Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[JasonMichael]

I just realized that my previous post sounds pretty dismissive of Stephen King, but I enjoy his stuff a lot. I own pretty much every book, (Only missing his baseball book, Faithful, I think) and most of his film/TV adaptations. I really enjoy Maximum Overdrive.
For what it is- the directorial debut of a writer. It's fun.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by zbinks

Does an HD master already exist? If not, consider the fact that it's 3x longer than the average feature film, so the scanning and mastering costs are likely to be more cost-prohibitive.

Along those same lines, the miniseries itself would take up the bulk of a BD-50, so the presence of any extras would likely require a 2nd disc, further driving up the production costs.

The biggest question, though, is whether it was edited / finished on film or not (Don't rely on IMDB). If not, then forget about it, because there's almost no chance they could sell enough copies to make up for the cost to re-edit the film or recreate any special effects in HD.

Mick Garris has personally told me all his films have HD masters EXCEPT for the Stand, which he states will likely never come to Blu-ray. That being said, I think the Shining miniseries is owned by Warner, correct? I'd buy it for sure, but I know a lot of people feel it's clunky and inferior.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The television miniseries adaptation of The Shining could have been something special. It was more faithful to the book, Rebecca De Mornay was a great Wendy, and the cast, in general, was superb.

The sappy “Kissing, kissing.. That’s what I’ve been missing.” ending just kills the whole thing, though.

Yeah, there's some very cringe-worthy dialogue in the film. That's my only problem with it. The cast was game, but regurgitating some of that dialogue had to be painful.

[WKoA13]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

In this case, I understand Stephen King's desire to remake the film. He was never happy with Kubrick's take on the story, and if you've read the book, it's understandable. Kubrick took a lot of liberties. But like you, I think his take is a masterpiece. Easily one of my favorite and most watched movies ever. There's a reason why Kubrick is revered as a visionary film-maker, while King's contribution to cinema is Maximum Overdrive. If King wanted to bring his own cinematic "vision" to fruition, I get it. It's his story and his right. But it's going to pale next to Kubrick.

I'm in King's camp on this one. Well, sorta.

I think Kubrick's is a great "art" horror movie. But it is a terrible adaptation of the book. Jack has no real arc. From frame one he looks dangerously unstable. Wendy has no real arc or purpose either. She's "a dishrag that screams". It looks great, and has great moments in it. But it's a slap in the face to the book.

That being said....I haven't seen the TV mini-series since it aired, but I don't recall it being great either. Partially because of the limitations of trying to do horror on ABC prime time.

I'd be up for another adaptation again in the right hands. Theatrical, or cable mini-series. (Remember kids, remakes don't erase the originals from history. And with book adaptations it's not even the same argument.)

[MJD64]

I'd love to see Scream's future releases include Phillip Noyce's 1989 DEAD CALM; a terrific thriller with top-notch performances from Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane and Sam Neill. I don't believe it's ever been released with supplements in any region...would be great to see it get a proper (and long overdue) collector's edition release.

[ditcin]

Weird. I remember seeing The Shining when it first opened. The audience was all ready to be scared. Then as the film went on everyone got board and started to make fun of the film - from the kid with talking finger to the terrible acting. By the time the film ending there was one loud groan. The audience hated the film. They didn't clap, just walked out grumbling. Truthfully I felt the same, as did the girl I was with. We had wished we saw Friday the 13th which was playing at the same theater.
The TV mini-series was cool only for the parts in the novel but not in the first film - but it was terrible. I remember hysterically laughing when the guy is trapped in the elevator yelling as it goes by the wife. The sound of his yelling as it passed her was priceless.

[diverdave]

Originally Posted by ditcin

Weird. I remember seeing The Shining when it first opened. The audience was all ready to be scared. Then as the film went on everyone got board and started to make fun of the film - from the kid with talking finger to the terrible acting. By the time the film ending there was one loud groan. The audience hated the film. They didn't clap, just walked out grumbling. Truthfully I felt the same, as did the girl I was with. We had wished we saw Friday the 13th which was playing at the same theater.

As I recall, many of the reviews at the time were harsh as well. I remember one that stated Kubrick was famous for doing many takes, and the critic said given some of the takes that were in the movie then the stuff on the cutting room floor must have been abysmal.

I still wish somebody had told Nicholson how to pronounce "fantastic".

