Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

[dwk]

You think Arrow might do this one? (I haven't checked which studio this is from)

I really don't want to buy from them if I don't have to.

Communion was an independent production. So who knows what is up with the UK rights.

[dwk]

For those that missed out on the OOP Vampire's Kiss / High Spirits double feature, MVD will be releasing Vampire's Kiss on Blu-ray on June 21st.

[John Cope]

Limited Edition, of 1500, Shout Factory store exclusive Blu-ray of Communion is up for order. You'd think an alien abduction movie starring Christopher Walken would merit a wide release, but Shout Factory is going to Shout Factory.

I mean, on paper it sounds like it should be great but I found it one of the most painful movie watching experiences of my life, so I don’t really think there is that wide an audience for this

A movie I adore and have for decades. It's one of those films I know like the proverbial back of my hand as I've seen it so many times over the years but I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to share my enthusiasm. It may help if you harbor an affection for Strieber and whatever kind of mad performance art he's engaging in--it's just as wild and unhinged on the page as it is in Walken's fully embraced character (love little details like Walken quietly intoning the words "if I was in my *right mind*..." after abruptly leaving a group therapy session or his They Live inspired moment of sudden awareness as to the insect headed reality of who is sharing the bus with him or best of all his casual flipping through of a magazine during the interior spaceship flashbacks as though he's in a dentist's waiting room). It's a movie of moments and details all of which feel fleshed out and committed to which is no small thing given the risible circumstances but Walken and Mora also manage to invest the whole scenario with a sensitivity for the possibility of very real psychic distress and torment (the moment between Walken and Crouse after he fires the gun off in the house, the brief cut to a silently stricken Walken after one of the hypnosis sessions, etc.). I really admire how well Mora manages this material actually in that he allows for the chaotic insanity but grounds the human element in the briefest of references rather than indulge in excess sentimentality. And he gets very well that this material desperately needs such care. I always think of how smart it was for him to acknowledge and indulge the comedy instead because he knows it cannot be gotten past nor should be as the absurdity is a response to the extremity of the situation (e.g. the awesome moment when Walken is carried off by the California Raisin "visitors" and the quickly escalating eerie music exists alongside Walken's hilarious reactions to being picked up and carried off--the one thing does not eradicate the other but complements it and deepens or complexifies our own response). There has never been a better movie about not just alien abduction but simply the inexplicability of confronting such an unknown.

Director Mora and Walken play some moments broad and comic against a backdrop of cineamatographic dread and the tension of Allan Zavod's amped up score. They aren't afraid to acknowledge the difficulty of taking these events
seriously and yet that is why we can if we do, because they don't try too hard, they don't oversell it. Through this cumulative dislocating quality, the very real uncertainty over how we ourselves should respond to what we are seeing, the horror of the situation is successfully reinforced--we share Strieber's psychic headspace in these moments and that's not a place you want to be. This isn't a Lynch style absurdism but rather indication of a very real tension in terms of how to portray what are purported to be actual events. Mora was/is a friend of Strieber's and that may account for his own conflict (also evidenced on any of the DVDs' excellent and penetrating, if you will, commentaries). The fact that Strieber wrote the script is fascinating as one wonders just how self-consciously absurdist he views himself and his own alleged experiences. This all results in the best possible rendering of the subject; a bold series of contrasts which promote an emphasis on a severe questioning of sanity, which is where the true horror resides. Walken's classic central perf here is as risible as it is successful in a conventional horror film sense but that's the key to its greatness. For a film that straddles the line all the time between accepting the point of view of its protagonist and consigning it to a psych ward this is the perfect kind of performance. And it's actually far more deeply penetrating than it would be if Walken or director Mora simply went for typical horror effects (the film is far more mysterious, disturbing and persuasive because it never quite does that).

I picked up the Italian Blu of this after waiting around and thinking it might never actually get a domestic release. Well, that's all it took I guess. Anyway, for those who may be interested the Italian edition is certainly the best this has ever looked on home video format up to this point and I have owned virtually every other release (including the original laserdisc). It's also a true rarity and curiosity as the cut of the film presented here is different from any other one I've ever seen, including multiple re-edited TV cuts. God knows why but there's footage here which is unique to this release and that I have never otherwise seen. None of it is exactly essential but it does fill out and support details in the more widely released cut which I had never realized before could benefit from being filled out and supported. This release features some rare stills but that's it as far as any extras go. I did miss the almost requisite new Mora commentary; Communion must hold a record for the number of newly recorded director commentaries for a single release with at least one brand new one appearing on each re-release with the last one, on the Hen's Tooth DVD, being the best. I would assume the "extended cut" Shout is advertising refers to the version of the film featured for the first time on that Italian disc release. I do hope the solo Mora commentary is either yet another new one or the superior Hen's Tooth commentary.

[Habit Rouge]

I wish TV shows sold as well as D grade horror films. Shout's early output was great.

[yoloswegmaster]

May titles have leaked:

Lifeforce 4K
Candyman 4K
Escape from New York 4K
Femme Fatale
Bulletproof
The Ghost and the Darkness

[therewillbeblus]

Well, now the inexplicably large body of folks who have been begging for Femme Fatale on blu-ray for years can finally rejoice!

