Keep, The (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
• Review Date: Jan 20, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Michael Mann

Release Date(s)

1983 (January 28, 2025)

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures (Vinegar Syndrome)

• Film/Program Grade: C+
• Video Grade: A-
• Audio Grade: B-
• Extras Grade: B

Review

In the annals of cinematic history, there have been many prominent films that have become lost to time for one reason or another. These can be divided roughly into three different categories. The first consists of films that have simply vanished without a trace, in many cases because the original nitrate negatives are now gone with the wind, and no extant prints have ever been located. That’s especially true of many silent films like Todd Browning’s London After Midnight, but in a cruel twist of fate, the advent of digital storage technology has proven to be just as ephemeral. Completed films like Coyote vs. Acme are at risk of being erased at the touch of a button thanks to short-sighted executives who have decided that as content providers, it’s more profitable not to release content and just take a tax write-down instead.

The second category is related to the first. It consists of mutilated films like Erich von Stroheim’s Greed and Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, where the original director’s cuts were slashed down and the deleted footage was discarded and destroyed. While hope springs eternal that the missing material may eventually be discovered somewhere in a hidden vault, that’s rather unlikely at this late stage of the game. Just like with London After Midnight, many other silent films, and even a few early talkies, what’s been lost to the editorial process may never be found again.

Yet there’s a third category of lost films where there’s no hope whatsoever that they’ll ever see the light of day. That’s because they were never completed properly in the first place, either due to unforeseen circumstances, muddled intentions, or studio interference. These films often end up being released in one form or another, but not the way that the filmmakers originally intended. Fans may dream of restored director’s cut, but that’s simply not possible because so many compromises were made during the original production that none of the existing footage could ever be reassembled into anything even remotely resembling the filmmaker’s original vision. The only way to create a new director’s cut would be to build a time machine and just shoot the whole damned thing over again. Such is the case with Michael Mann’s troubled 1983 adaptation of F. Paul Wilson’s novel The Keep.

Actually, “troubled” is putting it mildly—The Keep had multiple issues from conception to post-production, some of which can be laid at the feet of nervous Paramount executives, but much of it began with Mann himself. His rough cut ran over three hours, but he was contractually obligated to deliver a two-hour cut, and bad test screenings meant that Paramount decided to hack it down further to just 96 minutes before dumping the film into theatres with little fanfare. Yet in this case, it’s not a simple matter of a studio interfering with a director’s final cut. The issues started well before that point, and while Mann is known for his attention to detail, he’s also known for changing his mind, and he never really seemed to have a clear vision of his own for The Keep. Part of that is due to Wilson’s source material, which simply wasn’t in Mann’s bailiwick. He’s a master visual stylist, but his visuals are usually driven by stories that interest him deeply, and The Keep has none of the elements that he has returned to throughout his career.

What did interest him about The Keep was the way that he felt that it expressed the dramatic power of dreams—which doesn’t seem to be what Wilson intended, so that wasn’t the best way to start. Mann has toyed with dream states in films like Manhunter, but that was in service of the Thomas Harris story. In the case of The Keep, Wilson seems to have meant for his supernatural story to be taken on a more literal level. Yet Mann did preserve the basic structure of the novel, although the editorial process (and other factors) left most of it bafflingly incomprehensible. It’s a tale of good vs. evil set in the Carpathian mountains during the early days of World War II, with German soldiers and SS officers encountering an even greater evil than their own while they hole up in an ancient castle keep. Yet unbeknownst to them, this ancient evil is being pursued by his immortal foe, with everyone else being caught in the middle.

Mann assembled a memorable cast for The Keep that included Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McKellen, and William Morgan Sheppard (although many of them appear a bit lost in the film, with even the usually reliable McKellan over-emoting to off-Broadway levels). Mann took no chances with his crew, either, bringing on board cinematographer Alex Thompson, production designer John Box, visual effects supervisor Wally Veevers, Tangerine Dream, and many other talented artists. The pieces were all in place for The Keep, but it all started to unravel quickly. Mann’s indecisiveness meant that designs were changed repeatedly on the fly, and worse, Veevers died shortly after post-production began, leaving no clear road map for anyone else to continue his work. That caused editorial issues long before Paramount insisted that everything get stripped to the bone.