[RedHarvest]

I wish SF would pick up the Hills Run Red for Blu-ray. Doesn't even need a CE, just a good Blu-ray release.

[Bronson13]

Originally Posted by ditcin

Weird. I remember seeing The Shining when it first opened. The audience was all ready to be scared. Then as the film went on everyone got board and started to make fun of the film - from the kid with talking finger to the terrible acting. By the time the film ending there was one loud groan. The audience hated the film. They didn't clap, just walked out grumbling. Truthfully I felt the same, as did the girl I was with. We had wished we saw Friday the 13th which was playing at the same theater.
The TV mini-series was cool only for the parts in the novel but not in the first film - but it was terrible. I remember hysterically laughing when the guy is trapped in the elevator yelling as it goes by the wife. The sound of his yelling as it passed her was priceless.

Lol sounds like they were expecting Halloween 2.0 this was just too much for your little brains to handle. Makes sense you wanted to see Friday the 13th instead.

[Catastrophe]

Originally Posted by RedHarvest

I wish SF would pick up the Hills Run Red for Blu-ray. Doesn't even need a CE, just a good Blu-ray release.

Hear, hear!

Especially because the DVD is supposedly cut.

[Michael24]

Originally Posted by MJD64

I'd love to see Scream's future releases include Phillip Noyce's 1989 DEAD CALM; a terrific thriller with top-notch performances from Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane and Sam Neill. I don't believe it's ever been released with supplements in any region...would be great to see it get a proper (and long overdue) collector's edition release.

I saw this for the first time earlier this year and really enjoyed it. However, I would love if the original ending could be restored. I was reading up on the film after watching it and read how the studio forced the additional "jump scare" scene at the end. It suddenly made sense to me why that final little scene felt so off. It is rather out of place with the rest of the film. The original ending sounds much more in line with the overall tone of the film and would be nice to see.

[DenOfEarth]

Originally Posted by RedHarvest

I wish SF would pick up the Hills Run Red for Blu-ray. Doesn't even need a CE, just a good Blu-ray release.

Now that could use a BD release.

Originally Posted by WKoA13

I'm in King's camp on this one. Well, sorta.

I think Kubrick's is a great "art" horror movie. But it is a terrible adaptation of the book. Jack has no real arc. From frame one he looks dangerously unstable. Wendy has no real arc or purpose either. She's "a dishrag that screams". It looks great, and has great moments in it. But it's a slap in the face to the book.

That being said....I haven't seen the TV mini-series since it aired, but I don't recall it being great either. Partially because of the limitations of trying to do horror on ABC prime time.

I'd be up for another adaptation again in the right hands. Theatrical, or cable mini-series. (Remember kids, remakes don't erase the originals from history. And with book adaptations it's not even the same argument.)

I agree, Kubrick's film is good on it's own merits and a new adaptation of a book (not a remake of the films as remakes are only for when they are based on motion pictures produced earlier even original screenplays and credits the screenplay like The Blob or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Suspiria being true remakes.

An HBO or Hulu miniseries be fine.

[DenOfEarth]

Those extras on "This Island Earth" look swell and almost like a CE if you ask me and a worthy companion for those who own the MST3K cut on BD.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by RedHarvest

I wish SF would pick up the Hills Run Red for Blu-ray. Doesn't even need a CE, just a good Blu-ray release.

I have that on DVD, would gladly buy a BD of it.

[dawnofthediscs]

Originally Posted by redharvest

i wish sf would pick up the hills run red for blu-ray. Doesn't even need a ce, just a good blu-ray release.

absolutely!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by ditcin

Weird. I remember seeing The Shining when it first opened. The audience was all ready to be scared. Then as the film went on everyone got board and started to make fun of the film - from the kid with talking finger to the terrible acting. By the time the film ending there was one loud groan. The audience hated the film. They didn't clap, just walked out grumbling. Truthfully I felt the same, as did the girl I was with. We had wished we saw Friday the 13th which was playing at the same theater.

I had basically the same experience. My friend was a big Kubrick fan and I was getting to be one but the bigger draw for me was Jack Nicholson in a horror film! I don't remember people laughing in the audience but I do remember thinking "This kid is awful." (I still do!) Yeah, after the film was over it was dead quiet and outside my friend was "wtf was that!?" Over the years I've gotten to like it much more than my first viewing of it but I still can't get past

[Show spoiler] The Scatman sequence of seeing this terrible vision, risking life and limb in increasingly dire weather conditions to get to Danny, and then basically yelling "Hello, anybody home?" when he gets to the Overlook.

