«

Black Locust wrote:
>
> In article <310820031220225669%>,
> Max Volume <> wrote:
>
> > Hell no! Anchor Bay is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Netflix
> > foisted the "Anchor Bay" release of Time Bandits on me, and it was more
> > "bare bones" than the standard version you'd find at retail.
> >
> > Think of Anchor Bay as store-brand soda -- the package may look
> > similar, but it's a poor copy of the original.
>
> That's a bit harsh. AB has a pretty mixed track record, but they're in
> no way at the opposite end of the spectrum. For a big horror fan like
> myself, AB are still a wet dream come true. Their new Divimax version of
> Day of the Dead kicks the **** out of the old bare bones version. One of
> my favorite vampire flicks, Near Dark(very underrated gem) may have
> never even been released on DVD if it wasn't for them. And they gave it
> a two disc treatment with a great transfer, director commentary, a brand
> new 47 minute documentary, a deleted scene, trailers, storyboards and
> galleries. How is that a poor copy of the original? We should be
> thankful Anchor Bay is around to reissue rare, cult classics on DVD that
> might not othewise ever see the light of day. Don't let a blooper like
> Time Bandits shape your opinion of AB's entire catalog.


Preach on.
Besides, Anchor Bay release be releaseing a Divimax version of Time
Bandits...


>
> Perhaps Blue Underground will eventually take Anchor Bay's crown as the
> best studio for cult rarities on DVD, but for now AB is king...
> --
> BL

In article <310820031220225669%>,
Max Volume <> wrote:

> Hell no! Anchor Bay is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Netflix
> foisted the "Anchor Bay" release of Time Bandits on me, and it was more
> "bare bones" than the standard version you'd find at retail.
>
> Think of Anchor Bay as store-brand soda -- the package may look
> similar, but it's a poor copy of the original.

That's a bit harsh. AB has a pretty mixed track record, but they're in
no way at the opposite end of the spectrum. For a big horror fan like
myself, AB are still a wet dream come true. Their new Divimax version of
Day of the Dead kicks the **** out of the old bare bones version. One of
my favorite vampire flicks, Near Dark(very underrated gem) may have
never even been released on DVD if it wasn't for them. And they gave it
a two disc treatment with a great transfer, director commentary, a brand
new 47 minute documentary, a deleted scene, trailers, storyboards and
galleries. How is that a poor copy of the original? We should be
thankful Anchor Bay is around to reissue rare, cult classics on DVD that
might not othewise ever see the light of day. Don't let a blooper like
Time Bandits shape your opinion of AB's entire catalog.

Perhaps Blue Underground will eventually take Anchor Bay's crown as the
best studio for cult rarities on DVD, but for now AB is king...
--
BL

In article <bl2112->, Black
Locust <> wrote:

> Don't let a blooper like
> Time Bandits shape your opinion of AB's entire catalog.

Well, they don't seem to handle the kind of fare I'm interested in, but
I'll keep an eye out for their stuff. Blood-sucking zombies aren't my
kind of thing, but I'm all about having a bunch of extras, and if
no-one else is offering certain titles on DVD, of course that's another
tale entirely.

In article <>, Arthur Lipscomb
<> wrote:

> Besides, Anchor Bay release be releaseing a Divimax version of Time
> Bandits...

Divimax? Hmm, sounds too much like DIVX (or DivX) to me. What exactly
is this supposed to offer, and in what way would this be desirable
considering there is already a Criterion edition?

Max Volume wrote:
>
> In article <>, Arthur Lipscomb
> <> wrote:
>
> > Besides, Anchor Bay release be releaseing a Divimax version of Time
> > Bandits...
>
> Divimax? Hmm, sounds too much like DIVX (or DivX) to me. What exactly
> is this supposed to offer, and in what way would this be desirable
> considering there is already a Criterion edition?


From DavisDVD:
"The two-disc Time Bandits will feature a brand-new DiviMax anamorphic
transfer, new interviews with Gilliam and writer/star Michael Palin,
trailers, the screenplay and a 60-minute Gilliam career retrospective."

Max Volume <> wrote in message news:<010920030244311540%>...
> In article <>, Arthur Lipscomb
> <> wrote:
>
> > Besides, Anchor Bay release be releaseing a Divimax version of Time
> > Bandits...
>
> Divimax? Hmm, sounds too much like DIVX (or DivX) to me. What exactly
> is this supposed to offer, and in what way would this be desirable
> considering there is already a Criterion edition?

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, if it's like the R2 release it
would be anamorphic, with more extras than the (dare I say it)
overpriced Criterion release. AB had a revised Time Bandits on their
release schedule earlier this year and then postponed it. I guess
they had other plans for it.

But what exactly is a "Divimax version"? It DOES sound too much like
DivX. . .

(dougb) wrote in message news:<. com>...

> But what exactly is a "Divimax version"? It DOES sound too much like
> DivX. . .

Answering my own question, it's some transfer process from hi-def
masters that AB has used on a few earlier titles as well. "Time
Bandits" is listed on their website as coming in a 2-disc special
edition in Spring 2004. I hope it has at least all the stuff on the
R2 disc +++++.

In article < >,
(dougb) wrote:

> But what exactly is a "Divimax version"? It DOES sound too much like
> DivX. . .

It stands for "Digital Video to the Max." I don't know much about it,
but I can only assume it's something similar to a Superbit DVD.
--
BL

In article <bl2112->, Black Locust
<> wrote:

> It stands for "Digital Video to the Max."

Oh, great. You know, there are SOME things from the '80s we'd prefer
not to re-live. I mean, like, gag me with a spoon...

In article <>, Arthur Lipscomb
<> wrote:

> From DavisDVD:
> "The two-disc Time Bandits will feature a brand-new DiviMax anamorphic
> transfer, new interviews with Gilliam and writer/star Michael Palin,
> trailers, the screenplay and a 60-minute Gilliam career retrospective."

Great, I'll be looking for it. I'll still probably pick up the
Criterion version, though.

I can't say I agree with the comment that Criterion discs are
overpriced, because although it is a little odd paying $39.99 for a
single disc (Monty Python's "Life of Brian"), they did manage to
squeeze a lot on that disc, and the "Pythons" documentary is worth the
price all by itself. Such a shame that the bloated "Fear And Loathing
In Las Vegas" set is actually cheaper than the single-disc "...Brian",
though.