The Vengeance of She appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Despite some iffy moments, the image usually worked fairly well.
Sharpness generally seemed positive. A little softness occasionally crept into wide shots and the poor bluescreen created distractions, but the majority of the film showed nice clarity and accuracy.
I saw no jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also created few concerns, as I saw little more than a handful of specks.
Vengeance opted for an earthy palette, with an emphasis on browns and blues. A few more dynamic hues occasionally emerged, but these dominated. The transfer replicated these in an acceptable manner, though I thought the tones could feel a little drab at times.
Blacks were pretty dark and deep, while shadows seemed acceptable, although some day for night shots could seem a bit dense. All in all, the image held up acceptably well over the last 51 years.
Note that the Blu-ray’s case claimed Vengeance offered a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. However, it clearly played as 1.85:1 on my TV.
Vengeance came with a wholly mediocre DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack. Speech tended to seem somewhat distant and bland, without great naturalism, though the lines remained fully intelligible. Poor looping became a distraction at times.
Music showed more oomph, but this also meant a shrill quality at times. Effects followed suit, as they tended to be lackluster and occasionally a little distorted. For its age, the track was acceptable but it never became better than meh.
When we head to extras, we find an audio commentary from “Monster Party” podcast hosts Matt Weinhold, Shawn Sheridan, Larry Strothe and James Gonis. All four sit together for a running, screen-specific look at aspects of the film and its participants.
Rather than give us a standard “historian” commentary, the “Monster Party” guys prefer to go down a looser path. This means that we get filmmaking facts along with wisecracks and general thoughts.
At the start, this approach doesn’t work especially well, as the conversation focuses too much on jokes and too little on substance. However, matters improve considerably as the chat progresses.
While we still find jokes, we learn more about the movie, and we get interesting thoughts about the quality of the film itself. Unlike most commentary participants, the Party guys show a willingness to criticize the flick, and I find that refreshing. After an iffy start, this eventually turns into a satisfying track.
A few featurettes follow, and we get an Interview with Assistant Director Terence Clegg. In this two-minute, 35-second reel, Clegg offers a few memories of the production. While he brings a few good notes, the interview is too short to tell us much.
Next comes an Interview with Special Effects Artist Joy Cuff. During her eight-minute, two-second chat, she covers how she came to the project as well as her work. Cuff provides a short but enjoyable discussion.
After this we get an Interview with Clapper/Loader Trevor Coop. With this five-minute, 42-second reel, Coop tells us about his experiences during the shoot. This becomes a decent overview but not anything particularly memorable.
A vintage clip, a Worlds of Hammer episode called “Lands Before Time” fills 24 minutes, 40 seconds. It offers a compilation of scenes from Vengeance and other Hammer movies that come in similar genres.
If “World” came with information about the films, it might work. However, as a repository of movie snippets, it seems like little more than a long advertisement.
In addition to a trailer and two TV spots, we locate an Image Gallery. It provides 72 elements that mix shots from the set, publicity stills and advertisements. It becomes a good compilation.
A relentlessly dull attempt at an adventure, The Vengeance of She musters little more than yawns. Burdened with a sluggish pace and iffy acting, the movie falls flat. The Blu-ray brings generally positive picture along with adequate audio and a decent array of supplements. Vengeance fails to create an involving tale.
