Phantasm

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Ribs
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Phantasm

#1 Post by Ribs » Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:54 am

Few horror movie franchises are as iconic as Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm series. From its deadly flying silver spheres through to its hooded dwarf minions, and of course, the towering figure of arch villain The Tall Man himself, the imagery conjured up by the Phantasm films remains etched in the psyche of genre fans everywhere.
Beginning with the 1979 original through to 2016’s Phantasm: Ravager, the five films which make up the Phantasm series follow the young Mike Baldwin as he battles against the enigmatic “Tall Man” - an extraterrestrial being intent on harvesting the human race as slaves for his home planet. Aided by friend Reggie and his trusty four-barrelled shotgun, Mike resolves to vanquish the Tall Man before he wipes out humanity altogether.

Brought together for the first time on Blu-ray - including a stunning new 4K restoration of the original Phantasm overseen by J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek Into Darkness) - the Phantasm series is back with added balls!


LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL PHEATURES

All 5 Phantasm movies together on Blu-ray for the first time!
Limited Edition Bonus Disc featuring Exclusive Pheatures
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for all films
Exclusive 152-page book with new writing on the Phantasm universe from Kim Newman and Bill Ackerman alongside a wealth of archive material, all fully illustrated with original stills and posters
Replica Phantasm Sphere
Limited Edition Packaging with newly-commissioned artwork from Gary Pullin

PHANTASM (1979 - 2016 REMASTERED)

Phantasm: Remastered 2016 Theatrical Version
Original Theatrical Mono or Remastered 5.1 Surround Options
Phantasm: Remastered 2016 Los Angeles Premiere Audience Track – Join the audience of die-hard fans as they experience the restored classic for the first time!
Archive audio commentary with director/writer Don Coscarelli and actors A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury and Angus Scrimm
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm – brand new pheaturette looking back at the making of Phantasm, including new interviews with cast and crew
Behind-the-Scenes footage with commentary by Don Coscarelli and Reggie Bannister
1979 TV interview with Don Coscarelli and Angus Scrimm
Deleted Scenes (6)
Original Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spots (5)
Stills Gallery

PHANTASM II (1988)

Original Theatrical Stereo
Audio commentary with director/writer Don Coscarelli and actors Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm II – brand new pheaturette looking back at the making of Phantasm II, including new interviews with cast and crew
Angus Scrimm 1989 Convention Appearance
Fangoria TV Spot
Original Trailer
TV Spots
Stills Gallery

PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD (1994)

Original Theatrical Stereo or 5.1 Surround Options
Audio commentary with actors A. Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm III – brand new pheaturette looking back at the making of Phantasm III, including new interviews with cast and crew
Original Trailer
Stills Gallery

PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION (1998)

Original Theatrical Stereo or 5.1 Surround Options
Audio commentary with director/writer Don Coscarelli and actors Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm IV – brand new pheaturette looking back at the making of Phantasm IV, including new interviews with cast and crew
Original Trailer
Stills Gallery

PHANTASM: RAVAGER (2016)

2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround Options
Phantasm: Ravager 2016 Los Angeles Premiere Audience Track – Join the audience of die-hard fans as they experience Ravager for the first time!
Audio commentary with director David Hartman and writer/producer Don Coscarelli
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm: Ravager – brand new pheaturette looking at the making of Ravager, including new interviews with cast and crew
Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by David Hartman and Don Coscarelli
Phuntasm - Bloopers and Outtakes
Phantasm and You - a light-hearted recap of the Phantasm franchise directed by David Hartman
Original Trailer

BONUS DISC

Phantasmagoria - pheature-length documentary covering the original Phantasm through to Phantasm IV: Oblivion, including interviews with key cast and crew members
Phantasmagorical Tour - actor Reggie Bannister hosts a tour of some of the key filming locations from Phantasm

PLUS MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!


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24th April 2017

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domino harvey
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Re: Phantasm

#2 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:29 pm

I guess this will be nice for the fans, and since Well Go and Shout has most (all?) of these, it won't be later released by Arrow US! Personally, having seen three of these movies, only the (generally disliked by fans) second entry is worthwhile for me, and I strongly disliked the first film-- I wonder if it's one of those films you had to see at a certain age or time in your life to have an impact? I thought the second entry corrected a lot of the issues with the first (starting foremost with casting people who look like they should be in a movie) and while it's probably less logical, there's an absurd pleasure in its light, pyro-happy flamboyancy missing from the dour other entries I've seen

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Re: Phantasm

#3 Post by Orlac » Fri Jan 13, 2017 3:10 pm

So...no original non-CGI enhanced 1979 film?

