I gather a new DVD of a particular Eurocult title might be imminent. I might have to get this one.

When was Karl Rove in a Eurocult movie?
Oh wait, that's not...

Come now Bill, don't you recognize a young Fred Gwynne?

A region 1 release of "Four Flies"? That's the ultimate holy grail.

It's PAL, it's Region-Free, it's a boot.

The file you link to says it's legit, though.

Here's the translation of the German at the bottom of the page (translated by Google):

"The picture is heavily polluted and has many image disorders (running lanes [streamers], Drop-Outs). The colors are strong but somewhat. The best is the German dubbing, which was regarded as missing"

Sounds iffy to me...

The package doesn't have a UPC code either. According to spaghetti-western.net, the same label Retrofilm put out a bootleg of CUT-THROATS NINE. For the still-curious, you can see frame grabs from the actual release of FOUR FLIES on an Italian forum here, and the consensus there is that it's a boot as well. Plus, it's limited to 1000 copies, which doesn't make a whole lotta business sense considering its status!

Non anamorphic I think, but reportedly the best picture quality yet of any available version, and I've read no word yet anyway that the disc isn't legally licensed for the German market that it's appearing in. At least one US e-tailer will have it in stock by next week. The moody pic at the top of this page is a screenshot from the disc. Though not perfect, it should be the first truly watchable edition for a while.

Somebody over at DVD Maniacs has it already and says it's anamorphic. It also seems to be sourced from a positive print, for the most part.

Got the DVD now. Most of the running time the picture is okay (meaning it's not very good nor even good). Some scenes are taken from possibly a 4th or 5th generation video copy and are downright awful. That's only about an estimated 3 minutes of the running time, though.

Basically, it's one of those occasions where the DVD is actually pretty bad but still, to my knowledge, by far the best available version of the film at the moment. So it's up to everyone's own judgement if he or she wants to go for the current "optimum" or rather wait for a good release.

If you want me to post a few screengrabs I can do that later today.

Yes, please do :).

Wait! We've been waiting for 30 years! The only slim chance we had for an official release went out the window when Martin Blythe left Paramount.

Not that I'm at all prepared to back this up, but I've got a hunch we'll see a legitimate release of this title within 3 years.

I have no idea why I even think this, but there ya go. :rolleyes:

If Paramount indeed still holds the US distribution rights, a Criterion release is a definite possibility for the future if they continue to work together on titles Paramount doesn't want to handle themselves. Criterion has definitely released more obscure and less anticipated films than this one so it would seem like a perfect fit - that is, if it really is still with Paramount. In any event, I'm not waiting and already ordered one of these for the time being.

I've got the disc (as others here now likely do as well) and it's an exciting and pleasing release on a number of levels - the folks who put it together have thoughtfully put some tracks from the Morricone soundtrack CD over various menu options - but the most amusing moment viewing it so far for me was during the 'extra' of the alternate Italian credits sourced from VHS. Check the running time of that section, and see if you can count just how much of it is taken up by the longest, most excruciating slow-motion tape drop-out I've ever witnessed, all captured in digital perfection for posterity. I get the impression the source tape for that part was dead and buried, but someone at the company demanded it be included for the benefit of rabid collectors who have to have everything, and the playback during mastering was probably accompanied by someone yelling "The tape won't hold Captain, this machine wasn't built to handle that much strain!" as the VCR heads brutally, methodically ground their way through the cassette for this one final playback. Ahh, Eurocult VHS bootlegs, this disc captures a way of life we will one day all leave behind us.

Tim Lucas has also put up a review at his blog:

http://videowatchdog.blogspot.com/search/l...20Grey%20Velvet

Now talk is getting round that an unnamed "real" German company licenced the film and that there is a "perfect master taken from internegative". Personally, I'm reluctant to hold my breath yet, but I still thought I'd pass the news.

I got the FOUR FLIES dvd and watched it last night. It ain't perfect by any stretch, but I did feel like I was seeing the film for the first time. I've gone through several bad copies of this movie, but the only one I ever actually watched all the way through was that squashed grey market VHS that was making the rounds about a decade ago. This DVD is certainly much better than that one. It's a pretty scratchy print, in places, and has a number of inserts from a lower-quality source, but the colors are nice and bright and you can at least see everything that's going on and appreciate Argento's compositions. It reminds me of some of the better color prints on the Something Weird label. The oddest part of the DVD is the freakishly oversized clamshell box that it comes in.

As a supplement to watching the film, I broke out my copy of the FOUR FLIES book that Luigi Cozzi wrote, which is for sale at his Profondo Rosso store in Rome. It's in English, and I presume it can be purchased at his website as well. It contains Cozzi's original treatment for the film, which almost reads like a novella, as well as the reasons why the film has languished in obscurity for so long. According to Cozzi, no one realized that the rights to the film reverted back to SEDA in 1991 as per a tiny, overlooked clause in Argento's original contract with Paramount. The problem was, that by the time Cozzi figured this out, SEDA had ceased to exist, therefore the film had no legal owner. A 2005 update reveals that somehow, Argento wound up owning 50% and Paramount owned 50%. Paramount was uninterested in doing anything with the film, so Argento was trying to buy their half from them.

D.

The demise of SEDA Spetaccoli would probably also explain why some parties often insist that SUSPIRIA is now in PD status.

Though I'd imagine that everyone here who wanted one has got one (for the most part), this disc is now reportedly very out-of-print. Not bad for a few weeks work, I suppose.

God bless bit torrent.

Alas, between the holidays and my mom's surgery I waited too long. :angry: Tony seems to think that they might do an additional pressing, and if so I'm first in line for it.

Chainsaw has new stock arriving on the 10th apparently, suggesting a re-press.

Good news for us procrastinators! I just received an email from Tony that Xploited has this back in stock, and my order is on its way. :D So anyone else who waited too long and resisted the beaucoups bucks offerings on eBay is in luck. But I wouldn't wait too long.....

Tony emailed me too and my copy, along with CAMILLE 2000 at $19.95 and lots of other goodies (8 other giallos, ZEDER, EUGENIE DE SADE, RICCO THE MEAN MACHINE and 2 soundtracks, Death Laid an Egg and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion), mails out tomorrow!

Yeah! ^_^

I'm broke! :wacko: