MovieChat Forums > Unknown World (1951) Discussion > Quality DVD needed; R.I.P. Millard Kaufm...

Quality DVD needed; R.I.P. Millard Kaufman

posted 15 years ago by hobnob53
1 reply | jump to latest

Unknown World was one of the films released on VHS from the so-called "Wade Williams Collection" in the 1990s, which featured generally pristine prints of many low-budget and/or public domain films, mostly science fiction but some film noirs as well.

Most of these films have since come out on DVD from Image but a few have not -- including Cosmic Monster, Phantom From Space, Killers From Space, Transatlantic Tunnel -- and Unknown World.

How come?

An Image DVD from the same source material as the old VHS would be vastly superior to any other print on the market. Get with it!

R.I.P., screenwriter Millard Kaufman, who has just died, two days after his 92nd birthday (March 12, 1917 - March 14, 2009). Kaufman also wrote Take the High Ground, Bad Day at Black Rock, Raintree County, Never So Few, Convicts 4 and The War Lord, among others, and received Academy Award nominations for the first two. A writer of surprising quality for such a low-budget, if enjoyable, oddity as Unknown World.

3/19/09

[–] thegalaxybeing 15 years ago

I noticed the same thing. In fact, in my DVD case I have a copy which I made from my VHS. Not only is the VHS version clearer, there are a lot less film breaks and the credits reveal just how mush is cropped off of the DVD version. You can't even see Marilyn Nash's name on the DVD (Cropped off at the bottom). The first 7 or 8 seconds is also missing.

There are better prints. The one on the Sci-Fi Invasion DVD (which has 4 movies) has a nicer print. Unfortunately, it is heavily edited, I guess to make it fit on the DVD.