Re-Animator: Limited Edition (US - DVD R1)
Gabe is resurrected by the glowing green goo of Herbert West's re-agent...
Feature
‘Herbert West Has a Very Good Head on His Shoulders... And Another One in a Dish on His Desk.’ One of the best taglines of our time. Stuart Gordon's début feature is one of the most important and influential films of the horror/comedy sub-genre. There have been dark comedy/horror hybrids since the dawn of storytelling, and outrageous slapstick dates back to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and H.G. Lewis revamped that slapstick in his tongue-in-cheek gore epics, but it is The Re-Animator stands as the perfect modern era extension.

The story follows Herbert West, played with extreme gusto by a young and unknown Jeffery Combs (surely one of the worlds top ten most underrated actors), who comes to the fictional Miskatonic University in search of the knowledge needed to bring life to the dead. The school offers West little in the way of stimulation, and soon he's reverted to his pre-credit sequence ways, injecting his homemade, day-glow green goo into the fresh cadavers and checking for vitals. West manages to suck his new roommate Dan into the debacle with the promise of eternal glory, and the two are soon ejected from school for their meddling, much to the chagrin to of Dan's girlfriend, who doesn't trust West from the outset. A series of tragic mistakes leads West's rival, Dr. Hill, to the apartment to discover the truth behind Dan and Herbert's secret.
Gordon's film is based on one of H.P. Lovecraft's pulpiest stories (originally printed as a series). Herbert West: Re-Animator is not quintessential in the author's canon by any means, but it is one of the most easily and affordably adaptable ones. Fans will often favour At the Mountains of Madness and other Necronomicon based work. Here there are no unnamable, monstrous Gods, and the unusually colourful and often overly metaphorically descriptions are somewhat stilted. The series is most renowned for its humour (not usual for Lovecraft), and it's extreme racism (not an abnormality for Lovecraft). In the book West first tests his re-agent on 'coloured' people, because they are apparently 'lesser' beings, more akin to animals than men. Gordon's film manages to askew this shamelessly inappropriate angle.
Re-Animator the movie owes as much of its existence to the classic E.C. Comic series of pre-code American funny books as Lovecraft himself. The E.C. series ( Tales from the Crypt, Creepy, etc.) were knowingly and admittedly pilfered by Romero on a regular basis, from his zombie flicks to his direct homage Creepshow. It remained favoured pickings for other modern horror and fantasy directors who were weaned on the mags, and is inspirationally prevalent through the mid-'80s. The comic influence in Re-Animator can be seen in its ironic sense of humour (much more obvious than Lovecraft's) and its brightly coloured visuals.

Insanely clever, deviously funny, and gruesomely raunchy, Re-Animator is most remembered for its final act 'rape-by-severed-head' sequence, but has a lot more going for it than simply bawdy visual puns. The script houses some of the most quotable witticisms this side of Peter Sellers. When confronted with the possibility of being caught by the late night morgue staff, West simply scoffs and quips, ‘What will they do, embalm us?’ The genius of the humour comes in its mix of subtlety and embellished vulgarity. Had the funny stuff been played as funny the wildness of the situations would've been too cartoony, and the film would lose its razor edge. West's nonchalant reactions, mixed with Dan's realistic reaction are the comedic backbone of the film, and its greatest dramatic asset as well.
Re-Animator could've been just an aggressively campy and gory comedy, akin to the early works or John Waters, but because of Dan and Meg's very real and very touching relationship, and the subsequent rift created by West, the film has genuine humanity. Combs steals every scene he's in, his performance is one for the ages, and David Gale bites into the scenery in a very Vincent Price fashion as Dr. Carl Hill. But these performances would simply be extra paint on an already overfilled canvas if it wasn't for Bruce Abbott and Barbara Crampton taking their roles so seriously. As Stuart Gordon says, they are the unsung heroes of the film.
The filmmakers and actors involved were almost all from the theatre, not to mention new to film. Gordon nurtured these stage backgrounds as well as his own. The film is shot kind of like a theatre troop's re-enactment of an E.C. comic book. There aren't a lot of close-ups or bravado camera techniques, and the sets are often blocked like a stage. Swedish cinematographer Mac Ahlberg has his moments, but it's mostly his lighting that gives the film its visual grandeur.

