Fright Night (1985) Limited to 3,000 Copies - SOLD OUT - Review

[BankytheHack]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

I disagree with your reasoning. Dead Alive is about to hit blu. Why isn't it getting the same treatment? It's a widely regarded niche flick, and is being offered at a discount price. From a business angle, I get why this is being done, but as a consumer I think it bites (no pun intended).



I just saw the new film a couple of days ago and was way more impressed with it that I thought I would be. I only went because I had free tickets and the reviews were much higher than I expected.

They did a great job with it, being respectful to the original, but creating a film with its own separate identity. As I was walking out of the theater with my daughters, I mentioned my hope that retail outlets would offer 2-pack deals for the blus (you know, but this new flick and get the old one for $10 less).

I guess that's not going to happen though.

Lion's Gate has always been budget conscious about their catalog releases. Heck, $15 for Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction is at the high end of their catalog pricing. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of their business planning, but Lion's Gate is also a much, much larger company than Twilight Time, which is just getting into the blu-ray game. Different companies have different strategies. Time will tell if Twilight Time's will be a success.

[cinemaphile]

back on non-pricing issues...

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

I just saw the new film a couple of days ago and was way more impressed with it that I thought I would be. I only went because I had free tickets and the reviews were much higher than I expected.

They did a great job with it, being respectful to the original, but creating a film with its own separate identity.

I agree completely. Actually I thought it was in many ways better than the original. I still don't think Colin Farrell was quite right for it, and while I enjoyed McLovin in this one the original Ed was better. But I thought Yelchin was much better than Ragsdale, thought Tennant's new take on Peter Vincent was better than the original, and the girlfriend was better as well. Overall the story and the action in the new version were more fun for me.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by BankytheHack

Lion's Gate has always been budget conscious about their catalog releases. Heck, $15 for Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction is at the high end of their catalog pricing. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of their business planning, but Lion's Gate is also a much, much larger company than Twilight Time, which is just getting into the blu-ray game. Different companies have different strategies. Time will tell if Twilight Time's will be a success.

True, but I can tell you I won't be supporting them for the time being. Hell, even SHOUT! Factory doesn't ask $40 for their blus.

I'll wait until Twilight Time loses the rights and it get released again by somebody else (ala the upcoming Evil Dead 2 release).

[BankytheHack]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

back on non-pricing issues...
I agree completely. Actually I thought it was in many ways better than the original. I still don't think Colin Farrell was quite right for it, and while I enjoyed McLovin in this one the original Ed was better. But I thought Yelchin was much better than Ragsdale, thought Tennant's new take on Peter Vincent was better than the original, and the girlfriend was better as well. Overall the story and the action were more fun for me as well.

I think the new Peter Vincent is what worked the least for me in the new version. I get that they had to change Vincent since late night horror movie hosts are a thing of the past now, but what does a douchey Hot Topic magician have to do with vampires? A buddy of mine suggested that they should have made Vincent the star of a cable show like "Ghost Hunters". Now that would have fit more in with today's media.

The thing is though, the original film is such a prime example of lightening in a bottle. The story of a vampire moving in next door to a teenage kid isn't new or particularly original (even in 1985), but it was the execution that makes the original Fright Night so good.

[s2mikey]

Geesh - this isnt the news I wnated to hear. Why isnt just a regular old release? I really like this flick but Ive watched it a few times streaming recently and have seen it enough that I dont need to own it at $40 bucks. Thats what I paid for the ENTIRE Alien trilogy for goodness sake.

Great flick and a campy classic. Ill pass for now though. It'll come out again or turn up used at some point.

$40 disc price points for basic catalog titles is a thing of the past...like 10 years ago past.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

back on non-pricing issues...
I agree completely. Actually I thought it was in many ways better than the original. I still don't think Colin Farrell was quite right for it, and while I enjoyed McLovin in this one the original Ed was better. But I thought Yelchin was much better than Ragsdale, thought Tennant's new take on Peter Vincent was better than the original, and the girlfriend was better as well. Overall the story and the action in the new version were more fun for me.

Really? Well, to each his own, I guess. The cast of the original was perfect - I mean perfect. And, it held up mostly well, despite a few effects shots that obviously are a little cheesey.

