Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

[Cash Flagg]

Only the theatrical cut of Nightbreed will be 4K UHD, the director's cut is a regular Blu-ray.

Par for the course for this label, unfortunately. No reason to buy this.

....And I see the new slip/poster is their typical god-awful art. An easy though disappointing pass.

[tenia]

I've seen this on Twitter and am wondering : is there a particular/technical reason (in general) for only one cut being put on UHD and the other on BD ? I see that Arrow will only put on UHD The Last House on the Left's TC but not the unrated cut, while Shout only included Dawn of the Dead (2004) DC on UHD but not the TC.

[dwk]

I assume in Nightbreed's case the elements for the additional scenes just aren't good enough for 4K. I have no idea what the reasons are for the Last House and Dawn of the Dead remakes.

[ChunkyLover]

I assume in Nightbreed's case the elements for the additional scenes just aren't good enough for 4K. I have no idea what the reasons are for the Last House and Dawn of the Dead remakes.

For Dawn's case, I wouldn't be surprised if it has to do with Shout never doing seamless branching and probably just didn't want to add another UHD disc (even though they could probably seamless branch the theatrical cut but choose not to).

[M Sanderson]

As someone who still likes the Nightbreed Theatrical Cut, and was thoroughly unimpressed by the Cabal Cut, even more bloated and uneven, with bizarrely misjudged outtakes, this decision doesn't trouble me.

[tenia]

I was wondering more about some potential format-related technicities, like, I don't know, seamless branching being even more of a pain to implement on a UHD than on BD.

[beamish14]

As someone who still likes the Nightbreed Theatrical Cut, and was thoroughly unimpressed by the Cabal Cut, even more bloated and uneven, with bizarrely misjudged outtakes, this decision doesn't trouble me.

At the risk of sounding like a corporate bootlicker, Shout’s discs of this film and Exorcist III both basically vindicate Morgan Creek’s editing mandates. Nightbreed’s theatrical cut still has one of the oddest endings ever for a mainstream, mid-budget horror film

[M Sanderson]

As someone who still likes the Nightbreed Theatrical Cut, and was thoroughly unimpressed by the Cabal Cut, even more bloated and uneven, with bizarrely misjudged outtakes, this decision doesn't trouble me.

At the risk of sounding like a corporate bootlicker, Shout’s discs of this film and Exorcist III both basically vindicate Morgan Creek’s editing mandates. Nightbreed’s theatrical cut still has one of the oddest endings ever for a mainstream, mid-budget horror film

I always wondered what happened to those Berserker monsters that were let loose. giant, rampaging beats that were released from the depths of Midian, onto the surface, to wipe out the heavily armed Neo Nazi gang.

Surely they would wipe out all of humanity?

Was stunned that the latest cut didn't resolve this. Only thing the Cabal Cut added of worth was scenes fleshing out the central couple's troubled relationship, at least to me. A lot of additional scenes didn't look finished or professional. I'm of the belief that Barker wasn't able to shoot all the material he wanted.

Personally I like the original cut in spite of its imperfections. Interesting regarding the mess behind the film, when Barker's own novel was so compact.


I don't mind Exorcist 3 at all, as it is. Kind of liked Nicol Williamson exorcising Brad Dourif/Jason Miller in the 3rd act and feel that Blatty's idea of creating the perfect film might not have been in line with studio and audience expectations. also his preferred cut features scenes that survive only in inferior/compomised materials?

[beamish14]

As someone who still likes the Nightbreed Theatrical Cut, and was thoroughly unimpressed by the Cabal Cut, even more bloated and uneven, with bizarrely misjudged outtakes, this decision doesn't trouble me.

At the risk of sounding like a corporate bootlicker, Shout’s discs of this film and Exorcist III both basically vindicate Morgan Creek’s editing mandates. Nightbreed’s theatrical cut still has one of the oddest endings ever for a mainstream, mid-budget horror film

I always wondered what happened to those Berserker monsters that were let loose. giant, rampaging beats that were released from the depths of Midian, onto the surface, to wipe out the heavily armed Neo Nazi gang.

Surely they would wipe out all of humanity?

Was stunned that the latest cut didn't resolve this. Only thing the Cabal Cut added of worth was scenes fleshing out the central couple's troubled relationship, at least to me. A lot of additional scenes didn't look finished or professional. I'm of the belief that Barker wasn't able to shoot all the material he wanted.

Personally I like the original cut in spite of its imperfections. Interesting regarding the mess behind the film, when Barker's own novel was so compact.


I don't mind Exorcist 3 at all, as it is. Kind of liked Nicol Williamson exorcising Brad Dourif/Jason Miller in the 3rd act and feel that Blatty's idea of creating the perfect film might not have been in line with studio and audience expectations. also his preferred cut features scenes that survive only in inferior/compomised materials?

Correct, the original celluloid material for Exorcist III/Legion’s cut scenes has never been recovered. Despite having directed two (very fine) films before this, I think both Barker and Blatty signed on to these projects with a kind of naïveté or misplaced optimism in being able to retain the total autonomy they could wield as novelists. Horror films in Hollywood at the time were in an odd place at the cusp of the new decade, with established franchises winding down and the teen marketplace’s demands changing, too. Still, these are both extremely satisfying films.

