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Ken Crane's Laser Lounge... A Thread for Laserdisc Fanatics...

post #1 of 147
2/6/03 at 11:56pm
Thread Starter 
Finally. A place for all of us elitist pricks who were privileged enough to have these large format shiny discs.

No longer will we be forced to hijack threads on DVDs. Here's the place where we can come swap stories, brag about new acquisitions, keep up-to-date collection lists, and bitch about how much better LD Special Editions were.

Anyway as promised in The Transporter thread...

Django's Laserdiscs...

UPDATED - 2/13

- 1941 (CE CAV Box)
- The Abyss (SE Box)
- Alien (CAV SE Box)
- Aliens (CAV SE Box)
- Army of Darkness
- Assault On Precinct 13
- Bad Channels
- Big Trouble In Little China
- Blade Runner (Criterion)
- Burning Paradise (Import) - NEW!
- Captain Supermarket (Japanese AOD)
- Castle Freak (Unrated)
- Cemetery Man
- Clerks
- Con Air
- Congo
- The Crow
- Darkman
- Darkman 2: The Return of Durant
- Dawn of the Dead (Elite CAV SE Box)
- Doctor Mordrid
- Elm Street: The Making of a Nightmare (making of Part 4) - NEW!
- The Empire Strikes Back (CAV Definitive SE Box)
- Escape From L.A.
- E.T. (Deluxe CE Box)
- Evil Dead 2 (Elite)
- The Ewok Adventure
- Fire In The Sky
- Flash Gordon
- The Fog
- From Dusk Till Dawn (CE)
- Full Contact
- Halloween (Criterion CAV)
- Hard Boiled (Pioneer Japan release...no subs!)
- Hard Target
- Hard To Hold
- Highlander (SE)
- Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
- In The Mouth of Madness
- Intruder
- I Spit On Your Grave (Elite)
- The Killer (Criterion CAV)
- Knightriders
- The Land Before Time
- Last Hurrah For Chivalry
- The Last of the Mohicans
- The Last Starfighter (CE)
- Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3
- Maniac Cop
- Maverick
- Monolith
- Monty Python's Life of Brian (Criterion)
- My Science Project
- Netherworld
- Nightmare Before Christmas (CAV SE Box)
- Nightmare On Elm Street (Elite CAV SE)
- Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Elite)
- Phantasm (LTD. Sig Box)
- The Phantom
- Prom Night 3: The Last Kiss
- Puppet Master - NEW![/i]
- Re-Animator (Elite)
- The Replacement Killers
- Return of the Jedi (CAV Definitive SE Box)
- Return to Two-Moon Junction (Unrated)
- The Rocketeer (CAV)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (CAV SE Box)
- Shadowzone - NEW!
- Spaced Invaders
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
- Starship Troopers
- Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
- Star Wars (CAV Definitive SE Box)
- Strange Brew
- Streets of Fire
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (SE LTD Box)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (Elite)
- They Live
- The Thing (CE)
- Trancers II
- Trancers III
- Tremors (CE)
- TRON (CAV CE Box)
- Twilight of the Cockroaches
- Twister
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (CAV)
- The XYZ Murders aka Crimewave (Japanese Import)

Just picked up Robot Wars, Demonic Toys, and Trancers 5 off Ebay.

I'm on a Full Moon kick as you can see.

Anybody else care to hang out here...
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post #2 of 147
2/7/03 at 12:10am
I miss the LD rental stores near my neighborhood. Where I could rent a few platters, and they would put it inside a pizza carton for me to take home. Where I could chat with the lone store clerk about geek shit, True Romance style. Plus, lots of expensive HK/Japanese/European LDs copied over into VHS. No worries about Regional Coding, bad pixillations, and whatnot...

Times were more simple, more innocent back then. DVDs have spoiled me rotten. I recently picked up an Anamorphic Widescreen <strong>State of Grace</strong> DVD for 9.99, but still haven't watched it yet. Whereas the P&S Image LD (bought for $45 in 1991), I've watched dozens of times.

Damn, I wish I was a student again so I can catch up on my DVDs.
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post #3 of 147
2/7/03 at 12:13am
Thread Starter 
Had a place like that. LaserMax.

John Woo used to rent his discs there when he FIRST came to the states. Never believed the guy...I mean...shit, JOHN WOO in Cerritos, Cali?...until he not only showed me a dozen copies of The Killer and Hard-Boiled that he signed...but a picture of him signing them too.

