Evil Dead DVD question

[Dan]

I remember when those Necronomicon editions of Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 came out, there were some issues with the case like smelling bad or something like that? I can't remember the exact details, but I saw this on Deep Discount today....

http://www.deepdiscount.com/deals_daily-deep-deal?utm_source=WhatCounts&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=03-30-10&utm_campaign=23409&promoCode=23409

...and I'm wondering if it's worth it. I don't own any edition of either movie at the moment, either.

[Steve Lilley]

I had the Necronomicon edition of EVIL DEAD, and you have to be *really* careful with it. It was at my parents house just sitting on a shelf, and because of the summer heat it now looks like I took a knife to it. It basically just destroyed itself.

[Luke Erik]

Yup, you have to be really careful with them. They're a pretty cool collector's item, but they have issues with the packaging. It's like they are made out of the same material Madballs were made out of, but wear a lot worse.

And they are a magnet towards kids. If a kid gets his/her hands on it, consider it ruined. 

[Steve B]

Evil Dead done in 60 seconds with CLAY - 2010

[sean]

The smell goes away pretty quickly, and I've never had a problem with the DVD cases.  I just keep them at the end of a row, and made sure not to crush them between anything.

[LpF]

Which would you guys say are the best editions of the Evil Dead movies to pick up?

[sean]

I believe the "Book of the Dead" version of the first one is the best, but is also identical to a subsequent, non-book version.  2 I'm not sure, I think the "Book of the Dead" version is the same as something that had been released previously, and I don't know whether that's been surpassed.  'Army of Darkness', the best version of the director's cut is only available in Korea [it's the only one where the restored footage matches the rest of the film, but the trade-off is they added an extra shot or two that, technically, aren't part of Raimi's cut].  No idea what the best version of the US theatrical cut is.

[Keith]

When it comes to the Evil Dead movies, it's always been one of those examples of when the US theatrical cut is better then any Director's Cut I've seen.

[Shawn]

The "book of the dead" editions are worth buying for the books alone.  Both have nice prints.  The "ultimate edition" of ED1 is a bit better (more features), but ED2 in that set is pretty much the best version (best print since the old blood red laserdisc).

[Dan]

Cool, I went ahead and got the set. I'm kind of embarassed that I've gone that long without owning either one (I at least owned 2 on VHS).

[noc]

I have the Boomstick Edition of Army of Darkness.
http://www.amazon.com/Army-Darkness-Boomstick-Bruce-Campbell/dp/B0000844IT

It has both the directors cut and the theatrical, and comes with a nifty booklet.

Looks like you got a good deal on that set. It's going for 55 bucks on Amazon.

[Donnacha]

Great deal! Evil Dead 2 was the first Blu I ever bought.

[Tarrik Dane]

I got the Book of the Dead version of ED1 and I live in south florida, and have not had any problem with it melting or stinking. It smells like latex if you hold it up to your nose but thats about it.

[Matt]

Dan, thanks for the link because those are now mine.

I'm contemplating just putting the discs in some clear slip-cases, and the Books someplace safe.

[sean]

When it comes to the Evil Dead movies, it's always been one of those examples of when the US theatrical cut is better then any Director's Cut I've seen.

the thing about the director's cut of 'Army' is that I saw it first, and a lot of the longer stuff in the middle is the stuff I like best [it's most similar to the other two, even if it doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the movie].  It's not all better, though.