With the recent Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of MARCO POLO (1962), something seems to be missing: US prints of PEPLUM movies. The new MARCO POLO BD is the International English Dub with the Angelo Lavagnino score, not the US print with opening credits reflecting the changes to it and no Les Baxter score. The US print, againt, is M.I.A.. I’m happy there are Blu-ray releases of PEPLUM movies but the missing US versions is a sad reality. Aside from HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (below), starring Reg Park, there hasn’t been a decent HD print of a US version ever. Yes, the recent HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN Blu-ray release is the US version but the print is terrible. No US version of SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD and now MARCO POLO. I sense a bad trend.
In the late 80’s I asked the local Orion branch about theatrical print availability of AIP titles. The Poes, Biker, Beach movies, Peplums, etc.
The reply was the prints were all beat up from years of screenings, and were also losing color. And rather than paying storage fees for it all, the prints were ordered junked. Broke my heart at the time.
Was likely the case at film depots nation wide.
The collectors market’s another story. I’ve heard Kino has sourced some prints from collectors.
Hi Stephen
Yes, there was very little for those old movies but what happened to the original negatives of the US releases? Does anyone have them?
Good question.
Would be great to read how AIP (and other distributors) went about creating those US release prints, and what happened to the elements afterwards.
Upper echelon 35mm collectors probably have some scoop on those prints and negatives.
Has anyone else checked out Deep Discount DVD? I looked up the distributed called Reel Vault and looking at more than 40 pages, I saw at least one Peplum film per page. I was wondering about the quality of these transfers.