Thru Bloodshot Eyes: It had to happen eventually: Australia looks set to join the rest of the world in the slow trickle of Hammer Films being released on Blu-ray come September. Domestic distributor Shock Entertainment, under the sub-banner of their MGM catalogue, has announced a release of Roy Ward Baker’s cult classic vampire opus The Vampire Lovers (1970) into the High Definition arena on 31/08/11. Advance confirmed materials for the release include: Audio commentary with director Roy Ward Baker, writer Tudor Gates and star Ingrid Pitt Excerpts from J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” read by Ingrid Pitt Original theatrical trailer However, no word at this point in time if the disc will be either authored from the HD master used for MGM’s US DVD release or feature lossless audio. Region-coding also remains unconfirmed.
Wow, that really puts me in a bind. On the one hand that seems to indicate that MGM may have it on the "honey do" list but we all know how long it takes to get those done. On the other hand this is a personal favorite of mine and I know I'd watch it repeatedly. Of all the Hammer titles out there this is the one that I might jump on an import for. Damn. Shock put out a DVD of it in 2008. Might be the same transfer. Might not. Has this been on MGMHD, MonsterHD, etc?
This is a day one buy for me if it's region free. I'm still waiting for Synapse to release Twins of Evil and Hands of the Ripper. I also would have expected Countess Dracula to be released along with this, but since there are only three Hammer blu-rays in the world, beggars can't be choosers.
I would have to say the 4:3 aspect ratio stating is wrong. No way they're gonna release this full screen.
Another discrepancy is the trade ad indicates that the run time is 87 minutes. The U.S. MGM double feature DVD with Countess Dracula is 91 minutes. Could this be an error (such as the 4:3 aspect ratio), or is it an edited version?
Definitely not a day of release buy for me. Apsect ratio is 4:3? Time length is only 87 minutes? Region B locked? For an official press release these are some pretty big problems, and considering the probable cost of importing this disc I'm going to want to see some reviews first.
The guy who's site I got this news from told me he can't get anymore clarification on the specs (i.e. running time and aspect ratio). They no longer will answer any more of his queries.
Maybe the frames per second that will be used for the Blu-Ray will have something to do with the time differences.
That isn't supposed to happen with blu-ray because blu-ray isn't PAL or NTSC. That would only happen if the blu-ray is merely an upconverted DVD, which obviously would be a BAD thing.
I have this on video and on DVD. My video has a decapitation scene at the beginning? Yet on my DVD the scene is nowhere to be found what the fuck? Can anybody here clear this up for me please? Here is the VHS I am referring too. http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Lovers-VHS-Ingrid-Pitt/dp/6302890578 Decapitation scene is here at the 5:45 mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRqG11LU1Oc
I could have sworn that the decapitation scene was on the MGM disc. I'll check it. The only other changes I'm aware of are cropping issues and the edited bath scene. http://www.zetaminor.com/dvd/hammer_dvd/hammer_compare/hammer_vampire_lovers_compare.htm I checked on this site: http://www.zetaminor.com/dvd/hammer_dvd/hammer_dvd_guide_70s.htm
Ok. I just checked my DVD, and the decapitation scene at the 5:45 mark on YouTube is at the 6:11 mark on the DVD. Hope this helps.
My DVD discs chapters are defective. Disc jumps chapter 2 to chapter 3. Guess I'll just have to download it ow well. I'd give you a doggy snack If I had any. Thanks for your help much appreciated.
Anytime Dobby. Sorry to hear that your disc is defective. I've only had that happen once (thankfully).