Blue Underground

[perkizitore]

Any plans for a Suspiria blu-ray?

[stereo]

They really missed an opportunity here on the Fast Company Blu-Ray. I just heard back that Stereo and Crimes of the Future will be the same standard def transfers as on the previous DVD. They just turned an obvious double-dip to a 'why bother?'

[Adam X]

that's unfortunate. that makes it a definite WON'T bother for me

[stereo]

I think someone at Blue Underground made a mistaken assumption about why their Fast Company DVD sold so well. While I don't have any data, so this is purely speculation on my part, I'd gander that many a Cronenberg fan invested in the Fast Company disc for these two excellent early films. While it's 'nice' to have Fast Company and all, this is by no stretch of the imagination a major work in his career. However, echoes of Stereo and Crimes of the Future are laced throughout his work, from the sterile pseudo-psychic-scientific experiments to the topic of 'creative cancers' and organic/technological mutations that run so strongly through his 70s and 80s material. I would have 'loved' to see those films in high-def. Of course it would also be nice if someone did a decent transfer of the rather silly "From the Drain" while they're at it. And I haven't met anyone who has even seen "Transfer."

[Adam X]

My thoughts exactly, stereo.
just when BU seemed to be really getting things right with their Blu Ray releases too...
(well, aside from the lack of original format soundtracks, and superfluous remixes) STEREO & CRIMES OF THE FUTURE were the reason for my getting the Fast Company Ltd.
As much as I wanted to see my last unseen Cronenberg film, it was the two "bonus" features that I was truly interested in. Like you said, the themes touched on in these two early works are like super-compressed thoughts that became the basis for a lot of his films, to varying degrees, right up to eXistenZ.

it'd be a dream to see a collection of Cronenberg's pre-Shivers work released. but I do think it's a dream. of course so have a number of DVD/Blu Ray releases been, so you never know - don't know if it'd be financially viable though, as much as I love his films (up til the afforementioned eXistenZ anyway)

re: SUSPIRIA
while I'd love to see Blue Underground release it on Blu Ray (it'd have to be better than the recent Italian? release), I believe the bloody Weinstein's own the rights - though it is for a restored edition, so whenever they happen to grace us with a release, hopefully it'll have been worth the wait

[pointless]

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3174

[Tribe]

Dave Kehr on Circle of Iron:

‘CIRCLE OF IRON’

Last month in Bangkok, David Carradine died the lonely death of a businessman on the road. His business — that of the industrious, itinerant movie star — had taken him to Thailand to appear in “Stretch,” yet another of the modestly budgeted international productions that had come to dominate his career.

One of the Willy Lomans of the cinema, Mr. Carradine had known moments of real success: to name a few, Martin Scorsese’s “Boxcar Bertha” (1972), Paul Bartel’s “Death Race 2000” (1975), Hal Ashby’s “Bound for Glory” (1976) and, more recently, Quentin Tarantino’s two-part “Kill Bill” (2003-4). Most Americans probably knew him as the enigmatic martial arts master, Caine, who roamed the Old West in “Kung Fu” for three seasons in the 1970s on ABC.

But mainly Mr. Carradine peddled his wares through films with titles like “Stray Bullet II” (2000) and “Kickbox Terminator” (1991), movies destined to be seen, if at all, on obscure cable channels or in the distant grind-houses of emerging nations. With his lean frame and whispery voice, he could shift effortlessly between all-seeing visionaries and grandly sadistic villains, while seldom finding a more naturalistic mix in between that might have made him a lasting star.

Mr. Carradine was still at the top of his “Kung Fu” fame when he appeared in the 1978 “Circle of Iron,” which Blue Underground has recently reissued in a high quality Blu-ray edition. Based on an unproduced screenplay intended for Bruce Lee — and credited to Lee, the actor James Coburn and the Oscar-winning writer Stirling Silliphant (“In the Heat of the Night”) — the picture is a mildly enjoyable martial arts fable shot in Israel, where the desert locations give the Eastern philosophizing a discordantly biblical slant.

