Empire Pictures releases

[joltman]

After looking over at the Full Moon thread, I thought it'd be cool to have a list of all the Empire Pictures films and figure out which ones are on BD. So I figured I'd go ahead and do it!

For now at least, this list only includes US releases. Out of 43 movies, 29 movies have been, or are scheduled to be, released.

• The Alchemist (1983) -
• The Dungeonmaster (1984) - Shout Factory (double feature with Eliminators)
• Walking the Edge (1985) - Fun City
• Ghoulies (1985) - Shout Factory (double feature with Ghoulies II), MVD 4K
• Re-Animator (1985) - Image, Arrow LE
• Savage Island (1985) -
• Trancers (1985) - Full Moon, Full Moon 4K
• Underworld (1985) - Kino 4K
• Zone Troopers (1985) - Kino
• Breeders (1986) - Olive
• Crawlspace (1986) - Shout Factory
• Dreamaniac (1986) - N/A
• Eliminators (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The Dungeonmaster)
• From Beyond (1986) - Shout Factory, Vinegar Syndrome 4K
• Ghost Warrior (aka Swordkill) (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The House Where Evil Dwells), Kino
• Rawhead Rex (1986) - Kino, Kino 4K
• Robot Holocaust (1986) - Scorpion Releasing
• Troll (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with Troll II)
• TerrorVision (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The Video Dead)
• Buy & Cell (1987) - N/A
• The Caller (1987) - Vinegar Syndrome
• Creepozoids (1987) - Full Moon
• Dolls (1987) - Shout Factory
• Enemy Territory (1987) - N/A
• Mutant Hunt (1987) - Vinegar Syndrome
• Necropolis (1987) - N/A
• The Princess Academy (1987) - N/A
• Valet Girls (1987) - N/A
• Vicious Lips (1987) - Shout Factory
• Assault of the Killer Bimbos (1988) - N/A
• Catacombs (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Cellar Dweller)
• Cellar Dweller (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Catacombs)
• Ghost Town (1988) - Shout Factory
• Ghoulies II (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Ghoulies), MVD 4K
• Prison (1988) - Shout Factory
• Pulse Pounders (1988) - N/A
• Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988) - Full Moon
• Transformations (1988) - Kino
• Arena (1989) -
• Deadly Weapon (1989) - N/A
• Intruder (1989) - Synapse
• Robot Jox (1990) - Shout Factory
• Spellcaster (1992) - Vinegar Syndrome

- Included in the Empire Pictures Blu-ray Collection; The set also includes Arena on DVD and the Charles Band Productions film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
- Included in Enter The Video Store: Empire Of Screams
- Included in Full Moon Legacy Volume 2

See also:
Charles Band Productions releases, the predecessor of Empire Pictures
Full Moon Features Blu-ray Discussion Thread, the successor to Empire Pictures

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Pretty amazing that The Dungeonmaster and Eliminators are getting a Blu-Ray release. Hope Arena gets one too. Have Robot Jox on DVD and will probably upgrade to Blu.

There seemed to be much more care and imagination put into their Empire Pictures films than was put into their Full Moon product. Just look at the difference between Band's Trancers and his Trancers 2.

Need Trancers on Blu as well. Anybody here have it? How's the picture quality? I know it must blow away their crappy DVD, but does it look great?

[Dvd Aficionado]

Trancers has been available in the UK: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Trancers-Blu-ray/100420/ and so will Ghost Warrior: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghost...lu-ray/134747/

Just get a region free blu-ray player

[Clark Kent]

Scream Factory did a great job with Ghost Town.

[joltman]

Just added Ghost Warrior, which is coming out on a double feature by Shout Factory.

[deltatauhobbit]

Very nice list! I own a good chunk of the titles released so far and plan on picking up most of the ones I don't have yet. These films definitely bring me back to my childhood years of going down the video store isles and picking out some scary films to stay up to on the weekends.

I had just posted this over in the Full Moon forum but it definitely fits this thread better. There's a documentary kickstarter campaign about Band's Empire Pictures, Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland, covers the rise and downfall of this interesting film studio.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by deltatauhobbit

I had just posted this over in the Full Moon forum but it definitely fits this thread better. There's a documentary kickstarter campaign about Band's Empire Pictures, Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland, covers the rise and downfall of this interesting film studio.

Yep, it looks awesome and I already contributed.

It ends in 3 days, so hopefully more people will contribute before it ends. They are nearly at $20,000 of the $25,000 goal, so need a little over $5,000 more to reach it.

The main contribution is $40 to receive the Blu-ray/DVD Combo of the documentary, the 7-button "Mandroid" set, and a special thanks in the end credits.

