The Evil Dead - The Treasures Collection DVD
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This is some information on a fan made Evil Dead DVD I have put together &
released. If you don't have a copy and would be interested please contact
me as per the main DVD-ROM ReadMe. To find out more about this DVD you can
look at this forum thread;
http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/The-Evil-Dead-Treasures-Collection/topic/9348/
Although I put this DVD release together as a specifically Evil Dead 1
standalone disc, it's still part of djsmokingjam's overall treasures
collection of DVDs. The finished DVD is NTSC & 7GB big, and I've only made
a dual layer version of this DVD, as quality wise its really too much to
squeeze onto one single layer. For the first time this DVD release brings
together & preserves some of the rarest Evil Dead treasures.
* 'The Evil Dead' - The Japanese 1985 'Herald Videogram' laserdisc
version expertly transferred to DVD.
* A superior quality copy of the short film 'Within The Woods'.
* 'Book Of The Dead' to 'The Evil Dead' - The version differences.
* A 'Book Of The Dead' workprint trailer.
* Finally A PC viewable DVD-ROM folder packed with over a gigabyte
of rare Evil Dead trilogy material painstakingly collected over
many years, with major contributions by a number of die hard
Evil Dead fans.
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'The Evil Dead' - The Japanese 1985 'Herald Videogram' laserdisc version
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The 1985 Japanese Herald Videogram laserdisc is arguably the best transfer
of Evil Dead ever made available. Two major things separate this version
from every other; its colour timing, and its picture framing, although it
does suffer from burnt in Japanese subtitles, but theyÆre fairly
unobtrusive. As far as is known, Evil Dead was transferred twice in its
early home viewing days. The first transfer was used on the 1985 Japanese
HV laserdisc. At some point a second transfer was made and was then used on
every subsequent release. The colour timing for this second transfer was
much warmer in tone than the bluer & colder HV laserdisc version. This
subtle change seemed to alter the whole æfeelÆ of the movie and the HV
laserdisc seems much scarier because of it. Additionally there is also
quite a difference in picture framing between the two versions. The second
transfer seems to have been zoomed in around 10-15%, meaning the HV
laserdisc version has more visual information on each side of the frame.
The 1982 Palace Pictures VHS, 1995 Japanese Beam laserdisc, 1999 US Elite
laserdisc, along with every DVD version all seem to use that second
transfer, only differing very slightly on colour timing, brightness levels.
The Evil Dead was originally composed to be shown in a matted 1.66:1 AR,
but it was only ever shown in this format once for its premiere, thereafter
it was screened in the standard AR of 1.37:1. A number of DVD releases have
taken this and matted it to achieve a 1.85:1 AR, then marketed as the
"widescreen" version. The HV version is shown in that full un-matted ratio,
which also contains the original mono audio track, before it was re-mixed
to stereo and later 5.1 surround.
Within The Woods
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In order to raise initial financing for Evil Dead; Sam, Bruce & Rob along
with Ellen Sandweiss, Scott Spiegel & Mary Valenti made this 31 minute
short film at the Tapert family farmhouse near Marshall, Michigan. Shooting
over a total of 6 days during the spring of 1979, and with a budget of
$1600, it was a far bigger super8 production than any of the renaissance
team had attempted previously. It combines script elements of both the
first and second Evil Dead movies, but with a much tighter, and arguably
more effective plotline. Anchor Bay had restored "Within The Woods", for
their 2002 Book Of The Dead release. The short was pulled at the last
moment, although the exact reason for this was never explained. It had been
speculated that they had problems with music rights, although this wasn't
the case as their version had already been re-scored with new music,
especially for that release. Last minute reluctance on Sam Raimi's part or
legal issues involving one of the actresses have also been speculated as
possible reasons. This version was taken from a bootleg VHS "mix" tape,
although many versions of this tape exist in higher or lower generational
copies, this is the best quality version I have seen yet. Further to this,
I have digitally cleaned, sharpened & brightened the picture using
professional software.
