Dark Force Entertainment Discussion Thread

[miribeau]

Originally Posted by Marsupial Werewolf

I hate the blocky, cheapo Blu-ray cases that Code Red and Dark Force (and sometimes Scorpion) use.

I love their cases. They never break and they fit in so well with the bulk of my quality horror releases, from the UK, Germany and Australia. The German ones are all mediabooks and the Australian/UK cases are those nice and thick non-eco cases. My VS plain cases really stand out against that lot, not in a good way. Thankfully, most of them are hidden away by slips that also look really nice with my thicker UK/AU/DE and Code Red cases, the cases Dark Force has started using. Thankfully, VS is going back and adding slips for some of those releases, so I can cover up even more of the thin cases.

[CODE RED DVD]

Originally Posted by babybreese

Can you check the credits and see if they look like this, from the DVD?
I have the DVD and can grab any matching shot you need.

dvd mis framed cap

Deluxe LAB for SD transfer they do HD and make a copy on SD. few month later they ask customer if they want to buy the HD for the price of blank tape.

Originally Posted by miribeau

Dead Pit turned out really well and is a genuinely solid release. It was the kind of full restoration DF did on MMII, from a quality source, and it showed. I think it will be worth it for you, Dead Pit, specifically. I love it.

I payed for restoration. I bought the film and looking to get TV sales. so far no luck.....

[jessbarker]

Originally Posted by CODE RED DVD

Deluxe LAB for SD transfer they do HD and make a copy on SD. few month later they ask customer if they want to buy the HD for the price of blank tape.



I payed for restoration. I bought the film and looking to get TV sales. so far no luck.....

Hey, Bill!

So, the original transfer done on Psycho from Texas for your Six Pack DVD was an HD transfer right from the beginning?

[TheHorrorNerd]

Originally Posted by mdaniels

What’s the run time on Gates of Hell?
If you don’t mind. Curious if any footage, like the gore, is actually missing.
Debating this release, just want to make sure it’s not a simple unpolished grindhouse master.

The runtime of the file is 1:32:46

[Dark Force]

Originally Posted by jessbarker

Hey, Bill!

So, the original transfer done on Psycho from Texas for your Six Pack DVD was an HD transfer right from the beginning?

That's what the man said. Bottom line: Dark Force new release on HD is a lot better than any previous release of this title. Does it really matter exactly how we did it? Cause it wasn't easy or cheap.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by Dark Force

That's what the man said. Bottom line: Dark Force new release on HD is a lot better than any previous release of this title. Does it really matter exactly how we did it? Cause it wasn't easy or cheap.

It's probably easier to just answer straight forward questions than to be combative towards potential customers... Just a thought

[TheHorrorNerd]

Psycho from Texas (1975)
Wheeler (original title)
The Gates of Hell / Psycho from Texas Blu-ray
Dark Force Entertainment 2019 release
Directors: Jack Collins, Jim Feazell






Menu


Title Card


Thanks to babybreese for the caps of the dvd

Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


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Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


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Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


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[cloudnine]

OK, so the DF blu of PST has way better color but the credits are the same unproperly framed, so is this an upscale or not?

[ol_Dut]

Originally Posted by cloudnine

OK, so the DF blu of PST has way better color but the credits are the same unproperly framed, so is this an upscale or not?

Since we cannot get a straight answer with any details at all, we have to assume that it is an upscale. If that wasn’t the case, I cannot imagine why DF would be so persistent about not answering the question in a direct fashion.

[miribeau]

Originally Posted by CODE RED DVD

Deluxe LAB for SD transfer they do HD and make a copy on SD. few month later they ask customer if they want to buy the HD for the price of blank tape.

I payed for restoration. I bought the film and looking to get TV sales. so far no luck.....

I'm sorry to hear that. I send links to the digital version on Dead Pit, along with a few others, in periodic emails, but I know only a few people have bought it. They're used to the Vudu 6.99 monthly prices so 9.99 for an HD digital puts them off. I'm glad you own it outright so at least that money goes to you, after the Amazon cut of course.

Originally Posted by cloudnine

OK, so the DF blu of PST has way better color but the credits are the same unproperly framed, so is this an upscale or not?

No. Bill just answered this directly. He went to "Deluxe LAB" years ago and they scanned his source in HD, at that time. He took an SD version to use on the DVD. David used Bill's HD source scan, and made that clear just a few posts after Bill's post.

Originally Posted by ol_Dut

Since we cannot get a straight answer with any details at all, we have to assume that it is an upscale. If that wasn’t the case, I cannot imagine why DF would be so persistent about not answering the question in a direct fashion.

We just got a straight answer, from Code Red, specifically from Bill. You may want to check your ignore list and be sure you didn't accidentally add Bill (CODE RED DVD) to it. I included his post on this at the beginning of this post.

[Hedji]

What is the total time and content of the Drive-In Mode material?

[ProfondoRosso]

What’s funny is all of this upscale talk first started, to my knowledge, with DawnoftheDiscs simply asking if it was an upscale. An answer was never given and it steamrolled into this mess of confusion. It’s almost as if all of the upset over this release could have been nipped in the bud quite some time ago with a straightforward, honest response.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by ol_Dut

Since we cannot get a straight answer with any details at all, we have to assume that it is an upscale. If that wasn’t the case, I cannot imagine why DF would be so persistent about not answering the question in a direct fashion.

If they can't or won't answer questions then why bother signing up on a public forum?

[Toxoplasmic]

Originally Posted by Dk8819

I really wish my copy of dead pit would ship. Ordered the 14th got confirmation and checked website next day and somehow my order date changed to 15th. Kinda miffed tbh. If it does not ship on mon/Tuesday DF is getting emailed. Hope it’s worth it lol.

