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Taketori Washizu wrote:A lot of douchebag posts in this thread.

Really? I just see the one.

Taketori Washizu wrote:All about eclecticism, is the Criterion mantra.

Which of the thirty Kurosawa films were the eclectic releases?

Taketori Washizu wrote:Equinox is a great film and worthy of inclusion in The Criterion Collection. A lot of douchebag posts in this thread. Carnival of Souls, The Blob, Robocop....hello? All about eclecticism, is the Criterion mantra. Great stop motion effects...Dennis Muren and the genius known as David Allen.

You've changed your mind then?

I don't care what anyone says, Carnival of Souls is one of my favorite films in the collection.

I'm actually going to be really sad if the Eclipse line pushes stuff like this, Carnival of Souls, and the Monsters and Madmen box out of the mainline- they're mostly not the best movies, in the normal sense of the word (although I do think Carnival is, without caveats, a great movie) but they're charming, and a lifetime of watching Mystery Science Theater has made me enjoy the sort of z-grade style of them- and compared to, say, Monster a-Go-Go, Equinox is the Virgin Spring.

Moreover, the contextual information on these is if anything more valuable than on the big canonical releases- I can go read entire books just about the 400 Blows, but finding anything on The Atomic Submarine is a lot more work.

matrixschmatrix wrote:Moreover, the contextual information on these is if anything more valuable than on the big canonical releases- I can go read entire books just about the 400 Blows, but finding anything on The Atomic Submarine is a lot more work.

Exactly and, while I'm not the biggest fan of that particular film, the commentary on The Atomic Submarine is even more valuable for Tom Weaver and Richard Gordon taking the time to discuss some of Gordon's earliest non-sci-fi/horror productions - stuff that gets even less attention!

It wasn't until a couple of months ago that I checked the 1970 version of "Equinox" that 90% of those that saw it back in the day got. Jack Woods' & Jack H. Harris' produced/re-written/re-edited "Equinox" sacrifices the innocence and 'charm' of the '67 original for a more pedestrian plot involving a physical human-shaped foe (Woods as a ranger) besides the creatures, some gratuitous demonic possessions and lots more of what the original version already had too much of: endless, pointless talking and walking around in circles. The only aspect that the revised "Equinox" beats its predecessor at is saving the bulk of the SFX shots for the climactic 2nd half of the movie (instead of dolling them out throughout its meager running time). While this slicker "Equinox" holds together a little better plot wise (and looks even more like the blueprint for the fist "Evil Dead" movie) the atrocious ADR and easy-to-spot difference between the original and extra scenes result in a nastier, less fawning and more depressing 'creature feature' than what "Equinox" started life as. Woods and Harris sound convinced in their commentary track that they improved on the original (yeah right, Team Muren all the way!). The tasty soup of recollections, memories and fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the commentaries, interviews, booklet and featurettes (and the choice of both versions of "Equinox") makes this the rare Criterion release in which the behind-the-scenes context is important to enhance the fun of the movie itself.

Murdoch wrote:I don't care what anyone says, Carnival of Souls is one of my favorite films in the collection.

This.

Carnival of Souls

It's just surreal to me that the climax of the film takes place at the same venue where I saw Candlebox and a bunch of other crappy bands perform in the 90s.

swo17 wrote:

Carnival of Souls

It's just surreal to me that the climax of the film takes place at the same venue where I saw Candlebox and a bunch of other crappy bands perform in the 90s.

Candlebox! Wow, blast from the dustbin...

Equinox is one of my favorite films discs in the collection. I'm pretty sure this will not get a blu-ray upgrade, but the DVD does so much justice to the fun of no-budget filmmaking and backyard antics.

Is the packaging for this a double wide or a figure eight? TCM just showed the '70 version which outside of a few awkward moments is a genuine blast and a half. I still can't believe how good the stop motion is and would like to check out the earlier cut.

Double wide, unless its been recently changed.

I'm trying to track down folks involved in the production of Equinox -- Mark Thomas McGee, Dennis Muren, Jack Woods, etc. Anyone have contact info for them?

David Allen’s decades in the making stop-motion feature The Primevals has been completed

I still have the issue of Cinefantastique with the Primevals cover and feature. Apart from the stop motion sequences, the film itself lacks the DIY charms of Equinox and has the anonymous quality of an early SciFi/SyFy original movie.

And the award for worst film in the collection goes to…

The strong stop motion is a bonus for sitting through this one though

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Sat Sep 13, 2025 6:35 am And the award for worst film in the collection goes to…

The strong stop motion is a bonus for sitting through this one though

I dunno, this is still better than Fearless Hyena II!

Orlac wrote: Sat Sep 13, 2025 9:15 am

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Sat Sep 13, 2025 6:35 amAnd the award for worst film in the collection goes to…

The strong stop motion is a bonus for sitting through this one though

I dunno, this is still better than Fearless Hyena II!

And Border Radio. And Maidstone. And It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.