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Notice - You don't need a paypal
account to use a credit card, with these "buy now" buttons. PP will process you as a "guest", if you prefer. IN STOCK, READY TO SHIP!!! Shipped by U.S. Priority Mail, "2-3 days" service
In a Nutshell, for those in a hurry: 10 Verbatim premium DVD's of Then Came Bronson movie
The pkg
includes the series, with hi-res photo graphics of the episodes contained printed directly on Verbatim Premium +R DVDs; menus, on-screen episode guides, Long Lonesome Highway & Closing the Gap tunes, and
other bonus features, in 2 multi-disc holders with custom graphics. Putting the set on 10 discs keeps the content per disc under 3 hours, eliminating compression which would otherwise degrade the quality.
The Bronson videos have never been released officially, but this set has been edited for optimal color and commercials and "dead air" is removed. All TCB sets available today came from TNT, at one
time the owner who broadcasted the set. THIS set came from a TNT broadcast and I spent a couple weeks editing it. Since that time, TCB has gone to "Public Domain" - it now belongs to the ages (all of us).
The tunes came from mint unplayed vinyl records I found from a record broker online, which were never released again after 1970. I remastered them to CD quality with a mixer and DAK "depopper"
software - eliminated all pops, clicks and hiss and normalized the volume. Since Then Came Bronson now belongs to the Public Domain, you're not likely to see any industry-remastered releases from
recording labels in the future. View a couple screen shots of the menus here.
(hit your BACK button to return) View screen shots of all the episodes here.
See a picture of the whole package here.
See the Michael Parks tunes list here.
The uncompressed 10 disc set per the picture $59 + $9 priority mail shipping.
Shipping - next business day after funds received, via priority mail. ORDERING: I've set it up to calculate shipping for the American hemisphere and Europe and Down Under, but not many of the small island countries, or the African and Asian
continents - just because I haven't been asked to yet, and I'm a little rusty on my geography. All US shipments are Priority, and all international shipments are Priority International. If this doesn't
figure the shipping for your address, email me & I'll quote the shipping, or set it up for your country if the server supports that - just takes a couple minutes. You can order
1. Using the button. Click the "Buy Now" button below. This supports credit/debit cards, or Paypal payments. Shipped with next mail pickup. 2. Call the order in -
720-851-8455, use Visa / Mastercard / Discover for the pymnt. Shipped with next mail pickup. 3. "snail mail" a money order, cashier's or personal check to the address at the bottom of this
page. Slowest method - shipped after deposit clears.
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Now, more detail:Remember Then Came Bronson?
Once in a while television comes up with a gem in all the - OK let's face it - garbage on the air. Then Came Bronson was a diamond. Too bad it lasted for only a season - 26 episodes and the pilot. I read that Michael Parks wanted too much to continue, so the network suits pulled the plug. That year I was working in a foundry, 18 and just finished high school, having received my draft notice to show up for Vietnam. I used to call in sick every Wednesday (?) so as not to miss Bronson.
Here's a few reviews from readers over at imdb.com:
From "Owlwise" : Searching for America & one's own self, 4 June 2002 The sort of show that simply wouldn't make
it to television today, "Then Came Bronson" told quiet, lyrical, sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic stories about a young man traveling through America in search of personal meaning; unlike many attempts
at this theme, the show was never heavy-handed, offering intelligent, often quirky character portraits of the people Jim Bronson encountered. The viewers always came away with a rewarding, thought-provoking
experience. It's a pity both the pilot film & the individual episodes aren't available on video or DVD. Shows of this caliber may be born of their particular time, but their substance is timeless.
Great Show, and a Great Guy, 13 May 2006 Author: dbking-2 from United States I must have been in the summer of 1969 when a friend of mine said that he had heard that they were filming an episode of Then Came
Bronson near by. We were born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado. So the 4 of us jumped in the car, I was to young to drive but my friend wasn't, along with my cousin who was visiting from Utah away we went to find
Bronson. In the mountains of Colorado during the summer they film a lot of movies so we had to go from Hotel to Hotel in Canon City to find him, finally some one knew where he was in a rented house in some
neighborhood that I couldn't find again if I had to. We pulled up in the driveway and out he came, he was friendly beyond what any of us could imagine. We sat with him and watched the Johnny Cash Show and ate carrot
sticks. He was such a great guy to be so kind to a bunch of kids, none of us has ever forgotten the day or the guy. I think that the show was so popular with young men because this guy was free, just going from town
to town helping people, meeting people, but it was all so simple then our generation thought we could save the world. You live on Michael, live on brother. Snapshot of the late 60's, early 70's, 2 March 2006
Author: mishippp from United States Then Came Bronson was seminal and what I remember most about it (since I was 12 when I saw it for the first time) was the notion that you could
lose yourself in America by simply getting on a motorcycle and disappearing. The imagery was perfect for young guys like myself who were watching people come back from Vietnam, utterly broken by the events of the
period. The theme of "no ties" was utterly appealing to many people who felt that any connection to the "establishment" was empty and devoid of the satisfaction one could get from simply getting
lost and "being free." The main character was far less hardened than other similar leading dropouts of the same genre (Fonda, Brando, Hopper) and far less psychedelic than guys pushing the
"trippy" side of late 60's America. Bronson was more of a workin man's dropout and that's what I loved about him. And the mountain climb was unique. I think a whole generation of dirt-bikers caught the bug
after seeing this movie for the first time.
