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Thirst (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (21st February 2025). |
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The Film
 Chantal Contouri (Snapshot), David Hemmings (Harlequin), and Henry Silva (The Tall T) star in Thirst, a shocking fusion of horror and science fiction from legendary Australian producer Antony I Ginnane (Patrick). A sinister organisation known as the Brotherhood kidnaps Kate (Contouri), believing her to be the descendant of Countess Báthory, the Hungarian noblewoman who reputedly had vampiric tendencies. A battle of wills ensues as the Brotherhood tries to force the horrified Kate to join their blood-drinking sacrificial cult. Only Dr Fraser (Hemmings) is willing to help her ...
Video
I first saw Thirst on the 1993 UK sellthru tape from Vipco and enjoyed it back then; an ahead of it's time vampire yarn that tries to be different in it's setup. We've seen many more oddball modern takes on this old horror chestnut but in 1979 we were coming off the success of Hammer Horror and were in the middle of a resurgence of such films: Love at First Bite, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Dracula (with Frank Langella) and Thirst amongst several other more minor efforts. It's an engaging if melodramatic take with Brian May's score playing up the dramatics. There's a great sequence in which lead Chantel Conturi is followed by a "presence" behind the walls, moving furniture in a clear homage to Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977). It's also noteworthy for the fact that these bloodsuckers don't have real fangs, but they use prosthesis fangs ala film vampires with the fictional narrative. Many of these Oxploitation films seem to have boosted contrast and a deliberately heightened colour palette with plenty of bright reds (in Thirst we have blood, lipstick, clothing, gore ... heck, it's a vampire flick!) and ruddy flesh-tones. Everything follows a naturalistic colour design with not much by way of artificial gel lighting and effects. It's not desaturated the way modern vampire tales are (see Eggers' Nosferatu). Greens are green, browns are brown, blues are blue etc. There's some occasional blue casts but not much, a light touch here and there. It all looks very punchy and satisfying and vivid. Black levels and highlights are nicely balanced with some occasional intended crush and odd deliberately blown out highlight. It's a strikingly sharp looking film shot on 35mm and in anamorphic Panavision (post 1971 so 2.39:1) with plenty of grain and fine detail. An excellent transfer ('A'). 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 2.39:1 / 95:38
Audio
English LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) Subtitles: English HoH The sound is as robust as the image albeit a mono track that lacks range and depth when set against modern tracks but dialogue is always crisp and sharp, scoring undistorted with no issues to speak of. There's mild hiss when the sound is boosted loud but it's barely worth mentioning. English hard of hearing subtitles are full and cover all dialogue and nuance. As good a sonic presentation of the elements as we could possibly hope for ('B+').
Extras
Audio commentary by director Rod Hardy and producer Antony I. Ginnane (2003) Vintage commentary that appeared on many prior home video editions. Recorded 23 years after the filming of the film. They discuss their careers and subsequent work alongside Thirst. In lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps). "Thirst: A Contemporary Blend" 2004 interview with Anthony I. Ginnane (13:52) A focused vintage interview with the veteran producer - who primarily discusses Thirst - who sees himself as the authorial voice behind his films and likes to liken himself to Roger Corman. If I had to guess, upscaled 1080p24 in 1.78:1 (interview) and 2.39:1 (clips) with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitles. Not Quite Hollywood Interviews (2008) (Play All - 39:59): - Rod Hardy, Director (13:32) - Anthony I. Ginnane, Producer (15:11) - Rod Mullinar, 'Deryk' (6:21) - Vincent Monton, Cinematographer (4:54) More terrific interviews conducted for Mark Hartley's excellent documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Oxploitation. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitle options. David Hemmings on The Don Lane Show (1979) (15:55) TV episode segment in which Hemmings discusses his career, his then most recent film Just a Gigolo (1979) and does some magic card tricks. Also has a clips from Barbarella (1967). Presented upscaled 1080p24 1.33:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitles. Archival Audio Interview with Chantel Contouri Conducted by Michael Fitzhardinge (1979) (23:48) A vintage radio interview in which Contouri discusses the film and all the hard work it took to achieve; her career is also touched on. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitles. "Film Buff's Forecast: Rod Hardy" 2019 audio interview conducted by Paul Harris and Mark Hartley (154:01) Extensive, in depth interview with Hardy on his career in film and television in both Australia and the USA. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitles. "Seeing Reality: Stunt Co-ordinator Grant Page on Staging the Helicopter Scene in Thirst" 2024 interview (3:36) "First Blood: Stephen Morgan on Thirst" 2024 interview (17:56) New interviews, firstly with stuntman Page discussing the Henry Silva helicopter stunt. An audio interview over the sequence from the film plus stills. Then historian Morgan discusses vampire cinema, Australian cinema and Thirst. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with clips in 2.39:1, sound is lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitle options. Isolated Score in LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) What it says on the tin: Brian May's score isolated in uncompressed LPCM 1.0. Trailers and TV Spots (Play All - 5:47) - Australian Theatrical Trailer (2:55) - US Theatrical Trailer (1:36) - US TV Spot #1 (0:11) - US TV Spot #2 (0:31) - US TV Spot #3 (0:32) A collection of vintage promos presented in 1080p24. The trailers are in 1.78:1, the TV spots in panned and scanned 1.33:1 and all with lossy hand on the TV spots, hissy) English Digital 1.0 sound (48kHz, 112Kbps) with no subtitles. Image and Script Galleries: - Thirst Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (109 images) - Thirst Image Gallery: Behind the Scenes (122 images) - Thirst Image Gallery: Dialogue Continuity Script (18 images) Extensive collection of HD images and script pages. 80-page liner notes book with a new essay by Diane A Rodgers, exclusive extracts from producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with actors Chantal Contouri, David Hemmings and Henry Silva and film credits Another excellent hard copy companion well up to Powerhouse Films' usual high standards.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
Another Ozploitation classic gets the deluxe treatment from Powerhouse Films in a lovely new transfer which looks and sounds a peach. Extras are topnotch bringing together legacy material and new in a must have package ('A').
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