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Return of the Joker: Uncut AND Letterboxed (1 Viewer)

Malcolm R

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Will you be able to return it using the same receipt? I'd think they'd have different SKU's. :confused:
 

Adam Tyner

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The previous release may be worth keeping. It does have a different commentary, if that matters to you. I'm holding onto both discs, personally.
 

Rusty Ray

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Couldnt find return of the joker uncut at either best buy or circuit city... anyone else having a problem locating it?
 

TonyD

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well the receipt only says "batman beyond-return of the joker-" so i could try to argue it.
and the only reason i still have it sealed is because i orded it ..what 2 years ago? before it was known that it would be edited and couldn't cancel my order in time. and made arrangement to get a return mailer but it never came. then the co. went kabloohey.
and i have no regrets about using the recent receipt to return the old version of this disc. no apologies.
and to add to the discussion of the movie.
i have never
seen the edited version of that so i have no opinion.
as for the new version. it is the one that was expected from the first time i saw the teaser trailer. and after i was able to get it on my computer ;) i was very excited about seeing it. it lived up to the hype.
maybe the animation style isn't the
best but it had a good story.
i was alittle unhappy with the way the joker "returned"
but after i watched it several more times it grew on
me.
to me it is one of the 3 best batman movies.
in no order BATMAN, MASK OF THE PHANTASM and ROTJ.
 

Rob T

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I found the other 4 animated Batman discs at the future shop, but I didn't see ROTJ uncut in the new releases section where the other 4 were. I didn't think to look in their kid section but I'll do that next week when I go back to get the animated Spider-man disc if I don't see it at Wal-mart or K-mart first. :)
 

Edwin-S

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The point is, American animation has not even come close to the level of Japanese animation at any level, save perhaps the use of computer generated images.
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When I read this, I could not believe that a film buff and restorationist would make such a blanket statement. I have watched a lot of Japanese anime and quite frankly I can honestly say that I have not seen one piece of Japanese animation that approaches the technical quality of American feature animation. I have seen some that come quite close, mostly from Studio Ghibli but not even those films have the range of facial expression, body language and lip flaps that American feature animation has. I am using modern American feature animation as a reference when I make these comments and I consider modern American "cel" animated feature films to be of a quality that does not even approach the classic films from Disney's early years.
There is not one Japanese animated film that even comes close to creating the "illusion of life" that the Disney crew from the "Golden Age" were able to produce.......when Disney was still in the business of making films and not "product". I would venture to state that, in fact, the quality of American feature animation has actually declined to approach more closely a Japanese baseline of quality, although in most cases it is still technically superior.
It is not my intention to insult Japanese animation quality because I have seen quite a few films that are very, very good..."Wings of Honneamise" being probably one of the best Japanese animated films from a technical perspective....but to state that American animation does not come close to Japanese animation on any level is ludicrous.
I will state that I agree that storywise Japanese animation does have it over American animation. They are much more willing to use animation to tell a wider range of stories and themes. The willingness to use animation to tell more serious stories seems to be due to the fact that Japanese are more likely to see animation as a legitimate medium for such stories. In America, the birthplace of the animated film, it is quite the opposite. Animation in America is seen as second rate filmmaking suitable only for children's stories or comedies. You can see it with comments like this
It is a pretty decent story, for a cartoon.
Whether it is intentional or not, the implication is that animation, as a rule, has second rate writing compared to live action.
Any attempt to break out of those molds meets with dismal failure in North America, that is why films like Titan AE, The Plague Dogs, Princess Mononoke and soon Spirited Away bomb at the box office. When film studio heads see animated films with more serious themes bomb at the box office, while films like Shrek succeed, it sends a clear message.....stay away from anything "serious" in animated films.
The interesting thing is that RoTJ, I'm feeling safe to assume, isn't even animated in America. It is most likely a contract job with an Asian animation house(s); if not Japanese, most likely Korean or even Chinese, therefore, the earlier comments made about crude "Saturday morning animation" blows a hole in the quote at the top of this post. IMO, anyhow.
 

David Lambert

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The uncut RotJ was at my local Target store, if that helps anyone.

It was also at Best Buy, but - ahem - sold out quickly.

Borders has stock on it, too.

It was not seen at Circuit City or K-Mart.
 

Prentice Cotham

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Hopefully everyone is buying the "Legacy Begins" 4 BTAS episode DVD b/c we need to make sure this series continues to get released on DVD.
 

Eric F

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Well, we're into the animation thing again. The more recent WB stuff isn't very good, including RotJ. It appears that every subsequent generation of WB animation suffers when compared to the last.

Batman TAS was the best, and it's clear to see when watching RotJ and Mask of the Phantasm there's no comparison. Even look at Justice League compared to Batman Beyond. Seems there's more computer filled frames in every generation.

