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- Feb 8, 1999
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- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Scream Factory, which seems to be outdoing Criterion these days with extras (more on that later), as released Clive Barker's 1990 NightBreed, base upon his novel Cabal.
This is an odd film, and it may not be right for a general audience, although many horror fans may devour it.
The problem is in the concept and hiring practices.
Clive Barker is a very interesting writer in the horror / fantasy genre. But he's not a terribly good director.
David Cronenberg is a wonderfully talented horror / fantasy director, but he's lesser known as a novelist.
So...
The conundrum here is that had Mr. Cronenberg, who has an acting role in the film, directed, this probably would have been a much more interesting film. But that didn't occur.
The final product - here in two forms - the Theatrical cut (102 minutes) and the Director's cut (120 minutes). The 4k variant is the Theatrical, duplicated as a Blu-ray. A third disc is a Blu-ray of the Director's cut. You can find a myriad of material on line discussion the cuts, re-cuts, etc. A great source for study in prosthetics.
Scream Factory makes a quite honest admission right out front with a comment " NEW 4k scan from Best Surviving Film Elements."
I saw no major problems with the Theatrical version.
What's import here for fans is a plethora of extras found on discs 3 and 4, much previously offered in other versions, but it's nice to have it all in one place, so that the Blu-ray or DVD can be donated to your local elementary school or religious school library.
Image – 4.25 (Dolby Vision)
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA Stereo)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Makes use of and works well in 4k - 6
Worth your attention - 5
Upgrade from Blu-ray - Yes
Slipcover rating - 2
Recommended
RAH
Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate, HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.
This is an odd film, and it may not be right for a general audience, although many horror fans may devour it.
The problem is in the concept and hiring practices.
Clive Barker is a very interesting writer in the horror / fantasy genre. But he's not a terribly good director.
David Cronenberg is a wonderfully talented horror / fantasy director, but he's lesser known as a novelist.
So...
The conundrum here is that had Mr. Cronenberg, who has an acting role in the film, directed, this probably would have been a much more interesting film. But that didn't occur.
The final product - here in two forms - the Theatrical cut (102 minutes) and the Director's cut (120 minutes). The 4k variant is the Theatrical, duplicated as a Blu-ray. A third disc is a Blu-ray of the Director's cut. You can find a myriad of material on line discussion the cuts, re-cuts, etc. A great source for study in prosthetics.
Scream Factory makes a quite honest admission right out front with a comment " NEW 4k scan from Best Surviving Film Elements."
I saw no major problems with the Theatrical version.
What's import here for fans is a plethora of extras found on discs 3 and 4, much previously offered in other versions, but it's nice to have it all in one place, so that the Blu-ray or DVD can be donated to your local elementary school or religious school library.
Image – 4.25 (Dolby Vision)
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA Stereo)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Makes use of and works well in 4k - 6
Worth your attention - 5
Upgrade from Blu-ray - Yes
Slipcover rating - 2
Recommended
RAH
Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate, HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.
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