Shivers

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
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Shivers

#1 Post by antnield » Thu May 22, 2014 4:59 am

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Initially reviled in its native land (some critics took exception to the fact the film was largely funded by the Canadian taxpayer), Shivers is an intensely claustrophobic, subversive masterpiece and an essential entry in the oeuvre of one of the horror genre’s most gifted auteurs. Some 40 years after its release, it still retains its power to shock.

Starliner Island is an idyllic community. Cut off from the rest of the world, the luxury apartment block affords its occupants the chance to escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. But this isolation is to prove fatal when a new breed of parasite – a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease which arouses sexual aggression in its hosts – is let loose in the building, resulting in an orgy terror and mayhem.

Known under a host of alternate titles such as The Parasite Murders and They Came From Within!, Shivers is the startling debut full-length feature from director David Cronenberg which anticipates the body-horror concerns of his later films such as The Fly and Videodrome.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

- Limited edition Steelbook packaging
- High definition digital transfers
- Newly created and exclusive content
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film and more!
- More to be revealed closer to the release date

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swo17
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Re: Shivers

#2 Post by swo17 » Thu May 22, 2014 6:26 pm

I just noticed that this edition promises "High definition digital transfers." Is this a typo, or will there perhaps be more than one film included in the package?

cinemartin

Re: Shivers

#3 Post by cinemartin » Thu May 22, 2014 6:42 pm

I know they recently did a Cronenberg retro in Toronto that features the debut of HD restorations of Transfer and From The Drain, 2 early short films. Maybe they will be included?

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JamesF
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Re: Shivers

#4 Post by JamesF » Sat May 24, 2014 9:38 am

Here's hoping Rabid isn't too far behind!

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Adam X
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Re: Shivers

#5 Post by Adam X » Sat Jul 12, 2014 9:36 am


Calvin
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Re: Shivers

#6 Post by Calvin » Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:43 am

Interestingly, this was licensed from Lionsgate according to an interview with Arrow's Francesco Simeoni in the 2014 Frightfest programme.

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L.A.
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Re: Shivers

#7 Post by L.A. » Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:56 pm

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- New High Definition Digital Transfer supervised and approved by writer-director David Cronenberg
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
- Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Parasite Memories: The Making of Shivers – A brand new documentary featuring interviews with stars Barbara Steele, Allan Kolman and Lynn Lowry, special effects genius Joe Blasco and film critic Kier-La Janisse
- On Screen! – An episode of the Canadian television programme which documents the release history of Shivers, featuring interviews with Cronenberg, co-producer Don Carmody, as well as other cast and crew
- From Stereo to Video – A specially-commissioned video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema, charting Cronenberg’s career from his experimental beginnings through to Videodrome, his first major studio picture
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nat Marsh (Amaray only)
- Limited Edition SteelBook packaging (SteelBook only)
- Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Paul Corupe, creator of the Canuxploitation website, reprinted excerpts of Cronenberg on Cronenberg and more, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

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Adam X
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Re: Shivers

#8 Post by Adam X » Fri Aug 22, 2014 2:38 pm

Well, I guess the 's' in "transfers" really was a typo. Oh well.
This release would seem to further the suggestion that Cronenberg isn't so interested in talking about his older work anymore (of course, he may just be busy). A shame, but the Cronenberg on Cronberg interviews do go into a reasonable amount of detail. Regardless, this is looking like a really good release. Seems Cronenberg's early works are finally getting the home video attention they deserve.

It'll be intereting to see if Barbara Steele mentions her side to witnessing Cronenberg's method for getting an actress to cry (?) on screen, as related in Chris Rodley's book.

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MichaelB
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Re: Shivers

#9 Post by MichaelB » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:00 am

Calvin wrote:Interestingly, this was licensed from Lionsgate according to an interview with Arrow's Francesco Simeoni in the 2014 Frightfest programme.
Lionsgate made the film in the first place, back in the days when it was trading as Cinépix. Wikipedia provides a reasonably thorough company history.

I've been doing quite a bit of delving into Lionsgate/Cinépix's past because I recently signed off on the From Stereo to Video piece, which was great fun to assemble - it runs just over 26 minutes and consists of a pretty exhaustive trawl through Cronenberg's first forty years. We thought that Videodrome was a good cut-off point as it was his first major studio release and also his last wholly original screenplay for nearly two decades (I believe eXistenZ was the next one), and stopping there also provided a catchy title.

Caelum Vatnsdal's dryly witty script and deadpan narration catch the tone perfectly - it was obvious from the first few syllables that getting a Canadian to present this was not merely a good idea but utterly essential, and he's constantly going off into intriguing tangents like a potted history of Canadian cinema's "maple syrup porn" era (the nickname presumably referring to the nationality rather than sex scenes involving maple syrup - although as I haven't seen any of these films, who knows?)

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JamesF
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Re: Shivers

#10 Post by JamesF » Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:45 am

Very excited to finally retire my old Metrodome/Prism Leisure DVD, and the extras sound fantastic.

One excluded bonus that would have been welcome (and might still be worth pursuing for Rabid) is Adam Simon's fantastic 2000 IFC documentary The American Nightmare, which covers Shivers in some depth (including an insightful Cronenberg interview) and features brief clips from Rabid too. Anchor Bay UK included it on their DVD release of the original Hills Have Eyes, albeit cut due to scenes from Last House On The Left that the BBFC hadn't passed yet.

