Film Serials On Blu-ray - Blu-ray Forum

Mikezilla3k · 02-28-2020, 02:12 AM

Couldn't find a thread for this, so apologizes if there was one.

Mysterious Doctor Satan and Zombies Of The Stratosphere are SD only in the set

Suggestions are appreciated.

Film Serials on DVD

Egbert Souse · 02-28-2020, 03:01 AM

Kino's releases of The Adventures of Captain Marvel and Daredevils of the Red Circle are A+. Fun serials on their own, but the remasters look and sound pretty great.

I'd love to see someone license the three Flash Gordon serials. They were released on DVD via Image in 2000 from very good elements for the time licensed from Hearst Communications as opposed to garbage quality public domain prints.

There's also a lot of Republic serials left to release despite the two from Kino and four from Olive. I'd pre-order Spy Smasher or Secret Service in Darkest Africa day one.

octagon · 02-28-2020, 03:21 AM

I expected to get bored with this once the novelty wore off but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Mikezilla3k · 02-28-2020, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Terrific idea for a thread.

Wish I knew of something to add, unless you want to include the French serials

Isn't Fantomas a series of 5 films?
Already added Les Vampires.

Mikezilla3k · 02-28-2020, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

I'd love to see someone license the three Flash Gordon serials. They were released on DVD via Image in 2000 from very good elements for the time licensed from Hearst Communications as opposed to garbage quality public domain prints.

There's also a lot of Republic serials left to release despite the two from Kino and four from Olive. I'd pre-order Spy Smasher or Secret Service in Darkest Africa day one.

Would love a Blu-Ray for the Flash Gordon serials.
I found this release for Spy Smasher that isn't in the database. No reviews for it though, so I don't know how good it is:
https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Smasher-Kane-Richmond/dp/B07V9YDVRM/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=spy+smasher&qid=1582864642&s=m ovies-tv&sr=1-4

Richard--W · 02-28-2020, 03:46 AM

Trader Tom of the High Seas (Republic 1954) isn't in the system:

https://www.amazon.com/Trader Tom China Seas

I appreciate the personal expense and effort the family-owned Grapevine Video go
through to put these films out.

hoytereden · 02-28-2020, 04:05 AM

My favorites are the Mascot serials from the ‘30s. I hope some of those are in the works. John Wayne made three and it’s a lot of fun seeing a young Duke in almost non-stop action mode.

drush9999 · 02-28-2020, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Would love a Blu-Ray for the Flash Gordon serials.

Me too and Buck Rogers

CinemaScope · 02-28-2020, 08:25 AM

Watching serials at the cinema on Saturday mornings started my love of movies & I have many of the serials I loved on DVD, but I have discovered that you can't watch a serial in one go, it doesn't work, they weren't made to be seen like that. Anyway, my favourites:

Phantom Empire
King Of The Rocketmen
Flash Gordon (3 serials)
Zoro's Fighting Legion
Undersea Kingdom.

hoytereden · 02-28-2020, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

Kino's releases of The Adventures of Captain Marvel and Daredevils of the Red Circle are A+. Fun serials on their own, but the remasters look and sound pretty great.

I'd love to see someone license the three Flash Gordon serials. They were released on DVD via Image in 2000 from very good elements for the time licensed from Hearst Communications as opposed to garbage quality public domain prints.

There's also a lot of Republic serials left to release despite the two from Kino and four from Olive. I'd pre-order Spy Smasher or Secret Service in Darkest Africa day one.

I haven’t seen a lot of the Republic serials but one I highly recommend is Jungle Girl. I saw it when I was barely a teenager and Francis Gifford was a knockout in her costume. I have the old dvd and it’s not bad and it does have some footage restored that apparently was missing from previous prints but I don’t remember why it was cut. The later serial Panther Girl of the Kongo uses a lot of stock footage from JG and Phyllis Coates’ outfit is a retread to match the distant shots of Gifford (or stunt double) from the original. It’s probably just wishful thinking that Jungle Girl will get an upgrade to Blu-ray at some point but Francis Gifford in HD!

iaf6 · 02-28-2020, 11:37 AM

VCI is supposed to have many more Universal serials coming. The only ones that I am not seeing on your list are THE ROARING WEST and GORDON OF GHOST CITY.

I am a bit baffled that we have not seen the Flash Gordon trilogy released on Blu-ray yet. FLASH GORDON (1936), FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (1938) and FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (1940) are among the most famous serials and have been hugely influential on the Star Wars films.

I'd also love to see THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, THE UNDERSEA KINGDOM and THE CRIMSON GHOST get official releases in HD.

