Network DVD

[Dr Amicus]

It's years since I watched Hands of the Ripper, but my memory places it as one of the better Hammers from the 70s - say a more serious Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde.

[andyli]

Didn't they also put out the proper The World at War blu-ray set featuring OAR version of the series?

Watching their edition of the Seven-Up series and reading the forum thread about it along the way was an unforgettable experience.

[alacal2]

Sad news indeed. There's a huge cache of British films and TV that appears to be at stake to say nothing of the impact on staff.
A couple of questions:
What happens to the films under liquidation (if true)? Are they put up for auction/sale?
Is there any knock-on effect on Talking Pictures TV which shows a lot of Network's movies?

[Adam X]

If you're a Quatermass fan, Network were the only option for the 4th TV serial (from 1979, AKA The Quatermass Conclusion) on Blu-ray. It's cheap on Rarewaves.

They also released a handful of Nigel Kneale’s other TV work on DVD along with The Woman in Black on BD.

[Paul Moran]

Didn't they also put out the proper The World at War blu-ray set featuring OAR version of the series?

Yes. I have it.

[Dr Amicus]

These are going quickly from Amazon and Rarewaves - I've been grabbing the few I wanted (making the possibly unwise assumption that the Gerry Anderson sets will be reissued somewhere...)

[reaky]

My working assumption is that for the most part, these titles are too niche to ever be reissued, and since they’re not going to be repressed, once stocks are exhausted, resale prices will soar.

[therewillbeblus]

Hands of the Ripper has a decently-priced blu-ray stateside from Synapse. Is the Network blu superior? Not trying to get anyone to do extra work, but maybe it would be helpful to know which Network titles are the best/only versions of that release, in order to prioritize disc-seeking?

[swo17]

In my list on the previous page, I specifically only listed titles where I believe no other Blu-ray edition exists

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks swo, that was really helpful. I was asking a more blanket question to be inclusive, but I'm selfishly wondering if there are notable titles absent from Rarewaves I should be hunting down before they dissipate

[JSC]

Fortunately, I did a blind buy from them a few months ago and I can recommend the
following as being of interest:

The Man Upstairs
The Smallest Show on Earth
The League of Gentlemen
The Constant Husband
Things to Come (I think is better than Criterion's release)
Home at Seven
The Singing, Ringing Tree (strange film...)

[swo17]

Does the Network release of Things to Come include László Moholy-Nagy's unused special effects footage?

[JSC]

Does the Network release of Things to Come include László Moholy-Nagy's unused special effects footage?

I don't think so. Instead it has a kind of extended cut with images/text inserted where scenes are missing and/or weren't shot. However,
it does have a great booklet and I think Network's transfer is a little more robust than Criterion's.

[swo17]

I saw that and was wondering if the extended cut might incorporate the footage--it's my favorite part of the Criterion release

[colinr0380]

Terrible news. I only have a few Networks but would also mention that long run of "Ealing Studios Rarities" discs that collected four films in each set (two on each DVD in a 2 disc set) that reached at least fourteen volumes and provided ample proof that there was much more to Ealing Studios than the handful of celebrated classic comedies. There were also six volumes of "British Musicals of the 1930s" in the same format.

Network also released the Julie Christie film Memoirs Of A Survivor (although that is getting a little too close for comfort in the current climate!) and the Laurence Olivier adaptation of Three Sisters too.

[Graham]

They've been teasing The Sweeney a lot on social media this year and I was convinced we were about to finally get series 2-4 on blu-ray more than a decade after Regan and series 1. I imagine even if this was the plan then now it cannot and will not happen?

[Rayon Vert]

Unfortunate, but thanks for the heads up everyone. Thanks swo, I didn't know Green for Danger had a blu-ray release. Hands of the Ripper is definitely recommended.

[MichaelB]

Is there any knock-on effect on Talking Pictures TV which shows a lot of Network's movies?

It's overwhelmingly likely that Talking Pictures TV will have been dealing directly with the rightsholder, which won't have been Network.

So no (probably).

[JSC]

Just bumping this up to see if there's been any news, etc. I'm kind of surprised there's no official
announcement of some sort.

[fdm]

The gist of the facts/rumors/speculation (based on one thread over at blu-ray.com) seems to be that Network has definitely been liquidated and their remaining stock may have already been sold off for distribution, possibly to something called Spirit Entertainment.

[Rayon Vert]

Thanks swo, I didn't know Green for Danger had a blu-ray release.

I almost regret buying this. The scratches are really evident, which Gary Tooze recognizes, but it looks really waxy to me through the whole thing, which he doesn't, and looking at the Beaver screencaps in that sense it doesn't look as sharp as the dvd.

[swo17]

Well that's unfortunate. I hadn't seen it myself, only noticed that it existed. In fact, my copy from Rarewaves just barely arrived the other day

[Rayon Vert]

Not blaming you of course swo! I didn't check reviews before, just assumed it would be better than the (Criterion) DVD!

But I mean I haven't gone to the trouble of putting in the DVD instead and seeing if just the fact that it's a BR is an upgrade. At the same time I have to say I stay distracted by the softness of the image for the whole thing.

[therewillbeblus]

Maybe Criterion will upgrade their DVD in 2055

[Rayon Vert]

Sounds about right.