Halloween II & III Steelbooks - NEW 4K TRANSFERS

[DR Herbert West]

So much doom and gloom in here. The current HALLOWEEN II master is a nearly 20 year old HD telecine. A modern 4K scan should produce a nice uptick in detail, yes, even from a lowly IP.

[jacksparrow900]

how do we even know if the OCN exist?

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by jacksparrow900

how do we even know if the OCN exist?

A big studio release from the early 80s? The OCNs for Halloween II and III certainly still exist. We’d know if they didn’t. It’s not like it’s an obscure horror film that was released by an independent studio and then not stored properly for decades. This is Universal. Those negatives exist. For sure.

~Matt

[GeoffOliver]

It’s possible the negatives exist, but Universal doesn’t have access to them, can’t locate them, or are unwilling to lend them out. I can’t think of a single Shout Factory OCN restoration from a Universal title.

EDIT: I just checked (and it took forever). Not one Scream Factory or Shout Select release licensed from Universal has a new scan of the OCN. It's only IPs, Prints, DIs, or existing masters.

Originally Posted by agenda

Honestly, I don't believe that's even possible from obvious reasons. Especially when it comes with the word "huge".

The existing masters are almost certainly the same ones from the 2001 DVDs (possibly even the original 1998 DVDs, but I don’t know for sure. I’ve never owned them). It can only get better.

[ROSS.T.G.]

I’m certainly skeptic of these releases, and I’m not just talking about the quality either. I’m holding off because I’m sick of standard Blu-ray double dips from SF. I can definitely see Universal releasing 2 in 4K with the release of the next instalment which is sure to get a 4K release. I would rather be patient and hold on to my box set and frankly I don’t think it will be a big upgrade.

[agenda]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

It can only get better.

Well, let's see what happens. For the record, I always hope that things would getting better what comes these blu-ray upgrades, but sadly the facts are too often against that. Especially when it comes someone like SF.

[Jay Mammoth]

I think it will be another quality release as usual from SF.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

I’m sure the OCN would look better, but I really don’t see what’s wrong with scanning an interpositive. *shrugs* Isn’t it basically a direct print of the negative? It’s certainly the next best thing. I assume they do it because it’s cheaper, and IIRC already has most of the colors timed. Maybe Universal won’t let them do OCN scans. I believe the 4K OCN scan of The Thing was commissioned by Universal themselves, not Arrow.

It's not a problem in general, but Shout's IP scans have traditionally not really panned out well. Many of them aren't any better than previous versions, or even worse. Some of them are good, but it's VERY much a mixed bag.

[phobicsquirrel]

Look good but they are now retconned so they aren't canon. I have the big box set, shame this wasn't done for that. Halloween, die hard, and evil dead are the biggest rereleases out there, they never stop!

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by ROSS.T.G.

I’m certainly skeptic of these releases, and I’m not just talking about the quality either. I’m holding off because I’m sick of standard Blu-ray double dips from SF. I can definitely see Universal releasing 2 in 4K with the release of the next instalment which is sure to get a 4K release. I would rather be patient and hold on to my box set and frankly I don’t think it will be a big upgrade.

Halloween II won't factor into the new film, so Universal may not be so eager to push it out on UHD. Remember, the new film ignores every film except the first. So Halloween II won't tie in very well as a UHD release to accompany the new Halloween film.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by phobicsquirrel

Look good but they are now retconned so they aren't canon. I have the big box set, shame this wasn't done for that. Halloween, die hard, and evil dead are the biggest rereleases out there, they never stop!

This whole situation reminds me of the musical artist Celtic Frost with "Cold Lake" where they're unhappy with what they did in the past so they pretend it doesn't exist. John Carpenter makes the excuse that he was abusing substances or needed money, when I feel like we can pretty much assume Halloween II original will seem more like a Carpenter movie than the new one. People change and their 'vision' changes over time as well.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

If the 2.0 audio from the previous SF release is corrected I will bite on this one for sure.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

If the 2.0 audio from the previous SF release is corrected I will bite on this one for sure.

It better be, there's no excuse for it.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by phobicsquirrel

Look good but they are now retconned so they aren't canon.

Irrelevant!

[ROSS.T.G.]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Halloween II won't factor into the new film, so Universal may not be so eager to push it out on UHD. Remember, the new film ignores every film except the first. So Halloween II won't tie in very well as a UHD release to accompany the new Halloween film.

Yeah I know that but Universal knows how popular the series and a release will surely sell and releasing it with the new film will give it that extra push. Honestly the movies are all over the place anyway so I don’t think continuity matters.

[myway]

Considering that JC wrote, produced and partially directed H2, it'll always be headcannon at least

[happydood]

Yeah, I'm optimistic about this new one... because I try to be optimistic about everything, but I dunno... The original doesn't really cry out for a sequel and if Halloween II (which I like with reservations) is the best John Carpenter himself could write... well... you know.

At least the score is guaranteed to be fantastic, so I'm REALLY looking forward to that.

[flash.over]

Originally Posted by myway

Considering that JC wrote, produced and partially directed H2, it'll always be headcannon at least

Yeah, but nobody on this planet hates H2 more than he does haha. He was sued into writing it and only directed reshoots because he thought Rosenthal’s cut sucked so bad.

[Socko]

That Halloween II steelbook is wonderful.
I'm not a fan of the series, but just for that steelbook (and the Shout extras) it would be a purchase.

[myway]

Originally Posted by flash.over

Yeah, but nobody on this planet hates H2 more than he does haha. He was sued into writing it and only directed reshoots because he thought Rosenthal’s cut sucked so bad.

That's interesting; I didn't know that his dislike was so strong. I always thought that he was just mildly disappointed/not that enthused about it; you learn something new everyday!