Is Universal done with releasing their classic monster films on Blu-ray?

[happydood]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

Odd statement.

The UK set was significantly better packaged than the North American set.

I disagree. I bought both and thought the Region B is bulkier and flimsier, though it's admittedly easier on the discs themselves. The American release has a better quality spine on the book and better quality/sturdier materials for both the slipcase and the book that holds the discs themselves. Looks a lot better IMO. Just the glue they used didn't seal the individual pages so well...

[JMDiaz718]

Originally Posted by dsman71

It was more than affordable. I think because Universal continues to re-release the same movies on DVD and blu ray might be one reason they may not have done well (under that assumption). Theres a zillion releases of Frankenstein, Dracula, etc , while movies like House of Dracula, Son of Frankenstein, havent. Then there are the 50s movies such as Tarantula, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, the Incredible Shrinking Man that have only gotten DVD and DVDr distribution in the USA. They really need to do a set of these on bluray.

50s movies such as Tarantula, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, etc. have been released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD. I know I've owned Island of Terror on VHS, not sure if it was ever available on laser. I still own the two laser box sets of sci-fi movies, and the two DVD sets as well. Universal will release them on Blu-Ray soon enough. They tend to re-release the same movies on every medium, yet ignore all the others in their catalogue.

I decided not to buy the recent blu-ray set, as I would only watch CFTBL & The Wolfman. I purchased those two individually.

I really hope, they release Revenge of the Creature, in 3-D like the did CFTBL.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by happydood

I disagree. I bought both and thought the Region B is bulkier and flimsier, though it's admittedly easier on the discs themselves. The American release has a better quality spine on the book and better quality/sturdier materials for both the slipcase and the book that holds the discs themselves. Looks a lot better IMO. Just the glue they used didn't seal the individual pages so well...

Disc hubs >>> Disc sleeves

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by dsman71

It was more than affordable. I think because Universal continues to re-release the same movies on DVD and blu ray might be one reason they may not have done well (under that assumption). Theres a zillion releases of Frankenstein, Dracula, etc , while movies like House of Dracula, Son of Frankenstein, havent. Then there are the 50s movies such as Tarantula, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, the Incredible Shrinking Man that have only gotten DVD and DVDr distribution in the USA. They really need to do a set of these on bluray.

The re-release of existing films is the problem, I think in terms of Universal's perception of the profitability of these films. Common sense tells us that the folks who have been waiting for the release of the sequels (House of Dracula, etc.) on blu ray would snap those releases up. Not to mention any blu ray release of any of the 1950s horror / sci-fi films. It wouldn't make sense for Universal to continue with re-releases of the same old films when there are so many that have yet to see a blu ray release.

[MifuneFan]

Over 4,000 members here own the Universal Monsters sets. While not amazing, that is still a pretty solid amount for something more niche than your avg. BD release. More own it than the Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection in fact.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by JMDiaz718

50s movies such as Tarantula, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, etc. have been released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD. I know I've owned Island of Terror on VHS, not sure if it was ever available on laser. I still own the two laser box sets of sci-fi movies, and the two DVD sets as well. Universal will release them on Blu-Ray soon enough. They tend to re-release the same movies on every medium, yet ignore all the others in their catalogue.

I decided not to buy the recent blu-ray set, as I would only watch CFTBL & The Wolfman. I purchased those two individually.

I really hope, they release Revenge of the Creature, in 3-D like the did CFTBL.

I own the Best Buy exclusive DVD sets.. I used to own the VHS tapes

[spawningblue]

Well hopefully if they have no plans to release them on Blu, they will license them out to Shout (Would Criterion be interested in them?). Then again, apparently they refuse to license out the Jaws sequels, yes have done nothing with them. Hopefully something changes in the next year or so.

[Zillamon51]

I imagine we'll eventually get Legacy / Franchise Collection-like sets of the sequels.

