More importantly, can we expect a box set of all 4 films? I would have to think so. That'd be awesome.
It's clearly written in the description that they don't have the rights to the first three, but if they can get them they will: "Fans of SEAGULLS know that it is the final film in the cult-film favorite “The Blind Dead” series. The other films in the series have not been released on Blu-ray which would naturally beg the question: Why start with the last installment? Our best answer is that the licensor that we acquired SEAGULLS from (which is the same one we got the Paul Naschy films from) only controls SEAGULLS. At this time, we don’t know who the successor of the first three are but we are looking into in order to bring the whole series out if we can."
Also coming in February: Diff'rent Strokes Season 7: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/diff-rent-strokes-season-seven?product_id=6557 Green Acres The Complete 5th Season: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/green-acres-season-five?product_id=6558 MST3K Volume 7 Shout! release: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/mst3k-volume-vii?product_id=6551 Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir Season 1: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/miraculous-tales-of-ladybug-cat-noir-season-one?product_id=6541 Walking Out: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/walking-out?product_id=6538
Haha, yes I got that from the "clearly" written description. It's more of a question if they'd sell them individually or boxset'd once attained.....smarty
Super hard pass. I'm betting it will be from an ancient master. Plus it's just the one film. This is one where an Arrow or someone will come along and outdo Scream. Or Scream will release a box set later. Sitting tight with the DVD box set.
Damn, I've been waiting on these and held off watching the series recently in anticipation. But Night of the Seagulls is (as I recall) my favorite of the series so it's good to at least have that one. Last I heard the owners did not want to do new HD scans, and since Shout got this from Victory who didn't give them new transfers for the Paul Naschy films either that means we're looking at the same source masters BU used but for this release too. Not ideal, but I'll take what I can get. The Paul Naschy sets look fine (translation: not fucked). Just before this announcement I heard (from not any official sources of any kind) that the four films are split between three owners. One owns two films, with the other two each owning one film each. And that the single owner of two films is in financial straights such that their holdings are in legal limbo. Those details may have leaked out with Shout's recent investigations. I guess we can't expect anything else to be released any time soon. Or at least Shout doesn't seem to think so. Seems like something of a minor miracle BU put together the coffin boxset on the outset.
I have a vague memory of reading that Arrow had already passed on the Victory films, because they wouldn't be able to create new masters.
What I don't get is why some of these companies don't want new masters. Is it a matter of who will pay the bill? Because even from a legacy point of view these films are going to rot away in time. Why wouldn't you want to digitally preserve it while you can? Like the Coffin Joe stuff. If someone stepped up and offered to restore - why wouldn't some one jump on that?
RE: The Coffin Joe films https://www.instagram.com/p/BPcsk1tjjyG/?taken-by=donmayjr&hl=en Sadly, that scenario more or less applies to a lot of the European and Asian films, too. The local film vaults and films labs aren't capable of handling the work, but the licensor won't allow the elements to be shipped out for fear of damage or loss. It's basically a Catch-22 situation.
Sadly yes. But even with desirable elements in excellent shape we come into these same situations over and over again: 1) Investors did the original 1080p scans for DVD and HD distribution. That was their intent when they spent the money then (plus it was more expensive then). So damn it, they're going to get their money's worth of these HD scans on Blu-ray too. Doesn't matter that better techniques and better technology exists today. Most these guys are old and set in old world thinking. What's good enough for HD 15 years ago is good enough now. Even major US studios play this game with their catalog titles. But this is absolutely where Victory's coming from. And considering how much these same titles under performed for BCI and BU on DVD it's a natural stance. Given the opportunity Cliff MacMillan might even turn down the expense of a new scan (having worked at BCI) and Bill Lustig flat out said it wouldn't be worth bringing Blind Dead to HD (none the less the 4th installment). 2) Shipping original film elements over long distances is risky, whatever their state. If the plane goes in the drink, so does your negative. And that's it. You can effectively kiss that movie goodbye and any future income you could have gotten from it. None the less lose "your baby." Many of these film owners do care about their films. So a "good enough" transfer at the lab the elements are currently housed in will more or less make the same amount of money. As home video resolution demands grow higher the more pristine your elements need to be. So smother them. It's frustrating. But it's also understandable. Yet it's hard to forgive. And I'm not forgiving of Shout for caving in to Herzog's abyssal transfers for example. At least BFI had the common sense to ask for the original scans so they could do their own post; as poor as those scans were. Shout just said, "Whatever, we'll just put it in a nicer box." But someone with the expertise like Criterion (doesn't have to be Criterion) must have been arguing the whole time the need for better restorations. Shout putting the money down just set these films back ten or more years and encouraged Herzog to do it again next generation's cycle. And that's the main thing. We probably won't see investors take another crack at transfers until 4k/8k is a universal delivery platform. And even then some of the new 4k scans being done now will be outdated but still circulating ten years from now. Like Suspiria; I suspect we'll be seeing just the TLE restoration as the UHD standard for the next decade (out side of Synapse's sphere of influence). So some films will end up on the up swing of 4k, and the others on the down swing.
