Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment 4K UHD Box (1 Viewer)

[titch]

To anybody entertaining the notion that physical media is finished, now that Best Buy - or some other brick and morter store - isn't going to sell product, clearly needs to have to study Arrow Video's remarkable success. They're releasing box set after box set of lovingly curated cult movies in blu-ray and 4K UHD, which are selling like hot cakes ; their entire run of the "Chatterer" box of this 4K release sold out on pre-order, from their own website, before release date!

And using the original Hellraiser as an example of how Arrow actually outdo their previous offerings, unlike the rather hopeless repackaging of existing discs in a steelbook, as is the mainstream studios answer to "how do we shift more units to people who have already purchased this half a dozen times": I have the previous "Scarlet box" blu-ray set, released in 2016. A 2K remaster. It wasn't shabby then, but in comparison to what Arrow have just done with their 4K "Quartet Of Torment" box, it's as redundant and as uninspired, as the old cover art.

I've just spent a very entertaining six hours, watching the first three films, listening to the new commentary tracks, with cult film legend Kim Newman and unit publisist Stephen Jones. Fans, such as myself, who have seen the first two or three films in their various iterations since VHS and LaserDisc days, don't really need to see the films yet again - even with such fantastic 4K scans and mastering efforts, as are now presented! It's the incredible supplemental material and a box design to die for, which is the deal here. God - I listened to the first five minutes of Clive Barker's original commentary from the '90's, and it was unbearable: he can't say a single sentence, without going "um" and "er" and "ah", and that's just him pointing out what is happening on the screen. No - Kim Newman and Stephen Jones sound like commentators at the Newmarket horse races, breathlessly covering anecdotes, production history and anything that they suddenly think of. Now I'm going to read the incredible "Ages Of Desire" hardbound book, included with the set. The packaging and content are simply outstanding, even considering the high bar Arrow Video have previously set.

The year isn't finished yet, but I'm guessing that this box will be the physical media release of the year. And that's quite something, considering that we've had the amazing Second Sight Texas Chainsaw Massacre box, Arrow Video's Hugo box, Warner UK's Exorcist box, Criterion's Small Axe box, Arrow Video's Bruce Lee box, Criterions's Pasolini 101 box, StudioCanal's The Wicker Man box and Criterion's Three Colors 4K box!

 

[cineMANIAC]

Anybody who visits this site and sees empty threads on these kinds of releases will automatically assume physical media is dead lol. Physical media is very much alive and well, folks. There's plenty of chatter on this and other great boutique label stuff on that "other" site. I like this site but it's frustrating how quiet these B movie threads are here. And that's if the threads even exist.

 

[titch]

Anybody who visits this site and sees empty threads on these kinds of releases will automatically assume physical media is dead lol. Physical media is very much alive and well, folks. There's plenty of chatter on this and other great boutique label stuff on that "other" site. I like this site but it's frustrating how quiet these B movie threads are here. And that's if the threads even exist.

One of the reason why I take the time to post cult and foreign films on this forum, is that I know that there is no real great interest here for most of the cult movies, which Arrow Video and other boutique labels sell. It's a counterpoint to posts on streaming and the decline of physical media. Even when the major studios release fantastic box sets of mainstream films - such as the Columbia Classics boxes, or the Sony Pictures Classics 30th Anniversary box last year - there is usually just moaning and griping about what people think they should have released instead! And invariably, the usual suspects like to sit and pronounce, in advance, how "such and such a film" wouldn't benefit from a 4K scan and master, because it wasn't a top-notch, large format, Hollywood production. (They don't buy films anyway, they just like to post on forums).

But for film fanatics, who venture beyond the mainstream, these boutique labels are doing very good business, with their limited editions selling out. Frankly, for collectors, even the heydays of LaserDisc didn't have such an abundance of lovingly curated treasures on offer. I wasn't initially going to purchase this Hellraiser box, until I saw the amazing design of the box. And they haven't stuffed it full of junk, either. No miniature lobby cards, no bits and pieces of plastic. Just superb supplemental material, on par with Second Sight's Texas Chainsaw Massacre box. And like I said, the Limited Edition, Arrow Store exclusive "Chatterer" set sold out immediately, before release date, and is now being offered for over three times the retail price on eBay.

Hellraiser Quartet of Torment 4K UHD Arrow Exclusive OOP Chatterer Box Set | eBay

Hellraiser Quartet of Torment 4K UHD Arrow Exclusive OOP Chatterer Box Set. Condition is Brand New. Shipped with USPS Media Mail.

www.ebay.com

 

[cineMANIAC]

I ordered and have received the regular 4K set. The included book is worth the price alone. Lots of thoughtful extras as well. Can't wait to dive into the featurette on Disc 4 of the evolution of the Hellraiser series, which, at 48 minutes, is more of a feature-length doc. I'm always interested in those types of extras, moreso than commentaries which require us to watch the film a second time - something I have very little time for.

Agreed on the fastidious nature of "enthusiasts" on message forums. Lots of posers and wannabe experts telling us, in minute detail, what is wrong with every physical media release that comes out. Sometimes the nitpicking and moaning drain some of my enthusiasm but I try not to let it. When did people become such rabid critics?