"A Nightmare On Elm Street" InfiniFilm DVD coming (1 Viewer)

[Jack Johnson]

I took another look at Newline's first issue of Nightmare last night, and they've really got their work cut out for them in attempting to best that transfer; it's incredible. My prediction is--if they manage their bitrate properly with all the Infinifilm features--they'll be able to equal, but not surpass it.

If anything, they could do some digital restoration work on a few places where the print was washed out, but that's about it.

By the way, looks like a few features have been dropped: the original mono audio, and maybe the existing commentary from Craven, Langenkamp, etc.


And this is probably as good a place as any to say that I thought "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" was one of the director's very best films; a head-spinningly clever and trippy exercise in multi-dimensional post-modern experimentation that out-paced most of the fans, but I thought it was bitchin'. It felt like Craven pretty much had full rein on that film, and it stands apart from most of his other recent work which has all been somewhat compromised by studio tinkering and pressure.




--Jack

 

[Esten]

Dream Warriors is better written, shot and directed than the original, but this is still my favorite of the series, and actually my favorite film, period.



Craven was an average director to begin with, that arguably just got lucky a few times. After Scream, he hasn't made anything worth a damn. Even before Scream, there's maybe 3 films I'd call "good" - Nightmare, Serpent and the Rainbow and The People Under The Stairs.

 

[WillG]

Can someone let me know what these deleted scenes entail? From all I have read about them over the years and them not being included in the existing Nightmare set, they sound almost legendary to me.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

according to IMDB.com (I've never seen the scenes, but from what I hear they weren't included on the first DVD release because New Line licensed the content to elite entertainment and couldn't get it back... hoped they'd finally worked that out, but guess not)

***The 1996 Elite home video re-release features outtake footage added as a bonus on a separate tape. It's also remixed for surround sound. The scenes on the Elite Limited edition video, there are several extended scenes include:

* An extended scene when Rod shows up at Tina's, a small love scene between Nancy and Glen. The two kiss, then she stops it.
* A scene between Donald and Marge in the grave yard after Tina's funeral, talking about Fred Krueger and how they "knew" Krueger was dead.
* Another extended scene is in the sheriffs office when Nancy is begging her father, Lt. Donald Thompson, to let her see Rod. (Also seen in one of the original trailers).
* A falling dream sequence with Nancy wasn't finished with complete special effects after a test screening.
* After Glen is sucked into the bed, and it shoots out blood, his blood soaked body rises up out of the bed, and falls limp.
* Extended scene in the basement when Nancy's mother shows her the claws, she also reveals that Nancy wasn't always an only child, along with every other child on the block, adding a deeper motive not given in the final cut of the film.

Would like to finally see these. Perhaps I'll track down a VHS copy from ebay.

 

[Esten]

Incorrect. If you check one of Elite's chats from this very site, you'll see that Elite offered New Line EVERYTHING from the LaserDisc release, but they only wanted the alternate endings.

 

[David (C)]

John J. Dowdell III, color timed the original transfer.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Wow, I had absolutely NO idea that was the case. Makes me REALLY peeved at New Line...

 

[Beast]

Davis DVD updated that it will now be a 2-Disc set. There are also more features that have been announced. And it looks like it will be in one of those cool metal cases for a limited time.

http://davisdvd.com/news/news.html
http://davisdvd.com/images/news/nigh...mstreet_le.jpg

 

[PaulP]

Beautiful:

 

[Matt Stone]

Not bad. I was sitting at work debating whether to buy this...and then I realized I was the New Line reviewer

 

[Esten]

I sure hope they reverse that image, because the glove is on the wrong hand.

Anyway, metal-case? Sweet.

 

[Beast]

Well, that's just my guess. It looks like one of them.

 

[Esten]

If they did it for the TCM Remake, it's more than good enough for a film that got them to the game.

Won't this be the first ever 2-Disc Infinifilm release?

 

[Jon Robertson]

Looks excellent - hopefully the "More!" will refer to the deleted scenes that managed to make it onto even the VHS edition but so far remain absent on DVD. Perhaps they'll turn up as Infinifilm branching clips?

The metal tin looks nice and all, but nowhere near as gorgeous as the original UK cinema and VHS artwork.

 

[John H Ross]

One thing I'd like to see in the new DVD: More Amanda Wyss!! I had the biggest crush on her in the 80s... she was in Cagney And Lacey around that time too (she was Christine Cagney's niece or something...)

John

 

[Scott Temple]

No, I don't think so. The original commentary doesn't have Robert Englund. It's got Wes Craven, Jacques Haitkin, Heather Langenkamp, and John Saxon.

 

[WillG]

No, "Elf" was a 2-Disc Infinifilm release

 

[Jack Johnson]

As long as they get Heather back into the mix on the new track; she can explain her forehead cyst again. (She probably never thought there'd be a need, but with these modern home video formats with unprecedented clarity and definition...) I also seem to remember her being a little taken aback at the idea she might be confused for a stand-in who does the nude work for her in the "under the tub" sequence, when Freddy pulls her down into the darkness... Ironically, Heather very nearly does nudity anyway...in the "open matte" version on the stand-alone dvd as she climbs from the tub (best appreciated if one "zooms out" with his dvd player to correct for over-scan); just one such instance of the inadvertent benefit of open matte. The cinema purist in me scoffs, but the puerile horn-dog in me (with way too much time on his hands) applauds.

I don't remember if Langenkamp participated in the "...New Nightmare" commentary, but it would've been neat to have her on board, as she could've commented on the post modern weirdness of playing herself playing Nancy, one last time.


--Jack

 

[Jack Johnson]

David, did John Dowdell do the original Nightmare color timing (for the prints), or is he just renowned for his expertise in this area? Either way, it's an eye-popping job. One scene that almost seems 3D--and surprises me with the overall condition of the film elements--is when the kids pull up to the high school in that red convertible at the beginning. That car drives right off the screen.


--Jack

 

[Beast]

DavisDVD updated the specs a bit more. The original audio commentary is apperantly being retained for this new set. The new 'Audio Essay' is with Wes Craven and Robert England.
http://davisdvd.com/news/news.html