Ordered Dead Pit last week when the store was up, no shipping update since then either. Hopefully get one tomorrow.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by ol_Dut

Since we cannot get a straight answer with any details at all, we have to assume that it is an upscale. If that wasn’t the case, I cannot imagine why DF would be so persistent about not answering the question in a direct fashion.

I believe Dave answered the question indirectly in the Code Red thread. They don't state (advertise) anything (on the cover) about it for Psycho From Hell, thus you must presume it's an upscale.

Originally Posted by Dark Force

We did not deceive anybody. We always state if the new high def master was created from an original negative or a 35mm print. If not we have to create it from whatever existing element or in many cases elements are left. In any case we still spend thousands of dollars to restore and correct the color. Psycho From Texas is 45 years old with no existing negative so it will NEVER look like a new movie nor should it for our drive-in series. But it will look a hell of a lot better than any previous DVD release or anything else presently on the marker. Anyone doing chargebacks due to some fantasy they have regarding how we did the transfer and restoration will be put on The List and will never be allowed to order from us again.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Toxoplasmic

Ordered Dead Pit last week when the store was up, no shipping update since then either. Hopefully get one tomorrow.

For those that don't check FB, Dave posted an order status update early this morning. Now serving # 4002.

The Dark Force Superstore is now temporarily closed while we catch up on the shipping. The Store closed at ORDER #4356 and we are currently serving ORDER #4002. We will have more updates on Monday regarding the fulfillment of the remainder of the orders. We expect to have them all in the mail by this weekend and early this week.

STAY TUNED for upcoming releases ATOR "Collector's Edition", Drive-In #7 and the biggest Dark Force release of the year MIRROR MIRROR "Collector's Edition":

[miribeau]

Originally Posted by Dark Force

That's what the man said. Bottom line: Dark Force new release on HD is a lot better than any previous release of this title. Does it really matter exactly how we did it? Cause it wasn't easy or cheap.

I assumed someone else would say this, but, since no one did, it really does matter how you did it. It wouldn't have, back in the day when people only had VHS. It also would have mattered far less when DVD was king. Today, when anyone can burn a DVD, Sinister Cinema comes to mind, and BDs from amazing companies like Scorpion, on rare occasions, show up with a bitrate of 12mbps, we all want to know everything about every release, period. We want to know the sourcing, source quality, type of scan, the nature of the restorative work, any hiccups you encountered and, ideally, the final average bitrate for audio and video and, if at all possible, want high-res screengrabs to compare to other versions. We're cult movie fans. Yeah, some of us watch Marvel movies, but cult film fans want to know everything about everything. I didn't buy "A Good Day To Die Hard: The Extended Cut" without knowing the bitrate.

Originally Posted by Cinema84

If they can't or won't answer questions then why bother signing up on a public forum?

I really don't think David realized just how much we all wanted this particular bit of information. I think he thought people were just razzing him to get a response, and possibly in order to torment him, and it never occurred to him that actual fans of the label, like me, would actually need to know that it was an HD scan done by a company for Bill a while back. As I've said before, David appears to me to be a very quick learner. I don't think he will keep secrets about sources and scans in the future and the next time someone yells "Upscale", if there's an answer as easy as "Bill did it, in HD, a while back", he'll just give the answer. Again, a little forgiveness never hurts.

Originally Posted by Toxoplasmic

Ordered Dead Pit last week when the store was up, no shipping update since then either. Hopefully get one tomorrow.

Check their Facebook feed everyday. They'll be posting updates on the order numbers of the orders they've shipped out so far, as they go, in real time.

Originally Posted by rdodolak

I believe Dave answered the question indirectly in the Code Red thread. They don't state (advertise) anything (on the cover) about it for Psycho From Hell, thus you must presume it's an upscale.

Again, Bill answered this earlier. He said they did an HD scan years back, for the DVD, and used an SD version of that original scan. He was then offered the HD scan for a low price and he took it. According to Bill it is not an upscale, just an older, quick HD scan of a film that was done specifically when he was going to make a DVD, probably because the source wasn't great and wouldn't make for the best blu.

[Dark Force]

Originally Posted by TheHorrorNerd

Psycho from Texas (1975)
Wheeler (original title)
The Gates of Hell / Psycho from Texas Blu-ray
Drak Force Entertainment 2019 release
Directors: Jack Collins, Jim Feazell






Menu


Title Card


Thanks to babybreese for the caps of the dvd

Code Red DVD
[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/PajBno2.png[/IMG

Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray


Code Red DVD


Dark Force / Code Red Bluray

I gotta say Horror Nerd thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Pretty much sums it up. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

[ProfondoRosso]

Originally Posted by Dark Force

It has already been stated that the source material was Bill's original master which Deluxe originally created but we had to do quite a bit more...

I’ve never stated your release of this film was bad. If there are no surviving materials than perhaps this is in fact the best it will ever look. Though, if a master was made years ago, it stands to reason the same materials could be used for a more modern higher resolution scan.

Nonetheless, this drive-in release clearly has richer colors and sharper detail than the DVD. Bravo on that. My concern, and that of several other members, has been your unwillingness (or inability?) to directly answer the questions raised about this specific master. Yes, Bill told us TODAY that it was struck from an old HD scan, but where was that info over a month ago?

We get your showmanship approach to things, but for bad or worse us cult movie geeks (your customers) can take these things very seriously...some more than others. We only ask that you be a bit more upfront when questioned about future releases. The politician dance isn’t winning too many people over.

[nitin]

Those pics look like a 720p source upscaled to 1080p.