In the role meant for Lee, who died in 1973, Mr. Carradine plays the Blind Man, a traveling kung fu master who reluctantly agrees to help a brash youngster (Jeff Cooper, whose surfer’s body and long blond hair make him look like the Spirit of Southern California) on a quest for a precious book of wisdom. Mr. Carradine appears in various incarnations, including a Monkey King and a briefly glimpsed Death (the make-up didn’t photograph well, as Mr. Carradine explains in an interview included with the plentiful extras), each time thrashing the young man as he imparts another important life lesson.

On his journey Mr. Carradine crosses a few other members of the Fraternity of Wandering Thespians, including Roddy McDowall, Eli Wallach and the greatest globe-trotter of them all, Christopher Lee, each dropping by for a couple of days of work. Indifferently directed by the cinematographer Richard Moore (“The Wild Angels”), “Circle of Iron” is no great shakes as a movie but remains a wistful reminder of the modest pleasures (emphasis on modest) of the pre-blockbuster action movie, when budgets were more in line with ambitions. (Blue Underground, Blu-ray $34.95, two-disc standard definition $19.95, R)

[Tribe]

It seems like it's been some time since BU released a new non-BluRay edition of anything. I can imagine it has to be awful expensive for them to do dual editions...anyone have any insight into whether Blue Underground is going to go BluRay exclusively?

[Adam X]

I get the feeling that BU really hasn't been in the business of releasing anything new for quite a while, aside from the increasingly nice Blu Ray releases of it's earlier DVD titles.
In an interview at Den of Geek (what a name!), it's mentioned how David Gregory (of Severin) started working with Bill Lustig on Blue Underground US, and then left to start Severin when BU had "(run) it's course". Whether BU running it's course was from Gregory's perspective or BU in general, wasn't made clear in the interview
http://denofgeek.com/movies/286565/inte ... egory.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; [from the second question]

I could be wrong, but I feel like I remember reading in an interview with Lustig a year or three ago (maybe at SexGoreMutants, or HorrorDVDs?) that he'd done with BU what he'd set out to do.
It would be nice to see some of their older (Argento!) releases (esp some of the Anchor Bay re-releases) released to BluRay with any previous errors corrected - but especially with subtitled native soundtracks

[Cinephrenic]

Django and City of the Living Dead for Blu. Two great cult classics on Blu, i'm excited.

[Mr Sausage]

...City of the Living Dead for Blu. Two great cult classics on Blu, i'm excited.

Nothing brings out the texture of regurgitated intestines like 1080p.

[AfterTheRain]

Machine Gun McCain is slated for release on DVD and Blu-ray on August 23rd. This gangster hidden gem has John Cassavetes in the title role with fellow troupers Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands in supporting roles.

[Matt]

Has anyone heard anything recently about BU's 2-disc Suspiria? Even though it's been out for 2.5 years, Amazon has suddenly stopped selling it, posting one of their cryptic "Item Under Review" notices. I know this is supposed to go out of print eventually (the Weinsteins now own the rights), but it was just available yesterday.

[stephan73]

Vigilante will get a Blu-Ray release on September 21!

http://www.blue-underground.com/product.php?product=191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Cash Flagg]

Quiet Days in Clichy on Blu-ray January 25th

[Cash Flagg]

Daughters of Darkness Blu-ray February 22nd
Inferno Blu-ray March 29th

[Der Spieler]

DEEP RED April 24 it seems.

[djvaso]

The Cat O'Nine Tails will be released on 31st of April according to dvdaf.com

[perkizitore]

Inferno blu-ray.com review

[Der Spieler]

Beaver INFERNO review.

The superiority over the Arrow is manifest, especially in the close-ups.

[MichaelB]

Beaver INFERNO review.

The superiority over the Arrow is manifest, especially in the close-ups.

On the other hand, the Blue Underground looks much darker than I remember it from a 35mm screening.

[Der Spieler]

Which version would you support the most?

[MichaelB]

I'd have to see both in motion.

[dwk]

Diabolik DVD currently has 34 copies of Blue Underground's OOP Bird with the Crystal Plumage Blu-ray.

[jsteffe]

Diabolik DVD currently has 34 copies of Blue Underground's OOP Bird with the Crystal Plumage Blu-ray.

Thanks for the heads-up! I just ordered a copy for myself.