2006 DVD Releases Thread

[Matt]

From today's Digital Bits:



So... you remember how we said that for every piece of good DVD news this week, there was a piece of bad news? Well... how 'bout we end the week on a REALLY great note, sans the dark could? You may have heard the word from Daily Variety this morning. Yes... Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is FINALLY, officially, coming to DVD. It's going to be coming to HD-DVD. And it's going to be coming to Blu-ray Disc as well. This is real... it's happening... and it's going to be very, very cool.

First a bit of background on the reason for the title's delay. Warner had been planning a 2-disc special edition of the film early last year... but suddenly realized that their rights to the title were about to lapse. However, the studio ponied up the big bucks to get back what is arguably one of their primo Cadillac catalog titles (dare you to say that three times fast). The ownership situation now resolved, Warner has set in motion plans to really do something special with the film. You might recall back in January when I asked them about the film at their 2006 catalog press event, they hinted that things were looking good for a 2007 release. Privately, we were told that there were BIG things in the works, but were also told that if we leaked too much about the project, we might end up like Fredo Corleone (or WORSE, that the project itself could be complicated). Needless to say, though we've been dying to talk about this for months now (and we get about two e-mails a day asking about the title), we've kept largely silent on the subject. Now that the project is finally out in the open, however, we can finally say a few things. Keep in mind that the major portion of the release is still over a year away. But here's the basic plan...

This coming September, there will be a new limited DVD release (HD-DVD & Blu-ray Disc are also planned) of the restored 1992 Director's Cut (you know... the one that isn't really a director's cut). This will be available for just four months. We believe this is basically the 2-disc release that Warner had originally planned to bow LAST year.

Then next year, just in time for the film's 25th anniversary, Ridley Scott's ultimate Blade Runner: The Final Cut will hit theaters for a limited run. This will be a REAL director's cut, with restored scenes and more - all the stuff that Ridley's always wanted to do with the film but hasn't really been given the chance to do before. That will be followed later in the year by an Ultimate Blade Runner DVD release. You can expect a multi-disc box set (again, likely with a simultaneous HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc release) that will contain at least four different versions of the film... ALL in full anamorphic widescreen, we might add. You'll get the film's original U.S. theatrical cut, you'll get the expanded international theatrical cut, you'll get the 1992 Director's Cut and you'll get the new Final Cut as well. Now... we realize at this point, you may have questions. Keep in mind, there's a TON of additional material that's going to be included in this set that hasn't been announced and can't be talked about yet - all-new material that you've never seen before. The set is pretty early in the planning and production stage, so it's way too early to talk details, but trust us... some very cool stuff is in the works. These extras will likely be different from the September '06 release, so if you buy both you'll at least be getting your money's worth.

Imagine that... anamorphic widescreen AND real value in a DVD release! Hey... are we being punked?

You veteran Bits readers will also be thrilled to learn that longtime Ridley Scott DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika and his team are involved in project, and have already been working on the set for a while now. Lauzirika, as you may know, was the producer responsible for Fox's 9-disc, massively comprehensive Alien Quadrilogy box set, as well as the multi-disc special editions of Scott's Gladiator (from DreamWorks), Black Hawk Down (from Sony) and Kingdom of Heaven (recently available from Fox), among others. You should also know that Lauzirika and his team are big fans of Blade Runner themselves. Rest assured that they know what you guys all want to see on this release, and they're working very hard to make it as good as it can be. Trust us when we say that this project is in EXACTLY the right hands.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's nice to see, in light of recent developments in another classic sci-fi release, that at least someone thinks that these things are worth handling properly. . .

How many different cuts exist on this film?  Is there a breakdown of the differences anywhere? 

I don't know.

Bump.

"The restored "Director's Cut" will debut on homevid in September, and remain on sale for four months only, after which time it will be placed on moratorium. "Blade Runner: Final Cut" will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special edition DVD with the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing: Besides the original theatrical version and director's cut, the expanded international theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain additional bonus materials. "

Why not just release the Special Edition?

I don't know.

[Scott]

I know

[Angry Ewok]

I know

Tell us!

