Herzog/Kinski box set coming -- limited to 5000 (1 Viewer)

[MartinTeller]

From DVDFile.com:

As perhaps the final nail in the coffin (get it?) of Anchor Bay's acclaimed series of Werner Herzog DVD releases, on 7/9 they'll release one of Herzog's most acclaimed works, the 1979 remake of Nosferatu. This two-disc set features a new 1.85;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 Dolby surround remix (plus the film's original mono track) an audio commentary by director Werner Herzog and Norman Hill, the "Making of Nosferatu" featurette, trailers and talent bios. Retail is $29.95. And 7/9 will also see the release of The Herzog/Kinksi Collection, a 6-disc box set featuring Aguirre The Wrath of God, Nosferatu, Qyzeck, Fitcarraldo and Cobra Verde, along with the documentary My Best Fiend. Only 5,000 copies will be issued, and retail is $79.95.

It doesn't say, but I assume/hope the editions in the box set have the same bonus features as the individual AB releases.

 

[JulianK]

If it's a six disc box set, and assuming that My Best Fiend is on a disc of its own, does that mean that the version of Nosferatu that's in the box won't be the new two-disc version?

 

[streeter]

I imagine it's the new 2-disc Nosferatu and not the old one, but I'm not sure.

But take a look at the box picture up at dvdfile.com - all the covers have different colors. It looks like it will be a neat set, but will there be anything unique to it?

 

[Jean-Michel]

I'm 99% sure there will be nothing new. But the chance to have all these titles in one box for only $80 is a great deal in and of itself. I'll definitely be pre-ordering it ASAP.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

If the box set is really only $79.95 retail then that means you can get each of the 6 films in the set for about $10 shipped at Amazon when you factor in GCs and STL. Wow! I've been looking to get these discs for a long time and I'll finally be able to do it cheap.

 

[Ben Motley]

Oh yeah! I'm glad I held off on all of these.

 

[Brook K]

Well I've already got them all so I won't be picking up the box. I'm guessing those are the same features already on the current Nosferatu DVD and only the transfer is new. If so, it's another pointless AB 2 disc set as that featurette is maybe 10m long.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Well I've already got them all so I won't be picking up the box. I'm guessing those are the same features already on the current Nosferatu DVD and only the transfer is new. If so, it's another pointless AB 2 disc set as that featurette is maybe 10m long.

it's not really very pointless if proper encoding of the new 16x9 transfers take up more space than a single disc would comfortably allow. remember that it will have both the German and English versions, each with 5.1 mixes, totalling over 3 hours. using 2 discs seems more than reasonable to me.

DJ

 

[Brook K]

I wasn't aware that there were separate German and English versions. I thought it was just an alternate soundtrack?

Just like the slightly longer Bad Taste 2nd disc, a disc containing an 8m featurette and two trailers seems like a colossal waste of material.

 

[Roderick Gauci]

I am reproducing a quote from a recent e-mail correspondence which I received from Michael Felscher of Anchor Bay regarding their upcoming Box Set THE HERZOG/KINSKI COLLECTION:

“Q: Speaking of Klaus Kinski, I read on some forum that your DVD of AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1972) has been mentioned as ‘not functioning’ after a period of time. Before acquiring it as part of the Herzog/Kinski box set, I would like to know if this problem has been rectified. And will both discs of NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE (1979) (German and English) be included in the box set, or just one, presumably the original, full-length German version?

A: Any problems some people may have had with AGUIRRE are not widespread and will not affect playback when included in the box set this summer. The version of NOSFERATU that will be included in the box set will be Herzog's preferred German Language version NOSFERATU PHANTOM DER NACHT.”

Actually, just last Sunday I ordered from Play.com the 2-Disc set of NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE on Region 2 DVD (also released by Anchor Bay). I could not resist its list price of 7.99 Pounds Sterling (equivalent to $11.49 plus FREE shipping!!). Just like the upcoming Region 1 re-issue, it features all the supplements included in the currently available NOSFERATU single disc, but is now spread over two discs and is anamorphically enchanced for 16:9 TV sets. I also grabbed me a couple more Anchor Bay UK discs which are presently on sale at Play.com: the 2-Disc set of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978) – currently OOP on Region 1 – and Neil Jordan’s MONA LISA (1986) – which has even more extras than the Region 1 Criterion DVD – both for just under 8 Pounds Sterling each!

