criterionforum.org

Monsters and Madman

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/1157/364_box_348x490_w128.jpg[/img]

Launching us from a grave past to a space-age future, these two thrilling double features, from producers Richard and Alex Gordon, spin classic tales of hair-raising homicidal mania and intrepid, death-defying exploration. Featuring Boris Karloff in two of his most horrifying roles (The Haunted Strangler and Corridors of Blood), and two classic sci-fi treats from the atomic age.

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

The Haunted Strangler

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/product_images/215/367_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

19th-century English author James Rankin (Boris Karloff) believes that the wrong man was hanged twenty years earlier for a series of murders, but his investigations lead him to a horrible, and, for him, gruesomely inescapable secret.

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

Corridors of Blood

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/product_images/218/368_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

In 1840s London, Dr. Thomas Bolton (Boris Karloff) dares to dream the unthinkable: to operate on patients without causing pain. Unfortunately, the road to general anesthesia is blocked by a ruthless killer (Christopher Lee), as well as Bolton's devastating addiction to his own chemical experiments.

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

Special Features

DISC ONE AND TWO:

The Haunted Strangler
Corridors of Blood
-New, restored high-definition digital transfers
-Audio commentaries by Richard Gordon and Weaver on both films, with additional comments from Alex Gordon on The Haunted Strangler
-New video interviews with Day and costars Francis Matthews and Yvonne Romain (Corridors of Blood) and Day, screenwriter Jan Read, and costars Jean Kent and Vera Day (Strangler)
-Censor cuts
-Original theatrical trailers and radio spots
-Stills galleries featuring production and publicity photographs
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-PLUS: A booklet featuring Fangoria’s 1984 interview with producer John Croydon about Karloff, and a new essay by Maitland McDonagh

The Atomic Submarine

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/product_images/212/366_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

When a nuclear-powered submarine, the Tiger Shark, sets out to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances near the Arctic Circle, its fearless crew finds itself besieged by electrical storms, an Unidentified Floating Saucer, and lots of hairy tentacles.

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

First Man Into Space

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/product_images/209/365_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

In this interstellar cautionary tale, brash U.S. Navy test pilot Dan Prescott, hungry for fame, rockets himself beyond Earth's atmosphere, only to become encrusted with cosmic dust and return a blood-drinking monster.

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

Special Features

DISC THREE AND FOUR:

The Atomic Submarine
First Man into Space
-New. restored high-definition digital transfers
-Audio commentaries by producer Alex Gordon and writer Tom Weaver (The Atomic Submarine) and producer Richard Gordon and Weaver (First Man into Space)
-New video interviews with actor Brett Halsey (Submarine) and director Robert Day and costar Marla Landi (Space)
-Original theatrical trailers and radio spots
-Stills galleries featuring production and publicity photographs
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by Bruce Eder and Michael Lennick

I love how it's a four disc set with two discs in it.

Sheesh, you'd think they'd get the page all in order before putting it up.

As an unqualified Karloff fan, I cannot be more excited, especially because I've never seen these before and relish the chance Criterion is giving. The other two look interesting as well. Yet, knowing my luck, no store where I live will stock this.

I'm very excited. I'm also glad they didn't just release these in two discs. Now for the other goodies in January.

wonder what 362, 363 are.. unless that's the individual number for each double feature?

This would have been perfect for an October release, especially considering that they've seemingly been ready to go for awhile now.

domino harvey wrote:wonder what 362, 363 are.. unless that's the individual number for each double feature?

Presumably. There's a link on the page for an individual entry for First Man / Submarine but it's not live yet (just takes you back to the home page).

I know the discs look pretty crammed, but $80 is an awful lot for a two-disc set, especially as these will presumably be "high-risk" purchases for a lot of people.

I'm confused. Are they really going to charge $80 for a two-disc set?

Assuming this will be a four-disc set, they might assign individual spine numbers for each title.

kinjitsu wrote:Assuming this will be a four-disc set, they might assign individual spine numbers for each title.