I truly miss that place. My love of HK cinema was born there...
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post #4 of 147
2/7/03 at 12:27am
I think Chow Yun Fat had a place like that near Century City where he used to rent his laserdiscs too, if I remember my Giant Robot magazine correctly.

I know a lot of these great laser places bit the dust since DVD blew up. I miss the old Ken Cranes sometimes, and walking out with that big old plastic bag with the over-priced Tai Seng discs.

And until MGM finally releases <strong>Double Edge (aka American Dragons)</strong> on DVD, I'll be keeping my laser collection, thank ya very much.
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post #5 of 147
2/7/03 at 1:39am
Thread Starter 
Indeed. It was great to walk out of KC with a Blue Bag of Goodness. Greatest story I have was when I blew $400 large from my graduation fund on a shopping spree.

The other thing that I miss of which I'm reminded of thanks to the above train of thought is how much more in meant when a LD Special Edition came out. How much more satisfying getting them were.

Like the time I dashed out of classic early during college so my friend Yin Roy and I could zip out to KCs in time to score the limited Phantasm set.

Only to get there and see that the CAV TRON SE and Re-Animator came out the same day. The frantic rush back home to grab more cash.

It was actually FUN to buy LDs.

And because of the expense...you felt compelled to watch them as soon as you got home. They didn't sit on the shelf unwatched for months or years.

When was the last time a DVD actually, truly meant anything? Maybe LOTR for some. It's been years for me.

I mean sure...things are out on DVD that would have NEVER been done right on LD. But DVD has never been as much fun.

I've never thrown all-night CELEBRATE THE LOVE style shindigs over DVDs. When someone got something on LD...it was like that scene in Sixteen Candles where Anthony Michael Hall had Molly Ringwald's panties. Everyone was in awe and always wanted to touch it.

Oh well.

At least I got to shop for LDs with HAM before the format died...
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post #6 of 147
2/7/03 at 3:45am
Anyone who actually admits to owning Monolith (on laser no less) has got balls of steel. I had thought about starting a thread like this ever since the transporter discussion but I see Django beat me to it. It's always good to shoot the breeze with fellow laser addicts. I think this could work well as a forum for collector's to buy, sell, and trade discs. Anyone trying to sell any cool discs at reasonable prices?
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post #7 of 147
2/7/03 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
Sell my collection? Are you mad?

Jesus, I love Ebay. Truly. I HEART! the place. Where else could you find a mint copy of Seedpeople for less than a rental at Blockbuster?

One thing I do not care for though are LDs without any chapter stops. I'm doing a lot of work with Full Moon titles currently and none of those badboys...

...or should it be badtoys...

...have any. Pain in my ass.

Other than that...
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post #8 of 147
2/7/03 at 3:15pm
I remember doing a little research (that one could in the prehistoric days before internet) through the few Laser publications, and stumbling on Ken Cranes. THey sent me a catalog, and they had advertised deals on laserdiscs. 50% off Batman ($19.95). Fuck the movie sucked, but at that price... (I was 15).

There were exactly two places in Portland to rent laserdiscs. Captian Video (where I bought my first player and the ultra cheap $24.95 Leathal Weapon 2) and Trilogy. THe first titles I rented were the criterion editions of Blade Runner and The Graduate.

Never have I annoyed anyone more than when I kept calling, and calling, and calling Trilogy when the Aliens box set came out. That was the holy grail laser box set.

I worked at Wendy's to save up enough money to buy the Star Wars Definitive edition. In it's time it was the benchmark of quality. I plunked down $250 large (the most money I had ever held in my hand at that point) and skipped school to dig in.

More later.
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post #9 of 147
2/7/03 at 3:52pm
I plunked down $115 at Torrance CA's Tower Records for the Criterion CAV LD of The Killer on a Friday morning after class.

I was pretty much shut in inside my apartment the rest of the day, came out Saturday for some fresh air.

That cover art is grindhouse perfection.
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post #10 of 147
2/7/03 at 4:08pm
There used to be a booklet that came out higlighting upcomming titles (I want to say ti was pioneer, but I can't remember) every new issue was to be what leg world would be to others: fetish pornography. I remember seeing the announcement for Brazil and the Killer, and Robocop and Dead Ringers, and the 50th Anniversary of Citizen Kane, and Little Big Man, and Scarface (WS), and...
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post #11 of 147
2/7/03 at 4:50pm
I used to get those in the mail every month, and KC also had them on display to "Take One Free", which of course meant for me to take 2 or 3 (just in case).

