House On the Edge Of the Park: Nailed It This Time

I usually avoid looking at the stats and metrics of my site.  Because once I see that one post has more hits than another, it's an easy slope to slip down, constantly chasing the hints of popularity, forgoing what I want to write about or what I think would be best, caught up in an internet-driven numbers game.  But I looked, and here's what I now believe think people would like to see most from me: a limited edition Code Red blu-ray sleazy Italian horror movie compared to a more broadly released American DVD version.  Happily, that's exactly what I was going to write about today anyway, so here's House On the Edge Of the Park!  😀

Update 11/6/16 - 12/22/21: I've stuck to my policy of not looking at the numbers, so hopefully what you'd most like to see today is an updated comparison with Severin's brand new special edition, because here it is!

Update 3/8/22: The replacement discs are here! Yes, after the issues with the black levels and crush as reported in the last update, Severin announced they'd be sending replacements to everyone who ordered one directly from their site.  So far, the film's only been available directly from their site, so that means everyone's getting it.  And all retail copies in future will include the replacement disc, so there shouldn't be any risk of winding up with the old disc in future.  Though, just in case you're worried, the photo above shows the difference (it has "V3" at the end of its code, and a purpler background color), so you can contact Severin in the unlikely event an old disc somehow find its way to you.

Anyway, mine just arrived today.  Is everything all better now?

House On the Edge is Italy's answer to Wes Craven's The Last House On the Left, even borrowing its notorious leading villain, David Hess.  I've been reading some debate recently, over which is the sleazier, least comfortable watch, and Craven's seemed to win out, but I definitely feel that dubious honor goes to Ruggero Deodato's flick.  I can see making a case for Last House.  For one, it came first, and it's the more famous, American film, so most horror fans probably saw it first.  And the first time you see something is always the most shocking.  Also, while Last has some unnatural elements, like the comic relief cops, the graphic scenes are very realistic.  Contrast that with the Italian glamour models sitting around in color-coordinated outfits, and it gives you a bit of an "out" in feeling staged and unrealistic.

Casey Scott's liner notes for Shriek Show's insert say this film
has "no flair present in cinematography," but I beg to differ.

But on the other hand, the root sadistically sexual violence feels just as genuine in both films, and in Last, those scenes really just happen in the second act, after which the film switches mode to a karmic revenge thriller, like its Virgin Spring inspiration.  But pretty much the entirety of Park just wallows in it.  It takes the typical Italian exploitation habit of finding the saleable element the original film had - in this case Hess abusing and terrorizing his victims with a knife - and making that the whole movie.  Also, everybody's despicable in this one; there are no decent characters to latch onto.  And its damned effective, if a bit ethereal and stagey at the same time.  Plus, it's got a great disco theme song and finishes up with a nice twist ending that I certainly didn't see coming, and won't spoil here.

We originally only had House On the Edge of the Park on non-anamorphic DVD courtesy of those trashy budget packs from companies like Brentwood and Diamond, but in 2002, Shriek Show rescued it from obscurity with a widescreen special edition.  There have been UK editions, too, from Vipco and the more respectable Shameless Screen Entertainment, but outside of Shriek Show, almost all of those were edited versions.  The uncut DVD went out of print and started getting scarce.  But in 2016, Code Red came to the rescue with an uncut, limited edition (1500 copies) special edition blu-ray.  But now in 2021, Severin reckons they can top it, with a new 4k restoration, dual language options and all new special features.  Let's see how they did.

1) 2002 Shriek Show DVD; 2) 2016 Code Red BD; 3) 2021 Severin BD.

Where to begin?  The Code Red blu is pretty grainy and seems to have some of that infamous Italian scanner noise to boot.  But it's still a far superior image to the old Shriek Show DVD.  The 1.85:1 framing is only marginally different, with slim slivers of differences all around the edges.  But the DVD is flatter, with more limited and less natural colors, some ugly interlacing (a regular issue with Shriek Show releases), and heavy edge enhancement (look at the cards on the table; it's like somebody traced them on the table with a thick sharpie).  Code Red seems to've at least done the best they could with the Italian scan, and it certainly has a very noticeable jump up in quality from the DVD, which itself was a strong improvement over the old grey market junk.  But fans have always been in the market for something better.

