Paramount may just decide to forget the whole thing after reading this thread. They will never make everyone happy.

Ebert's letter to Betsy Palmer? Do tell. What is that?

Why? We're just debating if they have anything to offer for SE discs. Was stuff filmed, was it saved... if the answer is no then they can't really do SEs anyway.

The one complaint they will probably get regardless is over part 3 and the 3-D issue even though it's been explained numerous times that it can't get done.

Field Sequential 3-D IS possible, though expensive. It would not make me want it any more. I saw it originally (still have the glasses!) and it was no big thrill for me.

Sonicflood

I don't think it would take to0 much to make a Friday fan happy with a re-release. Sure, everyone wants every single disc to be feature-packed, and I doubt that will happen, just based on logisitics alone. If they did something similar to the Nightmare set with all the discs in one box, and an extra disc of features I'd be happy.
Hell, I was probably one of the few people that weren't ready to rip Paramount a new one after the first dics were released. Give me OAR and an anamorphic widescreen transfer and I'm satisfied with the film.

As far as extras goes, well it's no secret that many of the Friday alumni left acting soon after their Friday experiences. In the cast of part 3 alone we've got a newscaster, a lawyer, a chiropractor and a doctor! Many like to keep their Friday past on the down-low, for obvious reasons.

However... as far as who has done supplements in recent years for DVD releases: Joe Zito, Tom Savini, Steve Miner, Sean Cunningham, Betsy Palmer, Harry Manfredini, Kane Hodder...and many more have all done commentaries, and/or docus about their work. Would make for an interesting 90 min. docu, and no cheesy re-enacted footage due to rights issues!

As far as 5.1 remixes for every film- not necessary. Would it be nice? Sure, but that's not a 'buy-or-not' factor for me, personally. Hearing dts remixes of a low-budget mono soundtrack isn't all that thrilling. Especially one that wouldn't have much rear activity anyway! If they include trailers and/or teasers for each film, include the same transfers they did originally (which were fine), and at least one feature-length docu covering the series, I'd be a happy camper.

I'm going to find out who's willing to do some commentaries and/or interviews over the course of the next few weeks and am really going to make a push for things to get done right.
I hope it does.

Cheers,
Erik

Doing a 3-D version of Part 3 is one of the easiest and simplest things of all. They've already long since released the damn thing overseas, and bootlegs are everywhere. All we want is an official sanctioned copy. What will be a lot harder is to find every little scrap of footage from the whole series. As I said earlier, my wish list is this:

1. Uncut version of the original
2. Uncut version of Part 7
3. 3-D option on Part 3
4. retrospective documentary
5. a real attempt to find deleted gore footage, even if it is
presented as an extra rather than being edited back into the films.
6. A box set with original artwork.

This is a good write-up from Teenage Wasteland's website:

"As American cinema became ever more explicitly violent, the media and pressure groups began to question the effect this was having on society. There began a process of demonisation; violent films, and at the time the majority of violent films were slasher movies, were blamed for an array of ills. By the
time FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) (which was a loose remake of Mario Bava's BLOOD BATH (1971), hit our screens the critical response was downright hostile. After much outrage in the States that such a violent movie had been passed with an R-rating, the influential critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert seethed, "These movies are absolutely beneath contempt." They promptly initiated a campaign to ruin the film's box-office by, firstly, giving away the film's ending; then suggesting a letter campaign against Paramount Pictures for lowering themselves to handling such a picture; and starting a similar one against Betsy Palmer, who could normally found in has-been heaven on Celebrity Squares, for daring to play the homicidal Mrs Voorhees. They failed in their attempts to ruin the film; it did boffo box office. Paradoxically, here in England, then head of the BBFC- James Ferman, was in an uncharacteristically generous mood; explaining why he let the film through unscathed he said, "The murders were so far fetched, with knife blades coming up through beds into somebody, that it was clearly unreal." Then adding, "The nice thing about fantasy is all the time you can keep reminding yourself, "I can't get hurt, no one's going to get hurt, it's just make believe."" But although Siskel and Ebert lost the battle, they pretty much won the war; the MPAA (the US film classification board) took such a rap on the knuckles over FRIDAY THE 13TH, that most subsequent slasher movies had to loose a great deal of their gory mayhem to secure an R-rating; and it was the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies, beginning with the first sequel, which were treated most severely."

On the soundmix issue. The original mono mixes for 1-5 are fine as they are. No need for 5.1 remixes which would sound terrible most likely & be a waste of time & money.

The rest which were mixed in stereo surround,again sound fine as they are. No real need for 5.1 mixes in this series case.

