Warlock

As is my usual custom, I will not be reviewing the Warlock trilogy for plot or content, as so many have already reviewed these films for content and I am, obviously, biased in favor of them, as a person who would pay a premium for a Blu-ray set like this one. Of course, I love these films. So, for a review of the films themselves, please see the individual DVD and streaming listings, where you can find more than enough to guide you. On to the Blu-ray.... The Warlock Collection Blu-ray Set was distributed by Lionsgate under their Vestron sub-brand, a brand that is quickly rising to be regarded alongside, one of my favorite companies, Shout Factory and their Scream Factory sub-label. Vestron has restored each of the three films to what I believe to be the highest quality, given the original source material and the method by which the original films had their special effects edited into the films. From what I can tell, each of the three was given the TLC it required in order to restore the image to the best possible state. Now, not all three films were equal in budget or attention paid, at the time of original editing and distribution, to preserving the picture quality, and, as such, it is clear on viewing that they are not equal in terms of video quality, to each other, but are each better than any version previously available. I will attempt to detail below. The Technical Stuff: For the technical paragraph, which you can skip if encoding and disc size bores you, each of the three films was encoded sub-optimally, but, still, to great results. The first film appears on a single, Blu-ray 50GB disc, the maximum space available on a standard Blu-ray, and is encoded at an average of around 25mbps, which is very good but not up to the standard of, for instance, the 30 or 35mbps encode that you might see on a Marvel film. That extra five to ten mbps results in a color palette that explodes off the screen and in intensity of clarity and fine detail that really thrills the viewer. This isn't quite there and the film appears a little softer than you might want it to but, in comparison to the DVD, very sharp and detailed. Also, it is important to note that this is a far better bitrate than we see on some of the budget transfers on some (not all) of the Mill Creek and Echo Bridge lower-level releases where the disc is largely empty and the film was transfered at a lower rate of 12 or 15mbps. Basically, higher is better, for picture quality, and the rate of 25 means that this film takes up a good chunk of the disc space and has greater detail and richer colors as a result but is not quite as amazing as it could have been had they gone up to 33. I hope that made sense to anyone reading this who doesn't know about these things already and if it didn't I am sorry. The second and third films share a 50GB disc, the equivalent of giving each one a single 25GB disc, and they are encoded at around 20mbps, lower but still better, by comparison, than the average streaming rate or bargain basement budget Blu-ray bitrate of 12 to 15mbps. The colors are rich, but not as rich, as in the first film, with the better encoding and greater amount of space taken up by the film on the disc. However, even with this slight limitation (I would have preferred three discs and a minimum 30mbps for all three films), these films take up a good solid chunk of space on the disc, minimizing compression, and they each display bright colors and a level of clarity I have never seen on the two sequels. Armageddon, the second film, does have some limitations, due to some moments of sloppy filming and issues on set, at the time of filming, but it still looks absolutely amazing in comparison to the DVD which pales in comparison to the now inferior streaming version and even the European Blu-ray that had slightly darker blacks but lacked in clarity and was sometimes too dark. The sound on each of the three is superior to my previous versions, digital streaming for all three, Blu-ray for the first two, DVD only for the third film. The essential takeaway from this, the creepy technical section, is that the picture quality is better than we've ever seen, even though they could have improved it. I was told that, due to the limitations posed by the original film elements' condition, the colors are as bright as they could be without significantly dialing up color, contrast, and creating problems with the film that come with doing too much tinkering with color and brightness and contrast. To my eyes, they could have done a little more, pushed it a tiny bit farther, but not much, before they got a film that looked less cinematic and more cartoonish. That is why I am saying that this is almost as good as the picture could be and is likely the best version of each of the three films we will ever see. On to the fun stuff.... The Fun Stuff: For the original Warlock, the Vestron disc has the best, most stable image I have seen. The colors are brighter and cleaner, the black are blacker, the whites are brighter but not blinding, the clarity is excellent, considering the source, the grain is present and not completely washed away by too much digital cleanup. The sound is the best I have heard and, in my limited home theater, surpassed the sound in the original theater where I saw the film for the first time. But, beyond the joy of that, there are SPECIAL FEATURES, a thing, you may have noticed, I live for. On this disc, we have a director's commentary, selected but not full-length isolated score, interviews including nearly a half hour with Julian Sands, a half hour with Director Steve Miner and Jeff Bond and Carl Fullerton and Neal Martz, and, of course, my favorite, the fifty minutes of vintage interviews with the cast and crew, but, we also we have the standards including a stil gallery, TV and Theatrical trailers and teasers, and the surprise inclusion of an additional seventeen minute behind-the-scenes featurette, which I had not expected. Overall, this set of features rivals the best of Shout/Scream Factory Collector's Editions and even Arrow's Special Editions. They went all out and pulled out all the stops to make this disc the disc for which we would want the set. It is truly wonderful. For Warlock: The Armageddon and Warlock: The End of Innocence, the picture is also the best we've seen, with the richest color, not perfect but really excellent, the blackest blacks and whitest non-blinding whites we've seen on these films, including in theatrical release, and the films look truly new and bright, compared to prior releases, but old and still slightly faded. The sound is wonderful, the best I have heard for either film. And, of course, there are SPECIAL FEATURES. Now, nowhere near the same level of spectacular inclusion was possible for these films, as nowhere near the level of effort had been put in when filming to document the filming on Armageddon and not all participants wanted to revisit these projects, especially on The End of Innocence. However, there is a nice collection on this disc, for which I am truly grateful. On Armageddon, we have a drector's commentary, an eight minute vintage making-of featurette, five minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, a five minute extended interview collection featuring the actors and the director, as well as the standard still gallery and TV and Theatrical trailers. On The End of Innocence, we have a forty-three minute collection of vintage interviews with the cast and crew alongside fourteen minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and, of course, the standard Trailer, sales promo Trailer and a still gallery. Basically, for Warlock II, we get far more in terms of retrospective discussion, where, for Warlock III, we get far more in terms of the original footage and interviews conducted at the time. All things considered, I love this disc almost as much as the first one. In total, the two discs, three films, scads of special features and the effort that went into restoring these films and getting this release distributed for all of us to have the option to own it, adds up to a Vestron Blu-ray Collection of the Warlock Trilogy that I just couldn't resist. Good luck in finding a film you will love and enjoy as much as I love these three oddities. I hope this helps you in making your decision.

