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[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Ollie Knows How To Use It Part I


[An earlier version of this PT was originally posted on October 24th, 2013 on JoBlo's "DVD, Blu-Ray & Home Theater Discussion" forum.]

Better have LOTS bug spray handy. We close "Limited Edition Horror" 2017 with something very savage, otherworldly - just outside your door in "Stephen King's The Mist"...



The motion picture opened on November 21st, 2007. It was made with a budget of $18,000,000 (estimated) and grossed over $25 million during its U.S. theatrical run; counting foreign receipts it made $57,293,715. The film opened number twelve at the box office, the following week it raised to number eight.

The feature opened against "Enchanted", "No Country For Old Men", "Beowulf" and "American Gangster".



This release originally came with a cardboard foil slipcover which mirrored the case's wraparound. The initial pressing was a limited edition, came with a six page collectible booklet with chapter listings (above).

The wraparound gave no indication, just the slipcover - announced by sticker.

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One exclusive; did not learn until years after the fact. Found while looking about my local swap meet (great place to find out of print DVDs), bought for two bucks.



Blockbuster Video had a rental with an exclusive bonus interview, "A Conversation With Stephen King And Frank Darabont" (run time of 12:18 minutes). I'm going to say... released on March 25th, 2008. Purchase price, unknown was a rental.

Don't rent and there were hardly any Blockbuster Video store here when they existed.

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Footnotes.

I'm cover this - audio fiction.



My first exposure to the classic was a broadcast in the mid 1980s on FM radio, NPR. They aired a dramatized adaptation.

I was riveted.

There was an ad at the end of the broadcast - on cassette. This was before the huge popularity of CDs. Found it at my local Barnes & Nobels in the mall.

What you see above is that tape; released, under license by Simon & Schuster in 1986 - long out of print in that format.



That cassette is in fact a re-release of an earlier tape from 1984; sold from the source, ZBS Foundation. Came with something that all future re-releases excluded. A thirteen minute featurette, "The Making Of The Mist".

How they created the 3D sound (I'll get into in a few) and the various disturbing sound effects - programs saved on floppies!

Did discover while researching this post that ZBS now offer that featurette for free; a 320 bit download. Sway!.

This is somewhat new (availability). I recall looking a few years back, wasn't there. A cool extra, how they used their cat's angry meow, transformed into real menace. A three month production with a cast of thirty-five. Not a book on tape deal - single person reading the book.



Mid 1993 was re-re-released on cassette once more, again by Simon & Schuster. In the fall of that year on CD (also by them). This fourth version was dubbed "The Compact Disc Nightmare Edition", a pure marketing ploy; no additional materials were included OR remastering done.

I own this, bought back in the day. Both the 1993 formats have the same cover image, the tentacle bursting out the front.

The audio... man, they need to remaster. Perhaps they did on the fifth iteration. All the dialog is far too low. It's damn near hard to hear when characters are whispering, that and the sound effects drown out what's being spoken. The above making-of has the same problem.



To coincide with the then new movie, the CD was put out once more (Simon & Schuster) in 2007. I do not own this. So I can't speak for the quality. Could be repaired or more of the same? *shrugs* The cover image was done by legendary poster creator, Drew Struzan. That art also appears on the limited DVD booklet, which you probably already noticed.

Okay, so what is 3D Sound?

It's official name is Kunstkopf Binaural - which means "art head". It's a German-manufactured recording item, Ku81. What's Ku81? It's a solid rubber head (German, yup) with microphones inside the inner ear chambers. Used to record (in stereo) it can perfectly capture sounds as you would hear in real life.

Not kidding, it can be freaky. A great example is the dragonfly insect inside the market. You WILL BE dodging a make-believe bug. It works okay with stereo speakers, but you'll experience the full 3D on headphones. Good stuff.

Yeah, I should. What is the ZBS Foundation?

Started by hippies; created in 1970, a non-profit company, that creates audio fictions. The best way to describe their stuff is as modern fables. Mostly sci-fi and new age/mysticism. These tales (on going series) which hope to raise consciousness on various issues - but never in your face. They are woven into the stories, modern fables. ZBS (Zero Bull ****) is the Pixar of audio fictions companies. Multi-level programs; kids can listen to them and get enjoyment as can adults with subtle, mature content.

Yes, I'm pimping them at the moment.

I own a good chuck of their CDs. My first ZBS tale was "Incredible Adventures Of Jack Flanders" (1978) heard over the radio. It took me MORE than a decade to figure out. You see, I caught only one episode and forgot what day and time I heard it (way before internet, no Google).

The program was edited into episodes. In short, Flanders is a metaphysical detective - he didn't start that way. He was a seeker who found other worlds and used his gain knowledge to help people. These are full cast productions with original music and sound effects - radio theater.

That particular series started in 1972 with "The Fourth Tower Of Inverness" and continues with "League Of The Green Velvet Chairs" (2016). All of which, FORTY-FOUR YEARS worth of stories (let that sink in) voiced by the same guy, Robert Lorick. Huge continuity! Twenty-six tales as it stands.

Their other big item is "Ruby: The Galactic Gumshoe", pretty much says it all. A very cool, sexy series. This really straddles the line between kid-friendly and adult. I still remember Karen Young doing the voice of Ruby 2 in "Ruby 2: The Further Adventures Of A Galactic Gumshoe" (1985). Oh god, that was so hot.

Young had such a perfect bedroom voice, if you catch my drift. Anyhow, they have various other shows like "Saratoga Springs" (1989), think "Twin Peaks" (1990) without the murder(s) and various stand alone stories.

Sure, it started with "Ruby: The Adventures Of A Galactic Gumshoe" in 1982; the current one is "Ruby 9.5" (2015); thirty-three years of programs all voiced by the same actor, Laura Esterman. A total of twelve tales.

Do seek them out, great stuff. Back to "The Mist". *nods*

No. Well. Kinda.

ZBS - their adaptation. Unlike the motion picture, it followed the Stephen King novella (ending is a bit different). Yeah. Some spoilers here.

The original novella (no conclusion), ends with David Drayton, his son Billy, Amanda Dumfries and Miss Repler leaving the market, driving through the mist hoping retrieve Stephanie (alive?). But a huge pine tree bars the entrance to his private road leading to the house. No way around it. David has to let go; his wife's fate unknown.

Concludes with our gang finding a reprieve in a Howard Johnson; a now nearly extinct motel chain for those not in the know. All of this was David's story - written on a motel stationery, events that started four day earlier.

They had seen parts of the towering beast while driving, six legs. It's now night, the rest are asleep; David is hearing thumping on the room's window, the insects crawling on it. And every now and again, a bang as one of the bird creatures picked a bug off the glass.

Unsure if they'll make it through the night. What he does know - he heard the word "Hartford" on a found AM radio in the manager's apartment. A warning? Salvation?

If they survive to morning, they'll get back in the car and try to make it there. The four-wheel drive has about enough gas for roughly ninety miles. And leave this chronicle behind for somebody to find. To know what had happened. The end.

The audio fiction ends with them driving through the haze and hearing "Hartford", garbled on the car's radio. Had the mist had spread far beyond the town, the world? ALL the CD editions (71:38 minutes) are abridged - some fifteen or so minutes were cut from the cassette presentations, so you know.