Very cool, man.
Then Came Bronson was important to me (more on that below), so I set out to find the show and put it in my library. I had also heard many of his songs
- he is a talented singer - my brother had two of his 1969-era records. I wanted the songs too. So I searched the Internet for TCB info - for several years now. I found the movie and series has never been
remastered, and has never been offered for sale by any large production company who owns it and has the resources to restore the old film. The pilot movie was broadcast by the Speed Channel on Thanksgiving 2005. Several
years back, Turner South broadcast the series, and some enterprising fans captured it with their VCR's. This has been the only source for the show series that I can find. I've also found that some of the online sellers
are selling some poor quality copies. Not surprising given the variance in equipment, operator skills, putting more than 3 hours of video on single-layer DVDs which adds compression tokens, and the practice of repeating
generations of tape copies which degrades video with each subsequent generation. So I set out to produce the best videos possible and make them available to my brothers who loved Bronson and were profoundly influenced
by his odyssey. I found a good set of VCR copies, recorded as SP and not later than the 3rd generation, of a cable broadcast from Turner South. All the copies I found, came from the TNT network, as they
apparently used to own the series but have not and are not producing it for sale - in spite of multiple requests from many people. In fact, I have a copy of an inquiry & response on a forum on superstation.com,
where a viewer requested purchasing TCB, and TNT told him to search on the internet to find copies, as they won't be producing them for sale. OK, so I have a lot of video equipment and software, and the
technical background to use it. I converted the videos to MPG2 format (DVD quality) while adjusting the brightness, contrast, color saturation, and hue, as these 38-yr old videos need fixing. I ran the resulting MPG2
files through a video editor and removed the transitions to/from commercials. I had previously collected Michael Parks music from the period - which was only released on vinyl, has been out of print over 30 years. But I
didn't have all the tracks from both albums, and I wanted CD quality which the tunes I had, weren't. So I searched for the albums "Long Lonesome Highway", & "Closing the Gap" ,from 1969-70. Not
available anywhere including I-Tunes, the record publishers, and other online sellers. Only available on old records in used music stores. I got lucky and found MINT UNPLAYED copies of both from a record
broker. You may recall, even brand-new vinyl recordings still have a bias tone, background noise, pops & clicks. So I remastered the albums to CD quality with a DAK mixer and their software,
removed all the vinyl blems, and normalized the volume to max, short of clipping - they all have the same volume. I collected episode guide info from Wikipedia, and created 3-episode screens that display the
guides while playing one tune per guide. I bundled the episodes into 3-episode groups, each group with it's appropriate guide - and created a menu for each group while creating the files that your DVD player needs. I
also created a complete episode guide for the pilot movie disc that displays while the Parks' '69-'70 songs play. You can scroll through the guide with your FF button. And three other Bonus Features on the movie disc -
Searching for Bronson that plays with a clean copy of "Re-enlistment Blues" - viewer reviews of TCB with Parks' tunes, and a slideshow of pics from the series and the movie, also with Park's tunes. Here's screen snaps of the pilot movie disc menu and the episode 7-9 menu: |
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Feedback below about the current TCB pkg in reverse chrono order: I deleted last names & domains to protect their privacy. |
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From: "Glen XXXXXXX" To:
<valkstuff@horseapple.com> Subject: Bronson DVD set Date: Monday, November 08, 2010 12:19 PM
Dear Mark, The Bronson set arrived last weekend and it's infinitely better than I expected. So far I've watched three episodes and they've all been great. In
case you didn't know, the guitar player beside Parks on stage toward the end of "Pickin' and Singin' is James Hendricks, the guy who wrote a lot of the songs for the series. The set,
the graphics, the packaging and the service are just excellent. And if I say any more I'm going to have to charge you a freelance copywriting fee. Glen XXXXXXX
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From: Etienne (in Belgium) To: Mark Tobias Sent:
Saturday, February 20, 2010 7:17 AM Subject: TCB Set February 20, 2010 Thanks a lot Mark, The TCB DVD SET arrived yesterday. It took three days to cross one continent
plus an ocean,... and 10 more days to get through the customs. And it was well worth the wait. So, immediately after the Super-G from Whistler / Vancouver, that I did'nt want to miss, I watched the THEN
CAME BRONSON "Pilot Movie" as well as the first three episodes of the series. Three more episodes this morning, and I can already say that this DVD Set is great value for money. One should not
expect HDTV quality of course. After all, this is 40 years old film material, transfered to video tapes, and finally to DVD, but sharpness and color quality are very good indeed. You did a really good job,
