Update on Happinet's 35th Anniversary Dawn of the Dead Blu-ray Box from Japan

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EDIT: Just ordered the Theatrical Version Blu-ray from Amazon.jp, so of course I'll do a follow-up with impressions!

Here's an update to this September entry detailing Happinet's plans to release a three Blu-ray set of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) back on December 3rd. That date slipped to the 20th, and I've just started to see images from Japanese collectors getting their copies within the last week. The images below are from catalina.blog.so-net.ne.jp.

Initial reports indicate generally good quality of all three high definition transfers, some are stating the Theatrical Version just looks fair, but I haven't found any screenshots to get a better gauge. The back specs do confirm all three versions being 1080p HD encoded with MPEG-4 AVC with all featuring English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (w/ 96kHz upsampling) and 2.0 tracks. The supplemental material is still skimpy with mostly theatrical trailers/teasers previously available on Anchor Bay's DVDs and Blu-ray.

Although if the image quality of the transfers is great, advertising claims "state of the art" restorations, then this set will certainly be worth picking up. There's certainly room for improvement beyond both the Anchor Bay and Arrow Video UK Blu-rays. Regardless, this set's packaging is fantastic, reminiscent of Bandai Emotion's stunning silver "Perfect Collection" LaserDisc set from 1995 (seen here). The Blu-ray cases also appear to be the thicker, more conventional DVD style not seen stateside. I'll keep abreast of information and screenshots, but I'm waiting before ordering until hearing more definitive word. Check the first link above for Amazon.jp and CDJapan seller links if you're bold enough to order straight away.

Cliffhanger (1993) - 1994 Carolco/Pioneer LDC MUSE Hi-Vision Japan LaserDisc

Okay, this certainly isn't the norm for this blog, but it is an interesting curiosity on the grounds of home video history. In the early '90s several Japanese electronics manufacturers saw the potential in the then very early in-home HDTV market and devised a revised, Japan-only LaserDisc standard based on the "Hi-Vision" HD broadcast system in the country. The new standard greatly improved the video quality of "vanilla" 430i LaserDisc bumping up the resolution to around 1035i analog (versus today's 1080i digital HD broadcasts) along with anamorphic widescreen enhancement. The audio was also different, and this is where things got sticky, since one needed an HDTV, MUSE Hi-Vision LD player, and MUSE decoder box to decode both the picture and sound.

In other words; if standard LD was generally considered a rich man's video format, Hi-Vision LD was the top 1%'s format. All three equipment requirements were über-expensive at the time and the actual software wasn't exactly a bargain. The retail on this Cliffhanger LD is ¥20,000 or about $200USD in 1994 money. Ultimately; the overall cost, some lingering technical kinks (strange picture artifacts), and wavering quality between releases killed this variation of the format. Although Hi-Vision LD preceded Blu-ray, HD DVD, and even D-VHS as a format capable of delivering physical high definition media at home. The players, decoders, and titles (like Jurassic Park, T2, A River Runs Through It, and Lawrence of Arabia) still command a premium among collectors. Expect to still sink thousands and much patience into the venture just to get started.

Surprisingly, I managed to get this disc for essentially next to nothing (like, cheaper than the Blu-ray!). Aside from a bumped top right corner (argh), it's completely mint. The outer cardboard slipcover slides off to reveal a hardbound "book-style" digi-pak. The inset has a note from Renny Harlin and a gatefold insert with cast/crew information is included. The LD is even protected from the reverse side by a sheet of tissue paper. Certainly a very handsome package even though I can't even play it due to no player or decoder. Still I feel lucky and privileged to even own this piece and maybe some day I'll be able to actually watch it. Apparently this is one of the more easily found but better looking Hi-Vision releases.

        

Weird Bootleg Fetish: Chinese Hemdale/Image Terminator DVD

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The barcode is different, wonder if any stores got fooled? 

If you've read this blog long enough, you may know of my infatuation with "quality" bootlegs both on tape and disc. It's just fascinating the length some bootleggers will go to either convince the naive or cover their ass. I don't necessarily support them, never buying directly from a bootlegger is a rule, but they're hard to resist if I run across one cheap at a yard sale or thrift store.

