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THRILLER DVD box set -- Hmmm... (1 Viewer)

Dick

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Well, I have now watched the first two episodes of this set and I'm less than impressed. I've been anxiously awaiting this for many months, since the announcement was first made. I've read interviews with Sara Karloff and others who promised we THRILLER fans were gonna love this set.

 

Perhaps I'm premature here -- the remaining episodes might look better than the two I have watched -- but these look like laser disc transfers. They are soft, have apparent DNR (there is no grain in the first episode, which looks a bit like some of the Fox Blu-rays, and there is a lot of dirt across the image for several seconds toward the end), and have video noise across the frame.

 

I was hoping for TWILIGHT ZONE: THE COMPLETE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION kind of quality, with crisp, sharp-as-a-tack images and excellent contrast, but the THRILLER release is many steps down from that excellent set.

 

Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but...

 

On the other hand, we finally have (watchable) episodes of a series many of us thought would never surface on video in any format. For that I am of course grateful. But, although the cost per episode for this set is very low, the price of the box is substantial enough so that it seems we should have been given a more meticulous release.

 

Flame barrier up.
 

Joe Lugoff

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I just visited another forum which linked us to a review which said the episodes are 47 minutes long -- which is about five minutes short of what an hour show from 1960-62 should be.

 

So that got me wondering if these could be syndicated prints.

 

Now this!

 

Something told me not to pre-order this, and now I'm wondering if I should order it at all.

 

Dick, could you verify the running times of the episodes you watched?
 

younger1968

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I am a collector of classic TV and realize that some tapes and transfer may not be that great. However, I am still interested in the old TV, because it is when actors could act.

 

PS I was not born when Thriller was out, but, the title and sypnosis excited me, because i like horror/thriller/sci-fi/action tv. I purchase the original outer limits for that purpose.

 

 

 
 

TravisR

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Originally Posted by Dick
 

I was hoping for TWILIGHT ZONE: THE COMPLETE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION kind of quality, with crisp, sharp-as-a-tack images and excellent contrast, but the THRILLER release is many steps down from that excellent set.

 


I think your expectations were way too high. The Twilight Zone is one of the most famous TV shows ever made and presumably one of the best sellers amongst golden age shows (and Thriller is neither of those things) so they can't spend the same kind of money on both shows. In a perfect world, they could afford to lavish that kind of treatment on all shows but it ain't a perfect world.
 

Harry-N

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Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

I just visited another forum which linked us to a review which said the episodes are 47 minutes long -- which is about five minutes short of what an hour show from 1960-62 should be.

 

So that got me wondering if these could be syndicated prints.

 

Now this!

 

Something told me not to pre-order this, and now I'm wondering if I should order it at all.

 

Dick, could you verify the running times of the episodes you watched?
 

Uh-oh. Sounds like these might be time-sped?
 

John Morgan

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Yeah, http://www.dvdsavant.com/s3275thri.html has a review claiming full-length episodes at 47 minutes. Yes, I think hour shows were 52 minutes in this period. I know they did transfers some years ago for cable showings, so this may be from those transfers. I was kind of hoping with the Universal fire destroying a lot of tape masters, these would be brand new transfers. If these are really 47 minutes, I can imagine the uproar to come.
 

Joe Lugoff

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You'd think someone writing for a website called "dvdsavant" would recognize if something is time-sped or not ... but I learned long ago not to make any assumptions. Some people aren't good at recognizing that, for some reason.

 

If these are cut or time-sped, it's a "no sale" for me, and another series bites the dust. I just have a sneaking suspicion, from everything I've read so far, that these are not the original prints as shown on the network in 1960-62.
 

chas speed

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Would someone who actually has the set confirm how long the episodes are. It's hard to believe that none of the reviews on Amazon or anywhere else have complained about the show being sped up or cut. Generally speaking a show from that era should be aprox. 50 to 52 minutes long. It's not unusual for a DVD company to list it at 47 minutes long even if they are really 52 minutes long. I hope it is just a misprint on Images part. It's unfortunate that they don't seem to proof read the box before sending them out.
 

JamesSmith

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Guys: There are three different threads here to Thriller, Can anybody tell me (for those who've seen it), what are the 5 most outstanding episodes that you'd recommend for a newbie and why? James just curious
 

ToddR2

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This silliness is a typical internet-created panic. I received my set yesterday, and the episodes I watched are NOT, I repeat NOT, CUT. Hour long Revue/Universal shows from this era usually run approximately 50 minutes, not 52 minutes, inclusive of credits. Where the dvd "savant" came up with the 47 minute figure, I don't know. That the A/V quality of the episodes isn't comparable to the Twilight Zone releases isn't some sort of shock or "scandal": I didn't really expect it to be comparable. Travis perfectly captured the reasons in his post above. The episodes themselves have been nicely remastered and are not the same masters used for the laser disc releases. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm quite happy with the A/V quality. I'll watch more tonight, including the episodes that Dick watched (I skipped ahead to watch some favorites), and see if my opinion changes.
 

