Hammer News!

[drterror666]

I totally agree! I'll be buying all the Hammer Blu's as they become available. Studio Canal should be applauded, even though we've had the initial, er, hiccup!

[drterror666]

Looks like the next Hammer Blu's to be released are going to be The Mummy's Shroud and Rasputin, The Mad Monk on 10 September.

[drterror666]

Looks like the shit's hitting the fan over Studio Canal's future release of The Curse of Frankenstein. Apart from the fact they've reinstated the 'eyeball' scene, they want to release the film in 1.37:1 'Academy' ratio and not 1.66:1 'Exhibition' ratio, as it was originally shown in the UK.

Personally, I can live with 1.37:1 if it's as good as Hammer are saying it will be. I've suggested to them, along with others, about the possibility of putting both ratios on the disc. Anyone got anything else to say on the subject?

[drterror666]

OK, here's the deal on The Curse of Frankenstein. Details are from www.bluray.com:

Hammer, Icon Film Distribution and Lionsgate Films have officially announced that they will release Terence Fisher's Gothic classic The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), fully restored in High Definition and for the first time in its original Academy ratio of 1.37:1. Street date is October 15th.

The 3-disc Double Play Edition will include 1 x Blu-ray and 2 x DVD packed full of brand new content. Featuring new documentaries and bonus extras, and including the infamous "eyeball" scene, which was originally banned but has now been fully restored.

Single 50GB Disc

HD Main Feature – Never before released "Academy" ratio 1.37:1 – 83 mins – DTS Master Audio 2.0
HD The Curse of Frankenstein (1.66:1 version) – alternate aspect ratio – 83 mins – DTS Master Audio 2.0
New audio commentary with Marcus Hearn & Jonathan Rigby
Frankenstein Reborn: The Making of a Hammer Classic (new & exclusive)
Life With Sir (new & exclusive Peter Cushing documentary)
Four Sided Triangle (bonus feature film) 80 mins
Tales of Frankenstein (bonus TV pilot) 25 mins
The Tale of Tales of Frankenstein (new & exclusive Ted Newsom documentary)
World Of Hammer: The Curse of Frankenstein 25 mins
Stills show
English HOH subtitles for Main Feature

DVD 1

Main Feature – Never before released "Academy" ratio 1.37:1 – 83 mins – DD 2.0 – English HOH subtitles
The Curse of Frankenstein (1.66:1 version) – alternate aspect ratio – 83mins - DD 2.0
New audio commentary with Marcus Hearn & Jonathan Rigby

DVD 2

Frankenstein Reborn: The Making of a Hammer Classic (new & exclusive)
Life With Sir (new & exclusive Peter Cushing documentary)
Four Sided Triangle (bonus feature film) 80 mins
Tales of Frankenstein (bonus TV pilot) 25 mins
The Tale of Tales of Frankenstein (new & exclusive Ted Newsom documentary)
World Of Hammer: The Curse of Frankenstein 25 mins
Stills show
PDF Original shooting script
PDF all-new booklet "The Creator's Spark: Hammer's Frankenstein Begins" with text by Hammer archivist Robert J. E. Simpson

It's an amazing package, especially with Four Sided Triangle and Tales of Frankenstein included as bonuses. Hammer also listened to the fans and included the original Academy ratio along with the UK 1.66:1 OAR. Just to put the cherry on it, the eyeball scene has been restored as well!

[thehamish]

Wow!!! will spend rest of the day running about telling mates about this.......

[drterror666]

There will be no more Hammer Blu Ray releases this side of Christmas after the next batch in October. They have said that the next release is going to be the restored Dracula, so the wait is going to be worth it.

[drterror666]

Looks like there are rumbles in the jungle concerning The Curse of Frankenstein and The Devil Rides Out Blu's. Apparently, CoF's PQ is said to be soft, with people saying that the original DVD release was much better. Eh, oh. And, if you think that's bad, Hammer have done a George Lucas on TDRO by adding new, improved CGI effects! I have absolutely no idea why they thought this was necessary and am waiting to hear what their response is.

These are supposed to be definitive releases!

EDIT

Just found this comparison!

[TheRoadWarrior]

Doing a George Lucas on a Hammer film, that's bizarre, just bizarre.

What have they added, I'm seeing little CGI bats, or rats that scuttle across the castle floors ...

[Kel E]

Interestingly years ago I heard a radio segment about hammer being bought by someone and the newscaster remarked that maybe Devil Rides Out could be remade with better fx. They are terrible.
The goat devil and the spider in the room.
I think they could be vastly improved with some cgi tweaks the trouble is unless you are using notes from the filmmakers themselves it amounts to a fan edit.
And they should keep the original as is for people to choose anyway.
It would take real skill and restraint to altar fx in such an old movie without it looking too modern though. I liked the changes in the Star Trek Arena episode-they added a few blinks to the Gorn and other things I didnt even notice.

[TheRoadWarrior]

Yeah, I suppose it's a big topic, lots of ifs and buts, where it works, or doesn't work so well. I like what they do in films like Saving P Ryan... the background ships, but that's as the movie is made and hard to replicate... in any other way. Tough cookie..

[drterror666]

I think that they should have included the original film as well as the tweaked one. That may have made the Hammer fans a bit happier.

[Kel E]

So are the restorers of these films the same people who are making new films under the Hammer name? I am confused by that. In past years when I heard about Hammer being bought usually it said their catalogue was bought as well but wouldnt some of these films be owned by the us studios that distributed them.

[drterror666]

I'll admit that I have no idea who it is that are restoring the older Hammer films. I'd still like to know why they tampered with the effects in TDRO, though. I'd also like to know what else is coming out next year other than Dracula.

Can't wait to watch Curse of Frankenstein in 1.37:1!

[Kel E]

I want the Rasputin --mostly for the commentary track from the 90s laserdisk.
I dont have a blu ray player.

I looked at the facebook hammer page-some unhappy people posting about the new disks.

[drterror666]

Is there anyway to make them happy? Sometimes I think these guys think Blu Ray makes films instantly sharp and 'modern'!

[Kel E]

Yeah there's some serious rudeness there.

[mark meakin]

I'll admit that I have no idea who it is that are restoring the older Hammer films. I'd still like to know why they tampered with the effects in TDRO, though. I'd also like to know what else is coming out next year other than Dracula.

Can't wait to watch Curse of Frankenstein in 1.37:1!

It looks great in the 1.37:1 academy ratio & shots like the one where Lee's suspended from a hook after Cushing digs him up are better composed.I kept my old 1.85:1 version too as it's in a boxset with The Mummy & Dracula but it looks too cramped like Dracula anyway.

[drterror666]

Hammer have released a statement on their blog that they used the same source material as was on the Warner disc. The Warner disc uses a sharpening filter which is enhanced when the picture is upscaled. Hammer decided against that approach and retained the grain from the original source material to create a more organic and filmic picture. The upshot of this is that it has created a picture that is softer then the Warner DVD, but is truer to the original source material.

I think people forget that this film was made in the late 50's and Blu Ray is not going to magic a pristeen picture.

[drterror666]

Hammer are going to make an announcement on Halloween about their next round of Blu releases, but, looking at the clues posted already, there's a fair chance that, other than Dracula, there's going to be Brides of Dracula and Frankenstein Created Woman.

If they do have Brides..., then does this mean they'll be bringing out the other Universal owned Hammer films?

[drterror666]

Ignore my last post as it was speculative bollox! Hammer announced they have put Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed on their Youtube channel in full HD. Of course, this does mean they'll be releasing it on Blu at a later date.