And, we kinda got it with their new scan, which is 4k from the original OCN according to the back cover.  No more scanner noise for a start.  I've seen some people suggest Code Red's disc is sharper, but that's all artificial noise not actual detail.  And the framing's still 1.85:1, but it's pulled out a bit to reveal more picture along the edges.  The color timing is also warmer, more in line with Shriek Show's.  But the grain's pretty light for a 4k scan, and the black levels are rather milky.  Not quite to Wax Mask degrees, but less than ideal.  The blacks are actually rather crushed.  Just compare it to the Code Red - for example, look at Hess's left arm in the second set of shots.  We see a lot more of it on the CR disc that gets lost into a sea of blackness on the Severin.  It's a bummer, resulting in a draw PQ-wise, or at best a very slim victory, which should've been an easy win for a fresh 4k scan of a troubled older edition.  Or, at least, that was the case...

2022 Severin replacement BD.

Now, when Severin announced their replacement, I was a little worried that they described "an export error which affected the color density of the feature."  Did this mean they would fix the milky black levels, but leave crush inherent in the scan?  That would still be an improvement, so I'd've been happy to get the replacement regardless; but it's the first thing I checked when my disc arrived.  And I'm relieved to report it fixes both.  The lost detail is restored (Hess's left arm is back!) and the blacks are genuinely black.  This is exactly what we hoped for from the replacement program.

They've also taken advantage of the opportunity to upgrade the disc and added the theatrical trailer as a bonus feature.  So that's fun.

But then Severin pulls ahead.  Neither previous disc has the Italian audio, just the English audio.  This is a case where the English is distinctly preferable, with Hess's real voice on the English track, as opposed to the poor dub on the Italian, but still, it's always nice to have both.  And now we do.  All three discs preserve the original English mono audio in clear 2.0 (in lossless DTS-HD on the blus), but only Severin also includes the original Italian mono (also in DTS-HD).  And it's the only one to provide English subtitles.

Shriek Show did cobble together a pretty nice selection of extras.  They got lengthy interviews with the two most important people, Hess and Deodato, who answer just about all the questions you'd have after seeing this crazy picture.  Plus there's another good interview with Giovanni Lombardo Radice and a feature with Hess's family (watch his son play guitar and his wife refuse to talk about her role in the film).  On top of that, they included the original trailer, a stills gallery, some bonus trailers and an insert.  Code Red doesn't add anything new, but ports all of the Shriek Show stuff over, except for the bonus trailers and the insert, so we can let go of our old DVDs.

But Severin came hard on this one.  They carry over the Hess interview (and include the bit with his wife as an easter egg), which they've given a more professional edit and the gallery - and now the trailer, too - but replaced the Deodato and Radice interviews with newer, HD ones.  Better still, they also conduct new interviews with the cinematographer and set designer.  And they provide an enthusiastic audio commentary by Bruce Holecheck & Art Ettinger.  They've met several of the key players in the making of this film, so they have some nice insight, in addition to some well researched backstory.  I've been listening to a couple Italian horror commentaries recently, where the "experts" are clearly just winging it, and go way off on long, self-indulgent tangents without telling us much of anything that fans wouldn't already know.  So this is a satisfying reminder of how much better these tracks can be.

...And that's just disc 1.  Disc two includes the surprisingly engaging 2019 feature length documentary Deodato Holocaust, which plays a lot like Baumbach's DePalma, except of course it's Deodato, and I'd say it's actually more fun.  Disc 2 also includes the trailer and almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes, some of which are as entertaining and worth watching as the material they left in.  And as Severin has been doing with a lot of their Italian titles, they've included the soundtrack CD.  At first I was thinking I don't know if I care too much about the soundtrack to this one; it's not like a beloved Goblin score or anything.  But when it arrived I realized, of course, this means we finally get the complete "Do It To Me" disco theme - we absolutely need this!  Severin's release also comes in an embossed slipcover with reversible cover art and an insert featuring the CD track-listing.

