I'm pleased and flattered by the warm critical reception that my visual essay, "What the Devil Hath Joined Together", from Arrow Video's Blu-Ray of Brian De Palma's SISTERS, has been receiving. Here are some of the notices:
I was delighted to be name-checked and to get some praise from my favorite British paper, The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jun/22/sisters-review-philip-french-brian-de-palma-hitchcock
“Arrow stack the disc with plenty of new extras. 'What the Devil Hath Joined Together: Brian De Palma's Sisters' is a magnificent 47-minute visual essay by author Justin Humphreys (Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget.) It covers a lot and is almost as complete as a full commentary.”
- DVDBeaver.com
“Next up are a pair of video essays by film critics Justin Humphreys (on the production, references, and influence of Sisters) and Mike Sutton (on De Palma's career as a whole). Running 50 minutes and 30 minutes respectively, that sounds like it might be a slog, but both are incredibly informed, detailed, and entertaining pieces that fill in plenty of gaps about the making of the film and De Palma's career.”
- Fangoria.com
“Arrow has also provided a nice collection of extras that include an excellent documentary `What the Devil Hath Joined Together: Brian De Palma's Sisters' - A visual essay by author Justin Humphreys.”
- Cinemaretro.com
“Content wise, `What the Devil Hath Joined Together: Brian De Palma's Sisters' is a detailed account of the `making of' Sisters and an insightful analysis of the film.”
- 10KBullets.com
“Two thumping great video essays (voice-over plus stills and some movie clips) make up the meat of the extras. Justin Humphreys's What the Devil Hath Joined Together is an exhaustive 46-minute look at Sisters, exploring its themes, leitmotifs, casting and Hitchcockian ingredients.”
- TheLeastPictureShow.wordpress.com (Julian White)
“As always, Arrow contextualise the film exceedingly well, although compared to previous releases some of the wonderful interviews feel cut short, for whatever reason that might be. We get two excellent video essays voiced by critics Justin Humphreys on Sisters and Mike Sutton on DePalma's career, five interviews with actress Jennifer Salt, writer Louisa Rose, editor Paul Hirsch, unit manager Jeffrey Hayes, and actor William Finley (via an audio-only interview), a trailer and promotional material gallery. . . The visual essays prove to be almost as good as a commentary. . . with excellent points made by both Humphreys and Sutton.”
- TheDarkSideMagazine.com
“Another improvement over the Criterion DVD is the special features, which were only text based in the former edition. Arrow has actually put together some great new material here, starting with a rather lengthy visual essay by Justin Humpheys entitled What the Devil Has Joined Together. This 47-minute piece covers the film's production history in rather extensive detail while also going over the various influences that made their way into the film. He also covers the development of De Palma's visual language, as displayed throughout the film, focusing on the editing and various visual tricks, including the use of the split screen. He examines some of De Palma's work from around that time, including Greetings and Hi, Mom , and talks at length about the performers he worked with during this period. He also of course examines the film's music, and then even points out the many technical mistakes (most of which are related to the film's low budget.) Taking the place of a commentary I found it a rather thorough and illuminating examination of the film and De Palma's early career.”
- CriterionForum.org
"This Arrow release gives Sisters the respect it deserves, with strong supplemental features – a lengthy video essay the clear highlight."
- Totalfilm.com
"A fantastic watch. Very well-done by Justin Humphreys."
- Razorwire Reviews
“The extras, listed in full below are excellent, with Justin Humphreys’s efficiently comprehensive 47-minute visual essay being the standout.”
- Frightfest.co.uk
