Imprint

[swo17]

All those key 1960-1965 works are with Paramount, and the most recent thing they did was repackage their old DVD set

[swo17]

BLACKANDCYBER20 gets you 20% off through Monday (Australia time) on everything at Via Vision's site, including Imprint titles, non-Imprint titles, and pre-orders. Everything. I believe this is the first time Imprint titles have been made available direct at a discount, and I wouldn't be surprised if this sale causes some of them to sell out. A few lesser-known titles I'd recommend:

Rage
A Reflection of Fear
The Assassination Bureau

[Ribs]

Wouldn’t say its great prices but its definitely two or three dollars cheaper per title then the best from elsewhere. I’ve got a gut feeling the Harry Palmer set is not long for this world so I wanted to grab it and nabbed a few other things. It seems like based on what I’ve heard its a bit of a wait to get to the US from them direct so I guess I’ll just forget about it and hope they show up not too far into the new year.

[swo17]

Standard discount is 12.5% off RRP for most individual titles and 25% off RRP for bundles, so this code makes those more like 30% off and 40% off, respectively. I agree they're not screaming great deals compared to Criterion or Indicator during a flash sale, but I believe this is the cheapest their catalogue has ever been. It also helps that international shipping maxes out at $50 AUD (which it doesn't take long to hit) no matter how large your order. Note that they've also confirmed in the past that if you include any upcoming releases in your order (such as the recent announcements for February) they'll wait to ship them all together, but if something like the Harry Palmer or Zhang Yimou sets sell out before then, your order now secures you a copy

[Ovader]

I checked out Via Vision's discount for six selections and then I tried JB Hi-Fi's for the same six selections and the latter has a better deal without having to type in a code.

[Ribs]

Yeah, I just meant that in general I think you can more or less get Imprint titles for around $28 in the US at any point by using Deep Discount or Blowitoutahere whereas all told this is bringing it down to $25 or so for a normal title. Which is still less and as I said I did bite! But it’s not like the UK labels going on sale where things dip a lot compared to normal.

[swo17]

I checked out Via Vision's discount for six selections and then I tried JB Hi-Fi's for the same six selections and the latter has a better deal without having to type in a code.

Hmmm...I see that a lot of individual titles are listed for just $20.99 (no pre-orders though) but they seem to charge at least $8.50 per title for shipping, so if you place a large order from Via Vision, that might still be the better deal. That being said, it looks like JB Hi-Fi still has several titles that are sold out from Via Vision, so I'd jump on any of those that you want

[Finch]

importcds have Hard Eight from Imprint for $20.99 in case anyone still wants to get a copy.

[senseabove]

Thanks, think I'm finally tired of waiting for a US release.

This promo code worked for 10% off: CD69FV852

[therewillbeblus]

Was about to post the same code- many thanks Finch! Just an FYI, this is going for similar prices on Amazon and eBay, though it's a dollar or two cheaper at importcds with shipping/taxes included for all

[mteller]

Browning Version for $55 (or $50 with the promo code) is very nice too.

[Finch]

I wanted The Winslow Boy but wasn't prepared to pay $27 for a near barebones disc. By the way, Breakdown got a US release from Paramount which is the equal of the Imprint for A/V and extras, so no need to import that from Imprint anymore.

[therewillbeblus]

I wanted The Winslow Boy but wasn't prepared to pay $27 for a near barebones disc

My understanding of Imprint is that they are an expensive-to-import boutique label who aren't consistent in their quality of masters, don't get creative with extras, but almost always have a commentary track included. It's that last aspect that feels invaluable- you'd think that if/when Criterion releases Hard Eight, they'd include the two PTA tracks, but they've made inconceivable decisions omitting commentaries in the recent past, so I'll pay up for an Imprint if it goes low enough just to secure a commentary track for a movie I like (including The Winslow Boy, though probably not until I find another 10%+ off code to keep it under $30)

[Adam X]

They’re not exactly a boutique label, rather just a sub-label of Via Vision. More like Shout!’s Shout Select line, but stuck entirely with extant masters.

