I was excited when After Hours Cinema started releasing classics as they seem to be specializing in the same area that Alpha Blue Archives does. I recently picked up several releases and there are positive and very negative aspects to them. On the positive side, from what I have seen, their releases seem to be mastered from film masters instead of video tape masters as Alpha Blue Archives uses. Many of their masters are in better shape than ABA uses as well.
On the very negative side, several of their films are edited, which it doesn't state on the box and I feel they should especially given how some are edited. In-Flight Service on their Grindhouse Trash Collection Part 2 is an edited softcore print, which they knew. Each release comes with a booklet and in the booklet for this title they state 'Sadly, the present print of In-Flight Service is an edited "soft-core" version,'. Even worse is the version of The Fires Down Below on the same collection. As their booklet states 'That's right, folks - the final 20 minutes of The Fires Down Below are missing'. They released this title without the last reel. Not as bad is their release of Virgin Hostage on the Grindhouse Hostage Collection, which appears to have had the beginning removed. Which they knew as the booklet states 'The present print of Virgin Hostage seems to be missing a bit of introductory material,'.
I think that when edits like these exist, especially when an entire reel is missing, they should state it on the box or hold it until they can get the missing footage, even if they have to do a composite print like ABA did with Anyone But My Husband. I know I for one would prefer to have the complete film. That's part of the reason for watching feature films. They seem to blow off the missing reel for The Fires Down Below by stating in the booklet 'Look at it this way: if you haven't managed to stroke it off by now, you obviously didn't know how to use a porno movie in the first place.' However, missing the conclusion of the story and film upsets me as someone who enjoys classics and features and wants to know the rest of the story.
Another issue, probably less important to many viewers, most of the title cards are missing from the prints they are using. Whether they are cutting them off or whether the prints they are using had them removed, I don't know. Also they appear to have inserted stock footage into some releases, like several of the short films on the Sex in the Seventies Collection. The quality of the master for the exterior shots is in much better shape than the interior. Since these would have been on the same reel, I can't see why this would happen if AHC wasn't inserting the footage.
Also when they replace the missing title cards for their own, they may be making up some cast members on the ones that they include this information. For instance on Sex Nurse off the Dr. Christina of Sweden release the cast members listed are the ones from The Waterpeople another film from the same director (Emilio Portici). I'm not sure if the cast was the same or not, the only one I'm familiar with is Carol Connors (billed as Carol Robbins) and she is younger in this film than any I've seen her in so I'm having trouble identifying if she is in the film.
Which leads me into my last complaint. With several of the directors they appear to have a working relationship, like Nick Philips. Given the lack of credible information on many of the titles they are releasing, it would be nice if they worked with the directors to get as much info on the titles as available and added it into their booklets instead of just having a play by play description of the films in them. Who was in it, where it was filmed, stories about the making of the film, all of this would be of added interest, especially since they appear to have the resources to do so. The only release that I have that they attempt to do this with is Grindhouse Trash Collection Part 2 where they have a short piece by Charles Lamont on In-Flight Service in the booklet. I really wish they would try harder to obtain this information as the more time that goes by the greater the chance this information will be lost forever.
These are just my thoughts on the matter based on the Collections that I have picked up so far. I'd love to hear how other viewers have felt on what they have seen from them.