Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[sxerunner]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Here is some potential good news for Godzilla fans.

Shout! Factory Acquires Westchester Films

Also among the notable titles in Westchester’s library of more than 400 films are The Marx Brothers’ A Night in Casablanca (1946), Orson Welles’ Othello (1952), Fanny (1961) starring Leslie Caron, Hell’s Angels on Wheels with Jack Nicholson (1967), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O’Toole, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980) and eight Godzilla films, including the 1954 original.

I'd be down for a Godzilla collection. The Criterion release is good enough but I'd love to see what Scream could create.

[tylergfoster]

Originally Posted by sxerunner

I'd be down for a Godzilla collection. The Criterion release is good enough but I'd love to see what Scream could create.

I don't think we need a third Blu-ray of the original.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Here is some potential good news for Godzilla fans.

Shout! Factory Acquires Westchester Films

Also among the notable titles in Westchester’s library of more than 400 films are The Marx Brothers’ A Night in Casablanca (1946), Orson Welles’ Othello (1952), Fanny (1961) starring Leslie Caron, Hell’s Angels on Wheels with Jack Nicholson (1967), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O’Toole, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980) and eight Godzilla films, including the 1954 original.

dsman71 probably fainted or bumped his head on the ceiling jumping for joy.

[demonknight]

Cool. I'm guessing a series of double features (especially if they did get the remaining Sony titles). Just imagine:
Godzilla Raids Again / Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster / Monster Zero
Son of Godzilla / Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla / Terror of Mechagodzilla

Wait? 8 films? Last I checked, there were only 7 Classic Media films...
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Ghidorah
Monster Zero
Godzilla's Revenge
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Are they including Rodan? Or War of the Gargantuas? Or Frankenstein Conquers the World? Or maybe 1985?!?

[frostywolf]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Cool. I'm guessing a series of double features (especially if they did get the remaining Sony titles). Just imagine:
Godzilla Raids Again / Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster / Monster Zero
Son of Godzilla / Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla / Terror of Mechagodzilla

Wait? 8 films? Last I checked, there were only 7 Classic Media films...
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Ghidorah
Monster Zero
Godzilla's Revenge
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Are they including Rodan? Or War of the Gargantuas? Or Frankenstein Conquers the World? Or maybe 1985?!?

I think they might be counting King of the Monsters and the Japanese version as separate movies.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by frostywolf

I think they might be counting King of the Monsters and the Japanese version as separate movies.

Makes sense, I suppose.
Although this selling may mean some Criterions going OOP... They own some of the Five Films: Cassavettes movies and Godzilla.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by zbinks

dsman71 probably fainted or bumped his head on the ceiling jumping for joy.

My jaw certainly did drop. To be honest, I would be happy to upgrade them, but at the risk of being an unpopular post I am really satisfied with the Classic Media DVD Box set. Its a gorgeous set, Im very happy with the quality. Im not overly technical so as long as they look good and sound fine when I watch them, Im perfectly satisfied. Id upgrade them but Id have a hard time parting with the box set - and the truth is the shelf space would be useful..
I guess that's why despite my being a lifelong Godzilla fan, the films weren't the highest priority because I love my DVD set. Yes its DVD but so what ? The packaging IMO is great, you get both versions of the films, commentaries if you want to listen to them. To me it is the holy grail of all of these films on DVD. Okay its not blu ray , but certainly there has to be some folks that have more than satisfactory DVDs still in their collection right ?

Right ??

Oh cmon !!



Also - Godzilla 1985 is with Lakeshore so I don't think that's one of the eight.. War of the Gargantuas and Rodan DO make sense however

[RandyK]

I'd be fine with Shout just doing a box set of the Godzilla movies similar to the Herzog set. Not really interested in them.

[zbinks]

Also among the notable titles in Westchester’s library of more than 400 films are The Marx Brothers’ A Night in Casablanca (1946), Orson Welles’ Othello (1952), Fanny (1961) starring Leslie Caron, Hell’s Angels on Wheels with Jack Nicholson (1967), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O’Toole, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980) and eight Godzilla films, including the 1954 original.

After reading the full article, the above passage is not as exciting as it initially seemed. This acquisition involves broadcast and digital media rights. As far as I can tell physical media rights, such as DVD or Blu-Ray, are not affected by this acquisition.

New York-based Westchester, founded in 2006 by producers Mark Balsam and Julian Schlossberg, will operate as a subsidiary of Shout! Its strength lies in rights for platforms including digital broadband, pay TV, VOD, satellite and broadcast networks.

Shout!, meanwhile, is seeking to diversify beyond DVD sales and aiming to launch a digital channel this year.

“We want to continue to grow our nonphysical distribution business,” Shout! president and co-founder Garson Foos said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “This is a really good strategic move for us to acquire Westchester Films. Most of its revenue is from broadcast and digital. Going forward, we want to acquire libraries with significant digital and broadcast revenue streams.”

...

Foos said that Balsam will help Shout! with broadcast sales of library content and further acquisitions, and he noted that Schlossberg has sturdy relationships with many of the rightsholders with whom Westchester has made deals in the past.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ampaign=buffer

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by zbinks

After reading the full article, the above passage is not as exciting as it initially seemed. This acquisition involves broadcast and digital media rights. As far as I can tell physical media rights, such as DVD or Blu-Ray, are not affected by this acquisition.



http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ampaign=buffer

Or they didnt mention it, I guess time will tell. I cant imagine them not releasing some of their library on physical media,..

