Nightmares (1983) from Scream Factory - December 22, 2015

[KrugStillo]

Originally Posted by cmac

We added the fullscreen version at the last minute, more as an extra. It might have been shot as episodes for a TV series, but it played theatrically... and there were some reshoots that were not done 1.33:1.
We used the only 1.33:1 master Universal had in storage.

Thank you for the quick response. While I understand what you say I do find it odd that comparing to the old full frame transfers indicates the loss of much info from that master. Unfortunately, this does not represent the original full frame TV ratio. Hence, rendering it sort of pointless. Thanks for the widescreen transfer but the full frame doesn't represent what it should so it sort of negates it. I do appreciate the new transfer but find it a bit deceiving to advertise something that isn't what it's supposed to be.

[OneWayFilms]

Originally Posted by ronnie21

Had high hopes for this Blu-ray. but the quality is bad. washed out colors and too much softness.. the trailer really looks bad.

Agreed. I'm hoping the problem was with the original source and not the transfer. It's much too soft and washout looking.

[ronnie21]

one way I could tell, is that in the true full frame version you see the whole name of the mall, fox hills mall, but on this new one. its cut off..

[KrugStillo]

Originally Posted by ronnie21

one way I could tell, is that in the true full frame version you see the whole name of the mall, fox hills mall, but on this new one. its cut off..

I haven't watched the whole full frame transfer yet but what I have seen is literally the widescreen transfer with black bars chopping off the sides. The film has never been shown like this on any previous format. This is not even a full frame transfer. It's a further cropped widescreen transfer. If this was all they had they shouldn't have even included it. No film has ever been shown this way. I am a huge Scream Factory fan but this is downright insulting to fans of the film. Did they really think we wouldn't notice? The quality and QC on their releases is really starting to go down hill. This just rubbed me the wrong way.

[Jobla]

I haven't yet acquired NIGHTMARES, but Scream Factory's recent releases of BLOOD AND LACE and THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE are among the best releases of the year, IMO.

[ronnie21]

Hey all, could anyone tell me if the 1999 anchor bay dvd is better picture quality than this new Blu-ray??

[Fiocca_Cola]

Originally Posted by ronnie21

Hey all, could anyone tell me if the 1999 anchor bay dvd is better picture quality than this new Blu-ray??

Certainly not, while there may be issues involving the full-frame feature, the blu-ray is still a huge upgrade in widescreen. I own the anchor bay DVD, it's 16 years old and nothing to write home about

[raybestos]

Originally Posted by ronnie21

Hey all, could anyone tell me if the 1999 anchor bay dvd is better picture quality than this new Blu-ray??

Absolutely, keep your fullscreen 1999 DVD if you want a proper release of the 1.33 version of NIGHTMARES! It has the full image, uncropped image in 4:3 ratio.

Shout again dropd the ball with this release. Their encode of the TV version should never have been included; it's merely a waste of valuable disc space, since anybody may turn their 1.78 version into the included 1.33 version by chopping off the picture info from the sides of the frame.

This needless inclusion of their "fullframe" version has compromised the quality of the theatrical version, since it had to be encoded at a lower bitrate, hence lower PQ than it otherwise could have been. Compression artifacts are visible in some shots, especially in the credits sequence and some scenes of "battle of bishop". Shame!

So, we have here a cropped and slashed version of NIGHTMARES. Image information is MISSING from both the 1.78 version and even more is missing from their abominable 1.33 version.

FWIW: The commentary is an embarrasment to all concerned, why Shout spent their money on including this bad commentary is beyond me... Some of us on this forum could have done a far, far superior job of moderating it. A waste.

I'll be keeping my DVD, in preference to this Blu-ray as the "best" available version of NIGHTMARES.

[meremortal]

The sketch with Emilio Estevez scared me when I was a little kid. I'd love to grab this if it goes on sale.

