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                       The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
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STARS...........: Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg
DIRECTOR........: Ken Russell
WRITERS.........: Ken Russell
GENRE...........: Comedy, Horror
IMDB............: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095488
RUNTIME.........: 1h 33mn
SIZE............: 4.21 GB
VIDEO CODEC.....: HEVC (Main10@L4)
BITRATE.........: 6000 Kbps (2-pass)
RESOLUTION......: 1920x1080
ASPECT RATIO....: 1.78:1
FRAMERATE.......: 23.976 fps
AUDIO1..........: English AAC 2.0 265kbps
AUDIO2..........: Commentary with Director Ken Russell
AUDIO2..........: Commentary with Lisi Russell and film historian Matthew Melia
SUBTITLES.......: ENG
SOURCE..........: Blu-ray
ENCODE DATE.....: 2020-12-13


Ken Russell's Lair of the White Worm uses Dracula author Bram Stoker's final novel as the basic springboard into a surreal and dark-humored tale concerning a bizarre cult and a series of sacrificial murders in honor of an ancient pagan god. When archeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaladi) discovers the mysterious scull of an undiscovered beast, further investigation reveals a bizarre myth concerning a medieval knight slaying a fearsome dragon. Soon making the acquaintance of Lord James D'Ampton (Hugh Grant), the conquering knight's descendant, Flint begins to learn of local lore surrounding the creature and soon discovers that, throughout the years, many unexplained disappearances have haunted the local populace. With all trails leading back to the elegant mansion of mysterious recluse Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), Lord D'Ampton makes Marsh's acquaintance amidst growing speculation that the strangely seductive siren may have something to do with a rash of recent disappearances. As Flint and D'Ampton's stories begin to strangely intersect, a surreal and horrific journey into the lair of an ancient god may hold they key to an age-old mystery.

I don't really recommend this unless you're a Ken Russell afficionado, as it's all rather silly. However, if you want to see Amanda Donohoe at her vampiest and an early Hugh Grant performance, give it a spin. Ken's commentary is also worth a listen.


Extras

• Worm Food: The Effects of The Lair of the White Worm - Features great interviews with SFX artists Geoffrey Portass, Neil Gorton and Paul Jones.

• Cutting for Ken - An interview with editor Peter Davies, one that's kind of interesting when one considers Russell states in his commentary that he doesn't really need an editor since he edits in his head before he even shoots.

• Trailers from Hell - Featuring Producer Dan Ireland

• Mary, Mary: An Interview with Actress Sammi Davis - This interview has some fun reminscences of the shoot.

• Theatrical Trailer

• Still Gallery

• Audio Commentary with Director Ken Russell - Often hilarious, with biting self deprecation but a nonstop defense of the film's more hyperbolic elements.

• Audio Commentary with Lisi Russell - In Conversation with Film Historian Matthew Melia is considerably more restrained than the Ken Russell commentary, but provides a lot of biographical and production data