The announced features are:

• The Feature-Length Documentary with an introduction by filmmaker Daniel Griffith (Blu-ray & DVD)
• 8 Additional featurettes delving deeper into the making of select Empire Pictures releases (Blu-ray Only)
• 4 Additional featurettes exploring the unfilmed Empire Pictures releases (Blu-ray Only)
• Additional featurettes exploring the existing creatures and props from Empire Releases (Blu-Only)
• Deleted Scenes from select Empire Pictures releases (Blu-ray & DVD)
• Additional Interviews (Blu-ray Only)
• Additional behind the scenes footage from select Empire Pictures releases
• Rare AFM Empire Pictures promo reels (Blu-ray & DVD)
• Over 20 Empire Pictures trailers and TV Spots (Blu-ray & DVD)
• Rare VHS Ads (Blu-ray & DVD)
• Behind the scenes still gallery containing over 200 images (Blu-ray Only)
• Empire Pictures Poster Gallery (Blu-ray Only)
• Empire Pictures Promotional Gallery (Blu-ray Only)
• Empire Pictures documentary teaser trailer (Blu-ray & DVD)
• Empire Pictures documentary trailers (Blu-ray & DVD)

...and there will be some bonus unannounced features.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi

There seemed to be much more care and imagination put into their Empire Pictures films than was put into their Full Moon product. Just look at the difference between Band's Trancers and his Trancers 2.

The budgets for Full Moon films were lower though.

Trancers 2 actually looks much better on blu-ray than it did on video. On video it looked like a badly shot cheap piece of crap, but on blu-ray it looks a lot better. It's certainly no great cinematic work, but at least you can tell there some attention was paid to framing when watching the film in its correct aspect ratio

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

The budgets for Full Moon films were lower though.

Trancers 2 actually looks much better on blu-ray than it did on video. On video it looked like a badly shot cheap piece of crap, but on blu-ray it looks a lot better. It's certainly no great cinematic work, but at least you can tell there some attention was paid to framing when watching the film in its correct aspect ratio

I did like that opening shot. Starting like the original Trancers, out of focus over the opening credits, then revealing the covertible with Jack behind the wheel and Lena by his side. All in slo-mo, the camera comes from the headlights up along the side of the car to Jack, with Deth's cool narration catching us up. That was a cool shot and opening. Unfortunately, the rest of it came across just as you described. Good to hear it seems much better on Blu, thanks for that info.

I still need to get the first on Blu, I'll probably get the second one down the line as well.

[deathcab6366]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi

I did like that opening shot. Starting like the original Trancers, out of focus over the opening credits, then revealing the covertible with Jack behind the wheel and Lena by his side. All in slo-mo, the camera comes from the headlights up along the side of the car to Jack, with Deth's cool narration catching us up. That was a cool shot and opening. Unfortunately, the rest of it came across just as you described. Good to hear it seems much better on Blu, thanks for that info.

I still need to get the first on Blu, I'll probably get the second one down the line as well.

I see what you did there!

[acantho]

I love Empire films and even some of the Full Moon stuff that came afterwards.

I grew up on their stuff and they shaped me into the person I am today.... maybe even more so than my parents

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by acantho

I love Empire films and even some of the Full Moon stuff that came afterwards.

I grew up on their stuff and they shaped me into the person I am today.... maybe even more so than my parents

Same here, that's exactly why I'm psyched about the upcoming documentary. 65 hours to go, and I sure hope they make the $$ goal.

The "Empire of the 'B's: The Mad Movie World of Charles Band" book is also excellent if you haven't read it.

[deathcab6366]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

Same here, that's exactly why I'm psyched about the upcoming documentary. 65 hours to go, and I sure hope they make the $$ goal.

The "Empire of the 'B's: The Mad Movie World of Charles Band" book is also excellent if you haven't read it.

I just got that book from Full Moons booth at the Niagara Falls comic con back in june. Excellent read!!!

Charlie Band is a super nice guy. Signed 3 figures, 2 blurays and a comic for me......and it completely slipped my mind to have him sign the book, lol

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by deathcab6366

I just got that book from Full Moons booth at the Niagara Falls comic con back in june. Excellent read!!!

Charlie Band is a super nice guy. Signed 3 figures, 2 blurays and a comic for me......and it completely slipped my mind to have him sign the book, lol

LOL, yeah I have probably about 6 or more items signed by him also... I've lost count.

I ordered the book direct from FM when it first went up, and it was hand numbered and signed by him. I think it was a first edition of only 50 or something (I'd have to check), but all of the later editions are identical save the # and signature.

[deltatauhobbit]

Looks like we can knock off another Empire release thanks to Kino! Noticed this little tidbit in the new release section, https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=18064

I don't believe I've ever seen Tranformations.

[joltman]

Nice, thanks for the heads up!

[joltman]

Added the Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama release from Full Moon, we're now past the half-way point with 22 of 43 films available on Blu-ray!
I was thinking about making a list of the Charles Band Productions (Band's company before Empire) films, would it make sense to just add that to this thread, or should I make a separate one?

[starsteam]

Scream Factory and Full Moon are teaming up to release the Ultimate Empire Blu-ray collection.

http://www.comingsoon.net/horror/new...tion-is-coming

METALSTORM

METALSTORM (3-D version)

THE DUNGEONMASTER

GHOULIES

TRANCERS

ELIMINATORS

CRAWLSPACE

FROM BEYOND

TERRORVISION

TROLL

DOLLS

PRISON

CELLAR DWELLER

CATACOMBS

GHOST TOWN

GHOULIES 2

ROBOT JOX

ARENA

[Denny Haynes]

Creepozoids hits the shelves 11th April.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Creep...lu-ray/175168/

[Denny Haynes]

Rawhead Rex (1986) coming from Kino

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=21229