[RadicalThrasher]

Finally got a chance to throw this on, its been atleast 15 years since I last saw it. Loved every minute of it, brought back some great memories. Big fan of these horror anthology type movies. Bishop of Battle is still my favorite of the bunch, but they're all pretty decent and enjoyable. I'm also a fan of oldschool practical f/x, but man the last story Night of the Rat, while an entertaining story, the rat effects in the end look......well not good

[MrZappa]

Originally Posted by RadicalThrasher

Finally got a chance to throw this on, its been atleast 15 years since I last saw it. Loved every minute of it, brought back some great memories. Big fan of these horror anthology type movies. Bishop of Battle is still my favorite of the bunch, but they're all pretty decent and enjoyable. I'm also a fan of oldschool practical f/x, but man the last story Night of the Rat, while an entertaining story, the rat effects in the end look......well not good

I was watching this last night and that last segment does such a good job of building tension. My girlfriend even looked up from her phone and was following along and the last 5 minutes were so unintentionally hilarious that I physically cringed. What a mess of an ending.

[oddbox83]

Having a pan and scan option as an extra is nonsensical. Open matte OK, but pan and scan? Waste of valuable disc space. It doesn't add any value to the extra features and just eats up bitrate.

If I'd bought this for or been looking forward to the "fullframe" extra, I'd be really, really annoyed with Shout right now. What were they smoking or didn't they even bother to check what they were including? If they went to extra effort and/or cost to include it, more fool them.

[Andrew Woo]

Comparison: http://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2915

[raybestos]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

Having a pan and scan option as an extra is nonsensical. Open matte OK, but pan and scan? Waste of valuable disc space. It doesn't add any value to the extra features and just eats up bitrate.

If I'd bought this for or been looking forward to the "fullframe" extra, I'd be really, really annoyed with Shout right now. What were they smoking or didn't they even bother to check what they were including? If they went to extra effort and/or cost to include it, more fool them.

I basically replied in kind above, and I am very annoyed with them for not including the open-matte version. If, as is claimed, they didn't have access to it, they should not have half-assed it and claimed in big bold print TWO VERSIONS, just a ploy to sell more product. I'd have been happier if only one version was included, and no snake oil had been spilled in the advertising of the release.

The thing with Blu-ray releases is that, if it wasn't for the good old pre-release copies that lucky folks receive to review and post on the net, we, the consumers would be burned by these types of errors, because as we know, Blu-rays aren't returnable after being opened. There's no "try before you buy" option.

[Nailwraps]

I notified Scream on Facebook the problem. Awaiting response.

UPDATE: No replacement program (and I just noticed the explanation for this was already pointed out).

[DenOfEarth]

SF did decent extras with radios spots/trailer/commentary and the PQ is fair.

The first story is a decent attempt at slasher, the third is basically Exorcist meets The Car (same studio who made The Car did Nightmares) and the fourth story came out in the same year as Of Unknown Origin which was the better killer rat movie.

The second story is the best one in the film as Emilo Estevez gave a nice performance as JJ who is a rebellious teen who loves video games and challenges a game called Battle of Bishop which there are myths about a supposed 13 level when some think it's all a scam but he believes it. JJ maybe a total dick to his friends/family but he knew how to kick ass at games despite that Bishop game must have had some effect on film since the story is the most Twilight Zone-esque out of them with it's sci-fi horror theme story and also a metaphor for crack addiction but with games instead of crack as JJ is a junkie in some way.

Who else thinks the Are You Afraid of the Dark episode Tale of the Pinball Wizard was highly influenced by this movie's Bishop story? they are the same story and same endings.

[cyborgLIS]

101 Films released this in UK earlier this year. Any opinions on it? I know they included a 1.33:1 version but it is still cropped like the US. http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=35018

[Davidian]

Originally Posted by cyborgLIS

101 Films released this in UK earlier this year. Any opinions on it? I know they included a 1.33:1 version but it is still cropped like the US. http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=35018

That link you posted stated that it was.

"Neither Blu-ray editon offers the unmatted version. The 1.33:1 alternate version on both discs has cropped the sides."

[cyborgLIS]

Originally Posted by Davidian

That link you posted stated that it was.

"Neither Blu-ray editon offers the unmatted version. The 1.33:1 alternate version on both discs has cropped the sides."

I wasn't asking if it is cropped, just stating that it IS croppped. My question was more about PQ differences.

[Kakihara]

Anybody have the recent German "Wicked Vision" BD of this film? It has the fullscreen and widescreen versions but I haven't seen anywhere if it's the correct fullscreen or if it's the same cropped version that's been on other releases.