Gorgo (1961) Comes To Blu-Ray

[Shawn Francis]

This is from DVD Savant.com. From Glen Erickson's column:

"One big announcement to report today, from VCI. I received the following note a couple of nights ago from my VCI contact, with news that warmed the "little kid monster fan" still lurking inside me. I'd heard through Gary Teetzel that VCI was going to reissue their disc of the all-time favorite giant monster movie Gorgo, and maybe in Blu-ray. I like VCI's previous special editions of this title, even though the source materials available for what was once thought to be a Public Domain title weren't as good as one would want them to be. So I anticipated a re-worked HD version of what I already had.

And then I read this:"Hi Glenn, we are still working out all the details on the Gorgo release. However I can tell you that we will be making a new HD 1080P transfer from either the 35mm negative, or master positive, which we recently obtained after their discovery in a salt mine storage vault in Kansas. It should be gorgeous and hopefully the DEFINITIVE release. We are shooting for a pre-Halloween street date and it will include quite a bit of bonus material, which of course we are still working on. I don't mind at all if you want to give it an early mention in your column, and I will try to feed you more details as they become known."

[rxfiend]

Awesome!!!!

[X-human]

More to DVD Savant from VCI about the delays:

"Hi Glenn, Gorgo has been rescheduled to March 5, 2013 for Blu-ray and DVD. We haven't said anything officially yet, however I don't mind if you want to have the honors. We found some additional film elements just recently that will make a much better HD master. The behind the scenes documentary that is being produced by Daniel Griffith has also been expanding as more and more fans continue to contribute items. We also located several original trailers and TV spots that will be included, plus a few surprises. So the release really should be the definitive version.

We still have Bird with the Crystal Plumage on tap for 2013, and we are still working on Blood and Black Lace, and have several classics on the way.

Best regards,
Bob Blair
VCI Entertainment"

http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/

I'm happy to hear they're revising their transfer with the new elements and the extras sound intriguing. I'm most curious to see Crystal Plumage as Blue Underground has seemingly been very lazy with their Blu-rays and so it will be interesting to see another distributor take a crack at it.

[MorallySound]

Originally Posted by X-human

I'm most curious to see Crystal Plumage as Blue Underground has seemingly been very lazy with their Blu-rays and so it will be interesting to see another distributor take a crack at it.

Blue Underground's existing Blu for Bird with the Crystal Plumage is already fantastic. I don't see VCI topping it at all if they indeed release it...

[rxfiend]

Gorgo is sounding better and better! I can't wait.

[Undeadcow]

Originally Posted by MorallySound

Blue Underground's existing Blu for Bird with the Crystal Plumage is already fantastic. I don't see VCI topping it at all if they indeed release it...

It would be excellent to see a version without the cropping that plagues the Blue Underground and Arrow releases; as VCI has hinted they can produce.

[Erick H.]

Great news about GORGO,loved that since I was a kid.

[X-human]

Originally Posted by Undeadcow

It would be excellent to see a version without the cropping that plagues the Blue Underground and Arrow releases; as VCI has hinted they can produce.

According to the DVD Beaver captures the Blue Underground looks to be correct: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/dvdre...ge_blu-ray.htm

Arrow is cropped and color timing altered.

There could be some room for improvement by VCI however as I would think BU's transfer is from an older master. BU's also known for DNR and placing digitally rendered grain on top. But VCI isn't known for great HD transfers so we'll have to wait and see.

[russweiss]

Looking forward to this. Haven't seen it in many years.

[X-human]

March 19th from DVD Drive-In:

VCI Entertainment has announced that they will release the 1961 British science fiction classic GORGO on Blu-ray and DVD in a new HD film transfer. The street date will be March 19, 2013. The release will be loaded with extras, including "Ninth Wonder Of The World: The Making Of Gorgo" a new documentary by Daniel Griffith; Gorgo - Video Comic Book and Comic Book Cover Gallery; Extensive Lobby Card & Poster Gallery; Photo Gallery; Gorgo Toys & Collectibles Gallery; Production Notes; Original Theatrical Trailer; Pressbook Gallery; Star Ciné Cosmos - French-language "fumetto" (comic book); and a Before & After Restoration Video. The Blu-ray will be HD 1080p and the DVD will be anamorphic.

On the same date, VCI has more monster-rific thrills in store with two “Creature Feature Double Feature” DVDs: MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR/SERPENT ISLAND (both presented 1.33:1 full screen) and THE CRAWLING HAND/THE SLIME PEOPLE (both presented 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen). MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR will include Tom Weaver’s audio interview with Roger Corman, deleted scenes, trivia and a theatrical trailer. THE SLIME PEOPLE will include Tom Weaver’s audio interview with actress Susan Hart and the original theatrical trailer (THE CRAWLING HAND will also include its trailer).

http://www.dvddrive-in.com/

The additional DVD titles are a nice surprise too and I'm glad I never picked up the now ancient Rhino discs.

2013 is already shaping up to be quiet the year!

[bruce h]

Looks like the preorders are up:

Blu: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00B2M78PU
DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00B2M7DKA

Pretty stoked about this one myself, though VCI's work seems a little hit or miss -- had some issues with SANTA CLAUS, but loved DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW. Anyone grab DARK STAR?

[Darga]

Gorgo is a childhood favorite that I never got around to picking up on DVD. I'll definitely grab it on Blu this time around. Looking forward to The Slime People as well- that was another Saturday afternoon staple on TV when I was a kid.

I'm quite pleased with the BU release of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage so I probably won't double-dip there.....

[deepred]

Excited for the Blood and Black Lace blu-ray - though it seems they've been working on that one for quite some time. I never seen Gorgo but it looks like it could be fun.

[bruce h]

GORGO's basically a British rip of Godzilla; it's fun to watch a giant monster tear through famous UK landmarks.

A little annoyed already by the pricing -- the preorder just went live today at $13.99 and by the time I went to order it a few hours later it had jumped up $6 to $19.99! Guess I need to be a little quicker with my trigger finger.

[X-human]

So after the Amazon listing of Gorgo went up I decided to poke around and see if the Double Features were on Amazon too. They're not (yet). So I wanted to see if anyone one else listed them.

Lo and behold TCM has been selling them since Sept. 4th, 2012!

Creepy Creatures Double Feature: Volume 1 - Monster From The Ocean Floor/Serpent Island
Creepy Creatures Double Feature: Volume 2 - Crawling Hand/Slime People

This brings up a pet peeve of mine: exclusives that go completely unadvertised. What the hell is the point of making an exclusive if you don't tell anyone about it? Who's going to come to you and order it if nobody know you have it to order? Senseless. Completely senseless.

What else might be exclusive on TCM.com? Who knows, since they don't advertise. :grumble: :grumble: