The 1949 costume drama Black Magic (Cagliostro) starring Orson Welles will make its Blu-ray debut on October 26.
We reached out to ClassicFlix regarding the materials used for the release and were told that while they didn’t have a hand in scanning the film, they judge from the master that “it is likely from a mixture of elements.”
“At the very least it came from dupe negative with some sections looking so sharp and with great depth that they could be from the camera negative. And while there are some sections that have some damage that cannot be fully repaired, for the most part the presentation is quite stunning.”
Ordering details can be found online at classicflix.com
In Black Magic, Welles stars as Joseph Balsamo, a poor French gypsy with a tragic past and is taken under the wing of Dr. Mesmer (Charles Goldner). Mesmer teaches Balsamo the secrets of hypnosis. While Balsamo promises he will use the skill only to help others, he instead uses hypnosis to steal money and forge himself a powerful reputation. Using his newfound power, Balsamo plots to replace French queen Marie Antoinette (Nancy Guild) with a young woman.
Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel Joseph Balsamo, the movie was directed by Gregory Ratoff, a filmmaker Welles had referred as “a great friend, and more fun to work with than anybody I know.”
Welles reportedly had a hand in directing some scenes in Black Magic, which was filmed in Italy between October 1947 and January 1948.
The film marked the first time Welles worked with Akim Tamiroff. The Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee would go on to appear in four Welles-directed projects — Don Quixote, Mr. Arkadin, Touch of Evil and The Trial.
This is not ClassFlix’s first Welles-related title. The label released Tomorrow is Forever on DVD and Blu-ray four years ago.
(Thanks to James Marx for the heads up on this upcoming release.)
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