Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Want to add that the commentary track with Haberman and Nasr is fantastic, and not just a collection of IMDB/Wiki trivia. They do a lot of comparisons between the source novel (Werewolf of Paris) and this film, and talk about how they differ in tone and treatment. There's some insight into the life of the author Guy Endore and historical events that might have some bearing on the story. Also, a lot of discussion on how the film riled the censors. One thing missing from this release is how much the UK theatrical release differed from the US release in terms of censored content (they keep saying "shredded to bits", but there's no detailed comparison on what and how much material was shorn off).

Looks like I spoke too soon, because there is a featurette that specifically deals with the censorship. While there is no footage of the butchered UK cut to illustrate the damage, the Hammer experts in the featurette say that the following things were cut:

[Show spoiler]

• The rape of the mute maid, who is Leon's biological mother - all shots other than her being approached by the bestial beggar were lopped off or truncated.
• The maid's killing of the Marquis was heavily truncated for blood.
• The killing of the prostitute by Leon, especially the shot of her corpse with the blood splattered across her neck and the mirror. Apparently you only see the shot of the werewolf hand at her neck, before the scene changes.
• All close-ups of the werewolf with blood dripping from the jaws were ordered to be removed, including the climactic close-up where he is redeemed in death, a tear forming in his eye. That's pretty much 90% of the werewolf footage and I can see how the action would have become nigh incomprehensible.

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by BobSimms

Looks like that isn’t stopping Imprint (Aus) from releasing it!

Edited to add specs from Imprint:

I see this was licenced from ITV (who hold the rights outside of the US). It's probable that they had the elements and US labels/Paramount could not access them. That it's been newly restored by ITV probably suggests a release from Network is imminent, and maybe US labels will be able to access this new master now.

[KickAss]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

If you order something that’s in stock, they ship within 24-48 hours. It appears that they’re waiting for stock for at least one of the items in your order.

Looking at their website today and all of the titles I ordered are in stock. I mean I assume they are if you are able to add to cart and place an order. I sent them a message to see what's up. This is my first order with Shout and so far I'm not impressed with their service. A little communication goes a long way. If one of my titles is in fact out of stock then they should communicate that to the customer. It should also say "backordered" or something on the product page if that's the case.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by KickAss

Looking at their website today and all of the titles I ordered are in stock. I mean I assume they are if you are able to add to cart and place an order. I sent them a message to see what's up. This is my first order with Shout and so far I'm not impressed with their service. A little communication goes a long way. If one of my titles is in fact out of stock then they should communicate that to the customer. It should also say "backordered" or something on the product page if that's the case.

It won’t say if an item isn’t in stock or not. The only way to tell is after the fact, if your order doesn’t ship within 24-48 hours. I agree it should be indicated on the product page. You’ll eventually get your order though, but it might take a couple of weeks.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

I see this was licenced from ITV (who hold the rights outside of the US). It's probable that they had the elements and US labels/Paramount could not access them. That it's been newly restored by ITV probably suggests a release from Network is imminent, and maybe US labels will be able to access this new master now.

Paramount doesn't seems to play nice with the Brits. Scream wasn't able to release the uncut Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell or the new transfer for Captain Kronos. I would guess Paramount made that call.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

It won’t say if an item isn’t in stock or not. The only way to tell is after the fact, if your order doesn’t ship within 24-48 hours. I agree it should be indicated on the product page. You’ll eventually get your order though, but it might take a couple of weeks.

To piggy back off of this, past sales have shown us that there can be a 3-6 week wait for additional stock to come in depending on when you ordered and how much time had passed since another pressing was ordered. If the title was already sold out when you ordered you will have a shorter wait time than if you unfortunately just missed it and that order had to be placed during said sale. I seem to remember that 4 weeks from date of order to shipment seemed to be the standard during some of the past sales when this happened.

[locomotive]

Somebody posted that the movie dolls get a reprint is this True.
I hope cause i really would like to buy this one

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Looks like I spoke too soon, because there is a featurette that specifically deals with the censorship. While there is no footage of the butchered UK cut to illustrate the damage, the Hammer experts in the featurette say that the following things were cut:

[Show spoiler]

• The rape of the mute maid, who is Leon's biological mother - all shots other than her being approached by the bestial beggar were lopped off or truncated.
• The maid's killing of the Marquis was heavily truncated for blood.
• The killing of the prostitute by Leon, especially the shot of her corpse with the blood splattered across her neck and the mirror. Apparently you only see the shot of the werewolf hand at her neck, before the scene changes.
• All close-ups of the werewolf with blood dripping from the jaws were ordered to be removed, including the climactic close-up where he is redeemed in death, a tear forming in his eye. That's pretty much 90% of the werewolf footage and I can see how the action would have become nigh incomprehensible.

Very useful stuff, thanks, Ravenus.

Is any of this footage on the UK, Australian or German Blus, either within the film or as extras?

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by locomotive

Somebody posted that the movie dolls get a reprint is this True.
I hope cause i really would like to buy this one

In another thread a user made a comment about how they'd be pissed if Dolls was re-released due to the value the current Blu Ray has. I typed out a comment about how I was certain that Doll's would eventually see a re-release as it's too well known of a film to stay out of print forever, but I can't remember if I actually posted that comment or not. If I did it was merely indicating that I expect another release at some point from someone and was not an announcement that a new release was happening soon.