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antnield
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Re: Shivers

#11 Post by antnield » Tue Sep 30, 2014 3:54 pm


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antnield
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Re: Shivers

#12 Post by antnield » Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:35 pm


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manicsounds
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Re: Shivers

#13 Post by manicsounds » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:32 am


fuzzymctiger
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Re: Shivers

#14 Post by fuzzymctiger » Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:22 am

Was this new release colour timed by Cronenberg like the Criterion Scanners? Some people are complaining about the colours on other forums, but I personally think it looks great!

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MichaelB
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Re: Shivers

#15 Post by MichaelB » Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:54 am

David Cronenberg had a very hands-on involvement in the TIFF restoration that Arrow licensed, very much including grading and framing (most previous video releases have been 1.37:1, but the film was always intended from the outset to be projected in a widescreen ratio).

A crucial point is that this is a very low budget film (astonishingly cheap given its ambition) and the original camera negative no longer survives - so it's never going to look pristine. Although Cronenberg had made numerous semi-amateur productions that were essentially one-man shows behind the camera, this was his first time with a proper crew and (insanely tight) schedule, and his learning curve was pretty much vertical. It's a great tribute to his talent that he improved so dramatically and so quickly, but Shivers always looked pretty rough from the moment the first day's rushes were projected.

As for people saying that the DVD is "sharper", this isn't remotely the same thing as "more detailed". Watch both in motion (which I suspect most of the BD's detractors haven't done), and the differences will be glaring.

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Cronenfly
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Re: Shivers

#16 Post by Cronenfly » Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:31 am

Any chance of this being part of Arrow Video USA, Michael? Lionsgate being what it is in North America, it seems entirely possible it will remain unreleased there otherwise, and though I am happily purchasing this release, it seems perverse that the UK will get such a lavish treatment while the title remains unavailable in its country of origin (and seems likely to remain so for the foreseeable future).

TIFF is good about producing restorations, but disc releases (especially Blus) are not their purview and the rightsholders here seem pretty indifferent to their efforts. If it can be wrangled, I highly recommend that Arrow go after John Paizs' Crime Wave, also recently restored by TIFF. Paizs is a fellow traveller to Guy Maddin/part of the Winnipeg school of filmmakers which emerged in the 1980s, and though I have no idea if the UK rights are up for grabs or not (eOne owns the film in Canada, and could not seem to care less about producing a disc release), it is a title that has never been released anywhere that I know of outside of VHS and which is, like Shivers, directly in Arrow's art-trash sweet spot. Paizs is still very much alive and well, and would I'm sure be happy to contribute a commentary (to the feature as well as to the handful of shorts he made around the same time, which would be perfect supplements), and Jonathan Ball has recently published a fine monograph through TIFF that would no doubt be a solid basis for an interview/commentary as well. As with Boro and Donald Cammell/White of the Eye, this is the perfect opportunity to resurrect a very worthy film/filmmaker whose only real sin has been unjust neglect in the face of abysmal distribution.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Shivers

#17 Post by EddieLarkin » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:30 am

Now we have people reporting that there are a few missing seconds on the Arrow version compared to the DVD. Since the cuts are historical ones it sounds like there may be an interesting reason behind why they're still cut on the Arrow disc. Anyone have any theories?

Orlac
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Re: Shivers

#18 Post by Orlac » Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:22 pm

I expect it's a case of footage missing from the master copy due to damage. What is the title on Arrow's print?

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Shivers

#19 Post by EddieLarkin » Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:42 pm

Going by the DVDBeaver review, it appears to simply be "Shivers". Arrow have since posted about it on Facebook:
Arrow wrote:The Shivers restoration was carried out by TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival) and supervised and approved by David Cronenberg. As such this four-to-five second discrepancy between the film as it appears on our release and how it played in cinemas is likely to have been the result of damaged materials and/or approved by Cronenberg. We are, however, investigating this matter thoroughly and will get back with a full answer as soon as we can.

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MichaelB
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Re: Shivers

#20 Post by MichaelB » Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:46 pm

As a by-product of this discovery, I spent the morning comparing Arrow's new HD master of Rabid with an earlier DVD release, and am delighted to confirm that both played in perfect sync from start to finish.

cinemartin

Re: Shivers

#21 Post by cinemartin » Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:55 pm

Michael - any word on an approximate release date for Rabid? Or even approximate announcement date!

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MichaelB
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Re: Shivers

#22 Post by MichaelB » Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:56 pm

cinemartin wrote:Michael - any word on an approximate release date for Rabid? Or even approximate announcement date!
Soon, but nothing's been announced yet. I think Arrow are waiting for delivery of some of the extras before confirming a release date.

Orlac
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Re: Shivers

#23 Post by Orlac » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:03 pm

Wasn't the UK DVD of Rabid missing some footage?

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MichaelB
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Re: Shivers

#24 Post by MichaelB » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:58 pm

Irrelevant, since I worked from a NTSC disc. (I couldn't have usefully run the master alongside a PAL one because of the differing framerates!)

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Adam X
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Re: Shivers

#25 Post by Adam X » Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:27 am

I'm curious, Michael. Is it not standard practice, at least for the label's you've worked with, to compare the version of the film you're releasing to a known uncut release, where possible?
Or is it usually left to the supplier to guarantee as much?

Regardless, I'm glad you went ahead and did so for the upcoming Rabid. The difference in AV for that one compared to its DVD releases is going to be even more staggering, I'd imagine.

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