I have been waiting for THE HERZOG/KINSKI COLLECTION for a very long time so it’s nice to know that it has finally been given a release date (less than two months to go!!). I can now buy my other most coveted Anchor Bay discs of Werner Herzog films which I did not buy in anticipation of the Box Set: FATA MORGANA (1971)/LESSONS IN DARKNESS (1992) and HEART OF GLASS (1976) – none of which I have ever watched before - and Herzog’s masterpiece, THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER (1974) – although I have to admit that AGUIRRE is my favorite among his films. Perhaps I may even get EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL (1970) and STROSZEK (1977) which I consider lesser films in the Herzog canon, albeit still fascinating.

Speaking of Anchor Bay, I have recently read in one of the many online Forums dedicated to film discussions that Anchor Bay intends to release yet another DVD edition of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978) to commemorate its 25th Anniversary next year. This modern horror classic has already been released on DVD many times before by Anchor Bay both in the U.S. and in the U.K. The main reason why I had not yet purchased any is that none of them has managed to include the full-length Audio Commentary featuring John Carpenter, Debra Hill and Jamie Lee Curtis which was originally recorded for The Criterion Collection laserdisc. Since I do not own a laserdisc player, this “definitive” home video version was never an option for me.

I have been a regular buyer of Anchor Bay DVDs for the past two years now and am especially grateful for their splendid “Hammer Collection” titles and their Limited Editions of SUSPIRIA (1976) and THE STUNT MAN (1980), among many others. The only time I feel I have been let-down by an Anchor Bay release was the 2-Disc Limited Edition of THE WICKER MAN (1973). I had pre-ordered it when it was first announced and was very happy with it for a while. However, as you may already know, the Region 2 version of the same film released by Warners a couple of weeks ago includes all the supplementary features contained in the Anchor Bay edition PLUS an exclusive Audio Commentary and more! I must admit that I am itching to buy this version of the film but am not too keen on forking out more dough on a film I already own. And yet, just yesterday I ran into a report of a rumored re-release of THE WICKER MAN as well, on Region 1 DVD in 2003!

It is true that prices offered by Play.com for HALLOWEEN and NOSFERATU are quite a bargain and I can always sell the “obsolete” copies once the new versions are released, but this is much easier said than done! I used to like the original packaging of the Region 1 Limited Edition of THE WICKER MAN, but now I am finding it highly impractical and is unnecessarily taking too much storage space on my shelves! I guess it all boils down to whether I really want to own the “definitive” DVD editions of THE WICKER MAN, HALLOWEEN and NOSFERATU – which is obviously YES, but I still can’t see why I have to end up with multiple discs of these (or any other) films. I would much rather spend that same amount of money on purchasing other DVDs!

To conclude, I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny the rumors of an upcoming 25th Anniversary Disc of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN from Anchor Bay. Will it feature the same Audio Commentary recorded for the Criterion LD or a new one, if at all? Will it be a 2-Disc edition featuring both versions of the film and all of the extras present in the OOP Region 1 Limited Edition and the Region 2 version? Likewise, I would like to know if there is any truth in the rumored 2003 re-release of THE WICKER MAN, which may probably be marketed as a 30th Anniversary Edition. Will it also contain the exclusive supplements found on the recent Region 2 DVD?

By the way, there is still no mention of a genuine release date in Anchor Bay’s website for either HELL IS A CITY (1959) or DEMONS OF THE MIND (1972). Have they been delayed again? Still, I trust that once they will be released they will certainly be worth the wait and one is grateful that Anchor Bay are taking their time in releasing DVDs to ensure the optimum quality.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

The German and English versions of Herzog's Nosferatu are not just separate audio tracks; they were filmed separately and contain significant though minor differences. This really needs to be a 2-disc set to be presented properly even if there are no extras at all.