Such is the case with this nicely done boot of The Terminator (1984), which I picked up over the weekend at a local Goodwill. I immediately recognized the key art being from the old cardboard snapper Image Entertainment release ported from their LaserDisc at the dawn of DVD in 1997. Only this time the thief printed the layout onto a professional quality paper sleeve.

What also sets this forgery apart from the majority is the lack of stupid and/or mismatched logos. The credits and distributor logos remain intact instead of slapping on credits from a totally different film or making this disc look released from Paramount or Criterion. Bootleggers seem obsessed with touting "DVD-9" and "AC-3" on their covers and discs. Maybe because of that very reason, you very seldom ever see authorized DVDs use these terms with dual-layer discs and Dolby Digital. This fake Terminator can't help itself in this aspect and has a DTS logo even though there no such audio track included.

This is where things fall apart despite the disc itself being factory pressed, dual layered, and featuring screened art depicting the cover. Seen in the capture above, the presentation is very poorly ripped from MGM's SE from 2001. Unlike that decent release, the widescreen transfer is non-anamorphic and riddled with digital compression artifacts and line combing. Best to think of this level of picture quality as a torture test for your DVD player's processing capabilities. Great players can actually clean up most of these issues.

The only audio option is the now infamous Dolby 5.1 remix, that totally replaces nearly all of the original sound effects with new ones, but only in Stereo. To my knowledge, no official DVD has ever featured this crappy surround remix in stereo. So that's kinda cool; if you don't mind the ruination of one of the greatest examples of cinematic sci-fi from the '80s. And finally, as usual all the extra features are stripped from the disc. Ehh, still worth essentially lighting two bucks on fire to pick it up in my book!              

This turned out to be a great deal!

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Some quick, unscientific snaps of the Squeeze LD of T2...

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(the picture is inherently and permanently "squeezed" vertically in 4:3, unlike DVD's 4:3 accommodation)

(when set to 16:9*, the picture is "unsqueezed", yielding greater vertical resolution, it does look quite good)

(between-frame funkiness that happens when photographing running video)

One of my most wanted LaserDiscs...

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...found its way into my mailbox today! Pioneer Japan's withdrawn, anamorphic LD of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with non-color corrected picture and original theatrical audio mix!

Some quick thoughts on The Wax Mask (M.D.C. - Maschera di cera) (1997)

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Originally conceived as a comeback for a long ailing Lucio Fulci who passed shortly before production began, The Wax Mask is a twist on the tradition of House of Wax set at the dawn of the 20th century in Paris. A master wax sculptor (Robert Hossein) harboring a "mechanical" secret and his apprentice are adding to their public collection by way of kidnapping and brutal chemical treatments. A young, beautiful assistant (Romina Mondello) with troubling childhood experiences joins the duo and unwittingly becomes their prey. Her only hope rests in the hands of a reporter (Riccardo Longhi) both snooping around as death haunts the waxworks and courting the fare maiden.

At the risk of pissing off The Wax Mask's fans who deem it as proof gothic horror was still kicking in '97, the impression left from SFX artist Sergio Stivaletti's directorial debut was more period soap opera than Mario Bava. Before you heave your tomatoes and breadsticks understand that this prim and proper quality actually leads to an bittersweet observation in regards to the state of Italian horror.

By the time this dedication to Fulci debuted, the country's cinematic sea change from capitalistic to artistic had already taken hold and there's hints of this riddled throughout. There's almost no veteran genre holdovers inhabiting minor roles in a cast of near total Italian descent. International distribution probably wasn't a priority as the shooting language was obviously Italian with the English dub making little effort to match lips (think Godzilla). And in spite of being directed by a man capable of ample amounts of screen mayhem, the gore is sparse and placed aside in favor of a "purposeful" atmosphere and costumes reminiscent of Mel Brooks' Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). Just without the comedy, that is. The rich orchestral score by Maurizio Abeni also shuns any electronic doodling with a sound echoing Danny Elfman's work on Burton's two Batmans. Serious business, folks.

