NoirFan

The latter.

zombeaner

No Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 love? That movie is genius!

NoirFan

It has it's inspired moments of lunacy, as does Eaten Alive and I suppose Invaders from Mars, but I don't really consider them cohesive works.

SethDLH

TCM 1 and 2, Poltergeist (don't care who directed it), Invaders, Lifeforce, Funhouse... 6 movies I enjoy of his is enough for me to say I enjoy a good bit of his work.

Giles

and Gremlins was actually directed by Spielberg too ...

Imprint

Don't forget The Goonies.

NoirFan

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BMoQQ7OsX5M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

islandclaws

I'm thinking about placing an order for a couple of Arrow BDs, but I'm having a hard time deciding what titles.

How does the Arrow version of City of the Living Dead stack up to the BU version? I know it's got better extras and packaging, but the DVD Beaver review seemed to indicate the image wasn't as good on the Arrow disc.

I'd also like to order The Beyond, but the faulty discs have me concerned. Anyone know if Amazon UK is shipping corrected copies yet?

Otherwise, I'm open to any/all recommendations, aside from Dawn/Day since I already have those.

NoirFan

If you enjoy cheesy 80's horror-comedies, than Vamp is a solid bet. I didn't notice any major DNR, and the transfer reviews have overall been quite good. Phenomema looked waxy at times, but it wasn't overly distracting. The movie itself was pretty insane - as always with Argento, the story doesn't make a lick of sense - but there were plenty of memorably bizarre visuals, and the Maiden and Motorhead tracks, while out of place (hell, the whole movie is out of place) upped the fun factor. I don't know anything about Amazon's current stock, but if you receive a faulty Beyond disc, Arrow will send you a free replacement copy. Instructions here.

islandclaws

Thanks, NoirFan. Vamp is the only Arrow title on my wishlist I haven't seen, but I do love me some '80s schlock. Seems I've got some thinking to do...

TerryW

It didn't look waxy at all to me. Definitely, the best presentation of the film currently on disc.

NoirFan

I had a lot of fun with it, and the neon does pop nicely in HD. Here's the trailer:

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H491Zm2CgvY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

NoirFan

But being the best transfer currently available doesn't necessarily make it a great transfer, and several reviews have mixed feelings on the image quality.

Here are a few:

http://www.landofwhimsy.com/archives...ons-phenomena/

http://www.avforums.com/movies/Pheno...6/blu-ray.html

http://www.rockshockpop.com/forums/c...8Arrow-Blu-ray

http://www.horrorview.com/movie-revi...nomena-blu-ray

And more positive takes on the transfer:

http://10kbullets.com/reviews/p/phen...-video-bluray/

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe.../phenomena.htm

http://homecinema.thedigitalfix.co.uk/content/id/73657/

I thought Vamp looked much better.

SilverDreams

I am not convinced he made POLTERGEIST, nothing in his career even comes close to being that good, it's a fluke that TCM came out as well as it did. Zelda Rubenstein has basically said Spielberg had a major hand in making Poltergeist what it is.

As for FUNHOUSE it's a deadly bore as is everything else he's made. And don't bring up SALEM'S LOT, that thing is so damned boring, I would rather watch THE DAMNED THING, and I have fallen asleep both times I've watched it. I have no idea what happens in the second half of it, it's so dreadful.

SilverDreams

NoirFan is my new best friend. Thanks for spreading the hate! :P

Giles

I've already received the supposed corrected version.

SilverDreams

So OK, I asked something previously about the Arrow Blu of INFERNO and now I'm confused again HAHA. So, one disc is the BR with the film and a few features and disc 2 is a DVD that is PAL with the rest of the bonus features? Can anyone confirm this?

Regarding the BR of Phenomena/Deep Red by Arrow are the features on this viewable on a Region A player? Or only the films themselves?

SethDLH

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

Arrow definitely toyed around with the picture at times but not in a negative or distracting manner. Their now seemingly infamous brightening practices didn't get passed Phenomena but it isn't necessarily a bad thing in this case. The film has always been pretty murky/muddy on it's disc releases and Arrow's presentation basically helps that aspect out a little bit. The film, while I'm a major fan of it, has never looked very good on dvd. This blu ray is without a doubt the best its looked on home video release.

I can't comment on anything except Phenomena, but I have a normal region A LG player and I could view all of the extras.

dino88

This was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Great news!

joltman

I love my Arrow releases of Dawn and Day of the Dead, they make me want to get all of the Arrow releases! Too bad they cost so much, or I might actually do that (the DotDs are a couple of my favorite movies, but most of the other Arrow movies I haven't seen)

NoirFan

Hey, that's what I said too. For me, a bigger issue was the soundtrack - the metal songs didn't sound as if they were properly integrated into the mix. That could have been an issue with the source materials though. Either way, fans of the film shouldn't hesitate, even if the AB extras aren't ported.

islandclaws

Based on current exchange rates, they're as little as $16 or as much as $26. Not all that bad.

zombeaner

Did you listen to the Italian language track? The metal songs on the Italian track sound remarkably better. It got to the point that whenever the songs came on, I'd switch tracks. It was probably an issue with the audio master.

zombeaner

I'm still waiting on mine.

SethDLH

Sorry I half dead last night haha