Though dated (some of the special effects are still effective, others are cheesy but appealing), Gordon's film somehow appreciates with each passing year. Like most cult films of the 1980s, Re-Animator endured due to its popularity on video, two VHS releases, two Laserdisc releases, and this marks the third DVD release. It's a real cult item, a movie one can make friends over and through. Give it a try, shout out ‘Who's going to believe a talking head?’ on a crowded street, I guarantee that a passing pedestrian will answer you with a glib exclamation of ‘Get a job in a sideshow!’ Personally, it's Re-Animator that I find new love for with subsequent viewings. Evil Dead 2 and Braindead are both great films, and films I can watch any day of the week, but this one ends the day a top the heap.
Video
The original DVD release from Elite Entertainment, duped from their original laserdisc, was widescreen, but a little dirty and non-anamorphic. Elite later released a 'Millennium Edition' version of the DVD, as they had with their other two most celebrated titles, I Spit on Your Grave and Night of the Living Dead. It was anamorphic and very clean. For a low budget film from the mid '80s, it was an impressive transfer.
Could Anchor Bay, apparently working hand in hand with Stuart Gordon, possibly improve on the later Elite release? The short answer is pretty much no, with a but. An eagle eye and an obsessive-compulsive mind will notice that this new transfer does have sharper details and smoother motion, but they are all but invisible. I took screen caps from both discs, but found that they looked so much alike that it would be a waste of DVDActive's web space. I've included one to illustrate my point.
The new transfer still doesn't solve the old transfer's biggest problem, which was the darkest of the interior house sequences. Some scenes in the film are meant to be only key lit, but others suffer to the point that you almost can't see what's happening. If Gordon really was approving this transfer, however, I'm forced to assume that this was a conscious choice.

Anchor Bay Release

Millennium Release
Audio
Taking low budget, twenty-year-old horror films and remixing them to sound like they were made for triple the budget just last year is usually a pointless exercise. These surround mixes are usually either riddled with additional and artificial sounding sound effects, or just boil down suped up mono mixes. Elite's Millennium Edition release of Re-Animator didn't only have a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, it also had a DTS track and a THX optimizer. It was overkill, and it didn't really sound very impressive.
When confronted with such a similar video transfer I assumed that Anchor Bay's re-release would use more or less the same Dolby and DTS tracks as well. Thankfully, this new release is measurably better than the former. The big difference is the spatial differentiation. I keep my speakers pretty far apart in my home, and like to notice this type of thing. The Elite release was basically a wall of sound with a decent LFE channel. This disc has an even deeper bass track (which really helps the film's score), and surround channels are actually somewhat effective. The inclusion of DTS is still a little silly, but I can't imagine the film sounding any 'better' than this. Beyond the music this isn't an aggressive track, but it also doesn’t sound like some modern rehash, it sounds like a crisper version of Gordon's intention.
Fan's of the first disc will have one reason to hang onto it, however, as the isolated score is nowhere to be found on Anchor Bay's disc.
Extras
If a slightly better A/V aren't going to get fans to double dip, maybe a myriad of new extra features will. Well, more like a single new extra I suppose, but it's a pretty good one. The extra I speak of is the all new 70 minute documentary Re-Animator Resurrectus, which features interviews with every one of the most important people behind the film (with the exception of David Gale, who's dead). The doc is very good, actually, maybe not 'buy a new copy of the same movie you've purchased 3 times already' good, but it's good.

