I have a German VHS with the English dub but it was sourced from an incomplete film reel, probably 16mm, so it isnāt complete. It runs for only 82 minutes.
Well, Iāve never even watched āThe Specialistsā, but am looking forward to watching the Bluray, and in whatever language is available. If āEurekaā does as good a job as it did with āFistful of Dynamiteā (deleted horse falls being an irritating exception), Iāll be happy enough.
From https://blazingminds.co.uk/specialists-sergio-corbucci-blu-ray-review/
The release has the restored Italian and French audio as well as a rarely heard and restored English dub track, but donāt expect it to be all in English, when you select the English dub you are given a few paragraphs explaining that during restoration the sound was so badly damaged that certain scenes audio could not be restored so they resort back to the French dub with Subtitle, but this adds to the charm of the release.
I wish Arrow had gotten this (for UK and USA). Then maybe we would have the full track. Now we will probably never ever get it.
It definitely doesnāt add to the charm. Sounds like they used the sound from the VHS I have. Pretty irritating. I agree that an Arrow release would have been preferable.
Why assume that Arrow could have done better at locating the complete English dub ?
I just have a feeling they would have used more resources in trying to find it. Plus I know where one is and would have told them. Would they have listened, who knows⦠They did once before with another matter but I donāt know if the same people are there now.
Maybe they wouldnāt have been able to access it but I donāt see why not. I would think the quality would be good enough for Blu if nothing better is available.
I actually didnāt expect Eureka to get the full track (because of Face to Face experience*ā¦) and they didnāt (and at the same time really didā¦) disappoint me.
- As far as I can remember Eureka almost released Face to Face (on Blu-Ray) with the shorter cut because they didnāt know the English track was also available for the full version. Then they tried to make it the full one but the quality of both the English track and the image wasnāt up to their standards and so finally what we were left with was a DVD only release with only Italian audio.
It is very frustrating news - I almost wish I hadnāt bothered with the pre-order !
Itās unfair to customers to be so vague in their description, about what exactly we can expect.
I can fully appreciate everyoneās frustration of the English dub not being complete, as film fans weāre all particular when it comes to any release (some say weāre all anal, but I donāt believe it).
Personally I donāt have a problem with the English dub being incomplete as Iām preferable to the original foreign language audio of films from places like Italy, France, Japan, and Germany for example. Plus, I think (IMHO) that Eureka! has given The Specialists a lot more love and attention than Kino did.
This is just my personal take on it.
This is the 3rd release on BD and Eureka seemed to offer something unique - but thatās not quite the case is it!?
Thatās the point being made. Not whether you or me or whoever prefers which language option. The English dub was what punters were after and now itās apparently going to be similar, if not the same as a homemade fandub.
So to whom it may concern ⦠be clear what youāre selling - as we the customers are paying enough for it ⦠otherwise we could have opted for the two earlier releases.
I think my above comment might not have been clear enough. Yes, release companies should be clear from the get go on what they can offer with a release, but I also think sometimes things happen beyond even their control, and at least Eureka made it known something happened where English audio couldnāt be used. Some companies donāt even acknowledge something isnāt available, even after the disc is released and shipping to stores or the varied Amazon warehouses. Thatās what I like about companies like Arrow and Eureka! in that theyāll tel you if something canāt be done for a release before itās actually pressed and ready to go. Yes, Eureka! maybe should have held off on releasing The Specialists until a full English dub was located, or maybe a rights thing happened, who knows.
Iām only trying to think of the positives of the release as far as packaging, the booklet, etc, go; I swear Iām not trying to make light of an incomplete English dub.
But as far as I know Eureka didnāt mention it anywhere that the dub would be incomplete. Except on the disc when you play the movie but at that point it is too late if you bought it for the full dub.
We only know about it now because a review mentioned it but the disc has already been shipped to many people.
The info about the disc still says everywhere(?) that it includes the āRarely heard English dub trackā. Sure I actually expected it to be incomplete based on their previous effort with Face to Face but I know several others expect it to be full track.
I asked Eureka three times (twice on their Facebook posts about the release and sent one email) in the past couple of months if it would have full dub or not and received no answer at all. Of course the people handling the Facebook stuff might not know anything soā¦
Itās not good customer care - and frankly a bit underhanded not to be up front about whatās what.
If you buy any item you expect that item to be fully functioning and āfit for useā ⦠and if not then described accurately.
The fact that your email was ignored is galling.
The way Eureka have handled the information, or should I say lack of information is terrible re the English dub.
Good news from Arrow Video on their Django Blu Ray
Just what I was waiting for!!
Nice news. Django is though a movie that at this point should get a UHD release instead. They did a 4K scan and the time is right. Blue Underground and Vinegar Syndrome have already moved into UHD-country so why does Arrow have to be so dog slow. Django is a major iconic movie so there are plenty of takers.
Iām not bothered since I donāt have a 4K TV or player. I mostly wanted the new Django set for all the new bonus material. I wonder, though, if this re-release will be more basic than the initial big box set packaging like how Arrow have been doing with most of their special releases.
My copy of The Specialists arrived today.
Havenāt had time to check out the different dubs yet. Will do so in the coming week when I watch the film properly. Enjoyed Austin Fisherās interview/feature though. It goes without saying that Austin knows his stuff but he also speaks really well in these things. Really informative and engaging.
Itāll be the exact same release, because those copies have probably been sitting in a warehouse waiting for the rights to get sorted.
Itās just because this release is already based on a 4K scan and there is plenty of willing buyers of a UHD Django out there already. They could do a UHD/Blu-ray combo and please all. Perhaps it was better if Blue Underground had still had the rights as they are now beginning to put out exactly those combos. Now we have to wait x years for Arrow to re-release it on UHD. If they ever get to that point. Perhaps some Italian or German company will beat them to it.