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Cronenfly
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Re: Phantasm

#4 Post by Cronenfly » Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:25 pm

I thought it was just a straight remaster? What CGI tinkering has there been?

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PfR73
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Re: Phantasm

#5 Post by PfR73 » Fri Jan 13, 2017 5:27 pm

Cronenfly wrote:I thought it was just a straight remaster? What CGI tinkering has there been?
I read that in one shot, the silver sphere was replaced with a CGI version because the original shot had a reflection of the crew visible on the sphere.

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Re: Phantasm

#6 Post by gcgiles1dollarbin » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:19 pm

domino harvey wrote:I strongly disliked the first film-- I wonder if it's one of those films you had to see at a certain age or time in your life to have an impact?
I suspect this is the case, and yet I was immune to its charms at its first release. It has going for it a bizarre, highly original, albeit almost arbitrary, supernatural set-up--with peculiar sets and props--but beyond that, when I saw it in the theater at the age of nine, I was only frightened toward the end when Mike was being comforted before a roaring fire by creepy Reggie the ice cream vendor, with his baldness-compensating pony tail nubbin. And I think that was supposed to be a sweet, loving moment.

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tenia
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Re: Phantasm

#7 Post by tenia » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:19 am

I was reading again the specs details and realised this bad pun is all over it :
Exclusive Pheatures
Reflections of Fear: Realising Phantasm – brand new pheaturette
Phantasmagoria - pheature-length documentary
...

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Phantasm

#8 Post by What A Disgrace » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:01 am

Buying it for the puns.

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domino harvey
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Re: Phantasm

#9 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:02 am

Phat Pha Phisgrace wrote:Phuying phit phor phe phuns.

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Reeniop41
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Re: Phantasm

#10 Post by Reeniop41 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:21 pm

domino harvey wrote:I guess this will be nice for the fans, and since Well Go and Shout has most (all?) of these, it won't be later released by Arrow US! Personally, having seen three of these movies, only the (generally disliked by fans) second entry is worthwhile for me, and I strongly disliked the first film-- I wonder if it's one of those films you had to see at a certain age or time in your life to have an impact? I thought the second entry corrected a lot of the issues with the first (starting foremost with casting people who look like they should be in a movie) and while it's probably less logical, there's an absurd pleasure in its light, pyro-happy flamboyancy missing from the dour other entries I've seen
Yes it will be good for the US phans who don't have to double dip after buying a supposed to be LTD UK version ( Like the Scarlet Box and Donnie Darko). Is this a LIMITED number release as I did not see it in the description above. Thanks!

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domino harvey
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Re: Phantasm

#11 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:09 pm

I think I saw somewhere that it's "limited" to 10,000 copies? Someone double-check that though

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sir_luke
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Re: Phantasm

#12 Post by sir_luke » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:27 pm

domino harvey wrote:I think I saw somewhere that it's "limited" to 10,000 copies? Someone double-check that though
Yes, according to the Facebook announcement it's limited to 10,000.

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Re: Phantasm

#13 Post by M Sanderson » Sun Feb 05, 2017 4:59 am

Extraordinary film. Surreal and melancholy.

Have yet to see the fifth, but what a nice inclusion.

Fromthe films I've seen only the fourth approaches the original in its mood of strange melancholy, something unique in American genre cinema, and the film makes marvellous use of outtakes from the first film to achieve this.

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Adam X
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Re: Phantasm

#14 Post by Adam X » Wed Mar 29, 2017 3:40 am

Full specs announced. Looks to mostly have just added archival extras. Compared to the Well Go USA set there's a bit of give and take. Hard to really tell who'll have done the better job of it of course, until both are released in April. As you might expect, the Phantasm II disc in the US set appears (based on extras) to just be a port of the Scream Factory release.

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Re: Phantasm

#15 Post by M Sanderson » Sat Jun 03, 2017 3:43 pm

Apparently Well Go used a low bitrate for their standalone releases and gave in to criticism by upping the BR for their box set.

I have the Arrow set. Had a great time with it. Obviously the original, a film I love for its surrealism, exquisite melancholy and commitment to themes of loss and anxieties about growing up, benefits the 4K transfer. It looks magnificent, with more detail than ever before in dark areas. Last time I saw it was the Anchor Bay and also the MGM DVDs. Not only is it leaps and bounds above them, but also above most Blu rays of restored genre titles.