But that’s just semantics, really. They’re not entirely cheap locally either, though that’s true of every release here. It’s mostly time & sales that help bring things down in cost.

[swo17]

March titles:

The Osterman Weekend (2 cuts priced like 2 films)
The Hunter (Steve McQueen's final film)
China Gate
Conquest of Space
Marooned (cited by Alfonso Cuarón as an influence on Gravity)
Audrey Rose
Johnny Got His Gun

[black&huge]

new scans for the osterman weekend.... so can we assume kino will release it stateside?

[Glowingwabbit]

I know I'm probably in the minority but I absolutely love China Gate. So pulpy and I love that Fuller managed to stuff every genre into (war, horror, musical, etc). I hope it has a new transfer but I'll settle for some extras since Olive didn't do any.

[ChunkyLover]

new scans for the osterman weekend.... so can we assume kino will release it stateside?

It's possible but I'm not sure what the current status is for the rights in the US. The Anchor Bay Blu went OOP a while ago and I don't think Lionsgate has retained the rights (I assume the film was licensed from one of the producers but there's no mention of licensing on the AB Blu).

[Ovader]

I know I'm probably in the minority but I absolutely love China Gate. So pulpy and I love that Fuller managed to stuff every genre into (war, horror, musical, etc). I hope it has a new transfer but I'll settle for some extras since Olive didn't do any.

Adrian Martin mentioned to me after he saw the Imprint announcement as to why didn't they tap his Fullerian expertise for CHINA GATE. Looking forward to checking out this edition in spite of what I have read the film is not held in high esteem.

[Ovader]

Adrian Martin has recorded commentaries for three further films all appearing probably in the early months of next year. Two have an 'Aussie connection' and the third is contemporary USA auteur cinema.

[Adam X]

I see that Bob Murawski did a new interview for The Gift, I wonder why he turned down Kino's interview request for Hard Target?

He essentially said on Twitter that Universal has the material for Woo's true original cut, and he'd rather see that get released.

Unfortunately, this interview seems to be another one of those extras that's disappeared between announcement & release.

[rapta]

China Gate

One of the titles MoC were attempting to clear for their Fuller at Fox box set a couple of years ago but Paramount simply did not get back to them in time. Perhaps they'll have better luck this year and can finally wrestle it from their grasp! Imprint apparently have no issues in that regard (with Paramount especially in fact).

[Ribs]

The explanation is that in Australia the group that licenses out the rights to the Paramount, Sony, and Universal catalogs are one and the same - a lot like how we can see those UK catalogs whose name escapes me that is the source of Eureka’s Sony titles. So they don’t have the actual logistical issues of dealing with Paramount the other labels have run into in recent years.

[Finch]

Glenn Erickson reviews Last Train From Gun Hill

Last Train from Gun Hill is an exciting suspense tale in western guise. James Poe’s screenplay applies and maintains a growing tension. Gun violence plays a big part but the vivid characters involve us on a level outside the usual genre conventions. There is no ‘fastest gun alive’ and nobody sermonizes that ‘a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.’ We’re not dealing with archetypes as in The Magnificent Seven.

Viavision [Imprint]’s Region-free Blu-ray of Last Train from Gun Hill is likely the exact same encoding seen on our domestic ‘Paramount Presents’ disc that arrived in the summer of 2021. We’re told that the remastering job was a 6K scan from the VistaVision negative. What we see looks it — the picture is extremely sharp and the colors are riveting. Fans of colorful big-sky westerns will love this disc.

[swo17]

April announcements:

The Wicker Man (3 cuts/4 discs = 3½ times the normal price)
Cutter's Way
The Counterfeit Traitor
The Brotherhood (Martin Ritt)
Across 110th Street
The Don Is Dead
Man on a Swing