Powerhouse Films

[Michael Brooke]

The chances of StudioCanal letting Powerhouse have titles of theirs that they’ve already released and which are still in print (and which will presumably remain in print indefinitely, since they own them outright) are basically zero. Sorry!

[Nuno_Miranda]

But what about those titles from the 1930s and 1940s? Wouldn'0t they be out of copyright by now? I mean, I may need to read up on EU copyright law...

We discussed this some time ago when I made that mockup for an Exclusive box, and the rights of some were with Network, but it no longer exists. Maybe there is an opportunity here?

I'd so very much buy a box (or three!) of Hammer rarities!

[Michael Brooke]

Under EU copyright legislation (which we're still in sync with, and I can't see that significantly changing), they'll definitely still be in copyright. Even films from turn of the 20th century pioneers like G.A. Smith are still in copyright (because he died in 1959, less than 70 years ago), and Cecil Hepworth's equally 120-plus-year-old films only fall into the public domain next year.

The challenge with the early Hammer titles is (a) they'll need extensive restoration work along the lines of what we've been doing with Tod Slaughter's probably more commercially appealing back catalogue (so you're still talking a hefty production budget merely to beat them into releasable shape), and (b) right now they may well be tied up in the fallout from the Network collapse, as they had the rights to Hammer's pre-Curse of Frankenstein films, so I've no idea what's happening with them at the moment, or indeed how far Network got with restoring them (although I suspect with the very early Hammer titles, it's "not very").

Trust me, we're keeping a very close eye on the Hammer situation, and will pounce if anything changes to our advantage (for instance, Sony creating HD masters of three more comedies besides The Ugly Duckling), but I'm afraid nothing's going to happen any time soon. Hence us focusing on Hammer-adjacent projects like Jean Rollin, Mexican genre films and (forthcoming but imminent) Ozploitation, the last two on the grounds that tentative toes in the water a couple of years ago (Roadgames, Mad Dog Morgan, La Llorona, The Phantom of the Monastery) turned out to be surprisingly big hits that sold out much faster than expected.

[Nuno_Miranda]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

Under EU copyright legislation (which we're still in sync with, and I can't see that significantly changing), they'll definitely still be in copyright. Even films from turn of the 20th century pioneers like G.A. Smith are still in copyright (because he died in 1959, less than 70 years ago), and Cecil Hepworth's equally 120-plus-year-old films only fall into the public domain next year.

The challenge with the early Hammer titles is (a) they'll need extensive restoration work along the lines of what we've been doing with Tod Slaughter's probably more commercially appealing back catalogue (so you're still talking a hefty production budget merely to beat them into releasable shape), and (b) right now they may well be tied up in the fallout from the Network collapse, as they had the rights to Hammer's pre-Curse of Frankenstein films, so I've no idea what's happening with them at the moment, or indeed how far Network got with restoring them (although I suspect with the very early Hammer titles, it's "not very").

Trust me, we're keeping a very close eye on the Hammer situation, and will pounce if anything changes to our advantage (for instance, Sony creating HD masters of three more comedies besides The Ugly Duckling), but I'm afraid nothing's going to happen any time soon. Hence us focusing on Hammer-adjacent projects like Jean Rollin, Mexican genre films and (forthcoming but imminent) Ozploitation, the last two on the grounds that tentative toes in the water a couple of years ago (Roadgames, Mad Dog Morgan, La Llorona, The Phantom of the Monastery) turned out to be surprisingly big hits that sold out much faster than expected.

Thank you for taking the time to explain, Michael, much appreciated. Only when you mentioned it did I remember that the UK is no longer in the EU, I had just assumed you were still in. It's still a mini-shock.

I totally understand the restoration cost vs profit for the earlier titles. I realise that not everyone mnay not be as keen as I am to watch them...

I already have my Tod Slaughter box in pre-order. This is one bit of British horror that passed me completely by and I can't wait to discover it. That it has the Powerhouse treatment is all the better.

Thinking of Severin's "Cushing Curiosities" box, I'm sure there are still many opportunities for a little box package of hitherto unseen (although not unknown) materials from beloved actors -- they (or Powerhouse!) can easily do a couple more boxes of largely unseen Cushing stuff, especially from the later 70s! -- or directors (early Terence Fisher?) for us to explore.

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Nuno_Miranda

I already have my Tod Slaughter box in pre-order. This is one bit of British horror that passed me completely by and I can't wait to discover it. That it has the Powerhouse treatment is all the better.

I really can't wait for the reaction to that. Hand on heart, I don't think I've ever seen such a dramatic improvement in all my two decades plus of working on film restoration projects - a friend recently told me that he'd tried to watch Sweeney Todd on Netflix, but had to give up because the audio was so muffled (English isn't his native language). I happened to have the restoration on my laptop, so I showed him a bit and his jaw properly dropped, Tex Avery-style.

What's really exciting about projects like this isn't just the fact that these films haven't looked this good in eight decades or more (no exaggeration), it's the fact that because they now look this good, they'll hopefully lead to a complete rehabilitation of the films' wider reputation as well. Jonathan Rigby has already taken back what he said about Slaughter in his book English Gothic, which was based on watching abysmal-quality copies - now that he's seen them properly (he was extensively involved with the extras), he's done a complete U-turn.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

It would be nice if we could get Moon Zero Two and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in quality UK releases on Blu-ray.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

It would be nice if we could get Moon Zero Two and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in quality UK releases on Blu-ray.

They are with Warner I think so always a chance of a Warner Archive release now that they have a UK arm.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

The chances of StudioCanal letting Powerhouse have titles of theirs that they’ve already released and which are still in print (and which will presumably remain in print indefinitely, since they own them outright) are basically zero. Sorry!

Thanks Michael. It's what I thought, but hope springs eternal...

Do you have any information on the SC Hammer titles that they haven't released in the UK? It seems strange that they are available in America but not their native country?

[MuckyFunster]

Was hoping to see “Guesthouse Paradiso” in your announcements there, Susan. Fingers crossed for next month!


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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I have a mild interest in Honor Amongst Lovers and Desire. But it is only mild.