So Severin's new blu is undeniably the way to go with this film, but problems with the transfer hold it back it from being the distinct triumph it should've been.  Let's face it, we'll all be replacing this edition again a few more years down the line.  Not anymore!  Well, barring a UHD release some day in the future...  But now that Severin's disc has been corrected, it's the definitive blu-ray version we were all expecting.  Best picture, best audio and subtitle options, best extras, including a whole second feature.  I already recommended this, but I'm now very glad to retract any reservations.  Well, barring the sleazy, degenerate nature of the film itself...  But I assume if you've read this far, you know what you're in for.

Dario Argento's Phenomena, Now In *Real* 4k!

In 2011, Arrow released Dario Argento's Phenomena on blu-ray in limited edition with a fold-out poster. In 2012, they released the combo-pack edition, and in 2014 they put out an exclusive steelbook through zavvi.com. No matter which version you pick up, though, the actual blu-ray disc is the same, and so is the booklet. And as you can see above, I've opted for the superior reversible artwork cover, rather than the more comic-booky side they face out. Oh, and that's Anchor Bay's DVD on the left, because you guessed it, I'm going to do another comparison.

Update 1/27/15 - 5/26/17: It's becoming a pretty regular thing, as 2 and 4k scans are becoming more affordable, to see one DVD label reissue a blu-ray that was already been released on blu by another with a more modern, superior scan.  But you don't see too many labels replace their own blus.  But Arrow's done it.  Their 2012 blu is now being supplanted by a fancy, 3-disc limited edition release of a new 4k scan of all three cuts of the film.  But just how much of an upgrade is it - a massive overhaul or no big deal just marketed to sap suckers of their money? Oh, and you might be saying, come on, bro.  This was one of your very first posts where you posted .jpgs instead of lossless .png screenshots.  Those might be fine for basic comparisons, but in a hardcore blu vs blu comparison, where we'll be zooming in to hunt for macroblocks, you've gotta do better.  So, alright you hypothetical slave-drivers, you; I'm also taking all new .png screenshots of the previous three versions for 100% fresh comparisons.

Update 7/12/18: And now I've added the 2006 US DVD to the comparisons, bridging the gap between the very old, original release and the new blus.

Update 3/6/22: Well, we knew as soon as the 4k mastered blu-rays were released, it was only a matter of time until we'd see them on an actual 4k Ultra HD disc.  And that time is now.  And rather than making competing US/ UK editions with Synapse, they're releasing the same set (albeit with unique covers) together in both countries.

In the special features (which we'll come back to), Dario Argento calls Phenomena his favorite of his films. I don't think it's mine, but you can see why he'd choose it. It's got high production values and combines earlier giallo stories with his later fairy-tale horror plots. It makes amazing use of insect photography, a strong interest of his, and and he got to use real, underage actors as his leads (Jennifer Connelly was just 13 when she shot this film), something he wanted to do in Suspiria, but had to compromise with adults playing school girls. It's got great effects - in fact, it's Sergio Stivaletti's first movie, and also utilizes some inventive opticals by his compatriot Luigi Cozzi - great music, utilizing both Goblin and major label rock songs, exotic Swedish locales and a great cast, including Connelly straight off of Once Upon a Time In America, Donald Pleasance, and of course a highly dramatic performance by Daria Nicolodi.

It's the story of a rich, American schoolgirl arriving in a foreign country to stay in an all-girls boarding school, where there unfortunately happens to be a killer on the loose targeting girls her age. Hey, that's exactly the same set-up as Suspiria! But the similarities end there, because this time the villains aren't witches, and in fact the supernatural aspect comes from our heroine, who has a psychic connection with insects. She teams up with a local entomologist (Pleasance) and his chimpanzee (no joke) to track down the killer before the killer tracks down them.  And discovering the killer only turns the proceedings more bizarre.

And Arrow presents the full, longest 116 minute cut of the film, which is great because I don't believe any of the trims from the other cuts benefit the film (although the differences between the two longer cuts are practically academic - it's not a drastic shift either way).  But, still, there are fans who prefer the other cuts; and now Arrow's 2017 Limited Edition release should satisfy everyone by also including the 110 International cut and the highly truncated, 83-minute Creepers cut, each on separate discs.  And all three cuts are presented in both English and Italian (with optional subtitles), however, since the full 116 cut was never entirely dubbed into English, 6 minutes of the 116 cut revert back to Italian even on the English track.

