The German/French DVD and Blu-ray Thread
 

Just been buying some German DVD'S from Amazonde.some cracking collector's items over there;)
On this thread,if it's okay with Almar,I'll be posting some very interesting German editions of some classic films.....
Dracucarr,you seen this collection from EMS?:cool:

And the second half.......:cool:

I've been tempted to buy Curse Of The Crimson Alter ( with all its restored scenes ) but haven't picked it up as yet. Is The Black Torment the uncut version, reaps?

Not sure Mojo mate,but EMS aren't known for releasing cut versions of anything.....;)
Here's a prized possession of mine.....:cool:

Any HAMMER fans looking to fill some gaps?-Rejoice!

that is ****ing beautiful my man!

edit: the pic wont show up in a quote for some reason

Cracking mate-better to but it from a marketplace trader,as no doubt the price will rocket once it goes OOP.

Cheers, reaper. The Black Torment is enjoyable ( if a little slow ) but unfortunately the Redemption disc I have is cut. The uncut version is hard to find by all accounts. ( if the first murder of the girl in the forest ends just as the hand reaches out to her then it is cut ).

Those Hammer discs look really neat - the Curse Of The Werewolf cover is excellent.

I've already ordered it Moj,ask Vince if he could find out if the German disc is cut;his C I D abilities on these matters are second to none...;)

I was over in Hannover last November and the Germans sure do like their steelbooks!

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think the German Black Torment DVD features the cut UK print (the opening forest murder).

I haven't watched many of the German classic horror releases so far- as I'm desperately trying to keep track of what's currently coming out:D- but they sure know how to do spot on cover artwork.:)

Yes, the Germans DO have a thing for steelbooks...and here's a word of advise if you're a sucker for this kind of packaging:

Since the German "Youth Protection" laws have been tightened yet again and made even stricter than before, the current cover sleeves and steelbooks will only be legally available till the end of THIS year, as from 2010 on, ALL DVDs in Germany will have to meet the new guidelines, which force distributors to put a butt-ugly BIG sized version of the FSK rating on the cover sleeve, meaning that most extra fancy packaging will be a thing of the past, since the whole design will be totally ruined from the collectors' pov!:mad::ack:

Some companies, like Sony, have already announced plans for reversible cover artwork, but right now it's hard to say whether or not the "Youth Protectors" will also do their best to close this gap....

In short: If you want to buy some collector's editions from Germany, do it NOW!

It'll look about as shitty as this- just so you've been warned:

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASI...hnittberich-21

Thanks for that Peter....;)
RAZORBACK is also available as a 2 disc SE.....:cool:

I have the Australian r0 disc from Umbrella which features a decent documentary & the snippets of gore removed before release (Quite tame actually)

I'm glad you've started a thread on these German beauties and I'd be very interested as to which are an improvement over previous UK/US releases. Mojo, I have Curse of the Crimson Altar and having watched the opening sequence it is cut. As the sequence starts you can hear a solitary whiplash just like the DD release. Very disappointing. Nice packaging though.

That Night of the Big Heat cover though is a shocker. Apart from Christopher Lee being in it, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the film. I would love for Blood of the Vampire and The Black Torment to be uncut (while in decent quiality), but I buy a lot of these based on cover art. The Hammer E-M-S releases are especially stunning. Those having trouble playing the Universal Hammer set at least have the option of buying them seperately although at a more costly price. It's Hammer though so for me at least that is not an issue :D

Oh, and for all Hannie Caulder fans I heartily recommend the E-M-S release as the film looks lovely. Shatter is also uncut, unlike the Anchor Bay US version. I have The Oblong Box, but am yet to compare. However, I was pleased with the quality of the Midnite Movies release so I'm not expecting anything ground breaking with this one.

Recieved DEVILS OF DARKNESS and ASYLUM today-both stunning artwork..:cool:

When you get round to watching Devils of Darkness could you let me know what the transfer is like and whether it's cut or not?

Yeah,no probs Drac,but I ain't watched the Odeon one yet either....:o

The old Arthouse VHS & DD Video DVD releases of Devils Of Darkness are uncut (restoring the snake/dancing woman scene).

Cheers vincenzo. I was aware that the DD release was uncut, but that the quality and framing was nowhere near as good as the Midnite Movies release. I'm hoping that the German version is uncut and on par with the MM DVD. Fingers crossed that reaper will come back positive on that score.

Cheers, dracucarr. That is disappointing, but I guess the UK version will have to do!

As for the Hammer stuff, do you have the German Plague Of The Zombies disc? Is it an improvement on the ABUS release?

Brilliant release mojo....;)

I was given the impression the censored footage was included as an extra ?:confused:

EDIT What Tim Rogerson wrote on the Worldwidedvdforums:-
"There is now a new German R2 DVD from EMS (available from Amazon.de but already being offered at inflated prices by Ebay sellers). This is also the cut version but the uncut version of the opening scene is contained as an "extra" - I believe this has been taken from the old American laserdisc and the footage was supplied to EMS by Marc Morris (according to Marc himself on the old AB forums). The German DVD also has various trailers and a couple of condensed Super 8 versions of the film. It is an English language print available in German and English audio."