Jack P

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I haven't watched any yet but I noticed on the back of my set how the total running time for 10 episodes is 499 minutes or just a tick shy of 50 minutes per episode on average.
 

chas speed

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Originally Posted by JamesSmith

Guys: There are three different threads here to Thriller, Can anybody tell me (for those who've seen it), what are the 5 most outstanding episodes that you'd recommend for a newbie and why? James just curious

I would rate "The Cheaters", "Hungry Glass", "La Strega", "The Incredible Dr. Markesan" and "The Grim Reaper" as my 5 top favorites. I won't bother to go into why they are my favorites, but the photography, music, acting, writing and direction would be the main reasons.
 
 

chas speed

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Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

I just visited another forum which linked us to a review which said the episodes are 47 minutes long -- which is about five minutes short of what an hour show from 1960-62 should be.

 

So that got me wondering if these could be syndicated prints.

 

Now this!

 

Something told me not to pre-order this, and now I'm wondering if I should order it at all.

 

Dick, could you verify the running times of the episodes you watched?

I got an email from DVD Savant and he confirmed that his episodes were around 50 minutes. I'm guessing the 47 minute thing came from an Image Entertainment press release he was probably given.
 
 

Richard Gallagher

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Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

I just visited another forum which linked us to a review which said the episodes are 47 minutes long -- which is about five minutes short of what an hour show from 1960-62 should be.

 

Tim Ewanyshyn's HTF review confirms that the average running time is 50 minutes per episode.
 

Roy Wall

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Originally Posted by chas speed
 

"I would rate "The Cheaters", "Hungry Glass", "La Strega", "The Incredible Dr. Markesan" and "The Grim Reaper" as my 5 top favorites. I won't bother to go into why they are my favorites, but the photography, music, acting, writing and direction would be the main reasons.

 

I'd like to add "Pigeons From Hell" to that list....and I think "The Purple Room" is pretty good, too.
 

ToddR2

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Dick, I'm sorry, but after watching the first two episodes, I must respectfully disagree with your assessment of the A/V quality of this set. The episodes HAVE been remastered since the laser disc releases.
 

Dick

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Originally Posted by TravisR



I think your expectations were way too high. The Twilight Zone is one of the most famous TV shows ever made and presumably one of the best sellers amongst golden age shows (and Thriller is neither of those things) so they can't spend the same kind of money on both shows. In a perfect world, they could afford to lavish that kind of treatment on all shows but it ain't a perfect world.
Well, probably so. I agree we are lucky to have this set at all, and I should quip my griping. I was simply hoping for better.

 

 

Todd: "Dick, you are the same D.Guenzel who posted a positive, 5-star, pre-release "review" of this set on Amazon, aren't you?"

 

No, I have no connection to that person whatsoever.



Everyone else: I can verify that these episodes run approx. 50 minutes each. They are apparently uncut. Damn, I didn't realize they had so many commercials back then! Better than now, though, when a "60-minute" program is actually only 43-44 minutes long! Pretty soon, the show will simply be an interruption of the advertising! (Think: Max Headroom).
 

jquirk

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Oh, boy, am I excited about getting my hands on this set. I used to own a handful of the episodes on VHS, like "The Grim Reaper," but all told I only ever saw a small portion of the episodes. I've never seen, for instance, some of the most talked about episodes such as "Pigeons from Hell" and "A Wig for Miss Devore."

 

"The Grim Reaper," by the way, has to be one of the best television anthology episodes of all time. It was simply fantastic.
 

Dick

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Originally Posted by jquirk

Oh, boy, am I excited about getting my hands on this set. I used to own a handful of the episodes on VHS, like "The Grim Reaper," but all told I only ever saw a small portion of the episodes. I've never seen, for instance, some of the most talked about episodes such as "Pigeons from Hell" and "A Wig for Miss Devore."

 

"The Grim Reaper," by the way, has to be one of the best television anthology episodes of all time. It was simply fantastic.
"The Grim Reaper" scared the crap out of me when I was young, and is the single episode I remember watching from that time. In retrospect, it is talky, with a terrible performance by the "French" women in the teaser (check out her way-y-y overacted facial expressions and horrible accent), and padded a bit for the hour-format, it nonetheless features one of the scariest last few moments of any t.v. episode (indeed, of most theatrical movies made up to that time) I can recall.

 

I have not yet watched "Pigeons From Hell," but I understand that's pretty creepy, too.

 
 

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