Remember Pond Scum by any chance?
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post #12 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:02pm
Man, I love reading this stuff, and the closest I ever got to laserdiscs was flipping through them at Suncoast and thinking, "Someday, I'll have these cool things instead of tapes." I couldn't even find a place to buy a player, though.

Sorry I can't add much. I'd love to see some cover art. If anyone wants to post some, I'd be appreciative.
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post #13 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:17pm
So which color face plate did you get when you bought the T2 box? I went with the blue one.

I'll never forget plopping down full price for that Star Wars box. Christ, that was a 2 week paycheck...

When I worked there, I used to pilfer my old Blockbuster for used laserdiscs. Take 'em out of rental and mark 'em down to five bucks.

It was bittersweet when RPM Records here in Dallas liquidated their lasers. I came away with some good shit pretty cheap from that place.

Think I'm gonna roll on over to Movie Trading Company and buy a copy of True Lies...
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post #14 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:23pm
Another thing I appreciated about laserdisc, they didn't do this "double dip" nonsense that happens with DVD lately.
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post #15 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:30pm
I'm with Russ and Kirby. It really is great stuff to read.

It puts a very interesting perspective on DVD, too.
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post #16 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:33pm
Quote:
Tony Bag o'donuts:
Another thing I appreciated about laserdisc, they didn't do this "double dip" nonsense that happens with DVD lately.
Two words: Signature editions

Khitch I don't know Pond Scum.

More: I used to be in tight with a guy who a Tower. I think what broke the ice is that I bought both the Import copies of Blue Velvet and Eraserhead. He, in fact, had all the import boxes of the Twin Peaks stuff. So I'd go to a sued store, buy something and return to get trade. So I was able to get the Jaws CAV box set for about $50 instead of $125. Or have the Nightmare on Elm St. set long enough to record everything off of it. Or Dead Ringers CAV (retail $100) for about $20.
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post #17 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:33pm
Russ, this is the cover art they used for The Killer Criterion CAV LD. I also have the poster, a gift from my ex-gf.

<a href="http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=584632&item=2256&cat=1011981" target="_blank">http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=584632&item=2256&cat=1011981</a>

(In hindsight, I had some truly kickass ex-girlfriends)
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post #18 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:33pm
Quote:
Originally posted by: Tony Bag o'donuts
Another thing I appreciated about laserdisc, they didn't do this "double dip" nonsense that happens with DVD lately.
I wish this statement were true. But it isn't, a ton of laseridisc titles got double dipped. The difference being that they didn't get double dipped in a span of 1-3 years, however. During the last and best years of laser (95-99) a lot of stuff got re-released in re-mastered versions.
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post #19 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:38pm
Quote:
khitcher:
Russ, this is the cover art they used for The Killer Criterion CAV LD. I also have the poster, a gift from my ex-gf.

<a href="http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=584632&item=2256&cat=1011981" target="_blank">http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=584632&item=2256&cat=1011981</a>

(In hindsight, I had some truly kickass ex-girlfriends)
Nice. Very nice. I'd guess that there's no DVD edition of the film with that cover art. With laserdiscs, I think studios knew they were selling only to the hardcore fans, and not to everybody who walks into Target, so they didn't feel the need to dilute the cover art.
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post #20 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:40pm
Dre, Pond Scum was one of the dozens of LD newsletters I had subscribed to at least one time or another. They had some coverage of HK and Japanese LDs, so I have a particularly fond memory of them. Tower Records used to stock their newsstands with some of the most obscure fanzines and periodicals related to the medium.

Where I also fell in love with Video Watchdog, Asian Cult Cinema (back then, known as Asian Trash Cinema, sister mag to European Trash Cinema), Damon Foster's kickass Oriental Cinema, Cineraider, and countless others.
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post #21 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:41pm
The extras were worth it. Beats having a newer version of The Matrix with piddly preview footage of the sequels, or 5 versions of the same flick, thank you Anchor Bay.
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post #22 of 147
2/7/03 at 5:44pm
Russ, exactamundo. LD studios/manufacturers didn't opt for the Big Heads cover everyone uses these days. Another reason I love LDs. Authentic poster art on their covers.
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post #23 of 147
2/7/03 at 7:36pm
VW turned me on to the Japanese import of Cemetery Man (AKA Dellamorte Dellamorte) which was actually letterboxed (unlike the domestic release). On a pillgramage to Seattle's Scarecrow video with a group of my fellow video store employees, I found the disc when we were checking out their video and laserdisc section. I'd be lying if I didn't almost shoot a load looking at the import copies of Stop Making Sense, the uncut Until the End of hthe World, the Planet of the Apes box set (fucking awesome) El Topo, box sets of horror films and all the fucking Godzilla box sets. But getting that Cememteryt Man was the main gem of my collection.