Why So Blu reviews The Paul Naschy Collection Volume 2: http://whysoblu.com/paul-naschy-collection-ii-blu-ray-review/ Rock Shock Pop reviews Land of the Dead: http://www.rockshockpop.com/forums/content.php?7153-Land-Of-The-Dead-(Collector-s-Edition)
Zombies Don't Run reviews Into the Night: http://zombiesdontrun.net/reviews/night-1985-collectors-edition-blu-ray-review/ Zombies Don't Run reviews Three O'clock High: http://zombiesdontrun.net/reviews/three-oclock-high-1987-collectors-edition-blu-ray-review/
Why So Blu reviews Silent Night, Deadly Night: http://whysoblu.com/silent-night-deadly-night-collectors-edition-blu-ray-review/
Fuck ya! I'm not even that big into horror toys/memorabilia .......but I already got a spot reserved for this bad boy. Thinking about going all out and setting up a whole scene with a toy deer mount and everything. If only they came out with a naked Linnea figure
Me neither, hence the intense waffling on getting the toy. Is it wrong for a grown man to want a doll? Arguably. Haha. Nice - set up a nativity scene with Mother Superior and Grandpa! Little Ricky can be yelling "Garbage Day!".
Rock Shock Pop reviews The Paul Naschy Collection Volume 2: http://www.rockshockpop.com/forums/content.php?7169-Paul-Naschy-Collection-II-The
From Shout Factory’s Facebook page: ***HELL NIGHT Update*** We are very excited to (finally) lay out the final details for our Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & DVD combo of HELL NIGHT today! We have much to communicate so please read the entire status update. First off, just a reminder that we did have to delay the release. The new street date is January 2, 2018. However, if you order early from our site @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/…/hell-...ector-s-editi… you’ll receive it two weeks early and receive an 18” x 24” poster of the newly-commissioned artwork from artist Justin Osbourn. Now, on to the extras. We have nearly 4 HOURS of new bonus features! There’s so much that we couldn’t fit them all on the DVD disc so several will be exclusive to the Blu-ray format. The breakdown is as follows... BLU-RAY DISC · NEW 4K Scan of the film taken from the best surviving archival print (DTS HD Master audio mono) · NEW interviews with actors Linda Blair, Peter Barton, Vincent Van Patten, Suki Goodwin, Kevin Brophy and Jenny Neumann · Audio Commentary with Linda Blair, Tom DeSimone, Irwin Yablans and Bruce Cohn Curtis · Original Theatrical Trailer & TV spots · Blu-ray Disc Exclusives: NEW interview with Director Tom DeSimone NEW interview with Producer Bruce Cohn Curtis NEW interview with Writer Randolph Feldman NEW – Anatomy of the Death Scenes with Tom DeSimone, Randolph Feldman, Make-up artist Pam Peitzman, Art Director Steven G. Legler and Special Effects artist John Eggett NEW - On Location at the Kimberly Crest House with Tom DeSimone NEW – Gothic Design in Hell Night with Steven G. Legler Original Radio spot Photo Gallery featuring rare, never-before-seen stills DVD DISC · NEW 4K Scan of the film taken from the best surviving archival print (Dolby Digital mono) · NEW interviews with actors Linda Blair, Peter Barton, Vincent Van Patten, Suki Goodwin, Kevin Brophy and Jenny Neumann · Audio Commentary with Linda Blair, Tom DeSimone, Irwin Yablans and Bruce Cohn Curtis · Original Theatrical Trailer & TV spots Finally, we want to address the new transfer up front. This new transfer comes from a 4K scan of the best archival 35mm film print. After an exhaustive search for the original film elements, the print was the only available element we could work with. We did extensive color correction and film restoration to clean up the film damage. The print was missing some minor footage, so we had to insert some standard definition footage (which we also restored) to deliver the complete film. Despite some these challenges we are pleased with the end results and hope you will agree soon! I said this on the blu-ray.com forums and I’ll say it again here. This is extremely disappointing that the only print they could find was some random 35mm print that is actually incomplete. What a letdown. I love this movie and I’ve been dying to have it on Blu-ray for years but another copy and paste job from Shout Factory? Why is it always them that seem to have to resort to putting standard definition inserts into HD movies? Maybe it was the only print available, but part of me feels that Arrow could’ve somehow pulled off something amazing with this title. Look what they were able to accomplish with The Mutilator. If Anchor Bay had a complete print of this back in the 90s, surely the film footage still exists of those incomplete scenes. Did they contact Anchor Bay? I’ll still be picking this up but I’m gonna keep my expectations low... ~Matt
I'm glad HELL NIGHT is coming. I'm sorry a negative was never used. I remember some annoying "snags" in the music on the Anchor Bay DVD. I hope they're cleared up in the new release
Is it a certainty that Anchor Bay's DVD didn't include SD inserts? I seem to recall the source of that transfer being pretty rough looking, though it's been a while since I watched it. Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures has recalled in his Facebook chats that Anchor Bay had struggled to locate a film element for Hell Night, so it sounds like Shout! Factory ran into the same issue. After Starz got swallowed up by Lionsgate, I'm not sure that there's anyone left at Anchor Bay for them to speak with, either. To be fair, it's not just Shout! Factory, either. Some films just aren't protected as well as they should be. On films like Manhunter and Silent Night, Deadly Night, Shout! Factory simply ran into the same issues Anchor Bay previously had when the DVDs were released. Arrow had to resort to a 4:3 laserdisc to get the unrated footage for Hellraiser III, and their recent Season of the Witch Blu-Ray features SD inserts from a tape master for the longer cut. Vinegar Syndrome had to source a few minutes worth of footage from a VHS workprint for The Undertaker. Scorpion Releasing found additional footage for Don't Go in the House, but it had a censored audio track and Humongous had to be patched together. '84 Entertainment used SD inserts for Tourist Trap after both 88 Films and Full Moon released it incomplete. Mondo Macabro had to get SD inserts for A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.
