Evil Dead II Color Timing

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Hello all,

This is my second post on this forum, and I'm quite the newbie; forgive any minor site faux pas I commit. I'm interested in hearing everyone's opinions: color timing wise, which is the purest transfer of Evil Dead II?

I understand the question I'm posing has long since been settled with The Evil Dead, but Evil Dead II releases in the past few years have varied quite a bit in color timing and brightness. Even the recent Blu-Ray was very different from the initial one, being noticeably darker and more red-shifted. The Limited Edition THX DVD transfer was also a very cold transfer, in contrast to the warm Book of the Dead DVNR'ed version and the initial Elite transfer. Has there actually been an accurate transfer of EDII to this date?

In any case, any answer would be appreciated. I don't have any of the early VHSes to use as reference for how EDII first looked on home video, so I'm hoping someone on this forum will have an idea of how cool/bright EDII should be.

[EvilDeadChainsaws]

You know, that's not something I've ever looked into, but as far as DVD goes, there is only one open-matte 1.33:1 US/UK version available; 2000 R1 US Anchor Bay Evil Dead II Standard DVD or the 2000 R1 US Anchor Bay Evil Dead II Limited Edition Tin DVD, most of the Evil Dead II DVDs released around the world since have just been re-packaged carbon copies of this original release, but I think I'm right in saying that they all drop the open matte transfer.

I know there have been a good few laserdisc releases, but not having seen any of them, and equally not having heard anything about them as with The Evil Dead, I'm not sure they have anything over this DVD version. Anyway, if you're looking for a DVD version, go for this one.

2000 R1 US Anchor Bay Evil Dead II Standard DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Evil-Dead-II-Bruc ... 098&sr=8-1

2000 R1 US Anchor Bay Evil Dead II Limited Edition Tin DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Evil-Dead-II-Limi ... 098&sr=8-6

Even the new 25th anniversary Blu-Ray release doesn't have an open matte transfer, making this the only release with both the film and the trailer in fullscreen. I should add, avoid, avoid, avoid, the 2005 R1 US Anchor Bay 'Divimax' Book Of The Dead 2 DVD and subsequent Blu-ray release. For more info, or why I'm recommending an open matte rather than widescreen transfer, see this page;

http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/evi ... 2_dvd.html

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Thanks for your response, EvilDeadChainsaws. I've actually collected the DVDs you recommended already. I was mostly curious if the forum had reached a general consensus on color timing in prior times. It's a shame that the 25th Anniversary doesn't have an open matte version; it's an interesting alternative version. I'm pretty surprised by how well the 2000 US Anchor Bay holds up.

In any case, back to the topic of color timing, I decided to compile screenshots of the various releases in an attempt to organise a way for people to directly compare the color timing. I was pretty surprised by the results. Despite the lack of attention, color timing quite radically varied between transfers.

I really got interested in the color timing because of the TV version on YouTube, which this site kindly pointed out. Aside from having alternative material, the color timing of that is rather unique: very bright and vivid... I included it in my comparison since it's probably one of the earliest transfers.

In my comparison, I got the Blu-Ray screenshots from avsforum because I lack the capability to capture them myself. The other screenshots were made by me; I made the 1999 Elite DVD anamorphic for better comparison.

So, my comparison is at the following link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1105427455 ... COMPARISON

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts about color timing... Hope that this will be of interest to some, at least. If there are any errors, please tell me so I can fix them.

[Angelika07]

Nice! Thanks for the information. Evil Dead played at the first Hudson Horror, which is the only one I didn't attend. I've been waiting to see it on the big screen for a while now.

[EvilDeadChainsaws]

I finally saw The Evil Dead on the big screen on the 11/07/2011 at the Prince Charles Cinema in central London, UK. It was shown as a double bill with Army Of Darkness. I felt a bit cheated that it was just the Blu-Ray version projected digitally, it would have been nice to see a 35mm print, but you can't have everything. Army Of Darkness was indeed a 35mm print though, and the European version with the apocalyptic ending. They've since shown the full trilogy;

On Sat 5th November 2011, London's best cinema is showing the Evil Dead Trilogy, through the night. Kicking off at 20:30 with The Evil Dead, then The Evil Dead II, and finishing off with Army Of Darkness. The whole event should finish at around 1:30 in the morning. So stock up on coffee from our kiosk and sit back for an evening of classic horror.

I've no idea what was digital/35mm though?

[The Aluminum Falcon]

That sounds like such a good theatrical experience... even with Evil Dead being just the Blu-Ray release. I really envy those who get to see these movies on a big screen.

I watched Army of Darkness at a night showing three months ago, and it was amazing! I just saw the theatrical cut, but it was a 35mm print with great open matte picture and bold, beautiful colors and a real sense of depth missing in all home video releases. I can't believe the video releases' limited color palette! In the showing, the level of audience participation was amazing... People were saying lines, laughing. I really love how much humor is evoked when you watch with a crowd.