Anyone else care to chime in on that?

[Nighthawk71]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

In another thread a user made a comment about how they'd be pissed if Dolls was re-released due to the value the current Blu Ray has. I typed out a comment about how I was certain that Doll's would eventually see a re-release as it's too well known of a film to stay out of print forever, but I can't remember if I actually posted that comment or not. If I did it was merely indicating that I expect another release at some point from someone and was not an announcement that a new release was happening soon.

Anyone else care to chime in on that?

Exactly, look at Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Without Warning and loads of other movies that were out of print and now getting new editions on other labels. Why I would never pay a high price for a Blu Ray.

[Seasick Pirate]

Originally Posted by KickAss

So on average, how long is Shout Factory taking to ship out orders? (yes I know that there is a slower turnaround time due to COVID) I placed my order 6 days ago and the status is just set to "Order Taken". Is this the norm? Should I contact SF to see what's going on?

I’m in a similar position as you. I placed my first order with Shout 3 weeks ago- 18 titles including the Abbott & Costello set. Not a small order.

I received a shipping confirmation a week later. When it arrived, it was only one of the titles. I tried checking my order status but since I used PayPal to checkout, and didn’t create and account, I couldn’t do anything.

Finally I emailed their CS and explained my situation. They had me create an account with them and then they applied that order to my account. The last email I received was them letting me know my account was linked and that the rest of the order will ship soon.

Later that day I got a shipping confirmation and tracking number. The tracking number remains at “shipping label created” status for over a week. Not a great first impression with me.

I don’t doubt that I will receive my order, but I would appreciate and honest timeline on when to expect it to arrive. One of the titles is going to be a birthday gift, so it would be nice to know when that is expected to be delivered.

[hagios]

I went ahead & canceled my Shout! Halloween 1-5 + Exclusive Posters + Vinyl + Exclusive Enamel Pin Set… I just thought it over & thought these are just too overcharged (too expensive) & do not have anymore room for posters anyway!

However I did order each individual films 1-5 over at AMZ (wallet feels much better hehe )!!

[HorrorBlu]

I haven't ordered from Shout in quite some time, but am eyeing an order. Are they still shipping posters as Media Mail (and hitting customers with the additional shipping charges)?

[dylrichard02]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

I haven't ordered from Shout in quite some time, but am eyeing an order. Are they still shipping posters as Media Mail (and hitting customers with the additional shipping charges)?

I pre-ordered The Dead Zone and I don't think they added any shipping charges, but they did ship it media mail.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by dylrichard02

I pre-ordered The Dead Zone and I don't think they added any shipping charges, but they did ship it media mail.

The additional shipping charges he was speaking of were the result of the USPS checking the package, realizing it wasn't exclusively media inside and as a result, charging the person that placed the order the additional postage. This has been an exceedingly rare occurrence and Shout has always offered to pay the difference for anyone that reached out to them about it. You wouldn't have been charged for it up front. It's not a problem in the least as the alternative would be that they charge around $8+ more to ship these packages. I'd rather stick with the current system.

On an unrelated note... I checked out The Borrower tonight for my first ever viewing. This was a fun surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect exactly going in but had a fun time with it. There are a handful of great effects shots, the best of which occurs very early in the film after a chance encounter between 2 folks in the countryside and our lead. This had a lot of similarities to so many of the films that Vinegar Syndrome has been releasing for a while now in it's bizarre plot and small budget, but unlike so many of those films, this one was actually good for reasons other than its association with a label.

For reason's unknown to me there are a handful of scenes involving "The Garbage Pail Kid Movie" which is both a fun and perplexing addition to the film but in the grand scheme of things when one considers the basic plot of this movie, really isn't all that strange in the end. The picture and audio quality were generally quite strong throughout and I'd be hard pressed to imagine that this film would have any reason to ever look or sound better than this.

This is the kind of "slow month" release that Scream Factory used to excel at that sadly now they seem no longer interested in all that much. The price is a bit higher than it should be at the moment but I'd encourage folks to give it a watch in the future if given the chance. This was another all around "fun" horror film that is by no means an essential watch, but one that helps to expand a person's library and provides some fun well off the beaten path which makes movie nights all the more interesting.

[SeanJoyce]

The Dead Zone: the "least horror" horror movie ever made?

[hungrywives]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

The Dead Zone: the "least horror" horror movie ever made?

If it had a different title and Stephen King and David Cronenberg's names weren't on it I wonder if it would even occur to anybody that it was a horror movie.

[BarnDoor]

If the listings on ImportCDs are complete, November will be another very light month:

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (presuming this is a Scream title and not a Shout Select one)
Krampus: The Naughty Cut (4K UHD)

[starsteam]

Wasn't expecting Krampus from SF. Cool to finally get Mel Brook's Dracula on BD too.

Just pre-ordered the collector's edition for Evangelion so I'm fine if November and December are light months for my wallet's sake. Maybe I'll stand a chance for Black Friday sales.

[dylrichard02]

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

If the listings on ImportCDs are complete, November will be another very light month:

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (presuming this is a Scream title and not a Shout Select one)
Krampus: The Naughty Cut (4K UHD)

M. Butterfly also!