Now, to be clear, Anchor Bay released this twice on DVD (not counting the times they included the same transfer in larger boxed sets of Argento films): the original version in 1999, and a later 2008 reissue, which bumped it up to anamorphic and included an excellent new featurette as an extra.  I've got the 1999 one here for comparison, too, so we can see how far we've come.  And of the first edition Arrow blu-rays, I opted for the 2012 combo-pack, so we'll be looking at both a DVD and blu-ray from there.  Then their 2017 limited edition (limited to 5000 copies, to be precise) consists of three blu-rays, and they seem to all use the same master, but just to be thorough, let's look at shots from all three cuts, too. Finally, we now have their latest 2022 UHD set, in partnership with Synapse, which is three cuts across two discs (both BD-100s), which again all seem to share a common master, but again I'll post all three just to be thorough.

1) 1999 Anchor Bay DVD, 2) 2006 Anchor Bay DVD, 3) Arrow 2012 DVD,
4) Arrow 2012 BD, 5) 2017 Arrow Italian BD, 6) 2017 Arrow International BD,
7) 2017 Arrow Creepers BD, 8) 2022 Arrow Italian UHD,
9) 2022 Arrow International UHD, 10) 2022 Arrow Creepers UHD.

Every release is pillar-boxed to roughly the correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1 (1999 Anchor Bay is more like 1.64:1, and the 2012 & 2017 releases are 1.67:1).  The old DVD is non-anamorphic, so it has that going against it; and the newer releases, even the 2012s, have clearly cleaned up dirt and damage, like the black mark on the upper right of the first shot above.  The 2008 AB looks a lot like the 1999 AB except it's a bit of a clearer image, anamorphic (the important bit!), and cropped ever so slightly tighter along the bottom.  Arrow's 2012 has a curious blu push, and not just the dramatic night scenes, where Argento gives the scenes a lot of blue light.  Just look at the skin-tones in the shots above; I think this new 2017 blu gets it right.  Or, at the very least, it's the most natural.  Given Argento's creative use of colors and lighting, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the most correct timing.  But it certainly looks good.  And speaking of looking good, the 2017 4k scan of the OCN definitely brings out grain and fine detail better than the 2012 blu.  Look at the green background in the first set of shots, for example.  The 2017 has very naturalistic film grain, where it looks smoothed away on the older blu ...though not as badly as the Anchor Bay, of course, which has a lot of high contrast and other hallmarks you'd expect of an old 1999 DVD.  But going back to the blus, the 2012 colors have a flatter look to them, compared to the 2017, which is more lively.  In my early comparison between just the 2012 blu and the DVD, I wrote, "Arrow's dual-layered disc has obviously superior image quality and compression, while the DVD is clearly boosted, but at the same time, the blu could be a little more colorful."  Well, the updated blus took care of that, too.

And the UHDs?  Well, it's not just the same 4k scan plopped onto a higher resolution disc.  I mean, first of all, it's been re-timed for HDR, of course.  The resolution gains is only slightly perceptible.  In the second set of shots, we're already looking at the same specs of film grain, which was excellently encoded on the 2017 BD, so we're really not discovering a whole ton of new detail.  Though in the first set, we do see the grain that's soft and washed out in the light much more clearly on the UHDs.  That's thanks both to the resolution boost and the HDR bringing out more subtlety and distinction.  A more surprisingly difference in the 2022 version is that the framing's different.  It's still 1.67:1, but it's actually shifted to the left in the first set of shots and zoomed in tighter in the second.  Throughout the film, it's always just a little different - consistent across all three cuts, but different from 2017 to 2022.  None of it really strikes me as better or worse, but it's been adjusted.

Now, both Anchor Bays gave us English 5.1 and 2.0 mixes with no Italian or subtitle options (though there was a random French dub).  The 2012 Arrow blu took care of that, giving us both the Italian and English language options in uncompressed LPCM stereo, with freshly re-translated subtitles.  For the 2017 limited edition, with multiple cuts, it gets a little more complicated but no less rewarding.  The 116-minute cut has the English (with a few minutes of Italian, as explained earlier) and Italian both in 5.1 DTS-HD and lossless PCM 2.0 stereo.  The 110 minute cut has the English in 5.1 DTS-HD and PCM 2.0, and the 83-minute Creepers cut has the English in lossless PCM 1.0 mono.  That's right, the 110 and 83 minute versions don't have Italian audio options, only the full 116 does, though all three still have optional subtitles.