The disappointing, dumbed down action sequel with a catastrophic recasting of Mike (James Legros replacing Michael Baldwin) is the only title in the set not featuring a new transfer. It's acceptable albeit soft looking. A classic, decent "off the shelf" master but nobody was able to restore it from the original materials due to rights issues.

Part 3 is truly dreadful as a film with too much comedy and badly realised sphere action, yet the transfer is quite remarkable. There is a really queasy and odd mixture of grim funeral home setting and splatter comedy. Part 4, a truly fascinating film that critiques Mike and Reggie's yearning for the impossible, to be a trio on the road, leading to fragmentation and disorientation, boats some artful minimalist cinematography that another strong transfer does justice to. It's kind of careless, sloppy but striking and arty filmmaking ala Jess Franco that like Franco makes shrewd and beautiful use of footage from other films (in this case Phantasm I) that brings the series to a poetic endnote.

Phantasm V is a digital production and as such there appear to be no issues with the transfer. I liked the film a great deal, and it's the first to be critical of Reggie's creepy/pervy (all those young female hitchhikers he yearns for) and dangerous behaviour through films 2-4. The paradigm shift from Mike, awkward teenager in the original, to Reggie, elderly nursing home patient, works beautifully. The film shifts from the grim nursing home setting to Reggie's war with the tall man and quest to find Mike and Jody, framing it as escapist fantasy and an attempt to create meaning from his final years. It's like Phantas, filtered through Bubba Ho-Tep, Don Coscarelli's other triumph. Far more rigorous and well structured than the other sequels, proving psychological motivation to frame the increasingly out there horror scenes. I found it wonderful and genuinely sad and feel Coscarelli has found a worthy collaborator in director David Hartman.

Great set, didn't watch the extras, bummed out a little that Coscarelli's first two films Jim the World's Greatest and Kenny and Co didn't make the set. Arrow in other sets have made wonderful inclusions of early features by major directors. I don't have any knowledge of rights or of materials, but given the appearance of major Phantasm cast members and similar subtexts about growing up, it does seem unfortunate. However, they would have made little to no difference in terms of sales, etc.

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Phantasm

#16 Post by MichaelB » Sat Jun 03, 2017 4:26 pm

M Sanderson wrote:Great set, didn't watch the extras, bummed out a little that Coscarelli's first two films Jim the World's Greatest and Kenny and Co didn't make the set. Arrow in other sets have made wonderful inclusions of early features by major directors. I don't have any knowledge of rights or of materials, but given the appearance of major Phantasm cast members and similar subtexts about growing up, it does seem unfortunate. However, they would have made little to no difference in terms of sales, etc.
Entire supporting features presented as extras are usually only contractually feasible if they're owned by the licensor of the main feature or there's a similar factor at play that would make them unusually cheap to license at a flat rate. Since the first of the early films is owned by Universal and the second by 20th Century Fox, it's easy enough to work out why your suggestion would have been a complete non-starter.

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Re: Phantasm

#17 Post by M Sanderson » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:31 am

Cheers for the info, Michael.

When the set was rumoured I was hopeful due to Arrow's great work with Tobe Hooper's Eggshells (with TCM 2) & Cronenberg's Stereo and Crimes of the Future.

Hopefully Universal and Fox will do something with the Coscarelli early features.

At the very least HD VOD.

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Re: Phantasm

#18 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:40 am

M Sanderson wrote:Cheers for the info, Michael.

When the set was rumoured I was hopeful due to Arrow's great work with Tobe Hooper's Eggshells (with TCM 2) & Cronenberg's Stereo and Crimes of the Future.
...none of which was owned by a major studio.

Of course, there have been supporting features owned by major studios as well, but this depends on a specific chain of circumstances. For instance, The Seven Minutes was the only viable Russ Meyer supporting feature to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, as it's the only other one owned by Fox. I seriously doubt Arrow would even have considered Trapped in Lust as a support to Branded to Kill if both hadn't been made and owned by Nikkatsu. Ditto Black Sunday/I Vampiri.

So the most sensible attitude is not to be "bummed out" when something like this doesn't happen (especially if it's something that was never plausibly likely to happen), but grateful for the very rare occasions when the necessary stars line up in the right order.

