|
As someone who believes that content is always more important
than the package it comes in, my cynical streak is always
roused by attempts to sell us crap by putting it in fancy boxes,
especially at this time of year. But working in opposition to this is the small
child in me that adores it when someone goes to the trouble
of presenting something I love in a way that suggests they
and I are on exactly the same wavelength. You get
the feeling that if you met them in a bar then you would
talk all night about the same damned things with impossible
enthusiasm until you were both gloriously drunk and lost
in a sea of disarmingly similar memories.
 |
This
is especially true of DVDs. I still get excited about specific
films in a manner that extends way beyond the cool detachment of critically
analysis, and my house is overrun with film posters, movie
memorabilia and action figures.
The release of a special edition DVD whose packaging looks
as if it was designed more by rabid fans of the film than
the studio marketing section (actually, it's probably a
combination of the two) always puts a Cheshire Cat grin on my
face. The American special edition DVD releases of both Se7en
and Fight Club made me squeal with delight,
and the big wooden box that bore the US special edition
release of The Wicker Man is something
I still take out to wow visitors, though I avoid opening
it to reveal the crappy plastic disc holder that sits inside. But wait, this
is kids' stuff...
It's
hard to describe the thrill I got when I opened the packaging of my Anchor Bay's Phantasm Sphere Box Set
and was greeted by what for my money is the best presentation
of a box set I have yet seen. There were even a couple of
bits to assemble, re-awakening memories of childhood Airfix
kit building. The completed result was a rather lovely, life-sized reproduction of the series' most distinctive icon, the flying sphere, inside of which are housed the
five discs. There's even a stand to put it on. Now THIS
is how to package a cult film collection.
As
a series, the Phantasm films do tend to
conform to tradition, with a great first film, a damned
good second one, a wobbly third and a weaker fourth, but
buying the box set does enable you to get them all,
something many would be unlikely to do if they were available
separately. Value wise, this is a great purchase, with four
films, all featuring DTS tracks and commentaries, plus a
well specified bonus disc, for the retail price of £34.99,
but you can pick it up for about £27, which works
out at £5.40 a disc, less than half what you'd pay
to buy the films separately, and then you wouldn't get the extra
disc. Even cheaper is the Phantasm Digipack,
which features the same discs in a more regular box (RRP
£29.99), but for the extra fiver you get the sphere,
and no true Phantasm fan is going to pass
that one up.*
Each
of the films have been reviewed separately, which can be
accessed via the links below, and the bonus disc is reviewed
here.
The
key feature on this disc is Phantasmagoria
(97:38), a feature-length (longer than any of the Phantasm
films, as it happens) look at the making of the series,
starting with Coscarelli's first films, Jim the World's
Greatest and Kenny & Company,
then taking us through all four Phantasm films in some detail, including
Roger Avary's abortive script for an epic Phantasm
IV and some speculation on a fifth film to possibly come. There are plenty
of interviews with a wide range of cast and crew members,
plus some great on-set stories and a host of information supplied
about the movies, some of which is duplicated in the commentaries
on the individual DVDs but is very nicely pulled together
here. If you are a fan of even a couple of the films and
were uncertain about the box set, then this is probably
going to be the persuader. The picture is anamorphic 16:9
and in good shape.
Reggie's
Phantastic Tour (16:11) has Reggie Bannister
take us on a tour of some of the key locations used in the
films, a mixture of Reggie hamming it up for the camera
and interview material not used in the main documentary.
It's interesting for fans who may want to take their own
tour and pretty entertaining. This is also anamorphic 16:9.
Phantasm:
Genesis (20:27) is a misleadingly titled collection
of behind-the-scenes footage of the filming of Phantasm
III and Phantasm IV, which are
framed 4:3 and cut with non-anamorphic 16:9 material not used in
the main documentary. This sort of stuff is
always welcome.
Greg
Nicotero: The Gory Days (21:06) is built around
an interview with make-up effects guru Nicotero, who came
to Phantasm II fresh from his work on two
other classic horror sequels, Day of the Dead
and Evil Dead II and who went on to work
for such luminaries as John Carpenter, Robert Rodriguez,
Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch. He
provides an interesting insight into how he came to work
on the film and the effects that he and others provided. This
one is anamorphic 16:9.
Finally there is Phandom (17:53),
a look at the film's fan base, also anamorphic 16:9 and
shot at the same time as the main documentary. There
are positive comments from the director and cast, balanced
by A. Michael Baldwin's nervousness at the more extreme
fan reactions and Bill Thornbury's rather worrying tale
of one Phantasm obsessive who actually
burst into his home in full combat gear announcing that
he was the new Tall Man. Three of the film's biggest fans
are also interviewed, though all were connected directly
with later productions, having secured jobs on them through
a combination of chance and their own unwavering enthusiasm.
The
menus, a CG animated version of the Phantasm
mausoleum set, really add to the polish.
All
in all, a fine box set, wonderfully presented, and with
a spanking collection of extra features. For fans of the
series, or even of just the first two films, the bonus disc
is absolutely worth having, and that sphere sits wonderfully
on any horror fan's booze cabinet. Highly recommended.
*
Since this review was posted the on-line price of the set
has plummeted to about £10. Now THAT is value.
|
