Stigmata (1999)

[JaseT]

With Amazon dropping the price, I placed a preorder.

[RandyK]

This was pushed back a week to May 19th per Amazon and Scream's Facebook.

[Lord Summerisle]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Yeah, not a very good film by any measure, although I will echo the sentiment that Patricia Arquette was extremely good lookin' in this.

The same could be said of most any Patricia Arquette movie, no? Especially True Romance.

This film came out at a time when I was very scared of religious/supernatural things. I found it somewhat scary because of that. I remember it being something of an Exorcist knock-off, but I'd be interested to see it again. Mostly because of Patricia.

[mwanders4]

I believe this will be presented in 1:85:1. the recent HD showing on Direct TV has been in that format, and we actually see more on the top and bottom and lose nothing from the sides. Win, win.

Yes, Beyond Rangoon on blu-ray from warner would be great. Another amazing Arquette film and little seen. I am sure thy would just run it through an HD filter...but still better than nothing!

I pre-ordered from Shout! to get the blu-ray 2 weeks early...hmm...

[rdodolak]

^ but that's not the OAR.

[mwanders4]

True! The trailer at Shout! Factory is 1:85:1, fyi. So...I believe the film to be in the same. Mine arrives 5/2 because I ordered from Shout!, so will update info next week!

[mwanders4]

I received Stigmata today. It was run through a HD filter with no reatoration. Has exact same film specs, as in the same film or dvd from MGM release. What does that tell us?
Aspect ratio is original 2:35:1. My disc has sound problems in the first scene, so have contacted Shout! Factory to discuss.
Yes, the picture is an upgrade from the DVD, but not a whole lot. Lighter and more clear, but a lot of film grain and obviously not restored. The sound is great, like the dvd.
The trailer is 1:85:1. Extras are same as dvd with 2 documentAries that are a nice addition.
I will do an official review after Shout! Has responded to me and addressed the issues.
Street date is 5/19. Time to fix things.

[sjy1969]

Originally Posted by mwanders4

I received Stigmata today. It was run through a HD filter with no reatoration. Has exact same film specs, as in the same film or dvd from MGM release. What does that tell us?
Aspect ratio is original 2:35:1. My disc has sound problems in the first scene, so have contacted Shout! Factory to discuss.
Yes, the picture is an upgrade from the DVD, but not a whole lot. Lighter and more clear, but a lot of film grain and obviously not restored. The sound is great, like the dvd.
The trailer is 1:85:1. Extras are same as dvd with 2 documentAries that are a nice addition.
I will do an official review after Shout! Has responded to me and addressed the issues.
Street date is 5/19. Time to fix things.

Thanks for the info. Could you elaborate on what the sound problems are?

[Clark Kent]

Much of MGM's back catalog is in disrepair in terms of modern film transfers, which is why no one had really bothered releasing them on Blu-ray.

[dsman71]

Im watching it right now and to be frank, it looks terrific. I have had no sound problems anywhere..This is an MGM HD master, and Im sure SF didnt do any special restoration for it but IMHO it does look perfectly fine on my new blu ray player.
I think mwanders is just someone who for some reason is again trying to discredit Scream Factory or just start rumors to kill sales or something. Shout Factory isnt going anywhere no matter how many false accusations get thrown around

[dissention]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I think mwanders is just someone who for some reason is again trying to discredit Scream Factory or just start rumors to kill sales or something. Shout Factory isnt going anywhere no matter how many false accusations get thrown around

Good Lord. People with even the slightest of criticisms regarding Scream have gone from being haters to trolls and now a full-blown League of Assassins, hellbent on taking them down.

The glitch on their Vampire's Kiss/High Spirits disc actually exists (shock!), so this wouldn't surprise me.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by dissention

Good Lord. People with even the slightest of criticisms regarding Scream have gone from being haters to trolls and now a full-blown League of Assassins, hellbent on taking them down.

The glitch on their Vampire's Kiss/High Spirits disc actually exists (shock!), so this wouldn't surprise me.

Good Lord, there you are again, making it sound like people who support the brand are the bad guys. I have finished the ENTIRE movie and there is no defect. These "slight criticisms" are just people starting false rumors.

I have to admit Im tired of seeing you troll and quote me on my posts, always needing to be "right" as if your life depends on it. You constantly attempt to one up myself and other members and its not going to work. Youre obviously anti Scream Factory. Do you get your jollies constantly wanting to dispute me or any Shout supporters ?
Go create some *Dissention* and negativity somewhere else, its really gotten tiresome. Consider yourself ignored because Im tired of your dribble.

