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Interesting and unusual DVD/Blu-Ray releases (News)

TM2YC

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I've been mostly posting this sort of thing in the 'Random movie thoughts' thread but I thought I'd make a separate thread. A place to announce and discuss interesting and special home-video releases (Yes we know the latest Marvel film is being released :D ).

Long may elaborately packaged physical formats live!




First off...


I hadn't heard this was a thing until I saw it in the shops today... 'The World at War' (The war-documentary to end them all) has been recently remastered in HD... again! It was meticulously remastered in 2010 but to the Horror of just about everyone, they cropped it to 16:9 despite all 22 hours of the source material being 4:3. This new Remaster reverses that, as the packaging proudly proclaims. It seems to only be a Region-B release as yet.

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Roundup of some old posts I really should have created this thread for instead of filling the 'random movie thoughts' thread with them (I can find them all here now)...





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I don't know if there is some list of bizarro DVD extras but...

I got my copy of the 1967 Japanese movie 'Branded To Kill' (On Arrow Video) and discovered it had a full-length porno remake of the movie called 'Trapped In Lust' amongst the bonus material :-D.

The original isn't axactly short on nudity by the way and features some amazing black and white images/camera-work.

Branded-To-Kill.jpg





Man these two forthcoming Ken Russell Blu-Ray collections from the BFI sound amazing...

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THE KEN RUSSELL COLLECTION: THE GREAT COMPOSERS (Dual Format Edition)
Three films by Ken Russell

A Dual Format Edition collection bringing together the career defining work of Ken Russell at the BBC. Russell's work during the sixties for award-winning arts documentary series Monitor and Omnibus were critically-acclaimed and often seen as a high point in his filmmaking.

The first of the three films, Elgar (1962), portrays in vigorous style the life of the English composer Sir Edward Elgar, with Huw Wheldon narrating his life story over beautiful mountain scenery. The Debussy Film (1965), Russell's penultimate film for Monitor was an ambitious work about the composer s life, written by Melvyn Bragg and starring Oliver Reed as Claude Debussy. Delius: Song of Summer (1968) is generally regarded (not least by its director) as Russell's best television film with many critics citing it as his finest work in any medium. The story traces Eric Fenby and is based on his memoirs of trying to help the blind and paralysed composer Frederick Delius.

The films in this collection have been remastered to High Definition, and are presented on Blu-ray for the very first time

Special features:
Elgar commentary by Michael Kennedy and Ken Russell
Delius: Song of Summer commentary by Ken Russell
Other extras TBC
Illustrated booklet with essays and full credits

1962-1968 | black & white | 210 minutes | 2 X DVD9 | 1 X BD50 | Other details TBC

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THE KEN RUSSELL COLLECTION: THE GREAT PASSIONS (Dual Format Edition)
Four films by Ken Russell

The second of BFI's Ken Russell releases is another two disc collection bringing together four films from 1965-1967.

The collection opens with Always on Sunday a dramatized examination of the painter Henri Rousseau. The combination of Russell reuniting with Melvyn Bragg and Oliver Reed and Russell's infectious love of the film's subject results in a film which is illuminating in every frame. Isadora: The Biggest Dancer in the World (1966), a study of the outrageous American dancer, Isadora Duncan, starring Vivian Pickles as the dancer whose obsession with the importance of art and complete disdain for decorum chimes perfectly with Russell's own sensibility. Last of the TV dramas is Dante's Inferno (1967) which tells of the complex relationship between the 19th century artist and poet, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and his model Elizabeth Siddal.

The films in this collection have been remastered to High Definition, and are presented on Blu-ray for the very first time.

Special features:
Late Night Line-up: Ken Russell at Work (1966): documentary showing Russell at work on various BBC TV documentaries, discussing his methods and filmmaking philosophy
Interview with editor Michael Bradsell (2015): the editor discusses his work with Ken Russell
Illustrated booklet with essays and full credits

1965-1967 | 202 minutes | 2 x DVD9 | 1 x BD50 | Other details TBC

...they're out a month before my birthday, how thoughtful of the BFI!




Oh wow, 1987's '*Batteries Not Included' debuted on Blu-Ray last Tuesday! (R1 only)

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I re-watched it on TV last year after James Horner died and nearly bawled my eyes out. One of those films that you fondly remember from being a kid... but then when you re-watch as an adult... and you have to upgrade it to "perfect filmic masterpiece"!

If I can just figure out how to import it at a sensible price...




Oh happy day!

