abby dvd - Abby (1974) Discussion

[–] Shozai 18 years ago

I agree with Suspiria-6 (Dario Argento fan?). I saw ABBY back in the seventies in a downtown Chicago theater and it scared the crap out of me then (I was 15 people OK?), and have been looking forward to this DVD release for 30 years only to be assaulted by this crappy copy? Now that's really scary!! The cover states "Digitally Remastered". Huh?! What a shame because this film is a whole mess of fun, but with this treatment, it's just a shameful mess - shame on you CineFear, how dare you?!

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[–] slidingoncharm 18 years ago

It is amazing how these fanboys who never put any effort into tracking down a 16mm print and transferring it to DVD attack people who have a real love for cinema and spend a lot of time and money putting out a rare film for others to enjoy.

The only reason these people are attacking the Cinefear release of Abby is that they have a personal dislike for the man who runs that company. I know this for a fact and I can tell you why. There have been several companies that have also released Abby on DVD, most of them are bootleg copies of the Cinefear DVD, but yet I haven't seen any criticism of these companies. How come none of the fanboys attack these really horrible bootleg DVD copies? I can tell you why. It is because they really couldn't care less about the movie itself, they use the Internet for their own personal agenda to attack people they don't like. These fanboys are not real movie lovers.

The Cinefear release is a transfer from a 16mm print. Cinefear is a small company so no, you are not going to get the kind of state of the art transfer that a major, super bloated company with billions to spend like Sony or Columbia is going to release. Plus, the DVD will only be as good as the source. With that said, the picture has very good quality and has none of the flaws that these fanboys are complaining about. Plus, there are plenty of extras on the DVD such as poster art, stills, etc. It is too bad that the fanboys can't enjoy the great stuff on this DVD.

The movie itself is a hoot. If you don't appreciate the 1970s, then this movie might not be as much fun for you. The funky music, clothing, and decor of the seventies is all here. Carol Speed is perfect as the possessed minister's wife. I love when the demon gets her to lust after any man who crosses her path.

Give this movie a shot, and don't be afraid of the Cinefear copy. Don't let someone's personal attack stop you from enjoying a fun movie.

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[–] Woodyanders 17 years ago

I agree with you, slidingoncharm. The Cinefear DVD is very good. I especially enjoyed the intelligent and informative essay about the troubled production history of the film. The theatrical trailer, radio spot, and still and poster gallery extras are all likewise quite tasty. Moreover, it's refreshing to run across another person who thinks a DVD doesn't have to be all spitshined and polished to flawless sparkling perfection in order to be good. These whiny fanboys on the DVD review web sites are seriously grating on my nerves with their spoiled baby kvetching about how every DVD has to have both a plethora of extras and be digitally remastered to the point where it glows in the dark. These guys are a bunch of infantile and immature snobs. I myself ain't picky; I'm just glad so many heretofor rare and obscure movies are available again so I can buy and watch 'em. Hell, I own a bunch of dollar discs and love 'em just as much as any given Anchor Bay or Blue Underground disc.

"Warren Oates died for our sins"

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[–] dbuskirk7 17 years ago

I cant imagine that anyone who was not involved in the company would defend the DVD release of ABBY, it is quite bad. The print they used is damaged throughout, the transfer is slightly blurry and it is not letterboxed but full frame. Its still watchable but it is indefensible that they should use the phrase "digitally remastered". It is pretty inexpensive and Ive watched worse copies of things but any buyer should know what theyre getting into

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[–] rdoyle29 17 years ago

I have no personal feelings about the Cinefear, but I can tell you that the copy of "Abby" used to make the DVD is in terrible shape. There is a lot of damage, a lot of missing frames and a lot of really abrupt splices.

The picture is not very good quality. It is extremely soft and grainy.

Now, I am not saying not to buy this DVD, but you are badly misrepresenting the quality of it.

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[–] IconsofFright 17 years ago

I'll agree with the above. It's nice that the film is available, but let's not kid ourselves, the picture quality on this DVD is terrible.

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[–] slidingoncharm 17 years ago

Here's the link to get your DVD http://www.cinefear.com/abbydvd.html

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[–] leamond-allen 16 years ago

I'm hoping one day, we have a really nice release, with lots of extras, maybe
even a commentary, with Terry Carter or some film historian that knows the
1970's exploitation flicks inside and out. For now, the one I purchased at
a Flashback convention will have to satisfy me.