[mwanders4]

1. I am actually a huge fan of a Shout factory. I feel they give great care and respect with the Blu ray releases. I was very impressed with the release of the Shadow, for example.
2. My Stigmata disk does have a defect. I have contacted Shout factory via email. I am waiting on a response. The very opening scene the sound goes in and out at least three times and makes popping and hissing sounds. I am sure my disk just needs to be replaced. I have watched the entire movie in this does not happen in any other part of the film.
3. I have no reason to discredit Shout Factory. I am a huge fan of the company and was very excited for this blu-ray release. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Because the film was actually a box office hit in United States and around the world I was expecting some upgraded transfer. I thought there would be some cleaning up. However it looks like the source material may not be in great condition? Looking at the Blu ray compared to the DVD especially in the opening scene there are the exact same dust specks in black dots on the print. Does this mean they actually use the same source material? Or does this mean they simply upscaled the DVD? I am honestly not sure. The Blu ray does have more detail and the colors are a bit brighter. Beyond that it is not a significant upgrade. I honestly think that the HD presentation I have seen on DirecTV what a little bit better. This is regarding detail, colors, and film grain.
4. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I was excited to get this Blu ray directly from Shout Factory. I wanted to support the company. Unfortunately, my disc does have a sound problem in the opening scene and the picture quality is not as good as I was hoping. We will see what the experts think about the picture quality once it is officially released.

[mwanders4]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Im watching it right now and to be frank, it looks terrific. I have had no sound problems anywhere..This is an MGM HD master, and Im sure SF didnt do any special restoration for it but IMHO it does look perfectly fine on my new blu ray player.
I think mwanders is just someone who for some reason is again trying to discredit Scream Factory or just start rumors to kill sales or something. Shout Factory isnt going anywhere no matter how many false accusations get thrown around

I LOVE Shout Factory and have many, many of their titles from 80's cartoons to blu-rays. I just want the issue fixed.

What aspect ratio is your disc? Perhaps my disc also has transfer problems? My intent in contacting them was they could fix the problem before the discs hit stores.

Why so confrontational?

[mwanders4]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Good Lord, there you are again, making it sound like people who support the brand are the bad guys. I have finished the ENTIRE movie and there is no defect. These "slight criticisms" are just people starting false rumors.

I have to admit Im tired of seeing you troll and quote me on my posts, always needing to be "right" as if your life depends on it. You constantly attempt to one up myself and other members and its not going to work. Youre obviously anti Scream Factory. Do you get your jollies constantly wanting to dispute me or any Shout supporters ?
Go create some *Dissention* and negativity somewhere else, its really gotten tiresome. Consider yourself ignored because Im tired of your dribble.

I am 100% telling the truth about MY disc. Only love for Shout on this end. I just also bought WKRP in Cincinnati!!

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by mwanders4

3. I have no reason to discredit Shout Factory. I am a huge fan of the company and was very excited for this blu-ray release. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Because the film was actually a box office hit in United States and around the world I was expecting some upgraded transfer. I thought there would be some cleaning up. However it looks like the source material may not be in great condition? Looking at the Blu ray compared to the DVD especially in the opening scene there are the exact same dust specks in black dots on the print. Does this mean they actually use the same source material? Or does this mean they simply upscaled the DVD? I am honestly not sure. The Blu ray does have more detail and the colors are a bit brighter. Beyond that it is not a significant upgrade. I honestly think that the HD presentation I have seen on DirecTV what a little bit better. This is regarding detail, colors, and film grain.

That's disappointing to hear if true as I've had been hoping this would be released to Blu-ray. It sounds like Shout used the same master that was used for the original 2000 DVD release which would mean it's roughly 15 years old.

Stigmata or Ravenous are the films that could have used a new transfer and clean up; not releases like Escape from New York. I guess I just don't understand their view.

[mwanders4]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

That's disappointing to here if true as I've had been hoping this would be released to Blu-ray. It sounds like Shout used the same master that was used for the original 2000 DVD release which would mean it's roughly 15 years old.

Stigmata or Ravenous are the films that could have used a new transfer and clean up; not releases like Escape from New York. I guess I just don't understand their view.

I agree. Some films have multiple blu-ray releases. I know Stigmata was filmed to look stark and grainy using a skip bleach film process, which is why it needed some restoration and DNR work.

It is better than the dvd, but not a whole lot. I am still glad I upgraded as this is a fave of mine.

[mwanders4]

And still no replacement blu-ray from Shout. Not impresses. I hope others do not have the same sound issue.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Much of MGM's back catalog is in disrepair in terms of modern film transfers, which is why no one had really bothered releasing them on Blu-ray.

Yeah, they are just dumping most of it to Twilight Time, Kino, and Shout. Not the best case scenario, but it's kind of a "take it or leave it" at this point - and it will depend on how much one really cares about a particular film whether they will "upgrade" to the blu-ray or not. Hopefully they at least make enough money out of these licensing deals to somewhat make an effort at 4k in the future.

Almost none of these MGM licensed films are going to be modern 4k or 2k scans. We should know what to expect at this point. At best they will be free of MAJOR damage and passable HD/broadcast quality, but blu-ray will reveal certain scanner noise and artifacts that would have been inherent to a master created 10 or 15 or 20 years ago.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Yeah, they are just dumping most of it to Twilight Time, Kino, and Shout.

They are also using Olive as a dumping ground.