HTF REVIEW: "Evil Dead: BOOK OF THE DEAD" Limited Edition *Special Review* (1 Viewer)

[Patrick McCart]

Unless a Citizen Kane-type digital restoration was made for Evil Dead, it's going to look grainy due to the 16mm film stock.

I think DVD File's review would have been a little more reasonable if they took into account information about the film like this. (This review makes it sound like the -3 pts. is all because of the graininess...)

 

[David Lambert]

Not to be combative, but the last time I checked sales tax in Tennesse was 7.75% which brings the total to $30.16

Hmmm...didn't realize that price was "shipped". Okay, point noted, especially in light of the fact that my LOCAL sales tax comes to 8.25%.
And for those of you who say "that's really high!", just note that TN has no state income tax (although they keep bickering about it in Nashville).
Well...it still might be worth it to go the Best Buy route just to avoid giving out credit card numbers to yet another online company. Also, if BB *does* discount it a couple bucks more during opening week, then it's a no-brainer. Especially since the HTF is littered with posts about how some people wait for weeks past street date to get their DDD deliveries!
At least I know that Suncoast isn't an option. One of the friends of my wife discussed it with me yesterday, and is cancelling her Suncoast pre-order to get it from Suncoast parent company Best Buy!
I'm still on the fence about this for reasons having nothing to do with price. I'll cogitate on it. Thanks for the info, though.

 

[AdrianJ]

Well...it still might be worth it to go the Best Buy route just to avoid giving out credit card numbers to yet another online company. Also, if BB *does* discount it a couple bucks more during opening week, then it's a no-brainer. Especially since the HTF is littered with posts about how some people wait for weeks past street date to get their DDD deliveries!

I've only had this happen once and that was the USPS's fault for losing the package. DDD immediately sent out another one and I had it 2 weeks after the street date. I don't much care for street dates because I rarely watch the movie on that Tuesday night anyway!! DDD used to be bad about missing street dates, but they seem to always get here the Saturday or Monday before now. Of course, I think they keep a tight stock on preorder stuff, so you need to order far enough in advance so that they have stock available. If you preorder the week before, you might have to wait a bit longer to get it.

 

[Artur Meinild]

Another quote from DVDfile:

The print is relatively free of blemishes, but is far more grainy, with colors more washed out and noisy. While blacks are solid, the film looks much darker overall with sharpness less-than-impressive and detail wanting.

Wouldn't the more grainy and less sharp picture be a result of the film being shot on 16mm negative. The Elite disc uses the full vertical resolution of the 16mm frame, where the new AB does not since it's been reframed to 1.85:1...
And I totally agree with Scott C, calling this "horizontal pan&scan" is utter bollocks, it happens all the time folks... Keep in mind that both ED2 and AOD was shot the exact same way, only on a 35mm neg.
Just because proper widescreen framing hasn't been done before on this film doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do. Hope I make myself clear...
I will have to check out this release ASAP.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

In other words, we should accept misframed and pan & scan transfers because some theatres are sloppy, right?

Obviously I am in the overwhelming minority here. HTF is quite clearly not "pro-OAR".

 

[Rob Lutter]

HTF is quite clearly not "pro-OAR"

:jawd rop:

 

[Anthony Thorne]

There have been some other Anchor Bay remasters that appear grainier than previous DVD's - from what I can remember, the Anchor Bay discs are a more accurate representation of the original footage. A twenty year-old 16mm neg is going to look a little grainy no matter what...

 

[Brad_W]

While I already own two versions of The Evil Dead, I will buy this one again. I don't mind owning three copies of the same movie when it's part of the Evil Dead Trilogy.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Brad: The film was shot full-frame, but composed for 1.66:1, according to The Evil Dead Companion (page 82), a book in which Sam Raimi participated heavily.

 

[Brad_W]

Thanks Adam.

And does anyone know what number this DVD will be limited to?

