Synapse Films

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#176 Post by dwk » Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:36 pm

Curtains is going to miss its release date:
Hey hey, Don from Synapse here with a note about CURTAINS to Synapse fans... There are two things about CURTAINS that may make it late by a couple weeks (don't worry... both are GOOD reasons). First, the film stock was incredibly grainy and, when we got our first encodes back, honestly, I thought they could be better. The encoder wasn't handling the grain structure well and it was softening the grain enough for me to take a couple more cracks at the compression. It looked really good for the most part, but when paused, I was seeing breakup in the grain that I wasn't too fond of. Right now, I am awaiting delivery of our third pass at the encode and I hope to have it Thursday. I could've released it as is, and probably no one would've noticed, but for me, it's important to do it right, and I felt concentrating more on encode settings for as close to perfection as we could is the best thing to do. I mean, we ARE going from a 2K file 2TB in size, and trying to release a 50GB Blu, so there is ALWAYS going to be compression issues... It's unavoidable...The 2nd thing is that, right after we'd encoded, got our bit budget and finished everything, we got the opportunity to add an additional supplement. On the Blu (sorry DVD lovers... space limitations on a DVD-9 was already squeezed pretty tight) there will be a small vintage documentary on director Richard Ciupka for the Blu that actually HAS BEHIND-THE SCENES FOOTAGE(!!!) from the set of CURTAINS. This didn't come to our attention until late in the game, but Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures really pushed for us to include it, and we will. Big thanks to the filmmakers for allowing access to it. The delay in getting the encode done much better, and adding the featurette for the Blu is, in our opinion, well worth the wait. I just wanted CURTAINS to be the ultimate presentation, so I hope you'll all be patient for an extra couple weeks. We're still shooting for a July release date (probably Tuesday July 22nd, but I need to have a meeting with our distributor first).
He also posted a sample of the master vs. the first encode vs. the improved encode

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#177 Post by dwk » Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:26 pm

They are almost sold out of their DEMONS and DEMONS 2 steelbooks:
Just a little update on the inventory of DEMONS and DEMONS 2 here in the office, for those that may have been waiting to get them. After today's orders are filled, we'll have less than 150 DEMONS and less than 500 DEMONS 2 Steelbooks left here. Thanks all for the massive success of these and we're glad you enjoy them. We appreciate all you fans have done for us over the years, and we are glad this little experiment with alternate packaging went so well for us. We also learned that Steelbooks are a massive pain in the ass! Hahaha! Any orders placed today will go out after the 4th of July holiday next week (probably on the 8th).
Update on their Argento titles
We're trying to fix up the master for TENEBRAE right now, and we have a neat surprise for PHENOMENA to be included. For SUSPIRIA, still working on getting the negative scanned... whew, what a nightmare it has been with that title, but we just want to do it right!

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#178 Post by dwk » Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:32 pm

Prom Night
Image
SOME WILL BE CROWNED.
OTHERS WILL LOSE THEIR HEADS.
PROM NIGHT
SLASHING YOUR WAY ON BLU-RAY AND DVD SEPTEMBER 9!

PROM NIGHT Blu-rayGET YOUR TUXEDOS ON!

Jamie Lee Curtis (HALLOWEEN, THE FOG) and Leslie Nielsen (THE NAKED GUN, AIRPLANE, FORBIDDEN PLANET) star in this celebrated slasher classic.

Four Hamilton High seniors are hiding a terrible secret. What happened to Robin Hammond six years ago was a game that turned into a horrible tragedy, and someone saw what they did… someone waiting for gruesome revenge! Wearing a black hood and wielding an axe, a killer brutally slaughters the teenagers one by one at their high school prom. As the spotlight falls on the newly crowned prom king and queen, the psychopath will show everyone his new favorite game to play…

Are you ready for a bloody night of
“Disco Madness”? Synapse Films is proud to present PROM NIGHT in a beautiful new version, remastered and restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative with an all-new 5.1 surround mix.

PROM NIGHT DVD

Special Features:
• Brand-New 2K High-Definition Transfer from the Original 35mm Camera Negative
• New 5.1 Surround Remix Specifically Created for this Release (Original 2.0 Mono Included)
• Audio Commentary with Director Paul Lynch and Screenwriter William Gray
• THE HORRORS OF HAMILTON HIGH: The Making of "Prom Night" – Featurette
• Collection of Additional Scenes Added for Television Broadcast
• Never-Before-Seen Outtakes from “Prom Night” *Exclusive to Blu-ray
• Motion Still Gallery *Exclusive to Blu-ray
• Original Theatrical Trailer & Television Spots
• English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing


Disc Info:

Directed by: Paul Lynch
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Eddie Benton
Run Time: 92 minutes
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Language: English
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1
Formats: Blu-ray and DVD
Blu-ray Region: A
DVD Region: 1
Blu-ray UPC: 654930316597
DVD UPC: 654930316696
Blu-ray SRP: $24.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#179 Post by dwk » Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:21 pm

According to DiabolikDVD's Facebook page, in November Synapse will be releasing Demons and Demons 2 in cheaper editions, but they will only have the english audio and are losing all the extras except the trailers.

