Paul Verhoeven's Spetters (1980)

[KubrickFan]

I'm surprised that there was no thread about this.

So finally the Netherlands has its first classic catalog title, and one that's remastered to boot. To be honest, it could have been a bit better. There are no bonus features (there is plenty of material out there, considering the public outrage it created).
The sound, while a DTS-HD MA mono track (I applaud them for that) doesn't really sound remastered or restored at all. The picture is the best part of the release.
The colors are bright (perhaps a bit too much) and sharpness and grain are plentiful. I'm really surprised by how it looks, since we generally don't give our movies this treatment.
The American MGM DVD (which gave us an audio commentary from Verhoeven, as opposed to this Dutch release) has a 1.66:1 ratio, and this a 1.78:1, but I don't know in what ratio the movie was projected. It does look really good in 1.78:1, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
The cover looks absolutely awful, but apparently every movie, old and new, needs a generic photoshop cover.
Oh, and apparently a few seconds have been added, but I honestly haven't been able to notice those. They used to be there in the release prints, but were cut out of the home video releases. Maybe they were already there on the MGM DVD, or maybe I'm just terrible at noticing those things.
Anyway, I do think that this is a very fine BD. And region-free to boot!

[ArnoBD]

Yes i am also very glad that Spetters is released !!!
I mentioned it on my sticky Dutch cinema list , that part is currently back because of the dbase crash.
I hope the forum posts get restored too...

But back on Spetters

Its great that it is released and lets hope its the first of many classics !

Its indeed sad that it has no extras , but on the other hand it is a common thing with Dutch releases .

Also its a pity that it doesn't included a new or the US-DVD audio commentary.

In an interview in "de wereld draait door" said Paul Verhoeven that for the VHS release parts were cut out, but he had not any idea by whom !
Also he couldn't tell if they were in the Blu Ray release.
Which tells also that he was not involved in the Blu Ray disc project, which is also very odd !

Finally i agree fully on the sleeve art... its terrible and looks cheap.
I would advise stick with the original poster art, that's often much better !!




Although i also like the US DVD sleeve art !

[Akijama]

Sweet!
I want all Hauer/Verhoeven films on Blu,tho

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Sweet!
I want all Hauer/Verhoeven films on Blu,tho

Yeah, me too. Maybe the EYE Film Instituut will restore/remaster those as well, and give them a Blu-ray release. If Rob Houwer doesn't keep the rights for himself, that is.

[Torrente]

I guess there are no subs of any kind, and that it is not english friendly?

[Trekkie313]

Tits.

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by Torrente

I guess there are no subs of any kind, and that it is not english friendly?

Only Dutch subs. So unfortunately, the fact that it's region free is basically meaningless. Sorry .

[Socko]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

The American MGM DVD (which gave us an audio commentary from Verhoeven, as opposed to this Dutch release) has a 1.66:1 ratio, and this a 1.78:1, but I don't know in what ratio the movie was projected. It does look really good in 1.78:1, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Paul Verhoeven loves 1.66:1
He used it for Wat Zien Ik, Keetje Tipple, Spetters, Fourth Man and RoboCop

Turks Fruit, Soldier of Orange, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Hollow Man are in 1.85:1

[movie]

Where would I buy Spetters? No links to any site that I can see.

[knifethrower]

Originally Posted by movie

Where would I buy Spetters? No links to any site that I can see.

You can get it here (DVDOutlet tends to be the best for shipping to North America). Just remember there are no English subtitles.

[movie]

Originally Posted by knifethrower

You can get it here (DVDOutlet tends to be the best for shipping to North America). Just remember there are no English subtitles.

Thanks, really appreciate it! I remember Spetters from way back and not having English subtitles would not bother but thank you for letting me know that first!

[Olivier]

In Belgie nergens te vinden op blu-ray tot dusver...

[oscarmerkx]

Media Market have several copies as far as I know