Masters of Horror - DVD

Masters of Horror: Season One Box Set

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Masters of Rip-Off... Terrible Packaging! 1 out of 5 stars.
27 of 31 people found this review helpful.

I hardly ever write reviews, but I am writing in hopes that someone in power at Anchor Bay might read this. I have bought many, many Anchor Bay/Starz products over the years and have always been a big fan. But with Masters of Horror Season 2, a nearly $70 box set on Amazon, I feel completely ripped off.

Ok, unlike the other reviewers I have no asthetic gripes with this packaging. I always take the DVDs out of wierd packaging and put them in something that fits the shelf anyway. However, I received this set yesterday, and it just made me sad. The DVDs are floating around completely unprotected inside the "skull" which means every single one of them is scratched. A few of them are badly scratched all over, while ALL of them have circular scratches (typically the worst kind of scratches) around the the entire outer half-inch or so of the disc. Additionally, instead of including all of the individual episode discs like the last box set, some of the discs are double sided with an episode on each side! Why? So the manufacturer could cut some more corners on an already horribly put together set?

I foolishly assumed that, as with the season one set, this box would contain someting extra that was not available in the individual episode DVDs. It does not. So, if you have the individual episode DVDs, I would recommend sticking with those. However, if you don't mind spending way too much money for a pile of pre-scratched, dual-sided DVDs then this box set is the way to go. Not only do you not get anything extra, you get something far, far less for your money this time around. Shame on you Anchor Bay. I hope everyone returns these as I plan to do.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 08/28/2007 Run time: 750 minutes Rating: Nr

Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 2 [Blu-ray]

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Nice but presents a dilemma 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Volume II of Season One of Masters of Horror contains three of the best episodes: Jenifer, Sick Girl, and Deer Woman. All three make for extremely entertaining viewing, even more so in the Blu-ray format. The quandary these Blu-ray releases presents to the collector is that the extras included on the original DVD releases, with the exception of audio commentaries, are not included. Typically I would say go with the better picture and sound quality, because extras are generally not good for more than one viewing. In this case, however, there is a significant omission: Dario Argento's Jenifer was the only episode to have footage censored at some stage of the production process, and while it only amounts to a few seconds, that footage plus the other Argento extras do represent a significant loss, given his stature as a filmmaker. That said, the audio commentaries for Jenifer and Sick Girl are quite good; Deer Woman's commentary suffers from John Landis' absence. Argento enthusiasts may want to keep their original copy of Jenifer if they purchase disc, so, recommended with caution.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 10/16/2007 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R

Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 1 [Blu-ray]

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

MOH vol 1 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I too came across this series by accident while I was mooching off a friend's Netflix account. Being a long time fan of horror series such as Tales from the Crypt, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall quality of Masters of Horror. Though your mileage may vary on each episode, and of course you probably have to be a horror fan to really appreciate the series.
This disk contains three episodes, of which Cigarette Burns (directed by John Carpenter) stands out the most; it's story is quite ambitious for an hour long horror show.
As far as the Blu-ray transfer goes I'm far from an expert. I watched it with a ps3 at 1080i and the picture looked crisp and clean. You get 4 commentaries on the disk (2 are for Cigarette Burns). I can't help wondering with the increased capacity of Blu-ray how many episodes and extras they could have really fit onto a single disk (taking into account that high resolution video takes up more space of course.)

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 10/16/2007 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: R

Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 4 [Blu-ray]

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Masters of Horror Rocks!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Yes Masters of horror does rock. Anyone who likes the horror genre should get this masters of horror series now. The Blu-ray edition is fantastic. Some blu-ray movies i have seen dont really live up to what i have come to expect from HD but the Masters of Horror Blu-ray is beautiful. I dont think Blood and guts have ever looked so good!

MOH vol 4 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This disk contains four episodes from the first season of the series: Imprint, Homecoming, Haeckel's Tale, and Chocolate. The extras are a bit sparse but include a commentary for each one. The commentary for Chocolate was pretty interesting because Mick Garris (the director) had a lot to do with the production of the MOH series itself and he has a few things to say about it's inception. Noticeably absent is a commentary by the director or writer of Imprint; I would have loved to hear their take on it instead of a second hand American journalist's opinions.
I watched this blu-ray in 1080i with a ps3 and the picture looked great. In particular Imprint really gives the high definition medium a chance to shine with it's vivid colors, stark contrast, and eerily beautiful imagery. If it wasn't for the content I'd say it would make a great showcase for what kind of quality you can really get from a high definition picture.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 12/11/2007 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R

Masters of Horror: Season 1, Vol. 3 [Blu-ray]

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Masters of Horror Season 1-4 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I was very excited to get the season 1 masters of horror on blu-ray. To my disapointment the picture and audio quality on blu-ray was not much better than dvd.

Three really good movies,you can watch over and over.... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This movie has three really good movies, I love these kind of movies, ones you get your money's worth, cause there good, I love Incident on and off a Mountain Road, Great Story!!!

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 11/13/2007 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R

Masters of Horror: Season Two Box Set

Amazon Price: $69.99 List Price: $86.97 Usually ships in 24 hours By: ANCHOR BAY - Model: ANBDN9957D Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $43.05

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Masters of Rip-Off... Terrible Packaging! 1 out of 5 stars.
27 of 31 people found this review helpful.

