hoDS/NoDS DVD Release?

[Richard]

If fans want NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS restored and released on blu-ray, you're going to have fight for it. You've already spent 14 years hoping, and then Warner Brothers slapped the theatrical version onto blu-ray with an utter lack of care. That's it. They're done. It's over. Don't expect a special edition if the current edition sells well. That's not how it works. They will consider the market played out and the consumer demand satisfied.

I started a thread at Home Theater Forum that needs the support of Dark Shadows fans. Warner Home Video actively participates on HTF even to the extent of hosting field trips to studio for the membership. The head of the department monitors the posts there, and many back-catalogue titles the members have requested do get released. You don't have to write anything profound, just state that you want to see the 129 minute director's cut restored and that you'll buy it. Keep it simple or write longer posts if you want to, but stay focused on demanding NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS:

www.hometheaterforum.com/t/325284/night-of-dark-shadows-butchered-on-blu-ray

If there is persistence and enough people interested, WHV will take notice and there will be results. They've responded to costlier undertakings in the past. But right now the thread is sinking down to the backpages. The trick is to keep the thread active and near the top of the page.

If you're not persistent it means you don't want the film badly enough.

Many thanks.

[Gothick]

Thanks for posting this, Richard.  I will do what I can even though I personally am doubtful it will do any good.

My holiday message to the suits who control WB Home Video is a succinct one:  a word that rhymes with "hockey puck", followed by YOU ALL.

Holiday cheer,

G.

[retzev]

I'm glad you started that thread, Richard, and I really like the tone you got going there. Reasonable and productive, not bitchy and angry. I'll try to post there from time to time, and I hope others here will consider doing the same. I see nothing to be gained from throwing in the towel. Keeping interest in the restoration alive will keep the possibility of its completion alive.

The Bluray release is a setback, but it can be used as a tool for the cause if enough fans express their dissatisfaction with it, and their genuine desire to purchase the restored cut.

[The Doctor and K9]

One thing I've noticed, having bought both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of these movies, is there's not a whole lot of difference between the Blu-ray and the DVD when it's played on a Blu-ray player. When I play the DVD on the standard DVD player, the difference is like night and day. The colors are much more vibrant, the detail is profoundly sharper. I put the DVD on pause and did the same for the Blu-ray, then switched inputs to compare several times. I was unable to do the same with the when comparing the DVD on a Blu-ray player; I only have one of those players. Still, I paused at the same point and then removed the disk and replaced it with the Bu-ray disk. I did not percieve much, if any difference. It may be that my eyes are not sharp enough to pick up finer detail. It's also possible if I stared at them long enough side by side that I'd eventually notice an improved image on the Blu-ray. Be that as it may, the experiment has put to rest any concerns that I have over idea that my DVD collection has become obsolete and outdated. 

In case anyone is wondering, I bought both versions because I was planning to get a Blu-ray player when I placed the order. I wanted DVD copies because I know I'm going to want to bring them to other people's houses to watch. I sometimes use HODS when I teach Dracula. Having the students compare and find counterparts for characters in the novel is an activity they enjoy.

[retzev]

One thing I've noticed...is there's not a whole lot of difference between the Blu-ray and the DVD when it's played on a Blu-ray player. When I play the DVD on the standard DVD player, the difference is like night and day.

Your Blu-ray player may be upconverting the standard-definition DVD signal to a hi-def signal. Some player/TV setups do a better job at that than others, so results can vary.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Upconverting results can even vary from DVD to DVD because with some of mine I've noticed a big difference, while with others there's seemingly no difference at all.

[Darren Gross]

I'd say it wouldn't hurt to comment on reviews like this one, in which the reviewer feels it's the most boring, worthless piece of crap ever.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/7358/night_shadows.html

His House of DS one isn't really a rave, either...

I don't think people shold comment just to be a troll, but to respond to the review with positive comments, on how you disagree and love the film, etc. just so the reader comes away not entirely discouraged from seeking it out.  After all, if you read nothing but bad reviews of something, then you tend to think there's a consensus, therefore X is, indeed bad.  But if the reviews are all over the place, than you are a bit more charitable...  "Hmm- some people hate it, but others seem to really love it... I wonder which side I'll be on..."

[Richard]

Done.

I tried real hard to be nice but that review pushed my buttons.


Richard

[Richard]

[See Reply #336 for link --admin]
Anyone who likes NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS has been dismissed as a fan of the program.

I got into it with him.

Meanwhile, my thread on Home Theater Forum needs all the support it can get. Just on the click on the link in my post above. A moderator changed the title from "NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS -- butchered on blu-ray" to "-- history and possible restoration?" and moved it out of the blu-ray section. Everyone please register and post there before the thread drops off Warner Home Video's radar.

[retzev]

Even their new thread title is misleading. They should change it to NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS:RESTORATION UNRELEASED. Has a nice ring to it.

I think it's safe to say that Duarte's review is amateurish, and that he's done some very poor research on NoDS. I'd be interested to hear if anyone reads it and thinks otherwise. But, I don't think the HighDefDigest gang is going to acknowledge that. It's gotten a little heated, and they obviously aren't impressed by the DS fans they've encountered so far (myself included).

I hope more of us will chime in over there (and elsewhere), speak kindly of the film, and hopefully get a more positive spin going.

[The Doctor and K9]

I have a sneaking suspicion that WB wants to sell NODS twice. If this version is successful, I suspect they will follow it up with the restored cut. Look at Watchmen. It was followed by the DIRECTOR'S CUT. I got suckered into buying that, because that was checkmated by THE ULITMATE CUT. There have been other examples of this sort of maneuvering to get people to buy multiple copies of movies. I might be naive and overly hopeful with regard to this matter, but I can't help but suspect that greed is at work here.

[KMR]

I think it might be more that they're unsure how large the market actually is for the film.  Will it sell enough copies to warrant the expense of preparing the restoration?  If the theatrical cut doesn't sell very well, at least they don't lose whatever would have been spent in the restoration.  If the theatrical cut does sell well, that gives them justification for spending more on the restoration ("Hey, we made our money back, and it looks like enough people are interested in this").  I really don't think the diehard fans would be anywhere near big enough a market by themselves, although we'd like to think so.

[Darren Gross]

I have a sneaking suspicion that WB wants to sell NODS twice. If this version is successful, I suspect they will follow it up with the restored cut. Look at Watchmen. It was followed by the DIRECTOR'S CUT. I got suckered into buying that, because that was checkmated by THE ULITMATE CUT. There have been other examples of this sort of maneuvering to get people to buy multiple copies of movies. I might be naive and overly hopeful with regard to this matter, but I can't help but suspect that greed is at work here.

To play devil's advocate on the WATCHMEN releases, when this was released on DVD, all the other planned disc releases were announced at that time, so it shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise.  That said, the Ultimate Cut is really more of a novelty and an indulgence, than the final word-- that would be the director's cut only...as the Ultimate edits in a 25min separate animated comic story within the story itself, to match something the original comic mini-series did... since the director was given the opportunity to do it.

WB certainly has no plans to release other versions of the DS films at this point in time, though of course, anything can happen.

[Richard]

My thanks to retzev for his support in both threads.

We need more support in both threads, folks.

Can someone help me obtain screen captures of the cut scenes for my upcoming breakdown? I know there's missing footage in trailers and TV spots and on-set photos and such, but my PC doesn't have a video card or the ability to capture frames. So I must ask for help. I will keep plugging away at both places. Large rez screen captures at 500 kb or higher will be a big help. Use the Private Message function and I will provide an email where you can send them.

Many thanks.

Richard

[Darren Gross]

MB posted a few on pg 22 that might be useful...