Following the release of their now sold out limited edition Blu-ray of Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy's The Beast and the Magic Sword, Mondo Macabro have announced that they'll be giving the film a standard Blu-ray release on February 11th, 2020.
This is the first Blu-ray release of this film and its first-ever U.S. release and includes both a full-frame version and a widescreen version, as well as a brand new 4K digital restoration.
The Beast and the Magic Sword is the last great film from Naschy. Although he would go on making and planning films until his death in 2009, he never again attempted the epic sweep and grandeur of this 10th entry into the saga of Waldemar Daninsky, a man afflicted by the curse of lycanthropy.
In the film, we get for the first time an origin story of how the Daninsky curse began back in the 10th century. We then move forward to 16th century Japan where Daninsky has traveled in search of a cure to his affliction. Co-starring Japanese stage and screen veteran Shigeru Amachi, and shot in the studios of Toshiro Mifune, The Beast and the Magic Sword is a highly successful and colorful melding of European werewolf legends and dark Japanese fantasy. It features a fight between werewolf and tiger, an evil scarlet-cloaked witch who imprisons Daninsky, a sword fight with a troupe of ghost samurai, and many other unforgettable scenes.
Special Features include:
4K digitally restored transfer from a film negative
New cover painting by Rick Melton
The Smile of the Wolf – Interview with star Paul Naschy
Introduction to the film by Paul Naschy
Interview with the writer and critic Gavin Baddeley
Audio commentary with the Naschy cast (Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn)
The disc contains both widescreen and full-frame versions
Original trailer
Mondo Macabro previews
Note: The Blu-ray will come housed in a standard blue Blu-ray case and not the limited red one pictured below.
