Studiocanal has the rights to The Nanny so I think there's no chance of that. I think The Abominable Snowman is going to be one of the smaller releases. I'm not really sure what the other big releases are going to be. Maybe Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell and The Mummy?

As noted in my post with the ‘mystery box’ image, Hammer posted that prior to announcing QUATERMASS 2 so we know that’s the third one, which leaves just one more ‘big box’ for 2025 (unless they surprise is with more). THE MUMMY would certainly seem like an ideal candidate for the bigger sets (and maybe a prelude to the even bigger monster titles?). FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL would work, too, although I could see that one getting a smaller box treatment just as easily.

I might be wrong, but I think The Mummy, Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell are the other big titles that Hammer owns. Of those I could see Curse or Frankenstein and Dracula both being options for the bigger box. I think Monster from Hell would get the smaller box like Shatter and Four Sided Triangle. But I still think Quatermass and the Pit will probably get a bigger set like the first two with a DVD of the original serial included.

One of these days I am going to sit down and start with all the first Hammer horror film and watch each of them in order of release.

Adding that to my already extensive "to watch" list. It goes next to my video game "to play" list and my book & magazine "to read" list.

I don't have enough time left.

My memory was jogged today when an Amazon Marketplace order came in for my old unopened copy of

Sony’s ICONS OF ADVENTURE DVD set

Sony’s ICONS OF ADVENTURE DVD set

from 2008, which included four Hammer ‘pirate’ style films, including DEVIL SHIP PIRATES along with TERROR OF THE TONGS, STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, and PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (all with commentaries, as I recall). That set’s OOP but still pretty cheap in the U.S. Up here it went for just over $80. Yay Canada, I guess.

That said, STRANGLERS, TONGS, BLOOD RIVER, and CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND (which I assume is SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND you mentioned?) were all released in recent years by Powerhouse / Indicator in their Hammer boxed sets (Vol. 3 and Vol. 5) in lavishly-appointed special editions. All were region free except BLOOD RIVER (which was region B), and the standard editions are still available quite cheap on their site, so I do wonder if that will make Hammer hold off on releasing them in their boxed line-up too soon. It might bode well for DEVIL SHIP PIRATES, though, as that isn’t in the Indicator lineup.

https://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/co...i9ymhX9ywYrIYk

Secret of Blood Island and Camp on Blood Island are two different movies. Secret is a prequel. I've never seen it, but that Indicator vol.3 set you mentioned is my favorite of those sets by far. I think Yesterday's Enemy is a legit great movie. I don't know if those titles fall under the umbrella of these sets, but I would buy that one in a heartbeat.

Well, Hammer’s next ‘small box’ title (#3) is a deep cut indeed, the fairly obscure BLOOD ORANGE from 1953. Huh. Definitely not on my bingo card.

Streets August 11.
https://hammerfilms.com/products/blo...on#description

(also worth noting that the LE of FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE appears to be OOP on the Hammer site, and the standard editions are now up for order instead).

Hammer’s ‘Small box’ #4 is another deep cut, THE MAN IN BLACK, from 1950 (all-region). Like BLOOD ORANGE, it seems to rely heavily on modern ‘expert’ takes for supplements, but there are some vintage items mixed in this time, including episodes of the popular radio series this was based on.

I’m keen to see both of these, but will probably stick to the standards or wait for streaming, especially if a lot of these kinds of pictures turn up in the new line. I received my deluxe QUATERMASS set last week and the QUATERMASS II set just today and both are truly definitive in the amount of vintage extras they combine with newer stuff. The on-disc supplements are extensive enough that the standalone editions will keep you busy a while, but the material in the perfect-bound books also relies heavily on vintage studio office and promotional material. Definite keepers whichever options you choose. These lesser films will be a bit trickier if course.

That's really cool. Love the Hammer stuff.

I know a lot of people are down on the announcements for Blood Orange and The Man in Black, but I think that it's nice that some more obscure titles are getting released. I think that they should probably have been spaced further apart (like one of them between the two Quatermass boxes instead of those being dropped back to back).

‘Joltman’ posted this in the ‘upcoming 4K’ thread, but it belongs here too.

Looks like Hammer won’t be overlooking their Crown Jewels after all. Big Box #4 will be CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

https://hammerfilms.com/products/the...on#description

Worth noting that this is a UK release only, and the site notes that the U.S. and rest-of-world version is the Blu-ray available at the Warner Archive. I’m assuming WA will be doing a 4K as well now, but I seriously doubt they’ll include even a fraction of this content.

