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A new MANHUNTER disc is coming July 8! (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

Anthony Thorne

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This has just been posted over at Anchor Bay's site, listed under their 'Future Releases' page.

"MANHUNTER: DIRECTOR'S CUT - Summer 2003

We didn't expect to see this either, but here it is. A newly re-mastered version of Michael Mann's original cut of the thriller MANHUNTER. Michael Mann has personally overseen and approved a definitive version of his director's cut and has contributed a brand-new audio commentary for this release. Other features TBD. Closed Captioned For The Hearing Impaired."

The last version of this 'director's cut' (the second disc of their 2-DVD set) looked near unwatchable as proper materials couldn't be found. Now, Anchor Bay has obviously found them. I'm happy this is coming out in a decent remastered fashion, but I'll wince if they do similar after-the-event restorations on their composite WICKER MAN and ARMY OF DARKNESS discs, and I'm sure that some purchasers of the earlier release will resent the forced upgrade. Thoughts, anyone?

http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com/future/
 

Tim Ke

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Jun 14, 2002
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Nice to see this posted by a fellow Melbourne boy! And yes, even though I'm not a fan of Manhunter this is great news. At the very least this gives hope for more audio commentaries by Michael Mann on his other films...
 

Damin J Toell

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I'm happy this is coming out in a decent remastered fashion, but I'll wince if they do similar after-the-event restorations on their composite WICKER MAN and ARMY OF DARKNESS discs, and I'm sure that some purchasers of the earlier release will resent the forced upgrade. Thoughts, anyone?
Such a Wicker Man restoration would be impossible, as the original elements are thought to be buried forever. An AOD restoration is more possible, but it apparently hinges on the payment of money to the entity that holds the elements and it appears unlikely to happen. That said, if it were to happen for AOD, I think the number of pleased fans would outweigh the number of resentful ones.

As for the Manhunter news, all I can say is: YAY!

DJ
 

Anthony Thorne

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Regarding the likelihood of a WICKER MAN restoration, I'd be willing to give more credence to the (repeated, much publicised) comments from Anchor Bay that "no film prints of the long version exist" if Robin Hardy hadn't introduced a 35mm theatrical screening of the 102 minute version at the Leeds Film festival in 1997/1998 (confirmed in HEADPRESS #20, PG.84). Granted, that was the first screening of the long cut in the UK for years, but I'm willing to bet that Anchor Bay had heard of it when they assembled their disc. I suppose the resources of home video companies aren't infinite, but I'm reminded of the posts on MHVF.net where folks involved with the Image Entertainment Mario Bava DVD releases mentioned how HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON had been sourced from 16mm elements, and TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE taken from an archival print with rotten audio, because better elements could not be found. Marc Morris from Salvation/Redemption video then posted that he was puzzled by this as their own UK releases of these had been taken from beautiful neg prints obtained through the original licensors. UK and Australian fans had been well aware of those UK tapes when Image announced their collection, but the location of those quality elements eluded Image Entertainment as no-one ever bothered to check first with Salvation as to the location of the proper materials. Image are now discussing a remaster for TWITCH, much as Anchor Bay Entertainment are doing a MANHUNTER remaster to utilise the superior elements of that movie that have (presumably) been found.

I suspect a lot of this rant is redundant, as Anchor Bay, Image and other companies would have used better materials if they had been available. Equally, it's easy enough for me to pinpoint a UK screening of the longer WICKER MAN, but can I be sure the print is still at hand? Nope. Ah well... I'm hopeful for a proper ARMY OF DARKNESS restoration someday, and this new MANHUNTER disc should be just dandy.
 

Jon Robertson

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And if only The Magnificent Ambersons could be added to that happy crew of restored films.

*Sigh!*

Still, fabulous news that the director's cut of Manhunter is coming on DVD, and - even better - it actually exists on film!
 

Patrick Mirza

Supporting Actor
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Mar 12, 1999
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I wonder if Mann was horrified by what he saw on the second disc of the Manhunter: LE?

I sure as hell was.
 

Cavan.B

Stunt Coordinator
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Aug 4, 2002
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Sounds good to me. I didn't pick up the DC because of the VHS-like transfer, and a commentary by Mann is even better! Has he even done one before? Maybe on Laserdisc?

Anyway, it'll be interesting if it will be like the previous release and include the theatrical cut or just be the DC on a single disc. Either way, I hope they include the 2 featurettes from the theatrical disc and maybe add some new extras as well.
 

stephen^wilson

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Glad to see that the director's cut will be re-released with a brand new transfer.I think the old version released in the 2 disc set was there for curiosity value,though I seriously doubt that Anchor Bay would do an exchange with the old director's cut version when they know fine well that suckers like ourselves will part with our cash again(I know I will).
 

ChadMcCallum

Second Unit
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A restoration of the director's cut of Army of Darkness would be great. I will only watch the DC even though I own both but the video quality near the end is horrid. It actually does look like a bootleg, and a bad one at that.
 

Damin J Toell

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Regarding the likelihood of a WICKER MAN restoration, I'd be willing to give more credence to the (repeated, much publicised) comments from Anchor Bay that "no film prints of the long version exist" if Robin Hardy hadn't introduced a 35mm theatrical screening of the 102 minute version at the Leeds Film festival in 1997/1998 (confirmed in HEADPRESS #20, PG.84).
From what was that print sourced? The extended sequences may not have come from 35mm elements.

It's worth noting, too, that the UK extended disc (released by WB under license from Studio Canal) features the same transfer as the AB disc, so AB aren't the only ones who thought it was the best thing to be done.

DJ
 

Mark Palermo

Second Unit
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I used to be a big supporter of Anchor Bay, but am getting sick of their practice of milking consumers by releasing a handful of movies 5000 times each. Since Anchor Bay claimed the first director's cut was the best version possible because no film prints existed, I'd say they owe us an exchange.

Mark
 

Damin J Toell

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Since Anchor Bay claimed the first director's cut was the best version possible because no film prints existed, I'd say they owe us an exchange.
Definitely. I expect free exchanges for the rest of my life on every product for which a new version has been released.

DJ
 

Colin Jacobson

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Of my 1400 or so reviews, Manhunter is only one of three that earned an "F" for picture. I'm not wild about the movie - it's good but not in the league with Silence of the Lambs - but an improved image would be most welcome...
 

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