the black cat
 

Great idea with the reversible sleeve-was well chuffed-the abus version is now on sale on amazon.....how bout doing this on all future releases?:cool:

Hey Reaper! Nice to see you over here. :)

I think the reversible sleeve is a great idea too. I'm looking forward to the sleeve design for Night Train Murders.

Finally! Some one found it!

Well done Reaper.

I've spent a lot of time trawling through forums, reviews, comments and more about Shameless on the web and I like that the sleeves we do are real Marmite jobs (you either love 'em or hate 'em - explanation for those of you abroad lucky enough not to have Marmite!)

What I've found interesting is the assumption by some that they're a marketing gimmick cooked up by people who haven't watched the films or who think they're shit, or worst of all - think that horror fans deserve no better or only respond to such tactics.

We're picking films we love and having fun with them just like back in the nasty old days of video rentals and frankly it's so dull buying DVDs in the UK with one sanitised sleeve after another we've finally flipped and done it through our gaudy sleeves - thing is people are spotting and buying the discs slowly but surely.

But... whilst I love our range I was struck by comments of fans of Torso that the film deserved more respect as it is such a fine chiller. I think it's a real undiscovered gem (compared to better known Argentos/Bavas in the UK) but to me it's still exploitation filmmaking but a great example of the art and I love the sleeve we did - it's classic shock 'em video stuff. However I sympathise with people who don't like such sleeves because when you love a film that you discovered you don't take kindly to others seemingly pissing on them. :mad:

Hence the reversible cover was born. :) We have to be in production ages before release date so it was only possible to introduce the reversible sleeve in time for Dec releases and whilst we were blessed with some original Black Cat artwork we didn't have time to stalk down the rare artwork for Venus (and we were really struggling with our own front sleeve) - hence this month only Black Cat gets that treatment.

The plan for 2008 is that all titles will have reversible sleeves - usually with original artwork on the reverse where possible. Where we lack materials or they're of poor quality it'll be a tribute to the original artwork or something that is rather less likely to offend. I can't guarantee with deadlines we'll always be able to do this but we will try hard and I'll let you guys know if any titles won't have it. To that end keep an eye on our release schedule and if you have some cool original artwork please get in touch as we may well need to use it!

I'm looking forward to the Ratman sleeve - for those who think our cover is naughty for not using original artwork well just wait until you see the original artwork - it's got nothing to do with the film whereas at least we have Eva Grimaldi on the front! :)

How's that for a long-winded explanation? Bottom line is we're listening and improving where we can because we love crazy movies too and want them available in UK shops thank you very much! So for 2008 we're hoping to nail sound issues and offer you a choice of sleeves.

What's next?

Havent got mine yet :( HMV.co.uk say that is on order from the suppliers. I wanna see the reversibles!! Great idea, really good. Post The Black Cat one for us Almar please please please :coolblue:

BTW Reaper, what does abus version mean?

I'm going with Anchor Bay US :)

Good shout Philleh, I was thinking A Blue Underground Special !!!! :cool:

Smooth! :)

How do m8 :) let's hope there's less petty bickering on here than abuk forums :rolleyes:

Its Arrived
 

Fantastic, they both eventually arrived today from play.com.

First thing I did was to reverse the sleeve before I put it on the shelf to rent. I think the 'other side' is sooooo more classy, and it also stands out more. With the combination of this and the usual yellow case, I expect a few people to be drawn towards it this weekend and to rent it.

A few of my customers have taken Stuart Gordon's 'Black Cat' this year from the Masters Of Horror series, so I will be prodding them towards Fulci's to get their opinion on this adaptation.

Sounds a great idea! :) I haven't got the DVDs yet (still on order from HMV), do the covers have new spines as well, I mean, without the logo that carries across each DVD? If this is the case I think it would encourage more people to "pick n mix" and not get upset over uneven spines on their shelves...!! :cool: Might also be an idea to put together new covers for the first 4 or 5 releases and sell them for a few quid via the website!