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Originally Posted by John Matrix  Does it actually cost 10 grand to remaster a film? |
Depends.
It's not just the cost of actually restoring but liscening as well and dealing with the rights owners. I've discussed this with various people online. It seems to be different dealing with films in different territories.
With Italy apparantly there are various options to the distributor. The Cheapest is to liscence an existing scan and stick some extras on. Arrow did this initially and we know how that turned out. 88 films did it with some of their releases as well and again, scanner noise, DNR ect ect.
Its dearer to liscence the film and do the restoration directly. Arrow seem to be funding these by releasing some of the more 'mainstream' stuff like the burbs which will sell. 88 are doing it through crowdfunding which can be a better option in certain circumstances. The Walerian Borowczyk set was done this way as Arrow had no idea what demand existed. Its also got to take into account the territory its being released in. Germany is a fairly big market as is America so the labels there might have deeper pockets to take a risc. Or in the case of Camera Obsucra be a single lone obsessive with a talent for restoration and inside connections with the Italian labs.
A uk label will also need BBFC certification on top of this and then the cost of physically producing the disc and packaging as well as getting bonus materials. You then have to hope that people buy it.
Midnight legacy took a bath on Alien 2 and dissappeared for some years. The Disc itself is phenomenal however the expense must have been fairly prohibitive and the actual market for a film like that is not huge. Exposure in the UK released Stagefright in the UK around the time Blue underground did in the US and a lot of fans bypassed it for the american release as there was more brand awareness, a shame as I prefer the uk disc and it has better sleeve art.
Ultimately its a risk and releasing films is not a highly profitable area so it tends to be a labour of love. Saner labels like Criterion and Arrow are trying to have markets on both sides of the pond to stay profitable.
does it cost $10k?
The short answer is not a clue but is is expensive.