Night of the Living Dead (1990) - Out of Print

[Dickieduvet]

I ordered it because I wanted the same version I've been watching for the last 22 years....I didn't get it.

[EddieLarkin]

Originally Posted by AndrewFM

Thank you, my friend. 3 and half stars, eh? A lot of people hated what he did to TCM but I loved that disc. Maybe he has a grudge, or maybe he's right, I'll see tomorrow

I keep hearing about the muck up with TCM in relation to the NOTLD debate, but I must have missed it when it was going on. What exactly happened with that release? What were people unhappy about?

[HyperRealist]

anyone want to buy a complete set of Twilight Time Blu-rays? All of them are sealed except The Big Heat. All the magnets too.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by xiaNaix

He didn't really say anything controversial.

"As a piece of "revisionist" work, this new transfer of NOTLD90 is a winner in my book."

The problem is that I don't think the majority of people who ordered the disc would have done so had they know this was going to be a "revised" version without having seen it first.

Agreed. Especially NotLD fans, many of whom got burned on the "revised" 30th anniversary edition of the original back in '98.


I'm all for people making up their own minds, watching the flick, and deciding if it is acceptable to them. But this is not how it was advertised. No one -- SAE, Sony, TT, anyone -- ever indicated that this $35 disc was going to differ from the original in such a radical way.

I appreciate that they're offering refunds, given the number of people that will not be OK with this. I'd prefer if the disc were just fixed.

[SapGoblin]

mine arrived...but haven't watched it yet. Should I bother?

[Arlington]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Hmmmm....this was a long thread.

Listen, there is no debate here. This transfer is all wrong. There is a specific scene that shows the sun setting and the moon rising. Does it get dark in your part of the world while the sun is still shining? You must live in a damn strange place then.

The film has clear, visual indicators as to where the true transition from day to night should be. Whoever altered this film in this way is a moron. It's not alright and this should never have been done. Did they not notice the transition scenes of day-to-night? Was this transferred by a blind, one-armed monkey in the garden shed? I'm truly baffled. This debate shouldn't even be taking place. TT/Sony should have delivered an HD version of the film as it's always been intended to be. If the filmmakers had truly intended the early sequences to be day-for-night, that transition sequence would never have been shot, much less included in the finished film. Now what part of this don't you understand? A scene showing suneset and nightfall - I mean, do you want detailed instructions? How far do we need to go to spell this out for people? It's WRONG. No amount of saying otherwise will make it so.

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

Best post in this thread thus far Agree 1000%

Originally Posted by bboisvert

+1

This post should be stickied at the top of the thread. Clear and to the point, regardless of what Sony eventually presents as the "truth" of this.

[risky1975]

so the real problem is that there was no review....

Originally Posted by xiaNaix

The problem is that I don't think the majority of people who ordered the disc would have done so had they know this was going to be a "revised" version without having seen it first.

[Clark Kent]

The success of the Twilight Time version, at least from a sales perspective, has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the commercial viability of this movie on home video. If I was a gambling man (I'm not), I would wager another edition of this Blu-ray gets issued by some entity after the three-year period is over. Will Sony go back and tweak the existing transfer that made it on the Twilight Time disc, incorporating some of the criticisms stated in this thread? It's possible.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by risky1975

so the real problem is that there was no review....

The title sold out before any copies shipped. I don't see how there could have been a review, given the sales model that's in place for TT titles.

[Ill_Be_Back]

A response from Twilight Time posted on Facebook.

It is very different transfer than the DVD, no doubt about it. However, as a transfer, taken on its own merits, it is excellent. We do sympathize however with those fans who wanted no difference...which is why we have offered to refund those disappointed by it. But one thing is very clear--this was not a mistake, but a decision made long ago, to color-correct certain scenes. We can argue against "revisionism" all day long, and many of us don't agree with it. But it is very much the way of things at present.

[xiaNaix]

Originally Posted by risky1975

so the real problem is that there was no review....

No, the real problem is that this was marketed by Twilight Time as a limited and expensive edition of Night of the Living Dead 1990 directly to fans of the films. Not even available in stores, only through their website. When you're marketing directly to fans of the film those fans are going to have expectations. What they expect is to to see the same movie they've enjoyed for 22 years. Instead we get "NOTLD90 Meets Avatar". You can try to justify this revised color palette all you want but not only does it not make sense story wise it doesn't even match the trailer on their own disc! Yes, refunds are nice but fans want to see this movie treated properly and with respect!!!

[AndrewFM]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

I keep hearing about the muck up with TCM in relation to the NOTLD debate, but I must have missed it when it was going on. What exactly happened with that release? What were people unhappy about?

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1034344/te...irst-batch/120

You can read some of them in this thread, if you scroll down to about half way. TOO MUCH DNR, they said, because the grain is quite controlled. But it doesn't look DNR'd to me, it's looks stable but very filmic. The colour is, apparently, off because there's LESS of a yellow hue throughout the first 40 minutes (still very much there). Oh, and the Ultimate Edition DVD had a few sounds missing on the Mono track (but not the stereo or 5.1) and while these were fixed for the UE BD, people continued to report them...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=186723&page=7

Oh and here

[Jompa]

BDInfo for those that are interested:

DISC INFO:

Disc Title: NIGHT_OF_THE_LIVING_DEAD
Disc Size: 24*922*860*116 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: Yes
BDInfo: 0.5.8

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name: 00000.MPLS
Length: 1:28:15.540 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 24*559*699*968 bytes
Total Bitrate: 37,10 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 27487 kbps 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3799 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3799 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2025 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2025 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio English 1509 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB

SUBTITLES:

Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 45,485 kbps

[Dickieduvet]

Originally Posted by Ill_Be_Back

A response from Twilight Time posted on Facebook.

All I won't to know is who is accountable for authorising the changes. It's not Savini, Who else could it be?

[Ill_Be_Back]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

All I won't to know is who is accountable for authorising the changes. It's not Savini, Who else could it be?

That's what I want to know as well...

[AndrewFM]

Why are we so convinced it WASN't Savini? all we know is, second-hand, he was surprised it was considered "Blue". Well some people say it's darker, but not really anymore blue. I think TV calibration is making that difference.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

All I won't to know is who is accountable for authorising the changes. It's not Savini, Who else could it be?

"Sony"

I think that's all the answer we're going to get on the topic.


This is reminding me of the issue with the DVD release of Star Wars, when the "force theme" music during the Death Star dive (which has been predominant in every previous incarnation of the film) was muted to the point of being nearly inaudible. It was obviously a MISTAKE, but Fox/Lucasfilm announced it was a "creative decision" to avoid a recall.


It's wrong, everyone watching this movie knows it's wrong, but the Powers That Be will pretend it isn't and claim it was intentional, as if that somehow makes it OK to awkwardly turn the 1/4 of the film that takes place in daylight and make it dusk.

I'm not playing. The disc is going back.

[Dickieduvet]

HEY FOLKS, BAD NEWS!!!!!

Just had an update from Tom Savini via FB:

His response:

"You know what...I watched it last night and it's beautiful. I can't see anything wrong with it and I watched it on my 70 inch high def Sharp"

That's from the Director himself.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

All I won't to know is who is accountable for authorising the changes. It's not Savini, Who else could it be?

I've heard Savini's name mentioned...even the DP...but has anyone asked Romero? After all, he was the Producer.

[AndrewFM]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

HEY FOLKS, BAD NEWS!!!!!

Just had an update from Tom Savini via FB:

His response:

"You know what...I watched it last night and it's beautiful. I can't see anything wrong with it and I watched it on my 70 inch high def Sharp"

That's from the Director himself.

hahahaha!