White Zombie in Poverty Row Forum

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White Zombie

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Scoundrel		#41	[-]
Oct 3 11 5:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Most of the Amazon reviews for this DVD-R from Triad claim that the quality is awful. I would purchase the Roan if you want this on DVD.
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bela lugosi		#42	[-]
Oct 30 11 7:04 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Great to wake up to this classic gem this morning on TCM! I have it on DVD now too, thanks to the great recommendations on various places on this board--the Roan, of course. But it's great to see it on TV too. Anyone else catching this one?
gatester		#43	[-]
Nov 1 11 11:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	japfeif wrote: the Roan copy is definitely the best one I"ve seen (and I own several from different companies). The only real problem I have with it is the awkward jump cut in the dialog between Beaumont & Silver when they are in the study and Neil & Madeline are downstairs, when they first arrive. In this version (and nearly all the other versions available right now), there is this cut during the conversation where Silver says "I wish you'd keep away from...that man, sir. He'll cause trouble for you!" Beaumont then says something like "Oh, I'm not afraid of him" and Silver replies "Well, I'm not easily frightened, sir...you should know that. But what you're planning is dangerous!" And Beaumont answers "Don't you suppose I know that Silver?" The Roan version cuts out the middle of that dialog, so that it ends up something like: Silver: "I wish you'd keep away from...that man, sir. He'll........" [JUMP CUT] Then it continues with Silver saying: "But what you're planning is dangerous!", and Beaumont replying "Don't you suppose I know that Silver?" All the part about "I'm not afraid of hiim" and "I'm not easily frightened...you should know that" is gone. However, I have some very inferior VHS tapes of the movie that have that dialog intact (but then, often instead cut part of the dialog when Beaumont goes down to meet Madeline & Neil), and/or the shot of Madeline in her underwear getting ready for her wedding. No one version seems to have all 3 of these parts intact. But other than that, the Roan version is superior...sound could definitely be cleaned up a bit but..... The version shown on USA Night Flight has this bit of dialog intact. In addition when Madelaine is under the command to kill her husband, as she approaches with the knife she sees his neck - the camera moves down slowly - this was missing from the Roan version. There is a jump cut - This scene could have been complete.
Cueva Muerte		#44	[-]
Nov 22 11 10:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Roan transfer is also missing the last note of the musical score.
Hunch and Judy		#45	[-]
Nov 30 11 10:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If anyone could manage to splice all these parts together making a more complete print using mostly the roan copy kindly keep us posted. Jim and Judy's Horror Models WWW.jimandjudyshorrormodels.com The Music WWW.earthmanout.com
.		#46	[-]
Dec 1 11 10:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I remember seeing a print on TV that was much clearer than the Roan...though I don't remember if it was uncut.
Hunch and Judy		#47	[-]
Dec 1 11 2:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Clearer than the Roan? Do you remember what station it was? Jim and Judy's Horror Models WWW.jimandjudyshorrormodels.com The Music WWW.earthmanout.com
.		#48	[-]
Dec 1 11 2:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	No, I'm afraid I don't. That said, the Roan has a lot of noice reduction visually and aurally.
cosmicjim		#49	[-]
Dec 7 11 3:15 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	i'm amused how all these postings have been specific to print quality, not the film content or the film's history.
The Batman of Gotham		#50	[-]
Dec 13 11 2:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cosmicjim wrote: i'm amused how all these postings have been specific to print quality, not the film content or the film's history. Well, you're free to bring it up yourself. You don't have to wait for others to start the conversation rolling. - GJS
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todmichel		#51	[-]
Dec 14 11 4:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cosmicjim wrote: i'm amused how all these postings have been specific to print quality, not the film content or the film's history. Probably because there are countless articles, studies, posts, etc. about the film's content and history. It would be pointless for most of us. But the print quality is essential for any movie, and especially important ones like WHITE ZOMBIE.
cosmicjim		#52	[-]
Dec 14 11 8:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, yeah, but it's one of the few threads I've seen (that are this long) focusing only upon digital version qualities. My take on the film is that basically every scene with Lugosi is amazing--brilliant--and the sets are often wonderfully detailed and decayed-looking, which ties in well with the almost silent-film feel of the film. But I could do without much of the film when Bela is not present. The sugar mill scene is incredible and should be a primer for younger filmmakers who believe they have to display blood and gore to excess.
MYST0		#53	[-]
Dec 16 11 9:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cosmicjim, Seek out Gary Don Rhodes's book on WHITE ZOMBIE. I can't think of any horror film that has had such a complete coverage as what GDR did in that book.
Bucky		#54	[-]
Dec 17 11 6:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've been waiting (in vain) for a customer review of this version which was released last June by a company called 'Screen Edge': http://www.amazon.com/Whi...F8&qid=1324118461&sr=1-9 I'd love to know what the print quality's like....Anyone here bought it yet? Great cover though, eh?
jplibby		#55	[-]
Dec 18 11 10:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It seems like WZ is a film ripe for restoration. It would be nice if a company like Criterion or Kino would take up the challenge and create a definitive DVD/Blueray version.
Bucky		#56	[-]
Dec 30 11 7:36 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Re: The 'Screen Edge' WZ, from post #54. I found it cheaper than a pack of cigs so I ordered it.... I figured that if, in the very likely event it turns out to be just another bad print, then I'll throw the disc away and use the case for my colorized WZ. I'll report back as 'n when.... Last Edited By: Bucky Dec 30 11 7:47 AM. Edited 1 times.
