Martin [Blu-ray]

When young Martin(John Amplas) goes to stay with his elder cousin Tada Cuza(Lincoln Maazel), he is immediately greeted with crosses on the wall, garlic pinned to the bedroom doors and a hiostile rasping cry of 'Nosferatu!' from his cousin. Martin himself believes that he is an 84 year old vampire, but laughs at Cuda's clumsy attempts to test him with the sign of the cross and the sudden unveiling of a mirror. Martin gets a job working at Cuda's delicatessen, but seems uninterested, only coming alive at night. Another cousin, Christina(Christine Forrest) who is staying at Cuda's house, believes Martin to be mentally ill, and balks at Cuda's old time beliefs. One thing is for sure, and that is Martin has a craving for blood, a craving that is never far from the surface.This superb horror from 1977 does a great job in debunking some of the romantic notions of vampirism, and is one of the first films to show the vampire as suffering from a sexual perversion, with arousal heightened by the letting of blood. Interstingly, 'Martin' owes a lot to the great surreal horror from the early 1930's, Carl Dreyer's 'Vampyr'. This is especially evident during the black and white 'flashbacks'. So it both a film ahead of its time and one grounded in the past, so you could say it represents both the characters of Martin and Cuda, one adapting to the modern world(Martin uses a radio talk show to talk about his affliction), the other unable to break free from the old world of family curses and hackneyed symbolism. It could be argued of course, that Cuda too has been afflicted with the family 'curse'.One of my favourite scenes is when Cuda, clearly terrified, is pursued through a fog shrouded park by a caped Martin. He hits out in terror as Martin opens his mouth to reveal sharp fangs. Then Martin spits out the false teeth in digust, berating his cousin by saying 'it's only a costume'. That confrontation perfectly illustrates the old world and modern day vampire mythos.It is a film that is quite tragic in places, shopwing the lack of jobs in Cuda's town, the dull discussions round the breakfast table and also in Martin's loneliness and inability to form any meaningful relationship. In fact, it is when Martin actually finds companionship that things take a turn for the worse, leading to a shocking, abrupt and unforgettable ending to the film. The scenes that show Martin indulging in his blood lust are made all the more shocking, in the restrained context of the rest of the film. Amplas is superb in the title role, as is Maazel as Martin's nemesis.Some dvd releases claim to be 'Special' and then turn out to be the opposite. This lives up to its billing as a 'Special Edition', with three different versions of the film present, including the Italian version 'Wampyr' that has a great Goblin soundtrack that is also innapropriate for the film it is accompanying. There's also a nice little booklet written by Romero and a poster. 5 out of 5 for the whole package, but it's the film you should be buying this for, as it's both a bit different and also a bit special.

George A Romero is well know as the originator of the modern zombie genre in Night of the Living Dead and he built on this, adding further social commentary and sub text in several other zombie films, including Dawn of the Dead, probably the greatest zombie film ever. In "Martin" Romero takes on the vampire genre. A unique take on the vampire lore presented from several perspectives at once, from Martin, his victims and the version of Martin that his grandfather sees. Set in blue collar Pittsburgh this feels like the same sort of tough, down to earth atmosphere that you get in Scorsese's early New York/Catholic family films such as Mean Streets. A fantastic central performance by John Amplas as Martin and we even get Romero himself playing the role of a priest. An underrated gem full of fascinating moments and an engaging narrative sweep that comes to a very abrupt end! Rewards re-watches. This version is well presented in a clean print with good sound considering the budgetary origins of the film. An underrated classic that belongs in the collection of all serious horror film fans.

Great film

Lovely filmic transfer - gritty and really 70’s.Extras are really good, with a great documentary and some nice commentary tracks.Having only seen this on vhs-like poor dvd transfers, its lovely to see this film in such quality.

Proper treatment for this bit underrated classic. I mean, c'mon! Unique, intelligent, daring and provocative movie about vampire (or... is he?). Waaay better in terms of climate and plot than nowadays blockbusters, like Blade and Underworld series (i ain't mention Twilight anymore... damn, I just did :( Romero's 3rd best movie, along with Night and Dawn of the dead. Filled with extras, mini-posters and foreword from director himself. On 2nd DVD - Italian edition of "Martin" (titled - "Vampire") with Goblin soundtrack. Suck it dry!

Martin is a young man, however he says he is 84, he is also someone who kills people and drinks their blood, but after moving in with his elder cousin he tries to subdue his blood cravings.Director George Romero's favourite of his own films is an interesting low budget modern day vampire movie. John Amplas stars as Martin and is frankly excellent, the unknown Amplas creates a character that is both likeable and horrific at the same time, it really is a wonderful performance, the rest of the cast are fine but no more than that, although Lincoln Maazel does stand out as cousin Cuda with a memorable scene. Romero directs the violent sequences expertly, he creates a fair bit of sustained suspense in the scenes and they do come over very well and the climax is a class above almost all of its vampire contemporary's. What didn't work so well for me though was its pacing, some of the set up scenes and the scenes in between the gore went on just a bit to long and my interest did start to wane very slightly. The modern day setting works for it and adds another layer of tension to an all ready creepy atmosphere.Certainly one of Romero's better films though definitely not his best, its a chilling little bloody tale that'll keep fans of old school horror satisfied, more modern horror fans may not be as engaged as it doesn't have the usual stupid over the top gore, no story & lifeless characters. Unsurprisingly it found itself on the DPP's Section 3 nasty list, the blood lust clearly too much for them.

Romero, the king of zombies, turned his attention to vampire anthology in this 70s flick, which cleverly mixes contemporary 70s setting and (imagined) gothic fantasies of the central character, undermining the genre clichés and showing us a modern form of vampirism, one armed with syringes and razor blades.ESSENTIAL VIEWING FOR HORROR FANS

Phenomenal packaging, movie was in very great shape and very fast delivery. I will definitely get more from this company. Thank you so much!!

Genial

Für Romero-Fans ist diese Veröffentlichung wirklich ein Muss. Hatte den Film nur mal vor Jahren auf DVD gesehen, und fand ihn da mittelprächtig. Es ist aber erstaunlich, was eine gute Abtastung und eine anständige Farbkorrektur aus diesem Film herausholt.So wirkt dieser Film tatsächlich begeisternd, dass man gar nicht versteht, warum dieser Film nicht zumindest im Zuge des Dawn Of the Dead-Erfolges noch mal eine breitere Veröffentlichung erfahren hat, wie man es auch bei The Crazies probiert hat. Ganz sicher einer der besseren Romero-Filme, dem man sein ultraniedriges Budget deutlich weniger ansieht, als den anderen Nachfolgern von Night of the Living Dead. Bedauerlich, dass Romero, nie die Chance hatte seine Kreativität einmal frei, mit einem angemessenen Budget auszuleben.Die Veröffentlichung von Second Sight lässt auf jeden Fall keine Wünsche offen.

je suis un grand fan de george romero,ce film méconnu vaut vraiment le detour,la perfomance de john amplas est trés convaincante,tout les fans devraient l'aquérir,tom savini,a fait un travail remarquable au niveau des effet spéciaux gore,en une phrase il faut le voir pour le croire!

Awesome indeed