12.2 C
London
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Long awaited Director’s Cut of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed coming to Blu-ray…in the U.S

10422240_462128930590790_4893690415974947156_n

Several months ago I mentioned that a new cut of Clive Barker’s notoriously butchered film Nightbreed, dubbed the “Cabal Cut”, was set to appear on Blu-ray after being featured at numerous film festivals around the world.

Well the time is nigh as Scream Factory announced details via Facebook yesterday.

The film will be available as a standard DVD/ Blu-ray set which features the Unrated Director’s Cut, as it is now officially called, and as of yet undisclosed special features. This edition features Clive Barker approved art by Ralph McQuarrie. It will also be available as a Special Limited Edition which features the unrated Director’s Cut of the film on Blu-ray, the 1990 R-Rated theatrical version of the film on Blu-ray and a third disc which will feature exclusive special features. The Special Limited Edition will also come with a Collector’s Book featuring an essay and rare photos and also features new artwork by Joel Robinson approved by Clive Barker.

Clive Barker writer/director of Nightbreed and Cabal the book, on which it is based had this to say,

“This is film history and beyond my wildest dreams of realization. When Scream Factory told me that they found the NIGHTBREED film footage I was gob-smacked! This is the ultimate validation of choices made by myself and Mark Miller [of Seraphim Films] all the way back in 2008. As we embarked down the road of attempting to track down the lost footage, we looked at each other and said, ‘Maybe one day they’ll find it.’ It’s my pleasure to announce that the day has come.

Speaking personally, I didn’t allow myself to believe that it would. Even if we did find some footage (which we did in 2009 in the form of heavily degraded VHS tapes) and even if we did find a company willing to release the film (which we did in 2013 with Scream Factory, God bless them) the prospect of finding the actual lost film materials was remoter than I’d wanted to admit out loud. If the footage could not be found by those who had worked closest on it the same year it had been released, then what were the odds we’d be able to find anything 20 years on? But Scream Factory, in their commendable determination, kept up the search and thanks to them total reconstruction has been made a possibility.

There’s never been a reconstruction that’s had as little chance of succeeding and yet has succeeded on as many fronts as this film has. It’s unprecedented. To now have a movie that we can put together in the way that I fully intended it to be seen when I first set out to make this film in 1989 is extraordinary. The project has moved inexorably to this conclusion. Fate and the hard work of individuals such as Mark Miller, Russell Cherrington, Phil and Sarah Stokes, Occupy Midian, Morgan Creek, and ultimately, Scream Factory have made this a possibility and I could not be happier.”

There’s a catch though, due to a rights agreement with Warner Bros there is as yet no planned UK release and Scream Factory apparently aren’t allowed to sell it outside the U.S either meaning European fans can’t order it from them. Whether this will effect other online retailers is unclear.

Andy Haigh
Andy Haigh
Andy Haigh started writing to counteract the brain atrophying effects of Retail Hell, now it's an addiction. Andy is an unrepentant sequential art absorbist and comics are one of his passions. Other interests include Film, Music, Science Fiction and Horror novels and quality TV like Game of Thrones. He can talk about these at great length if only someone would listen. He lives a somewhat hermit like life in The Shire, spends too much time on social media and is still waiting to go on an adventure.

Related Articles

28,152FansLike
2,755FollowersFollow
3,280SubscribersSubscribe

Latest Articles