Helrunar		#57	[-]
Dec 31 11 11:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My deduction from reading various comments is that there is NO decent print of this movie available, so tonight, New Year's Eve, I watched one that I've had for awhile in one of those 50 Horror Film boxes someone gave me years ago. It was at least more watchable than the horrid versions on Youtube... and the quality was intermittently decent. The movie impressed me much more this time around than my viewing way back in the mid 1970s, when I found it hard to get beyond the terrible shape in which the movie as I saw it then was presented. Wish I had been able to see one of the pristine prints back in the 1960s. What a performance from Lugosi. I noticed that you could see his breath in the sugar mill sequence, so wherever they filmed that must have been devilishly cold. The location filming seemed very unusual for the time. Beyond Lugosi's sequences, I found the camerawork and set-ups very striking at times, particularly the scene where Neil, the rather effete abandoned husband, gets drunk alone in a fox-trot club--a very Weimar-esque sequence. Dan Curtis seems to have been a fan of this movie. The set-up/shot of Madeleine's coffin being moved into a niche towards the camera as the screen darkens at its approach was copied by Curtis in House of Dark Shadows (1970) and several subsequent films and productions of his Now I am very curious to read Gary Rhodes' book about the movie. Although I hope that it does not include pages about the placement of minutely detailed props and lighting effects, I have to confess! My concept of geeking out around classic films has been re-defined since reading Rhodes' essay about Dracula in a recent magazine. Happy New Year! It would be lovely to think that someday White Zombie would be released in a pristine form but that seems beyond the ability of the current home video "industry" and its acolytes to provide. H.
bela lugosi		#58	[-]
Jan 1 12 11:00 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Great review, and a great way to spend New Year's Eve, I think! I also have that movie pack and that print, and it's watchable for sure, but I am one who doesn't mind the quality of rare public domain films too much. I enjoy those movie packs. Anyway, I do think the Roan does the best job, by a bit, but it's certainly watchable on that Horror pack you mentioned. What an amazing film. One of my all-time favorites.
Wich2		#59	[-]
Jan 1 12 7:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>wherever they filmed that must have been devilishly cold. The location filming seemed very unusual for the time.< Hr, fairly sure that ZOMBIE was shot on Uni's lot and backlot - but at night, which might explain the breath. >It would be lovely to think that someday White Zombie would be released in a pristine form but that seems beyond the ability of the current home video "industry" and its acolytes to provide.< As with IOLS, if less-than-stellar materials exist, there's only so much that anyone can do with them. As per the consensus, I'd agree that the Roan looks best - though the audio is deadened by over-"noise reduction." -Craig Last Edited By: Wich2 Jan 1 12 7:54 PM. Edited 2 times.
Bucky		#60	[-]
Jan 14 12 1:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, the 'Screen Edge' White Zombie arrived about a week ago, and although I haven't had time to watch it all the way through as yet, I think I've analyzed it closely enough to be able to relate a few salient points that'll hopefully be of interest: First off, I'll say again, the cover artwork is excellent (see the link in post No.54). It's a reproduction of one of those 1930's style, line drawing, U.S. newspaper ads. Variations of it are shown on pages 126 & 153 of Gary D. Rhodes' seminal work; White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film. The DVD features an on-screen menu with a nine chapter scene selection and a three page (six paragraphs) WZ film synopsis and short history. There are also three movie stills. Picture quality: Sorry, I don't know how to do screen-grabs so a description will have to do. The print is quite soft, and this 'Vaseline smeared on the lens effect' seems more apparent in the movie's long distance shots. However, I wouldn't say it was overly excessive or too blurry: for example, the copyright 'small print' text that appears at the bottom of the opening credits screen is quite legible, which is more than you can say for some WZ transfers. Film damage, dirt, marks and scratches are evident in certain sections of the movie, but again, not too excessive or distracting. It has a decent contrast too; not too dark, which is a criticism sometimes levelled at the 'Roan' transfer. All in all, a very watchable print, which, image-wise kinda reminds me of Carl Dreyer's Vampyr. I'd score it a '6' or maybe '6.5' out of '10'. Sound quality: This is where the 'Screen Edge' really has the 'Roan' (and probably all other versions) beat all ends up....Aurally, this print is positively hi-fi in comparison! I honestly think it has the cleanest, clearest soundtrack of any WZ released to date: Background hiss, rumbles and pops are absolutely minimal, and it has none of the 'listening to it underwater' effect that so blights the 'Roan'...To me, it was like hearing it for the first time....You can even hear the crickets chirping during the dialogue! Cuts, splices & running time: Strange this....According to the timer on my Sony S480 blu ray player, the 'Roan' clocks in with a running time of 1: 06: 52, while the 'Screen Edge' runs for 1: 04: 37. Yet I can't find evidence of any cuts in the SE whatsoever. In fact, it seems to be more complete: for instance, the dialogue scene with Beaumont and Silver, which has a couple of nasty jump-cuts in the Roan transfer (as pointed out by Japfeif, in post No.14 of this thread), is complete in the SE. It also has the final note of music that's missing in the Roan. I suppose the only really accurate way to compare running times would be to run both films from start to finish and timing them from an outside source. Incidentally, before the film's opening credits start rolling, a title screen appears which states: 'Approved by the Maryland State Board of Censors'. and below that, the prefix number: DU-37141. Maybe someone here might've seen this on another DVD print somewhere? IMHO, Although the 'Roan' transfer is excellent picture-wise,...the SE's very acceptable picture quality, put together with its most excellent sound quality, gives the 'Roan' a serious run for its money in terms of overall viewing pleasure. I'm definitely keeping my copy. Hope this helps. Bucky Last Edited By: Bucky Jan 15 12 5:45 AM. Edited 3 times.
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