I have the Archive Blu, and it’s excellent, but this thing is packed (including all the WB supplements) so there’s no way I won’t be importing it from . . . somewhere.

Warner Archive is releasing a US version for those who don't want to import.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...603684790&_rdr

Keen to see if they port over all the supplements. There’s literally no reason they can’t. I guess it depends on the content of the sixth disc in the UK set. I’m assuming it’s the feature length documentary and bonuses for that, which Warner might not have the rights to, or care about. And of course all the printed junk in the UK box (which, if the material in the boxes I’ve purchased so far is any indication, will at least be very well-designed and complementary to the disc content).

Now that this one’s out there on both shores, I’m hopeful that there will be deluxe sets for HORROR OF DRACULA and THE MUMMY at the least. The rest of the Warner / Hammer titles might get the ‘both sides’ treatment, but who knows when. And there’s a finite supply of titles there because Hammer’s catalog is split up amongst multiple U.S. studios, so I’m curious if they’ll work in conjunction with the others as well for their holdings. All of that makes me tempted to stick to the UK sets because of their comprehensive nature, although it’s good to remember that Warner Archive stuff does go on sale occasionally, whereas these Hammer boxes are one-and-done.

Featurettes and interviews getting ported over usually depends on the contracts talent signed when participating. Global rights are typically more expensive and tougher to clear.

As you stated, the printed junk is well designed and nice. I like having the comic reprint in there. I plan to revisit this movie soon to decide if I want it enough to import the limited edition.

I'm kind of disappointed that they are keeping it UK only, since I had decided to go all in on the Hammer boxes. If I'm not going to be able to pick this up in the states through someone like DiabolikDVD or Orbitdvd then it kind of makes me want to go ahead and stop with the boxes and just start cherry picking the ones that I really like or can easily get through an importer

I’m sure there’s bound to be some company or seller that doesn’t mind working around that. For example, Deep Discount has had some (all?) of the Hammer boxes so far, but I’ve also bought supposedly UK-only stuff from them in the past, so they might surprise you. Or maybe Grindhouse Video, Atomic Movie Store, etc? Amazon Marketplace sellers might have this new one as well, but you’d have to be mindful of where it’s truly shipping from thanks to all the fun new price hikes being inflicted on you.

Long-term though, cherry-picking has some advantages, cost wise. I don’t mind the boxes for the bigger genre pictures, but I’m leaning toward standard editions on stuff like MAN IN BLACK and BLOOD ORANGE.

It might come down to whether or not the importers want to risk upsetting WB and possibly losing any distribution deals that they have with them. I know that Vinegar Syndrome has gotten a lot of criticism lately for threatening the import sites to prevent them from selling international versions of films that they have released in the US, so I just am not sure if any of the US based dealers will try to import it.

Based on the posted extras for the Warner Archive version, it looks like these are going to be exclusive to the UK version (most of which are exclusive to the Limited Collector's Edtiion)

There is a lot of discussion and confusion over whether the 4K discs in the UK only edition will be one of the few UHD region locked discs.

It has not been truly confirmed yet though different parties say different things. I don't think it will be truly known until it is in someone's hot little hands.

I was thinking of getting the big set but if the UHD discs are locked, I will likely pass on it.

It sucks for people like flansered who wanted to buy them all and then they suddenly do a 180.

I figured it might just be the Newsom documentary not getting ported over, but shit, that’s a substantial batch of interesting material. I’ll definitely stick with the UK set (one way or another). I’m not concerned about the 4K discs being coded as I don’t have that format. In fact, I wish they’d done these boxes as 4K or Blu-ray instead of both, but at least they’re separating them for the standard editions.

FWIW the Hammer Films website is listing it as "Region Free UHDs, Region B for Blu-rays" and they have typically been accurate with region codings where they show them. But I think that whomever is answering questions about this on Hammer's end is not doing a great job and giving conflicting information.

Frankenstein showed up for preorder on Diabolik so I pulled the trigger on the preorder. I need to go back and pick up Blood Orange and Man in Black too, but I am more worried about this being harder to get later on.

They must have added that because it didn't originally say that. The technical specs for these releases are pretty specific so that's where the fear came from.

Yeah I think that there is a lot of conflicting information, and I think whomever answering the questions at Hammer doesn't know the specifics of the discs and was probably just told that the blu-rays were region locked and assumed that meant all the discs were. I would be surprised if they went against the industry standard and locked the UHDs, but I guess we will not know for sure until the discs start showing up in peoples hands.

Highly doubt they lock the UHDs, but I can more or less guarantee the BDs will be locked.