As a result of all these problems and more, there are major gaps in the story, especially during the first act. After the initial attack by the demonic Molasar, the rest of his growing influence over the keep is handled not just elliptically, but downright choppily. Molasar’s nemesis Glaeken is a complete enigma, and while being enigmatic isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in this case it ends up diluting the central conflict of Wilson’s story. While restoring some of the lost footage might help clarify a few details, it still can’t solve all of the problems that were inherent to the production of The Keep. Once again, while there could be a longer cut, it could never be a true director’s cut. Mann never shot one in the first place. Any longer cut would be a compromised version of a compromised version.

And yet...

However much of a mess that the final cut of The Keep may be, there’s a good reason why it’s continued to hold fans in its spell for the last four decades. Setting aside the choppy editing and narrative ellipses, The Keep is filled with some undeniably powerful visuals. While Molasar’s ultimate form is an obvious man in a rubber suit, his very effective first appearance in a swirling cloud of smoke is vaguely reminiscent of the distant smoky appearances of the monster that producer Hal Chester added to Curse of the Demon over director Jacques Tourneur’s objections (and if only the final Molasar was anywhere near as memorable as Chester’s demon!) And perhaps counterintuitively, the fact that the story makes no sense makes perfect sense if you interpret it as being the dream state that Mann originally envisioned. Most filmmakers interpret dream worlds as being visually distorted, but that’s not really how most dreams work. Instead, they’re temporally distorted, jumping from point A to point B without necessarily having a clear path between them. There’s no real continuity to dreams, so viewed from that perspective, the lack of continuity in The Keep could be seen as a feature, not a bug. It’s still a mess, but that messiness may well be part of its appeal.

Cinematographer Alex Thompson shot The Keep on 35mm film using Arriflex cameras with anamorphic Cooke lenses, framed at 2.35:1 for its theatrical release. This version is based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, digitally cleaned up and graded for High Dynamic Range in both Dolby Vision and HDR10. The optically printed opening title sequence was derived from dupe elements instead, and there’s some dirt, speckling, and scratches visible that were inherent to the original optical work, so it’s been left alone here. Any optical work during the rest of the film shares the same minor issues, although there are a few shots here and there that don’t have any obvious opticals in them but still look like dupe footage. With that out of the way, the only damage visible in the camera negative material consists of a few fleeting light scratches. It’s not the sharpest and most detailed 4K presentation, given the lenses and stocks that were involved (to say nothing of an abundance of smoke and other diffusion effects),but it’s a revelation compared to the previous DVD and LaserDisc versions.

The HDR grade excels with bright highlights like the blinding glow of the mystical energies, and the colors are generally excellent, although the flesh tones do push a bit too far into the Vinegar Syndrome’s characteristic reddish hues—it’s definitely the HDR grade, too, because the Blu-ray version doesn’t have the same intensity. That said, the opening sequence of the German trucks arriving at the keep looks truly beautiful in this version, with the subtle variant greens of the grass looking much more natural. The reds get really aggressive during the sex scene between Glaeken and Eva, but that’s more of a stylistic choice. Once again, any minor flaws pale in comparison to the vast improvements over previous home video versions of The Keep.

Audio is offered in English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English SDH subtitles. The Keep was released theatrically in Dolby Stereo, and this is the original four-channel mix matrix encoded into two. That’s for good and for ill, because the theatrical mix was hastily produced, and as Vinegar Syndrome notes in an opening title card, “certain mix-related issues are inherent in the source and cannot be improved.” There’s a slightly harsh edge to most of the dialogue and it doesn’t always decode cleanly to the center channel—the dialogue turns almost incomprehensible during the scene where Dr. Cuza first meets Molasar. There’s noticeable distortion on the peaks, too. That said, there are definitely encoded surrounds present, including panning effects like when the spirit forces pan out of the surrounds and into the front soundstage. Sound effects like thunder are also steered into the surrounds. It’s a reasonably immersive mix for 1983, with a fabulous score by Tangerine Dream, so it’s a shame that the source issues keep getting in the way. This is one case where a remix from the original stems would have been lovely, but they probably don’t even exist at this point.

