What Have You Bought Recently?

[monkeypedro]

I went to see Rampage and A Quiet Place today and popped into Fopp to pick up a few Severin discs along with Sorcerer and Mask.

Deliveries include more Anime from Music Magpie plus The London Collection, Doogie Howser MD and the Anchor Bay disc of Diamonds.Vinegar Syndromes Disconnected was a facebook group buy for a fiver as was missing the sleeve and slipcover.

I got Yor, Rockula and Red Rings of Fear from Wowhd but seems that my copy of Teenage Prostitution Racket has gone missing in the post as sent out on the 22nd March but seems i have to wait 45 days to claim.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Colour Of Magic. UK dvd.
Anyone seen this? Is it faithful? Tis the David Jason production cough

I haven't seen it in years, and haven't read the book since I was at school. However, for what it's worth, this is my review of the Blu-ray release which I wrote a week before it went on general sale:

Introduction
Terry Pratchett has recently been in the news because he announced that he has early-onset Alzheimer’s, yet is still working and spent months involved in the production of The Colour of Magic, an adaptation of his first two Discworld novels.

A send-up of all the Sword & Sorcery books he read as a boy, the Discworld stories revolve around Rincewind, the worst wizard in Ankh-Morpork. The Colour of Magic starts with Rincewind being expelled from the Unseen University for failing to reach even the first level of wizardry in 40 years of study. Meanwhile, Twoflower becomes the Discworld’s first tourist, by travelling to Ankh-Morpork, with Rincewind coerced into becoming his tour guide.

Twoflower is eager to see everything dangerous and exciting and Rincewind has to keep him alive to save his own skin, whilst Trymon is murdering his way up the ranks at the Unseen University to become Arch Chancellor.

Following the success of the BAFTA-winning Hogfather, this was broadcast over two nights on Sky One and The Colour of Magic is now released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Video
Recorded on high-definition and presented on Blu-ray, this is an excellent picture, as it should be, but some of the green-screen work is, frankly, appalling and about as convincing as rear-projection from the 1970s. Saying that, some of the CGI is very good, particularly the dragons and Luggage.

The costumes, though I can't remember how Pratchett describes them in the books, are fine, with great attention to detail, all of which Blu-ray shows, though the Orang-utan Librarian is disappointing.

Audio
The only soundtrack is the same DTS as on the DVD, which is superb, with crisp dialogue and excellent use of the surrounds, though it’s a pity there wasn’t an HD audio option.

Extra features
There is an introduction by Terry Pratchett in which he talks about the books, the film and other matters.

There is a picture-in-picture video commentary in the bottom corner, but this merely consists of interview footage found elsewhere on the disc and most of the time the box simply says ‘Back soon’.

The 3-part making of, which can be viewed in single instalments, or as one with the Play All function, clocks in at 45 minutes and is a comprehensive look at the entire production process.

The Discworld Tour Guide has eight sections which run for about 45 minutes and contain some interesting facts about the Discworld.

There are interviews with Terry Pratchett, David Jason and Sean Astin, which are quite revealing and funny – especially Astin’s revelation that he didn’t know of Jason’s work and bought DVDs of everything he’d ever done!

The seven Deleted Scenes were rightfully omitted, though “I Wouldn’t Miss It For The World” is the best of them and would have fit into the episode. The most interesting aspect is that some of them show the extent of the CGI work, with big green curtains around the place.

The Blooper Reel is what you would expect and not long enough to get annoying.

The Image Gallery contains three parts and is always one of the least exciting features available on any disc.

Conclusion
Terry Pratchett is the first to admit that The Colour of Magic is more a collection of funny occurrences than a story with a coherent plot, so he agreed it was a good idea to combine it with the next Discworld book, The Light Fantastic. This does mean that scenes get lost and some people will inevitably be disappointed, but as it has the Pratchett seal of approval, that’s good enough for me.

Although it works, I’m a little unsure about the casting – everyone will have their own idea of what Rincewind and Twoflower look like and, whilst it’s been a long time since I read the books, I imagined the wizard to be taller than David Jason, however Sean Astin is fine as Twoflower and Christopher Lee is a great choice as the voice of DEATH! Tim Curry is great as the scheming Trymon, Jeremy Irons is wonderful as the Patrician, albeit a small role and Brian Cox narrates superbly.

Bringing Terry Pratchett’s work to the screen was always going to be tricky, as it’s so personal and well-loved by millions of people who imagine Ankh-Morpork and its residents differently, but Vadim Jean just about pulls it off. Working with Pratchett, he has adapted the source material well to create an enjoyable two-part made-for-TV film, accessible for fans and non-fans alike. If you saw it on Sky and liked it, then this is one to pick up, but if, like me, you don't have access to Sky One, this is well worth a watch.

[Nordicdusk]

P_20180412_192850.jpg

Jean Rollin film number 2.

I find it strange that the first one I got was a normal size clear blu ray case but this one is a black slim US style case

[Demoncrat]

Ta Nos! I did like the animated ones etc. The dvd isn't crammed with stuff tbh

Noted!!

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Ta Nos! I did like the animated ones etc. The dvd isn't crammed with stuff tbh

Noted!!

I've had the bluray for quite a while, it is pretty faithful yes, it 'feels' like Pratchett as well, my only problem is that I never really cared for the book, I prefer the Witch and Death books to the Unseen Academy books The adaptation of Going Postal was really good though!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

This week so arrivals have mostly comprised the Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons I didn't already own and all five seasons of Angel. After Frankie gave such a wonderful review of Killing of a Sacred Deer, I bought The Lobster because, as I said, I thought it was wonderfully weird and compelling.

Finally, following a discussion with Demdike about last week's Top 10 Tuesday, I ordered a Roger Corman double bill of prison films which arrived today.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I can't see anything but words in your post Nos. No pics or attachments.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I can't see anything but words in your post Nos. No pics or attachments.

I obviously picked a bad time to upload images! Hopefully the system will sort things out and they'll appear shortly.

They aren't great photos because there isn't much natural light around at the moment and there is a mix of shiny and matte covers in just about every shot, but I hope they help to illustrate what I have bought.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

It looks to be an issue across the site at the moment with some images not appearing as pictures, just as text.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I obviously picked a bad time to upload images! Hopefully the system will sort things out and they'll appear shortly.

They aren't great photos because there isn't much natural light around at the moment and there is a mix of shiny and matte covers in just about every shot, but I hope they help to illustrate what I have bought.

Well if a small green and white square with a black line through the bottom right corner helps to illustrate your purchases all i can say is job done!