In terms of imports I had a bunch form time to time, The Dune Box set was mine for a while. The king was the director's cut of Leon, though. The Japanese Hard Boiled (which Dj also has), Ed Wood (which had the black cover, which is better than the American version), and the Mad Max box set. Also towards the end between Elite and Criterion, most of the great cult films were starting to be released in SE's. A CD Warehouse opened downtown and they had the largest Criterion collection I've ever seen, stuff that I had waiting (literally) years to see. Children of Paradise, Beauty and the Beast, Blood of a Poet, and many more. In fact they had a bad habit of putting stuff otu early, which let me watch the Criterion Pulp Fiction before it streeted.
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post #24 of 147
2/7/03 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 
Those 'Preview' catalogues where issued by IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT...which would explain why they always came with Ken Crane shipments.

I remember back when the end of the month brought a giddy fit akin to a wanker drooling in anticipation of the new issue of Playboy. And it might as well had been porno as I certainly treated it as such.

Two places in the quad cities carried them. Suncoast in the Lakewood Mall and Tower on the Lakewood/Cerritos border strip. It would get to the point where I could think of nothing else everytime I drove past either place.

And when I would get them...I'd stumble around the mall or thru the border strip cinema (Plaza 6...now a Bollywood theater...) thumbing thru it and shouting out whatever cool finds where inside.

I once caused the sandwich makers at Subway to drop a party sub from...

"Holy Fuck! Criterion's doing Halloween...WITH COMMENTARY!"

I still have several issues. Like the Beauty and the Beast cover which announced The Star Wars DC box...and the Snow White one which had an exclusive interview with John Carpenter to tie in with the release of EFNY:SE.

The only other rag which was important to me at the time was the good old LASERDISC NEWSLETTER. I'd buy them at Tower and spend days going thru them...checking what was cool and what wasn't.

That's where I first heard the phrase "...as all get out..." Something about it died when DVD came out. It just wasn't the same. Geez, wonder why.

Oh...another thing that cracks me up about the old Image Catalogues where when they started slapping those tiny "ONLY ON LASERDISC!" logos on titles. That and their anti-DVD stance used to give me cause to celebrate. To fight the power.

Makes as much sense as Kevin Smith uttering "Hi, I'm Kevin Smith...and FUCK DVD!" on the laserdisc era recorded commentary to Criterion's Chasing Amy disc.

Tony BOD...I have the "gold" plated one.

And...yes, they "Double Dipped" lasers. Only instead of just some stupid tie-in for the over-blown sequel, they actually meant something.

Most times if a title was re-done, it would mean that it was coming back as a remastered special edition...with genuine extras and improved picture. They would also re-issue some titles as letterboxed for the first time.

I have a ton of "DD" titles...Evil Dead 2 (old Vestron and Elite), Last Starfighter (P/S and CE), Darkman (P/S and LTBX), The Thing (LTBX and CE)...actually I see a patern here.

In the circles I ran with...you were God of Geeks if you had anything Criterion. The more...the greater the position. And the same goes for Import titles. Even the cats at KC would look in awe as you slapped down a hundred or more for crap like Sam Raimi's Crimewave or the Japanese box of SeaQuest episodes.

And let's not speak of the Holy Grail of Japanese Imports...The Pioneer Hard-Boiled.

First issue of Video Watchdog I picked up was covering The James Cameron Special Laserdisc Editions. At the time, Aliens SE CAV and the CAV general release version of T2 had hit. But I didn't get hooked until their coverage of The Star Wars Definitive Edition box.

Three things were must haves for LD-Heads.

Image's Previews.

The Laserdisc Newsletter.

And Video Watchdog.

They were cool. They made us cool. Together we were badass.

