"Silent Night, Bloody Night" and Six Degrees

[Javakoala]

I recently watched "Silent Night, Bloody Night".  Loved it.  It is sticking with me unlike most of the crap films I enjoy.  Any other fans of this twisted little jewel?

Okay, here's the Six Degrees situation:  I'm intending to track this film down, as best I can, and hopefully find some person out there with a decent master copy of this film.  I'm badgering Anchor Bay, Mill Creek Entertainment, and I have even gone so far as write to Mary Woronov's literary editor in the UK.  I'm throwing my lines in every direction.  So, I figure, with the collected folks who haunt this forum, maybe I can get some Six Degrees action happening.  Do any of you know distributors who sit on the rights to a number of missing films and/or that peddle public domain films?  I don't just want company names; I'm hoping for names I can actually contact.

It seems that most of the versions of this film that are available on DVD are from the same poor print.  I may be tilting at windmills here, but if I can track to origin of THAT print, then I might be able to find someone with a better print elsewhere.

Please tell me if I'm crazy.  Or, if you can be of assistance, HELP!!!!!  Please!!!

[Menard]

A lot of these so-called public domain films on budget DVDs are from well used prints that came from the drive-in and theater circuits, not someone's vault, and many of them are using the same source copy. Anchor Bay, Shriek Show and others who make a big deal out of acquiring the best quality prints they can may be able to eventually provide a better issue, but, just because it is labelled as public domain does not mean that the owners of any good prints are going to give them away or let them go for cheap.

The Diamond Multimedia DVD of the movie was pretty good quality; the single release, not the multi-pack.

[Torgo]

I thought that Anchor Bay came out with a flipper DVD a few years back that had both the 1st and 2nd Silent Night, Deadly Night films on it.

[peter johnson]

I've got a pretty spotty copy of it in a Horror 10-Pack set from I forget who --
No major breaks or lines, just a lot of white spots here and there that don't really detract -- seems pretty clear, otherwise.
I could dig it out & see who distributes the 10-pack, but it sounds like you're looking for a pristine copy.
peter so-what/denny it's okay

[Jim H]

I thought that Anchor Bay came out with a flipper DVD a few years back that had both the 1st and 2nd Silent Night, Deadly Night films on it.

Different films.

[Torgo]

Different films.

Oh yeah, I apparently didn't read the thread title that well.   

[Javakoala]

I do thank one and all for suggestions of good DVD copies.  The Mill Creek copy in their Chilling Classics set is one of the best, from what I've read.

What I am seeking is someone with an actual full version of the film, not a DVD or VHS.  I'm not wanting to buy the actual film reels.  I just want to track down someone with as good a copy as can be found and put Anchor Bay or Shriek Show in touch with this person (or persons) so that a honest-to-God remastered complete version of this film can be released on DVD.  I mean, the folks at Anchor Bay and the rest of these companies do this on a regular basis, so why not me?

Sadly, I attempted to do something similar with "Warlock Moon" a few months ago, and met with total indifference from the people who worked on the film and NEVER could get in touch with the director, though I communicated with his brother (supposedly, as this IS the Internet and nothing is ever real here.).

So, basically, the people I'm looking for would be distributors or companies that hold the rights to films.  Or even people who were connected with "Silent Night, Bloody Night."  Friends or relatives of cast and/or crew.  Someone no doubt has a copy of this film tucked away somewhere, possibly dissolving in a trunk, that can be rescued, restored and presented to the world.

I just want to give something back to all crap films and crap film lovers who have made me realize I'm not alone in my insanity.

[Torgo]

Have you ever though of maybe contacting Something Weird or Synapse entertainment about a possible special edition release? They seem like they'll release even the most obscure films and maybe they might be willing to do an official release of Silent Night, Bloody Night if there's enough interest.

[Javakoala]

Have you ever though of maybe contacting Something Weird or Synapse entertainment about a possible special edition release? They seem like they'll release even the most obscure films and maybe they might be willing to do an official release of Silent Night, Bloody Night if there's enough interest.

I'm slowly making the rounds, hounding companies about this film.  Synapse slipped my mind.  Thanks for the reminding.  I'll go pester them now. Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!

[Menard]

There are definitely good prints out there. A 16mm print will provide greater resolution than an HDDVD.

Among many of the problems with obtaining a good transfer is that many of these transfers are not done with much better equipment than what we could have bought at a camera store for transferring our old Super8's to video.

Another problem is that there are a number of Betamax masters with these transfers already on them, and old transfers at that. Betamax masters held a max of 90 minutes and movies slightly over that would often have been trimmed to fit due to the cost of splitting the transfer between two masters, compared to just putting it on one.

Don't get fooled by the common label of 'digitally remastered'. All that means is that it was converted from an analog signal to a digital signal; it does not mean that any enhancement was done to the image.

[Jim H]

I do thank one and all for suggestions of good DVD copies.  The Mill Creek copy in their Chilling Classics set is one of the best, from what I've read.

What I am seeking is someone with an actual full version of the film, not a DVD or VHS.  I'm not wanting to buy the actual film reels.  I just want to track down someone with as good a copy as can be found and put Anchor Bay or Shriek Show in touch with this person (or persons) so that a honest-to-God remastered complete version of this film can be released on DVD.  I mean, the folks at Anchor Bay and the rest of these companies do this on a regular basis, so why not me?

Sadly, I attempted to do something similar with "Warlock Moon" a few months ago, and met with total indifference from the people who worked on the film and NEVER could get in touch with the director, though I communicated with his brother (supposedly, as this IS the Internet and nothing is ever real here.).

So, basically, the people I'm looking for would be distributors or companies that hold the rights to films.  Or even people who were connected with "Silent Night, Bloody Night."  Friends or relatives of cast and/or crew.  Someone no doubt has a copy of this film tucked away somewhere, possibly dissolving in a trunk, that can be rescued, restored and presented to the world.

I just want to give something back to all crap films and crap film lovers who have made me realize I'm not alone in my insanity.

I know how you feel.  I tried for a while to track down a 16MM or 35MM copy of Radioactive Dreams for a while without success.  I intended to either buy it myself if it was cheap enough, or attempt to get them to sell or loan it to the proper people to get a DVD release - hopefully so I could finally see the film in the widescreen it was obviously intended for.

I actually found a guy who had it for sale at some point talking on a newsgroup, but the message was old and he never responded.