View Full Version : The Howling SE - Just like the bare-bones??? [regarding the transfer]
Daniel B
08-09-2003, 08:41 PM
Greetings,
I know that The Howling SE is to be released in the next weeks, so I am aware that few have already had access to it. Anyway, I read a nice review on dvdfile.com (http://dvdfile.com/software/review/dvd-video_7/howling_se.html) by Peter Bracke and Dan Ramer (august 6th, 2003) and there it said that "the transfer is surprisingly good and looks exactly the same as the previous, movie-only DVD edition released two years ago". That's very weird as Joe Dante said once he was very disappointed with MGM Bare-bones' transfer and that he was able to set a new transfer for the SE. I hope the review is wrong, but why would it be?
If someone knows something about that, it would be nice to hear. Meanwhile, I think people should know this for I am sure some who have the bare-bones won't be very happy to buy the SE and discover that the review was more accurate than Joe Dante's preview.
Best regards!
Jimbo
08-09-2003, 09:13 PM
I my self would wait untill the disk is out and there are more reviews.Dvdfile's review for halloween 25th was bad also but i personally think the disk looks great.So i am having a hard time believing every thing i read from there.
SilentScreams
08-09-2003, 09:20 PM
I agree with Jimbo. Their reviews most of the time are negative, even on dvds I think are great. I'm still gonna get it dispite their review.
Well, I'll be posting a review tonight. All questions shall be answered then.
Mortis
08-09-2003, 10:21 PM
You can like them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't flawed. A lot of people pick up on these things and are annoyed by them.
You may like the H25 disc, but the colors are fucked up. Even Dave captured some frames and they're the same as the ones DVDFile posted.
Originally posted by Jimbo
I my self would wait untill the disk is out and there are more reviews.Dvdfile's review for halloween 25th was bad also but i personally think the disk looks great.So i am having a hard time believing every thing i read from there.
Latency
08-09-2003, 10:24 PM
Originally posted by Dave
Well, I'll be posting a review tonight. All questions shall be answered then.
http://forum.garagelan.com/ubb/graemlins/hail.gif Dave http://forum.garagelan.com/ubb/graemlins/hail.gif
Feel free to edit this post too :P
Zodiac-Mindwarp
08-09-2003, 10:38 PM
Many Thanks in advance Dave!
The Howling is probably my favorite werewolf movie ever. So I am anxiously awaiting your review for this one! :banana:
joltaddict
08-09-2003, 10:54 PM
Originally posted by Dave
Well, I'll be posting a review tonight. All questions shall be answered then.
:banana: Im very glad to hear that. Your Halloween 25th review is above and beyond. Your reviews are consistantly outstanding. We bitch and moan about the quantity of the reviews here and probally dont give you guys the credit you deserve for the quality of the end product.
Looking forward to the review.
ArrowBeach
08-09-2003, 11:26 PM
I hate THE HOWLING, boring as hell. Since it's MGM, it'll will be botched up for sure. I agree with John Landis, he once said HOWLING is lame when compared with his AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. I still don't know why so many reviewers are down on the new Anchor bay HALLOWEEN DVD, or them in general, they are still the best DVD company in my opinion.
Daniel B
08-10-2003, 12:29 AM
I can't wait to read Dave's review!!!!
Jimbo
08-10-2003, 12:34 AM
Originally posted by Mortis
You can like them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't flawed. A lot of people pick up on these things and are annoyed by them.
You may like the H25 disc, but the colors are fucked up. Even Dave captured some frames and they're the same as the ones DVDFile posted. I agree the colors are fucked up.But all in all it is a good lookig disk.In a perfect world they all would look good and be true to the original intentions but this just dose not happen all the time.I was refering to dvdfils and how they seem to bash some disks when the quality is good.Hell h25 is worth the commentary on its own in my oppinion.I do not own the ld so it makes for a nice disk.For the howling i will wait till i read Daves review and make my decision from there.But it really boils down to if i want it or not.:cry:
RyanPC
08-10-2003, 12:42 AM
Originally posted by joltaddict
:banana: Im very glad to hear that. Your Halloween 25th review is above and beyond. Your reviews are consistantly outstanding. We bitch and moan about the quantity of the reviews here and probally dont give you guys the credit you deserve for the quality of the end product.
Looking forward to the review.
I agree wholeheartedly. Can't wait for that Howling SE review!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
Well, I'll give you guys a peak before I post it on the main news page. I still need to give it a once over before officially posting it.
