MGM/Warner October Horror; Midnite Movies, Val Lewton, Demon Seed and more (1 Viewer)

[FrancisP]

It's something called commentary and analysis. It has nothing to do with hating Night of the Lepus. Night of the Lepus is a cheap B-movie which bombed at the box office.
I would love to know how this film was chosen. Market research? E-mails? Personal Opinion? It is a curious choice when there are films with better numbers that remain unreleased.

The pricing structure is unusual compared to other companies. For example, the Midnight Movies line had this pricing structure that I mentioned. Anchor Bay is releasing
Race with the Devil at $14.95 SMP and 9.95 list price.

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

How substantial was it?

I think Lee's rationale may be that when VCI or BU approach him, he knows they are small outfits that can't offer much renumeration, thus he'll settle for what they can offer because he wants to make it happen. Whereas WB is a company with huge pockets, and what they call substantial he may see as a pittance. Factor in that he may feel all talked out on his Dracula films, his resentment toward New Line (sister Time Warner company) for cutting him out of RETURN OF THE KING...there are all manner of possibilities why he appears on lesser titles rather than the big ones.

 

[Michael Elliott]

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS has a rather large cult following so that could be the reason they are releasing it. It could be a real headache asking "why Y title was released before Z title". I mean, you want the DARK SHADOWS films released but if they were, someone could come on here asking why Warner was releasing stupid horror films when they have tons of Spencer Tracy, Bogart, Cagney and other "A" lists films in their vaults.

DS has a huge following so it will eventually be released. There's really no point in ripping apart someones guilty pleasure just because Warner didn't release your guilty pleasure. There's only so much they can release a year.

As for Lee, I'm tired of hearing him talk about how great he is so I'm glad there's no commentary.

With the Hammer, Lugosi and Lewton sets us horror fans have a lot to be happy about this year. Not to mention the smaller guys with their releases plus a SE of KING KONG coming. Again, there are some titles here and there that I don't want but there's still plenty out there that will keep me happy.

If I could only buy one of these titles this year I'd probably go with the Lewton set.

 

[Damin J Toell]

The problem is that he's tired of being associated with the Dracula films, which don't necessarily hold a lot of happy memories for him. Return of the King didn't get released until well over a year after Lee was approached for Horror of Dracula, which was released to DVD in fall 2002. And, of course, BU were the ones that approached him, not WB.

DJ

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I've never seen this film, but what I like is that I recall the title being brought up a year or two ago during one of those Warner chats here at HTF, and at the time Warner was indifferent about it, yet ultimately remembered the requests enough to release it. BRAVO, Warner!

 

[Joe Karlosi]

It's true that Christopher Lee is trying to dismiss himself from the Dracula movies he made. But whether he likes it or not, Lee will always be best remembered for playing the bloodsucking Count. So it would be nice to see him more proud of those films and the impact they've made on so many people over the decades. For those who want to hear commentary by Christopher Lee on these films, check out the Anchor Bay commentary for DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS where he also spends a lot of time discussing HORROR OF DRACULA. He's also on the Anchor Bay SCARS OF DRACULA disc, so at least we have him on two Hammer Dracula movie commentaries.

 

[Anthony Thorne]

I'm hopeful that he'll turn up on a doco for Jess Franco's EL CONTE DRACULA (or is it IL CONTE DRACULA?) at some point too, if Blue Underground gets around to finishing off their Harry Allen Towers/Jess Franco acquisitions. I'll bet he has some nifty stories about Klaus Kinski from that shoot.

 

[FrancisP]

I have read that Christopher Lee grew more disenchanted as the Dracula series went on. Having seen Taste the Blood of Dracula and Dracula Ad 1972, I can see why. They have Dracula in the title and Christopher Lee as the star, yet
Dracula has very little screen time and almost no speaking lines. I can see why he would not be interested in doing a commentary.

I compared Dark Shadows and Night of the Lepus for two reasons. Both are horror films and both are polar opposites. House of Dark Shadows was a lavish remake of the tv show which did very well at the box office. Also the movies have been mentioned regularly at Warner chats. I think Night of the Lepus and the Dark Shadows movies are both cult classics. Yet the lesser film is released while the other is not. I just
think it is curious. I'd just love to see how the process of deciding which films make it and which don't is done.

