Special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, packed with hours of bonus content and features an exclusive slipcase and folded poster. The definitive documentary on one of the most iconic and sought after special effects artists in horror film history, whose genre-defining creations earned him the title “The King of Splatter.” We follow Savini from his childhood in Pittsburgh and his tour of duty during the Vietnam War, leading into his legendary collaboration with George Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow) and beyond. Here. Savini is celebrated by his peers, friends and collaborators like Robert Rodriquez, Tom Atkins, Tony Todd, Greg Nicotero and more.
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Video Quality
Smoke & Mirrors: The Story Of Tom Savini comes to Blu-Ray from Wild Eye Releasing with a top notch high definition master that presents this movie without issue. The feature brings together a vast array of material in varying degrees of quality depending on the source, but the creative team seems to have taken great care to provide the highest quality that would have been possible at the time this film was made. The archival movie 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 pretty clear and stable with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the footage have a lovely saturation which is presented without issue. This release thankfully avoids nearly all compression artifacts and digital nuisances. Wild Eye Releasing has delivered a really great presentation that you have to admire.
Audio Quality
In what I am noticing is a trend with Wild Eye Releasing discs, this Blu-Ray disc comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, which feels somewhat underwhelming since a lossless track is always preferred. Sure, the sonic ambition of the material is not hobbled in any overly detrimental way, but these limitations are avoidable on this format. The sound quality of the music brings some life to the proceedings as it spreads throughout the room with precision. Dialogue is clearly defined up front in the center channel as you get terrific anecdotes filmed in stable environments. Archival clips mostly remain stable outside of a handful of moments of baked-in limitations. The presentation could perhaps be enhanced with a lossless soundtrack, but it gets the job done. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Tom Savini and director Jason Baker provide a great commentary track which gives you many great details about the production and creative decisions behind this film. This track is a winner for just getting more from Savini, but it also gives Baker more of a chance to get juicy details from him which did not make the final cut. You also understand how much influence Savini had on certain creative choices to make the most exciting film possible.
- 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.
- Till Death Do We Scare (1982) (3:28)
- Creepshow (16:31)
- Creepshow 2 (7:23)
- Day Of The Dead (1:01:56)
- Friday The 13th Part IV (5:10)
- From Dusk Til Dawn (5:02)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (43:11)
- Tom’s Directing Video Archives
- 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.
- Tom’s Home Movies (20:06)
- Tom’s Dad (2:36)
- Dracula – Pittsburgh Stage Show (17:12)
Final Thoughts
Smoke & Mirrors: The Story Of Tom Savini is an immensely entertaining look at the life of one of the pillars of modern genre filmmaking. This madman has been instrumental in one way or another in pulling off a plethora of memorable moments that have seared themselves into the cultural consciousness. His background outside of the entertainment industry is oftentimes just as fascinating as anything in front of the camera, but rest assured you get plenty of exploration on his work in the industry. In addition to the colorful personality that is Savini, you get an unbeatable collection of interview subjects to speak to what makes Savini stand out. Wild Eye Releasing has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty solid A/V presentation and an assortment of special features that true fans will not want to miss. If you have even a passing interest in Tom Savini, do yourself a favor and seek this one out. Recommended
Smoke & Mirrors: The Story Of Tom Savini is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Wild Eye Releasing 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.
