DVDBeaver

[Godot]

I guess, given the title, it isn't that surprising, but Carrie Coon's suspicions come to full fruition with Gary's new review of Erotic Ghost Story (http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-ray ... lu-ray.htm). Engage private browsing mode, Tracy!

… among the mouse-over NSFW shots…

Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! More like NSFH, dans la maison du Godot. :-"

[jazzo]

I almost feel like I'm reading someone's sex journal on DVDBeaver, but Gary really wants us to know he has a boner for Susan George, and very specifically, Susan George assault scenes in Fright and Straw Dogs:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film7/blu-ray_ ... 4K_UHD.htm

[Orlac]

I almost feel like I'm reading someone's sex journal on DVDBeaver, but Gary really wants us to know he has a boner for Susan George, and very specifically, Susan George assault scenes in Fright and Straw Dogs:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film7/blu-ray_ ... 4K_UHD.htm

I genuinely think he has a problem. Several in fact.

[colinr0380]

It could be worse - I remember when A.A. Gill was a member of a panel during a weekend of programmes on Channel 4 in the UK talking about censorship in 1999. Straw Dogs was still unavailable in the UK at that point, and the programme played lengthy clips from the most notorious scene in the middle of the film, to which A.A. Gill said it wasn't particularly a problem releasing the film uncut....but then qualified that by flippantly adding on it was because the scene did not affect him because "Susan George was a bad actress"!

And of course he got away with that provocative statement almost entirely because of the role of censorship in having kept the film unavailable for decades to prevent such a comment from easily being countered in the implication that George did not put across the sense of assault properly, when that scene has her character having to go through an extremely complex series of emotions. Luckily the film appeared on DVD in the UK as part of the great BBFC-loosening post James Ferman in 2002, and Channel 4 even screened the film for the first time in 2003! (The one and only time that Straw Dogs has been shown on UK television to date)

[jazzo]

You know, as a phsyical media enthusiast and as a fellow hoser, I really do appreciate the service DVDBeaver provides. I'm not a huge techy when it comes to discs, and I am happy when Gary delves into the special features in a fair amount of detail, especially in relation to any previous releases the film may have had, but that also goes arm-in-arm with Gary's previously-noted horndoggedness.

At this point, it's absurdly funny how he will actively seek out nudity to post in his reviews (some arbitrarily restricted through NSFFW barriers, others inexplicably not), even in films where sexuality play little-to-no a role in the actual story.

Like here, in the Brazil 4K review: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-ray ... 4K_UHD.htm (Poor Kim Greist)

Or here, in Clean and Sober's review, which is the only nudity, found in the opening scene of the film: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-ray ... lu-ray.htm (Poor faceless extra).

Incidentally, I am overjoyed to finally have C&S in a beautiful, full aspect ratio transfer. I found this movie powerful as a teenager back in '89, and found it more powerful when the camera isn't panning and scanning, three and a half decades later.

[domino harvey]

Did Gary accidentally dox himself in a recent review?

[Altair]

Sean Baker(!) contributes to DVDBeaver's Best Physical Media poll

[Ribs]

How on Earth does I Know Where I’m Going top the poll? I’d usually think December releases are going to be in a bad position to do well in surveys like this given all the participants would have to buy the release Not At Sale Price and watch them immediately - just feels weird that this would end up with more votes than Eyes Wide Shut and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly! Or maybe we just all value the DVD-to-4K upgrade a little more.

[Lowry_Sam]

Right off the bat the box set top 3 seems highly suspect: 1. Wes Anderson 2. James Bond 3. Powell & Pressburger (Imprint blu-ray). There's no mention of vote tallies or how it's computed, on top of that I noticed some older releases on lists, so it's not looking that scientfic.

[Captain Paranoia]

Sean Baker(!) contributes to DVDBeaver's Best Physical Media poll

Baker's been a long-time patron of the site (Gary has brought this up since his Oscar win) so it doesn't surprise me the least.

[ryannichols7]

Sean Baker(!) contributes to DVDBeaver's Best Physical Media poll

Baker's been a long-time patron of the site (Gary has brought this up since his Oscar win) so it doesn't surprise me the least.

considering Baker and Tooze both have something in common I'm not at all surprised this is the case lol

Right off the bat the box set top 3 seems highly suspect: 1. Wes Anderson 2. James Bond 3. Powell & Pressburger (Imprint blu-ray). There's no mention of vote tallies or how it's computed, on top of that I noticed some older releases on lists, so it's not looking that scientfic.