 

[Paul_Scott]

exactly what i was thinking. i remember hearing this asked about in several chats.
NOTL is a film i am not familiar with, but whenever i hear it mentioned there always seems to be a few very enthusiastic responses. that rabid enthusiasm piques my interest, especially since it seems to have such a z-grade premise.
i'm very much looking forward to seeing it for the first time.

 

[Roger Rollins]

Why try to second guess Warner when they are the only studio that actually KNOWS their product. Likely, they have bigger plans for DARK SHADOWS, and perhaps those plans require more time and greater investment. Perhaps the film elements need a proper restoration to bring forth the kind of first-rate presentation a franchise such as DARK SHADOWS warrants, since it has a rabid fan base.

You don't know the reasons, so why try to second guess?

The same person that put both DARK SHADOWS feature films out on VHS and laserdisc when MGM/UA had the rights is the same person who now decides what WB releases on DVD. I trust your wish to see those films on DVD in a Warner-worthy presentation, will eventually come to pass at the appropriate time.

 

[JeffMc]

Yes, don't underestimate cult film fanatics!

I, for one, am looking forward to LEPUS more than any of the other titles announced (except for the Lewton set). Sure, I'd buy the DARK SHADOWS flicks if Warners were releasing them at this time, but the giant bunnies would always win, at least in my eyes! Add to that the mystique that the film has never been released on home-video before just adds to the excitement. It's a bad movie, sure, but there are a LOT of fans that have been waiting YEARS for this to happen. It's almost surreal that it's actually coming out!

You also have to understand a studio can't release all their "good" stuff right now and just be left with crap to release later. They need to carefully choose a mix of A titles and mix them with some lesser-known B titles to help sell them all. I think Warners came up with a decent mix here. Kudos to them!

 

[Charles Ellis]

I can't believe that they're releasing Night of the Lepus instead of the two Dark Shadows films- shame on you, Warner Bros.!!!!!

 

[Thomas T]

re: "shame on you, Warner Bros.!!!!!"

Gimme a break, Charles! That's the kind of attitude that gives cult fans a bad rep. It's not all about YOU and your wants! Night Of The Lepus has, as seen here, its cult fans too. Warners is not releasing its catalogue according to artistic merit or probably even an audience fanbase.

Anyone can play that game! How would you like it if someone complained like this:

"Shame on you, Warners for releasing that House Of Dark Shadows B movie TV inspired vampire trash while you let great classics like the Oscar winning Sergeant York, Tennesse Williams' and Elia Kazan's great Baby Doll, Picture Of Dorian Gray (1945), Kings Row (1942) and Oscar winning Watch On The Rhine (1943) lie in your vaults unreleasd!"

Is that person's claims any less valid than yours? Those films are "A" titles while House Of Dark Shadows is a "B" title. I'm not saying I agree with that hypotethical statement, it's just that its so futile and yes, stupid to attack a business decision that you don't agree with. It could be very well that Warners knows full well what a strong fanbase the Shadows movies have and is attempting to restore them to optimum conditions and release them as special editions with loads of extras. Or would you prefer they release Shadows in any condition barebones and double dip in 2 years for the collector's edition?

Am I the only one here with patience?

 

[Michael Elliott]

No offense is intended here but this is exactly why I always say fans will never be happy. Warner releases all these great titles and I'm really curious what they think when they read comments like this.

You DS fans want them now? You also say you want them uncut with the added footage, which needs to be remastered. Since this footage hasn't been worked on if Warner was to release them this year then they'd be missing this extra stuff and you fans would complain about this. If they released them "cut" this year you'd complain that the extra footage isn't here. If they then re-released them two years from now with the added footage then you'd complain about that too saying it should have been done correctly the first time.

Perhaps the reason they aren't being released now is because they want them done correctly, which will take more time. Just perhaps they're are thinking about you DS fans.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Michael- obviously you don't know about the recent efforts to restore Night of Dark Shadows. People have been in contact with Warners in the past, but as of today they have yet to formally acknowledge the issue. Please check out the link to the NODS site that tells the whole story. Then you'll see why the DS fans are angry at Warner Bros. At least Paramount listens to the Star Trek fans!


http://home.earthlink.net/~moviemandg/


Also, check out my thread about this very issue:


http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=236297

 

[Patrick McCart]

Two films needing serious reconstruction work versus one film that probably just needed a new transfer... gee, I wonder why Warner is releasing the easier project first.


It's become an annoying trend that whenever studio releases are announced, all people can say is that they'd rather have something else on the slate.

Just try to look at the glass as half full!

