My First LaserDisc: Black Christmas (1974)

[It's me, Billy]

Originally Posted by startide

Billy, please post pics when they arrive. Am esp. interested in IKWYDLS. I'm always fascinated when a format is on the way out while another is on the rise and that year (with H20) is a perfect example.

Yeah, I'll post some pix soon. Unfortunately, I didn't get Elm Street 3. The seller had incorrectly listed the '84 original SE LD under Elm Street 3, so I sent it back for a refund. Those Elite Letterboxed LDs of Elm Street 2 and 3 must be very rare. I've never seen them on ebay (the one I tried to buy was from a seller on amazon), only the open-matte discs that were released in the 80s from Media/Image.

[Paff]

Originally Posted by It's me, Billy

I have been bidding on ebay and just now won a LD player. The Pioneer CLD-1070. It was listed as being "in great shape and works well" and it comes with the remote and manual. I won it for $41.00 plus $15.00 shipping, $56.00 total.

Should have consulted with some of us first. There's definitely better players out there in the same price range. LD is not like DVD, where one player is as good as another. It's also important to have a player that will play 2 sides. That one doesn't. You'll have to flip the discs manually after an hour, instead of the player doing it itself.

[It's me, Billy]

Originally Posted by Paff

Should have consulted with some of us first. There's definitely better players out there in the same price range. LD is not like DVD, where one player is as good as another. It's also important to have a player that will play 2 sides. That one doesn't. You'll have to flip the discs manually after an hour, instead of the player doing it itself.

I'm just happy to have a working LD player that I didn't have to spend a lot of money on. I was a little surprised at how expensive some of the LD players on eBay are. Some are in the $400-$900 price range. No way would I spend that much cash on a dead format. Then there were quite a few listings for non-working players to be used for parts only. He'll, it was kind of difficult to find one that included a remote. Overall, I'm satisfied. (There were a lot worse looking players that I passed on.) At least I'll get to watch the LDs I bought.

[killit]

Originally Posted by It's me, Billy

I have been bidding on ebay and just now won a LD player. The Pioneer CLD-1070. It was listed as being "in great shape and works well" and it comes with the remote and manual. I won it for $41.00 plus $15.00 shipping, $56.00 total.

Score!

[It's me, Billy]

Originally Posted by Paff

Try something like the Star Wars "faces" discs (which is still the only way to see the THEATRICAL versions of the films), the Roan Entertainment "Spaghetti Nightmares" series (Demons 1 and 2, Tenebre, and Phenomena)

I'm interested in rediscovering Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, but what are the "faces" discs you speak of? Also, I have the anamorphic widescreen DVDs of Tenebre and Phenomena from Anchor Bay. Are the Roan LDs still worth tracking down. Thanks for all the help Paff.

[Paff]

Originally Posted by It's me, Billy

I'm interested in rediscovering Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, but what are the "faces" discs you speak of? Also, I have the anamorphic widescreen DVDs of Tenebre and Phenomena from Anchor Bay. Are the Roan LDs still worth tracking down. Thanks for all the help Paff.

These are the so-caled "faces" discs:


If you do decide to buy Star Wars discs, these are the only ones to have.

At this point, I don't think there are many LDs that are worth owning over their DVD/Blu-Ray counterparts. Mostly, you get them as collector's items (like your Black Christmas disc), but very few if any have more features or better quality than the DVD/Blu. I mentioned the Roan discs simply because they're among the better quality horror LDs that were ever released (in terms of picture/sound/extas), and if you want to see LD on top of its game, that's a good place to start. Well, that and the Elite discs, but you're already going there. Seriously though, get that Elite SE of Night of the Living Dead, for the stills gallery alone. The sheer number of photographs (many in full color) from the making of the film will astound you.

Also wanted to add that Elite LD would eventually split off into Anchor Bay, Blue Underground, Elite DVD, and Synapse, so if you can imagine the heads of those companies all working on the same team, it was Elite LD.

[Paff]

Three must-owns for any horror fan with LD capability.

As for the player, you still should look out for a decent one. You don't want to go all-out like I do (I have a Faroudja scaler specifically for upscaling LD into my HDTV, several hundred dollars right there), but I also have 500 of these things and it will take a long time to upgrade to Blu-Ray. A good rule of thumb is to look for Pioneer players with the designation CLD-Dxxx (where xxx will be something like 406, 502, 704, etc). The second "D" means double sided as in it will switch to the second side of the disc automatically. You already know that the remote is critical, as you can't access things like commentary unless you have it as no universal remote will have that specific function.

Don't be afraid to ask any of us LD-heads for advice BEFORE you buy something.

[It's me, Billy]

Next up: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi

[SickNick89]

Originally Posted by Paff

Those Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Nightmare on Elm Street are pretty loaded special editions, especially for laserdisc. For a long time, those were highly sought-after by horror fans, as the initial DVDs had nowhere near the special features. Even as LD was dying or dead, those discs would still fetch a good price on E-bay. I think all the special features have been ported over now though.

Actually the Elm Street LD still has extras that have never been ported over. There is some raw deleted footage and Freddy voice tests on the dsc that have yet to see the light of day anywhere else.
I remember pre-ordering the I Know What You Did Laserdisc from Suncoast back in 1998 and it finally coming in but they were unable to sell it to me because the disc had just been recalled because the trailer on it said "From the creator of Scream" and Cravens people asked to have that removed. Years later I did get the disc with the trailer intact off of ebay for pennies.

[Crazferret]

Mine was BRAVEHEART. Quickly followed by the Criterion HALLOWEEN release.