54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186, 230-233 Hammer Volumes 1-6

Discuss releases by Indicator and the films on them.

Moderator: MichaelB

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
Florinaldo
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:38 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 136-9, 183-6 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#101 Post by Florinaldo » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:46 am

MichaelB wrote:
Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:02 pm
Only I'm not putting forward a thesis
(...)
You can certainly characterise volume 2 as "the black-and-white thriller one", volume 3 as "the Asian one", volume 4 as "the horror one" and volume 5 as "the adventure one" without too much controversy.
Only I was not referring to you putting forward a thesis, but rather to my own choice of Volume 1 to illustrate my point, which you described as "not a particularly good example"; I agreed that my selection suited my purposes, but as I mentioned in the following post I could just as well have used Volume 4, and even others, to various extents.

I also said criteria can be adjusted to make up one’s preferred taxonomy or categories, a point playfully demonstrated in your last post.

To be clear, I was not criticising the make-up of the box set, but rather was just making a judgement, personal and subjective without a doubt.

Reservations regarding the choice of titles and speculation about the possibility of an all-Columbia or an all-Region Free set were made by other posters.

All in all, these are minor points. The most important thing is that these films are brought back in excellent editions, with a lot of bonus material that helps put them into context and – in some cases at least – to appreciate them more. This one might go some way towards a reassessment of Gilling’s reputation.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#102 Post by MichaelB » Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:03 pm

As of the timestamp of this post, Hammer Volume 1 is now 67 copies away from going OOP.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#103 Post by swo17 » Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:00 pm

I just noticed Volume 4 is sold out at Amazon UK, I don't imagine it's close to being OOP this soon though

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#104 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:35 pm

I understand it's been a pretty fast seller (not too surprisingly), but it's not on the OOP watch list yet.

Volume 1, on the other hand, is now below 50 copies remaining.

User avatar
Florinaldo
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:38 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#105 Post by Florinaldo » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:47 am

MichaelB wrote:
Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:35 pm
I understand it's been a pretty fast seller (not too surprisingly), but it's not on the OOP watch list yet.
What factors do you believe made it an unsurprising fast seller? The selection of titles, the overall package (it's the most stacked Hammer box set yet), the popularity of the Hammer sets in general, or interest in one or two titles in particular in this volume. It's probably a combination of all four, to various degrees, with the last one being the major one in my view (I would suggest that finally making available The Damned in a worthy video edition, and perhaps also Taste of Fear, was a deciding aspect for many buyers).

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#106 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:51 am

You've just answered your own question.

User avatar
Florinaldo
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:38 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#107 Post by Florinaldo » Fri Jan 31, 2020 12:02 pm

MichaelB wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:51 am
You've just answered your own question.
I certainly do not presume that everyone would agree with my opinion of what is the main reason for this being a fast seller, an opinion I conclude you seem to agree with. There are probably others who would think the selection of titles is the major one for example.
Last edited by Florinaldo on Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#108 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 31, 2020 2:05 pm

Probably also helps that Amazon was offering it at a deeper discount than usual

User avatar
Florinaldo
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:38 pm
Location: Canada

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#109 Post by Florinaldo » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:07 pm

swo17 wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 2:05 pm
Probably also helps that Amazon was offering it at a deeper discount than usual
Now that is a very relevant piece of info; I had not noticed that. It must indeed have been a major reason for the box set to go out of stock (although I suppose Amazon will restock it since it is not OOP).

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#110 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:12 pm

Not by a ton, mind you but enough that I almost pulled the trigger a few times

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#111 Post by M Sanderson » Sat Feb 01, 2020 3:02 pm

The fantastic restoration of one of Terence Fisher’s greatest films, Revenge of Frankenstein, must’ve contributed also.

That and Losey’s The Damned (also in a good resto) decided for me very quickly,

User avatar
reaky
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:53 am
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#112 Post by reaky » Sat Feb 01, 2020 3:20 pm

I think that word of mouth on the excellence of the series must have helped, too - as when a band finally breaks through, and their next album sells massively on day-one release.

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#113 Post by MichaelB » Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:37 am

Final specs for Hammer Volume 5:

Visa to Canton

Image

The Pirates of Blood River

Image

The Scarlet Blade

Image

The Brigand of Kandahar

Image


User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#115 Post by MichaelB » Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:14 am

Powerhouse has just twelve copies of Hammer Volume 1 currently in stock, and when they're gone, they're gone.


User avatar
What A Disgrace
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:34 pm
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#117 Post by What A Disgrace » Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:32 am

I wonder what a theoretical volume 6 might include. The Studio Canal connection insures, at the very least, an interest in The Nanny and The Anniversary starring Bette Davis.

KJones77
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#118 Post by KJones77 » Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:19 pm

I'd love to get Hell is a City from Indicator as well, which is with SC.

I imagine the tough part moving forward is trying to put together thematically sensible sets, as they have before. I've seen some suggesting that She / Vengeance of She / Prehistoric Women / The Lost Continent could be a reasonable upcoming set, while we know Indicator has The Ugly Duckling to place into some set.

User avatar
reaky
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:53 am
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#119 Post by reaky » Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:56 pm

Don’t forget Viking Queen!

User avatar
chatterjees
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:08 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#120 Post by chatterjees » Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:19 pm

What are the chances of getting some Hammer Noir films? I used to have some DVDs back in the days. A quick search brings back some of the names like Deadly Game (1954), The Unholy Four (1954), Bad Blonde (1953), A Stolen Face (1952), Blackout (1954), Heat Wave (1954), Terror Street (1953), Wings of Danger (1952), Paid To Kill (1954), The Black Glove, and A Race For Life (1954), which I would like to revisit.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#121 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:47 pm

I don’t think those are Sony like the other Noirish Hammer titles already released, since VCI put them out stateside

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#122 Post by MichaelB » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:48 pm

No, they're owned by Hammer outright (they were made before they were successful enough to strike distribution deals with Hollywood majors), and I'm not aware of any extant HD masters.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#123 Post by swo17 » Tue May 05, 2020 12:55 am

Any recommendations for which cut of The Damned to watch first?

User avatar
MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
Location: Worthing
Contact:

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#124 Post by MichaelB » Tue May 05, 2020 4:54 am

The longest version with the original UK title The Damned. The UK theatrical cut on disc two is a historical curiosity, but in no way should be prioritised.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 54-61, 80-83, 89-92, 183-186 Hammer Volumes 1-5

#125 Post by swo17 » Tue May 05, 2020 10:21 am

Ok, thanks!

Post Reply