MovieChat Forums > The Terror (1963) Discussion > The Terror -- Good Print, Quality DVD?

The Terror -- Good Print, Quality DVD?

posted 19 years ago by Doctor_Mabuse
18 replies | jump to latest

Has anybody seen a decent DVD of The Terror? I doubt it.

According to an earlier post, a seemingly restored widescreen print was shown recently on cable, but we still can't buy a good print on video or DVD.

Print quality can make all the difference in the world for any film. Photographed by the great Floyd Crosby, The Terror was one of the most beautiful American supernatural films of the 1960's in its widescreen theatrical release. This particular film is almost entirely visual in its artistic appeal. Circa 1980 I saw a clear and colorful TV print which, although cropped, put all the cheap and crummy video and DVD issues to shame.

The problem is that since the film slipped into the public domain, no one has bothered to access the negative. Until a digital transfer is made, we're only seeing a faded, gummy xerox record of the film.

I understand that Roger Corman will be releasing his films to DVD through Disney. Perhaps the Corman package will include The Terror, and the original Little Shop of Horrors (also lost in PD hell); but it seems more likely the Disney releases will be the pre-1960 Corman rarities.

Until a company like Image Entertainment or The Criterion Collection sees fit to restore Corman's film to its pristine state with a widescreen digital transfer (and commentary track), one of Boris Karloff's last worthy vehicles remains in video limbo.

Doctor_Mabuse

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] boffy 19 years ago

In the UK "Classic Entertainment"(who'v released 3-movie and 4-episode DVDs of many PD TV shows and films) have released a 3-film DVD containing this, "Horror Hotel" starring Christopher Lee, and "The Corpse Vanishes" starring Bela Lugosi.

The print is in fairly good nick, not badly scratched, especially given its age, though it is a pan&scan transfer from what I guess is a 16mm print(does this film exist on 35mm?). Some scenes have a blue cast to them.
The most distracting flaw is that the colour contrast is too high. In some of the night scenes you can only see a head moving around the screen. Also there is obvious block artefacting where a higher bitrate should have been used on a few shots.

For all its faults, it is still certainly a watchable copy, and well worth the 33p I paid for it(The whole DVD was £1 from a pound shop).

[–] rockallnight 19 years ago

The best quality PAL DVD I've seen of "The Terror" - and there are some pretty awful releases on offer - is the Prism Leisure version. However, there is a snag: this is a revised version that Mr.Corman made when trying to re-copyright his original.
The 1963/4 feature is bookended by newly written and directed scenes featuring a much older Dick Miller. Also, Paul Julien's title sequence has new titles superimposed over it which most of the time blot out his beautiful artwork.
If you can live with these changes the image is sharp and the detail is excellent.
It is full screen and, oh yes, the film has been re-named "The Haunting".
Personally speaking, I'd much rather have a decent DVD of the original version.

[–] d-bowery 19 years ago

I have the Terror in a 6 movie DVD boxset titled "The classic horror collection"

Includes:
The Terror
Horror Hotel
Night of the living dead
The Bat (Not really a horror)
House on Haunted hill
Revenge of the zombies

It was in one of those cheap boxshops you get. Just a cheap boxset and worth it really :)

David

[–] johnpizzey 12 years ago

i got that boxset and the films are all cool and well worth the price.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] IAmTheMessageCenter 19 years ago

I think if anyone is going to put out a decent DVD it's MGM's Midnight Movie line since they put out the other AIP Corman horror flicks. They have put out great transfers of PD titles like Last Man on Earth and I Bury the Living as well. The Terror would fit nicely along side their other releases like Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum and Die Monster Die. That being said since Sony bought MGM I don't know if they are still continuing the line - there's a petition though: http://www.petitiononline.com/mid2005/

That's what I hate about PD titles. It's good that you could watch them without spending much but if you want to see a good transfer it's difficult since companies don't think they'll be worth it as the market is flooded with the title. I'm a fan of the old Italian sword and sandal movies - so many of them are in public domain and there has been about 70 that I know of released in cheap fullscreen transfers. Only occasionally does a company like Image release a pristine widescreen transfer and I scoop them up at once.

[–] Narrator_Jack_dot_com 19 years ago

For what its worth, a few minutes of Jack Nicholson's scenes are in Peter Bogdanovich's Targets movie, which is on DVD.

[–] Murderer_15 19 years ago

I have a 15 DVD box Set with the terror and other movies in it very good quality has the original nosferatu and cabinet of Dr Caligari as well as i believe 2 or 3 of Vincent price's movies Very good Quality and only for about $20 certainly worth it

[–] scifiguy1-1 18 years ago

The best quality print and transfer I've ever seen, is now running on the STARZ ENCORE movie channels. This copy is virtually flawless, with only an occassional speckle, far better than any dvd I've ever seen of this title. Unfortunately it's another pan and scan transfer, as of October 2006 there's never been a widescreen copy available, other than the theatrical prints that were in circulation during the 1960's. I saw this for the first time in the theatre, playing as part of a triple feature, along with "Masque of the Red Death" and "War Gods of the Deep".

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] milerbry 18 years ago

This information interests me; could you please provide the source?

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] andrealhelm 13 years ago

hi, I have a good copy of The Terror on DVD, I found it at a thrift store this weekend and watched it last night, great quality, no skips etc. if you'd like it just email me at [email protected]. I'll sell it to you for $8, which includes postage fees. Thanks! Andrea

[–] VCR 12 years ago

I have it with the 50 Classic Horror dvd's. Looks like that technicolor they used. I'm not sure if it was first release in black and white.

Come on, Franklin! It'll be a fun trip!