Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[happydood]

Originally Posted by vortexx

I knew Tobe and worked with him. I never asked him about Poltergeist, but all the Spielbergian moments people seem to think Tobe couldn't have come up with are in the script. I have a copy of an earlier script which would have likely recieved an R rating and all that stuff is in the script. Tobe was hired to shoot an existing script. Should he have scrapped that stuff so people wouldn't think Spielberg directed it or some of it?

I always love hearing stories about this shoot and wish the internet didn't treat it like some grand conspiracy. I think the movie is what it is- a beautiful blending of two different sensibilities that has elements of both and is unique for both of them. I don't know how someone could look at the over-the-top visuals of The Funhouse and not think Tobe Hooper's fingerprints are also all over Poltergeist.

[happydood]

Originally Posted by sxerunner

Personally hoping for more Sony catalog stuff. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” would be a great, maybe “Anaconda” or “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”.

Edit: My dream scenario would be a steelbook re-release of Dog Soldiers using that 4K scan that exists in Europe.

I kinda love Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the over-the-top fever dream that it is. I know it's not for everybody, but it's well-deserving of some kind of doc on how it came to be what it is. It'd be a great title for SF.

[Sleazeaddict]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

If your Paypal address is different then your re-shipper address that can cause problems.

That's what i thought but i was able to do a first order 3 days ago and used paypal without problem so i sent them a message. hope the titles iam after will stay in stock until then.

[Hedji]

Originally Posted by vortexx

I have a copy of an earlier script which would have likely recieved an R rating and all that stuff is in the script.

Love your comment! Can you briefly share what some of the R rated ideas were? I'm not familiar with them.

Originally Posted by happydood

I always love hearing stories about this shoot and wish the internet didn't treat it like some grand conspiracy. I think the movie is what it is- a beautiful blending of two different sensibilities that has elements of both and is unique for both of them. I don't know how someone could look at the over-the-top visuals of The Funhouse and not think Tobe Hooper's fingerprints are also all over Poltergeist.

Amen. The family scenes from Funhouse and even Invaders from Mars almost feel like Poltergeist outtakes. I feel like more awareness of Tobe Hooper's other films would put out some of the conspiracy flames. You really said it well in your comment.. a beautiful blending. It is.

[Spooked]

Originally Posted by happydood

I kinda love Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the over-the-top fever dream that it is. I know it's not for everybody, but it's well-deserving of some kind of doc on how it came to be what it is. It'd be a great title for SF.

God, I'd love that. After years of waiting for a Special Edition, I finally caved and purchased the existing Blu last month. I'm sure the transfer is more than adequate on the existing disc, but I always thought the film was ripe for a 2-disc set.

[MJD64]

I'd like to see a SE of MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN as well, though I fear it's so widely perceived as a failure it simply won't happen. I get caught up in the feverish theatrically of the film, with its heightened emotions, swirling camerawork and effusive Patrick Doyle score - warts and all, it's an impassioned film. Branagh makes for a convingly obsessive Dr. Frankenstein, and the film overall conveys the ultimately tragic and mournful air of Shelley's tale better than many other versions.

I especially love that creation sequence, which cheekily mirrors conception with its sp*rm - like eels racing through a tube from what can only be described as a scrotum - like base to give birth to the monster; it's funny, fast, exciting and as OTT operatic as one could want from such a scene...and Frankenstein and his nude, stitched-together creation sloshing around in amniotic fluid is humorous and at the same time oddly touching. An underrated film for sure.

[Member-222782]

Every other label seems able to get new titles out as frequently as they always have...except for Shout. Even Blue Underground is cranking them out. I guess Shout can sustain themselves with Friday the 13th for the rest of the year

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Every other label seems able to get new titles out as frequently as they always have...except for Shout. Even Blue Underground is cranking them out. I guess Shout can sustain themselves with Friday the 13th for the rest of the year

To my knowledge, Blue Underground have released one 'new' title this year - the 4K remaster of House By The Cemetery back in January - with the rest being UHD upgrades of previously remastered titles or standard re-issues of OOP LEs. Would you really call that 'cranking them out'?

[TheZatch]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Every other label seems able to get new titles out as frequently as they always have...except for Shout. Even Blue Underground is cranking them out. I guess Shout can sustain themselves with Friday the 13th for the rest of the year

I'm sure they can with how well the set sold right out the gate. They've been compiling special features for 12 films in the middle of a pandemic and I'm sure they're doing everything they can to make this the definitive collection for the franchise. If that means we get less releases until after the New Year, so what? Think of it as 12 "Collector's Editions" housed in one box.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by TheZatch

If that means we get less releases until after the New Year, so what? Think of it as 12 "Collector's Editions" housed in one box.

If you're OK with studios releasing the same films over and over that's fine but I'm bored by it.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by TheZatch

I'm sure they can with how well the set sold right out the gate. They've been compiling special features for 12 films in the middle of a pandemic and I'm sure they're doing everything they can to make this the definitive collection for the franchise. If that means we get less releases until after the New Year, so what? Think of it as 12 "Collector's Editions" housed in one box.

