A House on Haunted Hill Inquiry... (1 Viewer)

[jayembee]

Some people have strange ideas when they apparently don't have the full story. Back in the day, in a Usenet newsgroup discussion about widescreen, there was one guy who was up in arms over the widescreen version of Blade Runner. He specifically complained about some shots of Deckard flying about LA in his aircar, and how in many of the shots, the top of the image cut off the top of Deckard's forehead.

I looked at my copy of the Criterion LD, and saw that, yes, Deckard's head was lopped off half-way up his forehead. I then put in my fullscreen Betamax copy to look at the same scene, and sure enough, his forehead was still cut off, but it was cut off by the top of the screen, not because of any black bar. He, like most people probably would, figured that if this happened at the top of the screen, that it was intentional, but if it was done by a black bar, then it must be cutting something off that wasn't meant to be cut off.

In another instance, in a different forum, I was remarking about a scene in 2010 where Arthur C. Clarke made a cameo appearance (aside from the one as part of a faux Time magazine cover) in a scene where he's feeding pigeons while Roy Scheider is talking with James McEachin. Someone responded saying that he checked that scene and couldn't spot Clarke. It turned out that this guy's copy was fullscreen, so Clarke -- being off to the side -- was cropped out.

I tended to use these two instances as examples of why widescreen was a plus rather than a minus (at least in terms of 'scope films).

 

[Kaskade1309]

No.

Appreciate it.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Just ordered the Warner Bros. snapper case variant through Amazon; couldn't find it anywhere else really, especially new. It was about 15 bucks, but with shipping and tax it came to more than I was comfortable spending on a SD DVD title.

Oh well....at least I can retire my Alpha Video 4:3 travesty.

Thanks to everyone who assisted here with tracking this down; looking forward to watching it this Halloween season.

 

[Sa5150]

Guys am I missing something here ? Why are we looking for this on dvd ? The movie has been available on blu-ray from the Vincent price collection in 1080p beautiful HD print . Now for myself I do not have this collection and right now the best way to own this is the Amazon Prime streaming version the HD one that is $9.99 which I believe is shouts warner print ( though I'm not 100% sure) . I know it sucks its a download and you cant copy it to your pc as far as I know . I missed out on that 4D disc blu-ray but we have no idea what source they were using anyway . It definitely not Warner/ shout or they would be sued even if its public domain now and that cover artwork is hideous . I would take the original poster artwork any day of this classic . Wish Warner Archives would put this out already . Easy money for WB . Obviously there is no stand alone blu-ray if that's what the whole discussion was all about . I rather watch a HD stream then buy a dvd . And those color dvds are horrible I think in quality , Just my opinion

 

[Malcolm R]

Kaskade wanted a disc version and the VP2 set is out of print and expensive, so he was looking for the best available alternative on disc. At the moment, that would seem to be the Warner DVD until we get an updated blu-ray from Warner Archive or Shout! Quality of the 3D Kickstarter version is unknown at this time and even if it turns out spectacular I don't think it's going to be available at general retail.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Guys am I missing something here ? Why are we looking for this on dvd ? The movie has been available on blu-ray from the Vincent price collection in 1080p beautiful HD print . Now for myself I do not have this collection and right now the best way to own this is the Amazon Prime streaming version the HD one that is $9.99 which I believe is shouts warner print ( though I'm not 100% sure) . I know it sucks its a download and you cant copy it to your pc as far as I know . I missed out on that 4D disc blu-ray but we have no idea what source they were using anyway . It definitely not Warner/ shout or they would be sued even if its public domain now and that cover artwork is hideous . I would take the original poster artwork any day of this classic . Wish Warner Archives would put this out already . Easy money for WB . Obviously there is no stand alone blu-ray if that's what the whole discussion was all about . I rather watch a HD stream then buy a dvd . And those color dvds are horrible I think in quality , Just my opinion

As Malcom stated, I was looking for a standalone disc of the film, and it's only been available on DVD save for the Vincent Price Collection Blu-ray from Shout (I didn't really need the other films in that set and it's terribly overpriced everywhere now). The DVD I have of the film is from Alpha Video and it's a full screen transfer that's really beginning to show its age on a 4K screen blown up to 65 inches. From what everyone told me and my own research, the best version out there is the Warner Bros. DVD from 1999, so that's what I went with. If there was a UHD or standalone Blu, I would have, of course, opted for that.

