Would you expect to find the poet Dylan Thomas, comic Mel Brooks, British cinema icon Freddie Francis and Scream Factory in the same sentence? Turns out that these four elements are joining forces with the release of The Doctor and the Devils on Blu-ray in November. Freddie Francis is best known as the Oscar winning cinematographer of Glory & Sons and Lovers. He also hooked up with David Lynch for The Elephant Man and The Straight Story. He also had a long career directing films including Hammer’s Evil of Frankenstein. This lead him to directing Dylan Thomas’ script The Doctor and the Devils which had been written decades before this 1985 production. The Welsh author of “Do not go gentle into that good night” wrote his version of the notorious Burke and Hare story. They were two men who found a way to make money selling bodies to medical schools. They didn’t have an issue with creating their business. Naturally something this insane had to attract the eyes of Mel Brooks who produced the film. The cast included Twiggy, Julian Sands, Timothy Dalton, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea. The film didn’t do well on its original release, but The Doctor and the Devils should have a chance at second life thanks to the upcoming Blu-ray. Who can resist the joy of James Bond and Captain Picard/Professor X? Here’s the press release from Scream Factory:
SCREAM FACTORY™ PRESENTS
THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS
ON BLU-RAY NOVEMBER 14, 2014
“A gothic thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter
Murder was just the beginning…
Los Angeles, CA – A man of medicine… A pair of murderers… An unholy alliance. Scream Factory has announced a November 14 Blu-ray release of the murderous thriller The Doctor and the Devils.
Directed by Freddie Francis, Executive Produced by Mel Brooks, and based on Dylan Thomas’ original screenplay, this shocking horror-thriller stars Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a brilliant young anatomy professor in 1820s Edinburgh. At first accepting only the cadavers provided him for study – those of a few hanged criminals per year – Rock eventually recruits two grave robbers (Jonathan Pryce (Brazil) and Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) to secure a better supply of corpses. Coming to the gory conclusion that they will earn more the “fresher” the corpses, the two begin committing murder and delivering warm bodies to the doctor’s lecture chambers. Also starring Julian Sands (Room With A View), Patrick Stewart and Twiggy, The Doctor and the Devils brings classic chills from start to finish.
Special Features:
Commentary With Author and Film Historian Steve Haberman
New Interview With Executive Producer Mel Brooks, Producer Jonathan Sanger And Former Brooksfilms Development Executive Randy Auerbach
Theatrical Trailer
1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo/1985/Color/R/93 mins./Subtitles: English