I have always loved this series with a special fondness for the original which, imho, is still the best. Julian Sands loves this role! You can see it in the performance and he says as much in the interviews included in this magnificent set. The character of the Warlock is an example of how pure evil can be so well put forth that you can almost sympathize with the character which in many ways makes his devious actions all the more horrifying. I think that the hero is so well portrayed in that his travelling through time is secondary to his quest. The hero does not find much of modern times to be amazing as it merely is just another backdrop for the hunt. The second installment was good. It showed that the same character could be re-born in a new type of movie but still maintain all the nuances of the original. I enjoyed Julian's performance as much as the original and it was all the better as it seemed like he was more comfortable and willing to experiment with role, I'm not sure how to put this better the second film seemed darker somehow, the Warlock seemed even more evil and the gore factor was upped about 20 notches which made the "more evil" aspect all the more in your face. The third movie was...well...the third movie and I think that's all I have to say on that. The extras are amazing with a special nod to the remastered picture which really makes the film look vibrant and alive. The interviews are quite compelling and really delve deep into the meat of the film's making as an example did you know that Sean Connery was offered a role in the original? Neither did I....great stuff.

If you are looking for a Halloween-based cheesefest of a movie, look no farther. When I say cheese, I mean it in the good way, the 80s action/horror theme, effects and sound just make it a wonderful yearly watch.

If you like old 80's Horror films the Warlock series is a nice gritty horror flick. Warlock 1 & 2 stars Julian Sands who does a tremendous job at playing an evil warlock from the early 17th century. Warlock he searches for a spell book that can show the true name of God and if said forwards and backwards could undo all that has been created. In Warlock 2, Julian Sands is reborn and must search for the sacred stones of power but finds himself matched by two other warlocks attempting to prevent him from finding the stones. Warlock III sadly does not feature Julian Sands but the actor who plays the Warlock does an excellent job as he searches for a young girl to sacrifice to bring forth and army of demonic Warlocks. The third installment features Ashley Laurence from Hellraiser 1, 2, 3 and 6 who played Kirty Kotton as the young girl named Chris.

Adventure Franchise? Yes, albeit set in a horror genre. Most consider these " Cult Classics" I have no idea how they did in the Box Office. All I know is they succeed in providing fun. If you collect movies about " Witches" this is a must have for your library. Even if you don't for the price these are great fun! You get the entire collection on Blu-Ray for a more than fair price. In this economy that matters! If you have seen them, you know you're in for a treat. If you haven't, give them a chance. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I will say these films can stand alone outside of the franchise. True they are more comprehensive together...but can be enjoyed independently. Purchase without hesitation.

Maybe I'm a little biased here, but I loved this movie ever since I was a kid. It had just the right amount of scare for me. I still love it today, but you can definitely tell it's dated. I don't care, it just gives me more of a nostalgic feeling. The packaging for this collectors version is really unique, I like the artwork. It's a nice addition to my collection, and for the price, I can't complain.

Five stars for films 1 and 2. The third in this series is not in the same league as the first two, and if the interview is correct,Julian Sands was asked to do number three but the script was sub par, and it is quite intriguing the way Julian Sands connects Warlock to a Shakespearean story. Film three is not too bad as horror films go, but the script and FX are not the same as the first two.The Range of VESTRON releases are quite good,and nicely done, comprehensive, even if the good and the bad are still put together,but one can only imagine how Sands would have done a third Warlock film if the script was good enough. The main reason I like the third film is Ashley Laurence, since she just owns the film, the same way ( IMO) Sands owns the role in films 1 and 2 , even if the apocalyptic scenarios are from two different mythos. The more humour laden lines in Warlock 2 are quite sardonic/laconic and delivered only as Sands can in the role. Whatever the case, the extras in and for film 1 are great,and not enough for two but still a great collection.

Exactly as Described