And the 2022 UHDs are mostly consistent with the 2017 BDs, but with a couple of interesting changes.  It drops the English stereo mix on the Italian cut, but now Creepers has a stereo mix, in addition to the mono, and the International version has an additional stereo mix with alternate sound effects, both of which come from Synapse's previous blu.  This is the benefit of the partnership.  Before, both companies' blus had their pros and cons, but now we're getting everything.  Oh, and also the LPCM tracks are now all also in DTS-HD.

Extras are interesting and even more complicated.  Arrow's 2012 blu also comes with a host of brand new extra features, however it doesn't port over any of the old Anchor Bay ones, and Arrow's 2017 has even more strong, new extras, but doesn't even port over their own 2012 stuff, let alone the Anchor Bay goodies. The original DVD's strongest asset was an audio commentary by Argento, Stivaletti and Goblin's Claudio Simonetti.  It's not perfect; there are semi-regular gaps of silence, and the three commentators are clearly edited together, not all in the room together.  Plus they're all struggling a bit with their English, so it's informative, but a little clunky.  Thankfully, there's a moderator.  The rest sort of felt like random odds and ends, mostly sourced from video... A short clip of Cozzi's World of Argento 2 documentary showing a clip about one of Phenomena's special effects. There was also two music videos, the trailer and a clip of Argento being interviewed on The Joe Franklin Show. So, I can see not going to the trouble and expense of releasing that stuff (though the commentary would've been nice).  The 1999 disc also featured an insert with additional artwork.

AB's reissue retained all of that stuff, and also added what turned out to be the best of all their extras, a seventeen-plus minute featurette which included great interviews with Argento, Nicolodi, Cozzi, Stivaletti, writer Franco Ferrini, Fiore Argento (who plays the killer's first victim), and director of photography Romano Albani.

Arrow's blu has a brand new documentary, though, which is pretty good. It's 50 minutes long (although a good ten or more minutes are spent on clips from the film we've just watched, as well as Arrow's animations) and includes Argento, Cozzi, Nicolodi (who's pretty frank not only about working with her ex-husband, but she takes a strong shot at Ferrini), Stivaletti, and underwater photographer Gianlorenzo Battaglia, There's also a separate interview with Simonetti, which is good, and two festival appearances by Stivaletti are edited together into one Q&A, which is still a little dry but has its moments. I'd say the new extras are at least a tie with the old extras, but both feel a little lacking for want of the other's. The two documentaries cover almost none of the same ground, and it almost feels like Arrow was consciously trying not to repeat anecdotes and details from Anchor Bay's, as if they were originally anticipating including their content in addition to the old stuff, rather than instead of.  Oh well.  Anyway, the 2012 blu also includes reversible artwork and an 8-page booklet by Alan Jones.

Arrow's 2017 limited edition adds an all new expert audio commentary by Troy Howarth (on the 116 minute cut) to the table, which is quit informative and an enjoyable listen, though he does put down the film as "second shelf Argento" at times.  And even more excitingly, it replaces the 50-minute documentary with an all-new 2-hour one, which is even better, with fresh interviews with Dario Argento, Fiore Argento, Davide Marotta who played the monster kid(!), Daria Nicolodi, actress Fiorenza Tessari, Franco Ferrini, Romano Albani, production manager Angelo Jacono, Luigi Cozzi, Sergio Stivaletti, make up artist Pier Antonio Mecacci, Gianlorenzo Battaglia, Claudio Simonetti and Simon Boswell.  You can tell just by the bolding that they brought in several people all the previous releases neglected to talk to.  This is definitely the most comprehensive Phenomena coverage we've ever had, and frankly, it's about time.  There's also a great 30-minute featurette detailing the history and differences between the three cuts of the film, and the process involved in creating a new, more seamless English/ Italian audio hybrid track.  Plus, there are English and Italian trailers, the "Jennifer" music video (which Argento directed) and a "Japanese pressbook" stills gallery.  The limited edition comes in a nice, hard slipbox with two blu-ray cases, each with reversible artwork, and a 58-page book, featuring writing by Mikel J. Koven, Rachael Nisbit who I follow on Twitter because she has a great blog, and Leonard Jacobs.  And there's also a full soundtrack CD, which comes with its own insert for the track-listing and credits.