The doc can be broken down into three parts. The first part takes about ten minutes to fill in the details of the project's pre-production phase, a brief history of producer Brian Yuzna and director Stuart Gordon, the scripting process, and the casting of lead actors. Some of this stuff can be seen on the special features section of Gordon's first Masters of Horror release, Dream in the Witch House.
Part two takes the entire film and boils it down to a fifty-minute essence, allowing the actors, director, writer, producer, and effects team to break the feature apart scene by scene. Sometimes the interviews appear in the corner of the screen while the film itself plays. This section is most invaluable for the never before seen behind the scenes video, including some stills of the fabled grosser version of Dr. Hill's lecture, where he removes a human brain from its housing. This breakdown approach makes for a well-structured analysis, as opposed to other retrospective documentaries that tend to jump around the production a hair too randomly.
Part three is about ten minutes of pre-release discussion. This includes the film's theatrical release, trailers, rating, reviews, and eventual cult status. Surprisingly enough, the film was very well received by critics at the time, despite its filthy nature. It didn't make a whole lot of money off the bat, but the video release became a bit of a sensation. It makes for a good capping to a good doc.
With the exception of a few stills, this pretty much ends the Anchor Bay exclusive extras. Those that already own the Millennium Edition release will probably want to stop reading now.
Disc one contains two classic commentary tracks. The first features Gordon solo, and is the more technically proficient of the two tracks. The second track features producer Brian Yuzna and actors Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Robert Sampson. This is the 'fun' track, though no less informative than Gordon's. There is surprisingly little repeating between the tracks, though they do make the new doc a bit moot information-wise.

Two versions of the film were made available during the initial video release—the uncut, 'unrated' version and an edited 'R-rated' version for TV and less ballsy video outlets. The edited version, though shorn of several minutes of gore (not to mention the film's show-stopping visual pun), but was actually longer in run time due to the inclusion of several scenes originally cut for timing. These scenes offered little to the film, but were sought after by fans regardless. These extended scenes end up changing the film quite a bit, and add a subplot revealing Dr. Hill to be a master hypnotist.
There is also a deleted dream sequence here, which is presented unfinished. The sequence is edited, but has no music, and an obviously temporary soundtrack. This is one of those deleted scenes that really doesn't belong in the finished film, but its inclusion goes towards making this the ultimate collection of Re-Animator extras, and it's interesting to see the places the film may've gone.
The interview section is a little repetitive in light of the commentary, not to mention the new documentary, but this is a complete collection, as I've stated a few times already, and every bit counts towards that. Gordon and Yuzna interview each other for about fifty minutes. It's a little overlong, but has a nice 'fly-on-the-wall' aspect not present during the doc. Composer Richard Band makes it clear that his title score was meant to be an homage to Bernard Hermann, not a rip-off. After his recollection of events, Band's given a chance to walk us through a few of the films more memorable cues. The other two interviews, which all run more palatable lengths, but have less in the way of info, feature writer Dennis Paoli and Fangoria Magazine editor Tony Timpone.
The second disc is rounded out by the original theatrical trailer and a selection of TV spots, a series of stills (the new ones), posters and video boxes, and a Stuart Gordon bio. The only extra I can that can recall from the original Elite release that hasn't been included on any subsequent release is an Easter egg. When watching the trailers, one could switch to a commentary track featuring the actors. It was cute.

