Co-written by director Edward Dmytryk (“The Caine Mutiny”), “Bluebeard” stars Richard Burton as the twisted affluent Austrian Baron von Sepper, a WW I flying ace whose wives mysteriously disappear. He is known as Bluebeard, for sporting his blue toned beard.
A nazi party leader (complete with faux symbolic armband) takes his seventh wife, the attractive American vaudeville dancer, Anne (Joey Heatherton), the Baron leaves her alone in the isolated family castle, after giving her the keys to explore, with a warning not to use the small gold key. Naturally, Anne does, and what she finds in the cellar both horrifies and sickens her. She finds a vault containing the frozen bodies of the Baron’s former wives, and a prostitute (Sybil Danning, a softcore porn star). The previous wives include some of the most beautiful women of the era: Magdalena, a former nun played by Raquel Welch; the Italian actresses Virna Lisi, as Elga, Marilu Tolo as Brigitte, and Agostina Belli as Caroline; from France, Nathalie Delon as Erika; from Germany, Karin Schubert as Greta. Some were willing to go topless, adding to the gratuitous mature of the film.
Aware of her duplicity, the baron sets out to kill Anne. In a desperate bid to save her life, Anne pleads with the baron to open up about the killings of his past wives to free his soul, and to buy herself time. The Baron reveals himself to be a real “mama’s boy.” Rather than face the public humiliation of divorce, the baron prefers to end his relationship on his terms through suffocation, decapitation, and other violent means.
Considered one of great actors of his era, Richard Burton disappoints here, admitting to aping Vincent Price, which he does terribly. Perhaps worse, Burton falls back on imitating himself in a cartoonish manner. He looks awful in closeups, his eyes look vacant throughout, as if he’s just waiting to cash his check, as he did through much of the 1970’s. the best thing about “Bluebeard” are the glamorous costumes by Vicki Teal, and Jacques Fonteray.
Taken from a new master from StudioCanal, made from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, Kino has delivered a fine transfer. Presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the results are clean, and vivid. Skin tones look natural, and Burton’s blue beard maintains its shine throughout, and blacks are inky. An even layer of grain gives the proceedings a filmic appearance. Saturation is appropriate, and there’s no sign of DNR. The image is free of scratches or other digital anomalies.
the English LPCM 2.0 mono track sounds fine, if nothing special. Ennio Morricone’s score adds some lively energy to the track, and dialogue is clean, clear, and concise. Dynamics lack oomph, but that’s fine for this dialogue heavy film. Overall, this track is free of hiccups or other anomalies and offers a pleasant listening experience.
English SDH subtitles are available.
The following extras are included:
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson
- Making a Difference: Jean Porter-Dmytryk on Edward Dmytryk
- Brutality, Burton and Bluebeard: Interview with Anna Bogutskaya
- Theatrical Trailer
