Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I said American Classics. Heavens Gate practically single-handedly ruined a whole excellent direction that cinema was going in and infuriated almost everyone who saw it and seemingly still causes irritation to the majority to this day. It certainly looks epic and has been re-evaluated by some as a masterpiece but I would hardly call Heavens Gate anything close to an American Classic lol

American films are just as likely to be boring with little to no replay value as foreign cinema. I'm not favouring American cinema over the latter. Truth is, in this day and age, foreign cinema is generally MUCH better than what america gives us but Criterion isn't in the habit of releasing many contemporary foreign cinema, are they? Lol

There are certainly plenty of great older foreign films but I tend to favour BUYING older American cinema because they tend to have more replay value. That's just my opinion.

Oh I agree with you, I love the American Classics which you could probably tell by my blu-ray wishlist. I think I own all the Criterion American Classics. While I love certain foreign titles Criterion has put out nothing gets me more pumped as to when they announce an American Classic ala On The Waterfront.

As for Heaven's Gate yes it has the epic feel sure but it falls right on its face in almost every aspect...how it came from Cimino is beyond me....of course everyone loves The Deer Hunter but I even love Cimino's work after Heaven's Gate like Year of the Dragon. Heaven's Gate was just a huge misfire on his part, it seemed like he was intentionally trying to make this epic art film and none of it felt natural. How some have re-evaluated as to be this masterpiece is beyond me.

[spawningblue]

I too am a little worried that they have "blown their load". I just don't see too many big titles left at Universal or MGM (Other then more Price and Hammer titles). And no, even though they were Directed by Wes Craven, I don't see Shocker or People Under the Stairs in the same league as They Live or Phantasm 2. Obviously there are still a lot of great titles left, but nothing huge, especially when they have turned down big ones like Dolls, Scarecrows, Pumpkinhead, Night of the Demons, Howling 2 , ect.

I know Cliff has said no to the newer Tales from the Crypt films, but has he shut down the original classic anthology from 1972? What about Vault of Horror? This has only been released edited here in North America. Scream needs to release some more anthology films. Actually Blu-ray in general is in desperate need of more anthology films, especially the classics from Amicus films!

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

I too am a little worried that they have "blown their load".

If Shout can swing a deal with LG, and bring us a collector's edition of Chopping Mall--many loads will be blown.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I objected to his use of the words 'most of us' as if his preferences were identical to everyone else's. My recommendation of the Monsters and Madmen set was sincere. In any case, although my condemnation of his (lack of) taste was insulting, I myself was insulted by what I perceived to be a grand and uninformed dismissal of both Criterion and those who enjoy much (but not all- they've released several duds and likewise several shoddy transfers, though the latter are presumably what they were stuck with ) of their catalog. But whatever, this is the Scream thread and not the Criterion one so I'll drop it.

Nice way to acknowledge your poor attitude, by insulting me again by saying i have a lack of taste. Cheers.

By "most of us" I wasn't referring to what I want and making it out as if that must be what everyone else wants too. I was talking about two seperate things but admittedly could've done a better job of making that clearer so I apologise for not making it clear. Not that you really deserve an apology and you seem to be relishing the opportunity to pick on someone with tastes that occasionally differ from both yours and Criterion's.

What I meant wasn't my specific desires, what I was referring to was what most of us, myself included (sorry if the inclusion of someone with such an apparent lack of tastes insults you further, bud) still want. I was talking about all the big titles not yet released that yes, most of us keep hoping for month after month.

Call me what you wish if it makes you feel high and mighty but you're acting like an epic snob which is worse. In my opinion of course. Wouldn't want you thinking I'm speaking on behalf of the entire human race.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

Oh I agree with you, I love the American Classics which you could probably tell by my blu-ray wishlist. I think I own all the Criterion American Classics. While I love certain foreign titles Criterion has put out nothing gets me more pumped as to when they announce an American Classic ala On The Waterfront.

