Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

[Arkadin]

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Blu-ray


OMG!! the all-time cult classic is coming to Blu-ray from Kino!!
release date is now set for Dec 4th.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sa...usConquers.JPG

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians trailer - YouTube

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

OMG!! the all-time cult classic is coming to Blu-ray from Kino!!
release date is set for October 30th
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Santa...Blu-ray/50553/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sa...usConquers.JPG

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians trailer - YouTube

perfect timing i just traded in my dollar store dvd copy of it yesterday, at best buy to get the steelbook of Dark Knight!

[deadmonkey]

Definitly awesome news. I usually end up watching this 3 times every christmas. Once on its own, once with the MST3K version, and finally the Cinematic Titanic version.
Now only if someone would release Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny on blu I could be in bad Christmas movie heaven.

[Monterey Jack]

"Droppo, you're the laziest man on Mars!"

[silverlakephil]

"Hoo-Ray For Santy-Claus!"

[doroc784]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

OMG!! the all-time cult classic is coming to Blu-ray from Kino!!
release date is set for October 30th
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Santa...Blu-ray/50553/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sa...usConquers.JPG

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians trailer - YouTube

Actually, SCCtM is already out on Blu-ray! It's included as a extra on
"Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale", which is a teriffic Fininsh Christmas film from 2010 with a great twist. I would HIGHLY recommend you pick up "Rare" as I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised by it. And, chances are that you'll only have to pay a few more bucks for it than you would for SCCtM by itself.

Here's the link to "Rare" https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Rare-...Blu-ray/27535/

[zeze]

Originally Posted by doroc784

Actually, SCCtM is already out on Blu-ray! It's included as a extra on
"Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale", which is a teriffic Fininsh Christmas film from 2010 with a great twist. I would HIGHLY recommend you pick up "Rare" as I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised by it. And, chances are that you'll only have to pay a few more bucks for it than you would for SCCtM by itself.

Here's the link to "Rare" https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Rare-...Blu-ray/27535/

Yes, but it is only in SD on that release, and apparently the transfer looks awful.

[doroc784]

Originally Posted by zeze

Yes, but it is only in SD on that release, and apparently the transfer looks awful.

Yes, fair enough--I now realize that it wasn't cleaned-up after just looking at several other reviews of "Rare" on cinemasquid.com. My apologies. I didn't actually watch the extra of SCCtM on my copy of "Rare". Let's hope Kino does their usual great job with the new disc of SCCtM. Still, I highly recommend "Rare" on its on merits, for what it's worth.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by zeze

Yes, but it is only in SD on that release, and apparently the transfer looks awful.

Probably because it's in public domain--
Which explains why the quotable MST3K version is also on SD:

MST3K - Best of Santa Claus Conquers The Martians - YouTube

[bgart13]

[mchalebk]

I actually saw this in the theater when it first came out (yes, I'm that old). I was probably 7 at the time and, even then, I think I realized what a horrible movie it was. We rented it a few years ago and I realized I had no idea just how bad it truly was.

Part of me would like to own a good copy of it and part of me never wants to watch it again.

[bgart13]

So... The Kino disc is cut. The runtime is 69 minutes, but they haven't stated why. Neither has Holland Releasing. And it's 4:3. Ack!

[Dex Robinson]

Originally Posted by bgart13

So... The Kino disc is cut. The runtime is 69 minutes, but they haven't stated why. Neither has Holland Releasing. And it's 4:3. Ack!

I don't want to "pre-apologize" on behalf of KINO but I have to believe these must be related to the source material.

For the record, I have the Blu-ray on order.

Anybody familiar with SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS knows that it is in absolutely hideous condition. I have it on a couple of DVDs and I 've seen it on TV numerous times. I've never seen a print that meets even the worst VHS standards. The only reason it is even broadcast is that it is such an oddity. Otherwise, no legitimate broadcaster would allow it on television.

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS is a collection of faded, damaged, out-of-sync jump cuts held together with spit and scotch tape.

If this is only 69 minutes long, I would assume that they could only get 69 minutes of material suitable for HD transfer. I'm sure, if they had a suitable 81 minute print, they would not edit out 12 minutes just for the heck of it. It could even be that some surviving parts of the movie exist only as videotape (this is not uncommon). Again, I don't intend this as an apology on their behalf because I don't know the facts....I'm making an assumption based on our experience with Kino as a legitimate company that is unlikely to make such decisions without cause.

It may also be a source issue with the aspect ratio. Yes, there is no question that it's a 1.85:1 movie. I've read Bob Furmanek's post on the subject and 1.85:1 is indisputable.

However, once again, at this point we don't know what Kino had to work with given the absolutely abominable and almost unwatchable state of the known video releases. Obviously, if they had access to the OCN or an uncropped print this should be present at 1.85:1. But we don't know.

For now, I'm willing to cut Kino some slack based on their good reputation. Like all companies, they've released a few clunkers. But, generally, they do high end work and give us the best quality they can within the limits of what they have to work with.

I'd certainly love to get an official word from the company. There are clearly things here that need further explanation from people who know the facts. Until then, I'm grudgingly inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[bgart13]

I disagree that it's in hideous condition. I've seen movies in much worse shape. I wish someone could track down the negative or an IP -- if they even exist anymore. Holland Releasing's site listed the runtime as 80-something minutes, but it's down now (now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but their site is down after I email them about the runtime...odd to say the least). Here's a trailer for their restored edition that played theatrically in 2011 -- you can see how colorful and detailed they got it (not perfect, but the best it may have EVER looked):

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS - Back In Theaters Xmas 2011! - YouTube

http://www.santamartiansmovie.com/
http://www.hollandreleasing.com/

[Ill_Be_Back]

Would never have thought this could get a Blu ray release, can't wait!

[Arkadin]

Originally Posted by bgart13

So... The Kino disc is cut. The runtime is 69 minutes, but they haven't stated why. Neither has Holland Releasing. And it's 4:3. Ack!

and this is confirmed??
or just amazon specs.
EDIT: ok I see on the Kino site the runtime, but they don't list the aspect ratio.
also: I have the dvd from westlake entertainment that says 81 mins, so I guess I'll be comparing to figure out what is missing.

[bgart13]

I received it yesterday - it's 69 mins.

The Holland Releasing site is back up:

http://hollandreleasing.com/index.php?m=0&s=296&id=81

Originally Posted by Holland Releasing

Running Time: Feature/86 Minutes of Total 2-Hour Program

[Dex Robinson]

I just read that Kino now admits to the error:

"Due to a manufacturing error that resulted in a truncated version of the film, Kino Lorber is recalling the Blu-ray and DVD screeners for SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS, originally set to street on October 30th. It was always the intention of Kino Lorber to release a full version of the film."

For crying out loud.

I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but, seriously, how stupid can you be?

Last year, when VCI released SANTA CLAUS, color bars appeared in a single frame. I can understand that kind of mistake getting past quality control.

How stupid do you have to be to press and ship blu-rays that are 12 minutes short? NOBODY at the company checked a single disc? a 12 minute error?

My calm spirit of understanding and patience over this has just evaporated. Kino has just dropped several notches on my list of respectable BD producers.

[Arkadin]

well the specs on the Kino website say 69 minutes so the whole thing is super strange.
That would seem to indicate to me that they had no idea their transfer was not the whole film.
what a screw-up.
I mean good grief.
memo to all companies putting out blu-rays--making sure the length of your bd matches the runtime of the actual film is a smart thing to do before you actually press the blu-rays for sale.

[zbinks]

Amazon.com lists a new release date.

This title will be released on October 29, 2013.