The Purge 1-4 (Birnenblatt) (Mediabook) [Germany]

[pygospa]

Release: ???
Price: ???
Cover: 3 (planned)
Limitation: ???

 

There are thing where you know, that it's simply not an incident - even if the people responsible are keeping silent. E.g. yesterday in Germany there was the first federal warning day since the German reunion, i.e. a day where on a federal level an alert is to be broadcast to all alerting system for a practice alarm to test for the emergency. Speaking of "keeping silent", naturally everything was silent (at least in Bremen, but that's not the only city I've heard of where this alarm failed!), sirens weren't sounding or did not exist anymore, alerting apps did not alert due to server overload, and alerts weren't forwarded due to unpreparedness. The only system that did work, was Birnenblatt's customer alerting system! On the stroke(!) of 11 they announced one of their planned releases to look forward to - a movie that I associate with the sounding of alarm sirens (so another reason why I do not believe that it's an coincident) : "The Purge" 1-4 - the movies where mayhem starts with the sound of the siren. So maybe the failing warning day was a good thing after all?
 

There is not much information yet, Birnenblatt just announced that this is going to happen, not when, not how many, not the prices, etc. Only the package: It will be a Mediabook release in three Cover variants. Plus, after a lot of questions asked in the comments there are a few additional details: Probably this will be a bundle release (at least that's their plan for now), i.e., you cannot just buy "The Purge" and "The Purge: Election Year", etc. I have asked them if there will be any additional never before seen extras, or bonuses as an incentive to getting these (as most people who are interested in the movie will probably own them as Steelbook release), but Birnenblatt evaded answering by stating that details will follow soon and that a booklet and audio cd (see below!) are already exclusive bonuses for this release. My second question was a bit more directly answered: I asked what about the planned part 5, which is supposed to end the movie series, and they said, that this movie is on their radar, but due to the postponed cinema release (it was initially planned for June 2020, but postponed a year due to Covid-19) they'll already release these four - they are sill waiting for the cinema release. To me this sound like they will plan to release part 5 as well, and might have even, if Covid-19 hadn't; however, keep in mind, that now licenses and rights might yet been sold, and Birnenblatt could end up empty handed. At least it's a good sign (to me) that the label is planning to get all parts of the movie.

As that is all there is to talk about regarding this release, let's take the time and talk about the label, which - as far as I know - I haven't till now. Birnenblatt is a small German label, done by one guy (Stephan). It was founded in 2009 without knowing what or where they want to be, exactly (at least looking from the outside - however, it was always about movies with Birnenblatt, from the get go). Their first release was the audiobook "Heath Ledger - The Last Days", based on the written biography by Brian J. Robb. It featured famous German dubbing artists (Dietmar Wunder [German voice for Adam Sandler, Daniel Craig, Cuba Godding Jr., etc.], Simon Jäger [German voice of Heath Ledger] and Anna Grisbrach [German voice of Michelle Williams]). After that, they organized a couple of smaller movie conventions in Germany, which included small Hollywood guests (e.g. Gunnar Hansen, the first Letherface actor). Six years later, in 2015, they released their first movie editions, "Black Sheep" and "Trianble" as big Hardboxes (if you are not from German speaking countries, you've probably never heard  of Hardboxes as a packaging type for Disc releases - this is yet another German speciallity [as are Mediabooks, but basically those are just Digibook packaging with certain fixed parameters]. Hardboxes date back to the VHS times, and are basically the old "clam shell" packages you know in the US and UK, but with harder material, and without a paper sleeve but instead direct printing on the case. I don't now if they existed elsewhere in the world? For DVD and BluRay these where imitated and in Germany these are pretty popular with a lot of collectors). And in end of 2015 they also released their very first Mediabook: "Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre" which was an instant hit. And since 2018 they also did a couple of Future Packs. All in all, their catalogue is still pretty small, but for an independent label with hardly any resources, they really shine. In my opinion the strength of Birnenblatt releases lies in the quality of their products, especially the packaging. They always use special artworks, and usually they try to have a special finish as well - some of them are debossed, some use gloss varnish, they have a release with a ruber-like "soft touch" or "silk touch" feel and then there is a glow in the dark "Wolfcop" release, or their padded "Drive" release, that has the look and feel of the famous jacket featured in "Drive" - the very first and up to now only padded Mediabook that I love! They have a text-free backside, and all of their releases are always limited and individually numbered (via hologram sticker). But not only on the outside - also the inner values are great: The design is great, you have either an exclusive text by a famous German movie magazine (Zombie Neon Magazin) or recently they write their own text, the booklet has a sewn binding of high quality. But also their content used to be really interesting. Instead of just having the DVD copy, they always tried to add something else: We got bonus movies, soundtracks, audiobooks and radio play, which where all pretty neat extras. Unfortunately, this is a place where they started saving money - recently there is always a second disc containing just a reading of the booklet text, which to me is the most useless extra you could add (even the DVD copy has more value to me). But other than that I cannot complain. I have nearly all their Mediabook releases and am still pretty happy about them, so I am looking forward to the "Purge" covers we'll get to see.