Ian McKellen's incredible WWII inspired version of Richard III is finally getting a proper release on Blu-Ray (There was a limited edition run last year which commands steep prices on Amazon/eBay). I saw it on TV back in the late 90s and was blown away. I've been waiting for an HD release to rewatch it.

Only one month to wait and Park Circus/BFI have put together a thrilling new trailer...





Apparently Criterion is starting to release some of their Blu-Rays in the UK (Europe/RegionB) (Read here).

I was in the video store this morning and did a little double-take when I saw two Criterion Blu-Rays on the shelf. Why would they be stocking RegionA discs? I looked on the back and they were both RegionB.

I'd actually been seriously considering ordering Polanski's Macbeth from the US, just the other day and there it was for £18. That's pricey for a UK BR but way cheaper than the £30+ it would have been to import the RegionA disc. I'm looking forward to watching this again in HD having first seen it on VHS in the school video-lab while studying the Scottish play for English class.

The downside is that its only 6 releases to begin with and a shame they didn't just Region-Free the damn things. Still it's good news for film fans in Europe.





Hallelujah! It's finally happening on October 18th, The Marx Brothers are debuting on Blu-Ray :) . Lots of fine brand-new extras too including commentaries for all 5 films. It's labelled as being region-free.

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Also the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' film series is finally getting the proper HD treatment from Criterion in November. At $80/£60 it's pretty pricey but check out the awesome artwork, featuring Ogami Ittō and Daigoro atop a mound of their vanquished foes! :cool: (I'm not crazy about the font though)...

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I was watching the latest RLM re:View on 'Dawn of the Dead' last night...


...and they open by saying it's out of print worldwide?!? I thought they were joking at first, it turns out they weren't. The Blu-rays are going for stupid prices now on Amazon and eBay. I've had the "Director's Cut" on PAL-DVD for years but never got round to an HD upgrade :( .

The 3-disc Arrow release is now £40-50 but then I noticed this Italy-only 6-disc release from Nicolas Winding Refn is coming out in November and is also about £40-50...

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/193949/dawn-dead-gets-4k-blu-ray-release-italy/

http://www.midnightfactory.it/film/zombi-dawn-of-the-dead#info

I've just pre-ordered a copy. I'm probably most looking forward to the full-frame European cut on blu-ray#3. As far as I know this is the first time that it's been released in HD at all and now it's coming in two aspect-ratios!




Long unavailable in HD, the Japanese animated film 'Metropolis' is being released on Region-B blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment :) . A limited-steelbook in January and the regular release in March.

It looks beautiful in this new Eureka upload of the trailer...





Mark Kermode...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TusbTj2usoY[/video]

...is raving about this new trailer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6504eRh5h6M[/video]

I can see why, it looks amazing. I've been wanting to see this movie for years and finally it's got a 3-disc blu-ray release.

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I'm gonna ask Santa if he can get me a copy :) .









 

spence

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For those curious, the King Kong Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray does seem to feature the deleted scenes in a higher quality than the dvd release. I wouldn't say they're full hd, but definitely better than the dvd, possibly upscaled, and in wide screen.

In case anyone out there was thinking of doing another edit. I myself have been toying with the idea.
 

TM2YC

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spence said:
For those curious, the King Kong Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray does seem to feature the deleted scenes in a higher quality than the dvd release. I wouldn't say they're full hd, but definitely better than the dvd, possibly upscaled, and in wide screen.

In case anyone out there was thinking of doing another edit. I myself have been toying with the idea.

(Post merged into this thread because it seemed to fit the bill)

That does sound interesting and after I've checked Amazon it's going dirt cheap despite being a new release. However, it says "Over 30 minutes of deleted scenes" but my old "Deluxe Extended Edition" boasts "43 minutes" of deleted scenes...

King_Kong_Extended_03.jpg


What framerate are the scenes in on the new blu-ray?
 

hbenthow

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spence said:
For those curious, the King Kong Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray does seem to feature the deleted scenes in a higher quality than the dvd release. I wouldn't say they're full hd, but definitely better than the dvd, possibly upscaled, and in wide screen.

In case anyone out there was thinking of doing another edit. I myself have been toying with the idea.

According to Blu-ray.com, the deleted scenes are still 480i, so they're not upscaled. However, if they do indeed look better than the ones on the DVD, then that makes this Blu-ray worth the upgrade (I have the 3-disc DVD set, so I was hesitant about double-dipping).
 

TM2YC

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The new Indicator blu-ray label are putting out a limited-Ed kickass looking Harryhausen Sinbad boxset at the end of June...

http://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/product/the-sinbad-trilogy-dfe

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Love the garishly bright vintage colours of the boxart :) .