This is a great thread! Serials are so fun!!

octagon · 02-28-2020, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Isn't Fantomas a series of 5 films?

It's kind of in between. Depending on how you tilt your head you can see it either as a trilogy-like series of interconnected films or more of a mini-series version of a serial.

I think they were released over the course of like a year though so that kind of tilts it more toward serial territory for me but I haven't seen them (and according to the collection tracker here I don't even have them yet which is hard for me to believe, actually) so it's hard to say for sure.

Oh, and let me second or third or fourth that this is a great idea for a thread. I'm surprised nobody had done it before now.

octagon · 02-28-2020, 06:56 PM

Every time these pop up on TCM I think how awesome it would be have them on the shelf.

I mean, come on, who wouldn't want this?

iaf6 · 04-18-2020, 11:29 AM

I just got a notice from amazon.ca that my order of VCI's GORDON OF GHOST CITY Blu-ray has been canceled. I went to the VCI website and can find no mention of it when I seach. It still shows as a pre-order on the amazon.com site.

On the other hand, I also noticed that the VCI website has a picture of Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers from FLASH GORDON with the caption “BIG NEWS!” but no other information. I hope it may mean that these serials are finally coming to Blu-ray.

Eddiedane · 04-23-2020, 11:48 PM

VCI has another one called "The Roaring West".

WaverBoy · 04-27-2020, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iaf6

I just got a notice from amazon.ca that my order of VCI's GORDON OF GHOST CITY Blu-ray has been canceled. I went to the VCI website and can find no mention of it when I seach. It still shows as a pre-order on the amazon.com site.

On the other hand, I also noticed that the VCI website has a picture of Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers from FLASH GORDON with the caption “BIG NEWS!” but no other information. I hope it may mean that these serials are finally coming to Blu-ray.

Proper Blu-rays of the Flash Gordon serials would be absolutely divine!!!

iaf6 · 04-27-2020, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Proper Blu-rays of the Flash Gordon serials would be absolutely divine!!!

Unfortunately doesn’t look like they are doing them. Hopefully another company will get the rights. These are among my most wanted!

jrcasey1960 · 04-27-2020, 07:56 PM

VCI's JUNGLE QUEEN is another fantastic scan! Like all of these new VCI blu rays of Universal serials, it's 2K from the studio's fine grain prints and are essentially pristine. The only problem is a common one throughout this line of blu-rays thus far.....low contrast scans without any grading done. Just for fun, I ripped the blu-ray and took the h.264 mp4 files into Premiere Pro. I applied some basic curves correction and achieved stunning results.

I've always had a soft spot for VCI as they fueled my discovery and love of serials back in the day.....but I hate that they didn't take these beautiful scans a bit further to achieve the perfect blu ray releases. Of course, I've got my self-corrected files to watch, but that's not an option for everyone!

iaf6 · 05-16-2020, 05:34 PM

I just received my copy of THE PHANTOM RIDER Blu-ray. While the contrast still isn’t perfect, it looks a bit better than some of VCI’s other recent serial releases to my eyes.

I also have GORDON OF GHOST CITY on order but it hasn’t arrived yet. Hope some more serials will be on the way soon too!

jrcasey1960 · 05-16-2020, 10:15 PM

I got GORDON in, so yours should arrive soon. Once again, it's a raw low contrast scan, but it's quite pristine for a 1932 serial!

02-28-2020, 02:12 AM	#1
Mikezilla3k Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Feb 2019 Location:Richmond, CA 4K collection:19 Blu-ray collection:268 DVD collection:305 MA collection:56 Digital collection:19 Trading Score:2	Film Serials On Blu-ray Couldn't find a thread for this, so apologizes if there was one. Mysterious Doctor Satan and Zombies Of The Stratosphere are SD only in the set Suggestions are appreciated. *Film Serials on DVD* Last edited by Mikezilla3k; 06-10-2025 at 12:26 AM.

04-27-2020, 07:56 PM	#18
jrcasey1960 Active Member Member since:Aug 2015 Location:USA	VCI's JUNGLE QUEEN is another fantastic scan! Like all of these new VCI blu rays of Universal serials, it's 2K from the studio's fine grain prints and are essentially pristine. The only problem is a common one throughout this line of blu-rays thus far.....low contrast scans without any grading done. Just for fun, I ripped the blu-ray and took the h.264 mp4 files into Premiere Pro. I applied some basic curves correction and achieved stunning results. I've always had a soft spot for VCI as they fueled my discovery and love of serials back in the day.....but I hate that they didn't take these beautiful scans a bit further to achieve the perfect blu ray releases. Of course, I've got my self-corrected files to watch, but that's not an option for everyone! Last edited by jrcasey1960; 04-27-2020 at 08:11 PM.