Yet if they do remix them since some tech-junkies who want 5.1 everything even if it destroys the original mix will refuse to buy otherwise. They had better include the original mono & stereo mixes of the films.

O.K.

1)As a F13th fan, I enjoyed the hell out of reading this thread! Lots of knowledgable people here and the news of a rerelease is VERY exciting!

2)Uncut version....why would the MPAA have a problem with allowing the release of fully uncut verions of Friday, when there are movies like Resevoir Dogs, Saving Private Ryan, and what is arguably *the* goriest film over the past 5 years...HANNIBAL? Why are Paramount acting like dicks with this franchise?

Do they actually think the MPAA, in this day and age of violent films, is going to give a rats ass about uncut versions of an old franchise such as Friday the 13th? I just don't get it. Release the damn footage already?

Same with MBV...why act like such pricks toward the producer? If he has the uncut footage and has shown interest in remastering/rereleasing the film, why not grant his wishes? It's attitudes like this that make me smile with glee whenever I hear of a studio doing poorly financially.

3)Isn't the F13th series split up between different studios? I thought Paramount was only involved in the first 5 or 6? Didn't somebody say right here in dvdtalk that the reason they can't do a box set is because they don't own the rights for all the films...just 1-5 or 1-6? How are they going to get around this?

4)A possible solution to the un**** versions, incase uncut footage cannot be found. Now bare with me hear...

What if Paramount got all the directors and editors together and added in the footage by RE-FILMING them using todays technology? Here's how they'd do it....

They could either cast some young, unkown actors, and redo the scenes by pasting the faces of the original actors on to the new ones using CGI technology. -OR- ... how about using fully CGI characters and CGI blood to remake the scenes but make them look very authenting, kinda like the way Lord of the Rings did it...make it have that real life look! So when a face or neck get slasged, the face and the mashedy are both CGI but you couldn't tell the difference with todays technology...especially if they use a good studio like ILM.

What do you think of this idea?

5)Question about part 2...towards the end, as they zoom in on Mrs. Voorhees head, did her eyes slowly open? I haven't seen it in so damn long. But I think I remember seeing her eyes kinda slowly open as the camera sat there filming her head.

6)Who's this Tiff Helm chick? What F13th film did she play in? And of what character? Describe the deleted death scene?

7)As much as I love the F13th films, Phantasm>The Excorsist>The Entity>Halloween 1 and 3>F13th...ALL IMHO of course

They did shoot the scene with the eyes opening, but it looked too fake, so they scrapped it.

6)Who's this Tiff Helm chick? What F13th film did she play in? And of what character? Describe the deleted death scene?

Tiffany Helm played 'Violet' in A New Beginning. Her original death scene had her exercising in her room, legs in the air, when Roy/Jason appears and slices her in half. Danny Steinmann knew it wouldn't ever get past the MPAA, so the scene was re-written.

Cheers,
Erik

Thanks for the reply. What do you think my CGI idea?

The CGI idea is a BAD idea!!!!


May sound cool in theory. Yet i'd hate to see it happen for real. I can't stand the CGI-redo of the Star Wars trilogy. Original all the way baby!!


+ Look at the so called CGI 'gore' today in films like Blade 2 & many others. It looks horrible!

So trying to rework a older film with CGI additions just would not mesh right. Again look at the Star Wars SE. The CGI is always obvious when it's their. The original so called 'inferior FX still looked great to me in unaltered form.

2) The MPAA gives films their ratings (PG, R, etc), it's not a matter of them taking issue with Paramount or necessarily caring about the subject matter in a film. They give movies their ratings based on their review, and films without ratings or with X ratings are not carried by most (or any) major movie chains. So the companies are somewhat at their mercy. It's a different story with home video, but Paramount has yet to embrace the uncut market with the exception of a few T&A thriller type movies on video. Paramount has probably felt it's an issue of responsibility to stick with what the MPAA felt was OK, but like you say, today's market is another story.

3) Paramount owns parts 1-8, all the films to carry the F13 title. Paramount could do a boxed set of these, they just couldn't include 9&10 (and I don't think anyone would really care). New Line owns 9&10, and 9 is available from them uncut. 10 was only trimmed of a couple of seconds. An "uncut" version of that film would be misleading since no one would really notice a difference.

4) Re-filming would look way too out of place, no matter how good a job they did.

I don't think Paramount will be putting much money into refilming anything. Just recently they wouldn't front any cash to Shatner for their holy grail series,or Star Trek 5, so why would they spend on something they have never cared much about like these films? My guess is we will get something close to the Nightmare set. That is ok with me but commentaries are very important!