http://horrordvds.com/modules.php?na...article&id=640

Finally, this horror classic gets the 16x9 upgrade it deserves.



New Echo Bridge DVD on the left, Old Anchor Bay DVD on the right

glad to see it's 16x9 and that transfer looks great, even though eb just duped the R2/R4 version it's still better than the FF crap that was in WM $5 bin and the crappy non-anamorphic AB disc

Does the 6.99 MSRP and this comment (from the linked review) bother anybody:

Could this be a crap PAL transfer?

"Echo Bridge Home Entertainment" --> not exactly a name I associate with quality when it comes to DVD releases. Proceed with caution.

Anamorphic Widescreen = sold! ...providing it's not a PAL transfer...

well the runtime difference is 4% and considering they duped the R2/R4 i think it's safe to say that it's a PAL transfer

Crap. I'll probably still get it, though, since I never got the old AB release. Is it really that hard for some companies to do things right?

Yes, apparently it is...

Well you have no idea what kind of legal issues the companies have to deal with when it comes to releasing these movies. Also, as far as extras are concerned I would honestly be surprised if much still exsist. Sure they could film new interviews / record new commentaries - but it would be expensive and probably incredibly difficult to convince those involved to do said extras...

I'm glad to see it is anamorphic and looks better, but I wish they would do a real special edition for this movie.

I'll keep my Anchor Bay VHS for the trailers, but I'll be picking up this one. That's such a low MSRP.

This transfer has crap written all over it. First of all, the review says it is interlaced, so there will definitely be combing artifacts throughout. Secondly, it is a PAL-sourced transfer, so there could also be ghosting in the image and the audio pitch could be higher, distorting the key of the music and the actor's voices. Plus, if you closely compare the two images, the Echo Bridge looks squished. It seems to me that because you are seeing more open framing on the Echo Bridge disc, what they did was take the open matte and squash it to fit a 16:9 frame. Kudos for the color timing correction, but everything else seems jacked.

Agreed with dullboy... It is a crap transfer. Except this PAL transfer doesn't look cropped or squished to me. Except to the extent going from 720x540 anamorphic 25 fps to 720x480 29.97 fps anamorphic resolution...

No sale from me because I don't want a sped-up PAL transfer. I'm still waiting for the proper 16x9 NTSC FILM 24 fps transfer. Price is right at $6.99 though.

With all the other great releases coming on 9/11, this is a humble disappointment...