The "Anchorbay Collection" Series:
In March of 2007 Anchorbay/Starz entertainment gave a press-release detailing the upcoming re-release of
Stuart Gordon's Re-animator ** in an all-new feature-packed DVD. This marked the first of a series of releases
from the company under the banner of "Anchorbay Collection." These releases promised remastered transfers,
glorious sound and an assortment of new and archival supplements. Since then there have been a few additions
most notablely Phantasm, Phantasm 3 and the original Hellraiser. I have purchased all
these titles and I can't recommend them enough.
Now we come to the most recent release under the "Anchorbay Collection" banner and it's a horror classic we all
know and love. That's right, The Evil Dead has hit DVD shelves for probably about the 7th time and it is
the best version of the film we have seen yet!
**https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... php?t=2402
Bit Rates:
Full Frame Anchorbay Collection:
Widescreen Anchorbay Collection:
Interactive Menus:
Original:
Book of the Dead:
Anchorbay Collection:
Image Comparisons:
Top: Anchorbay Original (1.33:1)
Middle: Anchoray Collection (1.33:1)
Bottom: Anchorbay Collection/BOTD (1.85:1)
Anchorbay had already made a pretty decent transfer of The Evil Dead a few years ago when they issued their
Book of the Dead edition but unfortunately that was only offered in a badly matted 1.85:1 version. Thankfully a
remastered 1.33:1 print of that transfer existed and it has been made available on this new DVD finally making
the best version available home video version of the film. At first I did prefer the old transfer because of the darkness
of the new master but looking back at it the old transfer does appear to be too bright removing the dark mood
desired. It also featured edge enhancement and some trace amounts of noise reduction and interlacing.
Ultimately the new DVD set is the one to own as it features the widescreen 5.1 DTS home theater enhanced version
along with the original full frame remastered 2.0 stereo version. It really looks great on a television with the
proper calibration and yet it doesn't try and hide the low budget roots of the production.
