SPHE Press Release: William Castle Film Collection - Page 2

Yeah you can, but it is more fun with the logo on it as were included in the original DVD release.  They even had an order form to send off for more pair, which I did and have enough for 8 people.  Good times were had by all.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this collection.  The transfers are great.  I have especially enjoyed Zotz!, The Old Dark House, and 13 Frightened Girls.  All three were fun to watch and I think 13 Frightened Girls should be a camp classic.  By the way, I could have sworn that I saw The Old Dark House in theatres presented in Black & White, is that possible?  The transfer in the collection is in color.

I would like to thank Sony for including Spine Tingler - The William Castle Story.  I have always been a fan of his work and have read his autobiography, but the documentary had many great stories from the people that worked with him that were enlightening.

I hope that there will be another volume of his early Columbia films and possibly a collection of The Crime Doctor, which Mr, Castle directed several.

Thank you again Sony and I am now awaiting delivery of the Sam Fuller Collection.

Yes, THE OLD DARK HOUSE was released theatrically in B/W, but the print that has aired on TV over the years is the color one.  It was obviously filmed in color and I just assume the original theatrical distributor found a cheaper deal to make prints in B/W for the theatrical.

I also like the set even though I already had the singles of the 5 already released.  The 3 new films on the set (13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS, ZOTZ, and OLD DARK HOUSE) were never my favorites, but they're cool to have.  The episodes of GHOST STORY/CIRCLE OF FEAR were also a treat and I hope someday they release the entire season even though there are really only a handful of really good episodes.  The SPINE TINGLER documentary bonus disc is terrific and worth double-dipping for. 

I seem to remember reading the OLD DARK HOUSE was released in color in the UK but b&w in the U.S.

Why would Colpix release a color film in B&W?

I had the previous releases too but the films on this release have been remastered and look notably sharper and all are now widescreen so not really a double dip for me.

I agree with this.  I did the double dip also due to the remastering of the transfers and the additional three films.  But the doc on William Castle was almost worth the entire price.

When  13 Ghosts was first released in theaters, You did need the glasses to see the ghosts.You had to look thru the "red" lens to see them. You did not see them if you looked thru the "blue" lens. All TV airings used a "combo" print as does this release. You don't need glasses for it.

The "kid" in me still prefers the original 13 GHOSTS which somewhat "required" the use of the glasses to see the detail in the ghosts.  Just more "fun."

To save money, of course. B&W stock was still cheaper than color, and as this was the lower-half of a double bill, they figured no one would know or care.

Mike S.

I had a feeling it was the bottom half of a double-bill :)

Please tell the powers that be that this is a great set and I do appreciate it.  I am expecting the Film Noir set in the mail today and I know that it will be up the Sony's great standards.  Keep up the great work.

Actually, in the United States, Columbia released THE OLD DARK HOUSE on the top of a double bill with MANIAC on the bottom (at least in most cities).

• Original Theatrical Trailers.                   
• Joan Crawford Wardrobe Tests.
• Joan Crawford Axe Test.
• Strait-Jacket TV Spots.

I am really not a fan of horror films, but I almost feel like buying it just for these extras.

I'm watching the newest Tingler on a Panny RP82 and the original on a BD30 and a HDA1. The original is very bright that leaves out some detail, compared to the newest. What's odd is on the newest, when Castle starts to talk from a distance, there's a black border on the left and bottom, then goes away on his close up. The original doesn't have that.

The original has more more info on the top and left side. Of course, the newest has more on the bottom and right.

All in all, I like the newest much better, with contrast and brightness just right. Will get to the others that have been released to see how they fare.
Edited by John Sparks - 11/11/09 at 8:58pm

The shots of Castle talking at the start of the film have hard mattes that jump in and out.  You might be seeing one of those creeping into the image.

It doesn't creep...boom it's there and boom it's gone!

The William Castle Film Collection DVD set from Sony is something which I've been considering getting for a long while, but felt the price was too high (ditto with the Sony Film Noir DVD set as well). This set aside, after reading about the film in a book about slasher movies I've been interested in getting the film Homicidal (1961) on DVD. I checked the DVD Compare page for it:

 

 

Homicidal (1961) - DVD Compare page

 

 

Now on this page it says the Region 1 disc has a featurette called "William Castle and Homicidal", but the film is presented in a 1.33:1 non-anamorphic ratio. It has also been released in Germany by Sony and in Scandinavia by Universal. They have been released in a 1.85:1 anamorphic ratio (the original aspect ratio), but don't have any DVD extras.

 

However, on reading the DVD extras list again for the William Castle Film Collection DVD set, Homicidal is in it's original aspect ratio, AND has some DVD extras with it (including the "William Castle and Homicidal" featurette).

 

Have had a look at the DVD Beaver review for the set, and I noticed something which is similar to things I read occasionly in Sight & Sound magazine, a critic sounding annoyed by the over-use of a word by film fans. In this case, the word 'remastered' being used a lot.

Fans of THE TINGLER will certainly be interested to know that there will be screenings of the film in St Louis in a theater that will be wired to recreate "Percepto!".  It's part of Vincentennial, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vincent Price.

 

http://www.cinemastlouis.org/vincentennial

Any chance of these titles being re-released again?  I'd love to own The Old Dark House.

 

 

The William Castle Collection is still available directly from Amazon and several other Internet sites. 

It really is fantastic set and feels like Mike and friends have put a lot of work into it. Well worth the price.

 

I picked up the WA MOD of Macabre the other week and it was great to finally track that one down as well.