I read an article on The Shaft in the most recent issue of Fangoria magazine. Sounds like a cool, yet cheesy, horror flick. It's due to be released in R1 tomorrow (05/20/03). However, it's apparently full frame. Whether this means pan 'n' scan or open matte, I don't know.

However, there is an anamorphic 2.35:1 German version available--called Down in it's previous incarnation. In fact, IMDB lists it as the DVD version. The only place I found it for sale is at ComputerUniverse.net.

Anyone have the R2 release? Is it worth it? Oh, and forgive me (I'm new to international DVD) but the price from ComputerUniverse to the US would be around $22 plus shipping, right? (How much shipping is, they don't say though.)

Cheesy, yes. Cool, no.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=6417

Thanks for pointing me to the review, Mike. And thanks for reviewing it. Ya got the shaft, literally. That's priceless.

Hmm... Despite your review (I just ranted yesterday in another thread about crappy reviews for Equilibrium), I think I might just rent The Shaft anyway. The Hollywood Video 3 for $.99 each coupon still works, so I figure it's worth that.

The trailer makes the flick look good. However, trailers often are misleading.

I still have to wonder how the R1 version compares to the German R2 release. Sometimes the correct OAR really can help a film a lot, IMO.

The R1 cover doesn't really try to hide the whole "cash in on the Ring!" train of thought, does it?

DVDude!, the 99 cent rental will be worth it just to see the crazy clothes the Watts wears in the movie and to witness "German" scientist Michael Ironside speak with no accent whatsoever.

God this movie blew. I can't believe a bunch of my fave character actors assembled for this one. At best I was hoping for maybe some Watts nudity, but no such luck. I didn't even know this was P&S until I threw it in the player (I should've known to check, since the R1 IS from Artisan), but if you happen to like the movie I would definitely try to get my hands on the R2 OAR disc. Lots of panning, missing characters etc. on this cut.

Um... can I have the last 109 minutes of my life back please?

Well, I just finished watching Artisan's craptacular pan 'n' scam release of "The Shaft." Talk about annoying lack of panning--with fairly important characters and objects missing from the frame entirely. And, gee, a trailer as the only special feature. If I had have liked the flick, I wouldn't spend even 99 cents to own Artisan's release. Idiots.

As for the movie, I agree with most of Mike Long's review: relatively bad acting, overly long and lack of the horror element. I think what writer/director Dick Maas tried to do was make a horror comedy of sorts (goofy stuff abounds), but it falls flat in both aspects. The ending is a little suspenseful, but the silliness still got in the way. The comedic elements are just plain stupid.

In addition, little of the dialogue rings true. I'd hazard a guess that Maas was so in love with this story that he wrote that he didn't want to excise any of it. This probably contributes to the length of the movie. At least 20 minutes could have been left on the cutting room floor. What works on paper does not always work on screen.

Furthermore, Naomi Watts operates purely on automatic pilot; if "The Shaft" had been released back in 2001 (when it was originally intended, based on the copyright), her career would have stalled.

Oh, as for the lack of an accent for the German character played by Michael Ironside, I would have been okay with it if he was simply called "Dr. Steinberg" throughout. (Hey, I'm of German descent and I don't have an accent.) But instead, toward the end, an FBI agent recognizes him and calls him "Gunter." The FBI connection combined with the ethnic name makes one think that his character is supposed to be from Germany and the lack of the accent is ludicrous.

There are some decent moments, however. There's some gratuitous nudity right from the start; two building security guards spying on a couple of nude hookers a guy. The decapitation scene is pretty well done. The floor dropping out to send more than a few passengers plunging to their deaths is impressive (although reminiscent of "Speed"). The New York exteriors are done well and contribute to the feeling that you're watching something other than dreck (and they made me homesick too).

One other note: There are several shots of the World Trade Center in the movie. In addition, the police blame the killings on terrorists. A cop makes mention that terrorists almost took out the WTC "ten years ago." Another cop says something to the effect of, "If you see [Osama] Bin Laden, say hi." I don't object to images of the WTC in existing movies (and would have liked to have had the Spider-Man WTC trailer on the DVD), but the whole thing made me kind of uncomfortable. (The film is copyright 2001; the trailer on the DVD actually has a copyright of 2000.)

Needless to say, I won't be buying either version of "The Shaft/Down." In fact, I didn't even waste 99 cents on the rental; I used a gift card that I had lying around since Christmas...

Can't agree more with you.....ARTISAN is the worst company on the market together with Vanguard and Fox Lorber. Their Pan/Scan-ing has totaly forced me NOT TO BUY their products (and the obvious lack of quality titles....which I think is better they stay away from....for obvious reasons). Total crap!!!!

She went Down on The Shaft. Great, no need to pornolize this title.

anyplace to buy the German R2 version? I'm still new to mutli-region since I've only had my new JVC for a couple of months.

First of all, I hope you've seen the movie. If you have and you still want to own it, check my first post at the top. ComputerUniverse.net is the only place I found--prior to watching the movie. Now, I don't want it. Ever.

I can't speak for Vahgaurd (not owning any of their titles), but FL is much worse than Artisan. At least Artisan's P&S titles aren't nearly as murky looking as FL's tranfers.