A Bucket of Blood appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though watchable, the image seemed spotty.
The biggest issue stemmed from too much grain reduction and processing. Though some shots looked fairly “untampered with”, too many looked a bit soft and flat.
Initially I thought perhaps this stemmed from the source. However, as I’ll discuss in more detail later, the disc provides an unrestored 16mm print of the film.
While that one comes with many issues, it shows superior delineation. That meant the iffier delineation of the main presentation clearly stemmed from the overuse of noise removal.
No issues with jaggies or shimmering manifested, and edge haloes failed to appear. As implied, grain varied.
Some shots brought decent grain whereas others seemed “scrubbed”, and grain could seem frozen at times as well. Print flaws didn’t become a factor.
Oddly, while blacks felt somewhat crushed, the movie often came across as too bright, another contrast – no pun intended – with the unrestored 16mm version, as it displayed better balance. Though the scan came with some positives, the end result showed too many issues.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, it felt dated but decent. Music lacked much range but also didn’t come with obvious problems.
Dialogue appeared thin but intelligible, while effects seemed tinny. Nothing about the audio impressed but the mix seemed adequate given the movie’s age and origins.
How did this Film Masters version compare to the release from Gemini? The FM disc used DTS-HD MA mono instead of LPCM and sounded a bit clearer and without pops.
In terms of visuals, the FM disc offered a cleaner image that lost the prior release’s specks/marks. Otherwise the two seemed similar, as both showed iffy sharpness and some issues with brightness and blacks. The Film Masters Blu-ray suffered from problems but at least it brought an upgrade over the previous disc.
The Film Masters Bucket brings new extras and we open with a 2026 audio commentary from film historian Tom Weaver.
During his running, screen-specific chat, Weaver also incorporates soundbites from director Roger Corman, screenwriter Charles B. Griffith, filmmaker Joe Dante, and actors Antony Carbone and Judy Bamber. We find some archival elements as well.
Weaver covers cast and crew, production notes, and various other thoughts about the film. This doesn’t become one of Weaver’s best commentaries but he nonetheless covers the film’s short running time fairly well.
The Blu-ray’s case states that the disc includes Bucket in both 1.85:1 and 1.33:1 ratios. That implies both got the same restoration, but instead, the 1.33:1 version comes from the unrestored 16mm print to which I alluded in my discussion of picture quality.
Like I mentioned, the 16mm print came with better delineation than the “main feature”, almost certainly because it suffered zero noise reduction or tampering, and it also showed better balanced contrast. On the other hand, it displayed oodles of print flaws and those made it tough to watch.
Neither presentation really satisfied. Mushy delineation and overly bright vibe aside, the absence of relentless source flaws made the “restored” image the marginal “winner”.
Note than the 1.33:1 aspect ratio cropped nothing from the sides of the 1.85:1 frame. Instead, it brought an “open matte” affair that revealed more information on the top and bottom.
Trailers from Hell goes for one minute, 53 seconds as filmmaker Allan Arkush gives us a brief discussion of the film while we watch a promo for the flick. Arkush gives us a few good insights but the brevity of the piece limits its usefulness.
The disc finishes with a “re-imagined” 2026 trailer for Bucket and a musical recording of a song entitled “Bucket of Blood” by Bill Anson as he sings in an imitation of Peter Lorre that actually sounds a lot like a comedic take on Bob Dylan. We also find the tune during the audio commentary but it’s good to get it solo as well so we don’t need to dig through Weaver’s chat to find it.
The package includes a booklet with essays from Weaver. It offers a good bonus.
A surprisingly lively look at an aspiring artist who resorts to murderous methods, A Bucket of Blood works pretty well. The movie melds genres in a positive way and enjoys a strong lead performance from Dick Miller. The Blu-ray comes with mediocre picture and audio as well as a mix of supplements. Roger Corman flicks tend to be spotty but this one turns into a winner.
Note that this version of Bucket comes as part of a two-pack with Dementia 13.
