Wow! Talk about digging up a thread from the past -- sounds like a plot to a Hammer film in and of itself....

Anyway, I hadn't thought about this in quite a while. In the interim, I've learned quite a bit more about the use of de-interlacing, which can resolve the incorrectly-flagged transfers. I still think it's an issue worth noting for people now that HD sets are much more common than they were.

Also, I have to confess that I only still own the R2 disc of Quatermass Xperiment. I've decided to stick with the Anchor Bay R1s when possible. And the reason is not just the flagging; I found that the DD discs exhibited excessive manipulation, too. Then again, as you say, the Anchor Bays may be a little dark at times (especially Quatermass II). So I guess it's a pretty close call. Since the Anchor Bays are OOP, however, I'll still say that the DDs are good enough for the price.

Although not HAMMER, also available in R2 is a box set of all three Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Fu Manchus with C. Lee. Curse of the Crimson Altar, Withfinder General, Sorcerers, Island of Terror(all 16x9). I read Island of Terror is cut though. Night of the Big Heat(Island of the Burning Doomed) I think is fullscreen.

I would love to get Witchfinder General I know it's out in other regions but no R1, and the Fu Manchu movies are intresting but I don't have any of them yet. I may try one out at a later date though.

The boxset of the three Fu Manchu films is released by Momentum and are good value - very nice looking. The remaining two Fu films - Castle and Blood you really need the Tu-Fer pack by Blue Underground in r1; the Warner R2's are lousy, cut and pan-and-scan.

Island of Terror is missing a very brief glimpse of blood pumping out from the scene of Cushing's arm being chopped off. AFAIK no other cuts. I think this was the Uk theatrical version.

Night of the Big Heat R2 is anamorphic widescreen OAR.

Witchfinder General R2 is by Anchor Bay UK.

The Sorcerers R2 is, I believe, by Prism. Not a company with a stellar reputation for quality images (their edition of Harlequin is one of the worst transfers and prints I've ever seen. The r1 edition, under the title Dark Forces , is much better).

you all forgot
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

No, Witchfinder General is by Prism -- same as Sorcerers. You're right about Prism being unreliable, though. Fortunately, their release of Witchfinder is pretty decent for the price. (You can regularly find it on Amazon UK for under 5 pounds. Including shipping, it should still come to less than $12.) I wish that Prism had allowed for the possibility of watching the film without the added scenes of violence. The shift in quality is jarring. I'm glad they made them available, but because of the quality issues, I'd like it to remain optional.

I am a bit confused on what all blue Underground got their hands on. Many of the Anchor Bay double feature disc are not listed OOP at dvdaff, and can be found on several retailers sites. Plus the Anniversary is being released under the hammer collection by anchor bay next month....can anyone define it.

Sorry about the confusion; Witchfinder General has two releases in the UK. One is the Prism edition, the other is from Anchor Bay (afaik they are identical discs - literally -both by Metrodome).

However, the one from Anchor Bay is only included in their Tigon Collection, alongside The Body Stealers, The Haunted House of Horror, Blood on Satan's Claw, The Beast in the Cellar, Virgin Witch.

There are two version on the disc; the "directors version" (with the added scenes) and the "export version" (with the nude stuff in the tavern bit).

You are right that there is no option to view the theatrical edition.

I believe that the r4 Umbrella edition is the same.

The r2 German edition is cut.

afaik if Anchor Bay put it out as a double feature, the rights went to Blue Underground; the double features were an attempt by AB to wring the last bit of cash out of the rights before they lost them.

AB do retain the rights to a few Hammers - Scars of Dracula for one I believe.

Yes, you can find quite a number of the double features in stores - usually the "lesser" titles which didn't sell out.

I think that Satanic Rites of Dracula is the rarest, in both single editions and the double pairing with Dracula, Prince of Darkness.

Which is odd, because Rites is IMHO public domain in the US and Canada, which explains why there are so many cheap versions of it floating around.

I think that DVDAfficianado relies on places like Amazon listings to define is something is "out of print". If AMazon has stock, they regard it as in print - even though it isn't.

It's full of listings about Image Entertainment titles "out of print" which aren't - it's just that the initial runs were small, and I.E. is in the process of repressing them (I wrote and asked them!)

from Anchor Bay Special Editions: Phantasm // 4-10-07 and Re-Animator // 3-20-07


Whats in it? When do we get it? etc. etc.

I expect titles already out there, except the Fox ones.

Wonder if they got the rights back to the ones they lost. If so, I'd love to sell off my Quatermass dvds.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

Halloween is near and I was thinking of looking into the Hammer films. I never really seen any of them all the way through but I vaguely remember in my childhood years, like on a Sunday afternoon, they would be on. Used to watch bits here and there. Wasn’t too exciting for a 10 year old, but I do recalled them being very atmospheric films. Wouldn’t mind revisiting them now as an adult.

What would be maybe a top 3 or 5 best of all the films that are very atmospheric and eerily scary. :)I am not looking to go through the whole catalog but just the nitty gritty for this Halloween. Hopefully it lure me to the rest of the films, but that’s for another day. I saw this on amazon, seems cheap but are they the cream of the crop?
http://www.amazon.com/Draculas-Favor...6053267&sr=1-2


I hear Prince Of Darkness and The Vampire Circus are good?

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

There's a lot of back and forth as to which series was better, Dracula or Frankenstein, but this set is as good a place to start as any. The biggest problem with Hammer is that their output is spread all over the place with regards to US distributors. There is no definitive "best of" in region 1.

If it were me, I'd probably start here. I was always partial to the Christopher Lee Dracula flicks and Horror of Dracula really is the archetypical film that represents Hammer horror.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

Rainet, the Universal Hammer set is very good if you are isolated to region 1 releases. It has a fairly broad selection of films. Brides of Dracula is one of my favorite Hammer films. If you have a region free player, the 21 disc R2 Ultimate Hammer Collection is a must as a lot of the films in that set are OOP in the US.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

Another vote for this fantastic set, it's usually dirt cheap at Amazon UK.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

My favs have always been Horror of Dracula and Prince of Darkness.

As mentioned many times in this thread already, the MGM double feature of Vampire Lovers/Countess Dracula is a good one to have as well. Usually only 6 or 7 dollars in many places. Very little price for a lot of Ingrid Pitt. ;)

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

The Witches and The Nanny are worth watching as well. Another British horror film of that period high in atmosphere and eeriness, though not a Hammer film, is Blood on Satan's Claw, although you'd have to get the UK Anchor Bay import. If you are a region-free fan of classic Brit horror, no collection is really complete without Night of the Eagle, a.k.a. Burn Witch Burn, a flat-out masterpiece of the genre.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

Hmmm, unfortunately i only have a region 1 dvd player. I'll look into the ones that can only be in R1.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

The earlier Universal version is pretty good also. The entire Inner Sanctum set is worthwhile for those who don't have it.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

My top 3 suggestions would be:
Horror of Dracula
Curse of Frankenstein
Dracula Prince of Darkness

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

I'd replace #3 with Dracula has Risen From the Grave (Veronica Carlsen and a better death scene for Dracula) and add The Devil Rides Out.

Re: Collecting Hammer Horror
 

i love frankenstein's horror movie collection set of 1931! those series were a blockbuster seller. i believe the original collection set consists of 33 disc.