The Faculty's First A-List Disc

Let's follow up one new Scream Factory 4k Ultra HD Collector's Edition with another.  But this time, instead of them revisiting a past Collector's Edition and bumping it up to UHD, this is their first crack at the title.  And specifically, that title is The Faculty, Robert Rodriguez's zany high school space invasion horror movie that's (mostly... we'll come back to this) been relegated to barebones DVD and blu-ray releases that've seen more time in bargain bins than prime shelf space or end caps.  This promises to be the film's first A-list disc, so let's see.

I called The Faculty Robert Rodriguez's movie, but really I associate this much more with its writer, Kevin Williamson.  Fresh off two big Hollywood horror hits - Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, the creative hierarchy of which should've already let us know his material needs a strong director - Williamson gave us what I actually consider to be his greatest work.  Afterwards, he decided to direct himself and helmed the massive stink-bomb Teaching Mrs. Tingle and then slunk off into sequels and television (did you know he created Dawson's Creek?) leaving behind a reputation of a one-hit wunderkind.  Like he had one clever idea to briefly revitalize slashers and that was the extent of what he had to offer.  But I'd argue this at-the-time box office flop proves he has more magic in him and that this deserves a serious re-appraisal.

...Of course, it should also be noted that this was made by his second strongest director.  Williamson is clearly in his element with another high school setting, and the cast is a constant barrage of, "oh wow, they're in this, too?"  Elijah Wood, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Josh Hartnett, T-1000 Robert Patrick, Usher, Bebe "Lilith" Neuwirth, Clea DuVall, Shooter McGavin himself Christopher McDonald, Piper Laurie and a surprisingly good performance by Jon Stewart.  There's also a now unfortunate cameo by Harry Knowles, as if to remind us we're still in skeevy Weinstein territory.  And sure, big studio teenage horror can be pretty corny, especially in this period, but a big part of what puts this high school Invasion Of the Body Snatchers (a film regularly referred to within this movie, a la Scream's meta-text) is how it mashes together the stereotypes with the stuff Hollywood usually tries to traipse around, from a more realistically depressing depiction of life in the teacher's lounge to the envelope pushing notion that our heroes have to keep snorting a harmful, heroin-like homebrew drug to stave off the evil adults.  The Faculty is clever and keeps reaching more outrageous heights its peers didn't dare for.  Unlike most of its peers, it holds up surprisingly well.

The Faculty was originally released on DVD by Buena Vista all the way back in 1999.  Not only was it barebones, as I mentioned earlier, it was non-anamorphic, so it's completely useless today.  And you know you're in trouble when Echo Bridge is the one to escort this film into HD, via their BD in 2012.  It's a Miramax title; you know how sketchy their home video history has been.  It's been passed around to Lions Gate and Paramount, but their discs have been generic barebones, too.  That's why I imported Paramount's Japanese blu, which actually includes some special features.  But now I can put it behind me (or should I?) because Scream Factory has just restored the film in 4k for their fancy, new Collector's Edition.

1) 1999 BV DVD; 2) 2012 Paramount BD; 3) 2024 SF BD; 4) 2024 SF UHD.

Starting with the aspect ratio, every release is 1.85:1 except the DVD, which is 1.82:1.  Every disc has basically the same framing, except the DVD cuts a little bit off along both sides.  It's also, again, non-anamorphic, though, so it's really just here for some historical perspective.  The initial blu is a general improvement beyond just fixing that.  It clears up a lot of ugly compression and removes what looks like an old master's edge enhancement, though maybe it still shows some much more subtle hints of tinkering.  At least we've move into HD.  But grain is just faintly hinted at and the colors are super pale.  You could make an argument for some of the color timing - the sky in the first set of shots being genuinely blue, for example - but Mr. Hartnett looks downright sickly in the second set of shots.

And the fact that the new, Rodriguez-approved (for what that's worth) color timing brings it back to the DVD's suggests it was always supposed to look like that.  I guess they shot that first scene at golden hour or something.  Anyway, the colors are much more attractive on the new blu, even before looking at the triple-layer UHD, then the faded old blu.  Now all tinkering is definitely 100% gone and the fine grain is here, especially on the UHD (it doesn't pick up so well on the included BD).  This is easily the best The Faculty's ever looked.

The DVD had optional English subtitles, which the BD dropped in favor of Japanese ones.  I checked, though, and the US blu-ray didn't have any subs at all, so they were dropped for every American BD.  Well, until Scream Factory brought them back, that is.  The DVD also gave us a choice between 2.0 and 5.1 mixes, which the initial BDs dropped down to just the 5.1, albeit now in lossless DTS-HD.  The Japanese blu also a lossless Japanese stereo mix.  And Scream Factory has happily given us the choice again, both the English 2.0 and 5.1, both in lossless DTS-HD.  So they've hit us up with everything we could've hope for.

