A Few Words About A few words about...™ The City of the Dead -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Chelsearicky]

I hope I turn out to be wrong.

Amazon has posted a "remastered" VCI Blu ray of "City of the Dead" for release in March '18.

 

[Brent Reid]

• The City of the Dead: Remastered Limited Edition Blu-ray on Amazon.com

This is an example where brickbats are somewhat appropriate. Unlike with other cocked-up releases, VCI have never acknowledged there was anything wrong with their original BD. I and others tried contacting them via email and Facebook, but to no avail. Now, finally, this announcement is tantamount to an admittance of their earlier transgression. While it's very welcome, it does throw up some perplexing questions:

• Why has it taken so long and been created in stony silence?
• Even though it's been exactly two years in the making, why isn't this being offered as a free or at least discounted replacement disc for those who bought the last one in good faith?
• Will it also improve on Arrow's similarly substandard UK BD?
• It's supposedly a "limited edition", implying when supplies are exhausted VCI will continue pressing up and selling their old crappy BD. Is this the case? If so, it makes no sense: this should supplant it entirely.

I dearly hope the remastered BD builds on and surpasses the early promise shown by their superlative DVD; if so, they can count on a sale from me.

 

[Reed Grele]

I've ordered the U.K. "4K restoration" from the Amazon link on the previous page. I already own VCI's turn of the century DVD, and their sub par Blu-ray.

If the U.K. edition is an improvement to my eyes and ears, I probably won't be rewarding VCI with a purchase of their latest product, which, I suspect may just be the latest U.K. version with different artwork. Time will tell.

City of the Dead (Horror Hotel) is one of the many guilty pleasures of my "Chiller Theatre childhood". It scared me over 50 years ago, and It still gives me the creeps!

 

[aPhil]

I saw "Horror Hotel" on its original USA-version theatrical release. Really liked it. Enjoyed the old "City of the Dead" DVD.
I do not have this film (either cut/title) on Blu-ray,
but I'm hoping that this upcoming release from VCI will be something I'm as happy & excited about as their corrected Blu-ray of "One Million B.C."

 

[JoeStemme]

John Llewellyn Moxey's chiller is one of my favorite low-budget horror films of the 60's. This British production is set in Massachusetts and concerns a student (Venetia Stevenson) who is studying witchcraft - and, boy, does she find that it's alive and well! Her first clue is that her Professor is played by none other than Christopher Lee.

I got a rare chance to see a 35MM print at the American Cinemateque several years ago with Producer Max Rosenberg in attendance (along with a showing of THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD). An experience to remember! A few hours before departing for the theater, I debated even going! You see, I so vividly remember watching HORROR HOTEL on a 19 inch B&W TV in my college dorm and feeling that it was a buried treasure. And, creepy to boot! You almost don't want to spoil such a memory. Luckily, though the film has its weaknesses, it DOES still work! And, there are some scary bits that hold up fine. Revisiting HORROR HOTEL made me wince a little at the faux New England setting, the fog which lays on the ground like a deviant shag carpet, but, it's such a fine spooky tale, no matter. The Blu Ray certainly exposes them all the more. No matter.

P.S. On the point others have made about the similarities with Hitchcock's PSYCHO (i.e. A pretty blonde woman checking into a creepy hotel. Stripping down to lingerie. Not living for the 2nd Half of the picture etc. One MORE little point that crossed my mind that night: The Author of the book PSYCHO was based on was Robert Bloch. The same Robert Bloch that was involved in so many of Producer Max Rosenberg's Amicus Films (I.E. ASYLUM, HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD etc). Interesting....