Those with a lot of printer ink and paper can also print out the original screenplay and Lovecraft's original short story collection. And least I forget this set's other original (and apparently limited edition) extra, the syringe shaped green highlighter. It's also cute.
Overall
The Re-Animator is a personal favourite of mine, so I cannot recommend it enough to those who haven't yet met with its gooey charms. This set really does seem to be the end all, ultimate Re-Animator release, and I'm giving it a full ten out of ten, but the previous Elite release really hasn't aged all that poorly either. The A/V may not be perfect, but I really can't fathom them being any better, considering the film's roots and age. Fans unconcerned with an only slightly revised transfer, a more modern sounding DTS track, and a good, but somewhat unnecessary seventy-minute documentary will probably be content with keeping their Millennium Edition discs. Those with the means and funds may find the re-purchase worthwhile overall, and those without the film on disc as of yet will be happy they waited.
Review by Gabriel Powers
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Existing Posts
imo its not really that good i would say 6 out of 10, it's just gore
It is more than a little suspicious. There were quite a few at both Best Buys I went to this week.
Gabe Powers wrote: I thought this was a 'limited edition' but the only one offered right now. I'm not sure why you didn't get the pen...
Well, when I found my mysterious crib-hand Pro-Life (at circuit city) I also found a new Re-Animator--with no box or pen.
So it'd appear they already shipped out *more* than the original 50,000, amazingly enough.
Possibly because at the one branch of BB I went to, there were around 7 copies (!).
Maybe more elsewhere...though that still wouldn't hit 50,000
Well, when I found my mysterious crib-hand Pro-Life (at circuit city) I also found a new Re-Animator--with no box or pen.
So it'd appear they already shipped out *more* than the original 50,000, amazingly enough.
Possibly because at the one branch of BB I went to, there were around 7 copies (!).
Maybe more elsewhere...though that still wouldn't hit 50,000
..and this is why Matt should write some new reviews.
Do you agree that the Anchor Bay audio is better? I really think there's enough of a difference for me to have said so.
Do you agree that the Anchor Bay audio is better? I really think there's enough of a difference for me to have said so.
Anchor Bay probably used the same source for their video transfer and re-encoded the film for DVD video. The Elite disc has six audio tracks versus the five on the Anchor Bay disc, so they would have to reauthor the film for the new disc since the audio tracks were changed and more than likely re-encoded the video while they were at it to maximize the overall bitrate tranfer of the new disc. The fewer number of audio tracks means that there can be slightly more of the overall DVD transfer rate devoted to the video on the AB disc. So along with that and the fact that compression technologies have gotten better since the Elite disc came out the AB version is probably slightly better. Just watched the new disc and then popped in the older one just out of curiousity, and there is a slight difference here and there, but not much of one or one that most people would even notice.
While in motion, the Anchor Bay transfer is smoother. There is a bit of combing in the Elite transfer. You are correct on the artefacts though, they're pretty much identical, as are the film jumps.
Or it may be that they used Elite's transfer and adjusted some settings when they burned the master disc to get a slightly different look. It's hard to tell because the comparison frame you give us is different for each version (look at the tip of Jeffrey Comb's nose). Either way, it looks about the same to me.
I did enjoy the 70 minute doc though. Barbara is noticably older, but STILL way hot!
I did enjoy the 70 minute doc though. Barbara is noticably older, but STILL way hot!
Fine, it's not worth buying the disc for the video, but it is different, and the audio is quite a bit better.
My point about Crampton is that one should buy a DVD for a good movie, one should surf the web for naked pictures of their favourite actresses. It's a waste of money, and an insult to the film to buy it for a nude scene.
My point about Crampton is that one should buy a DVD for a good movie, one should surf the web for naked pictures of their favourite actresses. It's a waste of money, and an insult to the film to buy it for a nude scene.
Gabe Powers wrote: Fettastic wrote: It's identical to the Elite 2-disc set. Same video, same audio, same features. It also includes a 70 minute talking heads doc though.
No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
And why do people buy DVDs just to see an actress nude? It's pretty easy to find stills on the internet.
If there are any differences, they are imperceptible, as illustrated by your pictures. I did an A/B comparison on my setup (65"CRT + HD-A1 upconverting) and all the compression artifacts apeared to be identical. What's more likely, that Anchor Bay did a complete overhaul of the transfer, investing thousand s and thousands of dollars, and it came out looking identical, or that they just used the same transfer since they got all their features from Elite as well? Seems pretty obvious. As for Barabra Crampton nude, it is a beautiful thing.
From Beyond was announced probably 2 years ago now as a director's cut coming to Monsters HD and followed by a DVD. I haven't heard anything since so it may have been sc**pped.
David Blackwell wrote: I just wonder when Bride Of The ReAnimator will get a douple dip again. Great review, Gabe.
That was an interesting release. The only one I'm aware of to ever offer the full frame version, which is apparently the entire negative, and an optional "matt" that covers the top and bottom of the frame. Personally, I'd rather just have an anamorphic version so hopefully that'swhat we'll get the next time around.
No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
And why do people buy DVDs just to see an actress nude? It's pretty easy to find stills on the internet.
If there are any differences, they are imperceptible, as illustrated by your pictures. I did an A/B comparison on my setup (65"CRT + HD-A1 upconverting) and all the compression artifacts apeared to be identical. What's more likely, that Anchor Bay did a complete overhaul of the transfer, investing thousand s and thousands of dollars, and it came out looking identical, or that they just used the same transfer since they got all their features from Elite as well? Seems pretty obvious. As for Barabra Crampton nude, it is a beautiful thing.
From Beyond was announced probably 2 years ago now as a director's cut coming to Monsters HD and followed by a DVD. I haven't heard anything since so it may have been sc**pped.
David Blackwell wrote: I just wonder when Bride Of The ReAnimator will get a douple dip again. Great review, Gabe.
That was an interesting release. The only one I'm aware of to ever offer the full frame version, which is apparently the entire negative, and an optional "matt" that covers the top and bottom of the frame. Personally, I'd rather just have an anamorphic version so hopefully that'swhat we'll get the next time around.
I thought this was a 'limited edition' but the only one offered right now. I'm not sure why you didn't get the pen...
Did Anchor Bay release 2 different versions of this, like a 2 disc set with the Hilighter Pen & then a regular 2 disc set by itself? I ordered mine through Amazon.com thinking that I would get the version with the Hilighter Pen with it but when it arrived it didn't have it. Amazon.com had up to 2 different links to purchase the new Re-Animator DVD so I clicked on a link not caring which one since I thought that I would be getting the same exact dvd for the same exact price no matter which link I chose to order from so it didn't matter at the time because they both said Re-Animator & didn't exactly specify which version that they would be, like the Limited Edition or just a 2 disc set at the time that I first ordered the disc.
I just wonder when Bride Of The ReAnimator will get a douple dip again. Great review, Gabe.
This one I'll double dip for sure, and this Edition is far better than the one o owe.
Gabe Powers wrote: And why do people buy DVDs just to see an actress nude? It's pretty easy to find stills on the internet.Some of us are married you know...