What were your FIRST discs?
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post #25 of 147
2/7/03 at 9:31pm
My first - The Hunt For Red October (29.99)

My most recent - Streetfighter Universal Signature Collection (6.99)

Bought at Ken Cranes, now DVD Planet.
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post #26 of 147
2/7/03 at 9:59pm
My semi-annual trips to Japan (my parents lived there) while I was in college always yielded some choice LDs from a downtown Shibuya store.

And keep in mind, like most Japanese curio shops, this place was maybe 500 square feet total (less than 1/10 the size of KC). I think they stocked close to 10,000 discs, from all over the world. You guys would have loved it there, I'm sure. I would browse thru their selections for hours.

My purchases yielded:

Hard-boiled
A Better Tomorrow
Armor of God (with an awesome English dub)
Armor of God 2
Pulp Fiction
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

I was tempted to buy the uncut Make Them Die Slowly LD based on its rep, but opted not to. Years later, thru Netflix I finally saw it, and was relieved I didn't shell out close to $100 for it.

But the LTBX God of Gamblers, I'm still kicking myself for not snatching it up.
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post #27 of 147
2/7/03 at 10:42pm
Thread Starter 
I think I have a dub of that on video.

ANOTHER plus...you can copy them. Easily.

My first discs...bought before I had the player...were Aliens SE, Evil Dead 2, and The Last Starfighter.

Suncoast. $99.99, $34.99, and $34.99.

My last...or latest...was The Towering Inferno.

Ebay. $11.50.
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post #28 of 147
2/7/03 at 11:33pm
I kind of miss the days of laser. First one I bought was VIVA LAS VEGAS, it was so cool to have it letterboxed. THen the Criterion FISHER KING, the first with a commentary. It was nice to have something everybody else didn't have, DVD has made this stuff kind of common(but I still love it). THe suppliment in CAV were better than DVD though. I can never read anything like scripts or essays on DVD, and photos don't look nearly as good.
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post #29 of 147
2/8/03 at 1:03am
As you can see above, Django, we're in total agreement on the "double-dipping" lasers vs DVD.

My first disc was Die Hard remastered, $49.95. Same time I got my surround sound too. I used to show off the elevator explosion to all my friends and family. My next was the Criterion of Seven, $124.99.

That's right on about Criterion. They were considered extra special in that era, even more so than they are now, if only 'cause every other DVD has extras on it now.

And do DVD's have anything that matches the Evil Dead 2 blood red disc?
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post #30 of 147
2/8/03 at 1:08am
Oh, and I just purchased True Lies and The Abyss SE box today. At first the new kid behind the counter was trying to sell them for $7.99 and $19.99, respectively.

Then the manager saw he was having trouble, came over, and told him to sell them at the clearance price of $3.99 each.

Nice.
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post #31 of 147
2/8/03 at 3:00am
My first purchase and the disc I want to be buried with is The Killer Criterion CAV. The blood red Evil Dead 2 was the shit. I wish I hadn't sold it. Sniff.
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post #32 of 147
2/8/03 at 4:23am
Quote:
Tony Bag o'donuts:
Oh, and I just purchased True Lies
Historic disc that was. First AC-3 (aka Dolby Digital) product in home entertainment.

JAWS was my first (Summer of '93)

Some of my favorites:

-THE PLAYER (Criterion)

-HALLOWEEN (Criterion)

-RAGING BULL (Criterion)

-HARD BOILED(Criterion)

-DO THE RIGHT THING (Criterion)

-ROBOCOP (Criterion)

-BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (25th Anniverary Box)

-ALIENS BOX SET

-SW TRILOGY (Definitive Collection)

-AMERICAN GRAFFITI (It was an event, getting it wide screen for the first time)

-PLATOON (10th Anniversary SE)

Django is right on about laser disc shopping being fun and eventful. It was also incredibly elitist, which added to the whole experience.

I'll never sell my discs.
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post #33 of 147
2/8/03 at 6:47am
I always thought the first AC-3 disc was Clear And Present Danger. The ambush was one hell of a demo scene.
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post #34 of 147
2/8/03 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 
The Abyss had AC-3, as did The Last of the Mohicans. I believe they both were released before either True Lies or CAPD.

As for what LD had it first...whoa, that's a tough one to recall.

But something tells me The Abyss was among the first.

One of the great moments in geek history...even better than the overrated Rappin' Shatner coda...was in Free Enterprise when they went LD shoppin'. That sequence...from the visit to Toys R Us and Toy Run, to the LD Run, and basking in the glory of their purchases sums up The Geek Life better than anything before or since.