 

[Michael Elliott]

Charles, I've followed that story for several years now. Back in 2001 a horror site I was help running posted a big thing about trying to get these titles released. That page doesn't tell the whole story but the story of the fans. I don't think Warner has made a public comment about the film except for right here when they said they weren't being worked on at this time.

This is just my opinion but Warner has better things to spend money on than restoring those two films. I would say the price tag would be VERY high for such "cult" titles so it would be best for fans to show support instead of telling Warner how dumb they are.

But as I said earlier, do you want the cut films released this year? The fans know that the money hasn't been spent to restore them so why are they upset that the "cut" versions aren't being released this year? As a fan, wouldn't you rather wait a couple more years for Warner to do the job right?

Again, I understand where you fans are coming from but it's not going to help by calling Warner idiots because it makes the fans look bad. Plus, people are here talking about what has been released and there wasn't too much need for people to come in and call Warner stupid because something they want isn't being released. I mean, you just started a thread about DS so wouldn't you be a bit upset if all of us in this thread went to that one telling Warner not to waste their time with trash like DS?

These "cult" films aren't important to the mainstream, to the AFI watchers or any film buffs really. These cult films are wanted by a small group of fans so it's best that we show support instead of calling names.

Seriously, hopefully Warner guys have a better attitude than me but if I ran that studio and saw someone call me an idiot, I certainly wouldn't rush that title they wanted out---especially when it's something small and will take A LOT of cash to fix.

 

[Claude North]

Well, Night of the Lepus has never received a home video release, so I would imagine that was a factor in deciding to release it.

As for the Dark Shadows movies, Darren Gross is still in the process of trying to locate the Japanese print of HODS, which had a longer running time than the US print. Warners probably wants to explore fully the possibility that it still exists before committing to a release.

I do think it's rather sad that some people never seemed to be satisfied regarding DVD releases. The studios have no choice but to spread out titles. For one thing, they have a limited amount of resources they can devote to releases. Furthermore, it would be disastrous from a business point of view to release more than a few titles per month. As much as we love our DVDs, most of us can only afford to purchase a few titles each month.

The two Dark Shadows movies are at the top of my wish list, but I certainly can't criticize Warners. They seem genuinely committed to issuing quality products the first time out, and their participation in HTF chats indicates a genuine interest in what we, as consumers, have to say. I have no doubt that the two DS movies will be released, and that when they are released, they will be given the best possible treatment. In the meantime, I'll be more than happy to enjoy the many treasures that Warners will surely be sending our way.

 

[Dick]

I'm just not in the mood to criticize Warner Bros. I did so on every home theater forum around, with a passion, for many years before they turned the corner and became the preeminent DVD studio. Now, the vast majority of their releases are carefully transferred and contain extensive extras and seem to have been put out by people who know WTF they're doing (and who also have a tremendious sense of fun, which shows in the box sets especially). If they want to release NIGHT OF THE LEPUS this year, I say all the power to them. I personally think it's an idiotic movie and should have silhouettes of two robots and Mike Nelson in the foreground, but one man's poison... The fact is, the other stuff we're waiting for (DARK SHADOWS, FORBIDDEN PLANET, etc.) will reach us eventually and they'll arrive in a way that should make those of us who've been bitching for years feel somewhat embarrassed, because they'll be stellar releases that will obviously have taken much TLC to reach us in the form we will get them. Can you say that about the vast majority of, say, Sony DVD's? My suggestion is we quit complaining about the omissions in our personal want lists and continue to heep accolades upon Warner Bros, encouraging them to keep up the marvelous work they've been doing to please our relatively niche home theater audience of die-hard classic movie aficionados.

 

[FrancisP]

Michael, I don't understand why you insist on putting words in people's mouths. The only person saying anyone is a idiot is you. Having a difference of opinion is not calling
anyone a idiot. Wondering about the rational behind decisions is not calling anyone a idiot.

I am also curious how you know that it would take a lot of cash to restore them. If you're in the know then tell us how much it would take.

I would also point out HODS was a huge hit for for MGM as it
was one of their top grossing films. That certainly makes it more mainstrean than a lot of films.

The last time I checked, this is a discussion forum and not
a cheerleading forum. By its nature, discussion is pro and con. I certainly intend to say exactly what I think and if any executive is so small minded that they can't take it then they need to get out of the business. People who want to buy these films will buy them and people who don't want to buy them won'tr and we'll all see how it shakes out.