But I didn't want a digital or streamed version.

As an aside, the Warner Bros. disc finally arrived; haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

 

[Sa5150]

As Malcom stated, I was looking for a standalone disc of the film, and it's only been available on DVD save for the Vincent Price Collection Blu-ray from Shout (I didn't really need the other films in that set and it's terribly overpriced everywhere now). The DVD I have of the film is from Alpha Video and it's a full screen transfer that's really beginning to show its age on a 4K screen blown up to 65 inches. From what everyone told me and my own research, the best version out there is the Warner Bros. DVD from 1999, so that's what I went with. If there was a UHD or standalone Blu, I would have, of course, opted for that.

But I didn't want a digital or streamed version.

As an aside, the Warner Bros. disc finally arrived; haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

I agree , I want the real thing as well . It will come out on blu-ray , its easy cash , I cant see whoever it might be WB or shout or whoever . I don't have the VP collection 2 either and now way were paying the scalpers that kind of money on ebay . We wanted to watch it for Halloween and its in HD on Prime . That's what I would have done and hold off for a Blu-ray or possible UHD depending on if the OCN survive or not , I guess its possible to make a UHD from a nice 35mm scan as well . I don't know what Warner owns and I'm not going to speculate like there doing at the Blu-ray.com forum . Everyone there thinks there a genius on that forum LOL . They make stuff up to sound like there "in the know" and belittle you for asking such a question .

If you have a region free player ,

I found this and no need for any streaming now . I'm really happy .

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203752416830?hash=item2f7097263e:g:n~cAAOSw6Xli5v~N&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA0AGJw8v4STsfG5pjFNL8RFmQ5dGmeVEt7Fc5ivpyDEZGOhZ0pKqmwhT12qHYhITDbFP92rFy7KKF48o592lX01pMLbne3m8QYa+f7Iisa9yo1sPVvHLWay2+Qkhk2k+vXCLehsxuJ+Jy5Cd3/28spWpCzLRqvGTqQfQRPSsxkZ28wMukxM1OAhmC/Q+Ic2pxKl6PWUxE2DHOvJvnU1FJA5Lb2TKh1wC/08oqXoev7QB4Yd71vEwyzsB00uiPwUWpKNHfCJh64m//L4Mi0yJ9i0w=|tkp:Bk9SR9DKm-vrYg

I made an offer of $60 Aussie and he accepted ,

I highly recommend this set . It is the only other version of House on haunted Hill on a real blu-ray in 1080p and I read its pretty much the same source as the Shout disc . Last one left from this eBay seller , He is charging a lot of money for the shipping but .... $40 USD for the set , About $73 + tax . You can't beat that compared to what the scalpers are trying to sell the shout set for $300 . That's insane ! Someone else is trying to sell the Aussie for $100+ , Not too many people knew about this . Glad I did some research . Good luck !

 

[Kaskade1309]

I agree , I want the real thing as well . It will come out on blu-ray , its easy cash , I cant see whoever it might be WB or shout or whoever .

I simply don't understand why a studio hasn't snapped this up to do a proper 4K or even 1080p release -- Scream, Kino, Vinegar Syndrome...any one of them could make some money on a good release of this.

I don't have the VP collection 2 either and now way were paying the scalpers that kind of money on ebay .

Yeah, it's not that important of a title for me to pay those kinds of prices.

We wanted to watch it for Halloween and its in HD on Prime . That's what I would have done and hold off for a Blu-ray or possible UHD depending on if the OCN survive or not , I guess its possible to make a UHD from a nice 35mm scan as well . I don't know what Warner owns and I'm not going to speculate like there doing at the Blu-ray.com forum . Everyone there thinks there a genius on that forum LOL . They make stuff up to sound like there "in the know" and belittle you for asking such a question .

Don't even get me STARTED about that cancerous, vile black hole of a forum -- I LOATHE that site and every asinine favorite-tending moderator on there (along with most of the utterly annoying and downright shameful members).