I hardly ever write reviews, but I am writing in hopes that someone in power at Anchor Bay might read this. I have bought many, many Anchor Bay/Starz products over the years and have always been a big fan. But with Masters of Horror Season 2, a nearly $70 box set on Amazon, I feel completely ripped off.

Ok, unlike the other reviewers I have no asthetic gripes with this packaging. I always take the DVDs out of wierd packaging and put them in something that fits the shelf anyway. However, I received this set yesterday, and it just made me sad. The DVDs are floating around completely unprotected inside the "skull" which means every single one of them is scratched. A few of them are badly scratched all over, while ALL of them have circular scratches (typically the worst kind of scratches) around the the entire outer half-inch or so of the disc. Additionally, instead of including all of the individual episode discs like the last box set, some of the discs are double sided with an episode on each side! Why? So the manufacturer could cut some more corners on an already horribly put together set?

I foolishly assumed that, as with the season one set, this box would contain someting extra that was not available in the individual episode DVDs. It does not. So, if you have the individual episode DVDs, I would recommend sticking with those. However, if you don't mind spending way too much money for a pile of pre-scratched, dual-sided DVDs then this box set is the way to go. Not only do you not get anything extra, you get something far, far less for your money this time around. Shame on you Anchor Bay. I hope everyone returns these as I plan to do.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 07/29/2008

Masters of Horror - Dario Argento - Jenifer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Leave it to Dario Argento (Suspiria) to cook up a truly stomach-flipping installment in Showtime's Masters of Horror series. Argento's hour-long Jenifer has an uncluttered through-line that combines a relentlessly destructive film noir plot with zombie attitude. Steven Weber plays a cop who kills a man about to harm a disfigured woman named Jenifer. Weber finds himself strangely protective of the girl, who incidentally has enough sexual appetite to tempt him away from everything sane and holy. Unfortunately, she has other appetites as well, which spells trouble for the odd child (or housecat) who might be taken as a snack. Weber's downward spiral is predictable enough, but there's something in almost every scene that makes you shiver--either overtly (Jenifer chomping down on entrails) or indirectly (the way trees ripple as a car moves into the forest). Jenifer is played by Carrie Anne Fleming, wearing a prosthetic horror mask and flimsy negligee, an unsettling combination of repulsive/sexy that Argento exploits to the maximum. The trim script is by Steven Weber, from a short story by Bruce Jones; the excellent music is by Claudio Simonetti, whose ensemble Goblin did the music for other Argento films and the original Dawn of the Dead. --Robert Horton

Masters of Horror - Imprint

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Have I got your attention, mister?" By the time you reach this line in Takashi Miike's Imprint, the answer will be a resounding, horrified "Yes!" This much-rumored-about episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror series became notorious as the first installment to be denied an airing. Now that the hour-long episode is out on DVD, it's not difficult to see why the network balked (although on the other hand, if you have a series called Masters of Horror and you hire the outrageous Takashi Miike to helm a show, nobody should really be surprised). The story follows an American (Billy Drago) on a journey to a ghostly island bordello in Japan; he's searching for a girl he lost years before. The prostitute he meets has stories to tell--and they abound in incest, abortion, murder, and one of the grisliest torture scenes ever produced for a mainstream outlet.

Anybody familiar with Miike's films (Audition, Visitor Q) knows a couple of things about him: (1) there is no affront against civilized behavior he won't put on film, and (2) he's a heckuva filmmaker. Imprint confirms this, on both counts. The only weak spot is the English dialogue reading by the Japanese cast--and by Billy Drago, for that matter, although he does look very cool. The story may or may not make sense, but what stays with you are the pregnant, eye-filling images (cinematography by Toyomichi Kurita) and the truly shocking violence. It is really what the Masters of Horror series seems designed to do: give a director complete freedom to merge style with story. Take this to heart, oh ye of low nausea thresholds: Imprint will seriously mess you up. --Robert Horton

Masters of Horror: The Complete First Season (Amazon.com Exclusive) [Blu-ray]

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Masters of Horror - John Carpenter - Cigarette Burns

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

John Carpenter's installment in the Masters of Horror cable-TV anthology series looks at the ominous, underground mystique surrounding a notorious 1970s horror classic (now there's something Carpenter should know about). Cigarette Burns tracks the search for said opus, Le Fin Absolue du Monde, by the owner of a repertory theater (Norman Reedus) on behalf of a highly decadent millionaire collector (a role made for Udo Kier). The film, supposedly destroyed after it caused a riot at its only screening, causes viewers to turn into homicidal, cannibalistic maniacs. Even as Reedus gets on the trail of the lone existing print--listening to an interview with the director, looking at production stills--he begins to fall under its supernatural sway. Alas, the same can't be said for Cigarette Burns itself; the stuff about horror aficionados is good, but the production is slapdash, the dialogue stiff, and Reedus's performance incompetent. The basic idea, while a little film-schoolish, has some intrigue, and the notion of a film critic (supposedly a follower of Pauline Kael, no less) driven to write millions of words about this one barely-seen movie is amusingly sinister. --Robert Horton