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I don't know much about this label - only that there's only a difference of 13 between them and 88 Films - but they seem to focus on similar content. I have a feeling that 101 Films's biggest coup was just announced, though: it isn't Arrow Video, but these guys, who are unleashing Black Christmas on November 6 in the UK.

I hope 101 have improved, then, because they have used some pretty ropey masters in the past and previous releases of Black Christmas have been less than stellar. I really like this film, so disappointed it isn't with Arrow.

I assume it will be the same master as the Shout! Factory release, since it has all the same extras.

101 Films never seem to produce anything themselves and instead port over already-available stuff for many of their discs. I have a few of their earlier releases and they're okay. Recent releases like Alien Nation have had generally decent feedback, so they're fairly reliable. Kinda depends what film it is and where the master is being sourced from. You can usually guess where they're getting things just by looking at the specs - for example, at least we know Black Christmas will most likely be a port of the Shout disc.

Metrodome folded some months back and 101 Films bought their remaining catalogue, which explains why they have Black Christmas over Arrow. I will get the 101 disc anyway, but not prepared to pay over the odds if they're not putting any extra effort in (i.e. not adding their own extras).

Hoping Black Christmas looks great, as good as the Scream Factory release.

Anyone know if it’s looking good...?

M Sanderson wrote:Hoping Black Christmas looks great, as good as the Scream Factory release.

Anyone know if it’s looking good...?

It uses Scream's new 2k scan, but is missing the original mono mix (only includes the badly done remix that was on the previous release with added sound effects etc).

That's a horrid cover. Look at Jennifer and her ear!

It's the original poster art

Then it's an awful original poster... I still kinda like the film though, been a while since I saw it last.

A pity there’s no mention of remastering or the such, but you take what you can get.

They're releasing a new edition of The Grifters as well, which comes with a new feature-length documentary featuring interviews with Stephen Frears and others. No word yet on whether the older DVD extras (which bizarrely were on Optimum's DVD but not their later Blu-Ray) will be present.

Both this and eXistenZ are the maiden releases on their new "Black Label" sublabel, the name of which has already made lager aficionados arch an eyebrow.

They've confirmed on Facebook that they'll be using the same transfer as the recent German release, which I think is the best out there but still leaves a lot to be desired.

Great news about eXistenZ, as I will be able to upgrade my old DVD edition, which is non-anamorphic (which has become a bit of an issue in recent years now that the image is inside a smaller rectangle on a widescreen television!), although I'll still need to keep hold of it for the other two commentaries which have not been ported over, one from Director of Photography Peter Suschitzky, and the other from visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac (Isaac, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, went on to direct Jason X a couple of years later. Which is most likely why that film has the Cronenberg cameo at the beginning!)

Amusingly that 2000 released DVD edition also includes a lengthy commercial extolling the upcoming release of the Sega's Dreamcast console, which was one of the more short-lived consoles of the time. And in further news the most notable titles from that console, Shenmue and Shenmue II, the first of which was according to Wikipedia, the "most expensive video game ever released at the time...[including] elements of role-playing, life simulation and social simulation games, such as a day-and-night system, variable weather effects, non-player characters with daily schedules, and interactive elements such as vending machines, arcades, and minigames", have just been announced (in anticipation of Shenmue III I guess) to be released on Steam and modern consoles!

Calvin wrote:They've confirmed on Facebook that they'll be using the same transfer as the recent German release, which I think is the best out there but still leaves a lot to be desired.

the German release- this is this one ? :

https://www.amazon.de/Existenz-Limitier ... B074194DX6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't buy it so far because the first Blu-Ray had heavy DNR... The German BR seems a little better with less agressive DNR than the US edition and better HD details... But I skipped this one too because it was not enough "satisfying" (and this is however one of my favorite Cronenberg's movies...)

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/index.php?s=existenz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do 101 has already put out some Blu-Ray ? are they good with encoding/authoring ?

Rupert Pupkin wrote:

Calvin wrote:They've confirmed on Facebook that they'll be using the same transfer as the recent German release, which I think is the best out there but still leaves a lot to be desired.

the German release- this is this one ? :

https://www.amazon.de/Existenz-Limitier ... B074194DX6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't buy it so far because the first Blu-Ray had heavy DNR... The German BR seems a little better with less agressive DNR than the US edition and better HD details... But I skipped this one too because it was not enough "satisfying" (and this is however one of my favorite Cronenberg's movies...)

Correct. I've heard that release has a pretty good encode, so the 101 release is probably only going to look the same at best. The film really needs an entirely new scan, and it's a shame that it hasn't ended up with a label that will give it that treatment.

There's also a Japanese release but I have no idea whether it's the same scan/encode.

Hmm, the german one looks like the same source as the US BD, just with a bit of more detail... not fully convinced... :/

DVD Compare has the first reviews I've seen for The Grifters and eXistenZ

DVDBeaver on eXistenZ-- don't scroll all the way down if you haven't seen the film

It looks like a fine release (a Kim Newman commentary is always appreciated) and I'm glad it's out there- and this isn't strictly related to the subject of the thread- but there's a pretty decent chance of eXistenZ coming to Criterion in the US, wouldn't you think? Aside from their working relationship with Cronenberg, the last blu-ray (with an equally terrible cover, made somehow worse in the accompanying DVD edition that's stayed in print) was through Echo Bridge- the same Miramax->Echo Bridge progression we saw with Dead Man...

I know it's not that important, but for a sub-collection that wants to be premium, I'm surprised that both eXistenZ and The Grifters are encoded against any logic. Why using BD-50 and sticking with a 20 Mbps AVB ?

tenia wrote:I know it's not that important, but for a sub-collection that wants to be premium, I'm surprised that both eXistenZ and The Grifters are encoded against any logic. Why using BD-50 and sticking with a 20 Mbps AVB ?

The Polish Dekalog release was terrible anyway thanks to the cropping, but when I analysed it in detail I was astonished to find that anything up to 40% of the discs hadn’t been used - and there was literally no reason not to give them a higher bitrate to take advantage of this extra space. I can only assume that they gave the files an automated encode without caring about whether or not the settings were particularly sensible.

I suppose so too here, but it's strange, for instance, for The Grifters to end up with Beaver comparing FOUR releases and all of them, including this new more "premium" one, have AVB around 20 Mbps.

merzbau wrote:It looks like a fine release (a Kim Newman commentary is always appreciated) and I'm glad it's out there- and this isn't strictly related to the subject of the thread- but there's a pretty decent chance of eXistenZ coming to Criterion in the US, wouldn't you think? Aside from their working relationship with Cronenberg, the last blu-ray (with an equally terrible cover, made somehow worse in the accompanying DVD edition that's stayed in print) was through Echo Bridge- the same Miramax->Echo Bridge progression we saw with Dead Man...

I wouldn’t be so sure. I imagine the rights reverted back to Jarmusch for Dead Man, while I don’t think the same is likely to happen for the Cronenberg.