Zombie on UK Blu-ray from Arrow

[dave13]

got an email from amazon.co.uk that the release date for this has been bumped back to December 3rd. It used to be...what? the 19th or 26th of November? one of those. anyway, thats the story. i can wait another few weeks, no biggie.

[SaviniFan]

Got the email as well. I have the Shriek Show DVD and the BU blu-ray.....I can wait no problem.

[Stige]

well ARROW charged me months ago so I guess it'll come when it comes...

[Demoni]

Originally Posted by mlock

Does anyone know if the Arrow version will be 1 blu ray and 1 dvd for the features, or will both discs be blu ray? Either way, I'm mighty tempted... The trasnsfer is of course important, but I'm still torn between the BU and this one. Too bad there's no 5.1/7.1 audio on the Arrow!

As the press release states, it will be 2 blu-rays.

Sound is not Arrow´s stronger point... hell, I dare to say that Video and Sound are not Arrow´s stronger point... let´s just hope for the best in this case.

Originally Posted by dave13

got an email from amazon.co.uk that the release date for this has been bumped back to December 3rd. It used to be...what? the 19th or 26th of November? one of those. anyway, thats the story. i can wait another few weeks, no biggie.

It was 26th of November... only one week apart.

The Blu-ray will include seamlessly branched options to play the film three ways:

1. ‘Zombie Flesh-Eaters’: with the English opening and closing titles and the on screen title ‘Zombie Flesh-Eaters’ as it was originally seen in UK cinemas
2. ‘Zombie’: with the English opening and closing titles and the on screen title ‘Zombie’ as it was originally seen in US cinemas
3. ‘Zombi 2’ with Italian opening and closing titles with the on screen title ‘Zombi 2’ as it was originally seen in Italian cinemas

[mlock]

Originally Posted by Demoni

As the press release states, it will be 2 blu-rays.

Sound is not Arrow´s stronger point... hell, I dare to say that Video and Sound are not Arrow´s stronger point... let´s just hope for the best in this case.



It was 26th of November... only one week apart.

The Blu-ray will include seamlessly branched options to play the film three ways:

1. ‘Zombie Flesh-Eaters’: with the English opening and closing titles and the on screen title ‘Zombie Flesh-Eaters’ as it was originally seen in UK cinemas
2. ‘Zombie’: with the English opening and closing titles and the on screen title ‘Zombie’ as it was originally seen in US cinemas
3. ‘Zombi 2’ with Italian opening and closing titles with the on screen title ‘Zombi 2’ as it was originally seen in Italian cinemas

Sound on Arrow releases is certainly inconsistent at best isn't it? I recently ordered the Demons/Demons 2 ltd ed steelbook and was surprised that both films were only LPCM 2.0 despite the old Anchor Bay dvd having 5.1! Hmmm, now I gotta choose between packaging and features on the Arrow, or the 7.1 and possibly a better transfer on the BU. Decisions, decisions!!! Oh well, I'm in no hurry as I don't need to pre-order the ltd ed package. Guess I'll wait for reviews.

[Eddyw78]

Originally Posted by mlock

Sound on Arrow releases is certainly inconsistent at best isn't it? I recently ordered the Demons/Demons 2 ltd ed steelbook and was surprised that both films were only LPCM 2.0 despite the old Anchor Bay dvd having 5.1! Hmmm, now I gotta choose between packaging and features on the Arrow, or the 7.1 and possibly a better transfer on the BU. Decisions, decisions!!! Oh well, I'm in no hurry as I don't need to pre-order the ltd ed package. Guess I'll wait for reviews.

Yes the sound on the Demons Blu rays was strange as it was LPCM mono and as you said the decade old Anchor Bay DVDs were 5.1 and im sure these would have had some sort of stereo mix when they were released back in the 80s even if it wasent Dolby Stereo. My Phenomena Blu from Arrow also dropped the 5.1 that other releases sported but at least this was LPCM stereo. As for Zombie I wonder if that will also he in mono. The 7.1 on the Blue Underground wasent the most exci
ting but I did notice the difference between it and the lossy Dolby 5.1 on the Shriek Show DVD. It sounded more natural and less forced. Will see how kind the reviews are before considering double dipping with Zombie on Blu.

