Synapse Films

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MichaelB
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Re: Synapse Films

#251 Post by MichaelB » Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:41 pm

black&huge wrote:Is there any confirmatiom anywhere on if David Mackenzie did the encode for the upcoming Suspiria UHD?
Given that he definitely did the BD, and he’s as knowledgeable about UHD encoding as anyone, it’s a reasonably safe bet.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#252 Post by dwk » Fri Dec 06, 2019 5:10 pm

According to Don May's Instagram, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue might be ready for pre-order next month
Our 4K restoration is still available to book theatrically (we made four 4K DCPs), and we'll be announcing our Limited Edition Steelbook (yep... we're doing one) soon. Details soon. Maybe putting up the preorder in January after the holidays... Maybe.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#253 Post by dwk » Tue Mar 17, 2020 11:34 am

From Don May's Instagram
Doing a last minute check on THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE today, while practicing #socialdistancing at home. Remember folks, during a zombie apocalypse, please remember to leash your dogs.
Image

and
Making the best of the work day, when not in the office. Still able to watch check discs. This is from our upcoming DVD and BD of Nikkatsu's LOVE HUNTER. Nikkatsu did a new HD master. It's significant in Nikkatsu's history because this film got a lot of folks involved (including the director and executives of Nikkatsu) arrested on obscenity charges. #gottakeepworking #socialdistancing
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colinr0380
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Re: Synapse Films

#254 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Mar 18, 2020 10:00 am

I'm glad that some of the Nikkatsu films are getting Blu-ray releases. The only one so far has been Fairy In A Cage and that was almost five years ago now.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#255 Post by dwk » Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:17 pm

Press Release for Love Hunter
NIKKATSU'S MOST SCANDALOUS FILM, "LOVE HUNTER", FINALLY COMES TO BLU-RAY AND DVD IN A NEW HD TRANSFER THIS JULY FROM IMPULSE PICTURES!

Like you, the team here at Impulse Pictures has been staying safe at home to help flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. As we await the reopening of our offices in Michigan and of our replicator and warehouse facilities in San Francisco we're staying anything but idle during this lock down as we've been busy at work on a slew of new releases. Our July 28, 2020 release of Nikkatsu's LOVE HUNTER is just one of the many titles we'll have in the marketplace once the teams at Synapse Films/Impulse Pictures and our distributor, CAV Distribution, can finally get back to releasing the best in cult cinema in high-quality Blu-rays. Among the additional titles nearing completion are THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE, Josh Becker's RUNNING TIME (starring Bruce Campbell), Roger Nygard's SUCKERS (starring Lori Loughlin) and Nikkatsu's STAR OF DAVID along with several others that we hope to have out before the end of 2020. But in the meantime...

There are controversial movies, and then there's LOVE HUNTER. You may not have heard of it, but it was a cause célèbre upon its release in Japan in early 1972 and remains an important film there for several reasons. The Impulse Pictures release is the first-ever official release of LOVE HUNTER in North America and the first time it's been made available on Blu-ray anywhere in the world!

Twenty-year-old Kazuo is in love with his college girlfriend, Hisako, but he can’t help but be intrigued by a mysterious older woman named Kyoku, a promiscuous woman unsatisfied with her marriage. As time goes on, both Kazuo and Hisako are pulled into the seemingly rules free, borderless world of Kyoku – with all of its many pains and pleasures.

LOVE HUNTER is a landmark film in Nikkatsu’s history. Not only is it one of their earliest “Roman Porno” erotic productions, but it was so controversial for the time that director Yamaguchi and some executives of Nikkatsu Films were arrested. Employees of Eirin, the Japanese equivalent of the MPAA, were even indicted for allowing the release of this film! It took eight long years for all to be acquitted of the obscenity charges. Nikkatsu Films provided Impulse Pictures with a brand-new high-definition master of this unexpected and seductive classic.

Impulse Pictures is proud to present THE NIKKATSU FILMS COLLECTION, a continuing series of critically acclaimed, classic “eroductions” designed to shock and titillate fans of Japanese erotic cinema.

Features

- Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles
- Original Theatrical Trailer

Release info and Specifications:

Director: Seiichirō Yamaguchi
Starring: Hidemi Hara, Mari Tanaka, Sumiko Minami
Runtime: 73 minutes
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Language: Japanese
Aspect Ratio: High-Definition 1080p (2.35:1) Widescreen
Audio: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono (Blu-ray) / Dolby Digital Mono (DVD)
Formats: Blu-ray and DVD
Region: Region A
Item Number: IMP0126 (Blu) / IMP0127 (DVD)
UPC: 654930112793 (Blu) / 654930112892 (DVD)
Price: $19.95
Earlier this month on his Instagram, Don May, Jr. announced that Star of David is also getting a Blu-ray release and that it will have the extras from the Eastern Star DVD.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#256 Post by dwk » Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:31 am

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue Blu-ray has been announced
THE DEAD RISE LIKE NEVER BEFORE WHEN SYNAPSE FILMS BRINGS THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE TO BLU-RAY THIS SEPTEMBER!

