{"id":13608,"date":"2016-05-16T14:14:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T18:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=13608"},"modified":"2016-05-16T22:41:59","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T02:41:59","slug":"br-mask-the-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=13608","title":{"rendered":"BR: Mask, The (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mask1961_BR_s\"Film<\/strong>:\u00a0Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0KINO<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0November 24, 2015<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Horror \/ 3D<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0A psychiatrist becomes as addicted as his recently demised patient, tripping out with an ancient mask, and waking up with murderous desires!<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Audio commentary by film historian Jason Pichonsky \/ Bio Featurette: “Julian Roffman: The Man Behind the Mask” (21:56) \/ Original Theatrical Trailer + 3 reissue Trailers + 2 TV Spots \/ 3D sequences in anaglyph 3D (16:07) + 3D Set-Up Guide \/ Gallery of Slavko Vorkapich montages from 1928-1937 (11:09) \/ 2 Slavko Vorkapich short films: “The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra” (13:34) + “Abstract Experiment in Kodachrome” (2:21) \/ Bonus 2014 short: “One Night in Hell” (7:23) in flat and Blu-ray 3D with Dolby Atmos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

After being a rather obscure reference as Canada\u2019s first feature-length horror and 3D film, The Mask<\/strong> \u2013 not to be confused in any way with the same-titled 1995 Jim Carrey comedy \u2013 makes its debut on Blu-ray and DVD via KINO Classics in a special edition that\u2019s a bit of bungle, but I\u2019ll get to that a little later.<\/p>\n

The Mask <\/strong>was Julian Roffman\u2019s second attempt at feature film directing, having tried to kick start the Canadian film industry with a cautionary tale of social ills with The Bloody Brood<\/strong> (1959), a film also notable for being Peter Falk\u2019s feature film debut.<\/p>\n

As the KINO’s BR\u2019s bonus bio featurette details, Roffman had one helluva career and should be considered a pioneer of the Canadian film industry, but because much of his work wasn\u2019t formally credited \u2013 doing newsreels in the U.S., along with TV series \u2013 Roffman\u2019s name tends to appear as a curious footnote in our\u00a0film history, often tied to The Mask<\/strong> which wasn\u2019t easily seen except as a VHS release tied to Elvira\u2019s syndicated series.<\/p>\n

The Elvira tape release had the 3D sequences in anaglyph form, but the print was quite poor, but a rare and pretty decent 35mm print resides in the archives at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, where it was screened once in 2012 before it was withdrawn for restoration. The 3+ year project done in conjunction with the 3-D Film Archive saved the movie from oblivion, and Roffman\u2019s name too some degree, and as the featurette details, the movie could never have succeed without Roffman\u2019s dogged determination to finish an ambitious project that ran into a multitude of hurdles.<\/p>\n

The proposed 3D process from a British maker didn\u2019t work properly, so Roffman figured out a way to create 3D and use elaborate sets with novel effects that go beyond thrusting things at audiences. Perhaps taking a nod from William Castle and his 13 Ghosts<\/a><\/strong> (1960), The Mask<\/strong> has similarly timed sequences where audiences would be cued (\u201cPut the mask ON! Put the mask on NOW!\u201d) to raise their dainty little Magic Mystic Masks (that\u2019s the actual name) and experience the awe and horror of 3D.<\/p>\n

Where Castle prompted audiences to raise their viewers to see the film\u2019s \u2018ghosts\u2019 like the main characters, Roffman crafted three sequences where we are thrust alongside the hero into dreamy immersions of a world of altars, flame-throwing skull-women, giant masks, cobwebs, a moat of hands, a snake, and being tossed into a swirling mass of clouds.<\/p>\n

These were Roffman\u2019s own creations even though famed montage expert Slavko Vorkapich is credited for the dream sequences \u2013 a contractual obligation for different concepts that were deemed too expensive (lots of bugs, apparently) and ultimately junked before anything was shot.<\/p>\n