[Demoni]

Originally Posted by mlock

Sound on Arrow releases is certainly inconsistent at best isn't it? I recently ordered the Demons/Demons 2 ltd ed steelbook and was surprised that both films were only LPCM 2.0 despite the old Anchor Bay dvd having 5.1! Hmmm, now I gotta choose between packaging and features on the Arrow, or the 7.1 and possibly a better transfer on the BU. Decisions, decisions!!! Oh well, I'm in no hurry as I don't need to pre-order the ltd ed package. Guess I'll wait for reviews.

Originally Posted by Eddyw78

Yes the sound on the Demons Blu rays was strange as it was LPCM mono and as you said the decade old Anchor Bay DVDs were 5.1 and im sure these would have had some sort of stereo mix when they were released back in the 80s even if it wasent Dolby Stereo. My Phenomena Blu from Arrow also dropped the 5.1 that other releases sported but at least this was LPCM stereo. As for Zombie I wonder if that will also he in mono. The 7.1 on the Blue Underground wasent the most exci
ting but I did notice the difference between it and the lossy Dolby 5.1 on the Shriek Show DVD. It sounded more natural and less forced. Will see how kind the reviews are before considering double dipping with Zombie on Blu.

I dont´know if that´s the case here, regarding Demons, as I don´t have a clue what sound mix both films had when released.

But when talking about 5.1 mixes, Anchor Bay usually released all their movies with a superior sound mix made for the occasion, more so in their UK label where they "upgraded" to DTS but most of the time, the mixes were nothing more than an upmix of the original track. As as this was done by Anchor Bay, I believe the mixed were their property.

[Eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Demoni

I dont´know if that´s the case here, regarding Demons, as I don´t have a clue what sound mix both films had when released.

But when talking about 5.1 mixes, Anchor Bay usually released all their movies with a superior sound mix made for the occasion, more so in their UK label where they "upgraded" to DTS but most of the time, the mixes were nothing more than an upmix of the original track. As as this was done by Anchor Bay, I believe the mixed were their property.

Just seen the original posters for the Demons movies and Demons 2 has a Dolby Stereo logo on it so that may have been what it was released with. As for Anchor Bays 5.1 mixes some were good while others were headache inducing. It did seem that all their UK DVDs at one point were given both Dolby and DTS tracks even things like the Amicus collection and Last House On The Left. Most of these were always front heavy mixes though with little or no directionality.

[mlock]

Speaking of the original sound mixes for the Demons films, I find it somewhat ironic that in the first film, just before the shit starts to go down, one of the characters tries calming down his girlfriend saying the screaming behind the screen is "just the Dolby system". And here we are talking about the 5.1 upmixes vs the LPCM tracks. For those interested check out this review which ultimately helped me decide to take the plunge and buy the set. At least I knew what I was getting after reading this. Scroll down to read the "A word of warning..." review:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ls_o00_s00_i01

My copy just arrived in the mail yesterday but haven't had a chance to check it out for myself yet. It arrived a couple days sooner than I thought it would, and the packaging was excellant btw!

[Nailwraps]

First review!:

http://www.avforums.com/movies/Zombi...4/blu-ray.html

[Nailwraps]

DVDBeaver comparison!:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare3/zombie.htm

[bruce h]

Blu-Ray.com review: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Zombie.../46904/#Review

[bruce h]

To my eyes, this looks like another case of Arrow not properly setting their contrast levels / color correcting their master. Way too bright and lifeless. Why bother with a new scan if you're not going to follow through to the end?

[Jimmy S]

Originally Posted by bruce h

Way too bright and lifeless.

What else is new? This isn't for nothing if I don't care about them for quite a while (my last purchase was the Battle Royal set)... but they filled it with extra so I guess this is enough for some people even if they aren't all related to the film (as I said what else is new...).

[SaviniFan]

Originally Posted by bruce h

To my eyes, this looks like another case of Arrow not properly setting their contrast levels / color correcting their master. Way too bright and lifeless. Why bother with a new scan if you're not going to follow through to the end?

I think the colors on the Arrow release look more natural in the screen shots. There is most definitely stronger detail in some of them as well, and more picture information. This appears to me that it may boil down to preference between Arrow and BU. The BU is definitely a great looking transfer and has some nice extras, so owning both as a fan is a no brainer. I look forward to seeing Arrow's in motion when it is released.