The wrong version of Day of the Dead? (1 Viewer)

[Tony J Case]

Are there two diffrent versions of the Divmax Day of the Dead? I picked up a copy at Best Buy today on a whim - it was 5 bucks, but I wanted to make sure I got the best version floating around.

It's the yellow/orange cover with the sun in the upper right and Bub's floating head in the lower left. It says Divimax, is from anchor bay and has a UPC of 1313 12635-9

Now, in looking around the net, I've only found one Divimax yellow covered version - listed as a two disc set that includes 2 commetaries, a documentary, photo gallery, Theatrical Trailers and TV spots and a bunch of other bells and whistles.

This one only lists the commetaries and doesnt feel like a two disc set (havent opened it yet). Since theyre pretty good about putting bullet points on the back of these things, I suspect that this is the lesser version - but hell if I can find a lesser version (that isnt the blue covered one).

Did they do an exclusive 1 discer for Best Buy? Is the 2 discer out of print? Anyone have an idea what's the story?

 

[TravisR]

I don't want to give you bad info so you might wait and see if anyone else can chime in but I believe that the cover of the two disc version has 'Day Of The Dead' in red and the cover of the one disc has 'Day Of The Dead' in blue.

The Divimax version was originally a two discer and then they released a one disc version (which I assume is the same disc one and it just is minus disc two).

 

[willh51]

My Best Buy had the two versions mixed. I don't want to give you bad info but, the one disc Divimax is in a regular armary case and the Special Edition is in a cardboardesque case.

 

[Tony J Case]

Well, so far my logo is blue and it came in an regular armary - so it sounds like I have the lesser version. Fortunatly I can swing by on the way home and see if they other one is there (or just out and out return this).

 

[Tony J Case]

Hey - a secondary question for you. I have the old Image laserdisc of Night of the Living Dead from ages and ages ago - a great presentation. Has there been a DVD equilivant, with a quality print and lots of extra? Somehow I think the 99 cent madacy version isnt going to cut it.

(On that note - I swear to god I want to punch Mike Nelson in the face for that MST track on that colorized version. Riffing on a bad movie with plenty of material to work with = funny. Riffing on a good movie with very little to make fun of = boring as hell. And the colorized version sucks too)

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I take it you're talking about Night of the Living Dead in your most recent post, Tony? The general consensus is that the Elite versions are preferred.

 

[Peter Avellino]

I picked this up at Best Buy on Sunday. Not really noticing I brought the two-disc up to the register which then rung up at $16.99 (or thereabouts). So I bought the one-disc at the sale price which seems to be simply Disc One of the two-disc set--the actual disc even says "Feature Presentation" on it. And yes, the only Special Features are the two commentaries.

I don't know if it's exclusive to Best Buy and I don't know if the two-disc is out of print, but it seems to still be out there. And I don't know if I'll regret being cheap and getting the one-disc version. Time will tell.

 

[JerryK]

I also recently picked up the single disc version of Day of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead at Best Buy. I was going to pick up the 20th Century Fox colorized version of Night of the Living Dead that also has the b&w version on it but I ended up passing on it and luckily found a used copy of the Elite Special Collector's Edition on SecondSpin.com for $7. From what I can tell it's out of print, I'm hoping it will be in good condition with no scratches. If not I may have to shell out some more cash and buy a new copy of the 2-Disc Elite Millenium Edition.

The sale Best Buy is having right now is pretty awesome, horror favorites for dirt cheap ($4.99-$6.99)...Halloween, Hellraiser, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Poltergeist and The Hills Have Eyes.

 

[Tony J Case]

Yeah,I'm silly - my brain said Night of the Living Dead, but my fingers developed writers block.

The Elite version is the one with the tombstone looking cover, right?

 

[Robert Anthony]

Yeah, the Millenium Elite Edition. Gold Standard as far as Night of the Living Dead goes.

 

[Tony J Case]

Rise! Rise from your grave!

*casts thread necromancy spell*

Ok, so I never did get around to getting these damn things last year - and being that Halloween is just around the corner, I think I'll try and jump on all four this year. So: the four disc ultimate version of Dawn of the Dead - best to be had of the double dips?

 

[BrettGallman]

The Ultimate version of Dawn of the Dead is a must-have for anyone who fancies themselves a horror fan. It's one of the best sets I own.

And the 2-disc Day of the Dead is not a Best Buy exclusive.

 

[Tony J Case]

Ok, that's what I thought. And I didnt think that Day was an exclusive - just that it was the best price this time last year.

On a (kind of) related note, I also need to upgrade my copy of Halloween from Laser (yeah, I still have one or two of those around here). I did some looking and found like 300 editions of the movie on disc. Anyone care to point me to the best one? Hows the 25th annivsery edition stack up?

 

[Greg_S_H]

Many don't like the 25th Anniversary edition because the color timing is different from what it was originally. I think the blue tints are mostly gone, and the daylight scenes look more like summer than autumn. I have the old Limited Edition, which doesn't have that problem, so I don't know what is the current recommended version. There's a big thread about it somewhere.

 

[Brian Kidd]

The 25th Anniversary Edition has better picture quality but, as was mentioned, the color timing is quite different from any other releases out there. The newest version released by Anchor Bay is simply a re-release of their original DVD transfer from 1999. It has the proper color timing, but isn't a great transfer and shares disc space with a full-frame version which means half the available bitrate of the Divimax version.

 

[TravisR]

If you can only own one, I'd pass on the Divimax release and go for the version from 1999 (which was re-released last month and is about $10 at Best Buy and Target).

There's also a thread about which is the 'best' version of Halloween here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=261231

 

[Lord Dalek]

In case you're planning on watching either Elite release on anything better than a standard tube, don't bother. Its analog sourced and window boxed.

 

[Tony J Case]

Is that the version that comes in a cardboard sleave and has a half moon slice out of it where the knife is? If so - sweet! I saw a version of Halloween with that cover on sale at Fred Meyers for 6 bucks.

 

[TravisR]

That sounds like the one. There's a pic of it here:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....p=1&id=1665913

 

[Tony J Case]

Yup - That would be the one! Sweetness. Off I go to the store (well, later mind you - not at midnight! )