Beetlejuice 2-Disc 20th Anniversary Special Edition? (1 Viewer)

[mike kaminski]

Theres vintage featurettes they could have thrown on just to fill up space. Plus, the isolated score from the previous release. And I'm pretty sure, given the long amount of time this has been "in development" that they could have found 30 minutes to interview Burton about the film. He's been doing the publicity rounds for Sweeny Todd, they could have just sat him down while on the publicity tour.

 

[GuruAskew]

Even "Poltergeist" with its terrible extras was more than worth the double-dip based on the transfer alone. The same goes for Universal's awful "Fletch" re-release.

This is an old DVD in desperate need of a new transfer. Everything else is just gravy.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Surely three half-hour television episodes beats out a theatrical trailer...

With all of Warners efforts and investments this year, I just don't think these films particularly warrant much supplements. They are fun popcorn movies but nothing more and the idea that commentaries and extensive documentaries are expected on every single release is silly and unrealistic. Studios have budgets and certainly need to make sacrifices in order to meet consumer demand. They could have just as easily put this off to another calendar year, but instead opted to squeeze it in undoubtedly resulting from it's long requested history. Now we have it and with a brand new transfer and affordable price tag to match. That's all I could ask for!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Also with the current state of the home video industry, Warners knows that it will sell far more copies for a simple $15 priced release than it would had the company invested thousands more into producing supplements. This is the sort of film that many people already own (a budget bin staple!) and consumers are unlikely to rush out for multiple editions at high cost. The type of releases that attract such crowds nowadays are blockbuster cult films like 300. Sales have died down and this is the perfect way to get the title out there in a new and improved transfer without detracting from the studio's budget to restore and release other films, many of which really do merit supplemental context!

 

[TonyD]

BEETLEJUICE 20TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION (WARNER) 8-12 9-16 DVD $19.96, BD $34.99
Comedy: Tim Burton’s 1988 film about deceased ghosts (Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) and a bio-exorcist (Michael Keaton) is remastered. Bonuses: cartoons; BD also has soundtrack CD.

just got this in a notice from video business

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Well, at least that helps justify a 75% increase in SRP.

Sorta...

 

[seanOhara]

Surely three half-hour television episodes beats out a theatrical trailer...

Only if you like the TV series. As far as I'm concerned, the second disc might as well be a coaster.


That's your opinion. Lots of us disagree. Note that this is one film that people ask about every year in the Warner chat -- they want a genuine special edition.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Not to sound pretentious... but this is not a movie that is "historically" significant or groundbreaking in any way. Not that a film needs to be in order to necessitate extra features! I just can't imagine what sort of bonus material would be of such great interest that anybody is missing out on here. Burton commentaries are the worst, I'm sure most would agree. Perhaps a featurette on the production and set design? I just don't really see what more there is to be said that the film itself doesn't speak. If it were part of Warners classics cannon, it probably would have a short cartoon, comedy and newsreel tacked on from relevant years and that's it. Again, with so much product out there that's marketed more directly to specific groups (box sets, tv shows, classics, etc) I'd rather see these singles issued with a lower msrp and sharp transfer and have them shot out more frequently.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It's possible the specs could change, but as of right now, that's what the DVD will include - my official press release only lists those three TV episodes... :frowning:

 

[mike kaminski]

I'd rather just get the original DVD, I saw it selling for $4 today.

 

[TravisR]

I think you'd do better to spend an extra $10 and get what will have to be a significantly better transfer.

 

[Ray H]

Even though I don't care much for the movie (it's never really clicked with me), I still wouldn't mind finding out more about the production. How did a movie as fantastical as this one get dreamed up? And how did Burton transition from Pee-Wee to this? Any interesting behind the stories, etc.? So I think extras are certainly welcome, especially for a movie that seems to have stood the test of time (it's still shown rather regularly on TV and people still love it).

 

[MatthewA]

How much did Speed Racer cost? Putting decent supplementary material on the DVD would cost maybe 0.001% of that.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

I've been waiting for a better release of this for a long while, and like Poltergeist, extras or no I'm buying.

 

[Andrew Radke]

I agree that this isn't by any means an "important" or "groundbreaking" film, but come on. When you hear the words "DELUXE EDITION" in regards to a DVD, what does one expect?? I would certainly think a "deluxe edition" would include more than 3 cartoon episodes. Perhaps a featurette or 2, a commentary, art gallery, trailer, etc. Include all of the above, and to me that would warrant a DVD to be called "deluxe". Perhaps the word means different things to different people, but when I see a DVD on a shelf labeled as a 'Deluxe Edition', I expect it to be packed to the tits with bonus material. Regardless, as I stated in an earlier post, I never got around to getting the previous release, so this is an obvious purchase. I just think the term "deluxe edition" is misleading given the content.

 

[JulianK]

Indeed, it is quite an interesting film, in that many of the special effects sequences were designed to be shot in-camera (ie: on-set, without post-production work), which is quite an unusual approach (and one that demands am unusual degree of ingenuity).

The film also features several sequences of stop-motion animation, an old-fashioned technique that has many admirers (and, of course, one that Burton would use extensively later on, with The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride).

Several scenes, including an alternate-reality sequence where Baldwin's character is menaced by giant clockwork-like gears, and a more elaborate version of the sandworm sequence, were shot, but not used (there were photo's from both scenes in the Batman issue of Cinefantastique magazine). It would be nice to see those, right??

 

[TheBat]

for anyone that is interested.. universal HD is going to be playing beetlejuice.

Jacob

Universal HD - Schedule