It's inclusion even as a deleted scene makes the German release the more superior version I'd thought.

What exactly was the censored scene and I'll let you know....

The shots of the dominatrix holding the whip and then lashing the bound woman in the opening scene.

Ah CURSE,thought you were on about PLAGUE...:o...If I can't keep up with the conversation,then I'll need to sit at the kiddies table....:p
Anyway,ASYLUM and DEVILS OF DARKNESS come beautifully packaged in a slipcase,with alternate artwork on the keepcase.CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF is the same with beautiful black and white stills from the film on the keepcase.All come with beautiful booklets,albeit in German:(
Vorch dung spruch technik....:D

Ah, I didn't bother checking the extras after the initial disappointment so at least there is something there. Thanks for letting us know, but it's a shame they couldn't have incorporated it into the film. I'll check out the disc later.

The Reptile is a good disc Mojo, but unlike some of the other German Hammer's I bought this was based solely on the cover art. I personally didn't notice much difference between E-M-S vs ABUS. According to DVD Compare the aspect ratio's differ aswell as the German release having an extra stills gallery

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=5236

This is another pair I'm gonna have to check out again. Have you watched Devils of Darkness yet reaper?

Fraid not Drac,I've been too busy trawling Poundland....:D

Devils Of Darkness is pretty poor anyway,but On The Buses fans may recognise the woman handling the snake from an episode of the series.It was footage of her dance that was originally cut by the BBFC (Reinstated to the Odeon disc but not the r1 version.)I assume the German disc is uncut ?.

As I say Mark,hard for me to tell,as I still haven't watched the Odeon disc either.Recieved my 2 disc version of RAZORBACK from Germany today....:woot:

What's Amazon.de like for shipping to the UK? it's just that I noticed they're selling Abwärts for a few Euros.

I usually recieve DVD's within 3-5 days Noss.

Wasting your time mate ;)

Come back in October

Started watching Poundland special Hellmaster the other night.

Had to turn it off

Utter shite

Made a nice coaster for beer!!!

Cheers, dracucarr. I have the Dutch (?) release of The Reptile on the Green Cow label. Anamorphic widescreen, with two episodes of World Of Hammer ( 'Thriller' and 'Costumes' ). Picture quality is excellent.

The cover features the original cinema artwork, as featured on the back page of issue 19 of House Of Hammer magazine.

I only had the UK release as part of the Hammer boxset which was awful quality, so this upgrade was well worth it. I really like the film - it's another of those 'minor' Hammer gems.

Yes it is the Dutch release from GREEN Cow Mojo & I also bought it after checking out the dire Optimum release in my boxed set.The 'Costumes' episode also contains footage of Marie Devereaux still missing from the nice looking Sony release of Stranglers Of Bombay (Probably footage of her cut by the BBFC for an 'A' due to her getting 'aroused' by the torture of Thugee victims)

Cheers, mark - Green Cow it is ( post amended :blush: ).
That's interesting about the WOH episode featuring missing footage from Stranglers Of Bombay - I'll have to check that out.

Marie Devereauxs part in SOB is reduced to almost nothing,though I also suppose as well as the fact she's clearly turned on by the tortures,her ample busom was also probably too much for the BBFC to pass in a 'A' film:).The films trailer in the Icons Of Adventure set (recommended though you probably have it)also shows footage missing from the main feature.There was a lot of discussion on various forums about the missing Devereaux footage but AFAIK it's never been included in any release prints worldwide since the BBFC removed it,so it would be interesting to see where the World Of Hammer footage came from.Even with the cuts made (also for violence) it's still strong stuff for an 'A' at the time.

Hey Mojo, I wouldn't mind adding this version to my collection also. Do you mind me asking where you bought it from? Ebay? I love The Reptile and a lot of these 'minor' films are some of Hammer's most enjoyable so they do deserve a lot more TV time. Plague of the Zombies outside of the Dracula and Frankenstein films, oh, and The Devil Rides Out, is probably my favourite Hammer. No Terence Fisher or Lee and Cushing links may be partly why they aren't given the credit they deserve, but at least the likes of Quatermass and the Pit seems to have a fair bit of love

Yup - I bought the Dutch dvd of The Reptile from a ( reputable ) eBay store - I bought the last copy they had. I can't remember who it was off hand, but I'll have a trawl through and let you know. The quality of the print is excellent by the way.

Agree with you about Plague Of The Zombies - one of my favourite Hammers. Superb ( and very influential ) movie. Great stuff.

Thanks Mojo, I'll keep a look out for it. I dunno how this one passed me by. Knowing my luck it'll be deleted :D:(:mad: Plague of the Zombies is certainly influential although when I showed it to a particular 'zombie' fan he was like, "how's that a zombie film when they don't ****ing eat each other!" He wasn't impressed and I don't think anything post Night of the Living Dead ever will be to him. His loss.