Bond is pretty in line with Tooze's personal tastes but I agree, if you look at the actual chatter online, these three boxes are nowhere near the most discussed. baffling to say the least. plus Wicked Games being ahead of Radical Japan is...wacky, but also fits Tooze's taste and we know he loves Tim Lucas too, who's all over the Hossein set

can't wait for our forum's poll to have better results. I love Wes Anderson to death but that's just a wacky #1 pick

[Finch]

It's a pity Curzon released the Vigo set so late in the year because it'd have featured more prominently if more people had been able to see it before voting, but you could also argue that voting for any poll shouldn't take place until January to really account for everything.

I'll second the contributor who was very unhappy with Radiance's Daiei Gothic Vol 2 set. Very mediocre selection of titles and on disc contributions, and the lack of any numbering on the box does feel like they threw it together quickly after the first one sold so well. Easily the most disappointing release from 2025 for me too.

[swo17]

What do you mean by "the lack of any numbering on the box"?

[Finch]

It didn't say Vol 2 on the box. To be fair, the first set didn't either since they don't appear to have planned these as a series originally.

[sabbath]

DVDBeaver reviews The Girl Boss Series Collection, a bootleg title, at the request of a Patreon member.

Q: Is this a Bootleg?

A: Undoubtedly. These are 6 burned Blu-ray discs (BD-Rs,) no menus or extras - burned-in subtitles, lossy audio - no studio sanctioning visible anywhere. Lightly visible on all "HD Sourced" films is a watermark in the bottom right that says "TOEIch" possibly taken from television broadcasts (see sample below.)

Q: Why are you reviewing it?

A: We haven't reviewed a bootleg in many years. We used to do as more of a 'public service announcement' warning. A DVDBeaver patron sent a donation to specifically buy this set (he was curious about the quality and it fits in our Provocative Asian Cinema page.) I was very keen to cover the films as part of that page. The evolution of this genre remains fascinating.

Q: Do you endorse this set?

A: Absolutely not. It is a bootleg. Don't support bootleggers. It also has middling quality at best. We'd love to compare it - one day soon - to an Arrow, Discotek Media etc. (hint, hint) legitimate Blu-ray boxset edition with superior a/v, extras, and removable subtitles.

[tenia]

The best way not to support a release is to not give it a platform, but Gary got to Gary, I suppose.

[domino harvey]

Haven’t seen him do it in a while but he’s def reviewed boots before, esp ~20 years ago when there were way more gray market DVDs out there

[Zot!]

The best way not to support a release is to not give it a platform, but Gary got to Gary, I suppose.

To be fair, DVDBeaver is comparing the bootleg as INFERIOR in quality to DVDBeaver's 2006 review of a legitimate DVD, so as far as I'm concerned that is a reasonable timeframe for a PSA. But we all know why Gary wanted to revisit these films, and it has nothing to do with a donation.

[tenia]

My issue here is that I'm fairly certain I'm not the only person this review will allow to learn this bootleg exists. So it's giving it a more legitimate platform than where one would otherwise go to find if this or that bootleg exists.

Want to PSA how crappy it is but without endorsing it ? Make a 20 words post about it, and move on. Don't provide it a treatment identical to what legitimate releases get. I'd have blueskied about it and that'd been it. 20 years without covering a bootleg ? It means there's only so much use about it.

But oh hey, it's a pinku release perfect for Mr Skin ! What a twist !

[Captain Paranoia]

I'm actually familiar with the company that made the bootleg. They had releases of The Killer and Hard Boiled a while back (though no longer available - they're already worthless with the films having restorations and official rereleases anyway) and (to my confession) I did purchase them when they were still available out of curiosity on whether or not they were ports of the Hong Kong Rescue releases. (As for those discs, I believe they came from the same video transfers as the HKR release, but there was only lossy audio and no extras besides commentaries - so that was a regret, even more so months after). The company apparently specialized in rarities (some of them that were only released on VHS) and some of their releases are apparently requests (which probably explains the relatively easy-to-find streaming titles listed)

[soundchaser]

This is beside the point, but I can’t think of a worse name for a home video label than “Sloppy Second Sales.”