[Pete Rock]

Originally Posted by fuzzymctiger

I'll be honest, it's the too obscure stuff that needs releases before any of the others. That doesn't make any of the others any less worthy, but anytime something gets a release that hasn't seen it since VHS, it's a sigh of relief for it no longer is under the threat of fading out of existence.

As for the obscure stuff, well they're the things I enjoy blind buying most. Things like Town That Dreaded Sundown, The Evictors, and soon Final Terror and Without Warning. 88 Films over in the UK (Not promoting or comparing or anything), just started a slasher collection, with the likes of Slaughterhouse, Scalps, and Splatter University amongst it, things that I don't think Scream or many other labels would touch, being rescued from obscurity onto the blu ray format.

So while yes, I would kill for Session 9, Riki Oh or April Fools Day to get proper upgrades, I'd much prefer obscurities.

Riki Oh is coming on New Years Day.
http://www.amazon.com/Riki-Oh-Story-...ywords=riki+oh

[Pete Rock]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

It would have been more successful if they would have released it in a set with the other 2 Ninja movies and just released it under the Shout Factory brand. They dropped the ball on that one.

Agreed, However Scream/Shout did say they will be releasing some double features in 2015. This would be the perfect opportunity to put out Revenge of the Ninja/Pray for Death and American Ninja 1 & 2 doubles. Shout better jump on those Cannon films. They already let Kino beat them to Avenging Force.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by Pete Rock

Agreed, However Scream/Shout did say they will be releasing some double features in 2015. This would be the perfect opportunity to put out Revenge of the Ninja/Pray for Death and American Ninja 1 & 2 doubles. Shout better jump on those Cannon films. They already let Kino beat them to Avenging Force.

Why not pair Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja together?

[FilmKoala]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Here is some potential good news for Godzilla fans.

Shout! Factory Acquires Westchester Films

Also among the notable titles in Westchester’s library of more than 400 films are The Marx Brothers’ A Night in Casablanca (1946), Orson Welles’ Othello (1952), Fanny (1961) starring Leslie Caron, Hell’s Angels on Wheels with Jack Nicholson (1967), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O’Toole, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980) and eight Godzilla films, including the 1954 original.

Does this mean they also have Rodan? I have the old Classic Media fullscreen English dub DVD and I'm desperate for an upgrade. I'd love to get it on BD.

[Pete Rock]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Why not pair Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja together?

Because Pray for Death and Revenge of the Ninja are far superior to Enter the Ninja, but I will take all 3 if Shout wants to make it happen.

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by Pete Rock

Riki Oh is coming on New Years Day.
http://www.amazon.com/Riki-Oh-Story-...ywords=riki+oh

This blu ray is actually avaliable in this exact edition, except from Canada, and it's an awful Upscale. I'll be sticking with my HK Legends DVD until a proper upgrade like I said appears.

That's not your fault though, it's very easy to be fooled by Media Blasters and their endless shit. I was too until I did some reading.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by dsman71

My jaw certainly did drop. To be honest, I would be happy to upgrade them, but at the risk of being an unpopular post I am really satisfied with the Classic Media DVD Box set. Its a gorgeous set, Im very happy with the quality. Im not overly technical so as long as they look good and sound fine when I watch them, Im perfectly satisfied. Id upgrade them but Id have a hard time parting with the box set - and the truth is the shelf space would be useful..
I guess that's why despite my being a lifelong Godzilla fan, the films weren't the highest priority because I love my DVD set. Yes its DVD but so what ? The packaging IMO is great, you get both versions of the films, commentaries if you want to listen to them. To me it is the holy grail of all of these films on DVD. Okay its not blu ray , but certainly there has to be some folks that have more than satisfactory DVDs still in their collection right ?

Right ??

Oh cmon !!

The video on them is pretty weak, even by DVD standards (like, look at Terror of Mechagodzilla compared to that Sony Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla DVD, it's like night and day), but it's a really great set and very well put-together in terms of extra features and including all versions of the movies. With the horrendous shape Toho's masters are in I can't really see the blurays looking much better for these particular movies, especially when handled by Shout, who almost never seem to do any improvements with what they're given in terms of transfers. I'd still rebuy them cause I'm a sucker, but you're right that this particular set is still pretty adequate considering the movies in it.

Does anyone have a list of movies that Westchester owned? I've never even heard of any of the "notable" titles they mention in that article, other than Stagecoach and the Foreign Correspondent obviously, so I'm not sure if there's anything interesting in there at all other than Godzilla movies and what's been released by Criterion already.

What was that website which had a database of who owned the rights to what movie? Did it have an ability to search by studio instead of by film?

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by FilmKoala

Does this mean they also have Rodan? I have the old Classic Media fullscreen English dub DVD and I'm desperate for an upgrade. I'd love to get it on BD.

Why on earth don't you have the re-release? It has both the japanese and US versions, as well as a second disc with War of the Gargantuas in both cuts and a great special feature about the history of Godzilla suits. It's still in print and is only 7 dollars (By the way, Rodan was filmed in 1.37:1 so it's not pan&scan, it's from the mid 50s before they switched to Tohoscope)

[Wolf-man]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Does anyone have a list of movies that Westchester owned? I've never even heard of any of the "notable" titles they mention in that article, other than Stagecoach and the Foreign Correspondent obviously, so I'm not sure if there's anything interesting in there at all other than Godzilla movies and what's been released by Criterion already.

What was that website which had a database of who owned the rights to what movie? Did it have an ability to search by studio instead of by film?

http://www.westchesterfilmsinc.com
They have a website. Albeit, not a very good one.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by Wolf-man

http://www.westchesterfilmsinc.com
They have a website. Albeit, not a very good one.

Crashes almost immediately after visiting. Fantastic.