Halloween

DVDs I bought or received in the month of October

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (R0 USA, HD DVD)
• Corpse Bride (R0 USA, HD DVD)
• Enemy of the State: Special Extended Edition (R1 USA, SD DVD)
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (R0 USA, HD DVD)
• The Fox and the Hound: 25th Anniversary Edition (R1 USA, SD DVD)
• The Machinist (R0 Japan, HD DVD)
• Waking the Dead: Series 3 (R2 UK, SD DVD)

Wow! For the first time, the number of HD DVDs coming into the house exceeded the number of standard definition DVDs.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Halloween reviews special: Corpse Bride

Corpse Bride is a title that I suspect I shall come to view more as a demo disc than as something to sit down and watch, since, while the film has its proponents, I can’t help seeing it as incredibly disappointing given the strengths of The Nightmare Before Christmas. In terms of audio-visual quality, however, this disc is close to being as good as it gets, and as such, gets my recommendation for the quality of the presentation, if nothing else.

For this year’s final Halloween review, I’ve reviewed the recently released HD DVD of Corpse Bride, which features a stellar audio-visual presentation of Tim Burton’s latest stop motion animated feature.

Halloween reviews special: Death Laid an Egg

Although I would consider Death Laid an Egg absolutely essential viewing for anyone with an interest in gialli, the problematic nature of this DVD’s presentation makes it difficult to recommend, particularly given the high price tag. Unfortunately, it seems to be the best we’re going to get for the time being, since the usual rights issues would appear to be preventing a wider release.

What would you get if David Cronenberg, Jean-Luc Godard and Nicolas Roeg got together to make a giallo? Answer: Death Laid an Egg. I’ve reviewed the R2 Japanese DVD of this bafflingly weird 1968 offering.

Halloween reviews special: The Machinist

Toshiba have given The Machinist a decent enough high definition release, with a solid transfer. Unfortunately, the audio problems mar the viewing experience somewhat, while the fact that not all of the extras have been transferred over means that many people will want to hang on to their standard definition releases. Ultimately, though, it’s nice to see a slightly more offbeat film getting released on HD DVD, which makes a nice change from the various blockbusters and romantic comedies that are showing up on the format in the US.

Can there be anything more horrifying than the sight of a 120 pound Christian Bale in full high definition? I find out with my review of the R0 Japanese HD DVD of The Machinist.

Halloween reviews special: Seven Notes in Black

Had it contained an English audio track as the packaging states, this could probably have been accepted as the definitive version of Seven Notes in Black. As it stands, however, this oversight means that, despite the generally impressive transfer and in-depth extras, this release is seriously flawed. Hopefully, one day, there will be a legitimate English-language release of the film. Until then, however, it’s disappointing that most English speakers can only watch this underrated entry in Fulci’s filmography by means of an illegal bootleg.

Released last year, Neo Publishing’s 2-disc Collector’s Edition of Seven Notes in Black combines an underrated Lucio Fulci film with an exhaustive set of extras. I’ve reviewed the R2 French release, which annoyingly lacks the English audio track listed on the packaging.

Halloween reviews special: Constantine

Constantine is no masterpiece - Keanu Reeves’ performance is pretty cringe-inducing, and the combination of po-faced religious themes and gung-ho demon-slaying doesn’t exactly work very well - but, as demo material, this disc has a lot to offer. Fans of the film would certainly appreciate the upgrade from standard definition, while audiophiles and casual viewers alike will get a kick out of the superior TrueHD audio.

I’ve reviewed Warner’s HD DVD release of Constantine, pitting Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz against demons from the very depths of Hell. This R0 US disc features an impressive array of extras, a decent if flawed transfer, and a superb TrueHD audio mix.

Halloween reviews special: Plot of Fear

Plot of Fear may disappoint viewers who like their gialli exotic or camp, and as a straight murder mystery, it’s not perfect. Still, as an example of the genre at its more serious and downtrodden, this is a compelling thriller with a palpable atmosphere of pessimism and distrust. It may lack the grandeur of an Argento or the viscera of a Fulci, but Cavara’s film is a fine addition to the genre and one that can boast to offer something slightly different from the usual run of animal-titled chic slashers.

I return to the world of the giallo with a review of Plot of Fear, a bleak 1976 thriller from Paolo Cavara, starring Corinne Clery. Raro Video’s R0 Italian DVD offers both English and Italian audio but features a disappointing transfer and a lack of extras.

Halloween: the countdown begins

I’ve now finalised the list of reviews that will be going live this Halloween at DVD Times. Unfortunately, I’ve had to cut back a little on my original projected list of titles due to a lack of time and, in some instances, motivation, but you should still be seeing six horror-themed reviews from me (plus a few from other contributors), so you shouldn’t want for lack of reading. The schedule looks like this:

• October 30th, 6 AM: Plot of Fear (R0 Italy, SD DVD)
• October 30th, 12 PM: Constantine (R0 USA, HD DVD)
• October 30th, 6 PM: Seven Notes in Black: Collector’s Edition (R2 France, SD DVD)
• October 31st, 12 AM: Corpse Bride (R0 USA, HD DVD)
• October 31st, 12 PM: The Machinist (R0 Japan, HD DVD)
• October 31st, 6 PM: Death Laid an Egg (R2 Japan, SD DVD)

Of these, all but Corpse Bride are written and ready to go.

I also intend to watch several horror-themed films over the next few days, including some old favourites, like Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, Suspiria and Inferno. Time will tell, of course, whether I actually manage to keep to that, but I live in hope. At any rate, the TV schedules look as piss-poor as usual for October 31st, so it looks as if I’m going to have to provide my own playlist, as usual.

Missed opportunities

Crap! I’ve just realised that yesterday was Friday the 13th, and I didn’t even take the opportunity to go on a scary movie binge. The closest I got was Hammer’s To the Devil a Daughter, the only remotely scary aspect of which is how far it departs from the Dennis Wheatley novel on which it purports to be based. I’ll have to make this year’s Halloween an extra-special horror-filled extravaganza to compensate.

Halloween: what can you expect?

As I’m sure won’t have escaped your notice, Halloween 2006 is only slightly over two weeks away. DVD Times always does a special round-up of scary reviews to coincide with the special event, and in the past I’ve always made a point of contributing as many as I can. This year will be no exception, and I’ve got several titles in the pipeline that I intend to cover.

This year, I’m going to make a point of reviewing as much HD DVD material as possible. Unfortunately, high definition horror films are a little scarce at the moment, but I’ve been able to come up with a few:

• Constantine
• Land of the Dead
• The Machinist
• Sleepy Hollow

In addition to those, I’ll be covering some standard definition releases as well:

• The Beyond: Limited Edition (R0 USA)
• Death Laid an Egg (R2 Japan)
• Plot of Fear (R0 Italy)
• Seven Notes in Black: Collector’s Edition (R2 France)

Obviously, I can’t guarantee that every single one of these will be finished in time, but I wrote Plot of Fear’s review today, so it at least should be going up.

Update, November 04, 2006 10:43 AM: I’m disabling commenting on this entry because it seems to be attracting an inordinate amount of spam.