International Marios Bava's Planet of the Vampires just one more time... on Blu-ray & 4K (1 Viewer)

[Capt D McMars]

Seems like even when a title is drops, there is always an upgrade to go for. This may be the case with Radience Films offering of Mario Bavas "Planet of the Vampires". The Blu ray is region free while the 4K edition is locked Region 2. KL did a nice job but was a 2K restoration.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K scan of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and carried out at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale
• High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Italian (90 mins) and English (88 mins) versions of the film
• Uncompressed mono audio
• Archival audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014)
• A documentary feature which explores Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between gothic and science fiction. Co-directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger; featuring interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, Johnny Mains and John Llewellyn Probert (2024)
• Archival interview with Lamberto Bava
• Super 8 Version – a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as Planet der Vampire (17 mins)
• Joe Dante and Josh Olsen trailer commentaries – the filmmakers provide a short overview of the film (2013)
• Trailers
• Press and image gallery from the Tim Lucas / Alan Y. Upchurch collection
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Kyle Anderson, Martyn Conterio, Barry Forshaw, George Daniel Lea and Jerome Reuter plus archival materials
• A collection of six exclusive postcards featuring promotional material
• Limited edition of 5000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

 

[Malcolm R]

Is the 4K region lock an error? It's always been my understanding that the 4K format specification states these discs are supposed to be region free.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Is the 4K region lock an error? It's always been my understanding that the 4K format specification states these discs are supposed to be region free.

This is the info on Diabolik ~ the BD listing said region free but the 4K HD disc release,out now, states that edition is locked region 2, so there may be exceptions to the rule...

Planet of the Vampires (Plaion LE Mediabook) (4k UHD Locked Region B) – DiabolikDVD

Packed with space-age suspense and extraterrestrial terror, this eerily photographed and electrifying thriller drips with an intoxicating, feverish atmosphere of dread. A band of space travelers has just intercepted a distress call from a distant world! Is it a desperate cry for help… or...

diabolikdvd.com

 

[jayembee]

The UHD standard doesn't call for region-locking, but apparently, if a label wants to do so, it's not prohibited. There are any number of UHDs that have been region-locked. I'd posted this before in a thread for The Conformist, but here it is again...

Region locked UHDs - Blu-ray Forum

Region locked UHDs 4K Blu-ray and 4K Movies

forum.blu-ray.com

What's weird about this particular release is that (allegedly) the UHD is locked and the BD isn't. The press release for this at The Other Site says the release is region free and is not a UHD, but just a BD from a 4K scan. The image in Todd's OP doesn't say anything about a 4K presentation.

 

[Malcolm R]

I agree that there's nothing in the Radience Films version in the OP, cover or detailed info, that indicates there's a 4K disc included. Everything is a reference to blu-ray ("UK blu-ray premiere", only the blu-ray logo, "High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation"), which may be region locked.

The info at the other site seems to indicate that the package in the Diabolik link above has a region free 4K, and a locked blu-ray (which would make sense, IMO).

 

[jayembee]

The edition in the Diabolik link isn't the Radiance release. It's a German release from a year ago.

 

[Capt D McMars]

The edition in the Diabolik link isn't the Radiance release. It's a German release from a year ago.

So the 4K currently releaesed is not Radience but Plaion Ltd Ed...sorry for the confusion.

 

[John Sparks]

...Doc Thunder...

 

[Malcolm R]

The edition in the Diabolik link isn't the Radiance release. It's a German release from a year ago.

Correct, but that seems to be the only 4K available, as the Radience release info in the first post has no 4K disc. It seems to be a blu-ray disc only mastered from a 4K scan.