A 3-DISC (1 BLU-RAY, 1 DVD & 1 CD) LIMITED STEELBOOK™ EDITION OF JORGE GRAU'S HORROR CLASSIC!

ONLY 6000 UNITS PRODUCED!

“This is one of my favourite zombie films of them all;a genuinely chilling UK set horror...” – Edgar Wright. Director of BABY DRIVER and SHAUN OF THE DEAD

"[A] still-startling nightmare creation that was years ahead of its time." - Mitch Davis, Fantasia International Film Festival

With its revolutionary mix of shocking-for-its-time violence and sociopolitical themes, George A. Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead quickly proved to be enormously influential with filmmakers around the world, and few were able to match its power like Jorge Grau's THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE. Mixing a strong environmental statement with unforgettably terrifying set pieces, Grau's film stands on its own as a horror classic, and now it's been restored to its horrifying glory by Synapse Films in an exclusive new Steelbook™ release!

A strange twist of fate brings two young travelers, George (Ray Lovelock, The Cassandra Crossing) and Edna (Christine Galbo, The House That Screamed), to a small town where an experimental agricultural machine may be bringing the dead back to life! As zombies infest the area and attack the living, a bull-headed detective (Academy Award® nominee Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place) thinks the couple are Satanists responsible for the local killings. George and Edna have to fight for their lives, and prove their innocence, as they try and stop the impending zombie apocalypse!

THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie and Don’t Open the Window) is a gory horror tale from Spanish director Jorge Grau and widely considered to be one of the best zombie films ever made. Beautifully restored in 4K from the original camera negative, Synapse Films presents the film for the FIRST TIME EVER on Blu-ray with the true original English theatrical mono mix and the real opening and closing credit sequences intact.

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Exclusive new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative• New 5.1 English stereo surround remix made exclusively for the Synapse Films release

• Two audio commentaries featuring authors and film scholars Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Bruce Holecheck

• Restoration of the true original English language theatrical mono mix

• Jorge Grau - Catalonia’s Cult Film King (89 mins.) – This extensive feature-length documentary explores the life and films of director Jorge Grau (BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE)

• The Scene of the Crime - Giannetto De Rossi in Discussion from Manchester (16 Mins.) (BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE)

• Giannetto De Rossi - Q&A at the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK (43 Mins) (BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE)

• Theatrical trailer, TV spots and radio spots

• Newly translated removable English SDH subtitles

• Liner notes booklet featuring writing from Spanish film scholar, Dr. Nicholas Schlegel

• Exclusive CD soundtrack of the haunting original score by Giuliano Sorgini

• Exclusive Steelbook™ artwork by Wes Benscoter

The 6000 unit THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Steelbook™ is available exclusively through the Synapse Films website at: https://synapse-films.com/. The retail price is $49.95 ($43.95, plus $6.00 packing/handling fee) with a street date of September 1, 2020. Shipping to customers will commence on that date, or as soon as the release is received at Synapse Films. If they come earlier than the September 1 release date, they will ship to customers earlier.

The item will be billed via Paypal when the order is placed, NOT when the order is shipped.

All North American orders fulfilled and shipped via our San Francisco-based distributor, Cav Distributing Corp. For questions regarding the shipping of your order in North America, please contact CAV Distribution via this email address: morgue@cavd.com.

All international orders will be handled via the fine folks at DiabolikDVD.com (https://www.diabolikdvd.com/).

This release of THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE is REGION FREE.

Director: Jorge Grau

Starring: Ray Lovelock; Arthur Kennedy; Christine Galbo

Runtime: 93 minutes

Release Date: September 1, 2020

Language: English
MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Aspect Ratio: High-Definition 1080p (1.85:1) Widescreen (Blu)/Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) (DVD)

Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1 English Stereo Surround and Original English Mono (Blu) / Dolby Digital 5.1 English Stereo Surround and Original English Mono (DVD)

Format: Blu-ray/DVD/CD Combo

Region: 0

Item Number: SFD0198

UPC: 654930322192

Price: $49.95 ($43.95, plus $6.00 packing/handling fee)

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Cash Flagg
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Re: Synapse Films

#257 Post by Cash Flagg » Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:56 am

I’ll wait 6 months for the inevitable (and cheaper!) UHD.

