Blu perfection?

Topic: Blu Perfection? Maybe be happy for what you have?

Now i`m not old enough to remember a time before VHS. Back when I was discovering the glory of horror/cult and later indies there was maybe one or two companies releasing stuff like "The Evil Dead" "The Wicker Man" etc. The two companies that were doing right by the ever demanding market was "Something Weird Video" and "Anchor Bay" both were paramount and ahead of its time in terms of giving fans what they wanted and helping budding fiends like myself to discover new gooey treasures. However Anchor Bay introduced the concept of a deluxe edition with special packaging, loads of extras etc. Its something that blew fans heads apart. I don't think its a stretch to say without these releasing companies there would be no "Scream Factory" etc.

Today fans have an ever expanding selection of titles from main stream to obscure trashy treasures and everything in between. I`ve said it a million times its a great time to be a fan of these films.Yet it seems like there is a group of "fans" that take an extreme pleasure in shitting on releases without giving them the proper respect they deserve.

Trolls and the Internet: We all know the internet is a great place for faceless pimpled ass hats called Trolls to anonymously bag on everything because when you cant create you need to judge, right? So its not hard to believe that trolls take to the internet and bitch and cry and pick apart every blu release that isn't pristine 4k with tons of features. Its good to have high standards but impossible ones is another thing all together.

Scream Factory and Code Red: A Double standard?
Since its creation Scream Factory a sub group of "Shout Factory" has been bringing gems back from the dead looking better than ever. Not only do they put time and effort into there packaging, employing talented artists to do new artwork (something even Anchor Bay never did) but they pack there films in the gills with extras. Yet this company is the one that gets picked on the most when it comes to how it looks and god forbid something has a compression issue.

A perfect example of rabid fans attacking S.F was with the long awaited "Dog Solider" release. Fans of the Neil Marshall werewolf film had to wait a whole year longer as it was pushed back. S.F did so because it wanted to really give this release the best treatment it could. So when it was finally released fans were crying that the print wasn't new and Neil Marshall tweaked some color in the film. It got so bad Marshall himself took the time to tell these over zealous fans that the print they used was the best possible and part of the delay was to try and discover a new print. It was classy on Neil's part to try and sooth the butt hurt uber fans. It was something he didn't have to do but did anyways.

Because S.F is king of the hill people might just have higher expectations from them and hence why they get more closely watched and judged. They have the kind of spirit that AB did back in there hay day and its always awesome to see what there going to release next.

Code Red on the other head has a) crappy recycled artwork b)little to no features and worse yet the prints are HORRIBLE...Point in case Just Before Dawn...I`ve seen VHS copies that had less scratches noise etc. They also are horrible to deal with direct and there "limited" editions get re printed even after they go OOP. Bad prints aside I think the worst thing about Code Red is the high price for little bang and rabid "Fans" who drive the prices up so you`ll end up paying sometimes 60-70 bucks for a crappy blu ray. (For those of you how like C.R that's fine, its the people who drive up the prices that I have a problem with.) Yet I hardly hear anything bad about them. I`ve talked to hardcore collectors and I ask them why they love this company, the only real answer I got was simply they like the films they release. Sorry but even though I like something like "Neon Manics" i`m not paying 50 plus for a few frills bad print blu. It seems like C.R gets a free pass on there sloppy releases yet S.F gets picked to death and they are and always will be the best company around.

Status Symbols: Having a certain C.R title or Twilight Time release is only a status symbol for certain collectors. Bragging rights if you will. I dont collect for these reasons. I buy a movie because I love it and i`ll watch it, not keep it MIP so I can brag to other collectors. Movies were made to be watched and enjoyed. These "collectors" are ruining the market and driving up prices so regular fans can't afford certain titles.


Judging pre-releases: yes its a thing:
I went on Amazon to check out the latest Hammer Horror collection blu to be released by Warner just in time for Halloween. Shocked but not overly surprised to see that fans were already judging a product that had yet to be released. Um.what? First off I dont know why Amazon allows comments on items that are yet to be released.  People were bitching about the price (which for a boxset is reasonable) and the choice of films. I`m just glad to see these titles being released yet Sadly this pre-release bitch fest is not uncommon and I dont see the need for it. Pre-judging is probably the stupidest thing you could spend your time doing. Its pure Troll activity.

Final Thoughts: Ok i`m going to spare you the old "back in my day...." bit because i`m not that old (haha) but I look back and think how even back when i started buying movie with few choices as a collector I still loved them even if they weren't the greatest prints etc. Hell I even have some VHS from my the Anchor Bay days. Who wouldn't want to keep there "Halloween" orange VHS with snow globe am I right?

So before you whine and cry take a moment and just be happy to live in a time where you can buy all these films without even leaving your house or hell getting dressed for that matter. I never once bought a movie cause of bragging rights or to stash it away as some kind of investment. I just love movies, watching them, talking about them etc. Also...keep in mind these releases just don't magically appear, they take many months of hard hard work and planning the interviews commentaries etc. I dont think people give the proper respect to the hard working people that bring fans the best in high  def releases. Before you judge maybe think about a time before all these companies when choices were slim and you god forbid actual had to go to a video store to obtain them.

Thanks for reading and letting me be frank about this issue. As always I try to make these thought provoking and i`m always honest in my feelings. Fans of Code Red, its nothing personal I just dont like that company and what they stand for.