Thankfully I am not seeing the scanner noise that people are talking about on my screen. Maybe it’s something you can only see depending on how you have your set calibrated, but on my plasma it looks fine.
The booklet for City of the Living Dead makes no mention of the cigarette folklore regarding the ending, so it may, in fact, be just that... folklore. Page 27, paragraph 3 excerpt: Spoiler "This abrupt closure - decided at the eleventh hour in post-production, upon the suggestion of the editor, Vincenzo Tommasi - is both infuriating and chilling, as it arbitrarily denies any trace of a happy ending. Such a final act of annihilation and an anarchic stab at conventions is perfectly in tune with Fulci's approach to cinema, which he self-described as being a "terrorist of genres... I'm working inside the genre, but every now and then I ignite a bomb that attempts to make the genre explode."
^I read the cigarette scenario in the book Eaten Alive, I believe. I will go back and check. I didn't realize that it would create so much discussion though I too am fascinated as to why this ending happened.
Comparisons between the new 'City of the living dead', Arrow's previous release and the Blu underground release here. https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=4906 To me not as drastic a change as I was expecting, I don't think I will upgrade unless I can get the new version very cheap.
Yeah, the new Arrow disc doesn't look as good as I'd hoped but it's really a nice improvement over the previous 2 releases and it looks even better in motion. Some of the comments I've read about the new release vs the old ones say that in addition to the scanner noise and DNR there was also some sharpening done on the older releases; I'd imagine that, if true, this is probably part of the reason it doesn't seem as impressive as some were hoping. I want to have a look at the new Arrow release and the Blue Underground release in motion but based on the quick sample of the disc I already did and the cap comparisons I've looked at I'm already glad I got this.
I didn't read the whole section on COTLD in Eaten Alive last night (they devote a LOT of pages to this movie!), but I did see that they mentioned an "aberration" in the film when choosing the ending.
Apparently, Arrow has plans for: Cruising: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=15652913&postcount=13488 Southland Tales: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=15652990&postcount=13492 Ring(u) (UK Theatrical Rerelase, March 2019): https://www.launchingfilms.com/release-schedule
http://www.diabolikdvd.com/ has an Arrow blu-ray sale going on for a day or 2. I picked up Slugs and Bride of the Reanimator steelbook.
UK / US / CA: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo...06LiZHtZ1TJsUYKYLmQNaGDdV-vwmUdRANQ&__tn__=-R US / CA (already available in the UK): https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo...IZ7fvnxp844NZJYgDBG8Lz2qYiZfYgnspUQ&__tn__=-R UK only: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo...0DNd9VWSi9i6YiIjq6J1_zg2tfHJsOjuI4Q&__tn__=-R https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo...2TwfqCAhEWXNG9moab-sitgG5bKHtUK990o&__tn__=-R
Blu-ray.com reviews Deadbeat at Dawn: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Deadbeat-at-Dawn-Blu-ray/211455/#Review Blu-ray.com reviews Torso: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Torso-Blu-ray/211219/#Review
RE: Candyman Both cuts run 1:39:17. IMDB mentions an alternate scene from workprint bootlegs: This is definitely not included in either version of the film. It doesn't sound like this was ever included in any official presentations, previously. The only difference between the two versions seems to be the editing on the psychiatrist's death. The "Original UK Theatrical Version" seems to feature more blood spray than the "US R-Rated Version", but the differences are fairly subtle and the scene isn't terribly gory, either way. It's hard to believe that this scene, alone, could be the difference between an R and an NC-17.