'Book Of The Dead' to 'The Evil Dead' - The version differences
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Before being re-titled for its theatrical release, The Evil Dead was called
Book Of The Dead. This original version was never released to theatres or
on home video, with the sole execption of a 1985 greek VHS tape. This
version has 4 differences from the final release; the movie title, and
alternate sunrise shot, Ash's scream resonates before the end credits, and
the end credits title. The following sequence edited from that VHS tape,
shows those 4 differences.
Book Of The Dead Trailer
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In the spring of 1980, with principal photography; re-shoots & effects
sequences completed, the renaissance team traveled from Michigan to New
York, to work with editor Edna Ruth Paul. Sorting through over 100,000 feet
of footage, a rough 97 minute cut was put together. Once Rob, Sam & Bruce
returned back to Michigan they cut a four minute trailer narrated by John
Cameron in order to raise more funding, enabling further editing work, and
the final completion of the then re-titled 'The Evil Dead'. Because it was
edited from the 97 rather than the 85 minute version, there are snippets of
footage youÆll not see in the final movie.
DVD-ROM folder
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I Have produced alot of Evil Dead trilogy related creative material over
the last 15 years, as it had a big impression on me when I first saw them
when I was 13. I decided to compile it all in one place and release it on
this Evil Dead DVD, Along with some of the rarer items I have built up over
the years found on random sites present & past on the internet. With the
exception of the 'Misc Internet Sourced Evil Dead Stuff' folder and 'Evil
Dead Rare Magazine PDFs', everything else was either entirely my own
original work, or modified my me.
General Internet & Outsourced Projects/Collections
Evil Dead Rare Magazine PDFs
Evil Dead Fan Films
Evil Dead Various Photos, Pictures & Artwork
Various Offline Evil Dead Related Forums
Related YouTube Videos
My Pet Projects
BOTD Sculpt (Uncompleted) Project (2006)
BOTD (Uncompleted Evil Dead Re-Edit) Project Test Clips (2008)
Cinefantastique Cover (Writing Removed) (2008)
Evil Dead 1 Lego Plans & Stop Motion Animation (2005)
Evil Dead 2 Crew T-Shirt Logo (2008)
Evil Dead BBFC Certification Title Card (2002)
Evil Dead Credits Jazz Track (2008)
Evil Dead Palace Pictures VHS Pre-Cert - Artwork Only (2008)
Evil Dead Palace VHS Artwork Plate (2002)
Evil Dead Signed Artwork Plate (2002)
EvilDeadChainsaws.com (2002 - 2008)
From Within The Woods (1996)
Sam Raimi Shorts DVD Covers (2007)
School Projects (1996)
Scripts & Text Files (2006)
Within The Woods Score (Uncompleted) (2002 - 2008)
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DVD Release Technical Specs
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Project Title: The Evil Dead - The Treasures Collection
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083907/
User Rating: 7.6/10 (34,934 votes)
Country: USA
Release Date: 01/01/09
DVD Format: NTSC DVD9 (DVD+R ONLY)
Ratio: 1.33:1
Language(s): English
Subtitle(s): None
Content Title: The Evil Dead
Running Time: 01:25:35
Video Format: MPEG-2 / 720x480 / NTSC / 1.33:1
Audio Format: AC3 / 1ch / 48kHz / 96k
Source: Retail Japanese Laserdisc
Content Title: Within The Woods
Running Time: 00:30:44
Video Format: MPEG-2 / 720x480 / NTSC / 1.33:1
Audio Format: AC3 / 2ch / 48kHz / 256k
Source: Bootleg VHS Tape
Content Title: Book Of The Dead Differences Compilation
Running Time: 00:04:28
Video Format: MPEG-2 / 720x480 / NTSC / 1.33:1
Audio Format: AC3 / 2ch / 48kHz / 192k
Source: Retail Greek VHS Tape
Content Title: Book Of The Dead Trailer
Running Time: 00:03:37
Video Format: MPEG-2 / 720x480 / NTSC / 1.33:1
Audio Format: AC3 / 2ch / 48kHz / 256k
Source: Bootleg VHS Tape |
