Coming April 27th from Code Red DVD Distributed by Kino Lorber Werewolves on Wheels (1971) • Brand New HD Master • Theatrical Trailer Color 85 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated R The Devil's Advocates—an outlaw gang of Harley-riding hellions led by Adam (Stephen Oliver, The Naked Zoo, Motorpsycho!) and his old lady Helen (Donna Anders, Count Yorga, Vampire)—troll the dusty highways of the American Southwest in search of the next great kick, whether it be sex, drugs, or violence. After dispatching a pair of rednecks unfriendly to their lifestyle, the Advocates run roughshod over a gas station before taking to the road again, where they encounter a cloistered sect of Satanic Monks led by high priest One (Severn Darden, Battle for the Planet of the Apes). A mass-drugging, a ritual sacrifice, a topless snake-dance, and a scene-clearing fistfight ensue but it's too late; the spell has been cast, and the two shall become... Werewolves on Wheels! Equal parts road movie biker pic and black magic monster flick, this cross-genre film marked the directorial debut of Michael Levesque (Sweet Sugar), art designer on Russ Myers films Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens and Up! Also starring Billy Gray (TV's Father Knows Best) and pop singer Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction), Werewolves on Wheels defies classification. Is it art? Is it exploitation? The answer is a resounding yes. Now see this cult classic for the first time in HD!
Im not a blu ray person and I already have this on dvd but.... this is one of those movies where i say This is why blu ray was invented. This one is gonna be a stunner. Cannot wait to see the stills.
To me it is too clear sometimes for me. I use an old 46 inch plasma that even has a 4x3 line burned in it (I like it as it looks like a film scratch). I came in on abc tv movies and uhf and old video rentals, so I love crappy film grain and such. But I have a handheld blu for films that arent released on dvd. But i come from going from vhs to dvd which was a big image difference. Dvd to blu to me is like, ok. I still watch vhs. And it seems like blu ray can get sloppy with production standards. But im not anti blu ray. I just find the image too sharp and foreign and unrelatable to me. And #5 is the devils rain.
I felt the exact same way until a couple years ago. For me, seeing 80s slashers on blu ray is worth the upgrade alone. Most dvd upgrades from VHS horror flicks are still dark as shit. The detail.....sound.....it's like seeing it for the first time all over again. Even a movie like Texas chainsaw massacre....one I've seen numerous times, I felt like I saw a new movie once I caught on blu ray. That's been the biggest pro for me with the upgrade...... Oh and I really love grain as well.
I feel that way about a lot of films. I cannot watch The Evil Dead on anything clearer than the Elite DVD. Some of the great effects that gave me a jolt on the old EMI VHS are now ruined for me. Same for ZOMBIE - the more they tinker with the image, some of the effects (especially the zombies themselves) are now too clear. I remember Zombie looking really slick and "picture postcard" when I first saw it in 1981, but I don't recall noticing the actors under the black eye make-up so much. Of course that was 1981 and all the effects in that movie looked real to me. I can appreciate the widescreen image though. OMG - y'all remember those Wizard VHS cropped images????? Scary!
My first viewing of Evil Dead as a kid was via the HBO Video VHS, which had a pretty atrocious transfer. I couldn't always see what was going on, but I could hear it, and it was terrifying. The movie has never been that scary since. That said, having seen it many times since, I would never go back to that version when I have a nice blu-ray of it.
Im used to even seeing movies in theaters that were scrubbed looking from repeated showings. Sometimes blu ray looks too videoey. I cant stand it when folks use the wrong tv settings.
I would guess they're almost certainly the same transfers. I doubt Bill would be financing new transfers with his current health problems, except perhaps for some of his bigger selling titles.
I wasn't sure what exactly the deal with Kino is regarding the reissues of older Code Red and Scorpion titles. Have rights reverted to the studios and Kino is rereleasing themselves but keeping the Code Red and Scorpion banners since they did the original transfers and extras? Or did they invest and now own part of those labels or share rights for certain titles? I figured it was a slim chance but that they might do new transfers if they're now in control of releasing.
I'm pretty sure it's just a licensing deal that Kino has with Code Red, similar to how they distribute some Scorpion releases and others. Most of these Code Red/Kino announcements have stated "distributed by Kino Lorber" in them.
Thanks, Katatonia. I figured the situation was something like that but with some titles now showing up on other labels I thought new deals might be in place that would mean new scans or other upgrades. The blu-ray.com listing also shows a slipcover for The Forest which was another reason I thought it might be more than just a repress
