No confirmed info on how it compares technically to the BCI Eclipse Special Edition DVD of a few years ago (review HERE) although the Amazon listing has it labeled as being 1.33:1 pan & scan instead of the correct widescreen ratio, and no extras are listed. It is paired with another Crown International drive-in "favorite," The Crater Lake Monster (1977), which is pretty boring, but does feature some stop-motion monster sequences by the late David Allen.
Neither movie is what you'd call "good," but if you're a B-movie buff, it makes an interesting double-bill, and the price (SRP $14.95) is pretty reasonable. I don't know if I'll be picking it up - the Galaxina DVD is perfectly satisfactory - and in the proper aspect ratio w/extras - but I would like to have a copy of Monster, bad as it is.... hmmm....
If you must have it, you can order it at a discount from Amazon here: Galaxina / Crater Lake Monster- Double Feature- [Blu-ray]
Now, if I could just find some actual release information about Shout! Factory's long-promised Battle Beyond The Stars Blu-Ray... if anyone comes across any news, please send it along.
Dorothy Stratten in a form fitting outfit is the ONLY saving grace of this film, and believe me, my standards are very flexible. Even with the low price and the inclusion of Crate Lake Monster as a bonus, I think I'll skip this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm just putting the info out there.... ;)
ReplyDeleteI remember back around 1981, I stayed up late watching this on Showtime (and hoping that my dad wouldn't catch me). I laughed at all of the references to "The Blue Star!" (insert angelic music here).
ReplyDeleteAnd who could forget the late Avery Schreiber as Captain Cornelius Butt?
Dorothy Stratten... Wow.
Oh, and the last thing that I saw on "Battle Beyond the Stars" was that it was due to come out in July 2011. But that was on a message board, so consider it rumor only.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that in 2011, with all the DVD and Blu-Ray technology out there, pan-and-scan is still a viable option for movie release. Seriously, are there any DVD enthusiasts who prefer pan-and-scan to widescreen? Anyone at all?
ReplyDeleteNo, I hate seeing pan-and-scan. One of the movies that I hate seeing on cable is MIDWAY. It's a great movie and suffers greatly from the pan-and-scan presentation.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine that even the studios consider pan & scan to be a selling point; I'm sure it's sheer laziness and/or cheapness that results in old TV/VHS masters being re-used on digital.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of GALXINA, it's particularly odd, as a decent widescreen transfer exists,a nd was used on the old BCI DVD.
Of course, Amazon may have the technical specs wrong on their site, or it may only apply to the CRATER LAKE MONSTER co-feature. Until the disc comes out and someone's brave enough to buy a copy, we won't know for sure. ;)
Releasing anything now in a "cropped" format makes even less sense when you consider that today's flat panel TVs are made for widescreen images. I still can't understand why Universal chose to put Colussus: The Forbin Project on dvd in pan-and-scan only.
ReplyDeleteUniversal released METALSTORM on DVD in pan & scan last year. I didn't understand it then, either:
ReplyDeletehttp://space1970.blogspot.com/2010/08/metalstorm-destruction-of-jared-syn.html
I don't remember too much about this film, but wasn't there a Star Wars cantina scene rip-off with a cannibalistic bartender named "Mr.Spot" ( who had droopy ears ), and the original '60's Batmobile parked outside?
ReplyDelete