Mono and 5.1 mixes. Isolated scores by some legendary composers. 4k and 2k scans. Even the "Original Super 8 cut-down versions" will be bonus features apparently?!? Cool. I think I'll have to get a copy of this before prices go high. It's region-free so Harryhausen fans all over can enjoy.

(The three movies will also be available separately with poster art covers)
 

TM2YC

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Richard O'Brien's follow up to Rocky Horror is coming to blu-ray for the first time from Arrow video. It bombed critically and commercially but some think it's rather brilliant...


I'll be interested to find out on the 7th of August.

 

henzINNIT

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There's rumours going around that Spider-Man 3 might be seeing an alternate cut released soon. Retailers and the Sony website in Japan started listing "Spider-Man 3.1. Supervised by Sam Raimi" as a bonus feature on an upcoming rerelease. The sites have since taken the info down, but an "Editor's Cut" is now floating around (for instance, google the film and the Editor's Cut logo is the first image to appear). Sony have been frustratingly silent, so it may be a weird mistake, but I hope it happens.
 

TM2YC

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16302871_batman-mask-of-the-phantasm-is_tb13af2f.jpg


'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' is finally getting an HD release next month. The cool part is that Warner are including widescreen AND full-frame versions to keep everybody, including purists/non-philistines happy :D . It'd be nice if this kind of dual-AR release was the norm.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=21548
 

bionicbob

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TM2YC said:
16302871_batman-mask-of-the-phantasm-is_tb13af2f.jpg


'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' is finally getting an HD release next month. The cool part is that Warner are including widescreen AND full-frame versions to keep everybody, including purists/non-philistines happy :D . It'd be nice if this kind of dual-AR release was the norm.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=21548

BEST. BATMAN. MOVIE. EVERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
 

matrixgrindhouse

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TM2YC said:
The cool part is that Warner are including widescreen AND full-frame versions to keep everybody, including purists/non-philistines happy

I don't think this is about placating the "why are there black bars?!" crowd so much as it is acknowledging the ambiguity of "original aspect ratio" regarding the movie.  Naturally, the widescreen version is how the film was first presented in theaters.  However, the movie was originally intended to be a direct-to-video production, and was animated in 4:3, with the 1.85:1 theatrical version being cropped from the 4:3 version.  There's an argument to be made for either ratio being the original.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Just saw that during Prime day. $17.99 on sale was still too steep for me. I'll continue to enjoy my DVD until a better sale happens. Still, nice to have this gem in HD.

matrixgrindhouse said:
However, the movie was originally intended to be a direct-to-video production, and was animated in 4:3, with the 1.85:1 theatrical version being cropped from the 4:3 version.

Are you sure about this? The scenes don't look or feel cropped in widescreen.
 

addiesin

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From commentary I recall them saying they animated for television at first, then had to go back and "add on to the sides". Like they literally had to make the drawings bigger. Not sure what stage of animation they were at that point though.
 

matrixgrindhouse

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I'm positive that it's the other way around - that some scenes were redrawn with the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in mind, yet still animated in 4:3.  I own both versions on DVD - here's a quick comparison.  While there's some information missing from the sides of the 4:3 version, there's a lot more visible vertically.

motpfs4_zpsumyrfjvf.jpg

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motpfullscreen_zps2vfwyrwq.jpg

motpwidescreen_zpszkjeowvo.jpg

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DigModiFicaTion

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Well it looks like my future TAS edit of Phantom will be 4:3. Thanks for the heads up matrix!
 

hbenthow

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DigModiFicaTion said:
Well it looks like my future TAS edit of Phantom will be 4:3. Thanks for the heads up matrix!

You're making a fanedit of "Mask of the Phantasm"? What changes do you plan on making?
 

DigModiFicaTion

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hbenthow, I answered you over in my ideas thread as to not derail this thread.

Looks like the blu ray for Mask of the Phantasm will have the same Dolby stereo track unfortunately.
 

TM2YC

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I picked up the Criterion Region-B 'Lone Wolf and Cub' 7-film Boxset in the Prime-Day sale. The transfers look really nice and it's a decent upgrade from the Arrow DVD set. It's got a "secret" compartment...


...holding plans to make your own babycart of death.

Lone-Wolf-and-Cub-Blu-ray-hidden-compartment.jpg
 

matrixgrindhouse

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DigModiFicaTion said:
Well it looks like my future TAS edit of Phantom will be 4:3. Thanks for the heads up matrix!

No problem.  Hopefully the Blu-Ray version of the 4:3 won't have the slight loss of picture information on the sides as the DVD.
 
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