Roffman also ran into bad luck when visionary electronic composer Myron Schaeffer died early into the scoring stage, leaving National Film Board (NFB) veteran Louis Applebaum to handle the more traditional score pieces, and Schaeffer\u2019s unfinished work to stand on its own in the scored dream sequences.<\/p>\n

When The Mask <\/strong>was completed, Warner Bros. picked up the film, and after a successful reissue campaign as Eyes of Hell<\/strong>, Roffman\u2019s trippy shocker reportedly became the most successful Canadian movie of the 1960s with healthy box office grosses and <\/em>the first Canadian film to be widely distribute in the U.S.<\/p>\n

So why didn’t Roffman direct another picture?<\/p>\n

He produced a few more \u2013 co-producing the Italian AIP import Spy in Your Eye<\/strong> (1965), the draft-dodger drama The Blast <\/strong>(1969) for AIP, the Montreal-shot cult thriller The Pyx<\/strong> (1973), and taking over some directing chores on The Glove<\/strong> (1979) \u2013 but there was that nasty stigma among bureaucrats and the documentary establishment in which real Canadian filmmakers shouldn’t make exploitation pictures about cursed masks that make the wearer addicted to the mind-fucks; and it perhaps didn\u2019t help that Roffman\u2019s roots lay in making documentaries, being one of the NFB’s first recruits.<\/p>\n

The way one can read Roffman\u2019s career isn\u2019t as a disappointment, but as an industry pioneer and head-butter. The problem lay in the government\u2019s Griersonian blindered view that we should only make documentaries; fiction, especially metaphors about drug abuse using a creepy Mayan mask, were insulting to the country\u2019s cultural makeup.<\/p>\n

Roffman\u2019s movie delivers most of the goods on a low, low budget, and what should\u2019ve been an intro into filmmaking and distribution kind of turned into a loss leader, selling the picture and watching other people make a killing, while Roffman\u2019s own producing efforts were stymied by the American-dominated theatre circuits \u2013 a problem that lingers today.<\/p>\n

As great as the 3D sequences are \u2013 they\u2019re tremendous fun \u2013 the film gets wobbly around the middle, mostly because the script just doesn\u2019t have enough meat, and there\u2019s a really terrible subplot involving a police investigation which Warner\u2019s cut from their edit to speed things up. The dialogue is weak, and you can tell the handful of actors filling the frame were told to \u2018look busy\u2019 using minimal props: a coroner keeps raising and gazing mystically at a chemical bottle while the lead detective plays Basil Exposition, and there\u2019s even a running gag of \u2018eating too many donuts.\u2019 (The gag may have been forgivable had the box of baked goods been from Tim Horton\u2019s, but the chain wasn’t founded until 1964.)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an innate goofiness to the dialogue, and the relationship between shrink Dr. Allan Barnes (veteran American actor Paul Stevens) and fiancee Pam Albright (prolific American actress Claudette Nevins, making her film debut) gets precious, especially when Pam pleads with Allan to stop \u2018putting on the mask\u2019 because it\u2019s like a drug. A car chase through Toronto\u2019s Forest Hill as Pam \u2018returns\u2019 the mask to the museum via taxi is rather clumsy, and there are some unusual edits throughout the film, but there is always a sense Roffman was trying to transcend both his budget and the genre \u2013 just not succeeding in glaring spots.<\/p>\n

A wrap-up involving Allan\u2019s mentor and efforts to \u2018de-tox\u2019 is amusing, while Allan\u2019s relationship with ever-smiling \/ rather duncey secretary Miss Goodrich (Anne Collings) is both ridiculously contrived and weird.<\/p>\n