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/
It's being uploaded now, so give it a few minutes if the page doesn't load.
Also, the transfer is slightly better than the previous DVD. It's just a bit sharper and there are less print blemishes. Besides that, the transfers are very close. Personally, I didn't think the transfer on the previous DVD was all that bad. Try comparing it to the now very dated Howling SE laserdisc - the DVD is light years better.
Revoltor
08-10-2003, 02:55 AM
FYI
Howling SE is out in stores now!
Uh...so is that Horror 3 pack boxset with Carrie, Howling and Fog.
joltaddict
08-10-2003, 02:56 AM
Psst... thats Four Sided Triangle. :p
Jimbo
08-10-2003, 03:11 AM
Thanks Dave!! Once again you have delivered :glasses:
bigdaddyhorse
08-10-2003, 03:14 AM
Another great review Dave. You are the man when it comes to the reviews, and I esp. like the comparison to the laserdisc in the extras department. I'll be holding on to my LD as well.
What about the color difference between prints though. I remember hearing that every release of this title looked different, and nobody settled on a "definitive" version imagewise. (Unless this was covered in the first dvd release review, I didn't go looking for that).
Not trying to nit-pick, so I'll leave it "another great review".
Thanks
Atmims
08-10-2003, 04:02 AM
Great review as usual Dave. You've really been doing a terific job with the site lately. Thanks! Keep up the superb work.
Shannafey
08-10-2003, 04:05 AM
I haven't seen the film in years, and because of that, it isn't cemented in my head as one of my all time favorites and I resisted the bare-bones release. With everything coming out in August, I was going to wait for the SE too, but now, after reading Dave's review, there Ain't Gonna Be No Waiting!! I want this disc!!
RyanPC
08-10-2003, 05:29 AM
I need to go out to FYE (sad, yes I know :() and see if they have this new SE out yet. I certainly hope they do, since Dave's wonderful review makes me want it even more!!!! Great job, Dave! :)
Daniel B
08-10-2003, 08:43 AM
Great Review!
Congrats Dave!
I am just a bit disappointed with Joe Dante and I'd like to hear other points of view. Some years ago he said he feared The Howling could never reach the DVD market. Well, it reached through many many many versions around the world. After the MGM bare-bones he said he was unhappy with its transfer and would be able to have a new good one for the SE. Then we discover both transfers are almost the same. Selling strategies?
It really seems to me so.
Daniel B
08-10-2003, 08:52 AM
Just one doubt after reading the review,
I have The Howling LD, but not a LD player (so I watch it rarely). I never knew that the deleted scenes had their own running commentary also (I always thought that only the movie had) and the LD contents just don't mention it. Does the deleted scenes really have that? In that case, are there Dante comments only or also Picardo, Wallace and Christopher Stone's?
Just Dante. I actually listened to them again on the LD yesterday, so I know they are definitely there.
Damin J. Toell
08-10-2003, 05:07 PM
Dave,
Could you possibly do a comparison of transfers on the SE LD/old DVD/new DVD for this title? I'd really like to know if the color on the new DVD matches the LD, since Dante was very adamant about the LD transfer finally being right.
DJ
Where exactly did everyone read that Dante was unhappy with MGM's bare bones DVD? Can anyone provide a link? Perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I found their bare bones DVD to be pretty darn good. It's much, much better than the laserdisc.
Damin J. Toell
08-10-2003, 05:30 PM
Originally posted by Dave
Where exactly did everyone read that Dante was unhappy with MGM's bare bones DVD? Can anyone provide a link? Perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I found their bare bones DVD to be pretty darn good. It's much, much better than the laserdisc.
Dante said it in an interview with Sci-Fi Wire. You can read a quote from it at Creature Corner (http://www.creature-corner.com/dvd/jun14dante.php3):
"They're doing The Howling as a special edition at my insistence, because I was so annoyed with the transfer of the last DVD. I didn't like it and I suggested that it might be a good idea to do another transfer. So we did, and it's got a documentary on it that's not bad, plus most of the stuff that was on the old Image laser disc."
DJ
Daniel B
08-10-2003, 05:36 PM
Dave,
You're totally right about the deleted scenes commented by Dante! Sorry.
I heard that and I realized I had heard it before. How come I didn't remember it it's beyond my understanding. And I am a The Howling freak!
Thanks!
So again, don't you think very strange Dante being so annoyed with the bare-bones transfer (which I've never thought it was bad) and then it comes the SE almost like it????