So while competently made, the mood begins to wane as the story lumbers along to its inevitable climax between the girl (strapped nude to a tortuous chair for "waxing"), her lover, and madman. It's a shame that this exercise in "restructuring" what it meant to be a horror film produced in Italy lost that vital something in translation (there's even a couple CG effects). Ultimately, The Wax Mask is an interesting curiosity but there's a reason Michele Soavi's 1994 Dellamorte Dellamore has become the official page break of the industry. Pony Canyon's Japanese LaserDisc looks and sounds very solid framed at 1.66:1 widescreen. The picture quality is actually nicer than Image's long out-of-print DVD which manages to have crispy edge enhancement and clumpy textures. I often forgot I was watching an LD...

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Japanese LaserDisc for 1¢ (+ $6 shipping)

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Sorry about another entry about a Japanese LD for a second day in a row, but I'm still all giddy over what arrived today. This one was spotted last week on eBay without any mention of being the Japanese edition beside a picture of the cover. Amazingly, I won with the starting bid of one shiny penny and six bucks shipping. Perhaps even more amazing is that the seller came through and the LD traveled across the entire country via UPS Ground intact. Too awesome!

(notice how one of the chapters is named "Fuck you, asshole")

Prison (1988) - 1988 NEC Avenue Japan LaserDisc

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Very badass LaserDisc came in yesterday, Renny Harlin's contribution to the late '80s/early '90s mini-wave of lock up-themed horror, Prison, on the NEC Avenue label from Japan. There's nothing special about the presentation outside of the cover being so damn cool. The full frame picture is noticeably more colorful and sharper than the dark and greenish-tinted Japanese VHS. MGM owns the domestic rights to this film, so there's probably going be a Limited Edition DVD-R release eventually...    

Well, this simple LaserDisc player fix worked...again!

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Back in September I discovered this easy fix for my LaserDisc player's sluggish performance originally provided by LD aficionado Kurtis Bahr (thanks again!). After the repair my CLD-D503 was holding up but upon chance I found its "step-up", the CLD-D703, on eBay complete with original box, remote, and manual for just $120 two weeks ago.

I was antsy about the purchase, especially after a giant eBay screwjob on a severely damaged Betamax player several years ago, but it arrived last Tuesday packaged quite well and in excellent shape. Still the eternal pessimist, I figured it got heaved about so much during shipping that the tray or laser was knocked out of alignment. Amazingly, the unit spun up and played fine.

Although there were signs of the same problem. Upon "spinning up" the LD to play, a loud screech was heard and even after trying three different ways, the player simply refused to perform a "gamma turn" and flip the laser assembly over to play Side B. Instead of flipping, the disc would stop and the front panel would proclaim "End". At first I got miffed since the seller claimed the unit was 100% fully functional, but then I remembered the old fix.

This time the motor's rubber ring looked even worse than the 503 with something resembling caked white chalk filling in the textured surface before scrubbing. Breaking out the alcohol and Q-tips and performing the same operation much to my surprise resulted in success. The player didn't screech and didn't hesitant one bit to play Side B and then return to Side A when finished. It seems funny such a simple thing would hurt the player's functions so much.

The CLD-D703 is regarded as the second to best player Pioneer ever made outside of their ELITE series (it beats a good chunk of those though) and several esoteric Japanese players. It's only second to the CLD-704 which only additionally features a jack for Dolby Digital 5.1 audio through an external demodulator. I don't really care too much about that feature, LD Dolby wasn't very widespread being limited to the last several years of the format's existence. And you'd be lucky to find a demodulator for less than a hundred bucks.

I'm really after the stereo digital PCM tracks many LDs feature. The more basic 503 unit can play them, but only via stereo analog jacks, which means the digital audio is processed by the player and not my much more modern A/V receiver. The 703 has Optical Out and Coaxial jacks which send the raw PCM signal to a receiver for processing. The audio difference in terms of clarity and impact are very clear and I can finally understand why many old school LD owners say the format sounds better than DVD (True Lies sounds incredible!). Also LDs with uncompressed DTS audio can be sent through Optical to any DTS-decoding receiver just like DVD (don't have any DTS LDs yet).

