DISNEY MOVIE CLUB EXCLUSIVE Blu-ray: The Watcher in the Woods and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1 Viewer)

[David Norman]

I mentioned this in the DMC Exclusive Thread, but were thinking these would be October releases. Much to my (pleasant) surprise these are now up for order on the DMC Website now and appear to be immediately available (not listed as preorder like the last couple rounds) os probably worth a separate thread given how many people have asked for these two items for years.

The Flight of the Navigator is also getting a US release for those that aren't interested in importing the more more substantial region free Second Sight UK edition.

IF any folks are considering joining DMC, please read the HTF thread of jump to blu-ray.com and read the Massive DMC Deals Thread to learn about the best promos or at the very least read the OP and FAQ in Post 2 about how the club works. The default deal without the optimum promo codes is significantly more expensive option (literally up to twice as expensive)


$24.95 each list price, but eligible for all the usual discounts.

The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

 

[Doug Wallen]

Ordered Flight of The Navigator and Something Wicked This Way Comes right after viewing this post. Shipping notice received on the 8th and the discs arrived today. Great service, nice to have received these (birthday gifts for me).

 

[Nick*Z]

Pretty pointless releases of Watcher and Something Wicked, with decades' old video masters that look careworn and aged beyond their years. Honestly, if Disney is going to market these as 'exclusives' the least they can do is offer brand spanking new video masters to sweeten the deal. These are a half-step up from watching the DVDs, while paying through the nose for the privilege of claiming to be bona fide Blu-rays.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Excerpts from the 1996 Laserdisc commentary track which featured Ray Bradbury and was INCREDIBLE! It has never been on any commercial DVD or Blu-ray release.

 

[ahollis]

We always go back to the past. It ain't there anymore.

 

[Dick]

Pretty pointless releases of Watcher and Something Wicked, with decades' old video masters that look careworn and aged beyond their years. Honestly, if Disney is going to market these as 'exclusives' the least they can do is offer brand spanking new video masters to sweeten the deal. These are a half-step up from watching the DVDs, while paying through the nose for the privilege of claiming to be bona fide Blu-rays.

I disagree, at least with regards to WICKED and NAVIGATOR. Those two look pretty okay to me. Not 4K OCN scans, but this is Disney, and we all know they don't give a shit about the quality of their products anymore, as long as they're raking in some money. On the other hand, I fully concur with your assessment of WATCHER. But, question: did you buy these? Are your comments based upon your actual viewing of the discs, or just reviews and hearsay?

 

[Nick*Z]

I disagree, at least with regards to WICKED and NAVIGATOR. Those two look pretty okay to me. Not 4K OCN scans, but this is Disney, and we all know they don't give a shit about the quality of their products anymore, as long as they're raking in some money. On the other hand, I fully concur with your assessment of WATCHER. But, question: did you buy these? Are your comments based upon your actual viewing of the discs, or just reviews and hearsay?

First of all, I never make comments on ANY disc I have not had a chance to view or own and have viewed. Either way, I don't just perform a scan chapter quickie to assess disc quality. I watch it from cover to cover. Something Wicked This Way Comes is riddled in age-related artifacts. The grain is not natural in appearance at all. It's clumpy, thick, and, most gritty, rather than occurring naturally.

Ditto for Watcher in the Woods. No attempt has been made to massage the various layers of SFX in either of these movies to provide for a more seamless transition. So, the effects appear even more ColorForms cut and paste and dated than they did when the movie was released.

Not sure why you are asking me about Navigator. I made no comment on it and DO NOT own it. Have not seen it.

My extreme displeasure with the Mouse House of late stems entirely from the fact they are not a small, indie label without the resources to launch full-scale restoration/preservation efforts on ALL of their catalog. If it's good enough to warrant a dump onto Blu via their atrociously meager Disney Club 'anniversary' offerings, shorn of all the extras produced during the DVD deluxe era, the least they can do is spend the extra coin and provide consumers with quality upgrades that make sense in 2023.

If we were talking of the infancy of HD, I would not quibble. Virtually all of the studios were guilty of just slapping stuff to disc, hoping the consumer wouldn't notice.

Not so in 2023.

Not so for at least a decade, actually. So, while some studios, like Sony - re: the old Columbia, Tri-Star catalog, and, Warner Bros. and the Warner Archive continue to curate and care for their heritage, performing the necessary heavy lifting required to not merely maintain, but elevate the quality for contemporary (and in some cases, beyond contemporary) standards, Disney Inc. remains locked in a mid-80's crisis of conscience and budget-restraining effort to pretend nearly 40 years of technological advancements in video processing have not occurred.

If Disney wishes to remain hermetically sealed in that time capsule to cut costs, there is little to be done about it. But they are fast approaching the epoch when even their die-hard consumer base will begun to abandon their shoddy efforts, especially when the price of these 'club exclusives' does not reflect the quality being offered.

