The New DVD and Blu Thread

Post by **Randall** » January 6th, 2005, 9:54 pm

Has anyone heard the official announcment for this? It's due Feb. 1, and I just stumbled across a mention of it at Aint-it-Cool:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... =tech-info

It appears to have the fairy tale shorts, and some of his experimental films.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » January 7th, 2005, 12:27 am

I thought a disc similar to this one had already been released...?

Anyhow, it does seem like a few of the Harryhausen shorts made their way onto some of the public domain DVDs released within the last year. You know, the $1 DVDs that lasted for something like 3-4 months at Wal-Mart, Target, and the cheap-o stores? Most of these discs seem to be already out-of-print or very hard to get now that Christmas is over.

I noticed that both the local Target and Wal-Mart stopped carrying these discs after the end of the year. The high-volume discount stores are notorious for dropping product like this once their initial in-store stock is gone. (The same is true for widescreen versions of practically every Hollywood movie. Wal-Mart doesn't like to stock these beyond initial inventory orders because local yokels/rednecks/idiots can't get their heads around the "black bar business.")

Hopefully, the restored shorts on the new DVD WILL be restored. I've never liked deceptive advertising and a lot of "restored" print discs are cheaply done. (They use a lousy digital restoration method that can make films look WORSE.) But this does seem like the Harryhausen collection to get!

I can't say that I've cared much for many of the films Harryhausen worked on besides "Clash of the Titans" (which is a weird favorite of mine), but I'd definitely get that shorts DVD as soon as it comes out. I doubt it'll be in print for very long...

Post by **Ben** » January 7th, 2005, 3:52 am

This looks like a very cool release, if only to finally catch The Tortoise And The Hare!

Yes, some of the shorts seemingly made those el cheapo discs, but they were not restored in anyway, and certainly won't look as good as the ones presented here, even if the images on the new disc are not top notch (those $1 discs are notorious for simply being non-color timed telecine transfers and little else).

Personally, I'm looking forward to it. Interested to see what other Harryhausen disc you think might have been issued, George, but the other thing I can think of was the recent Science Fiction Series boxed set:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... UJ19G09P91

There's also a Monster Series boxed set just released last week, too:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ance&s=dvd

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » January 8th, 2005, 12:54 am

I don't know if the disc RC brought up is the same one I heard of. I know from some time back that they WERE talking about a disc of Harryhausen's fairy tale and other short subject films.

I don't know about the UK, but both the Harryhausen science fiction and monster/fantasy box sets have been out since late last year (November and December) in the US. I've only seen the Monster box set at Wal-Mart, but most of those films should be available separately. I'm really only interested in Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers (available separate from the science fiction boxset) and Clash of the Titans (which I already have). Other than that, it seems his best stuff -- the Jason and the Argonauts film, for example -- are available through other companies.

I definitely would be interested in the animated shorts disc, though.

Here's a link to the Harryhausen Chronicles documentary DVD that's been out for over 2 years: http://www.dvdplanet.com/product_listin ... format=DVD
That's something else the really big Harryhausen fans might want to look at, too.

Again, most of this stuff is not my cup of tea and I tend to go towards films that interest me story- or subject-wise instead of following creators and actors. Saves me a ton of $$$! LOL

Post by **Ben** » January 8th, 2005, 8:26 am

Yeah, I was talking about the Us sets. I only buy NTSC stuff.

They came out in November and late December, respectively - that's why I said "RECENT"

The Chronicles disc looks interesting, but definitely going for the shorts.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » January 15th, 2005, 8:22 pm

The company that produced the 2-disc Ray Harryhausen shorts DVD set has it available on their website at http://www.sparkhilldvd.com/

Jerry Beck did a short review of the set at www.cartoonbrew.com

You can order the set at Amazon.com (which the Sparkhill site links to), but it doesn't go on sale until February 1st. Hopefully, it will show up at most places that have the Harryhausen movies on sale.

Sounds like a very nice set!

Post by **Randall** » January 15th, 2005, 11:55 pm

I just came over to give the same update, when I saw you had started this thread. The DVD looks awesome. I'm amazed at everything that is being included--- it's a true treasure trove for us Harryhausen buffs, even if some of it has been seen elsewhere.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » January 17th, 2005, 11:54 pm

It'll probably have better prints of these shorts than what's been seen in other collections.

The only caveat I would add is that you sort of have to take Jerry Beck's recommendations with a grain of salt -- this guy LOVES practically all animation ==>

Including a lot of things that many of us think are s**t! LOL

Seriously, though, this does sound like a safe bet to buy.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » January 31st, 2005, 9:00 pm

Needless to say,

Harryhausen and stop-motion animation fans should GET this movie tomorrow! (2/1/05)

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » February 2nd, 2005, 3:28 am

Looks like the DVD got delayed or is not being carried at many stores.

Media Play and Suncoast don't the disc in their computer systems. Best Buy says they're not getting it until March 25th.

Amazon.com anticipates 1-3 week wait periods for people who order the disc through Amazon...

Looks like the stop-motion fans will have to wait a bit longer for this disc.

Did manage to score myself a copy of Hardware Wars from Media Play today, though!

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » February 2nd, 2005, 3:41 am

I noted this in another thread, but it looks like the Ray Harryhausen: Early Years DVD got delayed.

Amazon lists a 1-3 week wait, most stores I checked don't even seem to have the disc in their inventory systems.

Post by **Randall** » February 2nd, 2005, 9:10 am

Amazon.com is actually the only on-line retailer I have found for this disc, so it looks like it has limited distribution. Even Amazon.ca does not list it, nor can it be found on dvdpricesearch.com. Amazon.com may be the only source. If someone sees it listed or on the shelves elsewhere, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » February 3rd, 2005, 12:43 am

Here's the URL to a review of the newly released (but widely unavailable) Ray Harryhausen animated shorts DVD:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/ ... early.html

Sounds like a keeper to me!

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » February 11th, 2005, 12:50 am

... And still no sign of this DVD anywhere I've bothered to look.

Seriously, it's as if it didn't exist.

What a crime!

Post by **Special_Ed** » February 14th, 2005, 10:16 pm

you can only buy it from the website of the distributor. that's why. it will not be sold in store.

The New DVD and Blu Thread

Harryhausen

New Harryhausen shorts DVD

Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years DVD out tomorrow!

Review of Harryhausen: The Early Years DVD at TheDigitalBits