LEMORA on DVD - August 31st!
 

The cult classic Lemora, A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (aka Lemora Lady Dracula, aka Legendary Curse of Lemora) is finally coming to DVD on August 31st, and it's getting super-star treatment by Synapse Films !

Here's some pics of the cover and the main menu:

http://users4.ev1.net/~dormammu/lemora-sellsheet.jpg

http://users4.ev1.net/~dormammu/lemorascreens2.jpg

This nearly lost classic has gotten super-star treatment by Synapse Films, featuring an uncut, anamorphic widescreen, totally restored digital transfer from the original negative in HD, commentary track by director Richard Blackburn, producer Robert Fern, and star Leslie Gilb, rare continuity photos, liner notes, and the original shooting script.

All I can say is that Don May of Synapse Films is a living saint for giving us this classic with such high quality! Thanks Don!

Looks nice :up:

But I didn't know (or maybe I forgot) that Cheryl had passed away :(

Nice!

TomOpus wrote:

Yes, unfortunately she passed away the same day Synapse secured the rights to the movie, or the day before, I forget which. They were going to have a tribute for her on the DVD, but her son seemingly fell off the face of the earth, so they couldn't get material do do one. -ohbfrank-

We lucked out though, with the movie itself. Don May (President of Synapse Films) ended up meeting with Richard Blackburn (the director) just before Blackburn was going to sign the rights over to a different company, who was going to use a very sloppy inferior print, full of grain, reddish and green hued. Don convinced Blackburn to let Synapse handle it, and the deal was made.

After checking some old film vaults in LA, Don found a near-pristine copy of the original negatives of the film. They spared no expense to digitally clean the little that needed cleaning, and to do a top-notch transfer. According to what Don told me, it's the best thing Synapse has done to date, and the picture is just fantastic. Like looking out your window.

I'll post a pic of some screen shots as soon as my ISP fixes their problem and I can post it on my webspace.

Not sure if I wanna look at my hedges for 90 minutes, though :D :)

Seriously, though, do you know Don or did you bump into him? If you know him, tell him that many of us DVD buffs appreciate the work that companies (such as Synapse, Blue Underground, Anchor Bay, etc) have done on these non-mainstream flicks. I'll sight Synapse's treatment of Brain Damage as an good example of the way it should be done.

It's sheer delight seeing movies made 20 or 30 years ago that look great on DVD. I'd say that Lemora will be another one to add to the list.

A pretty good low-budgeter, contrary to what Maltin writes, but I think I'll skip the DVD.

Since Synapse is releasing it and the title/cover art, I sort of expected a sleazy gorefest, but I just noticed it was rated PG. If anything, I'm more intrigued. What's this movie all about?

TomOpus wrote:

:lol:

I've never actually met him, but I called Synapse to verify that Lemora was indeed being released on DVD. This was about a year ago. I've become a regular thorn in his side ever since. :lol:

I call him every now and then and chat with him via emails about the movie and all that. Very nice guy. I just had a talk with him via phone the other day about the DVD. To show you how meticulous and professional he is, he told me that he had them re-do the pressing (?) of the DVD because the layer switch came in at a spot that just didn't feel right. It's not a huge jump or anything, but just noticeable enough that he felt it took something away from the scene, so he moved it. Now that's the kind of attention I wish ALL studios would give to their releases!

Yeah, Synapse is a shining example of what a truly great DVD company should be like. And the good news is that they're now being distributed through Ryko, so their discs will be available in a much wider range of stores and outlets. In fact, one of the reasons Lemora was delayed was due to getting all set up with Ryko. A very good move on their part though, so it was worth the wait.

Funny how the smaller, independant companies put out such wonderful work while the mega-billion dollar giants crank out so much crap.

Absolutely! I'm hoping Synapse gets the rights to more obscure classic favorites, like The Dark, The Children, etc. It'd be great if they could get the rights to Phantasm II and III!

I've been trying to track down the rights holders for several films in the hopes that Synapse will be able to grab them. Don May told me he's also a fan of the movie The Dark so I've been trying to track that one down in particular in the hopes they'd tackle it, since he expressed some interest in it.