Also, I do remember he saying that he feared The Howling could never reach DVD market... Well, it did in many versions.
Marketing strategies???? I can't think about another thing.
Midnight Buddha
08-10-2003, 05:54 PM
Great review dave, i have the se laser disc also, but due to lack of space `and use` i put the player up in my attic. So i have the se dvd on order and looking forward to receiving it.
Damin J. Toell
08-10-2003, 06:08 PM
Comparing Dave's screenshots from the new DVD with screenshots he took from the LD, it's clear that the new DVD doesn't use Dante's correct colors.
TOP: SE LD
BOTTOM: SE DVD
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot5l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot5l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot6l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot6l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot8l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot7l.jpg
Very disappointing, especially given how much Dante talks about how he finally got the color right for the LD on the commentary track.
DJ
betterdan
08-10-2003, 10:19 PM
Well thanks for the review it saved me a few bucks. If the new transfer is pretty close to the old dvd then I'll stick with my old dvd and just spend the money on a different movie.
What about the framing? The LD looks to be (properly) framed at 1.66:1, and the DVD at about 1.85:1.
However, the DVD actually shows more picture at the bottom, and less at the top. Seems a little odd.
Is the Full-frame version open-matte? If so, I might have to watch that version and matte the television to 1.66:1 myself. (Yeah, I have doen that on occasion...)
bigdaddyhorse
08-10-2003, 11:43 PM
MGM refuses to do 1.66 anamorphic prints, so they matte them all to 1.85 (happened here, same with RoboCop. Did the R3 Army Of Darkness get matted to 1.85 as well? maybe MGM overseas has different policies?)
Pretty sure the FF is open-matte, but then again I haven't seen it as ionly have the laser right now. I'm still getting the dvd for the new extras and beefed up sound.
Originally posted by Damin J. Toell
Comparing Dave's screenshots from the new DVD with screenshots he took from the LD, it's clear that the new DVD doesn't use Dante's correct colors.
TOP: SE LD
BOTTOM: SE DVD
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot5l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot5l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot6l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot6l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-ld/howling-ld_shot8l.jpg
http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/howling-se/howling-se_shot7l.jpg
Very disappointing, especially given how much Dante talks about how he finally got the color right for the LD on the commentary track.
DJ
Never judge anything on screen shots alone. I know I did the whole Halloween vs Halloween thing (primarily because DVD File did it), but screen shots can never be 100% representation. DVD screen shots are done directly through the computer, whereas laserdiscs are fed in through an analog TV card. They can never be 100%. Colors don't always hold up when capturing DVD off the computer, which I stressed during the Halloween fiasco.
This isn't to say the colors aren't different from the LD and the DVDs. I can't say I did a direct comparison on that front. Here I mainly focused on the older DVD and this newer DVD. In regards to the LD, all I took into consideration were the extras.
The Criterion Halloween LD still sports a pretty good transfer. However, Image's Howling LD is just awful when compared to the DVD, so I didn't bother. The LD is all soft and has lots of grain and print blemishes.
Dante was involved with this new Howling DVD in some respect. I mean, he was in the documentary and I'm sure he knew it was coming. I can't imagine he didn't give it a once over. But, obviously I could be wrong on this.
I'll try to do a direct comparison between the LD and DVD this week. I'm not going to have time to rewatch them all, but I'll compare several scenes - including the screen shot ones. I'll update the review and you guys when I do that.
Cujo108
08-11-2003, 03:44 AM
I held off on the barebones version to wait for the SE, and this disc is defnitely mine on release date. Its the greatest werewolf film ever made if you ask me, followed closely by Ginger Snaps. The extras sound superb!
Daniel B
08-11-2003, 07:58 PM
I guess I've said this before, anyway some might be interested in the second german DVD version (Best Entertainment label, not Best Buy Movie) which used the LD transfer (yes, that's right) and many of its extras. It's not anamorphic but at least it keeps the 1.66:1. The problem is that some genius there inserted the deleted scenes in the movie (as if it were an alternative cut). Well, some may even like that way, it's curious.
JW77 said an interesting thing about the LD and the DVD (MGM bare-bone) framing. The DVD shows more material of the bottom than the LD. In a particular moment of the transformation scene, when Eddie's face appears with his eyes rolling, the only version I remember that cuts the monster's chin is the one from the LD... So maybe we should not worship it that much.
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