Picture quality is also much improved over the 503 on all grounds. The image is sharper and cleaner, even when using the Zoom functions on my DLP. The video signal-to-noise ratio of the 703 is 51db and with each bump the picture quality increase is noticeable (the "best" best players reached 54db). I'd estimate the 503's ratio is around 48/49db (way fuzzier).

There's also "standard" and customizable "variable" DNR levels for both the luminance and chroma parts of the image. Noise reduction isn't such a bad thing with analog video like VHS or LD but I turned it off anyway. Regarding the construction of the 703, the mechanical end of the tray, laser assembly, gamma turn flip "cartridge", and entire outer case itself are identical to the 503. So if you have trouble in this respect it may pay off grabbing a cheap 503 off eBay and stripping it for parts. However the power, video, and audio boards are indeed different in comparison. Anyway, cool stuff!

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Stagefright: Aquarius (Deliria) (1987) - CIC Video/Pioneer Japan LaserDisc

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This beautiful Japanese Laser arrived today, but the mail decided to apparently use the package as a frisbee and ding a portion of the bottom edge. Although considering the price and hoops that the postal office presents with damage claims, it is what it is. Otherwise the cover, disc, and insert are in great condition. Michele Soavi's Euro-dipped slasher debut has an odd way of finding me. I probably have about ten different editions across various formats spanning the globe so far...

(notice the flow chart, many Japanese LD inserts break down the story this way!?)

Well, this simple LaserDisc player fix worked!

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I'm steadily getting back into collecting and watching LaserDiscs, but one thing that always bugged me was my temperamental Pioneer CLD-D503 having a tendency to unexpectedly take long pauses in-between certain commands involving the deck "parking" discs. Basically, just like CD or DVD, LaserDisc players have a mechanism that angles the drive's center spindle to fit into the disc's hole upon insertion for reading. Sounds sexy, right?

Well, the motorized spindle that spins the disc has a textured rubber ring that helps seat and grip the disc in place. Over time, this ring loses some of this ability and causes the player to "hang" during actions like initially spinning up or spinning down discs upon eject. For example, I'd hit EJECT on the remote, there would be some mechanical whining, and the player would simply seem to freeze for upwards of two minutes before the tilt mechanism would unclamp the disc and the tray would open. Same thing when inserting a LD and sometimes commanding the player to switch sides.

So I went searching around and found these archived instructions detailing how to do a little surgery to resurface the rubber to restore its gripping action. The process was extremely easy and fast and appears to have worked. I've ran a bunch of discs through the player since the fix and haven't had one slip, pause, or reluctant side switch yet. It might be in my head, but skipping chapters seems faster now as well.

I did cheat though, instead of using a cleaning stick or chamos stick, I tore a large portion of cotton off a Q-tip, re-rolled the stick with my fingers, and dipped that in Isopropyl alcohol (pinch off the excess liquid) to scrub the spindle's rubber ring. Then dipped a rag into the alcohol to clean the top disc clamp's ball bearings that had some black gunk around them. After that all you need to do is screw the top clamp back into place and pop the deck's cover back on. The 1994 Pioneer CLD-D503 is a mid-range player that has an internal layout shared with many of the company's output of the period. So hopefully this clean-up will work even if your player happens to be a little different internally.

The Fog (1980) - 1985(?) Embassy Home Entertainment Japan LaserDisc

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Here's a fresh drop-off from a cheap eBay lot with a few other common domestic LDs, but unfortunately the presentation leaves much to be desired with a gamut of issues. Like the 1981 Magnetic Video LD (seen here), the picture is cropped to full screen. The difference being Embassy's cropjob being painfully panned-and-scanned. There's a lot of distracting motorized panning in still shots to capture speaking actors and other on-screen action otherwise unseen from the zooming. Magentic's presentation opts to keep the crop more balanced, doesn't seem to artificially move around, and manages to look much less butchered.