At last glance, discs bought in the kind of bulk Disney Inc. buys them in costs less than six cents. An old video master costs them nothing, as it's already prepped to port over to disc. So, the rest of the cost is in 'replication' which doesn't add up to a $20 to $40 price point, as these discs often retail for via Amazon, or other non-Disney outlets.

Bottom line: if you're still buy the club exclusives, you're being taken advantage of - royally. I could have used another word to describe what Disney Inc. but decided to keep the conversation on a more intellectual level.

 

[Dick]

First of all, I never make comments on ANY disc I have not had a chance to view or own and have viewed. Either way, I don't just perform a scan chapter quickie to assess disc quality. I watch it from cover to cover. Something Wicked This Way Comes is riddled in age-related artifacts. The grain is not natural in appearance at all. It's clumpy, thick, and, most gritty, rather than occurring naturally.

Ditto for Watcher in the Woods. No attempt has been made to massage the various layers of SFX in either of these movies to provide for a more seamless transition. So, the effects appear even more ColorForms cut and paste and dated than they did when the movie was released.

Not sure why you are asking me about Navigator. I made no comment on it and DO NOT own it. Have not seen it.

My extreme displeasure with the Mouse House of late stems entirely from the fact they are not a small, indie label without the resources to launch full-scale restoration/preservation efforts on ALL of their catalog. If it's good enough to warrant a dump onto Blu via their atrociously meager Disney Club 'anniversary' offerings, shorn of all the extras produced during the DVD deluxe era, the least they can do is spend the extra coin and provide consumers with quality upgrades that make sense in 2023.

If we were talking of the infancy of HD, I would not quibble. Virtually all of the studios were guilty of just slapping stuff to disc, hoping the consumer wouldn't notice.

Not so in 2023.

Not so for at least a decade, actually. So, while some studios, like Sony - re: the old Columbia, Tri-Star catalog, and, Warner Bros. and the Warner Archive continue to curate and care for their heritage, performing the necessary heavy lifting required to not merely maintain, but elevate the quality for contemporary (and in some cases, beyond contemporary) standards, Disney Inc. remains locked in a mid-80's crisis of conscience and budget-restraining effort to pretend nearly 40 years of technological advancements in video processing have not occurred.

If Disney wishes to remain hermetically sealed in that time capsule to cut costs, there is little to be done about it. But they are fast approaching the epoch when even their die-hard consumer base will begun to abandon their shoddy efforts, especially when the price of these 'club exclusives' does not reflect the quality being offered.

At last glance, discs bought in the kind of bulk Disney Inc. buys them in costs less than six cents. An old video master costs them nothing, as it's already prepped to port over to disc. So, the rest of the cost is in 'replication' which doesn't add up to a $20 to $40 price point, as these discs often retail for via Amazon, or other non-Disney outlets.

Bottom line: if you're still buy the club exclusives, you're being taken advantage of - royally. I could have used another word to describe what Disney Inc. but decided to keep the conversation on a more intellectual level.

Well, we have common ground about our general feelings with regards to the Disney corporation. No disagreement with you, there. You are right that WICKED contains artifacts and isn't up to current Blu-ray standards. Perhaps I was just happier than hell to be able to own it looking better (as it does) than the DVD. But WICKED does, at least, have film grain present, whether or not you feel it looks natural. Can't say that about too many Disney release these days.

 

[Nick*Z]

Well, we have common ground about our general feelings with regards to the Disney corporation. No disagreement with you, there. You are right that WICKED contains artifacts and isn't up to current Blu-ray standards. Perhaps I was just happier than hell to be able to own it looking better (as it does) than the DVD. But WICKED does, at least, have film grain present, whether or not you feel it looks natural. Can't say that about too many Disney release these days.

Dear Dick:

Yes, Disney's record is spotty at best. And please be advised, when I review discs I'm looking at them twice - once on two TV monitors - a 75 inch Panasonic, and a 85 inch Sony - and then, again, in projection on a wall-sized screen. So, eight feet height by whatever width the aspect ratio will allow for. In all cases, I'm looking for overall image fidelity and an adherence to 'naturally' reproduced colors and grain.

At 75 inches, and sitting at a respectable distance from the screen, grain is usually a non-issue unless it's been totally wiped with ugly DNR. But when blow up in projection, age-related artifacts look as though you could drive a Buick through them and grain gets amplified.

Regarding grain - that's still okay, if it has been faithfully reproduced to mimic what was on the actual film element. But when it's been digitized and becomes gritty, in projection, it can become so grotesquely distracting, the whole point of enjoying the movie itself becomes moot.

That's what happened for me when viewing Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Watcher in the Woods in projection.