Video

DVD - Martin (Anchor Bay, 1999, Region 1)This is arguably the best version of Martin to date.  The transfer is about as good as I could expect it to be considering that it was shot on reverse stock 16mm in the mid 1970's.  It is presented in 1.33:1 full screen ratio.  The audio is a solid 2.0 surround track.  Featured on this disc is a commentary with George Romero, John Amplas and Tom Savini. Also included is a trailer.  Although this DVD has been out of production for a while, you can still get a relatively cheap copy on Ebay.  
DVD - Martin (Lion's Gate, 2004, Region 1) - Out of nowhere, Lion's Gate announced that they were going to release Martin on DVD.  Details were pretty sketchy up until release date, but nevertheless I was highly anticipating the DVD.  The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen format, which was a poor decision.  Several scenes suffered from being inappropriately cropped. The transfer is also much grainier and the color is more saturated than the Anchor Bay release.  A few examples can be seen here.  However, not all is lost. 

The DVD features a commentary with George Romero, Donald and Richard Rubinstein, Mike Gornick and Tom Savini, all in the same room.  The commentary is very informative and entertaining.  The audio is presented in 5.1 for the first time, and also includes the 2.0 mono track.  The 5.1 is the best that Martin has ever sounded.  The DVD also contains a 10 minute featurette on the making of Martin, with interviews with the commentary members, and shots of the house as it sits today.  The disc also features the trailer and television ad, which are in better shape than on the Anchor Bay disc.   This disc is definately worth the ten bucks they are charging for it, for the reasons stated in this 2nd paragraph.  It makes a nice companion to the Anchor Bay release.  

DVD - Martin (Arrow Films, 2003, Region 0 PAL) - The print on this DVD is a different transfer, yet nearly identical to Anchor Bay's.  It is presented in 1.33:1 full screen ratio.  This disc features TV and radio spots and a theatrical trailer (which is in a lot better shape than the trailer on the Anchor Bay).  Also included is a German language (English subtitles) documentary that is worth the price of the disc alone.  The documentary focuses on Romero's work from Night of the Living Dead up to Martin.  It is shot on location at the Monroeville Mall during filming of Dawn of the Dead.  Some of the unused footage from this documentary was borrowed by Roy Frumkes for his Document of the Dead.  The disc also has a inner sleeve that has a 4 page introduction to Martin written by George A. Romero.  This introduction was also in the Martin Novel.  About the only downside of this disc is that it does not include the commentary.

DVD - Wampyr (Terminal Video, 2003, Region 0 PAL) - This is an Italian edited version rumored to be re-cut by Dario Argento.  It is in Italian language 1.0 mono, with no subtitles.  Gone is Donald Rubinstein's soundtrack and in its place is music from the band Goblin.  The Goblin music is taken from the soundtracks of Roller and Il Fantastico. The film is presented in 1.85:1 format.  For some reason in stead of simply adding matte bars, they stretched the full screen image to create the wide screen effect, which was an extremely poor choice.  The film is in a different sequence.  It begins with Cuda meeting Martin at the station.  The train scene that is usually at the beginning takes place a little later in the film.  The only other noticeable difference was some alternate footage of Martin scoping out the house that he finds the cheating couple in.

Laserdisc - Martin (Image/HBO Video, 1990 ) - This disc has the same transfer that Thorn EMI used for their VHS release. No special features, just a bare bones release.  Only for the hardcore collectors.

The Lost 3 Hour Edit - George Romero mentions this early rough edit several times in the Anchor Bay commentary.  Savini and Amplas also have a good memory of it.  The version that we all came to know and love is actually a trimmed version of this edit.  This cut ran for approximately 3 hours and was entirely in black and white.  Apparently the print was stolen from the Laurel Entertainment basement storage.  All we can do is hope and pray that this version will one day surface. 

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