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Will we ever see an official DVD of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960)? (1 Viewer)

Jeffrey Gray

Second Unit
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Aug 11, 2001
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488
Here is something that I have always wondered. Will we ever get an official, licensed R1 DVD of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960)? The only available DVD is a Master Movies R0 disc with no extras, a decent transfer, and a Japanese subtitle track. Why haven't the current owners of the Filmgroup library released a DVD yet? We got a great LD release from The Roan Group...can't they do a DVD? Who actually owns the movie (I mean, who currently owns the Filmgroup library)? Can anyone help me?
 

rutger_s

Supporting Actor
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Jul 7, 2000
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878
The Little Shop of Horrors(1960) fell into the public domain. This film is basically a "free-for-all" and there won't be an official release per se.

Too bad Achor Bay, Elite Entertainment, or even Image Entertainment won't try to release a version.
 

Lafe F

Second Unit
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Jan 20, 2001
Messages
291
I want the colorized version -- seriously!
It made it far more watchable for me.
Of course, they must also make the B&W version available on the same disc.
 

Jeff Gibbons

Agent
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Jul 31, 1999
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I got this movie free on an Inside DVD disc that came with the magazine. The transfer is so-so (never seen any other version) and it's in B&W but you're welcome to it if you want it.

Jeff
 

Jeffrey Gray

Second Unit
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Aug 11, 2001
Messages
488
I understand, but just because a movie is public-domain doesn't mean that all its DVD releases have to be terrible, and from no-name companies. Night of the Living Dead is public domain, and we have gotten two great SEs of it...why not Little Shop?
 

Lafe F

Second Unit
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Jan 20, 2001
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291
It was release on VHS colorized in 1986, which I rented and enjoyed immensely. The Audrey II plant was green instead of grey. With a whimsical fantasy movie like this, colorization made it almost into a cartoon. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for keeping the original version intact as well.
 

Keith Paynter

Screenwriter
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Mar 16, 1999
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The problem with somebody trying to make a high quality release of a public domain film is that somebody will try to rip off the transfer for their own cheap release.

Films like Nosferatu and Phantom Of The Opera are available in high quality releases, but because they have been tinted by Image, they have been able to escape (so far) digital copying for a budget release. Both of these films (along with Metropolis) appear on a triple-feature DVD in (I assume) low grade prints.

Amazingly enough, Elite's transfer of NOLD has not been tampered with and reissued by a b-grade market distributor.
 

Mark Edward Heuck

Screenwriter
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Jul 25, 2000
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Supposedly, Roger Corman and MGM have both had optimum materials to make a proper DVD, but have held off for exactly the reasons mentioned here: they don't want ripoff artists (yes, that's you Diamond, Brentwood, and your ilk!) copying their high-quality transfer and selling it on their labels. (This is also what impedes a letterboxed THE TERROR) In fact, it was Corman who authorized a colorized edition of LITTLE SHOP, because that version could be copyrighted by his company. And if you notice, no one has reissued that version since the Vestron tape went OP.

Corman wisely added a copyright notice on his DVD of DEATH RACE 2000 that had not been there before, and it would appear that the budget companies have backed off from their dupe copies as a result of that warning. So if either of them can find a way to include new content that will allow them to recopyright the film (such as Image's tint jobs on the silents, or Alfred Sole reediting ALICE SWEET ALICE), that will bring about proper releases. For right now, sadly, we're out of luck.
 

Craig Sherman

Stunt Coordinator
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Jul 10, 2002
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176
A thought...

Perhaps Warners, in delivering their long-promised, Geffen-approved SE of Little Shop (86), could include the original as a special feature, a la Meet Joe Black: UE including the original Death Takes a Holiday!

Don't get me wrong, I don't imagine that will ever happen, and I gladly hold on to my first pressing of Little Shop (86) and my Inside DVD copy of the classic Corman version.

Speaking of Corman DVDs, is Brain Dead (Pullman, Paxton) out of print? Best Buy doesn't have it in their computers anymore.

Back on my meds,

CS
 

Jeffrey Gray

Second Unit
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Aug 11, 2001
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488
Turner was able to circumvent public-domain bootlegging of the WB cartoons that they owned by copyrighting the foreign-language soundtracks. Why doesn't Corman or MGM make a French dub and put a "Dubbed Version (C) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" or whatever?
 

Joseph Goodman

Stunt Coordinator
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Feb 4, 2001
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206
The whole "public domain" issue has prevented many films from getting quality re-issues... "Zulu", "Gorgo", "One Eyed Jacks", etc, even though good materials may exist on these films. MGM recently made a new transfer of Roger Corman's "The Terror" for cable broadcasts, but the large amount of "PD" videos of "The Terror" may meant we'll never see MGM's recent transfer on DVD.
 

Jeffrey Gray

Second Unit
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Aug 11, 2001
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488
Why don't the companies just take the risk with all these movies? I mean, who is going to buy a DVD from a no-name company if a DVD with more special features, and from a big company, is available?
 

Jussi Tarvainen

Second Unit
Joined
May 10, 2001
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382
I'm probably just adding insult to injury by resurrecting this thread, but I'll do it anyway just in case someone has news to bear considering a possible "official" DVD release...
 

Jan Strnad

Screenwriter
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Jan 1, 1999
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Fair Disclosure: I own various pieces of intellectual property and have pretty firm notions on the issues of copyright and fair use!

Those who would undermine the ownership of intellectual property under the notion that all such material should be in the public domain can see for themselves the way such "opening up" actually closes down the availability of high-quality versions.

When someone like Image resurrects a film such as Night of the Living Dead, which they can do because it's now p.d., they still want some kind of ownership stake in the version they create. There's just no way to make money if they don't, and without the profit motive, producers just won't do it.

Jan
 

Jay E

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May 30, 2000
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Does anyone know of any decent looking DVDs of this film either in this region or any other? I would love to buy this if I can get a adequate transfer of the film.
 

oscar_merkx

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Apr 15, 2002
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i have seen a copy of r2 here in the UK but have not seen it yet, so perhaps I will buy this one out of curiosity, and if I am correct Jack Nicholson shows up
:D
 

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