Yelchin better that Rags? Really? Cant buy into this.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Really? Well, to each his own, I guess. The cast of the original was perfect - I mean perfect. And, it held up mostly well, despite a few effects shots that obviously are a little cheesey.

Yelchin better that Rags? Really? Cant buy into this.

Me either!

[JaseT]

I will be preordering!

Remember when VHS movies cost $80 back in the early 1980's?

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by BankytheHack

I think the new Peter Vincent is what worked the least for me in the new version. I get that they had to change Vincent since late night horror movie hosts are a thing of the past now, but what does a douchey Hot Topic magician have to do with vampires? A buddy of mine suggested that they should have made Vincent the star of a cable show like "Ghost Hunters". Now that would have fit more in with today's media.

Again Banky, I disagree. I liked both versions of Vincent, and found his vocation very relevant in our modern culture of ultra phoniness. In fact, I liked both versions of every character for their own reasons. They were smart to convert Ed in a timely manner this time around though. McLovin' didn't have a chance of playing up to the original Evil, and I think they knew that.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by JaseT

I will be preordering!

Remember when VHS movies cost $80 back in the early 1980's?

...and almost nobody bought them?

[BankytheHack]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

...and almost nobody bought them?

I was one of those ding-dongs who paid $80 for a VHS tape. I will never, EVER, under penalty of death reveal what the movie was either

[JaseT]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

...and almost nobody bought them?

Yeah, no kidding! According to an inflation calculator, $80 in 1980 would be the same as $209 in 2010!

[miller_time22]

I don't have an issue with the pricing, but WTF is going on with the limited release? It doesn't make any sense. 3,000 units at $40 a pop is maximum revenue of $120k. That's the best Sony thinks they can do with this title? Gimme a break.

[bookcase]

I never thought of this as a niche film, but if it is, it'll stay that way with the price of this release.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by BankytheHack

I was one of those ding-dongs who paid $80 for a VHS tape. I will never, EVER, under penalty of death reveal what the movie was either

My mother bought me Aliens at full price. I wore the tape out after about a year, and she bought me a second copy as a Xmas present.

I have literally seen that movie over four-hundred times. I can hardly even pay attention to it now. If I do put it on, it's just so I can quote along with the dialogue while doing something like cleaning the house.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by JaseT

Yeah, no kidding! According to an inflation calculator, $80 in 1980 would be the same as $209 in 2010!

Ouch.

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by JaseT

Remember when VHS movies cost $80 back in the early 1980's?

That's because they weren't actually intended for retail sale to consumers. VHS tapes operated on a rental window - they came out priced at $80+ for rental stores to buy and rent out. After about a year or so (at first, though that window dropped to around 6 months by the early 90's), they would drop it to a "sell-through" price of $15-$25. Only the biggest of the big titles came out directly for sale (Top Gun, Indiana Jones/Crusade, etc...), then more and more major releases started going straight to sell-through pricing. But even right up to when DVD hit in 1997, 80% of titles were still going rental-only at first. DVD changed that game.

People who bought the tapes at $80 were the nuts who couldn't wait so they paid the huge prices. But it wasn't an issue with studio pricing - they never intended consumers to pay that for it.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

People who bought the tapes at $80 were the nuts who couldn't wait so they paid the huge prices. But it wasn't an issue with studio pricing - they never intended consumers to pay that for it.

This is quite true. You couldn't get these through retailers as they were not initially intended for purchase by the general public. You had to ask your video store to order you a new copy through their suppliers. Most video stores would do this as service to their customers at no profit to them (because the tapes were already so damned expensive to begin with).

[junyab]

I love what they are doing with this release...aimed for the collector/aficionado, and not the general horror/blu fan.

I'll gladly pay the price to have this in my collection.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by junyab

I love what they are doing with this release...aimed for the collector/aficionado, and not the general horror/blu fan.

I'll gladly pay the price to have this in my collection.

I have a garbage can full of dead grass and bush trimmings priced for the collector. Interested? It's a great item, straight from my own yard--a really unique assortment of decaying plant matter. I take paypal, credit card, cash, whatever...