Pointyskull

Still plenty of time to cancel pre-orders then.

DaveyJoe

I'm not purchasing this, but I think that's a reasonable complaint from fans who have been waiting years for the definitive version, at that price this should certainly be definitive.

dsa_shea

So, they had the time and resources to cull through a bunch of film and restore it to the best of their ability but not do anything with the audio? And they want to charge that premium for their Limited Edition?

islandclaws

Deals like this don't happen overnight. I'm nearly positive Shout had already negotiated a deal for 10,000 units, only 5,000 of which would be released initially with the remainder made available should it sell well.

Supermallet

FWIW, I canceled my pre-order. Not because of the increase to 10,000 units, but ultimately I decided that $55+tax isn't worth it for this title, especially since the director's cut is being released separately.

zyzzle

^ Yes. This. Some of us aren't so naive as to know this wasn't a business or numbers game, a gentleman's agreement between those who signed on the dotted line.

Supermallet

I still don't get what the issue is. If you want the movie, buy the edition you like. If you don't want the movie, don't buy it. How does this affect anyone who has already ordered, given that anyone can cancel at any time. Or are people more concerned with the number on the case than they are with the content on the discs?

My Other Self

I'm surprised you haven't learned by now that a lot of people honestly care more about what the cover art looks like than what the movie itself does. There are people that don't buy releases because it lacks a slipcover. The number on the case of this (for some reason) matters to others. It comes with collecting a dying medium, I suppose.

DaveyJoe

My only concern is that the popularity of this title sets a precedent for ridiculous pricing of releases I actually want.

kd5

Scalpers be damned. I just want to own 1 copy of this version of Nightbreed, been waiting a long time for it to finally get released. I don't want to pay some scalper a ridiculous amount of $$$$$ for the LE, I'd rather just buy the regular DC than pay a scalper for the LE.

dsa_shea

I feel like you are already paying a scalper premium by ordering from Shout. By having less total units available it at least made the set a little more valuable. However, by saturating the market by doubling that allotment but maintaining that high price rubs me the wrong way. Hell, even the 55 dollar version from Amazon is something I am going to have to really think about keeping or not as we get closer to ship date. My wife really wants this movie but she turned her head at that price.

OldBoy

you know, i don't pay these exorbitant prices often, but for this movie, for this edition, i kinda don't mind. it will be exclusive to me anyway and therefore worth it. can't wait.

Pointyskull

Seems like you and I are in the minority....

Julie Walker

I don't mind the Amazon $55 price for the limited edition. That's more reasonable than the full price. Blade Runner for example was in the Amazon price range when originally released, and that's just one movie, with multiple versions.

And since the directors cut was assumed to never happen over the past 25 years. That's a long wait since I was a fan of the film since it's initial VHS release. So why would I want to not purchase this version of the film?

I've enjoyed the theatrical cut all this time, despite the studio interference. But I've always wanted to see the original version, and owning both versions in one set is ideal for me. So $55 isn't too much to myself in this case. I normally don't spend that amount on one film. But for special occasions like this, I make an exception.

Matthew Chmiel

Not quite. The first pressing of Battle Royale with the physical bonus material was coded for ALL REGIONS. Toei lost their shit and future pressings, without the physical goods, were region locked to Region B. The only reason that initial release got as much attention was due to the fact that it was the first legal HD release with English subtitles that Americans (and others) would have access to without the need of a region-free player.

Then Anchor Bay would release their set two years later, but nobody knew the digibook edition would be a one-time only pressing. Either way, I paid $25 for the Arrow limited edition and $20 for the Anchor Bay digibook so I have zero complaints.

As someone who spent nearly $90 on the Demons steel books, I am in no room to complain about the cost of a Blu-ray. Granted, I knew Don May Jr. was going to do right by those films whereas other companies like Anchor Bay and Arrow have failed before. In that situation, I am okay with spending the extra money.

