Peter Jackson's MEET THE FEEBLES On DVD (1 Viewer)

[Greg_Y]

According to DVD Empire, this was delayed until 3/19.

 

[TonyD]

According to DVD Empire, this was delayed until 3/19.

i did not know that!!

 

[Mark-W]

Yep. I had mine pre-ordered too,
and DVDEmpire did send me a courteous message
stating the title had been delayed.
Actually, this not too much of a bummer,
since, in desperation, I went out and got
BAD TASTE (in the limited edition)
and found out just how much I really really like
Peter Jackson. Now I just need to find the
Brain Dead version of Dead Alive.
Mark

 

[John P Grosskopf]

Now I just need to find the Brain Dead version of Dead Alive.

Which Version of Braindead, as there are at least 3 that I know of (not counting releases as Dead Alive):

There was a US R-rated cut running around 90 minutes.

There was a Director's unrated cut running around 97 minutes.

There is a Japanese laserdisc unrated cut that clocks in at 104 minutes.

I've got the longer Japanese laser cut, which has to be the gorriest flick ever made. Interestingly, it's not the director's preffered cut, and I have no idea of why he cut it back from this version. It's a hoot.

 

[Julie K]

To see the full, uncut Braindead on DVD you'll have to have a regionfree player. The Laser Paradise "Blood Edition" is probably the best transfer of the bunch, but it's not as good as the Trimark disc.
I read somewhere that Jackson prefers the US cut because it moves faster. He has always seemed to want his films to move fast. He also prefers the US version of Heavenly Creatures, yet I think the NZ cut is better. *shrug* I like the longer version of The Frighteners better too. Someone ought to tell PJ that we like his movies long! Give us more PJ, don't be shy!
As for goriest, I'm waiting a few months. It may very well be that Braindead is about to be dethroned as goriest movie ever. I've heard many say that the German film Premutos (another zombie gore/comedy) is gorier. I can't wait to find out for myself.
(Mark, glad you liked Bad Taste )

 

[TheLongshot]

Ah yes, Meet The Feebles. This played this year at the Case Western SF Film Marathon. I think by the end of the film, almost everyone wanted to kill the person who suggested this film.
Personally, I appriciated what PJ did, and actually was better made than I thought it was going to be. The problem is, it goes on way too long. You really want everyone to die so that it would just end. Overall, I probably had the most positive response to the film.
Jason

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Personally, I appriciated what PJ did, and actually was better made than I thought it was going to be. The problem is, it goes on way too long. You really want everyone to die so that it would just end.

Agreed! This movie is twice as long as need be. I'll probably never watch it again.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Which Version of Braindead, as there are at least 3 that I know of (not counting releases as Dead Alive):

There was a US R-rated cut running around 90 minutes.

There was a Director's unrated cut running around 97 minutes.

There is a Japanese laserdisc unrated cut that clocks in at 104 minutes.

None of these is the "proper" version of the film. The R-rated cut we can instantly forget about, the US unrated cut misses 3 minutes of character development and (I'm not absolutely sure) some gory stuff too. The Japanese cut is interesting (I don't think it's been released anywhere else) but it's also not the "director's cut", which runs exactly 100 minutes and, I assume, at least contains all the gore from the Japanese version.

The director's cut is available on DVD in Europe (at least in Spain and Germany). The quality isn't the best but it's certainly adequate.

And I'd like to offer one other reason why Meet The Feebles is more than just tasteless shlock: it's made with incredible talent, imagination and sense of humor. Everybody I've shown the film to who can stomach sick humor has found the film funny. And there's no denying what a technical achievement the film is.

 

[Greg_Y]

Meet The Feebles was delayed until 3/26. DVD Empire now has front and back cover art up. They list the video as 1.33:1 but the packaging gives no details. The front cover differs from the Canadian version, although they could be the same disc.
The Dead Alive site, www.deadalive.com is listed on the back cover. It is a fine example of a web site bloated with Flash. It took me about 4 or 5 minutes to download the new releases page. Meet The Feebles isn't even listed there.
Amazon also shows cover art, so my thinking is that this will finally street this coming Tuesday.

 

[MattHR]

Just finished checking out the disc...sort of. It is full-screen, but not sure what the OAR was. It feels a bit cramped, with characters occasionally cropped at the sides.

Probably cropped from 1.85:1. Pretty grainy picture. It looks similar to what you'd get from a Warner Brothers $15 full-screen DVD.

There are NO chapters encoded or scene access menu!

From the main menu, you have the options of: Play Movie,

Play Trailer or Play Other Trailers. Once the movie is started, should you happen to press chapter skip, it brings you to the first of about 10 trailers for other Dead Alive Production films. You must either scan, or access by time, if you want to search through the movie.

A disappointment in my eyes. And a missed opportunity to cash in on Peter Jackson's current success. Not like they didn't try: "From the director of 'Lord of the Rings'" is plastered across the cover.

 

[Chris Xolotl]

I was suppose to check this out last night. By your cursory review. I'll skip it. I wanted to compare it with my Arrow Films DVD, which is OK to begin with.

 

[Mark-W]

Well, I sold my Canadian version over 2 monts ago for

$30, so even if it is the same quality DVD (the other

didn't have chapter stops either), then I am still

ahead, and based on the DVD cover art at DVD Empire,

I MUCH pefer this cover (which looks just like the

theatrical poster, if I am remembering correctly),

to the old one from Snapse.

Mark

 

[Mark-W]

Well, I got my copy, and I can tell you I am happier
with this DVD than the previous one.
Yes, the image is about the same
but gone is one little glich that
was on all three copies that I had bought
from Candian e-tailers: there was a moment
as Heidi is firing at the balcony that the
screen used to, for a split second, scramble.
After checking the DVD, and buying it two more
times, I thought it must have been in the authoring
or transfer.
Well, that is one of the first things I looked
for, and it is gone.
Mark

 

[Ike]

Okay, this sounds really interesting, and I want to buy it sight unseen, but am not sure if the DVD is worth it. Is it pan and scan? I take it there was a previous DVD from Substance. Is that widescreen? Should I get the Substance DVD off of Ebay? Is there a new one coming down the pike?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The Substance DVD was not letterboxed. It was 4:3 pan & scan.

Regards,

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Any chance we'll ever get a proper cut in widescreen?

 

[Rob Lutter]

Anchor Bay is releasing a special edition of Meet the Feebles in 2004.

 

[Kevin M]

Yes, I was going to mention that Anchor Bay was going to release a SE version in the near future...no P&S or open matte presentation on that release without the OAR also being available, I'll guarantee that.
I personally will be waiting for that release before I lay down my cash.

 

[Kevin M]

Actually now that I have read the May 20th chat transcripts...

Meet the Feebles is not currently announced from us due to a variety

of factors, but we do hope to eventually have news about it in the future. We are

always interested in Mr. Jackson's work and we believe we will have a continuing

relationship with him.

...oh crap......time will tell.

 

[Julie K]

Crap. I was looking forward to getting rid of that Substance disc.