eric7885

Warning. This classic film has been released on dvd. If you are looking to purchase a quality print of this film,do not purchase it. The dvd is a copy taken from a scratchty 16 mm print. The type of films that were available to the small independant telly stations years ago. This film,with a price of around 10 quid.is a waste of money.

dylan

Hardly "classic" - it's a travesty of Orwell's novel. I thought the Orwell estate had suppressed it.

D.

JamesM

It's released by Blackhorse Entertainment / Orbit Media. It's not an official release. I don't know how they get away with such bootlegs.

batman

As far as I know Orbit Media are not bootleggers. They have been supplying low price (often poor quality) vhs and dvd worldwide for many years. They sell in all major high street retailers and via internet sellers such as amazon. They must have some kind of license for the films they sell otherwise they would not be so high profile. It may not be an 'official' Columbia release, but quite often if a major company doesn't want to release a film they license it to another label. I have bought many of their dvds over the years inc the complete Rathbone Holmes set (prior to the remastered set coming out), a Charlie Chan set, Bob Hope in Cat and the Canary, Christopher Lee in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, Marlon Brando in Burn and several others. The quality may often be poor but they release some interesting stuff. Check out their website.

http://www.orbitmedia.co.uk/

Bats.

I wish I had claws.

TheLatePeterCook2

That's probably the worst DVD in terms of picture quality that I own. It was hard work watching it as the quality seemed poorer than VHS. To make matters worse I paid around £9 for it.

batman

I agree it isn't very good quality, I paid about the same for it too .... but as it's the only DVD version available at the moment we're stuck with it.

Bats.

I wish I had claws.

JamesM

There's an example. The Cat and the Canary is partly owned by Universal but they are having rights issues releasing it. Orbit Media do not have any rights connected to it. They rlease many public domain tiltes but have added a few copyrighted titles to their catalogue.

Twinky is licensed by Granada to Network. The edition of Twinky Orbit Media has is a bootleg. So too is their edition of A Kid for Two Farthings, also a Granada title. Orbit have released five Hitchcock films, none of which they have a license for. I mean why do you suppose their transfers are so crap?

Here's a funny review of the Cat and the Canary disc I found on Amazon:-

"Caught up in rights problems in the US, it seemed like there was little chance of being able to see this film since Universal Studios were unable to release it. However, the people at public domain specialists Orbit Media have been able to somehow get around any problems, and put out a disc version that will please fans of the film who only want to listen to the soundtrack. Those who are able to see will be extremely disappointed - the picture is clearly sourced from an American VHS tape (zoom back on the picture and you can see the signs of VHS head-switching) and has no definition whatsoever. If your idea of a good time is to watch shapeless blobs moving around a screen, then this is the DVD for you. The film itself is deserving of the praise it receives (look at the comments of some of the other reviewers on Amazon - many who posted their comments before the disappointing disc was issued), so if you're really desperate to see it, then the best option is probably to give it a rental and to imagine you're watching it without glasses or contacts in."

batman

That's intersting JamesM. The whole 'public domain' vs 'official' releases situation is crazy. If a high profile company like Orbit are indeed releasing 'bootlegs' it's no surprise that people like e-bay sellers can get away with it as well. It's like the problems with music LPs in the 70s. They managed to get that that situation fairly well under control, perhaps FACT or whoever is supposed to sort this out these days should compare notes with whoever sorted that out.

Bats.

I wish I had claws.

Aaryk Noctivagus

I'll try and avoid Orbit Media like the plague...

Yikes, they have a Hitchcock! 'Under Capricorn'.

TheLatePeterCook2

The good news is that Universal are releasing a Bob Hope box set next month which includes.......The Cat And The Canary! :)