IN WHITEWOOD, TIME STANDS STILL…
Christopher Lee was already a horror icon when he started filming The City of the Dead in 1959. Having played Frankenstein’s Monster, Count Dracula and The Mummy for Hammer, this new picture would allow him to extend his range to the American Gothic – and witchcraft in a small New England village…
Lee plays Professor Driscoll, an authority on the occult who persuades one of his students (Venetia Stevenson) to research his hometown, Whitewood, once the site of witch burnings in the 17th century. Booking herself into the Raven’s Inn, she soon learns that devil worship among the locals hasn’t been consigned to the past.
Produced by future Amicus founders Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, and beautifully shot by Desmond Dickinson (whose credits ranged from Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet to Horrors of the Black Museum), The City of the Dead is a wonderfully atmospheric and still shocking slice of horror that stands firmly alongside its Hammer contemporaries.
Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
New 2K digital restoration by the Cohen Film Collection and the BFI
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of two versions of the film: The City of the Dead and the alternative US cut, Horror Hotel
Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by film critic Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 and Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History, recorded exclusively for this release
Audio commentary by actor Christopher Lee
Audio commentary by director John Llewellyn Moxey
Interview with Lee
Interview with Moxey
Interview with actor Venetia Stevenson
Gallery
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
