Cannibal Holocaust - Grindhouse (US) Blu-ray

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

One would think the "low-budget '80s film on cheap stock" argument would have died out by now considering how many such movies look incredible on Blu-ray. Grindhouse presumably took the inexpensive route and didn't strike a new master for Cannibal Holocaust. It could certainly look better but it's still an all right presentation.

No such thing as cheap stock, just cheap cameraman. Neither of which applies to this film.
Sergio D'Offizi who shot CH, was very competent and shot many very nice looking films.

[Needleman]

Somehow I forgot to mention the new 4k restoration of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Incredible transfer that is absolutely not indicative of the current quality of the elements (it needed exhaustive restoration work)!

[Needleman]

Watched my copy. This release is absolutely taken from at least 2 separate scans/transfers. The newer of the 2 scans looks incredible. Great grain structure, great depth, great definition and sharpness. The other, older scan is a good bit worse. Far less definition, very little depth, less detail, less sharp. It seems to me that the majority of the release is sourced from that lesser scan. Whatever the reason for this is I don't know. It nonetheless is a very nice release and I'm happy with it. The stereo remix was very good.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by Brett C

No such thing as cheap stock, just cheap cameraman. Neither of which applies to this film.
Sergio D'Offizi who shot CH, was very competent and shot many very nice looking films.

Youre wrong, there were some really shitty stocks produced in the 80s that have since been discontinued due to problems they produced in quality and were consoderably harder to work with.
David Cronenberg discusses this on the commentary track for Videodrome.
Not all films were shot on them but they arent a myth.

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

Youre wrong, there were some really shitty stocks produced in the 80s that have since been discontinued due to problems they produced in quality and were consoderably harder to work with.
David Cronenberg discusses this on the commentary track for Videodrome.
Not all films were shot on them but they arent a myth.

There is a difference between problematic and cheap and like I stated, there is no such thing as cheap stock.
The problem is that cinematographers, after years of using 5254 and then 5247, thought they could underexpose the new high speed stocks like they were used to on the old slow-speed stocks (out of necessity mostly in the 1970's) -- a different attitude towards exposure had to be learned in the 1980's.

[Blu Titan]

Just watched this and Grindhouse did an awesome job with this release.

[cakefactory]

I just got it and watched it today also. I thought it looked great, but the only way I'd seen it previously was seeing it on someone's computer monitor, I think in a badly encoded DVD rip. It fit the look of the movie, that's for sure. Having watched Cannibal Ferox yesterday, this one sure was a breath of fresh air, but I was expecting that having had vague memories of it and having read so much about it. It's certainly still got some rough edges (particularly the actress, though it's hard to tell how much of it is her being bad and how much of it is the dubbing on her being terrible) and the last line of dialogue is worthy of a huge groan, but it's got a ton of grimly effective scenes. The animal stuff occasionally feels very pointless, especially the turtle scene where it goes on forever and is scored. The other stuff is gross and shouldn't have happened but I think it does add to the whole ambience of the movie. It may be inexcusable, but some of it does have a point, simultaneously making the fake violence feel more real and establishing the setting as even more brutal. The movie itself feels so damn professional compared to the sick joke that is Cannibal Ferox, and while the themes and morals are often bludgeoning and stupid, especially that wretched last line, they're certainly light years better than the voice-over narration from the lead actress in Ferox. A lot of the footage is incredibly realistic, even some of the gore effects, particularly the guy that gets chopped into bits and devoured.

I'd give the movie itself about a 7/10. It's not something I'll probably watch for another 10 years, but it's a very effective movie, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of mileage out of the second disc.

Ferox is awful, and the only other one of these flicks I've seen is Mountain of the Cannibal God, which I saw over 10 years ago and barely remember, apart from Ursula Andress getting slathered in mud. The video nasties guide said it was a slicker, more artily filmed movie compared to the other cannibal flicks, but that it was also totally lacking in any visceral impact. I might have to rewatch it sometime, even though the DVD I have is (I think) some kind of semi-legit pan and scan version of a shorter cut (Slave of the Cannibal God?). Whatever!

