alacal2 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:39 am
Not sure that I agree with Florinaldo about the B/W creature features being part of Harryhausen's 'immature' phase. I was struck by how - in the featured RH interviews - ahead of his time he was and it was the studios that were trying to catch up with him in terms of ideas etc! I think he's doing Indicator a real injustice by suggesting their sets are pricey when you look at content. packaging etc. In particular, their copious extras put Criterion in the shade on occasion. I would also say Indicator deserves respect for not 'racing to the bottom' when it comes to reducing prices on a regular basis in, I guess, an attempt to reflect the true value and cost of producing Blu rays of quality. I also think Florinaldo fails to appreciate the work going into bringing new audiences and perspectives to undervalued British films. Long may it exist.
I did not call the earlier films "immature"; however, they were still in the mold of the stereotypical scenario "
monster appears from elsewhere, goes on a rampage in a famous city, and gets destroyed by not entirely credible means". He was still, in my view in his formative phase in terms of animation techniques however advanced they were compared to other people's, and they got better in the following films. His later titles can validly be described as a "great period or maturity", as I did, in great part because he and Schneer broke out, mostly, of the monster-on-an-urban-rampage cliché and explored more exotic locales or stories.
I have often praised on these boards the work done by Indicator and their courage in bringing out, in extensive packages, neglected titles for which there is probably little market demand and which will take a long time to sell out. I am always glad when they have commercial successes like
Night of the Demon or
The Last Movie that can help bankroll such projects and make it worthwhile to keep the other products in inventory. So I do not feel that I fail to appreciate their work in any way, as evidenced by the number of titles I have bought from their catalogue.
Which makes sales as this one a bit frustrating because most of the titles that would interest me I already possess, purchased at the regular price. But that is the cost of ensuring further interesting reissues or discoveries and one cannot always predict which title might still be available come the next sale (
The Last Movie for example sold out much fasater than I would have supposed).