It sounds like the Opera "3-disc Limited Edition" will be pricey according to Scorpion: Apparently there is some flaw on the normal edition release or something?
$65? No, come on. Look at what Synapse did restoration-wise w/ Suspiria as a Steelbook. At $50. $65 is to much.
Yeah $65 is ridiculous. This will be like $100 CDN after shipping I know it. Ugh. I just wanna complete my Argento collection without spending 10 grand. Is that too much to ask? ~Matt
Maybe that's just MSRP? I dunno. I hope so. I got the standard release because it's my favorite Argento film and it was cheap on Amazon. Haven't cracked it open yet. Has anyone else who has it noticed any issues?
This is fairly outrageous news. I can't imagine Scorpion had to go to the lengths Synapse did for Suspiria, yet we're already looking at a price that's roughly 30% higher. At this point I'm giving serious thought to just grabbing the standard edition for $15.
Ha. Me, neither. This news sent me scurrying to Amazon to investigate my options. I grabbed the standard version of Opera, the 3-disc version of The Stendhal Syndrome, and Arrow's Don't Torture a Duckling--$60.49 to my front door. To paraphrase Coburn in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, they can take that special edition, shove it up their ass, and set fire to it. I understand the costs involved in restoring these films, and I'm happy to subsidize my part when an elite company like Synapse restores a flick like Suspiria. Opera isn't Suspiria, and Scorpion has a much spottier record. "Humongous...ous...ous...ous!"
I am quickly being priced out of this "collector's market". It's not a question of whether or not I can AFFORD to pay $70 or $80 for a single release. I'm just not willing to. It's not like I don't have a copy of Suspiria or Opera already. These releases are not coming out in a vacuum. I'm willing to bet that EVERYBODY who would even consider these inflated prices already has the film on dvd. So we're talking almost $100 to upgrade from SD to HD. Fuck that. No movie is worth that.
I feel ya. I think part of it is the nature of the market these days. 20 years ago, Anchor Bay could put all this work into a 3-disc Suspiria set and set it for $25 because they know they'll get the fans, and also people that might just be browsing through Best Buy and think that it looks like a cool movie. Then on-line shopping comes along, so many folks are not "browsing" at stores anymore and are just going on-line and buying exactly what they want. And then on-demand comes along and that chops out a sizable chunk of casual viewers and film fans that prefer not to buy new physical media. It's probably really hard these days for these companies to put in all of this effort and make a return on their investment. Hell, I know I will some day be a part of this problem as I'm calling it quits at blu-ray. UHD has no real benefit for me. I'll probably only buy a UHD disc if I'm left with no other choice for a particular film.
This, plus with the DVD/SD days most masters were already available because of TV and VHS and why there were still plenty of ground up restorations the costs involved due to the resolution aren't nearly as much as HD which is almost always a ground-up restoration, especially for the cult/horror/exploitation market where lots of the titles collectors want aren't studio pictures or their international films where rights aren't cheap and most of the times materials won't be transported outside of their home country so scanning has to be done overseas. The problem is that just because one company can afford to release and sell a Blu-ray for say $15 people think that that's what every other release should also cost, but forget that everything has a different price point/production value - especially when you're adding bells and whistles like limited special packaging, extra discs, producing special features, and spending $75,000.00 on the rights alone (which is about what Scorpion/Code Red paid for Opera/The Sect/The Church) not including actual restoration/production/manufacturing costs. Not saying $65 for one release isn't expensive, but it's probably justified for what it actually costs to produce.
$65?!? So we're basically going back to Laserdisc prices for these collectors editions then? Fuck that! If the prices continue to rise like this, then I'm done with collecting these movies.
I don't know. I love Scorpion, I have every horror Blu they've made, and am excited at their acquisitions. But consider this: They release a single disc BEFORE the special edition. That seems like a sure-fire way to ensure that you will sell less special editions, making the price point higher to recoup money. On the other hand Synapse sold out of the Suspiria Steelbook in record time. And the regular edition will do fine for those who had the restraint/desire to wait. The restoration on Suspiria was painstaking. Hell, they had Luciano Tovoli In LA to approve the color and transfer. Tons of fixes, restoration of the 4.0 soundtrack, Steelbook packaging, artwork, soundtrack, etc. $49.99. I mean $65.00 for Opera? I feel like that price point could have been avoided. The Plumage/Deep Red BOXES from Arrow with booklets, etc. Still not that pricey. Am I missing something?