What?
Chris Gould wrote: Gabe Powers wrote: No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
Come on Gabe, you know no one actually reads the reviews before they comment
Well I read em...... there's a differance between a dvd release and a dvd reveiw.
Come on Gabe, you know no one actually reads the reviews before they comment

Well I read em...... there's a differance between a dvd release and a dvd reveiw.
Ordered this a few days ago and am very excited to get it. First heard about it in American Beauty and later tracked it down online. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad to see this release. A bit disappointed with some of the quality issues mentioned, but doubt I'll notice...
Gabe Powers wrote: No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
Come on Gabe, you know no one actually reads the reviews before they comment
Come on Gabe, you know no one actually reads the reviews before they comment

This movie still rocks. Even twenty years later it outdoes anything made now.
Fettastic wrote: It's identical to the Elite 2-disc set. Same video, same audio, same features. It also includes a 70 minute talking heads doc though.
No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
And why do people buy DVDs just to see an actress nude? It's pretty easy to find stills on the internet.
No, it doesn't feature the same video and audio. Did you read my review?
And why do people buy DVDs just to see an actress nude? It's pretty easy to find stills on the internet.
I'm getting the 2 disc set for the first time, so I hope the money was well worth it. I wanted it mostly just to see Barbara Crampton nude.:D I hope From Beyond will come out on dvd soon.
It's identical to the Elite 2-disc set. Same video, same audio, same features. It also includes a 70 minute talking heads doc though.
Even though I already have the ME version, I'll still pick this one up since it's one of my favorite films.
I am keeping my M.E. there is no need to double dip.


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Disc Details
Release Date:
20th March 2007
Discs:
2
Disc Type:
Single side, dual layer
RCE:
No
Video:
NTSC
Aspect:
1.78:1
Anamorphic:
Yes
Colour:
Yes
Audio:
DTS 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English
Subtitles:
English, Spanish
Extras:
Director Commentary, Actor/Producer Commentary, Re-Animator: Resurrectus, Interviews, Deleted and Extended Scenes, Stills and Art Galleries, Stuart Gordon Bio, DVDROM script and original story
Easter Egg:
No
Feature Details
Director:
Stuart Gordon
Cast:
Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Genre:
Comedy and Horror
Length:
86 minutes
Ratings
Awards

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