 

[MartinTeller]

I too have been lamenting the lack of Wicker Man and Halloween commentaries on R1 DVDs... they've made me want to invest in both a region-free DVD player (for Wicker Man) and a laserdisc player (for Halloween). I'm trying to remain hopeful that these will eventually be given proper, COMPLETE special edition treatment in R1, although AB's double-dipping (and triple, and quadruple!) is getting quite tiresome.

Unfortunate that the box set will only contain one version of Nosferatu. I'd probably pay an extra $10 or so to have both.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I too have been lamenting the lack of Wicker Man and Halloween commentaries on R1 DVDs... they've made me want to invest in both a region-free DVD player (for Wicker Man) and a laserdisc player (for Halloween). I'm trying to remain hopeful that these will eventually be given proper, COMPLETE special edition treatment in R1, although AB's double-dipping (and triple, and quadruple!) is getting quite tiresome.

I wouldn't hold my breath on Criterion suddenly licensing the Halloween commentary to AB, considering the difficulties that AB had in attempting to license it the last time around.
DJ

 

[Rain]

Well, I guess I'll hold out for this new version of Nosferatu (unless Brook can give me a good reason I should buy the current one).

As for the others, I doubt they will be anything new. It seems somewhat illogical to do all new transfers for a bunch of films that are only going to be pressed on 5000 DVDs.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Well, I guess I'll hold out for this new version of Nosferatu (unless Brook can give me a good reason I should buy the current one).

the current disc is a DVD-10 with the English version (non-anamorphic widescreen, mono sound) on one side and the German version (non-anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 sound) on the other. It also has a commentary and a featurette, both of which appear to be replicated on the new version. Further, the MSRP of the old release was $34.95, while the MSRP for the new release is $29.95. It seems to me that there's every reason to wait for the new one and no reason to get the old one at this point.

DJ

 

[Brook K]

Wow, I've never watched the English version and wasn't even aware it was on the disc I already had or that there were two differing versions.

Rain, I wasn't trying to dissuade you from getting the new disc, my comments were based on not knowing that there was an actual separate English version and that since I already have all the discs in question (except for Best Fiend which I taped off IFC), there wasn't a need for me to buy the box.

Though the new covers do look cool

 

[Kenneth English]

Excellent news! I've been meaning to get all of these movies for a while now and this just clinches it for me. Very classy looking package, too! Anyone know if the box is cardboard or plastic (I've seen a larger picture of it and it looks to me like plastic...or maybe it's just wishful thinking)?
BTW: orderbox.com has this set for $40.87 ($43.82 with standard shipping). Go to Link Removed
Never ordered from them before but that's a damn good price so I couldn't resist!

 

[Jon Sheedy]

This is kind of a drag, for those of us who have already purhcased all these titles previously (I have every single Herzog title released with the exception of Cobra Verde). Of course, this kind of thing happens all the time, but I really do wish that when a company has future plans to release a boxset with better versions (or version) with (from all accounts snazzier cover art) they would announce BEFORE many of their customers begin purchasing the titles individually.

I'm off to view the cover art...I'm sure I'll want this set, so might as well start planning on devoting some considerable time to unload my individual titles.

My next question is is there a possibility of a second set including the Herzog titles not released in this first set? I'm probably as anal as the next HTF member and it's gonna bug me to see some Herzog titles packaged in a nice box set sitting next to another group of Herzog titles that were not included in the box.

P.S...if there is to be only a single Herzog box set, what factors determined the amount of titles included, and more importantly, the title selection. I for one would have certainly have preferred to see Enigma included over Cobra...if we only get one set.

 

[MartinTeller]

P.S...if there is to be only a single Herzog box set, what factors determined the amount of titles included, and more importantly, the title selection.

It is the "Herzog/Kinski Collection"... it's all the films Herzog did with Klaus Kinski.

 

[Jon Sheedy]

Duh..that explains that! *hanging head in shame and hoping not to ask any other stupid questions today* :b