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chatterjees
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Re: Synapse Films

#258 Post by chatterjees » Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:19 pm

You think there could be an UHD release for this one?

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domino harvey
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Re: Synapse Films

#259 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:49 pm

He’s just offering us a preview of every post here and on Blu-Ray.com the moment Criterion announces even one UHD

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#260 Post by dwk » Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:06 pm

Hell that is just about every post currently in the Synapse and The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue threads at Blu-ray.com.

Thing is people feel burned by BU's Zombie and Maniac UHDs coming a year after the remastered Blu-rays and The New York Ripper and House by the Cemetery UHDs coming less than a year after the remastered Blu-rays, and I get that, but if you want labels like Synapse to release UHDs you have to buy the Blu-rays because if they don't move, why would anyone expect them to shell out even more money to release them on a format that is, what 7% of the market. (Most of Synapse's releases are DVDs on their Impulse label.)

here is a quote from Synapse about the UHDs
SUSPIRIA UHD has done great, but UHD releases cost a lot more to make and take extra time to produce. We currently have a lot on our plate we need to do first before we even consider it.
Last edited by dwk on Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

black&huge
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Re: Synapse Films

#261 Post by black&huge » Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:07 pm

I actually would wait 6 months even for a standard release because I hate steelbooks.

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Cash Flagg
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Re: Synapse Films

#262 Post by Cash Flagg » Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:40 pm

My hesitation with this particular release is due almost entirely to price - I’d be more willing to double-dip (with, given the recent release pattern noted by dwk, the likelihood of a triple-dip in a relatively short period of time) if it were priced at their usual BD level. I paid under $25 each for pre-orders of the previous 4K BD reissues that were later upgraded to UHD. A $50 price-tag for a BD (deluxe though it is) when a potential UHD will be under $30 is too steep for me, even if it is for one of the few zombie films I actively enjoy.

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tenia
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Re: Synapse Films

#263 Post by tenia » Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:05 am

The issue with Synapse is that they've said so many times "we currently have no plans to re-release this in a cheaper release later", and then with Suspiria "we currently have no plans to re-release this in a UHD later", only to do it that a year later that it's likely some of their customers (most likely the ones that are following the most, since more occasional customers might not have realised that) have stopped trusting their words.
And then indeed, BU has released on BD multiple 4K restos only to re-release them some months later on UHD, which is also likely to slow down interested people in getting the BD.
domino harvey wrote:
Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:49 pm
He’s just offering us a preview of every post here and on Blu-Ray.com the moment Criterion announces even one UHD
Pretty much.

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Adam X
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Re: Synapse Films

#264 Post by Adam X » Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:30 pm

Yeah, I love what Don May Jr does, but Synapse’s constant use of the “no plans at this time” response in regard to their recent string of steelbooks > standard editions really, inevitably, leads to a lot of cynicism. I’d say it’s fairly guaranteed there’ll be a standard BD of Manchester Morgue, given that that’s been the release pattern for every one those titles. What’s more surprising is that anyone bother’s to ask anymore. A follow-up UHD release though, doesn’t seem anywhere near so certain. The film, while good, has nowhere near the level of popularity as Suspiria.

Blue Underground on the other hand have been very upfront about their current & future plans for any UHD releases since they decided to try the format out.

As for the film, I’m very much looking forward to it, and what the restoration has brough out in the cinematography. It’d be nice if there was the opportunity to see restorations like this in the cinema outside the US, that wasn’t just someone projecting the blu-ray.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#265 Post by dwk » Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:42 pm

One issue is that their social media is almost completely run by an outside firm. Rarely do either Don May, jr or Jerry Chandler post, which is why the two responses you get are "no plans at this time" or a release is "in progress." Which is why I though the post I quoted above was worth highlighting and was believable, as they do have a large number of titles (for Synapse) in the works.

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Adam X
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Re: Synapse Films

#266 Post by Adam X » Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:15 am

Oh, I know. They really need to do something about the rote response though. Given the small size of their company, any kind of negativity surrounding their releases is surely not something that’s good for them in the long run. But of course, the main reason behind their lack of online interaction is thanks to the constant negativity surrounding the release of anything from them or many other labels. You can hardly blame them, but unlike most, you do still get occasional updates & posts that are really open and informative about the work they do. Maybe that’s about the best middle ground you can hope for.
Last edited by Adam X on Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#267 Post by dwk » Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:25 am

Yeah. I guess the best way to get real information is on Don May, jr's instagram or call their office and talk to Jerry Chandler (well, call when they are back working in the office.)

