Dawn of the Dead (1978) - OUT OF PRINT

[solaris72]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

I don't know, Criterion couldn't even outbid Kino for the Dollars trilogy .

I mean, given the masters that were made available, I'd say Criterion dodged a bullet.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by solaris72

I mean, given the masters that were made available, I'd say Criterion dodged a bullet.

True.

[Nailwraps]

Still, how would that stopped Criterion from making their own 4K remasters?

What's more, even despite the flaws on TGTBTU Theatrical Version (though that was probably the fault with MGM for releasing a different cut on DVD back in 1998 in the first place), they did a good job fixing with the colors that the fans criticized on the MGM releases.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

Still, how would that stopped Criterion from making their own 4K remaster.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

I don't know, Criterion couldn't even outbid Kino for the Dollars trilogy .

Didn't, not couldn't. There are a host of other titles that Criterion has outbid Kino on. I suspect if they were dying to work on the Leone titles, they could've bid more but they would've lost the chance to acquire other titles.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by dwk

Didn't, not couldn't. There are a host of other titles that Criterion has outbid Kino on. I suspect if they were dying to work on the Leone titles, they could've bid more but they would've lost the chance to acquire other titles.

Didn't, couldn't, wouldn't, the fact remains that they didn't put up the cash for one of the most popular trilogies of all time. The odds of them or anyone paying the kings ransom that Rubinstein is asking for seems low.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

The odds of them or anyone paying the kings ransom that Rubinstein is asking for seems low.

Yeah. No one is licensing this or Martin.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by dwk

Yeah. No one is licensing this or Martin.

[GeoffOliver]

Anchor Bay and Shout! Factory teamed up for the giant Halloween box set, so I guess something similar isn’t totally out of the question. Maybe Shout! and Arrow could split costs, and Shout gets US rights and Arrow gets UK rights, but both companies appear on both releases. Or maybe a major studio like Universal is willing to save the day and buy the rights from Rupinstein (fat chance, I know). Someone with more knowledge of home video rights will probably debunk those possibilities though. ;^_^ Either way, we desperately need a new release of this film. It should never have disappeared off the market. At this rate, we’ll see Porgie & Bess and Song of the South on Blu-ray before this film again.

Doesn’t Rupinstein also own Day of the Dead? I know there’s no 3D version of that to pay for, but Anchor Bay and Shout! would’ve also had to work with him for that.

[CompleteCount]

The chances of this being reissued are virtually none. Romero died without getting any further residuals from a blu release of Dawn or Martin, titles with a line of fans waiting for new editions of, but still he refuses. The whole Pet Sematary affair really hurt Romero, whom was very close to Rubinstein and considered him a trusted ally, and his shafting highlights Rubinstein's character. Mary Lambert had become in demand for cutting-edge pop videos which were setting MTV ablaze, and Rubinstein saw the financial potential and took it. I remember reading (in the 90s, I think...) about the time Romero got wind of Lambert, and he guessed what was going to happen, so cleared out all of his directorial and prep notes so that they couldn't be given to Lambert as a how-to guide. There was always the other rumour about how she got the job, but it's unsubstantiated.

Rubinstein is a bloody-minded and ruthless individual who would never admit that his 3D rendering of Dawn of the Dead was folly, and he'll refuse to back down and swallow the money spent on it. To remaster and/or reissue Dawn would cause his ego too much damage, even though he's probably admitted to himself that there is no interest the project, but certainly won't to anyone else.

My guess is that Rubinstein will leave the rights to Dawn to his offspring, who will doubtless hold onto them as a nest-egg. It will be a similar situation to the movies of Ray Dennis Steckler, where the children of producer George Morgan denied Steckler access to the negatives and held them to ransom for extortionate sums.

A matter of months after being shafted by Rubinstein, Romero summed up his former colleague with the words: “I’ll never get sick of zombies - I’ll just get sick of producers…”

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Either way, we desperately need a new release of this film. It should never have disappeared off the market.

[MrRonald2796]

So, which Blu-Ray version is the best one available for this movie?
I've read many conflicting comments about it.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by MrRonald2796

So, which Blu-Ray version is the best one available for this movie?
I've read many conflicting comments about it.

Whatever the cheapest you can find. If you’re interested in having all three cuts in HD then the Italian set or the Japanese Set (Though the Italian set does use the Japanese sets’ Theatrical and Extended masters). If you’re interested in just the US cut the Anchor Bay is (albeit expensive) the cheapest you can find at least compared to getting the Arrow release. The Australian release is somewhat hard to find but it uses Arrow’s master. If you’re interested in the Argento cut then the individual Japanese release is a safe bet or the individual Italian release.

Like I said whatever you can find the cheapest at this point.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Whatever the cheapest you can find. If you’re interested in having all three cuts in HD then the Italian set or the Japanese Set (Though the Italian set does use the Japanese sets’ Theatrical and Extended masters). If you’re interested in just the US cut the Anchor Bay is (albeit expensive) the cheapest you can find at least compared to getting the Arrow release. The Australian release is somewhat hard to find but it uses Arrow’s master. If you’re interested in the Argento cut then the individual Japanese release is a safe bet or the individual Italian release.

Like I said whatever you can find the cheapest at this point.

Yup, it's all diminishing returns from there.

[splintersan]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Anchor Bay and Shout! Factory teamed up for the giant Halloween box set, so I guess something similar isn’t totally out of the question. Maybe Shout! and Arrow could split costs, and Shout gets US rights and Arrow gets UK rights, but both companies appear on both releases. Or maybe a major studio like Universal is willing to save the day and buy the rights from Rupinstein (fat chance, I know). Someone with more knowledge of home video rights will probably debunk those possibilities though. ;^_^ Either way, we desperately need a new release of this film. It should never have disappeared off the market. At this rate, we’ll see Porgie & Bess and Song of the South on Blu-ray before this film again.

Doesn’t Rupinstein also own Day of the Dead? I know there’s no 3D version of that to pay for, but Anchor Bay and Shout! would’ve also had to work with him for that.

Rubinstein wants a ridiculous amount of money for the film. He spent millions of his own money on a 3D version that he needs to recoup. He is extremely unreasonable and won't budge on the price. Think about it, this would have been a very early Scream Factory or Arrow film if it were obtainable. I've heard he wants insane money just to screen the film. It's unlikely we will get this film any time soon unless some one with some deep pockets steps up. The real tragedy of the whole ordeal is how hard Martin is to come by. You can still find DVD's and other region releases of Dawn. Poor Martin is left alone in the dark.

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by MrRonald2796

So, which Blu-Ray version is the best one available for this movie?
I've read many conflicting comments about it.

Either the Arrow or the Umbrella BD.

They both have the exact same transfer & encoding and there's no better option out there at the moment in terms of PQ.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Doesn’t Rupinstein also own Day of the Dead? I know there’s no 3D version of that to pay for, but Anchor Bay and Shout! would’ve also had to work with him for that.

Day of the Dead is owned by another entity altogether.

[CompleteCount]

I still have both Dawn & Day from Arrow in their shrink wrapping. The only reason why I have unopened copies is because Arrow were very generous back then, where they would initially give you a review disc (see Dawn one in pic) and finished edition when they were ready to ship.

Dawnday.jpg

[GeoffOliver]

Originally Posted by zbinks

Day of the Dead is owned by another entity altogether.

Who? I believe you, I’m just wondering. Shout!’s package only mentions “Dead Films.”

[Gory]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Who? I believe you, I’m just wondering. Shout!’s package only mentions “Dead Films.”

Salah Hassanein owns Knightriders, Creepshow, and Day Of The Dead. Though Creepshow was picked up by Warner Bros.