I really don't have an issue with the DVD format, even in 2023 -- I still rent them and buy them occasionally when a title isn't available on anything else. It all depends on your upscaling hardware and the way the disc was mastered. To that end, I wasn't opposed to picking up House on Haunted Hill on this Warner DVD given it is anamorphic on the widescreen side of the disc and people have had good things to say about it -- so much so that I'd rather have it in standard definition as a PHYSICAL MEDIA piece that I own than stream it or download it.

If you have a region free player ,

I found this and no need for any streaming now . I'm really happy .

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203752416830?hash=item2f7097263e:g:n~cAAOSw6Xli5v~N&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA0AGJw8v4STsfG5pjFNL8RFmQ5dGmeVEt7Fc5ivpyDEZGOhZ0pKqmwhT12qHYhITDbFP92rFy7KKF48o592lX01pMLbne3m8QYa+f7Iisa9yo1sPVvHLWay2+Qkhk2k+vXCLehsxuJ+Jy5Cd3/28spWpCzLRqvGTqQfQRPSsxkZ28wMukxM1OAhmC/Q+Ic2pxKl6PWUxE2DHOvJvnU1FJA5Lb2TKh1wC/08oqXoev7QB4Yd71vEwyzsB00uiPwUWpKNHfCJh64m//L4Mi0yJ9i0w=|tkp:Bk9SR9DKm-vrYg

I made an offer of $60 Aussie and he accepted ,

I highly recommend this set . It is the only other version of House on haunted Hill on a real blu-ray in 1080p and I read its pretty much the same source as the Shout disc . Last one left from this eBay seller , He is charging a lot of money for the shipping but .... $40 USD for the set , About $73 + tax . You can't beat that compared to what the scalpers are trying to sell the shout set for $300 . That's insane ! Someone else is trying to sell the Aussie for $100+ , Not too many people knew about this . Glad I did some research . Good luck !

Thanks; I'll look at it as soon as I'm done typing this reply...

Edit: Unfortunately, my Panasonic DP-UB9000 isn't region-free for Blu-ray or DVD...so I think I'll be okay with the DVD.

 

[Sa5150]

I simply don't understand why a studio hasn't snapped this up to do a proper 4K or even 1080p release -- Scream, Kino, Vinegar Syndrome...any one of them could make some money on a good release of this.

Yeah, it's not that important of a title for me to pay those kinds of prices.

Don't even get me STARTED about that cancerous, vile black hole of a forum -- I LOATHE that site and every asinine favorite-tending moderator on there (along with most of the utterly annoying and downright shameful members).

I really don't have an issue with the DVD format, even in 2023 -- I still rent them and buy them occasionally when a title isn't available on anything else. It all depends on your upscaling hardware and the way the disc was mastered. To that end, I wasn't opposed to picking up House on Haunted Hill on this Warner DVD given it is anamorphic on the widescreen side of the disc and people have had good things to say about it -- so much so that I'd rather have it in standard definition as a PHYSICAL MEDIA piece that I own than stream it or download it.

Thanks; I'll look at it as soon as I'm done typing this reply...

Edit: Unfortunately, my Panasonic DP-UB9000 isn't region-free for Blu-ray or DVD...so I think I'll be okay with the DVD.

Oh wow , You know you have one of the best 4k players and Panasonic has many trick's with the remote etc... that will play many region B discs . I just have Sony and a modified Oppo that is region free , You may want to ask around about the Panny . That aussie set is still available and I think the guy would take far less then he is asking . The HOHH is the same transfer as the Shout I can confirm from another owner of both that and the crazy expensive rip off of collection 2 on eBay that those scalpers think there going to get , You gotta be a fool to pay $300 to these people who bought it for $28 when it was on sale at amazon a couple years ago . But if your fine with DVD then your all set . Though the Pannys in my opinion do not upconvert very good . I had the 820 model and my sony and oppo do a much better job on dvds so I retuned it .


Yes the people at blu-ray.com , the majority of them are asses and the guy who runs the sight and moderators are just douche bags , No other word for them .
But I frequent there , I like how I can have my entire library all on there and they are good for finding sales . Or I would have missed out on a lot of stuff .


Oh well just my 2 cents . have a great night !