As for Heaven's Gate yes it has the epic feel sure but it falls right on its face in almost every aspect...how it came from Cimino is beyond me....of course everyone loves The Deer Hunter but I even love Cimino's work after Heaven's Gate like Year of the Dragon. Heaven's Gate was just a huge misfire on his part, it seemed like he was intentionally trying to make this epic art film and none of it felt natural. How some have re-evaluated as to be this masterpiece is beyond me.

Oh definitely. I would love to see more films as good as On the Waterfront hit the collection. I've got my blu on the way after checking it out online. LOVED it. There's still much to be released and I hope Criterion feels they're important enough to give them the time of day. You've got some great titles in your wish list.

Yeah, that seems to be the general opinion of Heavens Gate. I've got a small amount of interest in seeing it, simply because it looks like it'll be beautiful looking though. I actually wasn't that won over by The Deer Hunter unfortunately. I enjoyed it a lot but due to knowing that the Vietcong Russian roulette scenes are hocus-pocus, it really killed the impact for me. I loved the rest of the film as a character study though and I can still appreciate the RR scenes because they're so well done but being a little inaccurate is one thing, completely making up something like that... It just took me out of the experience. The cinematography, acting, music, editing, basically everything else about it was so good though that I'll definitely be rewatch if it and actually feel like I'll get more out of it on repeat viewings.

But yeah, I can admit I'm only interested in Heavens Gate for superficial reasons. I've heard almost nothing but horror stories about it. I may check it out one day if I even become increasingly interested but I doubt it. I'm not feeling very confident with it and that's a lot of time to potentially waste.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Seymour

If Shout can swing a deal with LG, and bring us a collector's edition of Chopping Mall--many loads will be blown.

Yep. That was my point. Unless they do another deal, it is seeming like they've released all the big titles available to them that they haven't turned down. Hopefully they can do a deal with Lionsgate. To say they've got a few goodies would be an understatement. Think of the possibilities!

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by cropsy

95% of Critierions titles bore me.It's great that they excite others its just not my thing.always noted that a high percentage of fans of Critierion are always very touchy.You wer abit out of order there Noirfan.

Me too, but they have Repo Man, Eating Raoul, and Naked Lunch, among others.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by cropsy

95% of Critierions titles bore me.It's great that they excite others its just not my thing.always noted that a high percentage of fans of Critierion are always very touchy.You wer abit out of order there Noirfan.

There are some sweet horror films on Criterion that need to be upgraded to Blu-ray. The Vanishing (Spoorloos), Carnival of Souls, Eyes Without a Face, Vampyr, etc.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Hopefully they can do a deal with Lionsgate. To say they've got a few goodies would be an understatement. Think of the possibilities!

A LG deal would be particularly welcome as they are entirely indifferent to releasing any if the titles they own - they sat on the entire Republic catalog for years until Olive acquired it.

[format916]

just as many boring horror titles as there are criterions...at least with criterion you can find a quality worth admiring like acting, sound, or cinematography. it doesnt have to have people being murdered to be enjoyable.

[Seymour]

Let's be realistic here. How many "big" titles do you think MGM, Universal, and Fox have left in their respective catalogs? Not very many, I think.

If we're talking about titles that are comparable to They Live, Day of the Dead, Halloween II, The Fog, etc--there are just not that many. I checked IMDb to find some titles (from MGM, Uni, and Fox) that had more votes than The Howling (~15,000 votes), and I could only find a handful ('60s-'00s):

Slither (2006)
'Burbs, The (1989)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Lake Placid (1999)
Turistas (2006)
Virus (1999)
Species II (1998)
People Under the Stairs, The (1991)

That's it.

Other titles that have ~10,000 votes or more (but less than The Howling)

Village of the Damned (1995)
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
Innocents, The (1961)
Serpent and the Rainbow, The (1988)
Fly II, The (1989)
Demon Knight (1995)
Needful Things (1993)
Cat People (1982)

Not really a ton of "big" titles left. Good ones, yeah. Personal favorites, sure. But not "big". Oh yeah, I skipped over Ravenous because cmac said no to it recently. I'm not sure if any of the others have been shot down lately. I also passed over Jeepers Creepers II, because I figured it's not on the table.

