Any worthwhile Alpha Videos?
09-26-04, 04:09 PM
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Any worthwhile Alpha Videos?
At $5 a pop, Alpha Video DVDs seem like a real bargain, but I've been burned before by cheap, public domain DVDs. Are there any Alphas that are really worth buying, particularly in the horror/cult film genre?
09-26-04, 05:51 PM
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A lot of the Alpha DVDs seem to have been mastered from videotape, sometimes bad videotape which was made from a bad print. My wife bought a lot of them recently at at con. Shock (Vincent Price) is good, considering that there probably isn't a better source. The Sadist is good, if you can tolerate Arch Hall, Jr. One Step Beyond is a precursor to The Twilight Zone, and it's good.
09-27-04, 05:26 AM
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I have quite a few of the Alpha dvd's and I highly recommend them. They are, usually, quite a bit better transfers than most other companies public domain dvd product. Nothing like the new STAR WARS dvd box sets but usually far better than those 50 dvd packs (actually no comparison to those).
09-27-04, 07:29 AM
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I do a little budget DVD review thread over at the dvdaf forums. It's not much, but you might get a few useful recommendations.
http://www.film-talk.com/forums/inde...showtopic=2453
Enjoy!
http://www.film-talk.com/forums/inde...showtopic=2453
Enjoy!
09-27-04, 09:14 AM
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The Nasty Rabbit is a widescreen transfer - not sure if it's the correct AR.
Also, Giant of Marathon is widescreen, but it's still cropped a bit from the OAR.
As far as I know, no anamorphic transfers.
Also, Giant of Marathon is widescreen, but it's still cropped a bit from the OAR.
As far as I know, no anamorphic transfers.
09-27-04, 09:29 AM
#8
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For 5 bucks, you can't go wrong, since a lot of their titles aren't available anywhere else. The few I've seen looked pretty good, considering the films were from the 40's & 50's. I always like their cover art, too.
09-27-04, 10:53 AM
#9
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Exister -- I like your mini-DVD review thread. Thanks!
Last night we watched The Amazing Transparent Man (Alpha). Good transfer of a widescreen movie. Directed by Edgar G Ulmer, filmed on location, with mostly good actors. The only big weakness is the dialogue. The movie is a combination of gangsters, cold war paranoia, and fear of atomic bombs. A gangster is broken out of prison to participate in a criminal high-tech enterprise. A ruthless foreign ex-colonel makes him temporarily invisible to steal atomic material. The gangster wants to use the invisibility rob banks. Everyone double-crosses everyone else.
Last night we watched The Amazing Transparent Man (Alpha). Good transfer of a widescreen movie. Directed by Edgar G Ulmer, filmed on location, with mostly good actors. The only big weakness is the dialogue. The movie is a combination of gangsters, cold war paranoia, and fear of atomic bombs. A gangster is broken out of prison to participate in a criminal high-tech enterprise. A ruthless foreign ex-colonel makes him temporarily invisible to steal atomic material. The gangster wants to use the invisibility rob banks. Everyone double-crosses everyone else.
09-27-04, 12:59 PM
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I buy a lot of these. Most of them are watchable which is the best you are going to get considering the age of the film, the obsure nature of the film, and the price.
Worth getting since you are not going to get a better version in most cases.
Austin
Worth getting since you are not going to get a better version in most cases.
Austin
09-27-04, 02:36 PM
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DVDEmpire used to have all of their Alpha titles priced at $3.60 each, FREE SHIPPING. At that price, I bought 'em by the bushel. I love the cover art...very cheesy, but cool. For fans of classic serials and obscure B-movies, Alpha provides a great service.
10-01-04, 11:38 AM
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Originally posted by Global Observer
DVDEmpire used to have all of their Alpha titles priced at $3.60 each, FREE SHIPPING. At that price, I bought 'em by the bushel. I love the cover art...very cheesy, but cool. For fans of classic serials and obscure B-movies, Alpha provides a great service.
DVDEmpire used to have all of their Alpha titles priced at $3.60 each, FREE SHIPPING. At that price, I bought 'em by the bushel. I love the cover art...very cheesy, but cool. For fans of classic serials and obscure B-movies, Alpha provides a great service.
ZULU (Michael Caine) + FLAME OVER INDIA (Lauren Bacall)
It showed up as "Alpha" on the dvdpricesearch site when I first researched it, but (whatever) company produced it, it's great! Fantastic color. And two fabulous stories, I can't recommend them highly enough.
PEACH
10-05-04, 11:41 AM
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Alpha has been releasing a greater variety of older television shows as of late, including MEDIC (with a young Richard Boone), DECOY (with a young Beverly Garland) and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (with Richard Greene). They also have the most comprehensive collection (on DVD) of RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE episodes (4 volumes released to date with a 5th volume scheduled for release late this month).
