Hammer Horror Blu-ray Releases

[Mr Mojo]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

In early 2013, we're getting DRACULA aka THE HORROR OF DRACULA.

Other titles in 2013 are rumoured to include QUATERMASS II, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES THE WITCHES and CAPTAIN KRONOS VAMPIRE HUNTER.

thanks for the info.

Dracula, FCW & Abominable Snowman are all great news. Not really a fan of the rest of those listed. I might pick up the Quatermass films.

Was really hoping for more of their A list titles like The Mummy, Brides of Dracula, Revenge of Frankenstein, Hound of the Baskervilles, Curse of the Werewolf, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, etc

[insomniac013]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

In early 2013, we're getting DRACULA aka THE HORROR OF DRACULA.

Other titles in 2013 are rumoured to include QUATERMASS II, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES THE WITCHES and CAPTAIN KRONOS VAMPIRE HUNTER.

Yay for Dracula!

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by Mr Mojo

Was really hoping for more of their A list titles like The Mummy, Brides of Dracula, Revenge of Frankenstein, Hound of the Baskervilles, Curse of the Werewolf, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, etc

Yeah, the trouble is they're all from different studios, Sony, MGM & Universal. Hammer & those great Roger Corman Poe films did really well with DVD, but are a bit slow arriving on Blu. I hope The Curse Of Frankenstein Blu does well & gets things going.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by Mr Mojo

thanks for the info.

Dracula, FCW & Abominable Snowman are all great news. Not really a fan of the rest of those listed. I might pick up the Quatermass films.

Was really hoping for more of their A list titles like The Mummy, Brides of Dracula, Revenge of Frankenstein, Hound of the Baskervilles, Curse of the Werewolf, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, etc

I don't think they have the rights to those, unless that's changed recently. Universal own some, MGM (Fox) own some and WB own all the other Dracula movies and a couple of Frankenstein ones. But I'm sure they've been trying to make deals - HORROR OF DRACULA was WB as well, so there's hope.

Other strong possibilities from Hammer themselves: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB, ONE MILLION YEARS BC, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, THE NANNY, SCARS OF DRACULA, HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN and VENGEANCE OF SHE.

And I'm pretty sure I heard something about a release for FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL too.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

I don't think they have the rights to those, unless that's changed recently. Universal own some, MGM (Fox) own some and WB own all the other Dracula movies and a couple of Frankenstein ones. But I'm sure they've been trying to make deals - HORROR OF DRACULA was WB as well, so there's hope.

A lot of the classic ones are Universal: The Brides Of Dracula, The Curse Of The Werewolf, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Kiss Of The Vampire. Sony have a few good ones: The Terror Of The Tongs, The Gorgon. I'm not that interested in the stuff after 1965. There's a few I like, The Evil Of Frankenstein & The Lost Continent. Oh well Dracula (The Horror Of Dracula) next year followed by The Mummy.

[Clark Kent]

I am strongly wishing that Captain Kronos gets a release within the next year.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I am strongly wishing that Captain Kronos gets a release within the next year.

IIRC, Caroline Munro stated that Kronos would be getting a Blu-ray release from - I think - Arrow, but that was later confirmed as incorrect.

[Mr Mojo]

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

Yeah, the trouble is they're all from different studios, Sony, MGM & Universal. Hammer & those great Roger Corman Poe films did really well with DVD, but are a bit slow arriving on Blu. I hope The Curse Of Frankenstein Blu does well & gets things going.

Originally Posted by duggie walker

I don't think they have the rights to those, unless that's changed recently. Universal own some, MGM (Fox) own some and WB own all the other Dracula movies and a couple of Frankenstein ones. But I'm sure they've been trying to make deals - HORROR OF DRACULA was WB as well, so there's hope.

Other strong possibilities from Hammer themselves: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB, ONE MILLION YEARS BC, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, THE NANNY, SCARS OF DRACULA, HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN and VENGEANCE OF SHE.