Kevin Smith...has nothing on that. Sega is not in the same league.

The Blood Red ED 2 SE disc was cool...unless you were one of the poor saps whose equipment was too old to play it.

Remember in postcard insert warning you, the new owner of an OPENED LD, of this?

Elite had many great moments. But their best work may have been Elm St. or the CAV Dawn of the Dead box.

Anyone besides me ever sick around thru the end credits on that and see the weird ass coda in the buddist temple?
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post #35 of 147
2/8/03 at 4:25pm
Hell ya, Dj. I wanna say that disc came out around Christmas, and I got spend some time with it one holiday season. It was awesome, though when Romero says stuff like "Well, this is a bit much, was this in the.." it was a bit jarring. But that box put the film in perspective. I used ot have dreams, dreams, about flipping through laserdiscs. I still have my technique down and everything.

As for the laser publications, my Tower always had Laserscene Monthly. In the back they'd list what might be coming. Again, the network to find out what people like Criterion were working on was non existent. It (and to a lesser extent Pulse, the Tower Magazine) would undoubtedly bring a gem to the fore. Just as The Laserdisc Newsletter would have their little gossip column.

The wait from when I first saw an ad for Brazil to it's actual release was (I believe) about four years. The Killers was less, that was about a year.
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post #36 of 147
2/8/03 at 4:32pm
I don't really belong here since I never owned a LD myself, but a cousin of mine had one and every time we visited him, he'd show us his collection a bit, and would often invite us to watch a movie. Hence me experiecing "Marked for Death" in glorious surround and with perfect picture quality.

Anyway, great thread guys, a really good read.
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post #37 of 147
2/8/03 at 4:37pm
Marked For Death, the quintessential Seagal flick. I used to have that on LD also. Shame it wasn't widescreen.
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post #38 of 147
2/8/03 at 4:43pm
I remember that Evil Dead 2 insert as well. I have one in the Die Hard set that corrects the mistake of listing Reginald Veljohnson as "tv's Roc".

I need to put my list up here soon...
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post #39 of 147
2/8/03 at 5:10pm
There was also an insert that said there was only analog audio for the first few seconds of the supplemental behind the scenes video. I remember.
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post #40 of 147
2/8/03 at 7:59pm
Quote:
ShogunAssassin:
I always thought the first AC-3 disc was Clear And Present Danger.
You're right, my bad. It came out January 1995, just before TRUE LIES.

My discs:

The Abyss (Box set)
The Adventures Of Robin Hood
After Hours
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Alien (Box)
Aliens (Box)
All The President's Men
Amadeus
American Graffiti
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Army Of Darkness
Assault On Precinct 13
Back To The Future
Bad Lieutenant
Barton Fink
Basic Instinct (Spec.Edition)
The Beguiled
Blade Runner (Criterion)
Blue Velvet
Bonnie And Clyde
Born On The 4th Of July
Bram Stoker's Dracula (Spec.Edition)
Braveheart
Bridge On The River Kwai
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (Box)
Casablanca
Casino
Citizen Kane
Clockwork Orange
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Criterion)
The Conversation
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover
Crimes And Misdemeanors
Dawn Of The Dead (Box)
Dirty Harry
Do The Right Thing (Criterion)
Dr. No
Dr. Strangelove
The Doors
Ed Wood
Escape From New York
E.T.
Face Off
Fargo
Flash Gordon
The French Connection
From Russia With Love
The Fugitive
Full Metal Jacket
Get Shorty
Ghostbusters(Criterion)
Glengarry Glen Ross
Godfather
Godfather Part 2
Godfather 3
Goldfinger
Gone With The Wind
Goodfellas
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
The Grifters
Halloween (Criterion)
Hard Boiled (Criterion)
A Hard Days Night (Criterion)
Heat
Henry And June
Henry:Portrait Of A Serial Killer
The Hidden Fortress (Criterion)
His Girl Friday
The Hudsucker Proxy
Husbands And Wives
The Ice Storm
Immortal Beloved
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers(original)
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers(remake)
Interview With The Vampire
It's A Wonderful Life
Jackie Brown
Jurassic Park
Jaws
Jaws (Box)
JFK
Kalifornia
King Kong (Criterion)
Last Of The Mohicans
Lawrence Of Arabia
The Maltese Falcon
Manhattan
Man Who Would Be King
M*A*S*H
Mccabe And Mrs. Miller
Mean Streets
Millers Crossing
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Natural Born Killers (Box set)
Night Of The Living Dead
North By Northwest
The Omen
Once Upon A Time In The West
Outlaw Josey Wales
Paths Of Glory
Pinocchio
Platoon(10th Anniversary SE)
The Princess Bride
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Raging Bull(Criterion)
Raising Arizona
Rear Window
Reservoir Dogs
The Right Stuff
Robocop(Criterion)
Rosemary's Baby
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler's List
The Searchers
Seven (Box set)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
Seven Samurai (Criterion)
Shallow Grave
The Shawshank Redemption
Short Cuts
The Shining
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
Some Like It Hot
Spartacus
The Spy Who Loved Me
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn
Strangers On A Train
Straw Dogs
Sudden Impact
The Sugarland Express
Superman
Superman 2
SW:The Phantom Menace (Japanese import)
SW Trilogy(Definitive Collection)
Talk Radio
Taxi Driver (Criterion)
The Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Box)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Thing
This Is Spinal Tap (Criterion)
Titanic
Total Recall
Trainspotting
True Lies
True Romance
2001
Unforgiven
The Usual Suspects
Vertigo
War Of The Roses (Box)
West Side Story
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Wizard Of Oz
The Wild Bunch
Young Sherlock Holmes
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post #41 of 147
2/8/03 at 10:12pm
Thread Starter 
What would be fun to see is if everyone who listed their lists in The Transporter thread would re-post them here...that way we could see what the DEFINTIIVE list of Chewer Approved titles are.

