DB7

I bought this primarily for Went the Day Well? and Dead of Night.

Sadly neither have any extra's, not even the original trailer. And whilst WtDW is a fairly good print but clearly not restored, Dead of Night is probably worse than my VHS copy.

Very sad and a cheap cash-in on 2 films that deserve better treatemt.

DAVID RAYNER

It's pointless for these companies to issue DVD's of classic films unless they go to the trouble of remastering the film from the original negative. All some companies seem to be doing at the moment is transferring a very poorly recorded VHS video transfer onto DVD, in the belief that the public will buy it because they believe that DVD is a much better quality sound and image. Well, DVD will only give as good as it gets. A DVD transfer of a poorly done VHS recording will be faithfully reproduced as...yes...a poorly done VHS recording. I haven't seen this particular DVD version, but if it should have words on the box such as Digitally Remastered from the original film materials, my advice to you is to take it back to the shop and ask for a refund. If enough buyers did that, the DVD company would soon get the message, especially as a DVD disc is far more expensive than a VHS tape copy. A DVD version should have perfect sound and image quality.

Russ

Yes I agree, film companies in most cases seem to be following the same pattern as that shown by record companies when cds were first introduced. An immediate move to load anything no matter what the quality or source onto the new medium.

This will probably result in a basic release, a further release with a few extras, and then a full blown two disc release supposedly because of some sort of anniversary.

Of course, thank god, this isn't always the case and there are some superb releases out there - Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, Metropolis, Witchfinder General, Singing in the rain, A star is born, Snatch, Once upon a time in America etc etc.

I just hope that for the future film companies start to take the requirements of the consumer into account

Hackett

There's madness in their method or am I paranoid?.
How many of you, like me, have got a film in their collection going back to recorded off the t.v. on a Betamax tape. If you carry the habit on by the time you get to "Directors Own Cut Special Collectors Widescreen Limited Issue DVD Addition" you have the best part of a dozen different copies and thats not counting Lazer Disc. And at what cost?. I don't just mean money, what about your sanity, be it in other peoples eyes, family included, who think is it that important to have a copy with that scene, that sound or that screen ratio. I agree with what Russ says about the way the market went with CD's but I'am sure the b*****ds do it on purpose.

c.n.-tonfilm

What company issued that disc ? I've bought the French Studio Canal+ DVD of DEAD OF NIGHT when ist was released. Whereas the image is very good, the audio suffers from too much noise reduction which gives the film an unnatural atmosphere and was very annoying to me. If I had known, I wouldn't have bought it.

Russ

Yes Hacket I agree that the b*****ds do it on purpose, and like you say even though family members question your motives and start giving you a wide berth, you know that you have to have it for that extra three minutes, or a deleted scene.
And even though we all know that their intention is simply to drain your resources,we all go along with it because film, especially British, means so much to us.
My tale of woe!? is with Billy Liar, taped off the TV three times kidding myself that it seemed wider each time, buying it on video, before finally getting it on true widescreen on DVD.
Believe it or not I now catch myself watching the outer edges of the picture to see what I have been missing all these years

SteNottingham22

If the UK DVD of Dead Of Night has a crap picture quality, the recently released 2 film US Anchor Bay DVD will no doubt be superb and The Queen Of
Spades sounds like a rare vintage british horror film with the superb Anton Walbrook.

Dead of Night & Queen of Spades
Anchor Bay DVD Pack

DEAD OF NIGHT

A group of strangers is mysteriously gathered at a country estate where each reveals a chilling tale of the supernatural. First, a racer survives a brush with
death only to receive terrifying premonitions from beyond the grave. Then a teen’s innocent game of hide-and-seek leads to an encounter with the macabre.
Next, a young couple purchases an antique mirror that unleashes a horrific power from its past. In a lighter vein, two competitive golfers play for stakes that
may haunt the winner forever. Finally, a renowned ventriloquist descends into an abyss of madness and murder when his dummy develops a mind of its own.
But even after these frightening tales are told, does one final nightmare await them all?

Britain’s venerable Ealing Studios brought together four brilliant directors –Charles Crichton (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB), Basil Dearden (THE MIND
BENDERS), Alberto Cavalcanti (NICHOLAS NICKLEBY) and Robert Hamer (KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS) to create this classic chiller that remains one
of the most influential horror films ever made. This is the uncut and complete UK version of DEAD OF NIGHT, now newly restored from original archival
materials for the first time in decades.

THE QUEEN OF SPADES

“Unusual And Macabre!” ~ Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide A gambling craze is sweeping 19th century St. Petersburg, yet a dashing Russian army
captain (Anton Walbrook of THE RED SHOES) is too impoverished to participate. But when he learns that an aging countess (an award-winning performance
by Dame Edith Evans of TOM JONES) may hold the ultimate key to gaming riches, the desperate young officer will stop at nothing to steal the sinister secret
for himself. When fortunes are won and lost with the turn of a card, will one man wager his very soul on a final twist of fate?

Yvonne Mitchell (DEMONS OF THE MIND) co-stars in this brilliant British chiller directed by Thorold Dickinson (GASLIGHT), featuring extraordinary
cinematography by Otto Heller (PEEPING TOM, THE IPCRESS FILE) and based on the celebrated short story by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

Includes a 8-Page Collector's Booklet

THIS SET INCLUDES:

Dead of Night• Original Full-Frame Presentation
• Poster And Still Gallery
• Behind-The Scenes Still Gallery

Queen of Spades• Original Full-Frame Presentation
• Theatrical Trailer
• Poster And Still Gallery
• Behind-The-Scenes Still Gallery

STE, Nottingham

DB7

I'd heard ftom a couple of people that Anchor Bay's had poor sound, and when I read this review the picture sounds no better.
Dvdtalk.com
"Anchor Bay's Dead of Night comes on its own separate disc within the keep case. The transfer is good, but has a slightly worse section that starts with the Sally Ann Howes story and goes on for awhile, with the picture more pale and the right side a little softer. This movie was so popular, perhaps..."

It's a shame that only the 6 comedies from Ealing's back catalogue were restored not the minor-classics.

Rob Compton

What I would really like to see from the Ealing catalogue is "Cheer Boys Cheer" (1939) which, for those who haven't seen it is a forerunner of the later Ealing ideal of small versus large monolithic organisation - in this case the Greenleaf Brewery v the Ironside Brewery (I just love those names). Very well worth seeing if you haven't done so.

Regards
Rob

c.n.-tonfilm

Unfortunately you're wrong with this. DEAD OF NIGHT is owned by Studio Canal+ which licenses Anchor Bay, too. So they would use the same master as on the French DVD. As the master was produced in PAL, a PAL - NTSC conversion had to be done for the Anchor Bay disc which diminishes quality even more.

With that Studio Canal+ titles you'll have to
be very carefully. Watch out where they have first realease - in USA or Europe. This will indicate if the original master was a PAL or NTSC transfer. E.g. its very obvious that THE WICKER MAN was scanned in NTSC for Anchor Bay and later converted to PAL for the UK disc. In this case it's clearly visible how much lack of quality derives from the conversion.