Martin (1976) Limited Edition Review

Martin (1976) Limited Edition Review

Martin – brilliantly played by John Amplas (DAWN OF THE DEAD) in his feature film debut – is a troubled young man who believes he’s a vampire. When he moves away to a small Pennsylvania town to live with his elderly, religious cousin, Cuda (Lincoln Maazel – THE AMUSEMENT PARK), he falls for lonely housewife Abbie Santini (Elyane Nadeau). Desperate to curb his overwhelming craving for human blood and the brutal lengths he goes to sate his thirst… Martin endeavours to live a normal life. But the hostile Cuda becomes convinced that the young man is Nosferatu…

From the horror maestro himself, George A. Romero comes the highly anticipated, long-awaited release of Martin Limited Edition Box Set. Second Sight present the film in a brand-new 4K scan, painstakingly restored from a 35mm dupe negative, supervised, and approved by legendary director of photography Michael Gornick.

Unavailable for many years, this rarely seen, wickedly original vampire thriller with bite gets the release it deserves with an all-singing, all-dancing release from experts in the field, Second Sight Films on 27 February 2023 in three versions: Limited Edition UHD 4K/Blu-ray Box set and Standard Edition 4K UHD and Standard Edition Blu-ray – all of which come packed full of fantastic special features.

Alongside side the newly restored film, the bonus features include audio commentaries galore from George A Romero, John Amplas, Tom Savini, Richard P Rubinstein, Michael Gornick and Donald Rubinstein, plus new commentaries by Travis Crawford and Kat Ellinger. There’s a new feature-length documentary Taste the Blood of Martin and a new interview with composer Donald Rubinstein plus a short film by Tony Buba and much, much more.

In my teenage years I came across a song track by one of my then favourite bands Soft Cell called ‘MARTIN’. ‘MARTIN’ featured on a 12-inch vinyl that came as part of the package with the initial release of their 1983 album THE ART OF FALLING APART. Weighing in at just over ten minutes running time, it was instantly likeable.

With its constant pulsating beat thrusting forward to a satisfying climax it told the tale of a lad who believed that he was a vampire. I had no idea that it was all in reference to writer-director George A. Romero’s fifth feature film of the same name until I came across the film at my local video store. Where Marc Almond and David Ball’s song pumped away in a synth symphony of increasing dramatics, Romero’s film was tonally the opposite, downbeat, grubby and unsettling.

There’s much to like and appreciate with MARTIN however it’s not a film that I would want to revisit for future viewings. It left me cold when I first saw it in my teenage years, and it did the same when viewing it again now. It’s bleak, very bleak, there’s nothing warm or cosy up to here, even Romero’s much lauded zombie movies had some humour to balance out the darker material.

In the same way that Romero took zombies of old and made them his own thing with his ‘Dead’ movies, here he turns the vampire myth on its head filming (yet again) in Pennsylvania, specifically at 215 5th Street, Braddock. Romero wanted the whole film to be in black-and-white, however his producer Richard Rubenstein preferred otherwise so they reached a compromise whereby only Martin’s fantasy/dream sequences were shown in black-and-white, and the rest would in colour.

MARTIN marks the first time that Romero worked with make-up effects artist Tom Savini, who also co-stars. Many of the cast were made up of family and friends, with Romero’s wife Christine Forrest (DAWN OF THE DEAD, CREEPSHOW) getting in on the action and even Romero himself makes an appearance, cameoing as a priest.

Romero’s original cut ran nearly two hours and forty-five minutes, and there is talk of a longer version too, weighing in at three-and-a-half hours. However, it’s theatrical running time of ninety-five minutes was more than enough for me. It’s not that I dislike MARTIN, it’s more that it’s just not my bag. Initially I was interested – watching the lead character indulging his vampiric leanings on a train journey – but once it hits upon the home invasion sequence it sadly becomes one-note and protracted, testing any patience that I may have had up till that point.

Martin Limited Edition 4KUHD/Blu-ray Box set is presented in a rigid slipcase with original classic artwork, complete with a 108-page book with new essays and the original soundtrack CD by Donald Rubinstein. Please see the full details below.

Special Features:

• A Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration of a 35mm dupe negative supervised and approved by Director of Photography Michael Gornick

• 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs both including bonus features

• UHD presented in HDR10+

• Audio commentary by George A Romero, John Amplas and Tom Savini

• Audio commentary by George A Romero, Richard P Rubinstein, Tom Savini, Michael Gornick and Donald Rubinstein

• A new audio commentary by Travis Crawford

• A new audio commentary by Kat Ellinger

• Taste the Blood of Martin: A new feature-length documentary including location tour

• Scoring the Shadows: A new interview with composer Donald Rubinstein

• J Roy – New And Used Furniture: a short film by Tony Buba

• Making Martin: A Recounting

• Trailers, TV and radio spots

Limited Edition Contents:

• Rigid slipcase with original classic artwork

• 108-page book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Miranda Corcoran, Travis Crawford, Heather Drain, Kat Ellinger, Andrew Graves, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Elena Lazic, , Stephen Thrower, Jon Towlson, Simon Ward and Tony Williams plus rare stills and behind-the-scenes images

• Original Soundtrack CD by Donald Rubinstein

• 5 collectors’ art cards illustrated by Adam Stothard