Clearly they aren't doing this, since everything up to 361 is taken. That leaves only 362 and 363, which must be the spine numbers for each double-feature. I really can't imagine why they would charge $80 for this. It's ridiculous.

Traditionally, they give the lowest spine number to the box so if the individual films were numbered they would start at 365. $80 retail isn't that outrageous since standard SE's are $40 and there's two (presumably 2 disc sets) with 4 films .

Exactly. All of the existing boxsets have their own spine number with individual spine numbers for each film in the set.

Evidently, they are re-editing the page since it obviously was incomplete, so we'll just have to wait until they are finished.

She gone!

Well, that's just great... Criterion decides to pull the release just like that. We didn't even have time to figure out how many discs it was gonna be. God, sometimes I wish Criterion would get their shit together and stop toying around with us.

-Toilet Dcuk

Edit: She back. Lipson, you sneaky devil...

toiletduck! wrote:She gone!

Well, that's just great... Criterion decides to pull the release just like that. We didn't even have time to figure out how many discs it was gonna be. God, sometimes I wish Criterion would get their shit together and stop toying around with us.

-Toilet Dcuk

Well I'm certainly not going to go back and delete all the links I made to this thread. They're standing, whether this thing comes out this year or two years from now.

Hey, stop worrying -- it's right here.

It looks likely it will be 364: box and then two two-disc sets - one for 'Monsters' and one for 'Madmen' as 365 and 366.

I suppose there will be one disc for each film - not both films on one disc and extras on the second?

It looks like since each film has a commentary the $80 price is not that bad, considering we know how a commentary on a disc ups the price to $39.95 (see Fiend Without A Face).

colinr0380 wrote:It looks likely it will be 364: box and then two two-disc sets - one for 'Monsters' and one for 'Madmen' as 365 and 366.

I suppose there will be one disc for each film - not both films on one disc and extras on the second?

What an odd choice, if so. Aside from a matter of casing and spine numbers, how does this differ at all from any other four disc box set? Why market it as two two-discers?

-Toilet Dcuk

toiletduck! wrote:how does this differ at all from any other four disc box set? Why market it as two two-discers?

I guess it is just a way of keeping the period Karloff 'Madmen' separate from the different in style sci-fi, alien-themed 'Monsters' films? Then wrap it all up in the boxset dedicated to the producer. Just a way of making a coherent set dedicated to a Producer (I can't think of any other producer related boxsets off the top of my head, so it is kind of uncharted territory).

The Val Lewton box is producer-themed. It also has "double-feature" discs.

colinr0380 wrote:(I can't think of any other producer related boxsets off the top of my head, so it is kind of uncharted territory).

Um, Val Lewton....

(simultaneous post, sorry)

Max von Mayerling wrote:The Val Lewton box is producer-themed. It also has "double-feature" discs.

And it's much cheaper! And it has more films to boot!

#-o lol!

A two-disc set for $80? Two booklets, or one booklet with a flipside (a la The Killers)? The one thing that upsets me about this is that I personally have no interest in campy sci-fi, but the Karloff stuff is a must. Anyone else in the same boat?

Steven H wrote:A two-disc set for $80?

Two two-disc sets

WARNING: This post contains elements of moaning.

Steven H wrote:A two-disc set for $80? Two booklets, or one booklet with a flipside (a la The Killers)? The one thing that upsets me about this is that I personally have no interest in campy sci-fi, but the Karloff stuff is a must. Anyone else in the same boat?

I have lots of interest in campy crappy sc-fi, Karloff is a God amongst men, and I believe that this is Christopher Lee's induction into the collection, so if this was priced sensibly it would be a no brainer.
But it isn't. $80 (yeah I'll get it less online, but it still won't bring the price down to a sensible amount) is extortionate for 4 unknown and unloved B-movies; this should retail at a maximum of $60.

The rights costs for these will have been negligible, and they didn't even do the transfers themselves did they?

At $80 I think that its luxury purchase rather than the cheap and cheerful set that it should have been and I'm not sure that it will sell well at that price point (well I hope it won't, to teach the thieving f*!%$ers a lesson).