[domino harvey]

Too much hatred to quote, just read my collected thoughts on it here

[cdnchris]

I have to be the only person that actually likes The Ghost and the Darkness, right? I remember it getting trashed (and rightfully so, as the lion effects were "questionable" and i know they took liberties) but I found it quite a bit of fun.

[Matt]

I would wish for better for Femme Fatale than Shout Factory (a lush Arrow release would seem appropriate), but I guess we degenerate defenders of the film get what we deserve (a snapper case WB DVD with INTERACTIVE MENUS).

[dwk]

It appears The Craft is getting a UHD from Scream Factory. So that is another Sony title getting a UHD from a boutique label.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

I would wish for better for Femme Fatale than Shout Factory (a lush Arrow release would seem appropriate), but I guess we degenerate defenders of the film get what we deserve (a snapper case WB DVD with INTERACTIVE MENUS).

Honestly bums me out. Does Shout still do shitty encodes? I don’t even have a videophile eye, but anytime I buy one of their discs, it looks like shit.

[therewillbeblus]

I would wish for better for Femme Fatale than Shout Factory (a lush Arrow release would seem appropriate), but I guess we degenerate defenders of the film get what we deserve (a snapper case WB DVD with INTERACTIVE MENUS).

Honestly bums me out. Does Shout still do shitty encodes? I don’t even have a videophile eye, but anytime I buy one of their discs, it looks like shit.

I’d wait to see the extras before bringing out the pitchforks- Shout! can be surprisingly thorough with their cult film releases. I don’t think any other company would have put together a better release of The Tenant, for example, and that film also looked just fine to me

[Finch]

Also, their Alligator and Howling UHDs look excellent. I certainly wouldn't pre-order but their most recent discs are hopefully an indication that they are taking the encoding for all their future releases more seriously now.

[Finch]

Looks like The Craft 4k is happening after all. Cover and specs are up.

Bonus Features
DISC ONE (4K UHD):

NEW 4K Restoration By Sony
Audio Commentary With Director Andrew Fleming
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

NEW 4K Restoration By Sony
Audio Commentary With Andrew Fleming
Directing The Craft – An Interview With Andrew Fleming
Producing The Craft – An Interview With Producer Douglas Wick
Writing The Craft – An Interview With Co-Writer Peter Filardi
Effecting The Craft – An Interview With Makeup Effects Supervisor Tony Gardner
Vintage Featurette – Conjuring The Craft
Vintage Featurette – The Making Of The Craft
Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary By Andrew Fleming
Theatrical Trailer

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Also, their Alligator and Howling UHDs look excellent. I certainly wouldn't pre-order but their most recent discs are hopefully an indication that they are taking the encoding for all their future releases more seriously now.

That's actually refreshing to hear. I was sort of waiting to buy Alligator (a favorite I wrote about a few pages back) depending on the transfer. I'll probably pick it up soon!

[dwk]

Stupidly, Scream is only putting the theatrical cut of Lifeforce on UHD.

[MichaelB]

Stupidly or unavoidably? Are the materials good enough for a decent 4K upgrade, or would it be a cynical bodge job aimed at fleecing fans?

[dwk]

I stand by stupidly. I get that the long version is from an IP, so they could have either used the neagative scan of the theatrical cut for the bulk of the film, using the IP footage when necessary or just used the 4k scan of the IP (worked fine for VS' Beastmaster UHD) if they were concerned about the quality difference.

[MichaelB]

I stand by stupidly.

So you seriously think that they took that decision because they're actually dimwitted, and not because they weighed up the various possibilities and costs and decided that the end result most likely wouldn't justify the effort and expense?

[dwk]

No, I said stupidly because I believe that this will result in fewer units sold. I supposed I could have said shortsighted instead of stupidly, but it is, I think, a dumb decision.

[MichaelB]

It looks perfectly intelligent to me. Not least because if they released a multi-UHD version with a price tag to match, they'd get complaints about the alternative cuts looking visually inferior.

Clearly, the version that they can source from the original camera negative deserves the full 4K treatment, but if they only have a 4K scan of the IP for the other cuts, they have to weigh up whether it's worth making what's still a substantially greater upfront investment if the end result will only look very very marginally better.

[Orlac]

The theatrical cut of Lifeforce is such a downgrade...you really miss the awesome Mancini music on the opening credits.

[Finch]

Captain Clegg specs including a 2k scan confirmed.

NEW 2K Scan From The Interpositive
NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Bruce Hallenbeck
NEW Pulp Friction – The Cinematic Captain Clegg – An Interview With Author/Film Historian Kim Newman
NEW The Hammer Must Fall: Peter Cushing’s Changing Directions – An Interview With Author/Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
NEW Brian With Bowie – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Brian Johnson
The Making Of Captain Clegg Hosted By Author Wayne Kinsey
The Mossman Legacy: George Mossman’s Carriage Collection
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery

[dwk]

Another Shout Factory store exclusive limited edition is available: Meatcleaver Massacre (1977)

[yoloswegmaster]

June releases:

• The Funhouse UHD
• Cat People UHD
• Dog Soldiers UHD
• Fire In The Sky