 

And now, that you know all there is about this label, let's get to the movie series - in case you didn't know them till now. In my eyes, this is a great series of movies that combines horror and thriller with a dystopian social criticism, that targets a couple of social evils without being edifying or seeming morally superior. But what's it all about? To reduce crime and unemployment to a minimum, the USA introduced "The Purge" - a night where for 12 hours all social ans security systems are shut down. So for 12 hours people are free to do whatever they want - without any consequences. Looting, burning, stealing, raping, murdering: Everything is allowed. People are free to participate or to barricade themselves, but everyone is on their own. And with this premises, the movies explore different aspects during this Purge. The first movie is more of a classic home invasion movie, if you want: During the purge, the house of a rich family that can afford extremely high quality security system is under siege by a group of Purgers, who are out to kill. In the second movie, we get to see the view of a couple of people who would have wanted to go home, but got hold up for some reason or another (e.g. car broke down, etc.) so we get to see what happens outside of your safe home. The third movie plays even further in the future and focuses on the difficulties to get rid of this day, and goes into the political perspective of it all. And last but not least, after already looking a bit into what led to the instalment of the Purge in the previous film, the last film (so far) goes back to the first Purge and how and why the purge came into being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pygospa]

Would you get these? I am still a bit torn. I do own the Steelbooks of all three movies (haven't seen the fourth, though), so there is nothing, other than maybe the artwork. But I also do love the movies, so I would not mind having them twice. Depends on the price I guess, all other releases in that time and my financial situation... Would be more excited if I didn't had them already, I guess. How about you, what do you think? Good idea, or will it be hard for Birnenblatt to sell these?

[Veum]

36 minutes ago, pygospa said:

Would you get these? I am still a bit torn. I do own the Steelbooks of all three movies (haven't seen the fourth, though), so there is nothing, other than maybe the artwork. But I also do love the movies, so I would not mind having them twice. Depends on the price I guess, all other releases in that time and my financial situation... Would be more excited if I didn't had them already, I guess. How about you, what do you think? Good idea, or will it be hard for Birnenblatt to sell these?

 

The Purge is just not my ‘cup of tea’, so I could not help in anyway, sorry!

[Grendel]

Good Evening @pygospa and other friends; 🙂

 

While I of course wish Birnenblatt and all Blu-ray providers the utmost best in the selling of their products, this particular series of releases I hold no interest for.

For perhaps the last decade, the United States of America (like many countries) has been undergoing a form of self-reflection and attitude shift toward a variety of topics.

This is always a difficult endeavour, as I find it usually establishes different 'camps' that have trouble conducting dialogue with each other.

Be it social, racial, economic or even religious topics, finding common ground can be a trial for even the most well intentioned persons.

The Purge films I think, were intended as a focus for identifying some of these social difficulties. Now whether or not the intent was at all successful, I'm in no position to say, especially considering the fact that I am a foreigner, with little insight to the systemic issues they approach.

Regardless, I view films to be entertained and prefer to keep my entertainment separate from societal issues that I see in the news each and every day.

This is assuredly not a head-in-sand approach, as I do pay attention to the news. I just prefer to keep the two distinct.

 

I have nothing bad to say about the films, as I have not watched them. I don't foresee doing so though.

Quite happy to hear that you enjoyed them and of course, I hope you obtain copies that meet your desires and expectations.

I do appreciate once more, you providing the excellent write-ups you are known for and I hope to see many others. 😀

On this particular series though, I'm afraid I'm in no position to provide support.

Cheers my friend! 🤗