[Akijama]

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by Seymour

If Shout can swing a deal with LG, and bring us a collector's edition of Chopping Mall--many loads will be blown.

Oh Man...Chopping Mall would be in my top 3 for Scream for sure. Probably number one since we haven't seen a widescreen release yet. I could just see some awesome new commissioned artwork with Killbots at the helm and lasers flying

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Let's be realistic here. How many "big" titles do you think MGM, Universal, and Fox have left in their respective catalogs? Not very many, I think.

If we're talking about titles that are comparable to They Live, Day of the Dead, Halloween II, The Fog, etc--there are just not that many. I checked IMDb to find some titles (from MGM, Uni, and Fox) that had more votes than The Howling (~15,000 votes), and I could only find a handful ('60s-'00s):

Slither (2006)
'Burbs, The (1989)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Lake Placid (1999)
Turistas (2006)
Virus (1999)
Species II (1998)
People Under the Stairs, The (1991)

That's it.

Other titles that have ~10,000 votes or more (but less than The Howling)

Village of the Damned (1995)
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
Innocents, The (1961)
Serpent and the Rainbow, The (1988)
Fly II, The (1989)
Demon Knight (1995)
Needful Things (1993)
Cat People (1982)

Not really a ton of "big" titles left. Good ones, yeah. Personal favorites, sure. But not "big". Oh yeah, I skipped over Ravenous because cmac said no to it recently. I'm not sure if any of the others have been shot down lately. I also passed over Jeepers Creepers II, because I figured it's not on the table.

Additional Universal / Fox / MGM titles that have more votes than The Howling and have no US Blu-Ray release.

Stigmata (1999)
Dead Silence (2007)
Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 3-D (1983)
White Noise (2005)
Session 9 (2001)
Psycho (1998)
Club Dread (2004)
Cry_Wolf (2005)

There is a problem with the IMDB methodology. I would guess that roughly 75 - 80% (so many recent Lionsgate titles) of the roughly 400 horror titles that have more votes than The Howling were released in the mid-90's or later. There really aren't that many horror films with more votes than The Howling that don't already have a Blu-Ray that's been released or is about to be released and from 1995 and earlier. Older films will always be at a disadvantage on sites such as that based on the demographics of the people that tend to use the site.

[redrunner97]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

There are some sweet horror films on Criterion that need to be upgraded to Blu-ray. The Vanishing (Spoorloos), Carnival of Souls, Eyes Without a Face, Vampyr, etc.

and Grey Gardens!...

talk about horrifying.

[Blu-Dre]

If Scream does a deal with Lionsgate and they offered up the Saw films, one has to wonder if the Factory would take it and do a mega boxset with all the various unrated/director's/theatrical cuts. It is still a relatively new franchise and I'm not entirely sure if those films fit the SF model. But one thing is for sure, Lionsgate seems to not be interested in doing such a set, or they would have done so by now.

[Member-222782]

I have the first 3 SAW films on DVD, never cared for the rest but if LG were to do a complete series box set I'd be all over it. Not that the films after Part 3 are bad, I just didn't care to own individual patchwork editions of the films in various packaging styles. LG would never license this franchise out - made too much money off of them to let somebody else handle them. It's a shame the studio has no interest in farming out the other more obscure stuff. Lots of slasher and backwoods-type movies from different defunct outfits.

[HorrorBlu]

^ The entire Saw franchise is already on blu-ray.

I'd rather see Scream Factory devote their efforts to titles that aren't already available in hi-def.

[redrunner97]

Cliff very recently commented saying Lionsgate was not even remotely interested in licensing out titles.

Unless there is evidence of that changing, which there has not been, I'm not getting my hopes up.

[Blu-Dre]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

^ The entire Saw franchise is already on blu-ray.

I'd rather see Scream Factory devote their efforts to titles that aren't already available in hi-def.

Correct, and I certainly agree about devoting effort to films left in the SD realm.

Though it is a bit frustrating to have to dig out the DVD copy of the (IMO) superior Saw III Director's Cut because LG didn't see fit to take advantage of the BD format's vast capabilities of presenting multiple cuts on a single disc.