It is kind of nuts that their PR people keep insisting that there are no plans for a standard release when every steelbook they've done has had one 7 to 15 months later.

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Adam X
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Re: Synapse Films

#268 Post by Adam X » Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:27 am

Unfortunately the closest I get to using social media is Letterboxd & occasionally checking public fb pages of various labels etc, so posts from people like yourself who do seem to keep on top of things are really useful.

I’d imagine in regard to the steelbook editions, they’ve found a model that works for them in regard to more quickly recouping costs for the work done for each release, and to announce upfront when a standard edition is forthcoming would be shooting themselves in the foot financially. It’s a “damned if you do..” situation, really.

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dwk
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Re: Synapse Films

#269 Post by dwk » Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:36 pm

Synapse have started shipping The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, but do not send emails when your order ships. So be sure to check your mailbox.

black&huge
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Re: Synapse Films

#270 Post by black&huge » Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:49 pm

this early? well now I'm on the verge of saying fuck it to a) the price and b) it being a steelbook.

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Re: Synapse Films

#271 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Jul 23, 2020 1:12 am

I ordered mine from DiabolikDVD, and its on the way as well.

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LemoraFan73
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Re: Synapse Films

#272 Post by LemoraFan73 » Tue Sep 01, 2020 7:58 am

I am new to this forum and wanted to reach out to fans because of my love for the cult horror film LEMORA, my top-wanted title on Blu-ray. In 2015 it was revealed on social media that Synapse Films was doing a new 4K scan of the film with the intention of releasing it on Blu-ray, and I have it on good authority that the scan was actually completed some time ago. Five years of anxiously awaiting, and now recently Synapse is asked about LEMORA's Blu whereabouts and we are getting the "no plans at this time" responses. My question is why? Why do a 4K scan and not release it? Did they lose the rights? Could it be that it has been licensed to some other label now?

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Adam X
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Re: Synapse Films

#273 Post by Adam X » Tue Sep 01, 2020 9:14 am

You seem to know pretty much all there is publicly known about the planned release. They were working on it, and now don't seem to be. If it's a licensing issue due to the time it's taken, I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere eventually, though maybe not with Don May Jr's rigorous QC if it comes from another label.

In other news, there have been recent hints that both Massacre at Central High & The Kindred will finally be seeing the light of day sometime in the relatively near future. Two more titles that have been held up for various reasons.

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Dylan
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Re: Synapse Films

#274 Post by Dylan » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:33 pm

After doing some cursory research, I'm getting the impression that Lemora's complicated distribution/ownership history might be the reason why a blu-ray release is no longer planned.

From an article on TCM's website:
The film had a disastrous audience preview ("By 1973, to do something like that with a quasi-European slant to it--it did not fulfill genre expectations at all," Blackburn later recalled) and Blackburn and Fern, unable to secure a distributor, were forced to sell off the film to pay back debts. The film subsequently went through a series of companies that released it under a variety of titles: The Legendary Curse of Lemora, Lemora - The Lady Dracula, and simply Lady Dracula.
The Wikipedia entry provides more details:
Lemora had its premiere in Claremont, California on April 30, 1973 at the Garrison Theater on the Scripps College campus. The audience response at this screening was allegedly so poor that Fern and Blackburn quickly sought to sell the film and recoup part of the money spent to produce it. It was subsequently released in 1974 after being purchased by Media Cinema Group, who cut the film from 118 minutes to 80 minutes. It received screenings through Media Cinema Group at drive-in theaters and local cinemas in the United States, opening in December 1974.
A hopeful scenario is that the 118-minute version was discovered and that's what has held back a release, but it seems more likely that there are newly-surfaced legal issues relating to the multiple companies that distributed Lemora after it was sold. Actually, considering all of this it's a miracle that the 2004 DVD was possible. Whatever the issue is, hopefully it gets sorted out at some point. I remember really liking this film and while the 2004 DVD actually looked very good, a 4k restoration would be stunning. Also, it would be a good opportunity to produce a bonus feature about Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith's interesting life and career.

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LemoraFan73
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Re: Synapse Films

#275 Post by LemoraFan73 » Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:01 pm

I thought that the 118 minute version was just a rumor?

When Synapse released the film on DVD in 2004, they were dealing with LEMORA director Richard Blackburn and producer Richard Fern, who were the team behind the production and own the movie outright. Media Cinema Group was a small distributor in the 1970's who gave the film its widest theatrical release. Ironically, the only other two movies they released - THE SEVERED ARM and THE KILLING KIND - have been released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome and looking great I might add.

So a complicated distribution history is the reason this hasn't been released on Blu-ray after a 4K scan has been completed? Doubtful.

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