Blue Underground going Blu-Ray

Well every company has to make a profit, that's a given. But there's only a finite time that Blue Underground can keep trotting out the same titles with new scans. And I think for most of their titles we are at that saturation point.

 

Good thing that 8K won't do these movies any good, since anything above 4K can't resolve any more details in the 35mm negatives, it would just make the grain sharper, until it looks like noise.
So what will they do, when they have re-released everything on 4K? Probably shut down the business, unless they get new titles.

I hope they do 4K transfers of the Bronx Warriors movies and New Barbarians.
The scanner noise is pretty bad on those.

I wish Blue Underground had The Beyond.
That one really needs a new transfer.
I doubt that Grindhouse Releasing will make 4K transfers, but maybe they can license the movie to someone willing to make one.

Another one that badly needs to be rescued from scanner noise/DNR hell, is A Blade in the Dark.
The 88 films release, is horrible.

 

The Beyond has been released by at least three companies on blu-ray: Arrow, Grindhouse, and Shameless. Are all of them lesser transfers?

 

Mondo Digital reviews New York Ripper: http://mondo-digital.com/nyripper.html

Rock Shock Pop reviews House by the Cemetery: http://www.rockshockpop.com/forums/...The-Cemetery-(Blue-Underground)-4k-UHD-Review

 

10K Bullets reviews House by the Cemetery: http://10kbullets.com/reviews/h/house-by-the-cemetery-the-4k-remaster-blue-underground-uhd/

10K Bullets reviews New York Ripper: http://10kbullets.com/reviews/n/new-york-ripper-the-4k-remaster-blue-underground-uhd-blu-ray-combo/

DVD Beaver reviews House by the Cemetery: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-ray_review_127/the_house_by_the_cemetery_4K_UHD_blu-ray.htm

Mondo Digital reviews Cecilia: http://mondo-digital.com/cecilia.html

 

About the New York Ripper UHD.

"That said, it should-be noted that at the eighty-four minute mark there’s a brief thirty second’s sequence where the colors look different then they do for Blue Underground’s Blu-ray."

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned in more reviews, but I saw screenshots comparisons over here (https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=17992771&postcount=3464) and it's not pretty.
Basically EVERYTHING is teal colored, in that scene, on the UHD. Don't they have someone checking the discs for error??

Apparently BU have ignored the issue, when people asked them about the error on FB, and just deletes the comments.
If it was just for 2-3 second, fine, but an entire scene...

Anyone checked their disc for this? Maybe it looks worse on screenhots?

 

I think anyone looking to start a new boutique label these days should really take the business aspect out of the equation. Make it more like a hobby, for the primary purpose of making something available that you love that nobody else seems interested in. Of course, to do this you must already be financially stable enough. This is my dream, anyway.

 

That would drive you into bankruptcy. If you don't turn a profit no point in it. I agree with your sentiment though to an extent.

 

It's always a worry when companies go in and start deleting comments on places like FB. Why not address it? It makes it seem like it is an issue they don't want brought to light. Considering the price that they are asking and the fact that their blu version didn't have the issue, I think it's something they should be addressing.

 

Arrow and Grindhouse use the same scanner noise-ridden transfer. It’s not AS bad on the Grindhouse because they went the extra mile to do some additional cleanup and colour correction and it has much better compression than the Arrow. The scans are old though, and the film certainly needs to be remastered.

Shameless, however, uses a recent 2K scan from the negatives (I believe it was first released on blu in France) and it actually looks gorgeous. It’s region-free as well. As a bonus, they also re-scanned the opening sequence - which was actually shot in colour - and it’s presented in 4 versions: colour, sepia on colour, b&w, and sepia on b&w. It also gives you the option of choosing which intro you want when you watch the movie. I thought this was a fantastic extra and the sepia on colour adds a really eerie effect. You can really see the gore under the sepia tint it’s actually more effective this way I think.

The only downside to the Shameless is that the fucking audio is out of phase. It’s dual mono so the audio track sounds echoey. It’s a major downside to an otherwise great release. It’s actually infuriating that they could get so many things right and then massively fuck up the audio. I even emailed them inquiring about the audio issues and they didn’t even respond lol. So fuck Shameless, they truly are representative of their name.

You basically have two choices: dated transfer with scanner noise but proper audio, or gorgeous new transfer but out of phase audio.

Someone needs to save The Beyond and give it the treatment it deserves.

~Matt

 

I had no idea shamless was even still around.

 

Fair enough too; I never hear anyone talk about them. That The Beyond release was the first and last time I've heard about them in years!

 

They shouldn’t be after how badly they fucked up The Beyond.

How Arrow ever let their rights expire in the UK is anybody’s guess but had they revisited this the way they did with their Argento titles, we’d finally have a proper version of The Beyond. It would look stunning.

~Matt

 

Yeah it sucks to hear they fucked the audio up as it sounds like a real good release otherwise. And aren't Arrow and Shameless run by the same company? No idea how Arrow let The Beyond slip through their fingers through.

 

https://www.facebook.com/BlueUndergroundFilms/photos/a.437787545148/10158533580415149/

 

4K screen comparisons are up for The New York Ripper: https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=5193

 

Hmm... sure it's a little bit sharper, with more stable filmgrain, but also even more teal on the UHD...
I'll save my money for the UHD of Vigilante and Dead and Buried, since I don't already have those on blu-ray anyway.
I bet the Dolby Vision is great on the disc, but it's not enough for me to upgrade the already magnificent 3-disc version.
Though if I had a 120-150 inch projection screen, with a native 4K projector, then it would have been a totally different story.
And I don't like that they fucked up an entire scene on the UHD, with an explosion of teal.

I think I reached the point where I'm done with double dipping, unless it's a major noticeable upgrade, like the Blu-Ray already was.
And I think this is the 10th or 11th time I bought the movie, during the last three decades

 

Has BU decided to comment on that messed up looking scene in New York Ripper yet?

 

I am not going to spend any money on this. The teal colors and the botched scene make it a no-go. There will of course be fanboys who claim that it is a great release like the ones who said back then that the first release was great. Today most people agree that the first release was just a scanner-noise mess and in a couple of years most people will agree that the second edition was just a teal mess with a botched scene. I am waiting on flawless edition that will show up sooner or later. City of the living dead finally got a great release from Scorpion after numerous mediocre editions from BU, Arrow and others. Deleting posts just shows what a shady company BU is.

 

I really dont double dip ever unless i am updating to disc from vhs. While I am thankful for the new transfers and respect their relevance, I stay with my old dvds that dont look as "good" as the new scans. I was raised on 4:3 vhs and can attest that these films didnt look this good in theaters pre digital file.

I like my movies how I like my men: weathered, strange, slightly overused (especially in disreputable movie theaters) and difficult to explain to my friemds. Regrettably, when either one snaps they can be labor intensive.