FROM BEYOND
Specs:
- 480p Standard Definition Widescreen 16x9
- 2.0 Dolby surround
- Scene Slections
- English Subtitles
- Spanish subtitles
- Audio Commentary by Stuart Gordon and Cast
- Interview with Stuart Gordon
- Restoration featurette
- Interview with Richard Band
- Photo Montage
- Storyboard-to-film
Video
For this incarnation of From Beyond on DVD, MGM has re-inserted new footage originally cut by the MPAA. These cut scenes are great to finally have; there's a lot of gore and
violence that fans can finally see. These scenes are extended shots added on to existing shots so one might see a slight jump in quality between the original shots and the new footage,
but these jumps can go unnoticable. Aside from these slight problems this is a fantastic transfer. Very few DVDs reach this level of excellence, especially ones of this age.
Imperfections are non-existant and natural film grain is present. Being a highly colorful film, color reproduction is a must for this film and luckily they all look glorious! The infamous
pink/red tints really pop and sparkle. This transfer can only be better by a full 1080P HD transfer, cross your fingers!
Audio
Audio is provided in the original 2.0 Dolby surround and while not as striking as the video transfer, it still gets the job done. I'm sure From Beyond could have benefitted
from a new remix but this surround track is decent enough for the film. It has no major defects and is quite clear.
Subtitles/Captions
English and Spanish subtitles are provided and are pretty much accurate to the dialogue but I can't say the same for the Spanish dub because I don't read or speak Spanish. I took a class once but that didn't work out.
Extras
Commentary:
This commentary with Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton is just as great as the one found on the Re-animator Special edition. The three sit back and enjoy recollecting on the production of the film, the final outcome and the Gordon makes sure to point out the newly added footage. The trio get along really quite well and are obviously quite found of each other. Jeff is sure to make some jokes when Crampton's famous scene comes up, you know the one.
Director Interview:
This interview is pretty standard and consists mostly of Gordon discussing the whole project and how it was all put together.
Lost and Found:
My favorite segment has Gordon return but also two restoration supervisors. Here we are shown what went into making this new transfer. Gordon talks about the original
video trims that were discovered on a work-print while the restoration guys talk about the condition of the work-print and the difficulty of splicing a work-print with an IP.
Interview with Composer:
Richard Band sits down to talk about the musical score of From Beyond. He points out the fact that the Re-animator score and this score are quite different. Also discussed
are some key musical notes and where the inspiration for these musical keys came from.
Photo Montage and Storyboards:
Also included in the set is a standard photo montage set to music and a collection of mulit-angle storyboard galleries. There is an introduction to the storyboards by Stuart Gordon who goes on to show off some of his original drawings.
Final Thoughts
From Beyond has been one of the most wanted DVDs of the last few years. It's one of those movies that took an extra while to finally make it to DVD and I'm happy to say
the wait was worth it; this is a fantatic transfer, uncut with new supplements. This is what fans have been waiting for!
DVD
Video: 9/10
Audio: 6.5/10
Extras: 7/10