Besides the 3D sequences, The Mask<\/strong>\u2019s most effective moments come in the first third, where the film begins with a hokey intro (another sequence excised in reissue prints) by a \u2018mask expert\u2019 (magician Harry Blackstone, Sr.), and the material in which Allan\u2019s deeply disturbed patient Michael Radin (actor and future director Martin Lavut) tries to convince the good doctor his delusions are leading to murderous deeds (namely the film\u2019s great stalk & strangle opening) which, when Allan dons the mask, he too is close to committing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fun B-movie nor worse than its American cousins, and it’s certainly bold for packing in three lengthy 3D sequences and Schaeffer\u2019s avant garde music. CanCon fans and Torontonians will also have some fun trying to pinpoint the locations: parts of Forest Hill, maybe Avenue Road north of Bloor, and the front of a University of Toronto edifice playing the museum’s entrance. (The real and very different interior of the Royal Ontario Museum is also seen, including the giant totem pole in the main stairway.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Blu-ray \u2013 DVD Cock-Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt the film restoration is first-rate: the TIFF print in 2012 looked pretty good, but as DVDBeaver\u2019s Gary Tooze<\/a> detailed in an extract from a correspondence with lead restorationist Bob Furmanek, the final results come from a variety of sources including the TIFF print, a near-pristine 35mm master fine grain and optical track owned by the 3-D Film Archive (who ultimately purchased the film rights in 2008), and discrete 3D elements from the Library of Congress.<\/p>\n

The 3D sequences have sharp registration and are extremely atmospheric and fun. The mono sound\u2019s also been augmented in a separate 5.1 track, where the 3D sequences bleed into a dynamic \u201cElectro-Magnetic Sound,\u201d adding to the film\u2019s dips into trippiness. (Those preferring mono can also select a straight mono mix.)<\/p>\n

KINO\u2019s release really<\/em> should\u2019ve been a combo edition, because there are extras that are unique to specific formats \u2013 which means you have to buy both<\/em> if you want all of the extras.<\/p>\n

Both discs contain specific 3D versions of the film: the Blu has BR-3D, and the DVD has straight anaglyph 3D and comes with 3D glasses. However, the Blu contains a separate<\/em> gallery with the 3D sequences in anaglyph 3D, which is pointless because the BR doesn\u2019t come with any anaglyph glasses.<\/p>\n

Why not master the Blu with seamless branching that offers the viewer the choice in watching fancier BR-3D or old anaglyph 3D? The BR certainly has room for it, and the film was exhibited in its restored 2015 version in anaglyph 3D.<\/em><\/p>\n

Secondly: the DVD sort-of \u2018replicates\u2019 the experience of watching the film in its 3D-TV broadcast incarnation by including the very rare segments directed by Roffman starring Harry Blackstone Jr. and Gay Blackstone<\/a> in a series of cheesy magic tricks that formed intro, ad break bumpers, and outro material. Called \u201cMystic Magic,\u201d these crisply transferred extras (with fuzzy but functional anaglyph 3D) are in a separate gallery. Both the BR and the DVD could\u2019ve been authored with seamless branching to give viewers the option to watch the film in its theatrical and 3D-TV form.<\/p>\n

Several cult films were revisited in 3D-TV during the 1980s, such as The Mad Magician <\/strong>(1954), Gorilla at Large <\/strong>(1954), and Hondo<\/strong> (1953), and The Mask<\/strong> made its 3D-TV debut around 1982 when Roffman sold the film rights to 3D Video Corporation. The 3D-TV segments are exclusive to the DVD, whereas the BR contains montages from older title sequences by Slavko Vorkapich. Also added is Vorkapich’s satirical short film The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra<\/strong> (1928), plus Abstract Experiment in Kodachrome<\/strong>, both sporting newly commissioned scores, as derived from KINO\u2019s DVD set, Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1984-1941.<\/p>\n

Where the DVD has one trailer, the BR has four trailers and TV spots, including some bearing the reissue title Eyes of Hell<\/strong>, and some double-billing Eyes of Hell\u00a0<\/strong>with Roffman\u2019s The Blast<\/strong> (rebranded as Explosion<\/strong>) starring Don Stroud and Dynasty<\/strong>\u2019s Gordon Thomson (!). The Blast <\/strong>was\u00a0directed by Jules Bricken, a TV director-producer who also produced two notable features, Drango<\/strong> (1957) and John Frankenheimer\u2019s The Train<\/a><\/strong> (1964).<\/p>\n