Malkmuz wrote:

Well, I admit to being biased since this is my all time favorite film, so take that into consideration. ;)

Basically, the movie is about a vampire called Lemora and a girl called Lila Lee. Lila's father is a gangster who murders his wife and her lover. Lila, being orphaned, goes to live with the local Baptist minister. She's the church's "singing angel". Lila's father is then captured by Lemora, who writes Lila and tells her that her father is dying and wishes to see her before he dies. Lila then embarks on a journey to Lemora's town of Astaroth. The story follows the strange things that happen to her on the way, and then the slow realization that Lemora is not what she seems to be. Eventually Lila must escape from Lemora's plot to turn her into a vampire. Lila also finds that she must make a decision about herself, or perhaps come to a realization about herself. I won't ruin it. ;)

There's two interpretations of the movie...one in which the events actually happen, one in which Lila is merely daydreaming the events while attending church. Both work, and it's pretty much up to the viewer to decide. Lots of dark, creepy, atmospheric scenes. Not a lot of gore.

The best way I can describe this film is that it truly does feel like what the title says, a child's tale of the supernatural. It's like watching a nightmare that Lila is experiencing. It's hard to put into words, I've never seen another movie that was anything like Lemora.

There are plenty of reviews to be found online, but I've never seen a review that truly captures what the movie is like. It's one of those surreal things you almost have to experience to understand.

Now that you mentioned this, I remember reading about it on Synapse's website explaining why some releases were being delayed. Don (I believe it was him) sounded very positive and very excited over this move.

It's pretty damn cool that you have an open dialogue with Don. Please keep us updated on upcoming projects. Thanks for the info, Barlowe! :up:

:banana:

Been itching for this one since they announced it for a October '03 release (and then delayed it). Great news -- and it looks like it's gonna be fantastic!

Sorry, Troma has the rights to THE CHILDREN, I believe Pkatinum owns THE DARK and MCA owns PHANTASM 2 and 3

Well, BU is a perfectionist company that can outbeat Criterion when it comes to merticulous presentation, so Don has alot to go to even come near the number one DVD label BU!

Prince_of_saturn wrote:

I don't know...Synapse is putting out some pretty impressive work! Street Trash is going to be another high mark for superb quality above and beyond when they release it. I don't see how anyone could do Lemora better. High definition anamorphic transfer, and they spent a ton of cash to perfect it. I think they're pretty much pushing the envelope of the technology available at this time.

I'm just tickled pink that Synapse got it though, and not some fly-by-night company like Platinum.

Ok, here's some screen grabs from Lemora. Keep in mind, these are converted into JPG images so they're nowhere near the quality of the actual DVD. I have a .bmp image of them that's 100 times clearer, but way too large a file to post, and even the .bmp image is a pale shadow of the DVD itself.

Enjoy!

http://users4.ev1.net/~dormammu/lemora-best2.jpg

Very nice indeed!

Yep..certainly looks that way...am looking forward to adding this to my collection and don't forget the early look at the DVD over on the DVD Maniacs site.

That's "Lemora the Lady Dracula." :)

This is good news. I was just reading an article from a back issue of Fangoria that had stated December or January as possible release dates.


Speaking of low budget 70's horror films with cult followings, where's "Messiah of Evil" and "Let's Scare Jessica to Death"?

Just a head's up... you might want to check your local Best Buy. I picked this up today while I was looking at the Midnite Movies Double Features. $15.99 btw...

Only $11.98 shipped at DeepDiscountDVD !

thats where I found it. worked out because I had just about ordered it on-line....glad I gave BB a shot. just watched it again(2nd time) last night and the dvd is superb.:thumbsup:

The majors cater to the mass market; Synapse caters to collectors.

Out of stock, though. For me, that means $2 extra.

How is DeepDiscount DVD anyway? I'm thinking about trying them out. Where do they ship from and how long does it take for new releases to get to your home?

With free shipping, for a new release, I'll get it around 5-7 business days after release. They used to be a lot better, though.