I just noticed on this site: http://www.shocktreatmentnetwork.com/new.htm
mention of the Rocky Horror Picture Show sequel Shock Treament is going to become available on DVD in Europe.

For those more knowledgable than I, what do you think the chances are that Shock Treatment will become available in the US if they've remastered it for this DVD release? All releases of this film that have ever existed are full screen, so I'm surprised to hear that there's going to be a widescreen version released.

No news to report, but this is like #1 on my wife's wish list.

I'd love for this to see a US release, especially since this is a musical and PAL speed-up blows.

I'm assuming the Italian release (if it does exist) will be the same as the upcoming UK release (which will be available in two versions -- in special lip packaging with Rocky Horror or just a standard two-pack with Rocky Horror).

However, if the Italian release is legit and includes a (decent) anamorphic transfer, I'm all over it.

Why would you favor an Italian release over a UK release? Italy is PAL too, right? Or is Italian your first language or something?

I'm assuming if Italy's release is legit, it would be the same exact transfer as the UK disc (as it's both releases would be by Fox). All of Europe is PAL and according to some of those Italian websites, it says that the DVD includes both Italian and English stereo options. So obviously, the Italian DVD would be the more affordable version to get.

According to what I've read, the Shock Treatment disc in the double-pack will only include an anamorphic transfer, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, and a trailer. I would've liked to see more, but I'll take what I can get.

OK, I'm about to veer horribly off-topic here, but let's talk PAL speed-up for just a moment. Why? Because I'm wanting to buy Seasons 2 and 3 of Quantum Leap since it has the original music. But if you're saying PAL speedup is an issue, what's the difference? Any samples somewhere? Also, why is it sped up?

To keep on-topic, I've never seen this movie, but always wanted to.

Here's an article that might help you: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Article.../PALvsNTSC.asp

Since Shock Treatment is a musical, you might be able to hear the speed-up within the actor's voices, thus making it somewhat of a distraction.

Please god, let's hope the US release isn't a cropped-to-widescreen version of the fullscreen version like the R2 appears to be!

See my post here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...73#post6977473

In the UK, at least, the only way to get hold of Shock Treatment will be to fork out for a new Rocky Horror boxset; this comes in a special "lip box" containing the RHPS (same edition as the previous release), some sundries like maybe a t-shirt, and a totally vanilla edition of Shock Treatment - not even a trailer!

I hope they reconsider - previously Fox were only going to release Curse of the Fly in the special Fly "Telepod" boxset, which was to include the original three films and the two new ones, but they've relented and are gonna release it separately later in the year.

Ummm, sorry Nebiroth, but you're wrong on two acccounts.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releas...s-edition.html

According to DVDActive (and the menu screenshots therin) Shock Treatment WILL have the theatrical trailer AND you do NOT have to fork out for the "lip box." ST and RHPS will be available as two pack outside of this more expensive lip box (so you won't get all the extras tha the lip box will have, just the movies).

May I ask where you are getting your information from that speaks the contrary to those two points?

As regards PAL speedup, it's fairly common now for them to reprocess the audio to remove the "higher pitch" effect that is generally associated with speeded-up playback... Those of you with good musical ears might still notice a faster tempo, but no key changes or chipmunk-effects.

(Of course, sadly, they probably don't bother audio-reprocessing their obscure catalog films, even musicals. So I wouldn't bet on it in this case.)

I hope that the 2-pack will be released in the US. I can live without the lips, but I really want the second disc for RHPS and Shock Treatment.

According to members on the HTF, Fox recorded a commentary with two Shock Treatment fans who reported back that the film has never looked or sounded so good before.

I expect a September-October release, similar to Rocky Horror's two-disc treatment years ago. No word yet if it'll be packaged with Rocky Horror or it will be available stand alone.

Welp, looks like the R1 Shock Treatment DVD has been announced! Available to own from the 5th September, it should retail at around $19.98, is anamorphic, and the extras will include a commentary by Fan Club Presidents "Mad Man" Mike Ellenbogen & Bill Brennan, a Making Of Retrospective featurette, a Music Retrospective featurette, the theatrical trailer, and the international trailer.

The European release didn't have any extras other than the trailer. Glad I held off on getting it.

And the European release had a compressed-to-hell transfer with pseudo stereo and PAL speed-up.

From Davis DVD:

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release Shock Treatment, the sequel to cult favorite "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," on September 5th. Available for the first time on DVD, this special edition arrives with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 & Mono tracks, an audio commentary with "Shock Treatment" Fan Club presidents "Mad Man" Mike Ellenbogen & Bill Brennan, making-of and music retrospectives, domestic and international trailers. Retail is $19.98.

Not bad, not bad at all. I'm glad we don't have to rebuy Rocky Horror to get it.

So this is still a go for Sept 5th, right? I noticed that it wasn't up on TheDigitalBits.

Yes it's a go. It's in my Circuit City and Best Buy ad for that time frame.

Yuck, another fan-commentary.

Any reviews on this yet?

As I mentioned in the international thread, the R2 DVD had some work that the R1 DVD could've improved on. The picture quality was oversaturated and had compression and digital artifacts all over the place (mostly due to the fact that the DVD was single-layered). On top of that, the "pseudo-stereo" soundtrack was fucking terrible. With zero extras to speak of besides the theatrical trailer, the DVD was pretty much a waste of time. At least it was in widscreen right?

What's the good about the R1 DVD? Both the remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 and the Mono 2.0 track sound pretty good, except for a major audio snafu during Denton, U.S.A. The audio drops out half way during the song and the second half of the song has the sound effects having more emphasis than the music. The upsetting thing is this happens on both audio tracks. The DVD also has two featurettes that run 20 minutes total talking about the making of the film with new interviews from most of the crew, but only a few of the cast members (Cliff DeYoung and Patricia Quinn are the major two to make apperances). It's no wonder that Richard O'Brien is nowhere to be found in the featurettes, specifically for the fact he never got along with Jim Sharman during production and he writes the film off as a disappointment. I haven't listened to the audio commentary yet, but the trailers are presented in good quality.

However, the transfer isn't so hot. Completely different than the R2 with completely different framing. While the framing on the R1 looks a lot more natural than the R2 DVD, the R1 is nearly a complete 180 from the R2. While there are no compression or digital artifcacts to speak of (thank you 7.7GB dual-layered DVD) and the film looks pretty fucking clean, the colors are completely washed out. It's an improvement over the R2, but not by much.

Also, just like the R2 DVD, the credits are botched up. "Overture" is supposed to play during the entire end credits with Richard O'Brien's remix of the title song playing over a black screen after the credits, the R1 DVD follows the edits that have been suffered on the film's pay cable releases and the R2 DVD. The credits jump in halfway during "Overture" and the remix of "Shock Treatment" begins halfway during the cast poloroids.

While it's cheap ($12 at Circuit City or Best Buy), I was hoping for a "better" release. While the extras are gravy, the audio and the picture could use some definite improvement. Oh well, maybe on HD-DVD or Blu-ray in a decade.

An HD transfer of this does exist. It was on INHD over the weekend. While I was reminded of every reason I do not like this movie, the transfer looked great.

Does anyone know if the RHPS in the 2-pack is in the original digipak packaging or has the booklet from the 25th Anniversary Edition?

Thanks for the review, Matthew.


Gah! How horrible is this drop? Is it glaringly bad or just minorly bad?


I have to say I'm using this description more often when I recommend a DVD.

It is glaringly bad. The whole pitch and tempo of the song just goes out the window. The weird thing is that it's not noticeable on the R2 DVD (and is making me believe that the R1 used a print in worse condition than the R2's).