The overly blue-tinted and very dark image also suffers from blue or yellow chromatic aberration that produces heavy fringing along edges. This is very noticeable in the end credits as the white text is haloed in blue toward the top and bottom and then yellow when crawling upward center screen. None of this can be seen on the Magnetic LD. Otherwise the film is uncut with small white Japanese subtitles. I'm going to check the Magnetic again to verify, but this Embassy LD features that weird quick zoom during John Houseman's opening yarn (as seen on MGM's DVD as well). I love how the big still on the back looks taken with a standard Polaroid on flash.

Angel Heart (1987) - 1988 TOWA/Pioneer LDC Japan LaserDisc

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Fantastic cover art...

Just to recap when I reviewed Lionsgate's Blu-ray: "Mickey Rourke's performance, just a few short years from his near total career derailment, proves the man has born at the wrong time and is trading in the wrong profession. The stubble-faced, then only slightly facially scarred actor just exudes his character from every one of his loose pores. Lisa Bonet outgrows her Cosby Show training wheels along with ultra pissing off Cosby himself over her lecherous, blood-soaked sex scene with Rourke. De Niro was still firmly giving a damn back then in a devilishly minor but important role sandwiched between fanastic turns in The Mission and The Untouchables. It's simply good stuff, acting as an "in-spirit" sister film to Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder, but still Angel Heart doesn't resonant with me that well and each re-visit is almost like watching the film for the first time. That sounds bad, but shouldn't dissuade anyone from checking this one out pronto for themselves."

That experience was consistent when watching this Japanese LaserDisc last night. It's amazing how I always forget large chunks of Angel Heart and the last half still feels jammed up as it pushes clues pointing to Harry's obvious fate too hard. I guess that's part of the allure of Parker's film and how it's based in a chilling notion most everyone has pondered at least once. What if you really weren't who you always believed you were? And what if something radically life-altering appeared from this unknown past to reveal and claim your true self? That could echo a health condition based on family ancestry, but for Rourke's Angel, the reality of such a scenario is unimaginable.

TOWA's Japanese LD isn't anything special compared to the existing Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray. In fact, it's edited in both the once controversial nightmarish sex scene between Rourke and Bonet, seen uncut on the DVD/BD, and entirely of the cockfighting snippet in the horsetrack sequence. The disturbing imagery remains in the sex scene, after the blood starts dripping in the water pitcher, but the "violent gory humping" shots are removed.

Further more, the edited sex scene is completely taken from an inferior source shifting in picture quality at the moment Bonet steps forward from the dresser radio (@ 1:26:24 on the SE DVD) until the fat detective's fist is seen wrapping on the door the next morning. I'm unsure what the original Japanese theatrical version contained, but it appears the print (complete with reel change burns) used for this LD was edited in such a way to avoid the scene yet remain coherent.

Otherwise, the presentation is in unmatted full frame and bears CAROLCO's old logo that looks smeared with mud. Picture quality is very good for a print with minimal damage usually around the reel changes. The English Digital PCM stereo track is excellent and the Japanese subtitles are curiously handwritten in a long and slender style. A LaserDisc logo appears briefly in the bottom right in the first shot of the back alley along with De Niro's opening credit. Finally, the three-page gatefold insert includes the behind-the-scenes photo of Parker beside the decapitated body of Winesap (his tie indeed matches), a scene filmed but not seen in the film or deleted scenes.

From Wikipedia: "Winesap's death was filmed but never included in the theatrical film, nor was it included in the deleted scenes on the DVD release. The only evidence of its existence is a fleeting shot during the love scene as well as an on-set photograph from a 1987 issue of Fangoria which shows director Alan Parker crouching over the prosthetic mannequin of Florek's character. From the photograph, it can be inferred that Winesap was decapitated by an industrial fan in an unknown building by an unknown party; because Winesap was alive in New York during Angel's stay in New Orleans, it is likely that Cyphre had him killed remotely. The shot during the love scene shows an unknown man grasping Winesap by the lapels of his jacket and is followed by a shot of an industrial fan in an unnamed location. It is also likely that some of the footage of veiled people cleaning blood off of walls were also from this scene."

Spooky Japanese trailer which I absolutely love...

The Fog (1980) - 1981 Magnetic Video Corporation (MVC) Laser Videodisc

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Found more LDs this morning with this early MVC release of John Carpenter's The Fog being the jewel!