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EddieLarkin
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am

Re: Synapse Films

#180 Post by EddieLarkin » Wed Aug 27, 2014 2:15 pm

Prom Night at Mondo Digital and Rock! Shock! Pop!

Surprisingly, importcds has this for pre-order at $13.98.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#181 Post by dwk » Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:02 pm

I somehow missed this, last month Synapse posted the follow on facebook re:Long Weekend:
Took us a while. Wanted it out last year, but our original master tapes somehow got ruined, and the digital betacams we had were littered with noise. So, we basically had to just start over... So, I want this out in November or December. This is from the original negative and it has some issues I'd like to address, but it is MILES ahead of our original DVD. Miles.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Synapse Films

#182 Post by EddieLarkin » Fri Oct 31, 2014 4:22 pm

Creature from Black Lake announced:
Synapse wrote:So, we're sitting in our office working today and we're thinking, "It's Halloween, shouldn't we maybe announce something today?" We have a few "irons in the fire" as it were and, since this one is officially signed, sealed and delivered with the McCullough family, we're going to announce that work will begin in 2015 on the first, real, authorized version of this "bigfoot" classic! No other details available at this time, as the ink is barely dry, but we're scouring storage facilities and the McCullough family's inventory to bring this one out as soon as humanly possible! Should be a lot of fun! All you collectors out there, take note! If you have any memorabilia or vintage trailers or TV spots for this one, let us know!

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#183 Post by dwk » Sat Dec 13, 2014 4:29 pm

Don posted the following on facebook
The color correction of POPCORN is now finished, as is PHENOMENA. TENEBRAE is done at Reliance Mediaworks (still gotta check it, though), as is the color on our super-secret title we haven't announced yet. SORCERESS elements are being prepped for scanning soon. Tomorrow, we have a look at a 2K scan of Bill Osco's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and Sunday, we start SUSPIRIA. This has been one HELL of a trip.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Synapse Films

#184 Post by EddieLarkin » Wed Jan 07, 2015 1:37 pm

Robert Harris on restoring Triumph of the Will, still coming from Synapse, release date confirmation soon.

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Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: Synapse Films

#185 Post by Drucker » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:12 pm

I am experiencing maximum Jewish guilt now, wanting to see this.

Can anyone enlighten me if there's a blu-ray in the works of Olympia?

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TMDaines
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
Location: Stretford, Manchester

Re: Synapse Films

#186 Post by TMDaines » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:46 pm

Drucker wrote:I am experiencing maximum Jewish guilt now, wanting to see this.

Can anyone enlighten me if there's a blu-ray in the works of Olympia?
Not that anyone is aware of, unfortunately.

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EddieLarkin
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am

Re: Synapse Films

#187 Post by EddieLarkin » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:12 pm

I recall a rumour that Olympia was the reason behind Leni Riefenstahl having a phantom Criterion page, but I don't believe there's anything concrete.


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Ashirg
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Re: Synapse Films

#189 Post by Ashirg » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:00 pm

Long Weekend blu has an official release date per Amazon - April 14.

Raymond Marble
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:48 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#190 Post by Raymond Marble » Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:51 pm

I was reading the back of my DVD of Thriller: A Cruel Picture today, and was reminded that that release was a limited edition...of 25,000. And apparently they sold out of them, because I remember a year or two on they released an unlimited edition. It's crazy how much home media sales have changed in the past ten years; not that this is news to anyone (including me), but it had been a while since perspective was thrown on it like that for me. I mean, Twilight Time releases big Hollywood films in editions of 3000 and sometimes seems to have trouble selling them. I thought Cult Epics was nuts when I found out that their blu-ray of Nekromantik was limited to 10,000.

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Synapse Films

#191 Post by tenia » Tue Jun 09, 2015 7:17 am

DVD sold at the time like BD never sold at any time for such independant title.
I remember many releases selling out in France at 10 000 copies or more, and France is a much smaller market than the US. Now, you probably would struggle to sell out a 2000-copies-limited BD release.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Synapse Films

#192 Post by EddieLarkin » Tue Jun 09, 2015 7:26 am

The first few waves of the Walt Disney Treasures sets, which sold out relatively quickly and even 8-10 years ago were becoming quite hard to come by brand new, were between 100,000 and 250,000 limited editions.

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#193 Post by captveg » Tue Jun 09, 2015 11:24 am

IRL, a significant number of friends of mine that had movie collections 10 years ago no longer do. They've ripped 'em and sold 'em off, and they don't buy new titles anymore but rather get digital versions. Of maybe 10-12 friends who bought DVDs at a decent clip in the mid 00s (say, a new release every couple weeks at least) 8-9 of them don't buy any at all now.

