4K UHD Review – The Keep

Michael Mann pulled himself out of a career in television, transitioning to features in the early 1980s. His first release was 1981's "Thief," helping to define his major cinematic style, but the effort did minor business. Undaunted by the career setback, Mann goes incredibly ambitious in his follow-up, 1983's "The Keep," which trades the intimacy of crime for a period horror offering loaded with characters and motivations, also slipping into a special effects show. There's an extensive production history behind the endeavor, as Paramount eventually took the film out of Mann's hands, whittling the effort down from its original 210-minute-long intent to just 96 minutes, effectively destroying whatever vision was initially in place. The storytelling damage is obvious, and manages to hurt the viewing experience. However, while a mess, "The Keep" remains intensely atmospheric, always prepared to supply striking imagery and synth support from a score by Tangerine Dream. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com