- Till Death Do We Scare (1982) (3:28)
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- Creepshow (16:31)
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- Creepshow 2 (7:23)
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- Day Of The Dead (1:01:56)
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- Friday The 13th Part IV (5:10)
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- From Dusk Til Dawn (5:02)
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- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (43:11)
- Tom’s Directing Video Archives
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- Night Of The Living Dead (1990): A nearly 18-minute video which captures the same type of material as the previous section, only with Savini behind the camera this time.
- Tom’s Personal Video Archives: A final section of additional footage which provides more personal moments with Savini which humanize this film legend even more.
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- Tom’s Home Movies (20:06)
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- Tom’s Dad (2:36)
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- Dracula – Pittsburgh Stage Show (17:12)
- Trailers: This disc provides Trailer #1 (3:26) and Trailer #2 (3:29) for Invaluable. There is a two-and-a-half minute trailer provided for Other Men’s Careers.
Final Thoughts
Invaluable: The True Story Of An Epic Artist is an enjoyable look at the life of an incredible talent who has shaped some of the most memorable images in horror. While not all of his work may be as well known as Evil Dead, there is ample evidence of an impressive career. The manner in which some of the interviews are collected and other creative choices make this one feel like a bit of a puff piece, but there are some turns that add some heartbreak into what is overall a celebration. This is not boundary-pushing documentary filmmaking, but it offers something that will appeal to fans of the horror genre. Synapse Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a good A/V presentation and a fantastic assortment of special features. If you are an Evil Dead or special effects fan, be sure to try this one out. Recommended
Invaluable: The True Story Of An Epic Artist is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Synapse Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.