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Re: Phantasm

#19 Post by M Sanderson » Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:07 pm

Oh it's an outstanding set and I'm very glad to have parts 1 and 4 in fine restorations. And part 5 being surprisingly good as well. A dream release as it is.

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tenia
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Re: Phantasm

#20 Post by tenia » Tue Apr 28, 2020 10:21 am

I watched the 1st movie through this set about a year ago and since I didn't particularly like it though it had a certain atmosphere, I never watched the following movies until yesterday. It's quite a mixed bag, both technically and cinematographically.
I vastly disliked the sequel, that felt extremely disjointed and like a failed try to rip off the original movie by recreating its last act. Turns out it's written and directed again by Coscarelli, and isn't just a cheap way for a studio to make a sequel.
I strongly preferred the 3rd movie, that felt much more cohesive and consistent, despite its goofy last third act, but still.
The 4th movie was a notch below, though I still found it better than the 2nd one. It's too static though, with Mike mostly standing in a desert for a long time.
The 5th movie was quite awful, straight from the beginning and its cheap as hell photography. It looked like a SyFy/Asylum production all along, and it's way-too-long riff on "is it real or is Reggie crazy ?" clearly over-extended its welcome (especially since it's always clear which one it's going to be). It's a shame the franchise seemingly ended up on such a cheap-looking made-for-TV-lookalike movie.

Technically, 5th movie aside, the 1st and 3rd movies are clearly the best looking of the bunch. The 4th movie looks OK though it's most likely DNRed and sharpened. The 2nd movie just looked like a bottom-drawer Universal transfer : overly DNRed, sharpened, and magenta-pushed. It's watchable but it won't be remembered for its quality.

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Adam X
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Re: Phantasm

#21 Post by Adam X » Thu Aug 20, 2020 1:41 pm

Wasn’t quite sure where to put this unfortunate announcement from Don Coscarelli about his wonderful film The Beastmaster.
BEASTMASTER RECLAIMED!
Today is the 38th anniversary of The Beastmaster with good news and bad news. The good first:
My Beastmaster co-writer Paul Pepperman and I have reclaimed the copyright to our screenplay. The Beastmaster remake anyone?
Bad news to follow:
THE BEASTMASTER IS LOST!
Upon reclaiming our copyright we received devastating news. The original camera negative (OCN) of The Beastmaster has been lost! Actors, artists, craftspeople and technicians put years of effort into production of our film and it appears to be gone! Especially depressing is that this was one of the late cinematographer John Alcott’s final films. John Alcott was Kubrick’s legendary cameraman of A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining and more. In honor of his memory we cannot let this stand!
So what can you do to help us find the negative? We are asking fans, fellow filmmakers and collectors to visit www.WhereIsTheBeastmaster.com for all clues we have on the missing Beastmaster negative.
If you have info please use the contact form to send us leads.

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dwk
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Re: Phantasm

#22 Post by dwk » Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:32 am

A warning for everyone, Well Go just released a set containing the first two films that was supposed to use the discs from their sphere box set (additional extras and Atmos mix for part 1 and an unrated 4K scan for part 2) and neither disc is as advertised. Part 1 is their orignal, single layered disc. Part 2, even more annoying, appears to be a re-encode of the crappy old master used for the Scream release.

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Adam X
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Re: Phantasm

#23 Post by Adam X » Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:48 pm

I don’t think they’ve ever released Blu-Ray’s matching the discs included in either box set, have they? Having bought the sphere set, I wasn’t interested in this double feature, but despite Well Go’s release history this actually feels more like an expensive mistake.

Though given how they’ve been milking their license of the series in a horribly inept fashion, maybe they just don’t care (even if that does read a whole lot like customer service-speak).

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dwk
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Re: Phantasm

#24 Post by dwk » Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:34 pm

I think they released a steelbook of the first film that was identical to the disc found in the first box set.

I almost understand using the single-layer disc for part 1, as thel likely have them sitting around, but to waste money re-encoding the old master instead of using the already authored disc from the sphere box (especially when the packaging notes that is the version you are buying) makes no sense.

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dwk
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Re: Phantasm

#25 Post by dwk » Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:13 pm

Looks like Well Go has acknowledge the issue with Phantasm II, but not with Phantasm being the old single-layer disc. (I suspect if they hadn't noted that Part II was uncut and remastered on the back of the cover, they wouldn't have done anything about this.)
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