I've been following the the Opera thread over at blu-ray.com. The potential $15.00 uptick in the Deluxe Edition's pricetag would apparently be due to a wobble with some of the footage in standard release. The issue apparently affects several scenes in the movie, an early sweeping pan shot inside the theater being a notable example. Scorpion has stated, "...the wobbling is caused by shrinkage on the original negatives (yes Italians do not take good care of films I guess) so a new scan wont help you know. And the American Lab didnt catch it , they told me they couldnt see it till they put it on a 70 inch tv." Scorpion also states that, in response to the complaints, "...I had TWO reputable labs in L.Am, two of them,, both quoted me a fee, that in order to fix this, it will cost THE SAME AMOUNT I PAID TO LICENSE THE FILM, which is 20K plus." With that being said, the reports on severity (or even the existence) of this issue are fairly wide-ranging. Some either aren't detecting the issue or are claiming that it is insignificant. Others are claiming the issue is a breaking point. It's a shit-show.
I was holding out for the special edition but now I am not so sure - Amazon has the standard release for 15.39 right now. I mean this isn't Suspiria (which I thought had a great looking steelbook case). Decisions decisions.....
Some people on Blu-ray.com are absolute lunatics, especially about this release. It's a headache even looking at that thread. I'll get the cheaper release if the deluxe is going to be anywhere near $50.
I have a German Blu. May stand pat. I love Opera. But I can't justify $65. Can't. I do sympathize with Walt though. Tough spot to be in with something that should have been a home run.
I hope you all understand i do ot wish this to be a 65 dollar release at all, and the project is on hold till i can find a economical way to sort this. I had a nice hard box with poster ready to go, then the folks over there startsd to nake these claims Are the claims valid? Well one guy started a post that the ratio was all wrong and then as usual other started jumping in on it so my colorist explained that this is a super 35 movie and that this is the correct ratio and all previius dvd was incorrect but to make them happy we spent the money making a Academy ratio 2:35 one and what happened ? they complain about somethjng else and I never got a thank you for going through the trouble doing what we ask for, Instead one guy claim the echo- y effect is not on the AB dvd so everyone else jumps in even though the echo effect is in all versjpns! so let just say I fixed this and the jitter (i refuse ro call it wobbly) I'm not going to get a thank youfrom those guys and i feel they will find something else to complain about you guys him a little more level headed , any of you can say the jitterly is affecting the viewing (remember some of its intentional) I do want to keep this at 49.95 or I could just drop the nice hard box with poster and just put it in a regular single 3 disc case and then charge 49.95 and fix all these mistakes they keep finding you just can't win folks It has sored me on Italian films in general to now wonder if i should bother even doing new scans of the other argentos and just release the hd master provided , since thats what the other import labels would have done as they are lesser argentos
Totally get it. And you have a supporter in me. Hopefully it doesn't sour you on the Italian films. I will buy every Giallo you put out not matter how obscure. I haven't seen the so-called issue but $65 is steep for Opera. For a super-deluxe thing I don't mind paying more but $65 is tough. Are you potentially having lab work done in LA?
I appreciate the explanation. I love supporting indie labels like Scorpion. Obviously you have to try to charge an amount that brings you a return on your investment. I just hope that at the end of the day it's a price that I can justify paying.
$65 for OPERA done the way Scorpion wants to? I am okay with that. Granted I'm someone who can only buy all these great movies when they're on sale or used BUT (and this this a huge BUT) for a Dario Argento movie to be done with love and compassion and honesty along with superior quality. Sure I will support that. I have paid $100 for a HALLOWEEN laserdisc when I could barely afford $350 to rent a room because the product was made with love and compassion for the film. I have gone without DISH network for a month just so I could get that SUSPIRIA 3 disc set because how up front they were about bringing the film out in that format. So YES for OPERA. I may not be able to preorder right away but if $65 is what it takes...$65 I will invest in Opera, Argento and Scorpion.