[Darth_Anton]

There's actually 5 or 6 official cuts of Blade Runner as far as I know. I used to work with an animation director (Jamie Callerie, brother of Wallflowers drummer Mario,) who's a Blade Runner nut and knows just about everything there is about the history of the film. He has a book detailing the various cuts, one or two of which were only ever screened once or twice in public. He drove to San Francisco (from LA) just to catch one of them. The cuts beyond the three know versions only have one or two shot differences. One of them had something to do with the dream about a unicorn which was the only addition to the first cut without the voice-over.

I picked up the Chronicles of Riddick three pack yesterday. I liked the theatrical films and had wanted to pick them up, so $15 turned out to be an attractive price for both and Peter Chung's animated film.

[Cory Chaos]

I got "Date Movie" Unrated, and the new 2 Disc "Platoon". Can't wait to exercise my new HT with it.

[Rob]

The Platoon edit was the same as the last version, so I passed - same deal with the new Patton DVD.  Last week I had a friend of mine pick up Boondock Saints, Kingdom of Heaven 4-disc, and Tora! Tora! Tora!.  This week it was just Alf S3 but the next two weeks are pretty heavy for me.

[Cory Chaos]

New "Platoon" has a HD remaster, 2 new documentaries, 12 deleted scenes, and a DTS track though, in addition to the specs from the 5 year old SE.

BTW, both "Transformers: The Movie" and "This Island Earth" are getting re-releases in a couple of months. Specs are iffy, but if you couldn't afford the originals, now's the time. I dumped mine already in anticipation.

[Rob]

I wasn't clear, I meant to say that it was the same runtime.  It's very rare that I upgrade if the edit is the same.

[Cory Chaos]

Dead Thread Risin'.

This weeks additions:

Running Scared
Underworld: Evolution
Fast and the Furious: Franchise Collection
Dazed and Confused: Criterion Collection

..and of course my new home theatre components. So, needless to say, I'm broke.

[Jim]

I set out to only pick up a couple of flicks but ended up buying a bunch of older titles as well.  Check your Walmarts.  My store was doing a reset of the DVD section.  All new titles in the price drop $5.50, $7.50 and $10.00 sections. 

Underworld Evolution
Dumbo
Black Hawk Down EC
To Live and Die in L.A.
Near Dark (2D only $5.50 in Walmart Bin )
The Machinist
A Time to Kill ($5.50 Walmart Bin)
Copycat ($5.50 Walmart Bin)
To Die For ($5.50 Walmart Bin)
Eddie Murphy Raw

[Rob]

Dead Thread Risin'.

This weeks additions:

Running Scared
Underworld: Evolution
Fast and the Furious: Franchise Collection
Dazed and Confused: Criterion Collection

..and of course my new home theatre components. So, needless to say, I'm broke.

All these movies that I bought this week and we didn't overlap once!

Jesus is Magic
Black Hawk Down Extended
The Three Burials of Meliqiuades Estrada
The Heart is Decietful above all Things (still have to find a copy of this)

...and I picked up Seasons 3 and 4 of X-files since Best Buy was having a special that made them the same price as ordering from Deep Discount.

[Famine]

The Chronicles of Riddick Franchise Collection
Spawn Directors Cut
The Sweetest Thing
The Toy

Kevin

[Cory Chaos]

All these movies that I bought this week and we didn't overlap once!

Jesus is Magic
Black Hawk Down Extended
The Three Burials of Meliqiuades Estrada
The Heart is Decietful above all Things (still have to find a copy of this)

Well, I saw "Jesus Is Magic" about a week ago and didn't think it was at all funny, I already own the 3 disc BHD, while I liked "The Three Burials.." it doesn't have any rewatch value (IMO), and "The Heart Is Deceitful" was just bizarre.

Unfortunately, "Running Scared" is going to be the "Equilibrium" of the action genre, because nobody likes Paul Walker. It's easily one of the heaviest, most original, and visually stunning action movies of the past decade.

[SilverZ]

Anything in particular on the Criterion D&C that's really interesting, Cory? I might pick this one up.

[Rob]

I'm interested in picking up Running Scared, but I decided that with so many other movies to buy this week, I'd wait until it hit the 2 for $20.00 page.