Firstly I must recommend this fantastic Michael Mann series to anyone.
Secondly, I am I right in thinking that when Anchor bay re-issued series One Region 2 it was remastered (the original release was frankly video qulity at best).
I'm sure I read this somewhere, can someone confirm this?
Saw this in the late 80s, a classic cop against the mafia series , Dennis Farina is excellent as the cop. Produced by Michael Mann, directed by Abel Ferrara. Anyone seen it recently, how does i hold up now?
christ i remember watching this too, used to love it along with the mike hammer series starring stacy keach, remember the woman in it who always popped up during the show but u never knew who she was.
"Crime Story" is a fantastic show, although Season 2 is nowhere near the high-standards of Season 1. If you have a local MVC or Music Zone store still open near you, you can often find both Seasons available at less than £10 each, which might be worth hunting down for.
Season 1 is awesome, especially the Pilot Movie episode!
ITV3 have aired Seasons 1 and 2 twice now, in recent years, and it was also shown back in the late-1980's on ITV1!
The VHS releases were very haphazard, and didn't release all of the series. Instead, the tapes combined various episodes together, and not all of them were released, or released in the correct order. So get the DVD's now! You won't regret it!
If I remember rightly vols 1 to 5 were the first 12 episodes or so of series one & vol 6 was the last three episodes of series two ! (I think).
Dennis Farina was just fantastic in it.
Anyway, going back to my original post, was series one remastered on it's second release?, I remember the normally excellent Anchor bay making a complete bodge job of it & I'm sure they remastered it
Ah yes the VHS releases ! If I remember rightly vols 1 to 5 were the first 12 episodes or so of series one & vol 6 was the last three episodes of series two ! (I think). Anyway, going back to my original post, was series one remastered on it's second release?, I remember the normally excellent Anchor bay making a complete bodge job of it & I'm sure they remastered it. come on PoochJD you MUST be able to find out !!!
You are correct about the VHS releases, and I even still own some of them, though they are hidden away amongst all my other hundreds of videotapes.
Right, with regards to Crime Story and Anchor Bay, this is what I know and have been able to discover.
1 - When AB released the original Pilot Movie as a single disc on Region 1, the picture quality wasn't as good as it could be. However, this was purely down to a mediocre master being used, as it was the only available at the time.
2 - When AB released Season 1, in the USA, the series was remastered, but some grain is still inherent in the original image, as Mann wanted the show to have a gritty, realistic feel to it, to match the nature of the show. It was never meant to be seen in a pristine condition. Also, you need to bear in mind digital technology wasn't really used in 1986-1988 when the show was originally made. This same edition, was used for the AB UK Region 2 release of Season 1. Season 2 was also identical in both Region 1 and 2 editions.
3 - The US and UK AB releases of both Season 1 and 2 are identical in terms of picture quality, audio quality, and extras. So, it's really down to your own personal preference. As I say, just don't expect a perfect, crystal-clear image, as a) that wasn't what Mann wanted the show to be like, and b) the age of the show means that it won' be as pure an image as modern cinema is.