And Dre...I remember the old 'flipping technique.' You simply had to master one if you intended to getting thru the racks in a short hall. Because only the big wigs got thrown up on the "New Release" shelf.

Laserdisc...was our generation's records.

That Evil Dead 2 supplement...better than the Anchor Bay DVD one. The trailer actually had the title of the movie on it.

Which is another topic for further study.

Which LDs were better than their DVD counterparts?

Obviously a few spring instantly to mind.

- Jaws CE CAV (box)
- E.T. CE CAV (box)
- Elite's Nightmare On Elm Street

Shit. Even Universal's laserdisc to Flash Gordon had the trailer. And a great trailer it is.

Oh and khitcher...did you get a postcard saying that KEN CRANES/DVD PLANET has MOVED?
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post #42 of 147
2/8/03 at 10:58pm
Wow this is a way cool thread. I don't really belong here as the only LDs I owned were of the Karaoke nature. *hears crickets chirping* Still, this is a great thread. Hmm that Crimewave LD sounds mighty appealing.
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post #43 of 147
2/8/03 at 11:36pm
Thread Starter 
One downside to Japanese Import titles...

...the subtitles are BURNED IN...
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post #44 of 147
2/9/03 at 1:17am
This is probably going to be a very stupid question, but...are Laserdisc players available ANYwhere anymore? On EBAY? Any indapendant markets? Anything like that? I'm just curious. I know I'm probably shit out of luck, but a friend of mine has a LD player, and as much as I love DVD (and I do) there's something about LD that's just....pretty damn sweet. It's like vinyl vs cd I guess, ya know? Just something about those nice big records.
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post #45 of 147
2/9/03 at 1:18am
Oh yeah, and I have that poster for THE KILLER. My best bud gave it to me one day. I just realized that I don't even have it hanging up at the moment. It may be time to give my JACKIE BROWN poster a rest for a little while...I miss that KILLER poster. It's a little banged up but oooooh soooo sweet.
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post #46 of 147
2/9/03 at 4:55am
I forgot to mention another couple of LDs I have. Boyz In The Hood Criterion & the CAV Pioneer Special Edition of Natural Born Killers a set that is very superior to the dvd director's cut.
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post #47 of 147
2/9/03 at 1:08pm
Another list for scrutiny...

