Repulsion on December 4

Re: Repulsion on December 4

That's good news. I suppose it's too much to hope that 'Cul de Sac' could also be on the way. (Does Sony own that one?)

Re: Repulsion on December 4

No extras -- is there any major director who gets worse treatment on DVD than Polanski?

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Satyajit Ray. Polanski has 2-disc special editions and Criterions. Ray has... nothing. NOTHING.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Pardon my ignorance but where are the 2-disc Special Editions?

Yes, "A Knife In The Water" has thankfully been rescued through Criterion and decent versions of later works like "The Pianist" have also been handled well but arguably his most important and significant films - "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Tenant", "Repulsion"... all barebones discs with dated transfers and screaming for proper releases!

The only film of his which I'd say was actually treated properly by any of the major studios was "The Fearless Vampire Killers" being that Warners did the DVD and being that it is a minor film in his directorial output. A clean transfer and audio and fitting packaging (poster art) was all that was really needed in this case.

But other film works such as Cul-de-Sac have yet to even be released!

And somebody desperately needs to take Chinatown out of the hands of the clueless execs at Paramount! I recently saw the DVD in stores repackaged as a "Special Collector's Edition" with some grotesque cutout art reminiscent of the Harry Potter poster with glowing green and blue background and apparently the exact same transfer and everything! They are the most clueless studio around when it comes to their movies and they unfortunately own some of the greatest post-50's classics!

If only Criterion could somehow get their hands on Chinatown to do a real Special Edition of this long overdue and deserving film... along with The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion for a trilogy set.... I'd be floating on clouds!

Also, somebody release Cul-de-Sac already!!!

Re: Repulsion on December 4

I'm a bit puzzled. Paramount have announced what they are calling a special edition of 'Chinatown' (along with one of 'The Two Jakes') for release on November 6th. Presumably this will be different from the repackaged version you saw recently, although I'm still not clear on whether it's definitely going to have a new transfer - does anyone know about that? I seem to remember that the list of extras was distinctly underwhelming when I saw the announcement a few weeks ago - I can't recall whether it was even going to include a commentary.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Actually, I thought the DVD of Tess was treated rather well.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

MGM owns U.S. rights to CUL-DE-SAC; however, by some fluke they only control the U.S. edit of the film released by Sigma years ago. There is a longer version that Anchor Bay released in the UK, which a mole told me MGM attempted to license from its European owners, but balked at the money they requested. My understanding is that no significant plot details are cut, just more of the darkly comic intrigue.

It's rather stupid for Sony to release REPULSION with no features; if anything, added value material would be the exclusive draw that would encourage people to buy this release instead of the shoddy PD editions that have circulated for years.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

My mistake, I could have sworn the upcoming Chinatown was a 2-discer. Still, Polanski's had much better treatment than Ray (or, until very recently, Ichikawa and Mizoguchi).

Re: Repulsion on December 4

I'm waiting for Paramount to announce the HD-DVD of Rosemary's Baby. Perhaps next year would be a good time, considering it's the 40th anniversary....?

(I would have been waiting for their BD, but we all know what happened there....)

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Next year would definitely be a good time! The current DVD of Rosemary's Baby is very poor technically, and urgently needs re-doing.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

This title never showed up for pre-order and none of the other sites ever confirmed that it was indeed being released in December. Oh well ...

-D

Re: Repulsion on December 4

What is the status of this... it's supposed to be released next month and we don't have cover art or details or anything yet?

What is going on? Was this just a rumor?

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Maybe it got cancelled due to all the bootleg DVD of it out there?

Re: Repulsion on December 4

This was one of my most anticipated releases... I was very surprised and delighted to see it finally announced and remove one more long overdue title from my most wanted list.

Unfortunately, many people seem to not care one way or another as outside of this small thread, there's been no mention or coverage of this on any of the DVD sites. I guess the HTF crew feel the same way as nobody's attempted to contact the studio to inquire about this one... a real shame.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

I have additional information for you, but this is all I can
offer at the moment...

A rep at Sony recalls rumors of a Repulsion release for this month,
but there was never any plan (at the moment) to release it. That was
just a rumor, but it might be in the future.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

the R2 disc holds up pretty well... for now

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Every film by Roman Polanski is essential. The company that controls home video rights to REPULSION needs to know that the film is highly regarded. It has a lot of fans in addition to a cult following. It's also popular with collectors and completists of genre films. I would cheerfully shell out big bucks for a Criterion edition. Their transfer for the laser-disc was first-rate, and so were the supplements. Failing that, I would cheerfully pay for another overpriced Columbia / Sony DVD.

There's no risk in a home video release of Roman Polanski's REPULSION.

Re: Repulsion on December 4

Thanks Ron,

Very disappointing to learn that this was only a rumor, but perhaps it's for the best as now maybe Sony will realize that people want this released! Ideally, Criterion should handle this one. Hopefully it does get its due sooner than later! There's no reason at all for Sony to be sitting on this film!!!

Re: Repulsion on December 4

If Sony decides to release it, I would expect to see an official press release first. I have the Criterion laserdisc, and Repulsion is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. For days afterwards I couldn't get it out of my mind.