Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

[manicsounds]

The Shout Factory DVDs of the Bruce Lee movies have the English language audio tracks only. Hopefully the BD set will include the Cantonese tracks.

In the UK, Hong Kong Legends had the rights, which went to CineAsia, but they are out of business now. So right now, no one has the rights.

[Calvin]

The Shout Factory DVDs of the Bruce Lee movies have the English language audio tracks only. Hopefully the BD set will include the Cantonese tracks.

In the UK, Hong Kong Legends had the rights, which went to CineAsia, but they are out of business now. So right now, no one has the rights.

The original announcement seems to indicate that the rights are with EntertainmentOne:

Showbox has signed a deal with EntertainmentOne (the current owner of the former HKL film catalogue) that will allow it access to the company’s extensive library of Asian movies for release under the new banner ‘Cine Asia presents HKL.
[...]
‘We are absolutely delighted to be working with EntertainmentOne and thrilled to be handling these prestigious classic titles again’ stated Showbox exeutive director Steve Rivers. ‘We are excited about this famous library being handled by the Asian film experts Showbox; we think that the combined lineup of Cine Asia and HKL titles provide a compelling proposition for trade and consumers alike’ added EntertainmentOne director of home entertainment Jon Bourdillion.

[dwk]

According to Cliff, Shout's Bruce Lee double feature DVDs were intended to be released only at Walmart, but the sales people decided to make them available to every store and the Blu-rays will have Cantonese tracks.
Cliff posted the following at the Blu-ray forum

We have color corrected the first three masters.
Original Mono on the first two.
If someone has the original mono for WAY, send me an PM.
BIG BOSS also features a English dub never before used.. thanks to Toby Russell

[bainbridgezu]

John Carpenter's BODY BAGS will be unzipped and presented on blu-ray from us before 2013 closes. Didn't see that one coming did you? That's all we can disclose at the moment. More details to be revealed in July/Aug.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

According to Cliff, Shout's Bruce Lee double feature DVDs were intended to be released only at Walmart, but the sales people decided to make them available to every store and the Blu-rays will have Cantonese tracks.

They really should include the Mandarin tracks too, since those are actually how the films were originally seen in Hong Kong--the Cantonese dubs were done for 1980s reissues, after the industry completely switched over to Cantonese. I might be wrong, but I think they're also the only way to hear Lee's own speaking voice in these films, since he did the Mandarin dubbing for some characters in Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon.

[colinr0380]

John Carpenter's BODY BAGS will be unzipped and presented on blu-ray from us before 2013 closes. Didn't see that one coming did you? That's all we can disclose at the moment. More details to be revealed in July/Aug.

While it is not really a great film (too jokey, although the first segment set in a gas station is quite creepy) it does feature a great cast, not to mention John Carpenter himself hamming it up and trying to outdo the Crypt Keeper in his wraparound segments!

The Shout Factory DVDs of the Bruce Lee movies have the English language audio tracks only. Hopefully the BD set will include the Cantonese tracks.

In the UK, Hong Kong Legends had the rights, which went to CineAsia, but they are out of business now. So right now, no one has the rights.

The other issue that I remember there being with Game of Death is that there are a few alternate versions out there for different territories - I remember when Channel 4 screened it in the UK in the late 90s they showed the subtitled version which also had the rougher looking original opening credits (a little like those for The Big Boss) and syrupy Cantonese love ballad over the end titles with Bruce Lee's head superimposed over the skyline as a tribute! It was incongruous but amusing!

The Hong Kong Legends UK disc, as manicsounds states, was the English language version produced for international audiences with the non syrupy ballad over the ending (it ends much more abruptly with the baddie falling to his death) and the opening replaced with a much more lavish John Barry scored James Bond-esque title sequence.

While the bulk of the film is the same, I guess a branching feature would be necessary to include both versions. As it stands I'm glad to have both the HKL DVD and my recorded-from-television copy of the Cantonese version! Though people might legitimately question my decision to have even one copy of this ill-fated (featuring Gig Young's final appearance before committing suicide, not to mention the plot featuring a staging of a fake death that bizarrely seems to prefigure Brandon Lee's later fatal accident on the set of The Crow), bad taste (using footage taken from Bruce Lee's actual funeral and incorporating it into its plot) mess (the must be seen to be believed attempts at pasting Bruce Lee's face onto a double in the early sections) of a film!

However it is a fascinating mess and with enough points of interest (showing off the abilities of various other martial arts actors doubling 'Bruce' in the fight scenes - the film is at its best when it 'forgets' for a moment about all the Bruce Lee stuff and just focuses on its own fight scenes, say in the post-match locker room brawl - and the final 'real' Bruce Lee footage right at the end) to make it a fascinating curio.

