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Some interesting tidbit o' DVD news from Ain't-It-Cool-News. Seems that Stuart Gordon has found several minutes of footage that he was forced to cut from his underrated Lovecraft adapation, From Beyond, so that it would pass the MPAA. Seems as though MGM will be releasing it some time this year in all of its unrated glory. Nice.

I have always enjoyed this film and have fond memories of discovering it a local video store after stumbling across and being blown away by Re-Animator. Jeffrey Combs is at his best when he teams up with Stuart Gordon and Barbara Crampton has never looked finer -- in S&M gear no less.

Check out the news: http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=19063

Barbara Crampton has never looked finer -- in S&M gear no less.

I totally agree and she gives a better performance here than in Re-Animator.

dvdane wrote:I totally agree and she gives a better performance here than in Re-Animator.

She got a better role too. I've heard that Gordon and Yuzna said they ran out of money and were unable to do the huge fx ending they had planned, but I hope what they lost in getting the R rating is still signifigant enough to warrant excitement. Either way, I much prefer the intended vision of the filmmakers than what we had to settle for due to the increasingly conservative 80's MPAA.

Been waiting a while for this, now I just need news about releases of Wes Craven's Deadly Blessing and Night of the Comet. C'mon, news...!

DrewReiber wrote:Been waiting a while for this, now I just need news about releases of Wes Craven's Deadly Blessing and Night of the Comet. C'mon, news...!

Oooh, that would be nice. Night of the Comet has been a favourite of mine for years. Both of those films would be ripe for the deluxe Anchor Bay treatment.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:

DrewReiber wrote:Oooh, that would be nice. Night of the Comet has been a favourite of mine for years. Both of those films would be ripe for the deluxe Anchor Bay treatment.

Unfortunately, MGM owns Deadly Blessing and Paramount owns Night of the Comet.

DrewReiber wrote:Unfortunately, MGM owns Deadly Blessing and Paramount owns Night of the Comet.

Aw, crap. Well, MGM has been known to do some nice editions of movies. Of course, also some crappy bare bones ones as well. I don't hold out much hope for Paramount, though.

dvdane wrote:

Barbara Crampton has never looked finer -- in S&M gear no less.

I totally agree and she gives a better performance here than in Re-Animator.

I think FROM BEYOND is a much better film than RE-ANIMATOR. Anyone know why it has taken so damn long to get released?

ambrose1am wrote:Anyone know why it has taken so damn long to get released?

Probably because outside horror buff circles, it doesn't have the recognition of Re-Animator.

Some more details on From Beyond from the Horror Channel website.

I like this quote from Stuart Gordon!

I can still remember the lady from the MPAA scolding me about this shot like I was a bad kid sent to the principal's office. "How could you have ever thought we would give you an R rating when instead of cutting away you continue to push in closer and closer AND CLOSER?!"

Finally! An update from Tim Lucas' blog:

[quote]World Premiere of restored “Director's Cutâ€

I have not seen From Beyond, although I really hate Re-Animator. Awful film - it's the languid pace and drab cinemtography. Oh, and the rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho really bothered me - who let that happen?! But I'll give From Beyond a chance.

Gordon McMurphy wrote:Oh, and the rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho really bothered me - who let that happen?!

It's parody, Mr. McMurphy. As the cover of the album suggests:



In an interview in The Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Band says that when he first saw the rough cut of Re-Animator he found it long, boring, and ineffective as a horror film, so he decided to score it as a black comedy. In addition to the Psycho parody, the "love theme" is actually the theme from Jerry Goldsmith's score to John Huston's Freud played backwards.

Kirkinson wrote:

Gordon McMurphy wrote:Oh, and the rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho really bothered me - who let that happen?!

It's parody, Mr. McMurphy.

It's fucking bollocks is what it is!

In addition to the Psycho parody, the "love theme" is actually the theme from Jerry Goldsmith's score to John Huston's Freud played backwards.

I thought that it sounded somewhat familiar. That piece of music is used in quite a few films, I believe.

I love parody, but musical parody - especially parody of music I love, is not something I am big on and the score to Re-Animator was a detriment to my enjoyment of the film. Horror-comedy is a difficult film genre to augment with music. Rock guitars is the best bet, really!

Even as a little kid I thought "Re-Animator" was quite a bad film, but I've always really liked the score and I have it on disc; Bernard Herrmann is by and far my favorite composer, and I was delighted...but that's just me (I'm also a Richard Band fan, so that may explain it). Aside from the love theme being "Freud" backwards, the actual theme from "Frued" makes a couple brief appearences, as does Band's theme from "Laserblast."

I haven't seen "From Beyond" since middle school, but I remember it being a better film.

Gordon McMurphy wrote:I have not seen From Beyond, although I really hate Re-Animator. Awful film - it's the languid pace and drab cinemtography. Oh, and the rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho really bothered me - who let that happen?! But I'll give From Beyond a chance.

Well, you're not exactly watching Re-Animator for stunning cinematography... At any rate, I love this movie because of the arch tone and the chutzaph of Gordon in certain scenes (like the "giving head" bit) and for Jeffrey Combs' satirical mad scientist performance -- the way he delivers his dialogue throughout the movie is priceless.

The sequence with the Professor's head attempting vainly to direct his sundered body to do routine tasks is maybe the best example of dark, warped comedy that I've ever seen. His eye roll is beyond hysterical.

Great news. I haven't seen From Beyond since original release.