HODS on DVD

[Brian]

Originally posted by Brian on the Dark Shadows: General Discussion Forum on January 22, 2002 at 21:03:16:

Hi, all.

I posted a message about HODS on the DVD Review site, under "Horror and Cult Films." Any responses over there might be helpful in getting HODS on DVD. (Plus, I'd like to hear any other opinions on the quality of the VHS print.)

Thanks.

Brian

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren Gross on January 23, 2002 at 00:29:30:
In Reply to: HODS on DVD posted by Brian on January 22, 2002 at 21:03:16:

The VHS print looks fine, and the print is fairly pristine though the Laserdisc looks even better and sharper, naturally. The video releases are a tad brighter than the theatrical prints, but if they were transferred as dark as they prints look, most viewers would think there's something wrong...

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren on January 23, 2002 at 00:46:43:
In Reply to: Re: HODS on DVD posted by Darren Gross on January 23, 2002 at 00:29:30:

Just checked out the DVD review post- ignore what I said above. I didn't realize you had the tape- I thought you were querying a purchase. I've been watching 98% DVDs the last couple of years, so I guess I'm just used to VHS looking like crap and have lowered expectations as a result of that medium.

To be honest I haven't checked out a VHS if this in about 9 years, don't have one anymore, but I thought the prints were fairly similar between LD and VHS. The opening reel (even on film) and various parts of the film always have been grainy, dirty and muddy. Many shots in the film are incorrectly exposed and were push-processed in the lab giving those scenes a muddy look. Best example: the shots of Willie leading Carolyn back to the house look absolutely awful, but the cut to her approaching the house alone that ends the sequence looks perfectly exposed, sharp and colorful.

The prints for HODS were struck directly from the negative which has the reel change marks on it. Nowadays there's a very easy way to get rid of those (that area of the frame is replicated from a preceding identical frame) but a tape like this, made 11 years ago and from a mast that's probably older naturally has the benchmarks of the year it was made...

The LD does look terrific, though.

Hope it helps...

[joe integlia]

Posted by joe integlia on January 23, 2002 at 08:51:46:
In Reply to: HODS on DVD posted by Brian on January 22, 2002 at 21:03:16:

I posted a message about HODS on the DVD Review site, under "Horror and Cult Films." Any responses over there might be helpful in getting HODS on DVD. (Plus, I'd like to hear any other opinions on the quality of the VHS print.)

the vhs tape seems inferior in quality to the version they show on the turner networks. the version shown on tv seems restored and color corrected.i assume this is the version they used for laser disc. cant say for sure since ive never seen it on LD. dont know why they used the inferior print for the vhs release.

    * http://surf.to/darkshadowsphotos

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren G on January 23, 2002 at 13:25:24:
In Reply to: Re: HODS on DVD posted by joe integlia on January 23, 2002 at 08:51:46:

The Laser was released 2-3 years after the VHS, so in the interim a new master must have been created- probably at the demand of a foreign TV sale. That would explain why the remasted LD is not letterboxed.

[Brian]

Posted by Brian on January 23, 2002 at 18:57:30:
In Reply to: Re: HODS VHS vs Laser posted by Darren G on January 23, 2002 at 13:25:24:

Darren, what was the original aspect ratio for HODS? (And NODS, while we're at it?}

[Brian]

Posted by Brian on January 23, 2002 at 19:02:03:
In Reply to: Re: HODS on DVD posted by Darren on January 23, 2002 at 00:46:43:

We can only hope then that the print used for the LD, and last year's showing in LA, will find its way to DVD someday soon. (FYI, I picked up another VHS copy of HODS today--just to check it out for quality--at Saturday Matinee for $7.50--they were having a huge 'moving' sale, with VHS @ 50% off and DVD @ 30% off, and I found a few DVD bargains, too--and the VHS label which used to feature the MGM logo now features the Warner Brothers logo.)

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren G on January 24, 2002 at 12:58:25:
In Reply to: Re: HODS VHS vs Laser posted by Brian on January 23, 2002 at 18:57:30:

They're both 1.85. Be sure to check out the FAQ page on the website for all kinds of tehcnical info...

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren G on January 24, 2002 at 13:03:54:
In Reply to: Re: HODS on DVD posted by Brian on January 23, 2002 at 19:02:03:

Even though the LD prints are superior to the VHS ones, they are not good enough for a direct transfer to DVD. Some wiseacre has put bootleg DVD transfers of the LD on ebay a few times, but they're not authorized and are not recommended.

They're not letterboxed, a bit grainy and muddy in parts of NODS, and worst of all, they're not 16x9...

[Raholt]

Posted by Richard Holt on January 25, 2002 at 22:09:32:
In Reply to: HODS on DVD posted by Brian on January 22, 2002 at 21:03:16:

My Sister works for Turner Classic Movies, which occasionally broadcasts both DS films. I asked about why alot of the MGM movie library had been pulled from video and why so little had been rereleased on DVD. The answer is Warner which now owns the MGM library, including the DS films says there is no market for older movie material and that they have no plans to release or rerelease alot of the previously pulled films on VHS or DVD. As you may know both DS films have been pulled from video release, though I understand Amazon struck a deal to continue selling the videos of the films. I used to work in a retail video store and I can tell you that Warner is clueless about what sales. The majority of the sells are not recent releases but older, less seen films and classics. The store I worked in made an effort to stock such films, where other dept type stores did not and customers were thrilled they could get those films they loved. In film nostalgia sells, but Warner doesn't seem to see that.

[Darren Gross]

Posted by Darren Gross on January 28, 2002 at 06:12:28:
In Reply to: Re: HODS on DVD posted by Richard Holt on January 25, 2002 at 22:09:32:

Hi Brian.
I agree wholeheartedly with you and your sisters comments are virtually identical to the ones that we've been given during the many, many times we've broached the restorations with them.

The big problem is that they only want to sell big titles that will sell a million units so they can bring in the big profits. What seems to totally escape them is: okay, so you only sell 10K or 15K of a library title and only end up profiting by the low thousands- so what? Release 20-40 of those over the year (ala MGM's midnight movies) and you end up bringing in an extra half a million or more, plus you revitalize the masters in the library in the process so that they're ready for HDTV.

Total myopic, coporate stupidity. Tell me, what is the point on having the largest, most impressive film library in the world if you do absolutely nothing with it? Sure TV broadcasts bring in money, but there are hundreds of films that haven't been shown on Tv in decades.

Combine that with the contradictory decisions that have Warner paying money to outside companies to license titles they don't own (like Nightbreed, Masters of the Universe, and all the Rhino releases) and you've got a pretty irritating situation that has all cinephiles extremely annoyed. It's like having a friend who complains about having no money, while he's got a stack of hundreds on his desk.."oh, those? I COULD spend those, but then I'd have to pick them up...and put them in my wallet...you know..it's not worth it.."

Where's the Looney Tunes or That's Entertainment films on DVD. Yeah, THOSE won't sell. Uh, huh.

Rant over, ;-)
Darren