Scanners DVD
 

So, i saw this cinematic masterpiece a few weeks back on Flix, and i was pretty much hooked.

Ive been meandering the internet looking at the DVD release of this and im not seeing too much to offer, despite generally good reviews. I know this has a low MSRP, and i also know how much everyone here hates this question...

Anyone ever hear anything about a potential special release of this on DVD. I thought, a while back, i heard that they were going to do reissues of the Brood and some other of DC's olders films, i thought this may be one in the running.

Just Curious,

BRK

No rumors about this that I've heard, although some extras would be nice. I met Stephen Lack at a screening last year, and he was very friendly and would be a good commentary track participant with Cronenberg (with whom he still keeps in touch).

DJ

It has to happen eventually, too good a film for no extras at all. I too have not bought the available disc yet but am sorely tempted.

Since there is absolutely no indication of any better edition coming along in the near future, and you can grab this one for less than $10, why hesitate?

I want the rest of the Scanner movies to also come out. They are not as good but I like series. I remember seeing Scanners 2 maybe 3 and there is a Scanners 4.

What about the other early Cronenberg movie on DVD from Image? I forget the title. Is it still available and is the quality any good?

While i dont think that DC had a hand in Scanners 2, i think he was involved with Scanners 3 in some way, either writing, or something - i'll swear i saw his name on the credits of that movie.

Until something tangible happens, i guess its worth biting the bullet and just ponying up for the cheaper version. Here's hoping MGM (I think) realizes they have a gem on their hands.

Cheers,
BRK

Unless Cronenberg himself were to get involved with an SE for this flick, I doubt we'll ever see one. SCANNERS was part of the Embassy library, which MGM acquired, and from what I've heard elsewhere Embassy was not a "let's store the trims-n-outs, trailers, making-ofs, etc. for posterity's sake" sort of company. That's one reason why the ESCAPE FROM NY: SE is taking so long.

So, short of a commentary track, there is probably very little in the way of extras which could go on an SE DVD for SCANNERS.

I stumbled across this thread and figured I'd post.

Has anyone noticed problems with the sound synch on the MGM DVD of Scanners? Near the end, the sound goes distractingly out of sync with the picture for about 10 minutes or so. I mentioned it to a friend who also owns it and he noticed the same thing.

I saw it in the theatre a looong time ago, and don't recall there being a dubbing problem. Anyone else notice this?

Well i have not seen the dvd yet..but may pick it up eventually. Yet all the old vhs & tv showings of the film i saw were out of synch. I think it was always that way,so don't worry about it!

The head shot is in there
 

I've had this DVD for ages besides The Howling, The Dunwich Horror and Phantasm.
all are horror movies that I own on DVD.
:)

If that's true, then they may not have the deleted footage, but how does it stop them from making a documentary about the film, taping some interviews, or even throwing together a new trailer (assuming that the original is long gone too)?

Your talking about Shivers (a.k.a. They Came from Within). The current DVD is not all that great. The transfer is bit wanting (even for a 28 year old low budget feature from Canada) and worst of all, it's in pan & scan. It's still a heck of a lot better than the old VHS versions, though, and has an interview with Cronenberg on it. I hope they go back and revisit this title. I know it's not Evil Dead in terms of popularity, but if they could at least release it in its OAR (preferrably anamorphic), then I'd have cause to rejoice. Same goes for Rabid, his second great sci-fi/horror film from 1977. The New Concorde Home Video DVD has the same issues (i.e. pan & scan, weak transfer, etc.). Not to mention they have some of the ugliest cover art I have ever seen. But at least we can delight in the soon-to-be-released MGM special edition of the The Brood! I can't wait.

You might be thinking of Shivers. It should still be available and the image quality was / is decent from what I recall although the print source used was quite old.

Are you sure it's not open matte?

Shivers & Rabid are open matte...NOT pan & scan!!

So it's really no reason to avoid the dvds since they may be all we ever get(unless another studio gets ahold of them).


Though i remember someone saying Rabid was cut. Is this true..& if so what is cut?

Better versions already exist in R2 UK. Both discs have 1.78:1 anamorphic transfers, look very nice, and are pretty cheap. I asked Cronenberg about his preferred ARs for his films a couple of months ago and he said that, while he prefers 1.66:1 for these titles, he's also very happy with 1.78:1. He would compose for 1.75:1 during filming in order to make sure the film looked decent in either 1.66:1 or 1.85:1., so 1.78:1 is almost exactly what he was composing for on the set. Given this, the 1.78:1 UK discs are much more preferrable to the 4x3 US discs. Even though Cronenberg still prefers 1.66:1 the most for these films, if he's happy with 1.78:1, then I'm happy.

DJ

I just rented this DVD and came here to see if anyone else noticed the thing where the dialogue and sound was horribly out of synch for the final 15 minutes of the film. Very distracting. Glad to see that someone in this thread did.

Why wasn't this recalled?

A response, two years in the making! :) You're right, of course. Maybe now that Sony is distributing MGM product, we'll see some sort of SE re-release.

As for the sync problems, as hard as it is to believe, that's the way the film has always been! It's not a problem with the DVD. This has been confirmed both by fans with previous home video releases, as well as MGM itself.

The MGM release of Scanners is awful.

The best I've seen by miles is the OOP French disc. It's the definitive transfer. Brilliant.


http://www.anchorbay.co.uk/coverpix/...ge/abd4406.jpg

Anchor Bay are doing a remastered trilogy set in the UK in July That's the bad news, the good news is Scanners will be available separately.

Cronenberg's best film of course.

Cronenberg had nothing to do with any of the awful Scanner sequels, if you saw his name in the credits it was probably something along the lines of "Based on charectors created by David Cronenberg" or something to that extent. In fact I would not even call them true sequels so much as junky straight to video cash-ins (ala The Howling sequels)

Great news! Do you know any place that has the new Anchor Bay transfers for pre-order? I tried amazon.co.uk, sendit.com, and cd-wow, but no success.

I was reading this thread and thought " Hurrah, Danol is back!" Then I realized it was 2 years old. Disapointment.

Nope, sorry. Keep your eye at Amazon.co.uk

I hope so. I also need an OAR anamorphic release of Shivers/They Came from Within still too. Those are the two Cronenberg classics that still need some serious attention in my collection. We still haven't seen heads or tails of the long-rumored The Fly: SE, and there are a few others like The Brood and The Dead Zone that are pretty bare-bones, but movie-wise I'm pretty happy with all of those and a SE would mostly be gravy. The Scanners transfer sucks plus it has the aforementioned audio sync problems so I'm praying for Sony to revisit this title in the near future. Maybe Shivers/TCfW will wind up in Criterion's or Anchor Bay's hands (I can dream, anyway).