Title: Best REEFER MADNESS on DVD?
Bob Gutowski - July 10, 2007 04:32 PM (GMT)
Is the recent B&W/colorized "restored" version with commentary by Mike Nelson the way to go, or is the Alpha release good enough, please? Thanks.
Marc Morris - July 10, 2007 04:44 PM (GMT)
I would imagine the Something Weird triple bill of Marihuana/Assassin of Youth/Reefer Madness woul dbe your best bet.
Bob Gutowski - July 10, 2007 04:46 PM (GMT)
Bernie Jacobs - July 11, 2007 01:27 AM (GMT)
I second the Something Weird nomination. The quality on Reefer Madness is really good -- clean sharp picture with no splices -- but the inclusion of Marijuana - Weed With Roots In Hell makes this disc a must-have - it's the one of the most over-the-top insane exploitation movies I've ever seen, and a jaw-dropping viewing experience.
Dale Sherman - July 11, 2007 03:39 AM (GMT)
The one benefit I would personally give for the Nelson version over the others is that closed-captioning is included. But if that's not an essential for you, then the Something Weird disc would make more sense.
Lon Huber - July 11, 2007 09:57 AM (GMT)
Is the Something Weird version still in print? I tried to find it last year and it seemed unavailable everywhere I looked. Amazon currently lists only two used copies at $26 each.
Mark Tinta - July 11, 2007 03:02 PM (GMT)
On the Nelson version from Fox, there's a couple of subliminally-edited "4/20"'s spliced in on maybe two occasions, even if you choose the B&W version. I was slightly irked about that, but it amounts to about one second altogether. Still stupid, but at least I found the Nelson riffing amusing.
Bob Gutowski - July 11, 2007 04:51 PM (GMT)
Further thanks. I'm helping a friend choose the right version for a project he's working on, and I knew I could rely on you guys.
Jeff Nelson - July 16, 2007 05:34 AM (GMT)
Do any of the DVD versions have this under the original onscreen title THE BURNING QUESTION? I've got an ancient Media VHS that has it under that title, as opposed to the two reissue titles TELL YOUR CHILDREN and REEFER MADNESS. Unfortunately, the Media print is garbage.
Marc Edward Heuck - July 16, 2007 09:50 AM (GMT)
Jeff, aside from the alternate title and the bad picture quality of the Media tape, what else unusual did you notice about it?
I ask because reportedly, REEFER MADNESS was the very first movie that New Line Cinema released, and I'm wondering if any early tape release was mastered from their materials. I don't know if Robert Shaye had access to a negative, or just bought a bunch of existing 16mm prints for their release, but I know that even in the early '80's, supposedly they were supplying prints for the various midnight show bookings it was getting.
Personally, I wish that for their reported 40th anniversary this year, New Line would release a DVD of the movie, maybe with Shaye doing an interview about how it launched the company.