Except, maybe, in the very light extras department.  The DVD had a fullscreen trailer, and that's it.  That's more than the US blus had, though, which is the whole reason I imported.  They have the fullscreen trailer and a crazy widescreen trailer under the title Parasite, but far more importantly, they have over twenty minutes of on-set interviews with the cast and crew.  This is clearly EPK stuff, so it doesn't go that deep, but it isn't padded out with clips from the film, and they include a lot of people, from Rodriguez and Williamson to most of the stars.  Japanese subs are burnt in, but hey, it's good stuff.  I'm glad I went to the trouble of importing - it even comes in Parasite obi strip.

Rodriguez in one of the Japanese-exclusive interviews.

And Scream Factory?  Surprisingly for something billed as a Collector's Edition, it just has two new interviews.  One is a brief chat with the production designer, which is mostly played over clips from the film because they seem to only have low quality webcam footage.  And the second is with effects artist Greg Nicotero, who always does great interviews.  I'm very pleased to receive both, don't get me wrong, but I'm surprised that's all there is.  Maybe Rodriguez's asking price was too high to get him to jump on here, but they didn't even include the old interviews from the Japanese blu.  Heck, they didn't even throw in the trailer.  It does at least come in a slipcover and include reversible artwork, though; and it came with a poster if you pre-ordered it direct from Shout.

So it's a pretty light Collector's Edition, but it is an excellent presentation of a film that was in real need of some additional love on home video.  In short, a good addition to any collection, but it'll leave you wanting more.

Scream, In 4k But Still Cut... Why, Paramount, Why?!

Scream is one of the most re-released films that still hasn't managed to get it right. It's frustrating. It's also confusing to fans who aren't patient enough to dig into it all, so I see people just buying low quality discs or cut versions without even realizing. We're talking Dimension Home Video and Lions Gate, so of course the situation's unsatisfying. So I figure I'd tackle it here and do my little bit to try and help tip the scales.

Update 1/8/16 - 11/23/21: Scream is back, now available as a 4k Ultra HD release!  But spoilers: they still obstinately refuse to get it right.  It's the cut version once again.  Wah, wah.

I don't think I even need to talk about the movie itself here. Wes Craven directs then newcomer Kevin Williamson's screenplay that takes the slasher film into the ironic, self-referential teen movie realm. It's filled with stunt casting and pop culture references spilling out of every orifice, but Craven winds up giving us possibly his most powerful, old school horror direction of his entire career. Sure, some of his other films are better for having brilliant ideas and iconic imagery, but just in terms of having really effectively done scare sequences, Scream might be at the top of the list. And Williamson's story structure really works, too. It's tempting to write it off as a teen movie or outdated hipster fare, especially with the mainstream reception it got and the declining sequels; but you'll be invested in the characters and guessing who the killer is right up to the end. So it's worth trying to get this on a really good disc.

So Scream first hit DVD as a new release. The film came out in 1996, and it hit US DVD in 1997. It also hit laserdisc in 1997, with one crucial difference. The laserdisc featured the unrated director's cut, while the DVD had the theatrical, edited R-rated version. And here's where things get complicated, because both the laserdisc and DVD were reissued in 1998. In fact, there's two pressings of the second issue of the DVD, because Scream's a big seller, so they're going to keep putting it out, but don't think that means they're going to start getting it right.

an extended moment from the unrated version, only on the laserdisc.

So let's start with the laserdiscs. Both laserdiscs feature the film in full widescreen 2.35:1 in CLV. They're both the uncut director's cut and they both have the audio commentary by Craven and Williamson. Pretty much every release of Scream has this commentary (except for some foreign discs), but it's interesting because they reference the film being the uncut version... which is just inaccurate when you hear the same commentary on any of the DVD or blu-ray releases, and only adds to the confusion. The difference between the two lasers is just the addition of a DTS track to 1998 version. Reissuing DTS editions of films was a thing for a short time in the late 90s, which I talked a bit about in my Army of Darkness post.

The beginning of this shot is in both versions, where the cameraman gets his throat slit;
but only the unrated stays on him as he looks at the blood on his hand.

Okay, so now for the DVDs. Both the 1997 and 1998 discs feature the R-rated version in non-anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen. The 1998 disc was issued with two different covers, basically with or without that gold "Collector's Series" band across the top. The 1997 has that curved purple "Widescreen" logo across the top. The difference between the 1997 and 1998 versions are the extras. The original disc just has the commentary from the laser, plus the trailer. The 1998s keep those but also add some short featurettes.