I am almost more interested in all the interviews than the movie, so I'll have to watch all those tomorrow. I just started in on the interview with the questionable actress. I wish they'd subtitle these sorts of things, it's really hard to make out some words with her accent and the fact she's being asked to speak in english when she clearly isn't that comfortable with it.

[Needleman]

Oh I'll add btw that the packaging on this release is simply gorgeous. It's probably the most well presented movie in my Blu-Ray collection. I imagine the Ferox release will be highly comparable in that way.

[jlk5844]

I noticed there's a release coming in Japan from Happinet in November of this year, a 35th Anniversary Ultimate Edition with 2 discs. I can't imagine it'll contain anything new, whether in the transfer or extras department, Grindhouse's will probably continue to be the definitive release for a long while. But I'd still be interested to see what this release entails.

[InspectorLupus]

Does anybody know if Amazon is still shipping these with slipcovers?

[redxrebellion]

Originally Posted by InspectorLupus

Does anybody know if Amazon is still shipping these with slipcovers?

If I had to guess I would say yes because it's not a slip cover. It's a slip box that contains the movie and booklet and cd soundtrack. Can't really sell it without the box.

[InspectorLupus]

Originally Posted by redxrebellion

If I had to guess I would say yes because it's not a slip cover. It's a slip box that contains the movie and booklet and cd soundtrack. Can't really sell it without the box.

Ah, okay I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

I noticed there's a release coming in Japan from Happinet in November of this year, a 35th Anniversary Ultimate Edition with 2 discs. I can't imagine it'll contain anything new, whether in the transfer or extras department, Grindhouse's will probably continue to be the definitive release for a long while. But I'd still be interested to see what this release entails.

Happinet did release that Dawn of the Dead box with newer masters, so ya never know.

[AlexIlDottore]

Originally Posted by InspectorLupus

Does anybody know if Amazon is still shipping these with slipcovers?

Originally Posted by redxrebellion

If I had to guess I would say yes because it's not a slip cover. It's a slip box that contains the movie and booklet and cd soundtrack. Can't really sell it without the box.

Incorrect. The amaray contains the 2 blus and the booklet. The only thing not in the amaray is the cd soundtrack. Also, in relation to this :

Originally Posted by AlexIlDottore

There's no mention of the enclosed soundtrack cd on the reversible sleeve. The slipbox mentions "3 disc deluxe edition 2 Blu-Rays + CD". The reversible sleeve mentions "2 Disc Deluxe Edition Blu Ray".

A some point, there'll be just the 2 disc edition.

[InspectorLupus]

Originally Posted by AlexIlDottore

Incorrect. The amaray contains the 2 blus and the booklet. The only thing not in the amaray is the cd soundtrack. Also, in relation to this :

Thanks a lot. I guess my real question now is if this is still shipping with the CD.

[jjones1193]

Originally Posted by InspectorLupus

Thanks a lot. I guess my real question now is if this is still shipping with the CD.

Yes, mine arrived from Amazon Tuesday with the CD.

[AlexIlDottore]

Originally Posted by InspectorLupus

Thanks a lot. I guess my real question now is if this is still shipping with the CD.

You're welcome

[Sleazeaddict]

Originally Posted by AlexIlDottore

There's no mention of the enclosed soundtrack cd on the reversible sleeve. The slipbox mentions "3 disc deluxe edition 2 Blu-Rays + CD". The reversible sleeve mentions "2 Disc Deluxe Edition Blu Ray".

A some point, there'll be just the 2 disc edition.

Same with The Beyond !

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

Happinet did release that Dawn of the Dead box with newer masters, so ya never know.

Wow, no kidding? Sweet. I couldn't find caps of it but I'd love to see some. Maybe the US will get a new Blu-ray with a remaster soon.

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Wow, no kidding? Sweet. I couldn't find caps of it but I'd love to see some. Maybe the US will get a new Blu-ray with a remaster soon.

It's not very good. It's an improvement on the previous blu rays, but the colours are so off. It may be worth it if you know how to and want to tinker with the colours on your TV.

http://www.kentaiblog.com/2014/01/th...l-dawn-of.html
http://www.kentaiblog.com/2013/12/da...-bad-news.html

On top of that, the Argento cut is the same 2007 master from France, which is a disaster.