and one can watch these DVDs without having the impression of blurred vision. And the icing on the cake, for us in Europe, is that, being "zone free", they can be played on "PAL" DVD players, without any problem. In short, EXCELLENT PRODUCT and SERVICE, thanks again,
Etienne |
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From: <
goont@XXXXXX> To: <valkstuff@horseapple.com
> Sent: Friday, September 04, 2009 9:26 AM Subject: TCB dvds Hi. Just want to says thanks so
much for the Bronson set! They are just as you described and I'm sure they are the best anyone could find online. You have put a lot of work into this set and it shows. Its so nice to be able to relive those
times. I've been through several harleys and other bikes (I have none right now :( and TCB was probably why part of my life has been spent on two wheels. I only wish I still had the model kit! I've seen them
on ebay going for over 250 bucks! Thanks again for these and for your service to our country. Bryce
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From: Patty XXXX To: valkstuff@horseapple.com
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 12:32 AM Subject: DVDs Mark,
I wanted to email you to this
email address from your website also to make sure you got my "Thank you" (I emailed a day or two ago). Just wanted to let you know that I've been watching the TCB set you sent. THANK YOU, THANK
YOU!! You did an amazing job. I love them! I really appreciate your efforts and great customer service. You're wonderful!
Take care, Patty
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From: Rick XXXXX To: valkstuff@horseapple.com
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 9:01 AM Subject: Bronson DVD's Got the DVD's and had to let you
know how pleased I am with them. I bought these to replace a VHS set that I bought (at 3 times your cost) 8 years ago. A couple of the VHS episodes that I had received were barely watchable. The quality of
your set has to be the best out there unless Bronson is ever commercially released (doubtful). I was 15 and a motorcycle nut when Bronson was originally aired. Used to ride my Honda S90 and pretend I was him.
Thanks again and thank you for your service to our nation.
Rick XXXXX USMC - 1972/76
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Subject: compliment Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:32:50 -0600 From: "CcRider" <ccrider54@XXXXX.net>
To: <valkstuff@horseapple.com>
Hey just had to tell you how totally thrilled I am with my then came Bronson dvd's
I received from you! I had purchased two previous sets online each called their video quality about a "7" well if theirs was a "7" on the one to ten scale then I'd rate your set at about
a "17"! Fantastic job enhancing the colors, Both my other copies were washed out colors almost to the point of being black and white, Its a real joy to watch my favorite shows seeing green
trees, blue skies and flesh tone colored people! The organization you used is fantastic also. Super Kudos' on a great job. you made an old "Bronson" fan a very happy camper! Thanks
Steve C AKA CcRider |
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Subject: Then Came Bronson order Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:05:32 +0200 From: 300tuula k <ktuula@XXXXX.com>
To: <valkstuff@horseapple.com>
Hi there and greetings from Finland,
I received the full set of Then
Came Bronson just before Christmas. Boy, what a Christmas! Best present I ever had! There my hero from the seventies rides again. I thougth I will never see Mr. Bronson and his Sportser again. You know, they
broadcasted the series only once in 1970 here in Finland.
Thank you for the good job, the very nice pack, it was done very well. I had also those songs in seventies, but they disappeared long
time ago. Very nice to hear these again. Of course the quality of the picture canīt be same as today. But itīs quite good.
Soon I will show one episode in my motorcycle club event. I guess, it will
be instant success.
Best regards,
Juha K (my wife is Tuula K) |
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Subject: Then CameBronson - Premium Quality Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:27:13 -0500 From: Dennis R <trainman414@XXXXX.com>
To: Mark Tobias <valkstuff@horseapple.com> Mark, I just received your Then Came
Bronson DVD set and CD, the set is very good, thank you! I watched parts of a few episodes and I am very pleased! Thanks again for a very nice Then Came Bronson DVD set !
Dennis R Orlando, Fl. |
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Subject: Michael Parks cd's Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 14:51:06 -0800 (PST) From: Steve C. <stooge29@XXXXX.com>
To: valkstuff@horseapple.com
Mark,Just a note to let you know I recieved the "Bronson" stuff and I'm thrilled
with it. I watched the first episode last night and loved it. Bronson ran up here only once,and I haven't seen them in almost 40 years.
Thanx for everything;steve c |
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Subject: Thank You...................... Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2007 08:29:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Johnny L. <dirtyjohnb@XXXXX.com> To: Mark Tobias <valkstuff@horseapple.com>
Very
Much. Received the DVD yesterday, watched it, then watched it again with my girlfriend. Outstanding Job, no bad spots(skips) in the film or sound. Well worth the money. I appreciate ALL your work and efforts
to make this a smooth transaction. Have a GREAT weekend. Johnny |
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