Even the 2000 Ultimate Scream Edition, which includes the first two sequels, is still non-anamorphic and the R-rated version. It does feature a couple more short extras on the fourth bonus disc, but that's the only upgrade. And in 2009, the Scream Triple Pack, still only includes the non-anamorphic R-rated cut. It's actually got the exact same disc as the 1998 Collector's Edition inside. And if you can believe it, even the Scream Triple Feature 3-DVD set from 2011 is still the non-anamorphic R-rated cut. Non-Anamorphic in 2011? Jeez Louise! It's a wonder the make the blu-ray 4:3! They didn't, but of course it's still the R-rated cut.  And now in 2021, there's a new UHD from Paramount, which is again the R-rated cut.

1) 1997 Dimension laserdisc; 2) 1998 Dimension DVD;
3) 2011 Lions Gate BD; 4) 2021 Paramount UHD.

It's kind of shocking that even the later DVDs are non-anamorphic, but here you go. Framing for all the old releases is essentially the same 2.35:1 across all three releases, except the blu-ray actually loses a smidgen along all four sides. We're just talking slivers here, but still; if there's anything to add to the disappointment sandwich here, they throw it in. The blu is a lot clearer and more detailed than the DVD and laser (versus non-anamorphic, how could it not be?), we can finally read that the VHS Jamie Kennedy has on top of his TV is for the 1995 Harvey Keitel movie Smoke. But it still looks kind of flat, and in some scenes significantly edge enhanced and otherwise tinkered with. It's a single layer disc that looks like it was taken from an older master.

Happily, or perhaps just frustratingly, given that it's still cut, Paramount's UHD looks heaps better.  It's still 2.35:1, but reveals more information along all four sides, and most importantly gets rid of all that ugly image tampering.  Contrast no longer looks over-sharpened to the point where tiny bright spots peak way out, and the washed colors of the BD are restored (look at that lapshade for a quick idea).  Grain still looks a little light and the edges might still be slightly overworked, but this is a substantial improvement over the BD.

The DVD, BD and UHD all feature essentially the same 5.1 mix, though it is lossless DTS-HD on the BD and UHD.  They also all include optional English subtitles, and the UHD has added a slew of additional foreign language dubs and subs.

So let's talk extras. The commentary is actually quite good. Again, if you're not watching an uncut version, it'll throw you off a bit; but for the most part it's just fun and informative, with a good rapport between Craven and Williamson. Then the DVD adds several things, including the original promo featurette, which is of course clip heavy and plays like a 6-minute trailer, but it has some interview clips and is nice to have. It does show you how bad the movie looks in 4:3 with so much of the sides chopped off. Then there's two very short (about 3 minutes each) featurettes that give you a little glimpse of the film being shot behind-the-scenes. They're basically just B-roll footage set to music, but they're fun. Then there's about 5 minutes of extended interviews from the promo featurette, plus trailers, TV spots and a stills gallery. Essentially, the sum total is just the press kit, but I'd rather have it than not. And that's all the Blu-ray has, too. It's just the same set of small extras, in SD on the blu, too, except the 1997 and 1998 DVDs also include a single sheet insert with chapter titles, which the blu forgoes.

Again, though, you can get about 45 minutes of additional extras, including a 30-minute featurette, screen-tests and outtakes, if you get the 2000 Ultimate Scream 4-disc set. That's a little underwhelming to double-dip on a boxed set for, but it's something. And there's a 4-disc blu-ray set which includes two far more extensive 90+ minute documentaries, called the Scream 5 Film Set. To be clear, they mean parts 1-3 plus the two docs add up to five films. Scream 4 isn't in that set. But if you really love Scream, that's the best version to get of the R-rated cut, in that it has the HD transfer and the most extras... though NOT the Ultimate Scream bonus disc extras. If you want to be a completist, you'll still need to get that set, too. And even then, you have to figure out a way to get the director's cut.

And the new UHD? Pretty much the same deal, with the same limited extras package as the blu, where you'll need to delve into box sets and all for longer docs.  It does add one new, brief (just under seven and a half minutes) featurette that takes a look back at the film, 25 years later with brand new cast and crew interviews.  It's worth a look, but its running tells you all you need to know about how substantive it is, hampered further by the fact that they give a good chunk of that time to the young stars of the upcoming 2022 reboot.  It's as underwhelming as it sounds, but it's not worthless.

Ultimately, as many times as Scream has been repackaged and re-sold, it still badly needs a new edition.  At least it looks better now, but critically, all of these discs are cut! We need the director's cut, which is still essentially only available on laserdisc. Now, if you don't have a laserdisc player, there are a couple of old, foreign DVDs that are comparable. Every single blu-ray in every country is as cut as the USA's, but on DVD there are Korean, Scandinavian and Japanese options. There's plenty of DVD versions in plenty of countries, but they're all cut, too. Korea, Scandinavia and Japan are your only options, and don't get too happy, because they're non-anamorphic, too. Essentially they're just ports of the laserdisc; but there's no other choice [Or maybe not??  See the comments below about a possibly slightly better, but very difficult to track down, German DVD].  Because, for whatever reason, the studios just refuse to give fans what we want.