And I'm pretty sure I heard something about a release for FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL too.

I wasn't sure who controlled the older Hammer titles in the UK (I'm in the US)

Was hoping the major studio's didn't, that's a shame.

Monster From Hell would be very cool, and I'd probably go for Scars

[Judex]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

IIRC, Caroline Munro stated that Kronos would be getting a Blu-ray release from - I think - Arrow, but that was later confirmed as incorrect.

I hope Arrow keep away from Hammer, I don't fancy having a botched release.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by Judex

I hope Arrow keep away from Hammer, I don't fancy having a botched release.

Ahh, poor Arrow. Maniac Cop and Red Scorpion were great PQ and stacked with extras. Really happy with both Dawn and Day of the Dead, again hours of extras.

Leave this little co. alone. Also their customer service dept is 1st class.

Rather them, then have Fox or WB screwing over for PQ AND complete lack of extras which they’ve done over the years with all their resources !!

[John Hodson]

Frank Collins reviews Rasputin The Mad Monk:

...Quite stunning. There is incredible depth to this transfer (for both ratios) and a marvellous texture from the grain that gives this a truly film like appearance. Deep layers of black dominate the image (Rasputin's challenge to Sonia's brother Peter takes place in small pools of light and looks incredible), there is plenty of detail in costumes and faces and spectacular reproduction of colour.

Check out Rasputin's red silk cossack shirt, Sonia's purple cloak, the uniforms and dresses and the close ups of faces and you'll be rewarded with plenty of colour, detail and depth. The restoration also showcases the production design. Bernard Robinson's sets look amazing, particularly Zargo and Rasputin's apartment, Tsarevich Alexei's bedroom and the interiors of Rasputin's villa, and Michael Reed's master shots, which capture their full detail, symmetry and colour, look very impressive here...

[charnier]

Rasputin, Mummy's Shroud and Devil Rides Out are now going for £11.45 on Zavvi.

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by Judex

I hope Arrow keep away from Hammer, I don't fancy having a botched release.

Arrow are treated just plain unfairly. 1 or 2 bad releases, and everyone gives them crap. They've put out some top quality releases and great packages.

[ghostwhowalks]

Originally Posted by charnier

Rasputin, Mummy's Shroud and Devil Rides Out are now going for £11.45 on Zavvi.

Was waiting for Amazon price drop, but this will do just fine.

Oh, I hit 900 after these 3 ordered!

[evilzedar]

Just received Mummy's Shroud, Rasputin and The Devil Rides Out.

[duggie walker]

Has anybody looked at RASPUTIN yet?

The audio is terrible - certainly on the Fox Fanfare and main title music. Horribly thin, tinny and warbly. I'm trying to figure out whether this is a problem with my disc or not.

I'm playing it on a PS3 and both Blu and DVD versions sound very bad. It's showing as two-channel Linear PCM, same as THE MUMMY'S SHROUD, which sounds much fuller.

True, in the dialogue scenes for RASPUTIN, it's not as noticeable but I'm pretty staggered if this is as good as it can sound; and a bit mystified why the reviews have gone easy on it. Extras and commentary track all sound fine and as they should. But the main feature - which looks gorgeous - has, on my quck sample, the worst AQ I've heard on a vintage feature.

It sounds like a cock-up to me. Oh dear, Hammer - can we not get anything right?

EDIT: No - this can't be right. Go here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=UZUqcXGawDY#!

This youtube clip sounds ten times better than the main titles on the disc. The clip sounds full and bassy and there's none of that on the BD. Unless there's something wrong with my copy, Hammer's messed up.

