INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) UHD and Blu-Ray 50% Off

[AndyDursin]

Long awaited 50s sci-fi in 4K -- this one's never been remastered even for high def previously.

[Monterey Jack]

Might want to edit the thread title, Andy...

Anyways, exciting news! great film, and far superior to Tobe Hooper's lame 80s remake.

[AndyDursin]

Hooper's remake IS lame. At least, it has one of the singular worst movie endings in film history. They cut that off -- the German version cuts to black before it happens -- and it's not that bad...at least the visuals are cool.

[John Johnson]

Andy,

Do you know anything about this company? Their website doesn't tell you much.

[AndyDursin]

John, I don't know a thing. I had contacted them in regards to press copies through their website but have yet to hear back.

The restoration, though, apparently IS legitimate because it's supposed to premiere this week at a TCM film festival. Once it screens we should find out more I'd imagine in regards to image quality and where the source came from, etc.

[AndyDursin]

Their website was updated and includes some stills and an article -- it sounds great!

https://hollywood-elsewhere.com/restore ... t-to-land/

Historian Scott MacQueen was one of the people behind it, so I'd anticipate this is going to be very good indeed. Premieres later this month during a TCM festival, and will be on disc "sometime this fall".

Screen grabs look phenomenal considering how the movie has previously fared on home video:

[AndyDursin]

Limited edition preorders are up for $60 and $70....I'm good with waiting for the non limited version.

None of them shipping until "the fall" either.

[Monterey Jack]

Boy, we're a long way from the salad days of the DVD format twenty years ago, when loaded SE releases could routinely be had for under $20.

[AndyDursin]

It's sticker shock to be sure, an adjustment back to the niche days of laserdisc when I was in high school and college really. Consumers were spoiled for a long time, especially in the early days of Blu-Ray when the prices of discs were being artificially driven down. There was never the demand for the format that some people thought there was based on the early sales and Walmart $5 bin distribution etc.

Now this IS expensive but to be fair, if you are basically releasing INVADERS on your own without the infastructure of a label who regularly deals with manufacturing costs and bulk production, it's probably costly to do this kind of release. Not to mention the costs of replication and the restoration itself. All of that, the restoration especially, is probably being factored in the price tag. It's like the early adopters are underwriting the cost of the entire restoration to a degree. A Kickstarter without a Kickstarter.

Plus LaLaLand releases 2 Jurassic Park scores on CD and charges the same...so in that way it's probably not that outrageous.

Still I'd prefer not to spend that, though no tax and free shipping doesnt make it THAT insane. I'd imagine a non limited UHD for $40/Blu-Ray for $30 will happen in the fall. If not...I'll live.

[John Johnson]

Limited edition preorders are up for $60 and $70....I'm good with waiting for the non limited version.

None of them shipping until "the fall" either.

You think there will be a standard release? At this price, I think I can live without it.

[Eric Paddon]

Even if I were interested in this title (and I am totally unfamiliar with it), it would be foolish for me to do a preorder for something that won' t be released until the Fall since I don't even know what my address will be in the Fall!

[AndyDursin]

You think there will be a standard release? At this price, I think I can live without it.

Absolutely, there's no reason why this would be limited to 1000 copies.

This is like a typical Shout website offering that comes with "limited edition preorder bonuses" -- it's even worded just like it on their email. A US-only "preorder limited to 1000 units" because it has a signed poster going out with it. There's no mention they are only making 1000 discs and this is the only pressing there will be...more like this is the only pressing that comes with a poster.

The more curious thing is the fact it's probably a good 6 months outside its release and they're taking preorder money now. That's why it feels like a defacto crowd-funder/Kickstarter scenario. This label is probably just the guys who put up the money for the restoration in the first place, and they're looking to get some capital to defray the costs they've absorbed with the restoration and the manufacturing costs to come. They're doing it midway through their production process (i.e. the restoration is finished, but the discs and all of that hasn't happened yet) which I would assume was their initial business plan.

I don't mind supporting them at $40 but $50+ is a little much for me. Still, this is an unusual release from an unlikely source. My guess is given the movie's history and cult status they should get enough traction even at that price to make it viable for them.

This is like giving a movie that fell into the public domain (sort of) and has NEVER looked pristine the deluxe treatment, so to do it, and to do it right, had to have cost a great deal more than your typical film licensed from a major studio.

[Monterey Jack]

Absolutely, there's no reason why this would be limited to 1000 copies.

This is like a typical Shout website offering that comes with "limited edition preorder bonuses" -- it's even worded just like it on their email. A US-only "preorder limited to 1000 units" because it has a signed poster going out with it. There's no mention they are only making 1000 discs and this is the only pressing there will be...more like this is the only pressing that comes with a poster.

Yeah, but an SF pre-order w/ a guaranteed slipcover and a poster of said slipcover art will set you back only $35 at most.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah, but an SF pre-order w/ a guaranteed slipcover and a poster of said slipcover art will set you back only $35 at most.

The situations aren't the same though. These guys have restored a film, presumably painstakingly -- and from the sounds of it, on their own -- that has never been shown in a healthy condition to anyone since the 1950s.

This price tag is high but I'm sure it's being utilized to help underwrite their exorbitant restoration costs. INVADERS FROM MARS isn't a studio property with a pre-existing HD master where all they had to do was license it from that source. They had to find proper elements and restore them, which if you're aware of this film and its history, was a pipe dream for many decades. While they could've done that beforehand with a Kickstarter, this is -- the more I think about it -- just their way of offsetting the work they've put into it.

I mean, I get it, it's pricey, but this isn't anything like Shout taking any movie they release and licensing it from MGM or Universal. This is a true piece of film restoration they've had to undertake -- not your normal, everyday UHD/Blu-Ray being released, and the people footing the bill with preorders are subsidizing it here instead of a Kickstarter. It kind of makes sense, but if you don't want to pay it, wait. There will be an offering for just the disc. I'd bet they're certainly going to need to sell more than 1000 copies to make this profitable.

[AndyDursin]

Ignite's email confirms there's a standard release coming in the US, as well as in the UK which Arrow will distribute locally. Sounds like it will be the exact same disc.

[The] pre-order is limited to US customers only. For everyone else, you’ll be able to place your (pre-)orders in the summer, ahead of the official worldwide release this fall. For our friends in the UK -- you can order your copy from our partner Arrow Video, who will be releasing the same edition.