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[–] raymond-x-jacobsen 17 years ago

The picture quality is certainly nothing to write home about, but after reading these threads (and I did it AFTER ordering my DVD, so I was pretty nervous), I was expecting the worst. It's really not all that bad, considering that they didn't have the original negative to go off of, merely a 16mm print. The beginning was the worse part as far as quality, but the picture seemed to improve, and overall it was still a very good representation of a film that's been out of circulation for 30+ years. In all honesty, I thought this was a very good, scary and entertaining film, and why they compared it to "The Exorcist" is beyond me---I actually thought there were more similarities and resemblences to "Evil Dead", than "The Exorcist"---even the overall quality and style seemed more closely related to "Evil Dead". I'd take a film like this any day over the recent crap Hollywood's been churning out lately----like, "The Grudge"--echh!!! This is definately a horror film, and one that's not quite so documentary-like, like "The Exorcist"---this is just a plain 'ol scare 'em horror film, and I thought it delivered on every level. Again, the picture, yeah, it's so so, but hey, until someone stands up and says, "hey, I've got the original 35mm negative", this is what we have, and I'm glad we've got it!! And I like the fact that Cinefear put the disclaimer on the back saying it was filmed in Scope, so therefore was never, and will never be, available in a widescreen format----full-frame was always the version it was in.

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[–] movieperson113 17 years ago

By the way. Evil Dead was filmed in 1979. So an similarities are the other way around. I don't know if Sam Raimi ever saw Abby.

The basic outline of Abby has Exorcist references. A normal person starts acting different. Then they get totally possessed and then get an exorcist.
But Abby has it's own story.
A couple of things are like the Exorcist and probably taken from it. The scene where Abby goes to the doctor and the same thing with the machine going round and round and taking xrays is from the Exorcist. Abby's demon voice did have the Exorcist sound. I mean the makers of Abby knew what worked in Exorcist and borrowing from other movies has been around years and years before Abby or the Exorcist.

But yeah the print is pretty bad. And yes other companies have a lot of money to remaster films. But there have been companies that have copies just as bad as Abby's like the "Cinefear" dvd but can digitally clean up much of the scratches and colors. Basically they copied the movie onto DVD. That looks as far as the remastering probably was. If there was any digital clean-up you can imagine how much worse it could have looked before.

Good to see the movie at all.

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[–] raymond-x-jacobsen 17 years ago

"By the way. Evil Dead was filmed in 1979. So an similarities are the other way around. I don't know if Sam Raimi ever saw Abby. "
I guess that was my point, but I didn't make it very clear---I know "The Evil Dead" came after "Abby", I really thought there were many similarities as far as style, and I guess the overall low-budget quality that went with it. I'd find it interesting to know if Sam Raimi had ever seen this film prior to making his big hit (which I'm also a fan of!). I suppose now they can do miracles with cleaning up poor quality films, but again, this picture wasn't taken from a negative, or a 35mm print, but a 16mm print---overall, I was impressed!! I really never thought I was going to get a chance to see this gem, EVER, because it was yanked so fast from theatres----I remember the ads vividly, and wanting to go soooooooo bad (I'd have to sneek in at the time it was released, as I was only 13---but man I loved my horror!). I thought, according to the rumours, that this baby was lost for good, and I'm just glad that someone was able to locate what was probably the last existing print. Maybe another company will do it justice and clean it up even more, because Mr. Girdler deserves accalades for this minor gem!!

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[–] coon12-1 17 years ago

I bought my copy and loved the hell out of it. People nowadays complain about everything. Just be happy someone has put this movie out, and if you don't like it then shut up and find something else to whine about.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] OKCRay 17 years ago

There apparently is a new DVD issue of ABBY that was released on June 1. Not much info on it (it's being billed as the BLACK EXORCIST EDITION); studio is listed as "CF Releasing" (hmmmmm, CineFear, perhaps?). If this is in fact a repackaging of the CineFear DVD I'm probably gonna shy away from this one. If anyone purchases this would care to give a synopsis of this DVD issue I'd appreciate it.

http://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-William-Marshall-Austin-Juanita/dp/B000RACXFI/ref=sr_1_3/002-6118338-6972024?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1180857554&sr=8-3

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[–] Croc-O-Dyle 17 years ago

>I cant imagine that anyone who was not involved in the company would defend the >DVD release of ABBY,

And that's exactly the point; "slimycharm" *is* the trashbag from the pirate video webstore that released that illegal VHS-to-DVD version of "Abby". He's pimping his bootlegs all over IMDB boards. Complain enough times ("This post promotes bootlegs DVDs/illegal downloads") and his posts will be deleted.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] heyteegs 10 years ago

Not sure who are the fan boys and who are not in this thread but I'm a guy who just wanted to see the movie. When this DVD was released I bought it immediately.

It's obvious that the people who put the package together are not using the best source material but it is also clear that they didn't just burn a DVD in their Mac, print out a label and send it off in a padded envelope. They wanted a decent DVD of this movie in the marketplace and, from the extras added, that's what they did. I appreciate the effort for a movie that, until this release, was considered rare.

http://twitter.com/AManAndAMouse/

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[–] ElectricWarlock 9 years ago

I agree. I'm sure everyone would agree the DVD is far from high definition, but I'd rather have low quality than not have the movie at all. I've never been one of those HD maniacs anyways. These days people want movies to look so clear that you can count the pores on the actors' faces and so that you can see an ant scurrying across the floor. But will that really make the movie any better? I don't need it myself. As long as I can see what's going on and hear what the characters are saying I'll be satisfied.

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