Hell, of the 40 or so people in my Facebook group that initially met on a DVD collecting message board in 2001-02, only 5-6 of us buy Blu-rays.

Raymond Marble
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:48 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#194 Post by Raymond Marble » Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:45 pm

EddieLarkin wrote:The first few waves of the Walt Disney Treasures sets, which sold out relatively quickly and even 8-10 years ago were becoming quite hard to come by brand new, were between 100,000 and 250,000 limited editions.
I own nine of those sets, and your post reminded me to go back and check the editions. Of the ones I have, the smallest edition was 65,000 (More Silly Symphonies) and the biggest 250,000 (On the Front Lines), with most of the high profile ones (Mickey sets, or Goofy; that kind of thing) being 125,000 to 150,000.

But still, I don't find that nearly as surprising as 25,000 copies of Thriller; the Disney shorts are among the most beloved animated films of all time, and Thriller, at the time of the Synapse DVD release, did not have the notoriety of, say, something like Cannibal Holocaust, and is terrifically unpleasant besides. (Not to mention pornographic.) The majority of the population could watch and enjoy the Disney shorts; only an infinitesimal percentage of the population would watch, let alone enjoy, a film like Thriller.

I wonder how so many copies came to be sold in such a short amount of time, apart from the fact that simply more people bought physical media releases back then. I don't remember much of a marketing scheme (though I do recall a few glowing reviews of the release), and locally I only remember two or three stores that got a copy in stock to sell. Probably a lot of it was word of mouth? I don't know.

Numero Trois
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 5:23 am
Location: Florida

Re: Synapse Films

#195 Post by Numero Trois » Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:09 pm

Raymond Marble wrote: I don't remember much of a marketing scheme (though I do recall a few glowing reviews of the release), and locally I only remember two or three stores that got a copy in stock to sell. Probably a lot of it was word of mouth? I don't know.
Tarantino deserves at least some of the credit (or blame) for that, doesn't he? He was namechecking it well before its DVD release.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#196 Post by dwk » Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:48 pm

Yeah, Tarantino mentioned in Entertainment Weekly that Thriller was one of the key films that influenced Kill Bill.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Synapse Films

#197 Post by Adam X » Wed Jun 10, 2015 2:19 am

I don't believe the second edition of Thriller was released because the Ltd edition sold out (it's still not that hard to come by), but rather to provide a cut without the hardcore footage - though it does seem to've been stripped of most of the extras. Having seen the original release, this might actually be a rare occasion where seeing the cut version could be preferable.

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Thornycroft
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Re: Synapse Films

#198 Post by Thornycroft » Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:40 pm

Indeed, the second edition of Thriller was intended for the brick-and-mortar retail outlets that might understandably balk at stocking a disc that included penetration close-ups with its rape scenes. I believe it also stripped out the infamous 'scalpel through the eyeball' shot for good measure.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#199 Post by dwk » Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:37 am

Synapse is releasing Massacre at Central High
"SYNAPSE FILMS - SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT! It's "M" for "Monday" announcement day! Announcing ONE more Synapse Films release that begins with the letter "M"... MORITURIS, MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE, MOSQUITO, and now...

MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH! The violent cult-classic gets the HD treatment and, for the first time EVER, gets a truly authorized optical disc format release in conjunction with director Rene Daalder. Coming from Synapse Films on DVD and Blu-ray in 2016!


Synapse Films is proud to announce work has begun on MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH, directed by Rene Daalder. Rene has completed and supervised a beautiful HD transfer for us, and we are in the process of locating the original audio sound elements (stored at Paramount, evidently, so we're working with their legal department as fast as we can to get access) and doing some additional work at Reliance Mediaworks/Prime Focus for picture restoration (the master was created from a negative element, but were making it the best we can make it!). Extras are still to be coordinated, so no further info on additional supplemental material is available at this time (Rene is busy now working on a new film, so we are waiting for him). We'll give more info on the release, as we have it. We may be able to post some sample frames of the new HD master in the near future right here, on the Synapse Films Facebook page."

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Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

Re: Synapse Films

#200 Post by Buttery Jeb » Mon Jul 20, 2015 10:38 am

dwk wrote:MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH! The violent cult-classic gets the HD treatment and, for the first time EVER, gets a truly authorized optical disc format release in conjunction with director Rene Daalder. Coming from Synapse Films on DVD and Blu-ray in 2016!
Wow; and here I was waiting for the version that Cult Epics was supposedly working on. It's funny how many companies have announced this title as forthcoming without it ever actually getting a release on home video: Cult Epics, Subversive, even Criterion mentioned it when they had it pegged for their cult film label that never panned out. Here's hoping that Synapse finally breaks that trend.

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