Also unique to the BR is the bonus short One Night in Hell<\/strong> (2014) in BR-3D and flat versions. The animated short features a framing device that replicates 19th<\/sup> century stereoscopic viewers where the central image, resembling an etching, is framed by a slender margin and curved top. The animation is very detailed and beautiful, and follows a rebellious fellow newly sent to Hell, and rather than play orderly in Satan\u2019s small orchestra, he goes wild with his guitar, opting for an electrified solo which endears the skeletal figure to no one. The short ends with a short cameo by its composer, Queen guitarist Brian May. The whole endeavor is presented in Dolby Atmos.<\/p>\n

Both DVD and BR share the concise and info-packed bio featurette \u201cJulian Roffman: The Man Behind the Mask,\u201d by film historian Jason Pichonsky.<\/p>\n

Son Peter Roffman and Rue Morgue contributor and Canuxploitation.com creator Paul Corupe provide the bio material that\u2019s supported by a wealth of stills and rare film clips, including Roffman\u2019s documentary shorts, such as And So They Live<\/strong> (1940), co-directed with John Ferno; the NFB WWII propaganda shorts Up from the Ranks <\/strong>(1943), Battle is Our Business <\/strong>(1943), and The Proudest Girl in the World<\/strong> (1944); and The Warning Shadow<\/strong> (1953) for the American Cancer Society and the short Freedom to Read <\/strong>(1954). Roffman also served as second unit director on the James Cagney classic Captains of the Clouds <\/strong>(1942), but returned to Canada in the 1950s when he was Blacklisted for penning film reviews in The Daily Worker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Neither BR nor DVD discs comes with a booklet \u2013 some info on\u00a0the restoration (or even better, as a separate featurette) would\u2019ve been edifying, given the details would\u2019ve spotlighted the preservation efforts of both TIFF and the 3-D Film Archive \u2013 but each disc contains the same informative commentary by Pichonsky, who covers a fair bit of ground on the actors, the locations, the effects, and Roffman\u2019s directing, producing, and effects chores.<\/p>\n

KINO\u2019s release is by no means a disaster, but the DVD and BR releases feel like two halves of a combo edition that was split for SD and HD consumers, and as much as I\u2019m not a fan of combo editions, the wonky separation of extras makes this an intensely frustrating situation for Mask<\/strong> fans, because it mandates double-dipping to get all the extras. (Actually, to enjoy stills and other<\/em>\u00a0rare promo materials, visit the 3-D Film Archive\u2019s site<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

I also suspect that while the inclusion of the Vorkapich montages and short films may seem as a nice bonus to showcase the artist whose work was never used in the finished film, the material comes from a 2005 DVD set\u2026 which means there was<\/em> room for the \u201cMystic Magic\u201d material, making this release feel like a compromise, since the Vorkapich extras come from a KINO set that\u2019s credited at the end of these extras, but is very much out of print.<\/p>\n

The BR certainly offers the best sound, image, and dominant extras, but this should\u2019ve been a better coordinated released, since KINO\u2019s already put out other 3-D Film Archive titles, including Gog<\/strong> (1954) and The Bubble<\/strong> (1966).<\/p>\n

Also available: Bonus Media + Editor’s Blog<\/a> on the film’s 2012 + 2015 screenings before \/ after restoration at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2016 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB<\/a>\u00a0— Composer Filmographies (IMDB): Louis Applebaum<\/a> \/ Myron Schaeffer<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mask was Julian Roffman\u2019s second attempt at feature film directing, having tried to kick start the Canadian film industry with a cautionary tale of social ills with The Bloody Brood (1959), a film also notable for being Peter Falk\u2019s feature film debut…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[21,4435,823,851,4434,852,4436,850,826],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-3xu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13608"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13608"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13631,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13608\/revisions\/13631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}