So much for the gift of The Shining.

[Wizard-of-Wars]

Originally Posted by RedHarvest

I wish SF would pick up the Hills Run Red for Blu-ray. Doesn't even need a CE, just a good Blu-ray release.

The western or the horror movie?

[iamnoone]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I had basically the same experience. My friend was a big Kubrick fan and I was getting to be one but the bigger draw for me was Jack Nicholson in a horror film! I don't remember people laughing in the audience but I do remember thinking "This kid is awful." (I still do!) Yeah, after the film was over it was dead quiet and outside my friend was "wtf was that!?" Over the years I've gotten to like it much more than my first viewing of it but I still can't get past

[Show spoiler] The Scatman sequence of seeing this terrible vision, risking life and limb in increasingly dire weather conditions to get to Danny, and then basically yelling "Hello, anybody home?" when he gets to the Overlook.

So much for the gift of The Shining.

All these reports here of how audiences viewed The Shining on original release as boring, laughable, and not scary are definitely not isolated. Although I liked the film right off, and loved so many of the Kubrickian touches, there's a bunch wrong with the film. Duvall's acting gets a lot of hate, but I think she was fine. Nicholson, on the other hand, especially in the early scenes before he starts going crazy, are some of the worst most lethargic acting I've ever seen by him. Was he even trying? Looks like he didn't want to be there. The kid was also very unconvincing. But there's so much good in the film, that I forgave a lot of it, and I still like it, but nowhere near love it.

And I was an usher at the theater when it first opened, so I stood in the back during very many showings and moments, and the audiences were always mostly bored. They always giggled at certain things, too, especially the bathroom scene when the dead hag shows up. Lots of cigarette breaks from viewers, intelligent ones at that, who still thought it was all garbage. I saw numerous sold-out crowds leaving the screenings, mostly grumbling about about how long and boring it was, a few people I knew even saying, "Why didn't you warn us it was so bad?" I liked the film enough so I had no answer. So it was not well received at the time. Unlikable characters, a slow 2 1/2 hours long, silly dialog, Nicholson overacting, etc. But the Kubrick style was still brilliant.

I believe the film gained its horror-classic status well afterwards when it played on HBO or other cable tv channels over and over, plus home video. Theatrically, so many hated it at the time. Look back and call all those audiences who disliked it as idiots? Maybe, but audiences in the 70's and early 80's were way more discreet and wanted quality films compared to today where Disney, MCU, and Star Wars continually get close to 100% on rottentomatoes. PS - Friday the 13th sucked WAY more than The Shining. No contest.

[sonny gaunt]

Not to derail the last few pages but, since Shout moved I have not received any pre-orders early. Not a big deal(some films showed up three weeks prior to release date!) but, a copy of Frankenstein Created Woman was available for review on this site.

What is the deal? I like to support directly but, if the films are cheaper through Amazon AND I get them at the same time, what is the incentive? Granted, FCW will have a poster but I am not a collector of posters(no room to display).

OK, done whining!

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by RedHarvest

Like you state, I wouldn't doubt it if this was trickery in some form. But I long suspected Wynorski might have created a hoax just to generate interest in the titles. If that was his plan, surely it worked. I've been clamoring for that double feature since he announced it. If SF does indeed own them, at this point, I don't know why they'd wait so long. Maybe they don't have access to them. Or maybe they're just shining us on, as they've been known to do. Or, the third option, maybe they own the titles and simply don't intend to release them.

Months before the Corman deal was finalized I asked Wynorski about the film and whether or not it (Sorority House Massacre) had suitable elements to even create an HD master from since all I had ever seen was the 4:3 transfer aired on Epix. If I recall correctly he replied that the negative was in good shape and suitable for HD transfers.

This set of films, much like Black Roses/Rock N Roll Nightmare with Synapse, are such obvious choices for a release that it defies logic why there's been any sort of hold up on releasing them. In regards to Shout Factory I can't help but wonder if the lawsuit regarding the sale of the Corman library has been the hold up. In regards to Black Roses and Rock N Roll Nightmare, I assume Synapse just enjoy watching me suffer.