 

[Mattias_ka]

For:
Cool cover
Against:
Wrong OAR. Just because some theaters was showing the movie in the WRONG 1.85:1 ratio we shouldn't see that way.
And that Campbell is reframing the whole picture is not a good thing at all. Maybe next time it's the coffe boy on the set that is reframing the movie.
I think there is too many people that wants EVERYTHING to fit theirs widescreen tvset that they don't care that it's in the wrong OAR.
BTW, in europe it ordinary that a movie is made for a 1.66:1 ratio, it is NOT something the theaters here do on their own.
Not the ORIGINAL mono soundtrack.

 

[Mattias_ka]

I wonder if all you people that think it's ok with this new ratio would buy it again with a 2.35:1 ratio because the son of Bruce campbell is reframing it to this?!

 

[PhilipG]

Perhaps I should point out that Bruce Campbell, as well as being an actor, is also a director (okay, TV, but let's not get snobbish about that too). It's easy to criticise from behind a computer screen. 'Nuff said.

 

[Artur Meinild]

Not the ORIGINAL mono soundtrack.

However, I agree with you on this part.

 

[Adam_WM]

OK, I'm not following here. Evil Dead was filmed 1.33:1. Full frame square? Like Blair Witch? THen, when it came to the theaters, they cropped the top and bottom to make it "widescreen"? Now, this new edition comes "widescreen" like the theaters, but that's not the way it's supposed to be? Elite is closer to the original negative? Or what? So what do I buy? I don't own either.

I planned on buying Book of the Dead, but should I get Elite instead? Both? Why?!

 

[Scott Calvert]

Theaters weren't projecting Evil Dead at the wrong aspect ratio. They projected it at 1:85 which is the standard for flat films in the U.S. I dunno if most commercial theaters in the U.S. are even set up to display 1:66 without jerry-rigging the projector.

My feelings are as follows: There isn't THAT much difference between 1:66 and 1:85. And despite Raimi's comments that the film was composed at 1:66, I'm fairly certain they were less than rigid with this composition. In all likelyhood, they just wanted to get all the action on film however they could just to get the thing finished. Evil Dead looks fine at 1:33. It looks fine at 1:66 and I'm sure it'll look fine at 1:78, which is probably what the true DVD aspect ratio is.

This whole OAR thing began as a way of preserving a films integrity as much as possible on a home video format. The primary concern was scope films being horribly cropped and some unmatted films showing production equipment and otherwise throwing the compostion out of whack. All this arguing about the discrepancy of 1:66 vs 1:85 for a zero budget 20 year-old film shot on 16mm is just crazy, IMO.

 

[Scott Calvert]

Adam, sorry, I didn't see your post. 35mm film has an aspect ratio of 1:37. Films shot with spherical lenses (most of what Hollywood puts out these days) are matted to 1:85 in the projector for theatrical presentation, versus films shot with anamorphic lenses to sqeeze a 2:35 image onto the 1:37 film frame. These "scope" films are then unsqueezed by the appropriate lense on the theaters projector to display the film at the correct 2:35 aspect ratio.

 

[JohnJB]

I beleive Terminator 2 was filmed 1:33 super35 process but they framed it for 2:35 when they filmed it, I pressume this board does not want open matte T2

So if ED was filmed 16mm but framed for 1:66 then 1:66 is the correct ratio so although I'd personally prefer 1:66 windowbox anamorphic transfer, is not 1:85 anamorphic a better compromise (specially as the producer/star and probably person on earth who cares most about it BC has supervised the reframing, NOT THE TEA BOY!!!) than 1:33 IMO vhs quality version put out by Elite god bless em.

 

[Mattias_ka]

It looks fine at 1:66 and I'm sure it'll look fine at 1:78, which is probably what the true DVD aspect ratio is.

Maybe it also looks fine at 2.1:1 or 2.35:1 or 2.77:1...

But if your pleased with it buy it.

I for one thinks the Elite version is the one to have.

-Mattias-

 

[Adam_WM]

I'm GOING to buy Book of the Dead for extras and sound, so should I get the Anchor Bay for transfer since the extras are the same on Elite as BOTD? plus, Anchor is cheaper.