Forget Star Wars on September 21st -- "Sssssss!" is coming to DVD on Sept 7th (2 Viewers)

[MattHR]

It's every bit as bad as I remember...maybe worse!

Still, Universal has delivered a fantastic 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer for this release. Detail and color are terrific, with minimal grain.

It has all the stylings of a made-for-TV movie, with its cast, direction, set design and photography. It's hard to believe anyone actually paid admission to see this in the theater back in 1973...not to mention buy this DVD in 2004! (Well, anyone besides me.)

The DVD includes a faded and cropped trailer (not indicated on the cover). The trailer actually makes the movie appear to be worse than it actually is.

And remember: Don't say it...hiss it!

 

[Jason_Els]

I was another who was too young to remember much of Sssssss except that the half-man/half-snake freaked me out completely. I dunno if I'd buy it unless I found it in a bargain bin but I do remember pasting the TV Guide ad for it on my bedroom door. :b

 

[JackKay]

I think you guys are forgetting about GRIZZLY MOUNTAIN with DAN HAGGERTY thats coming out Sept 21.

Personally, I'am going to buy every copy I can get my hands on and force everyone to pay me BIG BUCKS on Ebay for it. HA!

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Oh, man! Good thread.

Universal should also have released The Boy Who Cried Werewolf which I believe was double-billed with Sssssss. It's actually quite impressive in places - it has an unusual atmosphere.

Sssssss was released as Sssssnake in the UK. What was it released as in France, Germany and Italy?

But it is frustrating that Universal are giving crap like this a new anamorphic transfer when Vertigo, Psycho, Psycho II, The Sting need new transfers.

Meanwhile great titles like Sometimes a Great Notion, Phantom Lady, The Tarnished Angels, Taking Off, Charley Varrick, Colossus: The Forbidden Project and a hundred others remain unreleased altogether on DVD.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"What was it released as in France, Germany and Italy?"

Le Sssssssnake, Herr Sssssssnakenbiten, and Il Buono Il Cattivo y Il Sssssssnake a heesa bida my Ankle, respectively.

 

[Magnus T]

Maybe it would be a good idea for the moderators to make this thread sticky? This is major release news after all.

 

[JeffMc]

Matt:

Have you had a chance to check out the skinny-dipping scene. The old VHS had fake cartoon leaves superimposed in the foreground to block out the nudity. Was just wondering if it's the same print or not. Thanks.

 

[MattHR]

Yes. The leaves are there. They appear to be optically printed in, or maybe done in-camera. They are pretty obvious. When the camera pans or zooms, the leaves stay in place in the frame. I wonder if this was intentional from the beginning, or if the film was originally planned for an "R" rating, then later tamed for a "PG". It's odd, since the only thing the leaves block would have been a few "butt shots".

The only change I noticed from my memory of broadcast reruns of years ago, was a scene at the end when the cop shoots one of the snakes and it appears to explode. On the DVD, the scene is pretty bloody.

 

[JeffMc]

Thanks for the info, Matt. Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to verify if the skinny-dipping scene was always that way or not. Some claim that they think there was nudity in the original theatrical release, but no one really seems to have any definite recollection of it or details. This was one of the few 70's horror flicks I missed in theaters so I have no idea either if those leaves were always there. It could be they were added in to work it down to a PG like you said. In the 70's, you could get away with butt nudity in a PG, though. Oh well, either way, it looks like this is the final version of the film from now on. Boy, those leaves are fake!

 

[Ernest Rister]

Release of Sssssss beats single-day DVD sales record of Star Wars Episode III! The DVD of Sssssss has so far outsold the DVD of Star Wars Episode III by a wide margin, according to confidential inside sources at CBS News. More on this breaking story as it develops.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

Put me down for a copy a little later on. Of course, once I [more than likely] decide to sell the abomination that the Star Wars trilogy has become, I might have the funds to buy this one.