What about the folks who have ZERO interest in the Friday the 13th movies? As long as you get what you want, that's all that matters!

[TheZatch]

Originally Posted by Mystic

What about the folks who have ZERO interest in the Friday the 13th movies? As long as you get what you want, that's all that matters!

Well, that's a little dramatic. I have ZERO interest in 95% of the Hammer and Corman films that have been released over the last 2 years but I'm 100% happy for those fans that have been able to see their favorite films in the best way possible.

I feel like Shout does a great job balancing mainstream titles with the more obscure horror films out there, and they've said in the past that re-issues of mainstream fodder like "Child's Play", "The Thing", "Carrie", "TCM 2" etc. helps fund those smaller or more difficult-to-acquire releases so they all have their place in the Scream Factory line.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by Mystic

What about the folks who have ZERO interest in the Friday the 13th movies? As long as you get what you want, that's all that matters!

This is going to be a huge seller for Scream Factory. It's probably their most important release of the year, so it makes sense that they do a thorough job that leaves the customers satisfied. Scream is almost surely taking in less revenue due to the pandemic, so a release like this is important to keep their doors open and ensure funding for projects in 2021.

[happydood]

Originally Posted by TheZatch

Well, that's a little dramatic. I have ZERO interest in 95% of the Hammer and Corman films that have been released over the last 2 years but I'm 100% happy for those fans that have been able to see their favorite films in the best way possible.

I feel like Shout does a great job balancing mainstream titles with the more obscure horror films out there, and they've said in the past that re-issues of mainstream fodder like "Child's Play", "The Thing", "Carrie", "TCM 2" etc. helps fund those smaller or more difficult-to-acquire releases so they all have their place in the Scream Factory line.

I love Hammer nine ways to Sunday, but I applaud your outlook.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by karussellbremser

I asked SF about The Entity being sold out on their site last week, and they confirmed to me that it is NOT OOP and they are just waiting for more stock. Maybe listing it as sold out is in response to the many delays in restocking titles over the last months.

Some Entities are manifesting at the 24.96 price point at different vendors for those seeking one to haunt their shopping carts. I ordered, but I'm waffling--something about not trusting my decades' old impression of the film--but I'll probably let it ship. As a Fox title, once Shout's license expires, it's probably marked for the bowels of the Disney vault.

..

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Hedji

I feel like more awareness of Tobe Hooper's other films would put out some of the conspiracy flames.

Claiming that Poltergeist is more a Spielberg film than a Hooper one isn't a conspiracy, nor is it conjecture or even a reach. At this point it's a pretty widely-accepted and verified theory.

[Hedji]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Claiming that Poltergeist is more a Spielberg film than a Hooper one isn't a conspiracy, nor is it conjecture or even a reach. At this point it's a pretty widely-accepted and verified theory.

After reading your thoughts, you're right; I probably didn't articulate well or choose my words carefully. Is it 60/40? 50/50? Who really knows? But happydood's post above mine suggested it's a beautiful blend of both, and I agree. For what it's worth, I'm a bigger fan of Spielberg than Hooper, both as a filmmaker and personality. I just think it's wise to consider that there is plenty of Tobe Hooper's style in the film, as evidenced by the tone of his other work from the era. Of course, Spielberg is all over it. There are photos of him in Director poses on the set. But I don't think it's necessarily more one than the other. Just my feeling. It's sad that Hooper's career went the way it did.

[prkchopexpress]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Claiming that Poltergeist is more a Spielberg film than a Hooper one isn't a conspiracy, nor is it conjecture or even a reach. At this point it's a pretty widely-accepted and verified theory.

it completely is not. it is rumor. unless you have some magical source of spielberg verifying it himself. which you don’t.

[vortexx]

Originally Posted by Hedji

Love your comment! Can you briefly share what some of the R rated ideas were? I'm not familiar with them.



Amen. The family scenes from Funhouse and even Invaders from Mars almost feel like Poltergeist outtakes. I feel like more awareness of Tobe Hooper's other films would put out some of the conspiracy flames. You really said it well in your comment.. a beautiful blending. It is.

One of the R-Rated scenes is the scene where jobeth Williams is going up the walls and ceiling of her bedroom. The script says that finger imprints can be seen on her naked breasts (like the Entity).

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

it completely is not. it is rumor. unless you have some magical source of spielberg verifying it himself. which you don’t.

The proof is in the finished product and the incontrovertible fact that visually, tonally and thematically Poltergeist resembles every movie Spielberg was making in the 70s/80s and nothing that Hooper did before or after.

Spielberg admitting the truth would not only be a DGA breach-of-contract, he'd be substantiating long-held-reports about Hooper's mistreatment on set and trammeling on his grave in the process.

Just like everybody embracing The Thing from Another World as a Howard Hawks film, it's borderline negligent to deny that Spielberg was the stagecoach driver of Poltergeist...with Hooper riding shotgun.