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THE DEVIL BAT restored! (1 Viewer)

John Morgan

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I got AFRICA SCREAMS way back on laser and the quality was great. It also had a lot of wonderful and various "outtakes" included. I finally put it on DVD-r when I got rid of my lasers. I hope that was done with your involvement. I also got the restored DEVIL BAT on DVD sometime back and when I saw it was coming to Blu ray, I ordered it at once. I couldn't believe the improvement on previous tapes I had on that title.

I look forward to seeing many of the upcoming 3-D titles. I am going to a lot of them with Scott M., so I hope to run into you at some point.
 

Bob Furmanek

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John: that was the AFRICA laser that I produced for Image Enterainment. It was awarded "Best Supplemental Disc of the Year" by Video Magazine in 1989.

Greg Kintz, Jack Theakston and I will be at the Expo. Please look us up and say hello.

Glen: pretty much all of the DVD releases of the four titles were lifted from my masters. There are little subtle elements in the transfer that I can easily identify and nearly every version I've seen over the past 15 years has been my transfer.
 

Richard--W

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Screen caps:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_59/the_devil_bat_blu-ray.htm

I hope more of Lugosi's and Karloff's programmers get a hi-def transfer from decent elements. There is more to enjoy from even the cheapest Monogram film in hi-def than at first meets the eye in many murky DVD transfers.

I would particularly like to see Lugosi's only color film SCARED TO DEATH (Screen Guild, 1947) in hi-def.
 

bigshot

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This film is definately from hunger... but Lugosi in hidef looking this good? Ordered.
 

bigshot

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I'd like to see bluray releases of classic serials like Captain Marvel. That's the poverty row stuff that really matters.
 

Keith Cobby

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I would also like to see Scared to Death on blu-ray because, although I like Bela Lugosi, I am a huge fan of the late, great George Zucco.

Personal note : When my wife and I are asked why we named our son George I always reply after George Zucco. Unfortunately nobody seems to remember him.
 

Richard--W

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bigshot said:
I'd like to see bluray releases of classic serials like Captain Marvel. That's the poverty row stuff that really matters.
So would I. The better serials and the feature-length edits as well.I wouldn't call them poverty row, however. Republic, Universal, Columbia etc spent money to make a chapter serial. Captain Marvel (1941) is generally considered one of the best action serials. So are Daredevils of the Red Circle (Republic, 1939), The Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) and Spy Smasher (Republic, 1942). The Superman serials (Columbia, 1948 and 1950) are among the best super hero films ever made. Suspenseful direction and action choreography doesn't get any better. There are obviously elements in excellent condition, and a hi-def scan would bring out the best in them.

Not all poverty-row films were impoverished in terms of ideas. There is a lot of creative story telling and artful filmmaking in poverty-row films from the golden age. I'm NOT referring to the Ed Wood type of thing whose dumbness and ineptitude depresses me. There are so many poverty row films of interest I can't begin to list them all. A hi-def scan would make them more accessible and engaging, I'm sure. White Zombie (1932) for example.
 

Richard--W

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Regarding Lugosi, I'd love to see Return of the Vampire (Columbia 1944) on blu-ray. Not exactly poverty row but it has real style and it's a lot of fun. I wonder if good elements survive for his Chandu serial and film.
 

TheSteig

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VCI is going to do a blu for White Zombie next year ...we'll see how it stands up to the KIno version
Id also like to see Quicksand on Blu Ray as well, Bowery at Midnight & They Made Me A Criminal with John Garland as well. But if not, Im happy with the DVD versions.
I also own Africa Screams from the Roan Group :)
 

JSul

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Thanks Bob for all of your hard work!We sincerely appreciate your dedication and love of film.It is always a joy to see films restored to their best possible presentations, so we can now add DB to the list of success stories.
 

JoeDoakes

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David Steigman said:
VCI is going to do a blu for White Zombie next year ...we'll see how it stands up to the KIno version
Id also like to see Quicksand on Blu Ray as well, Bowery at Midnight & They Made Me A Criminal with John Garland as well. But if not, Im happy with the DVD versions.
I also own Africa Screams from the Roan Group :)
They really got a guide of what not to do from the Kino mess.
 

Ronald Epstein

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387.jpg
Kino Classics Releases The Devil Bat starring Bela Lugosi on Blu-ray and DVD

Blu-ray and DVD editions, mastered in HD from archival film elements, will become available on September 17th

Please contact Matt Barry at [email protected] to request a press screener for review
1003.jpg

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 - Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of The Devil Bat, starring Bela Lugosi, mastered in HD from archival film elements. This classic of low-budget horror stars the legendary Lugosi in one of his finest performances.

The Devil Bat will become available on Blu-ray and DVD on September 17th, with a SRP of $29.95 for the Blu-ray and $24.95 for the DVD. The disc includes an audio commentary track by veteran film critic and historian Richard Harland Smith, who is currently an official film blogger for Turner Classic Movies. Also included is an image gallery.

Released in 1940, The Devil Bat was produced after the Production Code had forced the studios to move away from potentially controversial subjects of morbidity, violence and the supernatural. As an actor who had made his name in the horror genre, Lugosi sought out work in the independent studios of Poverty Row, where horror was not only allowed but also enjoying a low-budget renaissance.

Lugosi stars as a scientist who commands a mutant bat to avenge himself upon his enemies (using a specially-formulated after-shave as the targeting device). Even as he takes diabolical pleasure in such a ludicrous premise, Lugosi invests the character with an underlying sense of tragedy, a visionary genius out of step with modern, corporate society.

This Kino Classics edition was mastered in HD from an archival 35mm print, with the exception of one nine-minute section derived from a 16mm element of lesser quality.

The Devil Bat
Director: Jean Yarbrough
With Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien,
Guy Usher, Yolande Donlan
Genre: Horror
Street date: September 17, 2013
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $24.95
Special Features:
Mastered in HD from archival film elements
Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
Image Gallery
US / 1940 / B&W / 68 min. / 1.33:1 / 1920x1080p / 2.0 Mono


The link below will take you directly to the product on Amazon. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.
 
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Robert Crawford

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Bob Furmanek said:
Special thanks to 3-D Film Archive friend and all around great guy Glenn Erickson for this review of my restoration of THE DEVIL BAT on Blu-ray.http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s4280bat.html
Bob,

This reviewer is suggesting the BD coming out this week didn't come from your restoration of this fine film. Anyway can you confirm tha,t as I would like to buy it if it's confirmed as such?
 

bgart13

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That reviews shows some poor contrast in some of those caps, too, which is typical of Kino's other recent b&w discs like AWFUL DR. ORLOF and BLACK SUNDAY. Why is that?
 

Mark Edward Heuck

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Bob, although your excellent restorations have indeed been bootlegged by others for a long time, I am guessing these are merely ports or clones from the laserdiscs. Since you own the actual masters, wouldn't you be able to make a deal for them as with DEVIL BAT, since they would be better looking and not down a generation? Or perhaps make some alteration that would allow you to recopyright it as a variant? I just hate to see all your hard work get so shortchanged, not to mention unreleased on Blu-Ray.
 

bigshot

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Robert Crawford said:
Bob, This reviewer is suggesting the BD coming out this week didn't come from your restoration of this fine film. Anyway you can confirm that as I would like to buy it if it's confirmed as such?
He said it was his restoration in the first post of this thread.
 

Robert Crawford

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bgart13 said:
That reviews shows some poor contrast in some of those caps, too, which is typical of Kino's other recent b&w discs like AWFUL DR. ORLOF and BLACK SUNDAY. Why is that?
A good question that I hope someone can clarify before I spend my monies on buying this BD.
 

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