hoDS/NoDS DVD Release?

[KMR]

That's really great to hear, Brian! But I'm also very, very green with envy!!!

[Darren Gross]

I preordered both HODS and NODS blu-ray some months ago from Amazon, and received them this afternoon.  I'm watching HODS now (which is in 1.85:1 aspect ratio) and, may I say, so far HODS LOOKS FABULOUS!  I wonder is our dear Mr. Darren can enlighten us as to the source for this HD transfer...(hint, hint).

I'm 90% certain it was a 35mm Interpositive made from the original negative.  I have only had the chance to spot check a few instances in NODS, and will post more on it later, but taking the director's cut/theatrical cut issue out of it entirely, apart from a few scattered shots that look a little chalky, visually it looks terrific.  Some minimal grain reduction has been done which makes some of the optical effects much cleaner (the first appearance of Carlotta, for one), but does make those shots seem somewhat soft.

The audio quality itself is crisp and clean, and they have made one fix compared to the track used in the iTunes/Amazon download, but all the rest of the little music bumps and overlaps that shouldn't be there have not been fixed.  There's music in the dining room scene that shouldn't be there, and a cue during the shot of Q&T getting out of their car as seen from the tower window is missing.  Sound effects are a bit low in a few scenes, and some fragments of music appear right at the beginning or tail ends of some scenes that do not belong there.

On the plus side for both HODS and NODS, each includes German, Italian, and Castilian Spanish audio, but not the Latin American Espanol noted on the package.  The German and Castilian narrate the scrolling text at the end, but not the Italian which has forced subs, which will be a revelation to Italian speakers who never were privy to what the end text said before.

[Lydia]

I'm 90% certain it was a 35mm Interpositive made from the original negative.

That's a lovely sentence.

And thanks for the information, too!

[Darren Gross]

It's possible that it derives from a 2K or HD scan of the original neg. The shots that appear chalky and flat, may be ones that have faded a bit on the original neg, as none of the previous transfers from interpositives appear this way.

Of course, if they scan the preservation element of the director's cut, that has no fading at all, so might bring those few shots back to life.

If you're curious, for two examples, a few shots in the funeral flashback, notable the POV from inside the tomb, and in the hanging flashback a few shots there and the overhead shot looking down past the hanging Angelique's body, in particular look very flat and a bit blue.  It's in scattered shots throughout, I'd say 10%.

[Gothick]

another botched job from WB home video... sigh.

G.

[mm#7]

  I am still waiting for my Blu rays. I received a email from Amazon regrding Hurricane Sandy, and the delay. I am hopefull it will be here Thursday. After the horrors I saw on TV the past 2 days regarding the aftermath of this storm, I cannot cry about a delay. I feel terrible abut the devastation I saw happen. But thankyou for letting us know HODS and  how it looks.

[madscntst]

I just checked on Amazon, and my HODS/NODS were delivered this morning (after I left for work, naturally).  That was one day better than their estimate, so I hope that y'all will be receiving your copies soon.

[KMR]

My copy of HODS on Blu-ray arrived yesterday (yay!) and I watched it last night.  I hadn't seen it a number of years, and I have to say that it didn't hold up very well (for me, at least).  While I certainly enjoyed it, the pacing and editing problems really stood out, and I was not really impressed by the acting of most of the principals (or the material they had to work with).  It's really funny that I recall it being very gory for its time--a veritable bloodbath.  But now, being used to stuff like True Blood, it seems so restrained!  (And that '50s-'70s "bright red paint" blood is a hoot!)  It was quite a pleasure to finally see Don Briscoe in his blue jammies in hi-def!   

Best Buy sent me a message this morning that they have shipped my backordered copy of NODS, so if I'm lucky I'll get it tomorrow (more likely it'll be Monday).  That's the one that I'm really looking forward to.  I tend to watch this one once every year or two.  When it first was released, I considered it to be quite inferior to HODS, but since then I've definitely changed my opinion.  I think it holds up quite well.  Plus, for those who are enamored with Lyndhurst, it's virtually a religious experience.

I'm hoping that the (brief) backordered status of my BB order--and the fact that I saw no copies of either movie at a local strip mall--is maybe a clue that these are selling very well.  (I don't want to entertain the idea that they just had a really small print run and distribution...)  Hopefully WB will be surprised by the sales and quickly give the green light to a restoration of NODS!!!

[KMR]

Got my copy of NODS Blu-ray today! YAY!!   And while I was eating lunch and going through today's newspaper, I took a look at the Fry's Electronics ad supplement in the Chicago Tribune.  They have both of the Blu-rays featured!  $12.99 each, with a note that the DVDs are also available for $6.99 each.  I certainly wasn't expecting to see these movies in an ad supplement to a major newspaper!  Cool!     I think this shows that Fry's has some reason to believe there's significant interest in the films.

[mm#7]

Just watched my Blu Ray of House of Dark Shadows. It look excellent. Remember on VHS, and even Laser how the red colors would bleed, nothing like that here. Its crystal clear. It looks and sounds excellent.Does the film itself  hold up? For me it does.I do prefer the original show to the films.I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward toe watching Night very soon.

[Sara Monster]

Has this been brought up yet? I swear they cropped the picture (again).

VHS screen capture:


DVD screen capture:

[Sara Monster]

Somehow it looks like they cropped even more out for NODS:

VHS screen capture:


DVD screen capture:


You can see that the table & the top of the fireplace have been completely removed!

Also, on a lesser note, the dvd menus are kinda crappy:

[The Doctor and K9]

Are there some extra bits of dialogue in NODS? I was watching with friends and thought I heard some new lines in the Tower Room scene flashback and a repeat of the line "bring the painting to life" after that scene. I have not had time to replay it.

[Gothick]

Golly, those DVD captures look dark.  Maybe it's the delightful people who work for the home video department punishing anyone who refuses to buy a Blu Ray player. *shrug*

The "cropping" might be a result of the correct screen ratio being restored.  I remember Darren writing in previous posts about pan and scan versions where more of the frame actually showed up than was intended by the director.  I wish I could recall the details, but my short term memory is like a swiss cheese that a rat has had its way with these days...

G.

[The Doctor and K9]

I was disappointed when I saw HODS. Daphne's nurse was always visible in the mirror, but Julia speaks to her and she's off camera. I thought she had been cropped, but tha twas not the case. Was Curtis saving money? It seems odd.