The upcoming Region 2 Phantasm Blu-Ray Collection by Arrow Video has a hardcover book, silver sphere replica, new artwork for each film by Gary Pullin and a gaggle of extras. And - somehow - you still need me to say why you NEED this set? Well, allow me to explain. Here are five reasons you need this release besides the sphere. The items mentioned below are all exclusive to the Arrow set, so don't go looking for them on the North American Blu-Ray collection! 1. "DEAR ANGUS" BY KRISTEN DEEM This newly produced featurette is the most personal and intimate look at both Lawrence Rory Guy and Angus Scrimm you could hope to find anywhere. "Dear Angus" was compiled from personal photos and narrated by longtime friend and collaboratorKristen Deem. I'd strongly advise you have some tissues handy for when you watch this touching tribute. It's that good. 2. THE LOS ANGELES PREMIERE EXPERIENCE FOR PHANTASM & RAVAGER Unable to attend the Los Angeles premieres of the first and fifth films? Not to worry! Now you can join a lovely audience of die-hard phans on these two 5.1 Surround Sound tracks as they experience Phantasm Remastered and Phantasm Ravager for the first time! Laugh, gasp and cheer along with these high energy crowds. Also includes the Q&A that followed the Remastered premiere. It'll feel just like you were there! 3. RARE PHANTASM III SET FOOTAGE W/ COMMENTARY BY MARK SHOSTROM & DEAN GATES Phantasm III boasted some of the franchise's most imaginative and gory special effects makeups including the zombie trio, the frozen Tall Man, and Mike's bulging head sphere. This feature not only gives you a rare peak behind the curtain at how they were made, but allows you to listen in as legendary effects makers Shostrom and Gates discuss their work! A highly recommended watch! 4. "TALL TALES" FEATURETTE Sadly, the new supplements on this collection were created after the passing of our dear Angus Scrimm. As a result, he is absent from the new documentaries. Fortunately, Arrow has assembled something for those of us still missing the Tall Man. They've cut together Scrimm's unused interview segments from the 2005 Phantasmagoria documentary into a new "Tall Tales" featurette. The newly unearthed footage has the performer discussing his villainous portrayal throughout the franchise. 5. EVEN THE OLDER EXTRAS LOOK BETTER IN BLU! Arrow’s team have painstakingly cleaned up the set’s older supplemental material, even recreating Phantasm’s original trailers from Remastered’s source elements. And purists, fret not - they utilized shots of the original 1979 silver sphere for these vintage trailers. Phantasm’s deleted scenes have also been shown some love. In addition to their individual cleanups, they are now uniformly cropped to their intended 16x9 format, same as the film they were cut from. (Previous home video releases included this footage in 4x3 format). This new framing was personally approved by Don Coscarelli. Even the most vintage elements, like the 1979 television interview with Coscarelli and Scrimm, have been revisited and touched up for this Arrow release. You’re about to see some old supplements in a whole new way! You can grab your copy of this set direct from Arrow Video's website here. Keep in mind that North American phans will need a Region Free Player to watch this set. It's a worthwhile investment!
Arrow Video have unleashed an ass-kicking three minute trailer for their upcoming UK Phantasm Blu-Ray Collection. You know the one I'm talking about, the one that comes with a silver sphere replica, hardcover book and new artwork by artist Gary Pullin! This trailer shows off the MEGA-TON of supplemental features the set is packing across its six glorious discs. Arrow teases the return of some older features (Phantasmagoria!), but also a large handful of new bonus items exclusive to this set. You can get your copy direct from Arrow here. Keep in mind, North American phans, you'll need a Region Free Blu-Ray player to watch this set, but it's definitely worth the investment.
Today's news of Phantasm's recent French Blu-Ray release got me searching out international home video releases of the series just for fun. And God, some of them are weird. I found a Spanish release of the first four films that has a pretty major packaging goof. It would appear that someone confused the credits of Phantasm Oblivion with the 1980s The Return of Sherlock Holmes television series starring Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke. What's weirder is that the DVD company got some of the technical credits for Oblivion right, though Fred Myrow's credit as co-composer with Christopher Stone is incorrect. Although Myrow's involvement with Oblivion was announced early on, he was ultimately unable to work on the picture. The back cover doesn't actually feature any images from Oblivion, but it also fortunately doesn't feature any images of Sherlock Holmes. Also just noticed that this DVD set is using phan artwork of the silver sphere at bottom left. If you're looking to add this weird item to your collection, you can do so here.
Is it just me or is our favorite horror series getting a lot of love special edition right now? In addition to the upcoming Well Go USA and Arrow Video collections, we now have something else! The original Phantasm received two new home video releases in France last month - a spiffy new Blu-Ray Steelbook edition and a standard DVD edition. These formats appear to be boasting the new Remastered version of the film. They come with new artwork and a few supplements. Packaging for the Blu appears below and the DVD to your right. Click any image to see it larger. Snag your steelbook copy from Amazon France here.
Interview inédite de 2017 de Guy Astic et Julien Maury (20’)
Interview d’époque du réalisateur Don Coscarelli et de l’acteur Angus Scrimm réalisée en 1979 (28’)
Intervention d’Angus Scrimm à une Convention en 1989 (10’)
Phantasm phan and globe-trotting photographer Scott Pensa was in Northern California earlier today and opted to stop by the historic Dunsmuir Mansion in Oakland, California. Phans will surely recall that Dunsmuir served as the exterior of Morningside Mortuary on the original Phantasm. The group that controls the property regularly allow guests to tour the mansion and grounds, which has resulted in a ton of phans making pilgrimage to the location. Scott was wrapping up his tour today and stopped by Dunsmuir's gift shop, where he spotted A BOX OF SILVER SPHERES FOR SALE. I swear to God, not even kidding. See the picture to your right. You may call them Christmas ornaments, but I know better. Those are chrome brain suckers if I've ever seen them. Scott was wearing a spiffy Tall Man shirt during his visit and brought along his Red Planet Edition of Phantasm Exhumed. That edition is now out of print, but you can still find the Blue Edition on Amazon if you want to learn more about Phantasm's filming at Dunsmuir or how it nearly returned for Phantasm Oblivion. To learn more about the property or plan your own visit, check out the official Dunsmuir website. They also host a ton of weddings, so if you're thinking of tying the knot anytime soon.... Thanks to Scott Pensa for the scoop!
Last month, Phantasm Ravager writer/director David Hartman debuted a terrific new musical album - "The Art of Monsters" by Zorgon. The artist/filmmaker/musician has described his stylings as "in the vein of synthwave, Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter and 80's movie soundtracks." The Art of Monsters offers sixty-eight minutes of music across nineteen tracks. You can buy the physical CD release for $14.99 on Amazon or grab downloadable tracks for $9.99 on iTunes and other digital platforms. I'm listening to the album as I type this and it's quite fantastic. I highly recommend it. If you're at all a fan of John Carpenter's "Lost Themes" albums, you'll find much to like here. You can keep up with Hartman and view his also fantastic artwork by visiting his official site here.