[M Sanderson]

definitely, I really like both as they are. Nightbreed will never be perfect but for my money Barker was a powerful albeit messy filmmaker. I actually felt betrayed by some of the additional scenes in the Cabal Cut. Tonally way off. (One issue raised for me - when Arrow released the film, I'm certain the Theatrical Cut looked inferior, which is odd and suggests they were perhaps forced to use an aged remaster.)

re Exorcist III - obviously Blatty didn't want to shoot exorcism scenes at the end - I'm certain the novel Legion had nothing like that, and was a more quiet, discreet and brooding affair - but I think he did a fine job nevertheless. there's so much in this film that is remarkable, managing to blend the philosophical and horrific. I'm not certain but didn't changes forced on Blatty force more Brad Dourif into the film? For me this was Dourif's prime, as he did superb work in horror during the early '90s.

[Finch]

I have the novel Legion and there is indeed no exorcism in it. I understand why Morgan Creek wanted to have something more powerful than Blatty's original ending for the film but the studio imposed ending is not very convincing either. Been a while since I've seen the original cut of Legion but I think it's all Dourif in that version, no Jason Miller. My memory could be faulty though.

[hearthesilence]

The new complete set of Pee-Wee's Playhouse apparently has all-new transfers.

What a lot of people don't realize is, the show was shot on film. But it's never been seen on film — we'd shoot it and immediately transfer it to tape, then we'd edit it on tape and add the effects in on tape. The whole thing is then put on a "broadcast tape," for airing. You lose information and clarity the more you dupe, so in some cases, we're talking six generations of loss. We've cleaned all that up. I've spent over a year in a lab helping the folks putting this out with color corrections, helping them find the right source material for some of the effects — many of which they recreated from scratch for the Blu-rays. The amount of work that went into this was huge.

I wish I caught this show when it aired, I've had a few people tell me in my college years that I would've loved it. FWIW, J. Hoberman reviewed the set in the NYTimes.

I didn't realize this had fallen out-of-print - new copies now go for at least $300. (IIRC I think I paid like $60 after shipping and taxes during one of Shout's flash sales.) The whole show should be streaming from the same masters, which makes the value even more surprising.

I watched a few random episodes, and given all the histrionic garbage that's going on now about, well, everything, it's pretty impressive how it's escaped right-wing hysteria. Maybe if it had a higher profile among young viewers, and maybe if it weren't already so ingrained in cultural nostalgia, it would be a different story, but as Hoberman noted in his original review:

The Playhouse was further distinguished by its racial diversity and frisky gender bending...Not surprisingly, Pee-wee’s Playhouse quickly attracted the attention of academics interested in what was not yet known as “queer theory” or “gender studies.”

[yoloswegmaster]

The 4K UHD for Brotherhood of the Wolf is said to be region-locked.

[dwk]

More Shout site exclusive limited editions (1500 copies):
Abraxas Guardian of the Universe

Revenge of the Cheerleaders

[cdnchris]

I remember seeing Abraxas in the video store back in the day but never rented it. But after viewing this trailer (which is so bizarre with such an off song choice I have a hard time believing it's legit) I wish I had.

[SeizureMilk]

If anyone really wants Peewee’s Playhouse and doesn’t mind less than Blu-Ray quality, the Shout DVD set is on Amazon for under $40 (not including shipping or taxation).

[M Sanderson]

Is there a reason Shout are region locking UHDs against industry standard?

To do so without any warning or remedy is breaking trust.

I know they probably don't care about international customers, in the bigger scheme, but for me it's negligent and unprofessional.

Wondering, if it's because there will be releases in different territories?

The thing is, with all this uncertainty, I've cancelled all my pre orders of much coveted titles The Burning and Creepshow. And can see my "brand loyalty" going in different directions, especially with Arrow having such brilliant recent announcements, Second Sight going from strength to strength, etc.

[dwk]

The region locking is most likely just due to Shout Factory's sloppiness. The same reason, to pick an on going issue, for the bad subtitles on so many of the non-English language titles they've released, they just don't pay attention to all the details.

[cdnchris]

They're probably copying and pasting code initially and not double-checking the basic configurations. I'm pretty sure it's just laziness and getting things done quickly. Not defending it, I just don't think they're doing it intentionally.

It's more annoying that 4K players don't ignore the region locking when it's a 4K disc to begin with.

[tenia]

Never think it's malevolence when it can just be laziness or incompetence.

[M Sanderson]

really unfortunate that it's affected a major title, People Under the Stairs. a Wes Craven film that has suffered numerous mediocre disc releases.

Brotherhood of the Wolf, not such a big deal as Studio Canal have put this out in multiple territories.

was very excited for Creepshow & The Burning - but I cancelled as I'm not risking it.

[Finch]

September titles

My Bloody Valentine 4k
Natural Born Killers 4k
Night of the Comet 4k
Jennifer 8 BD
The Demon Lover BD
The Pack BD
Lost Souls BD
Irwin Allen set BD 7 films

[dwk]

These are the titles in the Irwin Allen set;
Flood! (1976)
Fire! (1977)
Hanging By A Thread (1979)
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
When Time Ran Out (1980)
Cave-In! (1983)
The Night The Bridge Fell Down (1983)

[domino harvey]

Flood! (1976)
Fire! (1977)m
Cave-In! (1983)

The Night The Bridge Fell Down (1983)

I’ve never heard of these particular entries, but they’re hilariously descriptive in as succinct a way as possible. And the last one just makes me laugh, like they couldn’t even be bothered to make it sound exciting

[pistolwink]

I guess Collapse! didn't paint a specific-enough picture...