88 Films to Launch 88 Italian Line

I got my confirmation email, too. Talk about $65 well spent. This turned out to be a great deal.

 

I got my Anthropophagous disc today, and it looks amazing!
88 Films are usually not the best at color correcting their own transfers, but here, they did a superb job, and it almost feels like it's the first time I've seen the movie in color

Huge leap above the older Blu-Ray. No DNR or scanner noise, just a healthy dose of 16mm grain.
There is a little bit of damage on the negative, resulting in some fluctuation in the colors in a couple of spots, but overall, it's top notch.

This is probably the last time I need to upgrade the movie, since I doubt it can look any better than this

 

So excited for this. Probably still a ways away because of shipping, but we'll see.

 

Mondo Digital reviews the second 88 Films release of Anthropophagus: http://mondo-digital.com/anthrop.html

 

Very happy to hear that the new Anthropohagus disc seems to be the best version of the film by far up to date. The guys at 88 appear to have taken criticism seriously - hopefully they will keep improving their Blu-rays going forward. Now, what am I gonna do with that last Blu-ray with the awesome slip? lol

 

DVD Beaver reviews Slaughter Hotel (a.k.a. Cold Blooded Beast): http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_64/slaughter_hotel_blu-ray.htm

 

I already have the original Blu-ray of Anthropophagous by 88 Films and was quite pleased with that, to be honest, but this looks to be a better release. I personally think it's a shitty move to first sell a product and then not much later on release a second version (in this case even locked behind a Kickstarter perk) that's better, leaving behind those who bought the first release with a feeling they have an inferior release. This new release should have been their initial one! Sure as hell am not going to buy it again (i barely managed to sell off the old Shriek Show DVD). A very worrying trend this, from now on I'm going to be a bit more critical of their releases and be reading more reviews and impressions...

 

I understand what you are saying but 88 isn't the only company doing this. Arrow has done this with Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Phenomena, and Deep Red (just off the top of my head) and I would imagine virtually everyone here agrees that they are a stellar company. Also with titles coming out from multiple companies you could play the waiting game forever to get the "best" release. I've purchased Deep Red, Dr. Butcher, The Thing, Burial Ground, Phenomena, etc 3 times already on blu-ray and a great deal of other titles at least twice. 88 Films released Slaughter Hotel which I already own on blu-ray but I'll be picking up their release as well. Guess what I'm saying is we should all be very greatful that some of these low budget older films that we love are getting released on this format to begin with.

 

The difference with Arrow is that it was a much bigger gap between their re-releases which I think is what hellraiser40 is getting at.

 

They didn't have any access to the original negatives, when they did the original release, and had to use what was handed to them. They found the negatives, when they searched for the for the other movies is the campaign.

I'm glad that they rescued the negatives, and made a new transfer.

 

Arrow did the same with Tenebrae. They released the original shitty scanner noise release in 2011, and then re-released it two years later, with a much improved transfer.

The original Anthropophagous disc came out in 2015, and now two years later, the new version came out.

 

There you go. I thought Anthro was much more recent then that. My bad!

 

I understand your frustration, but, with rare exceptions, I think we have to accept this as part of genre movie collecting more than a usurious business practice. This community tends to celebrate films that have ZERO mass appeal, with Anthropophagus serving as a perfect example. Since a film like that has extremely limited commercial appeal, only a boutique label would touch it with a 50-foot pole. That means limited production capital, which isn't the ideal situation for undertaking a very complicated and difficult task.

Contrary to what most people seem to believe, the stars have to align to produce a perfect release. First they have to find acceptable elements--a grueling and time-consuming process. They eventually have to go with the best they have, with no guarantee that better elements won't turn up 6 months down the line. Then there's the small matter of scanning, which can introduce a myriad of problems that are expensive to fix. Smaller companies are especially vulnerable to these types of issues due to the need to outsource every aspect of a restoration project, likely to cheaper, less accomplished studios. Then there's color correction, which ideally should be based on extensive research of the original color-corrected interpositive elements. If all of that goes well, encoding issues can still scuttle the whole endeavor.

I'm not making excuses for anyone--and too many companies don't take the proper measures to ensure quality control. At the end of the day, I want the best-possible versions of the films that I collect. In the real world, that means a lot more double-dipping than I like.

 

DVD Beaver reviews Perfume of the Lady in Black: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_71/the_perfume_of_the_lady_in_black_blu-ray.htm

DVD Beaver reviews The Long Hair of Death: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_64/the_long_hair_of_death_blu-ray.htm

DVD Beaver reviews Body Puzzle: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_77/body_puzzle_blu-ray.htm

 

DVD Beaver reviews 2019 - After the Fall of New York: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_77/2019_after_the_fall_of_new_york_blu-ray.htm

DVD Beaver reviews Touch of Death: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_77/touch_of_death_blu-ray.htm

Mondo Digital reviews The Perfume of the Lady in Black: http://mondo-digital.com/perfumeblack.html

 

Got my Anthropophagous disc today, looking forward to giving it a spin, the slipcase is interesting it's got an unusual finish, almost like a material feel!

 

Mondo Digital reviews Touch of Death: http://mondo-digital.com/touchdeath.html

 

Everyone receive their Anthro discs yet? Still nothing for me.

 

Same here, Angelman.

 

I haven't received mine either. Also no email saying it was shipped.