Arrow Announcements, Speculation & Wild, Irresponsible Conjecture

[Lowry_Sam]

Yes, due to contractual restrictions apparently. That situation must have changed on MGM's part.

So if they were able to change the licensing on combining all 3, were they also able to do so for anything else (ie. inclusion of original Italian mono)? or will it just be repackaging of the same discs?

[Drucker]

Yes, due to contractual restrictions apparently. That situation must have changed on MGM's part.

So if they were able to change the licensing on combining all 3, were they also able to do so for anything else (ie. inclusion of original Italian mono)? or will it just be repackaging of the same discs?

Surely that would be substantially more expensive than re-packaging the existing materials in a new box. And beyond that, adjusting the product entirely would truly be a slap in the face for those of us who shelled out for the existing discs!

[Finch]

I wouldn't blame people who missed out on the LEs and bought the standards for feeling duped if the boxset does include the bonus discs from the LEs. Me, personally, I like the aesthetics of the three individual LEs better than the box and I don't love these films enough to buy the same content again in different packaging.

[Lowry_Sam]

Surely that would be substantially more expensive than re-packaging the existing materials in a new box. And beyond that, adjusting the product entirely would truly be a slap in the face for those of us who shelled out for the existing discs!

But they made the initial announcement that a box with all 3 was not impossible & therefore already going to piss off a lot of people as they bought based on that assumption, so if you 're going to redoit to correct matters, you might as well try to do it properly/as completely as you can as long as you're getting them to budge on something previously impossible.

[Drucker]

Adjusting the content on the discs upward after releasing a limited edition would be an absurd thing to do. Everyone who bought the original disc would rightfully be owed the improved product. This is not a re-release 10 years after the fact like the Fassbinder set.

[Zot!]

This is not a re-release 10 years after the fact like the Fassbinder set.

I'm under the impression that the new Fassbinder sets featured the same material as the original Arrow set (except for set 3, conveniently available separately.) So yeah, that seemed reasonable.

[Lowry_Sam]

I'm under the impression that the new Fassbinder sets featured the same material as the original Arrow set (except for set 3, conveniently available separately.) So yeah, that seemed reasonable.

I assumed the individual box sets were just the bigger one divided so I didn’t pay attention. What’s in #3 that wasn’t in the box?


I agree that changing the discs is an (unlikely) additional expense, but at the same time if you had wanted the original content to begin with and the rights holder has become more amenable to changes, someone might also put the extra effort in to creating the definitive edition as subsequent releases are unlikely. If there’s a release where the expenses are recoupable for such an effort this is it.

[Zot!]

I'm under the impression that the new Fassbinder sets featured the same material as the original Arrow set (except for set 3, conveniently available separately.) So yeah, that seemed reasonable.

I assumed the individual box sets were just the bigger one divided so I didn’t pay attention. What’s in #3 that wasn’t in the box?

All of the films in box #3 are exclusive to that set, none appear into the original red box. The one other difference is that #1 includes TENDERNESS OF WOLVES, which is kind of bonus disc, as it is not directed by RWF. That is also available individually.

[Lowry_Sam]

Surprised I didn't notice this as it has one of my favorites: Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel. Thanks for the info, just picked one up on Ebay at a reasonable price before it completely disappears (Arrow UK site shows it out of stock).

[Calvin]

If I remember correctly though, The Niklashausen Journey, Rio Das Mortes and Fear Of Fear ended up being in standard definition for some reason.

[Zot!]

Surprised I didn't notice this as it has one of my favorites: Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel. Thanks for the info, just picked one up on Ebay at a reasonable price before it completely disappears (Arrow UK site shows it out of stock).

It gets slightly worse in that for each of the three newer Fassbinder sets, there is a "Limited Edition" version with a booklet, and a "Special Edition" version, that looks very similar. So if what you've bought is the "Special", then you'll miss out on the booklet. I haven't the slightest clue how the contents of the booklets compare to the booklet in the original "red" collection, but honestly at that point I've lost interest. What makes the "Special" special similarly remains a mystery. That is all to say that I don't know if anybody should expect anything binding from Arrow concerning LEs. It's worth mentioning that other than the merciless repackaging, their Fassbinder collection(s) is the tits. Also their box of Eight Hours Don't make a Day.