 

[Kaskade1309]

Here are my thoughts: the audio on this release is in 1.0 mono as opposed to the Alpha Video DVD, which was 2.0 mono -- now, you may not think this would make any appreciative difference, but from the moment the first shrieking scream hits the center speaker as the film opens in complete blackness, even my wife was able to discern an audible distinction. The Alpha Video disc's audio track was significantly louder than the 1.0 audio track on this disc, forcing me to crank my receiver's volume up way beyond what we normally listen at, but in the plus column, the audio quality seemed to be better (that is, on the Alpha disc, the track was louder but began to introduce some strain as you brought the volume up).

I also noticed that when the film first began -- the starts playing automatically after the Warner Bros. logo on the 1999 DVD -- there was a brief credit sequence before the shrieking screams kick in on the all-black screen. That wasn't present on the Alpha Video disc, though it's not a big deal. Additionally, this Warner print, while sharper and significantly less blurry and out-of-focus as the Alpha print, exhibited damage that I didn't see on the other DVD, including black spots that would pop up randomly. Print damage that was present on the Alpha disc were still on the Warner DVD, albeit a little less noticeable -- for example, when Lance opens that secret door towards the end and it closes behind him (this scene was always marred with a strange "artifact freeze" on the screen wherein it looked like print scratches seemed to freeze in place as the thunder clapped in the background, and it was still here on the Warner disc, albeit slightly less aggressive in nature).

In general, this was an upgrade from the Alpha Video DVD, though I wouldn't call it night and day, which is something of a disappointment; the audio seemed less forceful than on the Alpha disc (again, the 1.0/2.0 mono thing) and some print damage remains. However, it was nice to finally be able to watch this film without the pillarboxing in 4:3 (or having to stretch the image horizontally to fill a 16:9 screen) or the annoying drop shadow that plagued the Alpha Video release, covering the top few inches of the image with a hazy, out-of-focus black stripe of some sort.

The bottom line? Some boutique label needs to get the rights to this and issue a proper 1080p or, better yet, 2160p-with-HDR release.

​

 

[Kaskade1309]

Oh wow , You know you have one of the best 4k players

It's not what it's cracked up to be.

and Panasonic has many trick's with the remote etc... that will play many region B discs . I just have Sony and a modified Oppo that is region free , You may want to ask around about the Panny . That aussie set is still available and I think the guy would take far less then he is asking . The HOHH is the same transfer as the Shout I can confirm from another owner of both that and the crazy expensive rip off of collection 2 on eBay that those scalpers think there going to get , You gotta be a fool to pay $300 to these people who bought it for $28 when it was on sale at amazon a couple years ago . But if your fine with DVD then your all set . Though the Pannys in my opinion do not upconvert very good . I had the 820 model and my sony and oppo do a much better job on dvds so I retuned it .

I'm okay without region hacking it, but I appreciate the tip. As for upconversion, you're right -- the Panasonics don't do that great a job with DVD upscaling, especially if the transfer isn't mastered right. They introduce moire patterning, aliasing/jaggies and other artifacts, but House on Haunted Hill seemed to have upscaled decently last night.

Yes the people at blu-ray.com , the majority of them are asses and the guy who runs the sight and moderators are just douche bags , No other word for them .
But I frequent there , I like how I can have my entire library all on there and they are good for finding sales . Or I would have missed out on a lot of stuff .


Oh well just my 2 cents . have a great night !

No other word to describe those subhumans, indeed -- you're spot on with that.

Hope you had a great night, as well.

 

[Will Krupp]

Hey, for what it's worth, TCM just aired a gorgeous widescreen HD transfer of this today. For anyone who's interested, it's airing again on November 1st at 4:00am EST as part of their Halloween marathon.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Hey, for what it's worth, TCM just aired a gorgeous widescreen HD transfer of this today. For anyone who's interested, it's airing again on November 1st at 4:00am EST as part of their Halloween marathon.

I saw it when I climbed into bed -- the funniest thing is that I was actually THINKING "Imagine I turned on TCM and HOHH was playing?" (after I had just watched it on the Warner DVD) and it WAS when I tuned in.

I have to concur that this was a gorgeous high def image -- so much better than any other DVD variant I've seen.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yep, I watched it this afternoon, too. Wonderful widescreen image and crisp sound.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Makes you wonder why a studio -- even Warner (heck, they put out a Blu of Robert Wise's The Haunting) -- doesn't release a 1080p disc at the very least.