At any rate, I think some of the best American animated work has been done by mostly independant artists and gets summarily overlooked. Why wasn't Waking Life nominated for an Oscar? It should have won, much less been nominated.

Has anyone checked out the HBO produced Spawn series from a few years back? It has a pretty slick combination of Eastern and Western styles. Great stuff.
 

Calvin Watts III

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To stay on topic, I'm still waiting for my ROTJ copy (along with my Transformers boxed set).

This debate between Japanese & American animation is really apples & oranges. There has been some outstanding examples of both types, & many times it comes down to viewer perference.

Anime is something else. I still remember watching Starblazers,Force Five & Battle of the Planets when I was a kid, & while they were heavily edited for viewing here, it was still cool. (a storyline that you can follow,with some very cool villians)

Later stuff is just as incredible (Akira & Fushigi Yugi are some of my faves.) but some of it seems like its the same old thing.

The same can be said of American fare. Disney is in a class by itself, if you like that type of film. I personally love the original Batman:TAS simply because of its dark look and good storytelling.

Also, it doesn't have to be the latest,greatest thing. Many of the old WB Looney Tunes hold up well today,IMHO.

And don't forget the Fleischer bros. take on Superman - that was simply incredible.

It all boils down to taste, & I happen to like some of each style.

Calvin
 

Michael St. Clair

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I agree that the quality of the WB tv stuff is on the decline; the Superman stuff wasn't as good as Batman, and Justice League is another step backwards.
 

Jeff Jacobson

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The interesting thing is that RoTJ, I'm feeling safe to assume, isn't even animated in America. It is most likely a contract job with an Asian animation house(s); if not Japanese, most likely Korean or even Chinese, therefore, the earlier comments made about crude "Saturday morning animation" blows a hole in the quote at the top of this post. IMO, anyhow.
If I remember the commentary correctly (from the edited version), RotJ was animated by TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha), a Japanese company.

Also, it's not fair to compare a direct-to-video animated movie with a Disney theatrical animated picture. If you compare RotJ or most OVA anime with one of Disney's direct-to-video sequels, which would you think had better animation?
 

Eric F

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Look at the earlier Batman TAS shows. They come pretty close to the theatrically released Mask of the Phantasm. In fact, it's only in recent years with computers that quality TV animation has declined.

Of course there are some exceptions, most of which lay completely in the CGI domain (Roughnecks anyone?), and not the terrible frame filled non-motion hand drawn crap that passes for Sat. morn cartoons today. Even Scooby Doo is superior by far to stuff like X-Men Evo or that dumb robot WB thing I can't even remember the name off.

As I mentioned before, the independant/adult oriented stuff is more interesting. I really wish Bakshi would get back into the genre. His version of Mighty Mouse back in the late '80s was brilliant, hopefully it will make an appearance on DVD.

In the meantime, pick up Metropolis which came out yesterday, and grab the Spawn set when you can.
 

Michael St. Clair

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As I mentioned before, the independant/adult oriented stuff is more interesting. I really wish Bakshi would get back into the genre. His version of Mighty Mouse back in the late '80s was brilliant, hopefully it will make an appearance on DVD.
Loved it! John K. deserves a lot of credit for it.
 

MikeSilver

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It looks like we Canucks got the shaft with this disc. No store in Ottawa that I've visited has it and it shows up as sold out on the Future Shop website. Could this be another case of too much demand in the U.S., so no copies for Canada for a few weeks? :frowning:
I did, however, pick up the other Batman animated discs. Sweet...
Mike
 

Tim RH

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Mike,
Here in BC, there's plenty of copies at my local FutureShop!
Just thought I should let you know. :)
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Well, I got the uncut RotJ disc last night. Unfortuneately, EVERY store I went to was either sold out or hadn't stocked the first BM:TAS disc. Best Buy was sold out of both. Target (when I was there to buy the Episode II soundtrack) stocked the RotJ uncut disc and the new Batman: Subzero disc, but not the B:TAS disc. So I ended up getting just the new RotJ disc and the Episode II soundtrack with the bonus target track.
It looks like the stores really underestimated demand for it. Best Buy had like 5, and they were gone mid Tuesday apparently. Borders had 3, all gone the time I got there Wenesday. FYE has a limited "Children's" section:rolleyes:so they didn't stock it at either location.
I'll probably end up ordering it online.
 

MikeSilver

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Mike,
Here in BC, there's plenty of copies at my local FutureShop!
Just thought I should let you know.
That's what I get for living in the nation's capital... :)
Maybe it was just delayed for a couple of days and I'll be able to get it tomorrow.
Mike
 

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