Universal Vault Series - Amazon.com exclusive DVD-Rs (1 Viewer)

[classicmovieguy]

I just got my copy of Romanoff And Juliet in this morning's mail and the news isn't good. It's a full frame open matte transfer rather than anamorphic wide screen. The transfer itself is on the soft side so zooming it only makes it look worse. Still, as a huge Sandra Dee fan (she was a major part of my adolescence) I'm glad to have it but .........

Oh well... Still I suppose "better to have it in some form than not at all". I don't think we'll see another release.

 

[Thomas T]

Oh well... Still I suppose "better to have it in some form than not at all". I don't think we'll see another release.

My sentiments exactly. Still, there's always the unlikely chance of an R2 release in its original aspect ratio.

 

[Mike*HTF]

I just got my copy of Romanoff And Juliet in this morning's mail and the news isn't good. It's a full frame open matte transfer rather than anamorphic wide screen. The transfer itself is on the soft side so zooming it only makes it look worse. Still, as a huge Sandra Dee fan (she was a major part of my adolescence) I'm glad to have it but .........

Thanks for the update, Thomas and sorry as I'd hoped for better news--I think I'll hang onto my Satellite rip.

 

[Camps]

Some welcome Halloween news: A batch of classic Universal horror/ mystery titles not before issued on DVD (plus some DVD singles of titles previously issued in box sets/collections):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank?lo=movies-tv&keywords=universal+vault+series&qid=1413501328&rh=n%3A2625373011%2Ck%3Auniversal+vault+series&sort=date-desc-rank

 

[Bob Cashill]

Titles are...The Black Cat (41)Captive Wild WomanCult of the CobraThe Deadly MantisHorror IslandJungle WomanMan Made MonsterThe Mole PeopleThe Monolith MonstersMystery of Edwin DroodMystery of Marie RogetNight MonsterSecret of the Blue RoomSon of Ali BabaSupernatural (33)

 

[JoeDoakes]

Titles are...Jungle WomanMystery of Edwin DroodMystery of Marie RogetSecret of the Blue RoomSon of Ali BabaSupernatural (33)

Marie Roget and Secret of the Blue Room are really big deals as they (I think) were never even on VHS. The others had former VHS releases but no DVD. There was some speculation that Supernatural might go Criterion. For the titles I didn't include in my quote, look for the collections off which they came where they are available cheaper.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Thanks for breaking those out. Isn't there a third "Jungle Woman" movie? And is that still unavailable?

 

[JoHud]

Marie Roget and Secret of the Blue Room are really big deals as they (I think) were never even on VHS. The others had former VHS releases but no DVD. There was some speculation that Supernatural might go Criterion. For the titles I didn't include in my quote, look for the collections off which they came where they are available cheaper.

Nice breakdown. Plenty of new early Universal/Paramount this time around. Hopefully some of these have newer transfers.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Thanks for breaking those out. Isn't there a third "Jungle Woman" movie? And is that still unavailable?

It's Jungle Captive (after Captive Wild Woman and Jungle Woman it had to be that).

 

[Randy Korstick]

I'd be interested in these 3 if they were finally presented OAR but more than likely they are the same old transfers from the early 90's VHS releases like they released in the sci-fi set on DVD..
The Mole People
The Monolith Monsters
The Deadly Mantis

The Full Screen versions released in the Sci-Fi set a few years back just used old Full Screen VHS transfers instead of new Anamorphic Widescreen transfers. Mole Men was particularly bad as they are in a cave that is supposed to be 6-7 feet high and they mention how cramped it is but what we see in the open matte transfer is all this extra dead space on the top that we were not meant to see and it appears they are in a 15-20 foot high cavern instead of the tight cave they mention. Completely ruins the whole sequence in the cave.

 

[TheSteig]

Those horror titles are on the Universal Horror collection box set.
So now they are solo releases on DVDr... meanwhile in Germany some are getting blu ray treatment..go figure that one !

 

[Wade Sowers]

Thanks to everyone for posting about these, I would have missed them for sure!

 

[PODER]

Looking forward to hearing whether the four 50s films listed (CULT OF THE COBRA and the three from the old Sci-Fi set)are OAR.The ones I'm most looking forward to, though, are the three from the 30s. Crossing my fingers on all these ...

 

[TheSteig]

I am interested in the Blue Room and Edwin Drood, but haven't seen them before

 

[Aunt Peg]

Nothing for me I'm afraid. I already have The Mystery of Edwin Drood from cable TV. If these were pressed I'd upgrade but I don't see the point in this case as the TV copy is excellent.

 

[borisfw]

I bit on Drood,Supernatural and Blue Room . I'll keep my fingers crossed that they are nice prints . Had Drood and Supernatural on vhs . And I had Blue Room from Tom Weaver .

 

[Bob Cashill]

Please report back on transfer quality, thanks.

 

[Camps]

Please report back on transfer quality, thanks.

I can help there. I received Supernatural, Secret of the Blue Room and Mystery of Marie Roget (nearly all the other Halloween releases I already have on various box sets, which thankfully were still working fine last time I checked).

The transfers on all three are fine; studio classic DVD quality, I'll call it.

If you already have the '90s Universal VHS of Supernatural (or a DVD copy of that), and are on a budget, then I'll say you're "OK" hanging on to your current copy. The new DVD-R is an improvement, for sure, but not necessarily night-and-day in terms of difference. This may be the case with Drood (of which I have the Uni VHS) as well.

However, anyone remotely interested in Secret of the Blue Room and Mystery of Marie Roget should toss their (likely 16mm-based) boots and go for these.

 

[PODER]

Do the Universal Vault Releases ever come down in price? And if so, where does one go to check? (This is probably something I should already know, but if so it's slipping my ever-less reliable mind!)

 

[Bob Cashill]

I've seen some of these for $15.98, which is about as low as they go.