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Does anyone own GATE OF HELL from Turner/Movies Unlimited...?

post #1 of 5
10/25/09 at 7:30am
Thread Starter 
I had not thought this gorgeous (at least, it's supposed to be gorgeous) color film from Japan was available on DVD, but Movies Unlimited says they have it, in some kind of arrangement with Turner Classic Movies. Has anyone seen this DVD and, if so, what can you report about the image and sound quality? Thanks!
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post #2 of 5
10/25/09 at 12:44pm
Thanks for the tip. I'll order a copy and report back.
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post #3 of 5
10/29/09 at 9:30pm
Okay, my copy came and the release is utterly worthless. Sourced from videotape, the image is horizontally stretched, rendering all the actors short and fat. Detail is lacking. Subtitles are blurry and very difficult to read. The original print was in very bad shape: lots of damage and missing frames are evident. Worst of all, the color has almost completely faded. I guess the reason there is no regular home video release of the film currently is that it needs a complete restoration. I assume it isn't likely to get one anytime soon.

Well, it was worth a shot.
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post #4 of 5
10/31/09 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
Sad to hear, Jack, but I thank you for be willing to serve as the consumer Guinea pig on this title. Perhaps Criterion will eventually rescue it.
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post #5 of 5
1/27/10 at 10:06am
UPDATE:
A message showed up in my inbox the other day, completely out of the blue:


Quote:

It has come to my attention that you weren’t pleased with a DVD you received from us. One of our employees found your comment on the Internet and came to me about it.

 

I took a look at the DVD and thought it was pretty good, actually very good, so on a whim, I contacted our supplier, Nostalgia Family, to see if any changes have been made on this title and discovered that he had changed the master months ago.  Sometimes I know when improvements are made but not always and in this case, I wasn’t aware.  However, now that I do know, I’d like to make it right.

 

If you would want, I’d be pleased to send out a new one to you but I don’t want to intrude.  Please let me know if you’d like us to send “Gate of Hell” to you.

 

I’m glad your comment came to my attention and I hope you’ll feel free to contact me at any time.

 

Jerry Frebowitz

Movies Unlimited

At first I was a little freaked that I was being approached by someone I didn't know, on a matter where I had not initiated contact. But I soon got over that once I realized what he was saying (and I have to admit I left a pretty easy internet trail to follow). Naturally I emailed back and said gateofHELL, Yeah! Jerry has now responded to say that my new disc is on the way. Sounds promising. When it arrives, I'll update my update.

Talk about after-sale service!
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