Mark of the Devil (Michael Armstrong, 1969)

[MarcMorris]

aka: Hexen bis aufs Blut Gequält ("Witches Tortured until They Bleed")


Here something some of you may not be aware of - the original ending to Mark of the Devil featured a scene where the dead rise out of the earth and seize Udo Kier as he is hanging.

This original ending would appear to be lost and has not been seen in its entirety on any DVD or video release to date.

Of course there is some debate about how much of the film was directed by Armstrong as Adrian Hoven claims to have directed most of the film.

Mark of the Devil (uncut): amazon.com | amazon.co.uk | play.com

[bigandya]

One of the best films ever made! Fantastic soundtrack and a beautiful story of unrequited love.

Any idea if Mark of the Devil 2 is ever gonna surface on DVD, preferably in English? And what the problems holding it up are?

[MarcMorris]

Nobody has been able to trace the rights owner for part 2.

[Ade]

I seem to remember that the original ending is represented by stills in the extras on the excellent BU DVD.

[MarcMorris]

Yes, indeed it is - I suggested they try to track down the original ending but alas it was not to be found.

[loops]

I remember reading somewhere that there is a Mark of the Devil 3. Is that true?

[MarcMorris]

There is no Mark of the Devil 3.

Fame Home Video, a US video company simply re-titled Juan L. Moctezuma's 1975 Alucarda. It has absolutely no connection with the first two movies.

[loops]

Never been a fan of MotD. But then again i have only seen the cut version.

[MarcMorris]

It's a great film, classic exploitation. - give it another try and avoid the cut Redemption version.

[Ade]

I wasn't that taken with the film on my first viewing. Didn't like the soundtrack and found Udo Kier to be a rather robotic hero. However, the BU disc gave me a new appreciation of the movie - I like the combination of seemingly high production values (the authentic location and attention to period detail) and the grotesque sadism. The reptilian Reg Nalder makes for a particularly intimidating villain too. I even enjoy the admittedly sappy incidental music these days.

Oh, and any fuxing film featuring Gaby Fuchs and Herbert Fux has gotta be worth fuching watching!

[loops]

It's a great film, classic exploitation. - give it another try and avoid the cut Redemption version.

I've had the UK disc for years but never got round to watching it.

[MarcMorris]

The Uk Anchor Bay disc is also cut, but not as much as the old Redemption tape.

[loops]

I might watch it tonight even if the disc is cut. Last time i saw it was about eight years ago.

[Rich]

I got the barebones Dutch disc,which I think is fully uncut.I think it's a good film,have only seen it once though so it's probably due another watch.I remember some years back having the uncut VHS of Mark of the Devil seized and confiscated by Customs after trying to import it from Holland,all I received from the mail order company was the video's cover.So I was always curious about how nasty the film actually was,the fact John Martin wrote an article about it in The Dark Side didn't help matters either.It only made me want to see it even more!

[Timmy Lea]

Nobody has been able to trace the rights owner for part 2.

I still say that a law should be implemebnted stating that all rights owners have a maximum of five years from a certain date in which to stake their claim to their property, otherwise the films concerned automatically revert to public domain. That would put the cat among the pigeons, and, I suspect, up the productivity quota somewhat.

I love MARK OF THE DEVIL, and it does have the best opening theme tune of any horror film. An old colleague of mine, who was supposed to understand exploitation cinema, said he found it 'reprehensible' and 'misogynistic'- he was often prone to spouting leftie tosh such as this, which is one of the reasons I eventually stopped talking to him. He didn't care much for WITCHFINDER GENERAL either. Perhaps he was a secret occultist in his spare time?

Either way, it's probably the most realistic documentation of the horrors of denominational persecution ever ciommitted to celluloid. Yes, it could be deemed exploitative, but we're dealing with the exploitation and usury of human beings, so it's supposed to be- the more graphic the better in this case. And it's not like men get off lightly either!!

There's no point dressing it up when we know what actually happened. As viewing goes, it definitely doesn't sit comfortably alongside HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR or ADVENTURES OF A PLUMBER'S MATE- so Hoven's claims may have a ring of truth to them.

On a lighter and more amusing note, I see that whereas the title of the first film's literal translation is WITCHES TORTURED UNTIL THEY BLEED, the sequel's is WITCHES VIOLATED AND TORTURED TO DEATH. One can only wonder what the third ould have been: WITCHES REPEATEDLY JUMPED UP AND DOWN ON UNTIL THEY EXPLODE INTO TINY BITS, maybe?

Let's see how long a running joke we can get out of this....

[loops]

I watched it last night and although it was the cut uk disc, i really enjoyed it. Great acting and superb music. And a nice little interview with Armstrong courtesy of a certain Mr Morris.

[MarcMorris]

You know, I forgot all about that - that interview was the very first Nucleus produced extra. That's where the original missing ending was first mentioned.

[loops]

Bet it brings tears to your eyes It is a good interview, Armstrong seems like a jolly person.

[MarcMorris]

The original pre-cert UK video release on the Intervision label was uncut too.

[ecc]

There is no Mark of the Devil 3.

Fame Home Video, a US video company simply re-titled Juan L. Moctezuma's 1975 Alucarda. It has absolutely no connection with the first two movies.

MARK OF THE DEVIL 4 is a video retitling of HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB.

As viewing goes, it definitely doesn't sit comfortably alongside HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR or ADVENTURES OF A PLUMBER'S MATE- so Hoven's claims may have a ring of truth to them.

According to Armstrong's commentary on HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR, he encountered a great deal of interference from AIP on that one even before AIP's US version HORROR HOUSE was created so even the UK version doesn't represent Armstrong's intentions (from what he described of the original script, it sounds like one that might make a decent remake without studio interference).