48 Hrs.
Abyss-WS Coll. Ed.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Adventures of Ford Fairlaine
Akira-Criterion
Aliens-THX
Aladdin-CAV
Another 48. Hrs.
Armageddon-Criterion
Amazon Women on the Moon
Assault on Precinct 13 CE
Bachelor Party
Blade Runner-’83 Embassy
Blade Runner-’87 Embassy “unrated”
Blade Runner-criterion CAV
Blazing Saddles-WS
Blues Brothers-Signature Series
Boogie Nights-Criterion
Bram Stoker’s Dracula-Criterion
Bullet in the Head (Woo-import)
Carrie-Criterion
Carlito’s Way
Chasing Amy-Criterion
Citizen Kane-Criterion (demo pressing in 3M sleeves)
Clear and Present Danger
Close Encounters of the Third Kind-Collector’s Ed.
Con Air
Dr. Strangelove-Criterion
Dawn of the Dead-Elite box
Die Hard-THX
Desperate Living
Dirty Harry collection
Eastwood collector’s Edition (Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider, Unforgiven)
Escape From New York-Collector’s Edition
E.T.-Signature Series
Evil Dead-Elite box
Evil Dead 2-Elite blood red disc
Extreme Prejudice-remastered
F/X
F/X2-Image DigiPak
Fisher King-Criterion
Fletch Lives
The Fog-Image CE
Freaked
Frighteners-Signature Series
The Game-Criterion
The Getaway-rated
Get Shorty
Ghostbusters-Criterion
Glengarry Glen Ross-Pioneer SE
Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
Halloween-Criterion
The Hidden-Anchor Bay CE
The Hidden Fortress-Criterion
Highlander-10th Anniversary Ed.
High Plains Drifter
Hot Shots!
Hot Shots! Part Deux
The Howling-Image CE
Hunt for Red October-remastered
Indiana Jones/Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones/Last Crusade
In the Mouth of Madness-WS CE
JFK
Jaws-Signature box
Jurassic Park(CLV)
King of New York-remastered
The Last Boy Scout
Last of the Mohicans-THX
Ms. 45
Mars Attacks
Manhunter
Miller’s Crossing
Natural Born Killers-Pioneer Spec. Ed.
Nightmare on Elm St.-Image CE
Omega Man
Paramount Promotional Sampler
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Patriot Games-remastered
The People Vs. Larry Flynt
A Perfect World
Pink Floyd’s The Wall-CE
Pink Panther Strikes Again
Private Parts
Pulp Fiction-Criterion
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Re-Animator – 10th Anniversary Ed.
Rush-Grace Under Pressure
The Rutles (Japanese)
Secret Honor-Criterion
Seven-Critierion
Seven Samurai-Criterion
Sling Blade-Criterion
Snow White CE box
Spaceballs
Stakeout
Star Trek-The Film Voyages
Star Wars Definitive Collection
Star Wars Special Editions box
Star Wars Episode I (Japanese)
State of Grace
Strange Brew
Supercop-Criterion
Superman
Taxi Driver-Criterion
Terminator 2-Pioneer Spec. Ed. box
The Compleat Tex Avery
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 – Elite
THX Demo Disc
The Thing – Signature Series
Thief-Special Ed.
This Is Spinal Tap-Criterion
To Die For
Top Secret
Tootsie-Criterion
Toy Story-CE box
Trainspotting-Criterion
Tron-CE box
True Lies-WS
The Wild Bunch-CE box
Wolfen-WS
Year of the Dragon
Young Frankenstein-CE
Young Hollywood (porn)
Zombie Dawn of the Dead-Perfect Edition (Japanese)
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post #48 of 147
2/9/03 at 1:21pm
As far as LD resources go, Ebay's about the only sure one I know of, especially for collector's items. There's only one or two Movie Trading Company stores here in Dallas that still have any.

That Pioneer NBK laserdisc set beats out the DVD version, mainly due to its far superior sleeve artwork.
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post #49 of 147
2/9/03 at 8:33pm
Great thread, guys. I am fairly new to LD since the format was very pricey and I had no outlets that catered to such things where I lived at the time. I was aware of course, but I never really got to experience them.

A while back, a good friend of mine swore to the good lord bove that LDs are the superior format. I being an ignorant fool, thought he was nuts. I was proven wrong. Although I love my DVD collection dearly, some discs do lack in presentation, sound and image wise.

My copy of "Hard-Boiled" has colors problems whenever bright lights are shown, a washed out look occurs. Is this present on the Criterion LD?

Then of course the DVDs that have full-screen versions only or lack of extras.

Django, Dre, anybody, where can a brother go about purchasing a LD player? And what kind is the best and most reliable?

Just out of curiosity what was the first movie(s) ever released on LD?

good thread...
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post #50 of 147
2/9/03 at 8:36pm
Also, what are the must-haves on LD if there is such a thing?

What are the flicks that have the better versions on LD?


Mecha, how is that Superman LD? A friend had a copy and said it looked awful and the sound was not much better.
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