[sancho]

I would like to see more sets, but I am happy with the set (USA version) that was released.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

Well hopefully if they have no plans to release them on Blu, they will license them out to Shout (Would Criterion be interested in them?). Then again, apparently they refuse to license out the Jaws sequels, yes have done nothing with them. Hopefully something changes in the next year or so.

If it came down to it, I'd prefer to see Kino Lorber pick these films up for release.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

I imagine we'll eventually get Legacy / Franchise Collection-like sets of the sequels.

I hope that Universal is planning to do that in the near future, these are great films that deserve a worthy blu ray release.

[Lunar1989]

What was the difference between the US and UK versions?

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

One big problem is that fans of the movies expect them for close to nothing, so why should Univeral bother to release any of them.
The fans shoot themselves in the foot.
If people really want something, they should buy it on the day of rerlease, in order to send a signal to Universal that there is a strong demand for these, but that would be in aideal world.
Also, who can blame people to wait until it drops in price. We all have to save after all. It's quite the viscious cycle.

Except this set was well over $100 for months after it released, and even today is still $80+ on Amazon.

I'm happy to buy things on day one when I feel the price is appropriate. For a set like this maybe $40-50 IMO. The $100+ price really turned me of on this one. I thought about importing the UK edition for the coffin set, but haven't even bothered with that yet. Just bought a couple of the individual films instead.

[spawningblue]

Originally Posted by Mystic

If it came down to it, I'd prefer to see Kino Lorber pick these films up for release.

Why? It would probably cost more, and wouldn't be any better in quality, and would probably include less extras. Shout would probably go all out packaging wise as well.

Now that Kino is starting to release at the level of Shout, a lot of their discs have had problematic PQ. Look at their recent releases of Needful Things for just one recent example.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

Why? It would probably cost more, and wouldn't be any better in quality, and would probably include less extras. Shout would probably go all out packaging wise as well.

Now that Kino is starting to release at the level of Shout, a lot of their discs have had problematic PQ. Look at their recent releases of Needful Things for just one recent example.

What are the others?

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I bought the separate releases with the gorgeous slipcovers last year because I refused to pay what Universal wanted for a set that was prone to falling apart. I am more than satisfied and hope we get the rest at some point.

This. The US release was expensive. I went with the UK set because it was cheaper by a wide margin. I think Universal and a lot of the studios read the tea leaves wrong when it comes to disappointing sales. I think the price of the US set and the packaging was part of the problem with sales, not lack of interest in the movies themselves. The set was aimed at collector's and we can be a fussy bunch.

[rdodolak]

I'd have to guess the UK set must have been sold at a loss. I picked up the US set which was perfectly fine given the number of movies that comes in the set. Not to mention Amazon has had the set for sale around the $50ish price point on a number of occasions.

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

I'd have to guess the UK set must have been sold at a loss. I picked up the US set which was perfectly fine given the number of movies that comes in the set. Not to mention Amazon has had the set for sale around the $50ish price point on a number of occasions.

I got the UK set for around 40 bucks US when it was first released. It's region free and I've been enjoying the movies over the past 3 years. The cheapest the US set has been on amazon is 50 bucks. And they scratch their heads wondering why the US set isn't selling?! Right now the UK set can be had for about 24 bucks US. That's a heck of a deal.

[jlk5844]

I hold out hope for a BD release of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

Why? It would probably cost more, and wouldn't be any better in quality, and would probably include less extras. Shout would probably go all out packaging wise as well.

Now that Kino is starting to release at the level of Shout, a lot of their discs have had problematic PQ. Look at their recent releases of Needful Things for just one recent example.

There was ONLY one official review that mentioned possible deficiencies with the picture quality of Needful Things, and yet a second review that didn't point these so-called flaws out.

Shout / Scream is well known for their compression / encoding issues, and in my opinion, they'd be the last label I'd want to see handle the Universal Monster films with respect to a blu ray release.

Can you please point us to other Kino titles that have questionable picture quality, please? Thank you!