02-28-2020, 03:01 AM	#2
Egbert Souse Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Mar 2011 Location:Northern Virginia Home Theater Gallery:5 4K collection:309 Blu-ray collection:1870 DVD collection:182 Digital collection:3	Kino's releases of The Adventures of Captain Marvel and Daredevils of the Red Circle are A+. Fun serials on their own, but the remasters look and sound pretty great. I'd love to see someone license the three Flash Gordon serials. They were released on DVD via Image in 2000 from very good elements for the time licensed from Hearst Communications as opposed to garbage quality public domain prints. There's also a lot of Republic serials left to release despite the two from Kino and four from Olive. I'd pre-order Spy Smasher or Secret Service in Darkest Africa day one.

02-28-2020, 03:21 AM	#3
octagon Blu-ray Prince Member since:Jun 2010 Location:Chicago 4K collection:255 Blu-ray collection:2799	I expected to get bored with this once the novelty wore off but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

02-28-2020, 03:46 AM	#6
Richard--W Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2012 4K collection:105 Blu-ray collection:3001 DVD collection:1767 Digital collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:1	Trader Tom of the High Seas (Republic 1954) isn't in the system: https://www.amazon.com/Trader Tom China Seas I appreciate the personal expense and effort the family-owned Grapevine Video go through to put these films out.

02-28-2020, 04:05 AM	#7
hoytereden Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Oct 2010 4K collection:212 Blu-ray collection:2596 DVD collection:688 Trading Score:5	My favorites are the Mascot serials from the ‘30s. I hope some of those are in the works. John Wayne made three and it’s a lot of fun seeing a young Duke in almost non-stop action mode.

02-28-2020, 08:25 AM	#9
CinemaScope Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jun 2011 Location:London	Watching serials at the cinema on Saturday mornings started my love of movies & I have many of the serials I loved on DVD, but I have discovered that you can't watch a serial in one go, it doesn't work, they weren't made to be seen like that. Anyway, my favourites: Phantom Empire King Of The Rocketmen Flash Gordon (3 serials) Zoro's Fighting Legion Undersea Kingdom.

02-28-2020, 11:37 AM	#11
iaf6 Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Canada 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:110	VCI is supposed to have many more Universal serials coming. The only ones that I am not seeing on your list are THE ROARING WEST and GORDON OF GHOST CITY. I am a bit baffled that we have not seen the Flash Gordon trilogy released on Blu-ray yet. FLASH GORDON (1936), FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (1938) and FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (1940) are among the most famous serials and have been hugely influential on the Star Wars films. I'd also love to see THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, THE UNDERSEA KINGDOM and THE CRIMSON GHOST get official releases in HD. This is a great thread! Serials are so fun!!

02-28-2020, 06:56 PM	#13
octagon Blu-ray Prince Member since:Jun 2010 Location:Chicago 4K collection:255 Blu-ray collection:2799	Every time these pop up on TCM I think how awesome it would be have them on the shelf. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want this?

04-18-2020, 11:29 AM	#14
iaf6 Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Canada 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:110	I just got a notice from amazon.ca that my order of VCI's GORDON OF GHOST CITY Blu-ray has been canceled. I went to the VCI website and can find no mention of it when I seach. It still shows as a pre-order on the amazon.com site. On the other hand, I also noticed that the VCI website has a picture of Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers from FLASH GORDON with the caption “BIG NEWS!” but no other information. I hope it may mean that these serials are finally coming to Blu-ray.

04-23-2020, 11:48 PM	#15
Eddiedane Member Top contributor Member since:Apr 2012 Home Theater Gallery:7 4K collection:1416 Blu-ray collection:15478 DVD collection:9	VCI has another one called "The Roaring West".

05-16-2020, 05:34 PM	#19
iaf6 Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Canada 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:110	I just received my copy of THE PHANTOM RIDER Blu-ray. While the contrast still isn’t perfect, it looks a bit better than some of VCI’s other recent serial releases to my eyes. I also have GORDON OF GHOST CITY on order but it hasn’t arrived yet. Hope some more serials will be on the way soon too!

05-16-2020, 10:15 PM	#20
jrcasey1960 Active Member Member since:Aug 2015 Location:USA	I got GORDON in, so yours should arrive soon. Once again, it's a raw low contrast scan, but it's quite pristine for a 1932 serial!

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