Braindead aka Dead Alive

[Prim]

http://www.mediaquelle.at/shop/produ...ducts_id=33654

Are there some enlightened souls out there that have some info on this release? The run time indicates the complete version of the film, but will this be a proper release, or some sort of upscale?

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Cinespectral Films

This is a bootleg! Based on the US-Blu-ray and some uncut DVD! It's crap! DON'T BUY ANYTHING LIKE THAT FROM GERMANY.

Laser Paradise / Thomas Buresch is known for his bootlegs disguised as official releases.

For certain reasons we should not expect to see the Jackson flicks in the very near future. And if they appear than it will be something like "WOW PHANTASM in 4k!!!!" ... and not some German scam!

My gut feeling was that something was not right, since this release is so out of the blue, but good to have confirmation. Thanks for posting.

[ThisKid]

Peter Jackson better announce that he has finished restoring Braindead, because I don't want to keep watching the Uncut UK Non-Anamorphic DVD.

[AllNight]

BUMP!!!

Here's an 1080p AI upscale and restoration using the uncut "Blood Edition" non anamorphic DVD as a source... it's at the correct aspect ratio of 1:66 (top and bottom are not cropped off!):

Braindead (Dead Alive) 1992 Complete Uncut 1080p AI Upscale / Restoration / Correct Aspect Ratio - YouTube

It turned out OK I think... the best so far probably, until (if ever) it gets released as a proper Blu-Ray. It has English subs!

From the description:

There have been a *lot* of different releases of this film, including the now out of print Lionsgate (Trimark) "Unrated" Blu-Ray which I have seen sell at over $200.00 for a sealed copy.

For this upload, I'm concerned with the "full" uncut version of the film, which is 1:39:24 for PAL (25 fps), and 1:43:39 for NTSC (23.976 fps). (The Lionsgate/Trimark "Unrated" Blu-Ray is cut, at 1:37).

For the full uncut version of the film, there are only three versions I know of that have been released. They have been released several times over the years on a number of different labels, some of them bootlegs. They all appear (I'm not certain) to be scanned from a used release print of the film (as opposed to a high quality negative, workprint, or showprint), which has some wear (dust & scratches, faded colors) and some warping (especially in the bottom left corner) during some scenes. Whatever version you can find, it's likely the same source as one of the below:

1) Laser Paradise PAL "Blood" edition DVD (sometimes called "Red" edition on different releases). This is non anamorphic (but is stretched for PAL), and is the only version of the complete uncut version that is at the correct aspect ratio of 1:66.

2) Laser Paradise PAL "Anamorphic" edition DVD. This appears to come from the same release print as the above, but has been cropped and stretched to make it anamorphic. While it's a 1:78 aspect ratio, the top and bottom have been cropped to make it "fill the screen" for 1:78. I don't believe the original film was shot in 1:66 "open matte" style with the intention of cropping off the top and bottom, as it's painfully obvious on viewing that the top/bottom have been cropped. Just because it's anamorphic doesn't make it better.

3) A bootleg 1080p HD Blu-Ray release. I'm unsure of the exact details. Some parts (like titles) look like true 1080p HD, but most of it looks to be a regular upscale, and the quality is not great, although the colors and color grading are much more accurate than the complete uncut DVD sources. It may come from the same source as the above (i.e., the HD scan that was downscaled for the DVD), or from a different release print. It's still the incorrect aspect ratio of 1:78, with the top and bottom cropped off. I believe it is the source of the following upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_FMUq50oPY

I believe that the original aspect ratio of 1:66 is important. Even the Lionsgate/Trimark Blu-Ray is cropped, even moreso than other releases.

Some sites with info about the various releases:

Blu-ray.com - Lionsgate/Trimark out-of-print Blu-Ray (~5 - 6 minutes cut):
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Dead-...Blu-ray/26314/

Movie-censorship.com - What's missing / changed on the Lionsgate/Trimark Blu-Ray/DVD and the complete uncut version:
https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=3888

DVDBeaver.com - Comparison between Lionsgate/Trimark Blu-Ray and Laser Paradise PAL "Anamorphic" DVD:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-r...ve_blu-ray.htm

DVDCompare.net - Comparison between various DVD releases (Blu-Ray release is same as US Trimark DVD):
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1227
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison....php?fid=19132 (Blu-Ray)

What would be ideal, is if Peter Jackson could arrange, and/or supervise, and approve an 8K/4K/Blu-Ray official release of his older films, utilizing original negatives or workprints (if they exist), professional re-grading, and restoration. He said he wanted to do this back in 2018 but has instead been concentrating on other restoration projects (They Shall Not Grow Old, The Beatles: Get Back). Frustrating, I know.

For this upload, I used the Laser Paradise PAL "Blood" edition non-anamorphic DVD, as it's the only version of the complete uncut film that is in the correct 1:66 aspect ratio.

- Film has been upscaled using Topaz Video Enhance AI, "Proteus v2" model, settings: Revert Compression 65, Recover Details 40, Sharpen 15, Reduce Noise 15, Dehalo 15, Antialias/Deblur 45

- Cropping & zooming have been applied to keep the original 1:66 aspect ratio. Black bars appear on the sides to fill 1:78 1080p. In some scenes, some flicker / warping is visible on the top, bottom, and lower left corner, due to the wear of the source release print. Cropping this out completely would lose too much from the majority of the film where this isn't present.

- Re-grading. I am not a professional colorist and I'm not a Resolve user, but the source was definitely blue-green tinted and did my best to correct this.

- Frame jitter is present on most all releases, including the Lionsgate/Trimark Blu-Ray. This has been fixed to a more or less degree.

- Audio - The source audio track has quite a bit of background noise. This has been reduced (not eliminated) using best quality methods, and replay gained to R128 standards.

- English Subs added.

- PAL source speed corrected to original 23.976 fps film speed.

[TheHutt]

Upscale... Sheesh..