The new 2022 UHDs largely mirror the 2017 set.  All of that stuff: the Howarth commentary, the 2-hour doc, the featurette about the three cuts, the music video and all the odds and ends are here.  And the older stuff from previous editions is still absent.  But Arrow does have an extra treat for us this go around, specifically in the form of another commentary.  This time it's on the International cut, and it's another expert track, by Derek Botelho and David Del Valle.  If that rings a bell, that's because it isn't strictly all-new; this commentary originates from Synapse's 2016 blu-ray, another benefit of this cooperative release.  The swag is similar to the 2017 set, although it's a slimmer slipbox, as it now only houses one amary case (with reversible artwork) instead of two.  There's no more soundtrack CD, but now we get a double-sided poster.  And the 60-page booklet is largely the same, though as you may've noticed in the two photos, it's got a new cover.  And they've replaced the soundtrack card with six replica lobby cards, plus a card advertising their upcoming release of 1956's The Werewolf.

It should also be noted that their are four alternate versions, strictly in terms of packaging.  The one I've got pictured here is Arrow's standard set, but they also have a box with alternate art called the "Arte Originale Edition," and a third one with a Creepers cover.  Those are all UK releases.  In the US, Synapse has created its own, unique fourth cover (limited to 6,000), which will be released next week.  But they all have the same discs and contents.  These are just cover and poster options.

So it's still a shame the old extras were let go, but the new material is so comprehensive, you won't miss much of it unless you're just a completist who wants it all (which I absolutely understand).  I'll still hang onto my 2012 blu; but I think most fans who upgraded will feel comfortable letting it go once they've watched everything on the new release.  The old Anchor Bay commentary was still a nice treat, so you might want to hang onto that DVD still; but let's face it, too many extras just start to get repetitive anyway.  Like how many times do we want to hear the same anecdotes retold?  And regardless, Arrow/ Synapse's new UHD is easily and obviously the definitive winner.

Y'know, I felt kind of bad for Synapse there, when they spent years following Arrow's 2012 blu polishing that master into a cleaner and stronger looking blu for their 2016 steelbook release, only to have Arrow come back around and trump them with their 4k scan just a couple months after.  But now both companies are working together on this ultimate release, and us fans are getting the best of both worlds, so it's win/win/win.

The One and Only Alligator

This is it.  The big one.  I've seen just about all of the killer gator and/or croc flicks out there: the long-standing respected ones like Crocodile and Lake Placid (plus its cheesy SyFy sequels), the modern ones people got excited about like Rogue, Dark Water and Crawl, the junk like Primeval, Croczilla, Supergator and Croc, the crazy Italian ones like Killer Crocodile 1 & 2 and The Great Alligator, Tobe Hooper's Crocodile and its sequel (and yes, Eaten Alive, if we're counting that one), even the sequel to this one: The Mutation.  And they all get in the back of the line behind this one, 1980's Alligator.

Director Lewis Teague certainly went on to prove himself with films like Cujo and Cat's Eye.  In fact, the only directorial choice I didn't really dig here is a couple times he slowly pushes the camera towards the next victim while playing a blatant, but weaker, Jaws theme rip-off.  He should've known he had a better film that didn't deserve to be sold off so cheap with such a cheesy move; he had something with a life of its own, thanks to the smart and vibrant screenplay by John Sayles.  Particular credit definitely has to go to this film's excellent ensemble of characters, the result of both the writing and Teague's spot-on casting.  Robert Forster is a perfectly charismatic lead who handily carries the film, at least until Henry Silva shows up as this great white hunter, a spin on Robert Shaw's Quint, who consistently delightful, including one scene where he performs alligator mating calls to a flabbergasted television reporter.  And, like the work of William Lustig, this show is packed with great character actors like Sydney Lassick, famously of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but we all know and love him now from The Unseen, Michael Gazzo, Dean Jagger, and Jack Carter.