[NoirFan]

My disc hasn't arrived yet, but this is what Cathode Ray Tube said about the audio on Rasputin:

If there is a slight downside, then it must be said that the opening title music sounds a bit thin and tinny but once into the film proper, the mono soundtrack is more robust and is perfectly acceptable in representing dialogue and the Don Banks score.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

My disc hasn't arrived yet, but this is what Cathode Ray Tube said about the audio on Rasputin:

I read that but I don't know how anyone could describe what I'm hearing as a "BIT thin and tinny". I mean - this sounds like it's playing on a transistor radio in the next room. Seriously. And it simply doesn't match up to the clip on youtube. There's no way in hell that a clip played through my laptop speakers should sound full and bassy when the same moment played through an Onkyo receiver sounds like a distant radio.

There's definitely something wrong here. I've tried the disc on another player - same problem. The question is only whether this is a bad batch of discs or every copy is affected. I'd be interested if Frank Collins could compare what he's hearing with that youtube clip.

I do notice that very few of the reviews mention the audio which seems strange to me as this is VERY noticeable and any half-decent reviewer hearing what I'm hearing would surely refer to it in quite strong terms. You've honestly NEVER heard the Fox fanfare sound as bad as this; and I'm really no hysteric when it comes to such matters. This would hint at a bad pressing between preview discs and release; or possibly, without hearing that youtube clip, the reviewers are just assuming that's as good as it can be. Really doubtful of that, though.

Maybe others can chime in. Basically - if you're hearing ANY bass at all in the opening titles, you're hearing something different from me. Also, I'm listening through a 5.1 system, which is giving me mono channels on front left and right speakers (no centre channel, no sub or surround). Commentary track is fine. MUMMY'S SHROUD - same specs - sounds fine and comparable with youtube.

EDIT: Those disseminating to other fora - please note that this concerns the opening fanfare and main titles. I've not viewed the whole film yet but the effect is not so noticeable during the body of the film itself, though the sound is still weak. Please also link to youtube clip as it makes for a startling contrast. One listen to each will be enough; there is no margin for doubt in what I'm hearing. I've now fully checked my set-up on both systems - all speakers working, effect same on PCM outputs and bitstream.

[duggie walker]

Oh.My.God.

I just remembered that I had the old Anchor Bay disc (double pack with THE DEVIL RIDES OUT) so I had a listen. The difference is Night and Day.

The Dolby Digital Stereo mix on the AB is rich and deep for the main titles. Nobody would EVER describe it as tinny. Again, I haven't viewed both films but from sampling chapters, I'd say the difference in depth is apparent throughout.

Most tellingly - the Sound on the AB disc MATCHES the sound on Hammer's own youtube clip.

Bear in mind that the PQ on the new disc blows the AB version away. But even allowing for the jiggery-pokery of bygone DVD days, I can't see any reason why a DD 2.0 mix should be so much more powerful and deep than a Dual Mono PCM track.

I really didn't want to add to Hammer's woes after the CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN debate and the upcoming DEVIL RIDES OUT fiasco. But there's only two options here - either this disc is one of a bad batch (in which case a replacement is necessary) or they have, frankly, screwed the pooch on the audio here (whilst at the same time providing superlative PQ and extras).

I eagerly await either corroboration or refutation. I've posted a query on their blog which is awaiting moderation.

EDIT: I'm afraid the disparity is clear throughout the film. If anyone has the two discs, listen to the waltz scene - around the 21 minute mark. Something is badly wrong. The weakness is in the dialogue too, it's just not as obvious; probably less so on TV speakers. It sounds like the dialogue has been "clipped" to negate any extraneous noise - but there is next to no bass register to be found. Put it this way: if this is more accurate to the way this film originally sounded, then they should have gone with the DD 2.0.

Maybe it's just my disc but honestly, I can't see why it would be. There are no such issues on any of the extras (though I do notice that, streamed direct, there is no use of the centre channel anywhere - only front left and right). But that main title and fanfare... it actually sounds like a surround track, if you get me; the way music is bolstered in the surrounds but without any of the front channels. Very, very weird. And disappointing.

[Braktastic]

I have to stop pre-ordering Hammer Blu-ray Disc, especially since I live in the US. Hassle upon hassle.