The Vinegar Syndrome 4K Ultra HD release of The Keep is a two-disc set that includes a Blu-ray with a 1080p copy of the film. The insert is reversible, featuring new artwork by Edward Kinsella on one side and the original theatrical poster artwork on the other. There was also a Limited Edition deluxe magnet clasp box/slipcover combo designed by Kinsella that was available directly from Vinegar Syndrome, but it was limited to 12,000 units, and those sold out posthaste. That version also offered a 44-page booklet featuring essays by Bilge Ebiri and Caroline Golum, plus a reprint of 1983 Film Comment interview with Mann that was conducted by Harlan Kennedy. Either way, the disc-based content is identical, and the following new extras are included:

DISC ONE: UHD

• Audio Commentary with Matthew Asprey Gear

DISC TWO: BD

• Audio Commentary with Matthew Asprey Gear
• Out of the Darkness (HD – 6:58)
• Something Is Murdering My Men (HD – 24:01)
• What He Left Unfinished (HD – 5:55)
• An Evil Most Ancient (HD – 24:35)
• Other Sounds for Other Worlds (HD – 11:13)
• I, Molasar (HD – 25:20)
• Still Gallery (HD – 1:06)
• Original Trailer (HD – 2:17)
• TV Spot (Upscaled SD – :36)

Matthew Asprey Gear is an author, teacher, critic, and lecturer who offers online courses on subjects like Traditions of the Fantastic in Cinema. He wastes no time delving into the compromises that were made during the original production, pointing out that the final results aren’t entirely an accurate representation of Mann’s intentions. Gear contrasts Mann’s stated goals from his 1983 Film Comment interview with the design of Wilson’s novel, noting that Mann was much less interested in the supernatural detail from the book and more concerned with the dreamlike atmosphere. He also compares elements from Mann’s script to how they were changed in the final film. Needless to say, Gear also provides biographical information about the cast and crew, and tells many stories about the troubled production. He’s a little laid back and he lapses into silence occasionally, but this is still worth a listen if you’re patient.

Aside from the Still Gallery, Trailer, and TV Spot, the rest of the extras consist of new interviews that were produced by Elijah Drenner. Out of the Darkness is with producer Gene Kirkwood, who offers a brief overview of the production from his own perspective. Something Is Murdering My Men is with F. Paul Wilson, who takes a step back to discuss his background and his influences (interestingly enough, he says that Robert Ludlum was more of an influence on The Keep than anyone else). Wilson also discusses the nature of his story and how it was changed for the film—he ultimately declares that “it is what it is.” What He Left Unfinished is with visual effects producer Peter Kuran, who explains the challenges of trying to complete the effects after Wally Veevers died. An Evil Most Ancient is with makeup effects designer Nick Maley, who talks about the evolving designs for Molasar and why they ultimately ended up with a man in a suit. Other Sounds for Other Worlds is with former Tangerine Dream keyboardist Johannes Schmoelling, who talks about having to rework their score repeatedly during the editorial process. Finally, I, Molasar is with actor Michael Carter, who was the aforementioned man in the suit (and yes, it is his own voice on the soundtrack).

So, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: no, none of extra footage from any of the television versions (or other extended versions) has been included here, including the film’s unused coda, because the rights couldn’t be cleared. There isn’t a director’s cut and there never can be one, but a collection of unused footage would have been a wonderful addition to this package. For whatever legal reasons, that just wasn’t to be in this case. There are a few tantalizing glimpses of some of the lost footage in the trailer, but that’s about it. The only other thing that would have been a nice inclusion is the vintage 1983 episode of The Electric Theatre Show that featured an interview with Mann and some behind-the-scenes footage from the set. It’s the closest thing to a making-of documentary that’s ever been produced for The Keep, but it may also be an issue for rights clearances. In any event, the important thing is that we now have The Keep not only in HD, but in UHD to boot. All other considerations are secondary. Vinegar Syndrome’s Limited Edition may have sold out, but the standard version is still available (and hey, there’s always the sharks on eBay if you really, really want the box and the booklet). It’s not going to convince anyone who isn’t already a grudging fan, but there’s no getting around the fact that The Keep has never looked better.

-Stephen Bjork

(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).