Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Blu-Ray 30th Anniversary Edition, download for free

Apr22

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Blu-Ray 30th Anniversary Edition

by movieworld on April 22nd, 2017 at 13:17

Posted In: .Other movies, Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller

"He's not Freddy. He's not Jason. He's real." Henry could be the chap walking on the other side of the road from you. He could be your neighbour or a work colleague. This guy isn't a rampaging zombie or haunter of nightmares, he's an everyday Joe with an especially anti-social hobby, and he could well be in your neighbourhood - right now...

Henry is an ex-con who served time for savagely slaughtering his abusive mother. He shares a run-down Chicago apartment with a fellow ex-con, Ottis, and his sister Becky. Henry was released from jail a few months before Ottis and filled his spare time by killing people. No real motive for this, it's just what he does - prowling the city, selecting his victims at random and killing without remorse. Ottis soon falls under Henry's spell and begins to assist Henry in his acts of destruction. If Henry is cold and calculating as a killer, then Otis is the opposite – deranged, messy and unorganised, a closet necrophiliac and homosexual who harbours incestuous feelings for his sister. Becky, oblivious to the pair's criminal activities, falls in love with Henry. As soon as these three characters are thrown together you know that it's all going to end badly and, sure enough, the violence comes closer to home before the film reaches an especially downbeat finale.

Director John McNaughton's supremely disturbing "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is thirty years old, and MPI Media, which funded the production, is celebrating this grim anniversary with a new Blu-ray featuring restored audio and video supervised and approved by McNaughton and producer Steve A. Jones.

Director: John McNaughton
Cast: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles
Country: USA
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller

BD50 | 1080p AVC | 01:22:19 | 46.1 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:

• Commentary by Director John McNaughton
McNaughton is joined on this feature-length track by documentarian David Gregory, who steers the conversation with thoughtful questions pertaining to thematic material and the film's production. McNaughton is candid and talkative, and the interview format of the commentary means there's never a dull moment.

• In Defense of Henry: An Appreciation (1080p; 20:43)
This new featurette addresses Henry's themes, its distinctive mix of genres and its cinematic legacy. The participants are director Joe Swanberg, film critic Kim Morgan, film professor Jeffrey Sconce, exploitation expert Joe Bob Briggs and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, an early champion of Henry who was responsible for its inclusion on the roster at Telluride.

• Henry vs. MPAA: A Visual History (1080p; 10:52)
This short provides a brief overview of the history of both the old Production Code and the current ratings system, as well as an account of Henry's trials with the MPAA. (The film was ultimately released unrated.)

• Henry at the BBFC: An Interview with NIGHTMARE USA Author Stephen Thrower (1080p; 27:25)
Henry has a long and tortuous history with the British ratings board, which Thrower recounts in detail.

• It's Either You or Them: An Interview with Artist Joe Coleman (1080p; 8:43)
Coleman created a memorable one-sheet for Henry. Here, he describes his first encounter and subsequent history with the film.

• In the Round: A Conversation with John McNaughton (1080p; 28:05)
In this new interview, the director covers a wide range of subjects, including his background and life before Henry and how they influenced his approach to the material. The interviewer is Spencer Parsons.

• Portrait: The Making of Henry (480i; 52:34)
Through interviews with director John McNaughton, co-writer Richard Fire, co-producer Steven Jones, and all the principal actors, this documentary paints a portrait of what it was like to work on Henry, from the early inspirations for the film to the film's battle with the MPAA. While there's a degree of overlap with McNaughton's commentary track, fans will appreciate the perspective of the other cast and crew members.

• Deleted Scenes and Outtakes (480i; 21:25)
Since the original sound elements are missing, director John McNaughton provides commentary for these twenty-odd minutes of deleted scenes, most notably including an awkward and rightfully excised physical exchange between Henry and Otis.

• Interview with John McNaughton, 1998 (480i; 30:44)
Most of the material covered here is dealt with more completely and dynamically in the "making of" documentary and McNaughton's own commentary track. There's some interesting stuff here for trivia-heads, but as a whole the interview is fairly dull.

• Original Trailer (1080p; 1:53).

• 30th Anniversary Trailer (1080p; 1:46).

• Still Gallery (1080p)
Contains 34 stills, promo pieces, and one-sheets.

• Original Storyboards (1080p)
Includes about 80 drawings. Like the Still Gallery, this is user-controlled.