While I would never buy Nightbreed blind, especially at such a cost, I'd have reservations based upon Shout's previous releases. As shown, some studios have zero problems giving them fantastic masters or allowing them to do their own quality assurance on the masters (like MGM and Universal) whereas others do the exact opposite (like Fox).

With Warner being such sticklers about licensing content, I'd assume Nightbreed is in good hands especially for the fans shelling out top dollar.

asianxcore

There are a good handful of people here (including myself) that feel the same way. Also who knows, there might be many people who lurk these forums who feel the same way as well.

As I mentioned several times before, I understand why the prices have people questioning a lot about Scream Factory's practices.

For me, it's one of my favorite films and I have been waiting for a release like this for a long time. I haven't paid this much for any release (DVD or BD) since Synapse's Films' Demons/Demons 2 Steelbooks. I had no issue (personally) paying the Scream Factory pre-order price. That doesn't make me any better or any worse than anyone who has contemplated this release.

I also realize this discussion is going to happen until the release is in people's hands and probably long after that (depending on how good/bad the release ends up being/looking/sounding).

Josh Z

I'm concerned with the money being sucked out of my wallet. The LE was priced high in accordance with being a rare, one-time-only item. If Shout! Factory is going to double the print run, negating any rarity, they should drop the price to reflect the Blu-ray's new status.

Other than its (initial) rarity as a collectible item, what about the LE justifies an $80 price tag? The standard Director's Cut Blu-ray will be $25. The LE has a $55 markup just to get a copy of the theatrical cut and some exclusive supplements. Are any of Shout! Factory's other licensed titles priced at $55 for a comparable amount of content?

The LE is at least $30 overpriced. Fans were willing to pay that when they believed that the item might sell out and they'd never have another chance to own it (demand exceeding supply). That threat is gone now, leaving Shout! with no justification for the exorbitant pricing. Supply now exceeds demand, and the price should be adjusted to reflect that.

Ringmaster

+1

Matthew Chmiel

The question becomes how much did Shout Factory pay to:

1. License the film from Warner?
2. Restore and remaster the extended cut (and possibly the theatrical cut too if Warner already hadn't)?
3. Create bonus material?

I'm assuming $400,000 ($80 x 5000) is enough for Shout to protect their investment and make some resemblance of a profit. There could be the chance it also doesn't cover the entire investment and thus why Shout is selling the extended cut as a stand-alone disc.

If the demand is there and they're able to move all 10,000, more power to Shout. However, as other comments have already proven, this should not be the norm as we're slowly heading back into laserdisc pricing territory due to lack of retail space.

My Other Self

It doesn't sound from the podcast that they're remastering the extended cut. They're simply splicing the material together.

Josh Z

Shout! Factory licenses all of its titles from other studios. Some of them Shout! has to restore and remaster themselves, and create new bonus material. With that in mind, has Shout! Factory ever priced another Blu-ray at $80? (Or even $55, if you just want to look at the price markup between the standard and LE copies of Nightbreed?) Why is Nightbreed so much more expensive than any other other title they've licensed and remastered?

Josh Z

To give Shout! some credit, the extended cut has never existed before now. There was the even-longer "Cabal Cut" which was pieced together from VHS footage. In the meantime, the original film footage was located and Clive Barker has edited a new version of the movie.

So, yes, Shout! does have to put some real work into this. I get that.

However, that new extended cut is also being sold for $25 on the standard Blu-ray edition. It's not exclusive to or even the main selling point of the Limited Edition. The higher price on the LE is to get the theatrical cut, which was presumably handed off to Shout! from an existing Warner master. What about that theatrical cut is worth more than twice as much as the brand new director's cut?

Supermallet

Should Shout lower the price since supply will now likely outstrip demand? Absolutely. However, if the supply really does exceed demand, then the price will go lower in a few months after release. I'll bet any of us could order the LE for $35-$40 come February, if they don't sell it out. I'd be fine waiting for a price like that.

OldBoy

ugh! price issues be damned. let's just close this thread until release day and talk movie and transfer and stuff...

Why So Blu?

Amazon has the limited edition back for pre-order. It's $71.97