Basket Case (1982) (Remastered)

[Akijama]

Credit to PrestonXI.


Frank Henenlotter also stated on his FB page that the screenings of the new restoration will be held in October, so BD should be released around that time.


https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=9457

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Not sure if this has been reported, but I met Frank Henenloter last weekend at NJ Horror Con and he told me that Arrow will be doing a new Blu Ray of BASKET CASE once the MOMA restoration is complete. He said there will be new bonus features, including an early film of his that he seemed to feel was not very good.

He was genuinely baffled when MOMA approached him about obtaining BASKET CASE for their collection. The first question he asked them was "have you even seen it?!" Ha! He has provided them with every available element for their restoration and is confident it will look incredible.

He also told me why the original audio commentary for Brain Damage will not be included on the Arrow release. Apparently a good friend of his passed away right before the commentary recording session and he felt the track was never satisfactory. As a result, he recorded a brand new one for Arrow that he said would have a lot of great information.

In my picture below, you can see Rick Hearst (star of Brain Damage) poking his around Frank.

[dallywhitty]

I love Basket Case, but this seems unnecessary. The Second Sight disc was terrific.

[BarnDoor]

I suspect it will be US-only, and in that sense the Something Weird release probably can be improved upon. Given the film's reputation it's a no-brainer for Arrow, surely the kind of release that would have little trouble selling out a limited edition.

[DetroitSportsFan]

I already have the Something Weird/Image edition, but I'll gladly double dip for a better transfer and more extras.

[slasherdisc]

I had a feeling this would happen, Good thing I never bought the IMAGE release!

[thatguamguy]

There's a feature-length doc on the European discs, hopefully they include that here.

[javi92]

Sweet! Never owned this on any home format.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

There's a feature-length doc on the European discs, hopefully they include that here.

There's some good extra stuff on the US disc as well. The REALLY queasy ending was fortunately tempered by

[Show spoiler]the interview with the actress where she was laughing and describing how funny the filming of that hideous implied rape until death and then bloody necrophiliac scene was.

I dunno if I like this movie enough to upgrade it, it's so...sweaty. The setting is definitely amusing, and I really like Henenlotter as an interview subject and love Frankenhooker, but man, this one doesn't have much replay value for me. The MOMA should have inducted Frankenhooker instead!! I am looking forward to seeing Brain Damage, though.

[Worship.my.wreck]

I've been close to picking up the current release of Basket Case so I think I'll wait now that Arrow will be releasing this. The question now is, will it be a UK exclusive or will it be released in the Us and U.K?

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Worship.my.wreck

I've been close to picking up the current release of Basket Case so I think I'll wait now that Arrow will be releasing this. The question now is, will it be a region B exclusive or will it be released in the Us and U.K?

It will probably be region A exclusive, actually.

[The Great Owl]

I picked up the U.S. Blu-ray of Basket Case just a couple of months ago, but haven't watched it yet.

I guess that I'd better hurry up and watch it now.

[MTRodaba2468]

I've got the Second Sight trilogy steelbook, so I'd have to see what Arrow offers before I make any decisions on rebuying...

[sumo8675309]

i wonder if they'll port this over ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oT16OwgIQU

[ravenus]

I picked up the UK trilogy box for about 10 quid, so if this turns out monumentally better I'll just plug my ears and go

[1234567?]

I knew this was coming, I have the us disc thats been out for a while, will gladly pick this up as well. Hoping its a nice limited edition release.
BTY I just got Arrows disc of Frankenhooker, also got Brain damage on Pre order. This will complete the collection.

[bruce holecheck]

Besides the inclusion of Frank's short SLASH OF THE KNIFE (1972) -- which I've been wanting to see forever -- another possible attribute to this reissue is the Museum of Modern Arts' restoration itself. Prior Blus (Something Weird, Second Sight, etc.) were sourced from the 35mm blow-up IP, but the 16mm camera negative had been discovered. Frank has said he turned over all his materials to the MOMA, so I would assume the original negs would be the basis of their new scan. (Unless there's an issue with the materials, of course.)

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by bruce holecheck

Prior Blus (Something Weird, Second Sight, etc.) were sourced from the 35mm blow-up IP, but the 16mm camera negative had been discovered. Frank has said he turned over all his materials to the MOMA, so I would assume the original negs would be the basis of their new scan. (Unless there's an issue with the materials, of course.)

From what I gather, even the 2011 BD was sourced from the 16mm negative. Quoting the video section of the review on this site:

Under the supervision of director Frank Henenlotter, Something Weird Video and Image Entertainment have produced a new high definition master of Basket Case that's quite impressive on Blu-ray, especially if you've seen any previous standard definition versions of the film. In the special features, there's a new introduction by Henenlotter, who starts off by saying, "I know what you're thinking, Basket Case in HD?" He then goes on to explain exactly how preparing the film for Blu-ray has made it look better than it ever looked theatrically. When the film was released, the 1.37:1 16mm print was blown up to 35mm and projected in widescreen 1.85:1, resulting in an image that was cropped, extremely grainy, and had lost much of its color and clarity in the blow up. Here, Henenlotter and the Blu-ray producers went back to the original 16mm negatives and made the decision to present the film in its native aspect ratio, which restores quite a lot of the picture to the top and bottom of the frame. Henenlotter also talks about the decision to keep the 16mm grain structure as is, and not try to digitally smooth it out with noise reduction techniques. The result is a 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer that's faithful to its low-budget source—grainy and never as sharp as a 35mm picture would be, but definitely true to itself.

[MechaGodzilla]

This has been on my "buy this you ****ing ******" list for years, but I haven't got around to it yet. Now I may as well wait and see how this turns out.

[bruce holecheck]

Originally Posted by ravenus

From what I gather, even the 2011 BD was sourced from the 16mm negative. Quoting the video section of the review on this site:

Incorrect. The 35mm blow-up IP was used, but he timed it to closer replicate the original. From Frank, in 2011:

Working on the HD master of “Basket Case.” Found most of the 16mm negative and an incomplete 16mm print which have a different color timing to the night scenes which somehow got lost when the film was blown up to 35mm. Though we’re using the 35mm inter-positive for the transfer, our point of reference is the 16mm original. The result is that this version of BC is going to look a bit different than what we’re used to, but it will be as close as possible to the original 16mm version I shot way back when.

I asked him why the 16mm originals weren't used instead of the IP, since I thought it'd be a cleaner source, and he had this to say:

I assumed the same, but a side-by-side comparison showed that the 35mm blowup was just as sharp. In fact, I couldn't tell the difference. However, as was the custom way back when, the 16mm negative was A&B roll which meant it would cost twice as much to transfer it and then it would have to be edited together. Worse, there were a couple of gaps in the negative for footage used in the sequels. It just made more sense to use the 35mm for the transfer but the 16mm for reference.

[JupiterMission]

I'll definitely pick this up. I have the Something Weird DVD, but had held off on upgrading to blu. I feel like this is one of those movies that might benefit a little from looking dark and scratchy on DVD or VHS, but I am curious to see the MOMA restoration and new features. I love Henenlotter. (Still need to see That's Sexploitation! come to think of it.)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was another one I was afraid of seeing in the light of day, but the Dark Sky blu was pretty rad IIRC. A very different experience on blu-ray than it was watching it on VHS on a 19 inch tube tv with my cousin in tenth grade, but still a great, terrifying experience.