The effects are also great, though a few of the miniatures are obvious.  But even then, it manages to add to the charm.  How can you not love that cute, little baby gator who grows up to become a true urban legend?  And it's an ambitious story.  When you're convinced you can predict every pending beat of a fun but formulaic monster flick, the film goes in surprising, and bigger, directions.  The characters are more authentic and the plot points are more outrageous.  It's all in good fun, but has a few classic scare moments in it that will haunt anyone who stumbles upon this film at a young age.  "Walk the plank!"

So Lions Gate first put Alligator out on DVD in 2007, and honestly it was almost all you could ask for: anamorphic widescreen, uncut.  Not a fully loaded special edition, maybe, but it had some first class special features.  Still, it was flawed (as we'll get into below) and certainly came short once we broke into the HD age.  But all we got during that time were Spanish bootlegs and a couple of rare German blus which were reportedly just upconverts of the DVD.  But now in 2022, Alligator's basically just skipped the BD era and hit the ground running with a massive UHD Collector's Edition, 3-disc set.

1) 2007 LG DVD; 2) 2022 SF Theatrical BD; 3) 2022 SF TV BD;
4) 2022 SF UHD.

So what was wrong with the DVD?  Well, it wasn't a huge disaster, but it's interlaced and edge enhanced, which you could pretty much get away with in the days of old school 4x3 TVs, but not anymore.  Speaking of aspect ratios, the DVD was also 1.78:1, as opposed to Scream's new release, which properly mattes it to 1.85:1.  And the new scan doesn't so much trim the tops and bottoms, as open up and reveal more on the sides, though it does also reframe the image vertically (LG has more on the bottom and SF has more on the top.  And beyond all that, Scream Factory's new 4k scan (taken from the original negatives) is just immaculate.  The colors are more vibrant and clear up the DVD's red push, and the detail looks so clear, you'd think the film was shot today.

The DVD gave us the original mono track in Dolby Digital 2.0, plus a Dolby 5.1 remix, with optional English and Spanish subtitles. The blu ditches the 5.1, which is fine by me, because it gives us a remastered mono in lossless DTS-HD with optional English subtitles, which is everything that matters, and that's on both cuts.

An insert shot exclusive to the TV cut, taken from the interpositive.

So okay, let's talk about that Television Cut.  Last year, German label Retro put out a blu-ray/ DVD combo of Alligator with a longer, 98 minute cut in SD only.  Well, that longer cut has now been included on the Scream Factory version, too, as a HD blu-ray bonus disc.  Basically, it takes the extra made-for-television footage and edits it back into the film - the deleted scenes included on the film's main blu-ray.  But where it's fuzzy and full-screen there, it's in HD, scanned fresh from the interpositive here.  And it looks great.  I doubt casual viewers would even spot the seams between the inserts and the rest of the footage.  The theatrical cut's a lesser version of the film, but it's cool of Scream to include it in the spirit of being definitive.

Now, like I said, the DVD already had some good extras.  It has a fun and insightful commentary track with the director and Forster, which is still pretty much the crown jewel today.  It also had a great on-camera interview with John Sayles and the trailer.  And Scream Factory has hung onto all of that.  But they've also come up with a bunch more.  The best are new interviews with the special effects artist, who's got some very fun anecdotes, and Bryan Cranston, who got his start as a PA on Alligator, and shares some fond memories of Forster.  Other highlights include a brief interview with Robin Riker, who doesn't have much to add, but it's just nice to hear from her, the TV cut footage presented as separate deleted scenes, and an amusing television spot for a children's board game based on the film.  There are also new interviews with Teague and Sayles, but they basically just repeat what they already said in the other extras, so feel free to skip those.  You also get two galleries, some additional teasers and TV spots, reversible artwork and a slipcover.

Man, I can't tell you how many times I had my finger on the order button for one of those dubious, grey market Alligator blus over the last few years.  Were they truly upconverts, or just the same old master slapped onto an HD disc?  I was prepared to bite the bullet and find out, fingers crossed for a slim upgrade that might've at least fixed the interlacing.  Now that's all academic, because this Collector's Edition came just in the nick of time, at least for me.  This is the kind of treatment Alligator should've been getting since the laserdisc days, and it took until 2022.  Scream Factory has finally given us a release big enough to house the 'gator.