[MichaelB]

If I remember correctly though, The Niklashausen Journey, Rio Das Mortes and Fear Of Fear ended up being in standard definition for some reason.

"Some reason" presumably being that off-the-shelf HD masters weren't available, and it was outside the production budget to create them from scratch.

[Finch]

Lame month for me especially if a Golden Princess title had to make way for the trillionth reissue of the Dollars trilogy.

[andyli]

Especially if it were A Better Tomorrow trilogy that's been kicked further back in the pipeline. I mean, burn that fistful of dollars already!

[Finch]

I wonder what they are improving on/adding for ABT 1-3 outside of the subs. If Shout asked for a 6 months gap between releases, it'd make sense to have A Bullet in the Head in July (Shout's was in January, no?).

[tenia]

As an owner of all 3 LE's (purchased for MSRP), I'm not upset that more people can purchase it in boxed set form. If it truly contains 100% of everything in the Original LEs (I'm still doubting this), I'd be slightly miffed if the Boxed LE set is cheaper, because I may have preferred that instead. I still think its just going to be a gift-box of the Standard releases, though.

It ends up being a UHD boxset (no BD version) with all 8 discs, the 3 posters and a booklet, priced only £60.
I never doubted a boxset would be coming, but I expected a standard collection, but a LE boxset that's yet 35% cheaper than what I paid for all 3 individual releases.

I'm not miffed, it's part of the game and it's nice for the boxset purchasers to save that much, but I'm surprised it's priced that low.

[redbill]

yup, very surprised it was that low. I'd consider myself slightly miffed, as I would have waited. But I do think I got the value of what I paid for the original LEs, so it will pass. We still get the satisfaction of lining up the 3 box spines...lol

[Drucker]

So it's missing the longer books which we all know are the big cost drivers of these sets right? Seems good to me. I don't have the UHDs so I'll snag this and keep the LE stuff from the BDs.

[bad future]

So, Nightbreed includes the theatrical and director's cut. I've only ever watched the 3+ hour Cabal Cut which incorporates a lot of VHS-sourced footage, which I quite liked. For anyone who's seen the DC, is it worthwhile in general? And for anyone who's seen that and the Cabal cut, how would you say the difference is felt? Given that it's a difference of about an hour in runtime, I'd assume the effect isn't minor..

[beamish14]

So, Nightbreed includes the theatrical and director's cut. I've only ever watched the 3+ hour Cabal Cut which incorporates a lot of VHS-sourced footage, which I quite liked. For anyone who's seen the DC, is it worthwhile in general? And for anyone who's seen that and the Cabal cut, how would you say the difference is felt? Given that it's a difference of about an hour in runtime, I'd assume the effect isn't minor..

I honestly think that the recuts of Nightbreed and Exorcist 3 strangely vindicate Morgan Creek. The theatrical cut of Nightbreed has, IMO, a more striking and odd ending, and a lot of material that could have enhanced the film was simply never shot.

[Finch]

Got to be Wake in Fright.

The HK title should be Bullet in the Head as the ABT trilogy was released theatrically afterwards (I had gotten the order mixed up in my last post on the topic).

Perhaps To Live and Die in LA for the UK?

Any Warner title (Mortal Kombat?) is probably not going to be The Iron Giant again (shakes fist at clouds).

EDIT: DiabolikDVD said on their social media that the US lineup is stacked, including a boxset.

[Lowry_Sam]

Strange Brew?

[cdnchris]

I feel that one has to be coming from Arrow at some point (though it would be a perfectly valid release from Criterion as well).

[dwk]

June releases:
Jackie Chan UHD box set of the Golden Harvenst titles WB owns
Wake in Fright UHD
Audition UHD
Mortal Kombat 1& 2 UHD set

[swo17]

Jackie Chan UHD box set of the Golden Harvenst titles WB owns

Those being?