I suppose the real cultural value of it now (and even this is more of an element already present in the unfinished original footage that the producers tried to shape into a film after Lee's death) is probably the yellow and black striped jumpsuit, a look that was later appropriated to make Uma Thurman iconic in the first Kill Bill film.

[dwk]

They really should include the Mandarin tracks too, since those are actually how the films were originally seen in Hong Kong--the Cantonese dubs were done for 1980s reissues, after the industry completely switched over to Cantonese. I might be wrong, but I think they're also the only way to hear Lee's own speaking voice in these films, since he did the Mandarin dubbing for some characters in Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon.

The press release mentions the original Mandarin for The Big Boss, so I suspect that Cliff mistakenly wrote Cantonese.

[dwk]

Scream Factory posted the following on their facebook page

***BREAKING NEWS!***

Since we started this week with a John Carpenter film announcement (Body Bags) it is fitting with end it with another...The master's 1987 cult classic PRINCE OF DARKNESS - our #1 most requested title - will be coming this fall and presented as a Collector's Edition on DVD and Blu-ray!

We have no more details to report at this time (i.e. street date, extras, etc.) but will reveal more in the next few months. Have a great weekend!

[Adam X]

Awesome news. Great to finally see this coming sometime soon. Easily one of my favourite Carpenter films.

[dwk]

Cover for/confirmation of the Timeless Westerns Blu-ray

[Graham]

Irritating for those of us who bought Rio Conchos / Take A Hard Ride on DVD when Shout! released them two years ago.

[dwk]

Cliff posted on his facebook page that Shout is working on a special edition Blu-ray of The Shadow (1994)

[cdnchris]

Even though Universal is releasing it soon? (I'm assuming we're talking about the Baldwin one.) I haven't seen it in a long time (since Laserdisc) but I recall liking it. It was completely screwed over on DVD so it would be nice to see it get a solid edition on Blu-ray.

[dwk]

Yes, the Baldwin one. This is what Cliff said on facebook:

All I can say is that we'll be making this a special release

It's odd. They knew they were giving us the title, but still put theirs out. Oh well....

Universal seems to like releasing a barebones Blu months before a licensee releases a special edition Blu.

[Aunt Peg]

Does anyone know if Shout still intend to release the Roger Corman set which was to include Student Teachers & Student Nurses?

[Adam X]

Doesn't seem like it: AV Maniacs.
Scream Factory would appear to be the current focus, and the Corman line pretty much ran out of steam, financially speaking at least.

[Aunt Peg]

Thanks for the update Adam.

[manicsounds]

Sucks... I've been waiting for some more Corman stuff since they were the ones to take these titles seriously as good special editions. But now like Buena Vista, just letting them go the wayside...

[dwk]

From Scream Factory's facebook page:

***BREAKING NEWS!!***

Norman Bates and "mother" are coming home...to Scream Factory!

1983's PSYCHO II and 1986's PSYCHO III will be released on DVD and Blu-ray this Fall as Collector's Editions. No other details to report at this time so stay tune in the next few months for more developments on these great blood-curdling films.

Also to report (but we didn't include in our status update, as we didn't want to dilute our exciting Psycho news) is that we do have more titles planned from November and on into 2014. However, we will be holding back on announcing them until the week of July 15th where we are planning to reveal several in person at San Diego Comic-Con and then soon thereafter online.

[manicsounds]

DVDtalk review of Electra Glide In Blue, with no new extras.

[dwk]

Cliff posted comments on that DVDtalk review explaining why the Robert Blake commentary on Electra Glide In Blue didn't happen:

The Robert Blake stuff didn't happen because he changed his mind at the last second.

yeah, he was a little... shall we say...difficult to deal with. When we told him he couldn't spend the commentary get even with all the people on the film, he didn't want to do it.

[stroszeck]

yeah, he was a little... shall we say...difficult to deal with. When we told him he couldn't spend the commentary get even with all the people on the film, he didn't want to do it.

[/quote]

What a shame. I feel as if I'm the only person who would actually pay EXTRA to listen to something like that!

[mfunk9786]

I've always wanted to hear Vincent Gallo's axed Buffalo '66 commentary for that very reason.

[dwk]

Problem is that a commentary track full of Blake badmouthing people who worked on the film, as entertaining as it could have been, might have caused MGM to not approve it.

[dwk]

Extras for the Swamp Thing Blu:
- New Audio commentary with writer/director Wes Craven
- New Interviews with actress Adrienne Barbeau, Makeup Effects artist Bill Munn, co-creator Len Wein and actor Reggie Batts
- Theatrical Trailer
- Photo Galleries